RWBY: Silver Eyes on the Mountains

The Dragon's Fire

"You want a fight, you overgrown carpet!? Well, bring it on!!!" Tai roared to the gigantic feline demon, which rattled the sky with its own roar.

The two combatants then charged at each other before leaping into the air. In mid jump, Taiyang tackled the feline behemoth out of the air, taking it to the ground with a crushing impact. Trying to get loose, the massive lion rolled them over so that it was on its belly and tried to slash at Taiyang with its claws. However, before it could, it found itself slowly rising to the ground as Taiyang got to his feet under it, hefting its massive bulk up onto his shoulders before raising it as high into the air as his arms could reach at full length. Using his full strength, Taiyang threw the titanic feline demon like a softball, sending it flying through a wall opposite to the direction the girls had gone before leaping through the hole in the wall after it.

Getting to its feet and shaking itself off, the gigantic cat monster looked towards its foe only to be met with a diving kick to its jaw, dazing it slightly. Clenching his hand into a tightly balled fist, Taiyang hit the beast with a massive uppercut. The force of the blow rattled the monster's bone armor beneath its skin, as if threatening to crack it. Growling, the feline monstrosity swiped its claws down on the Sun Dragon in an attempt to catch him in its paw, only for him to roll underneath it to dodge. Rising to his feet, Taiyang jumped and delivered a fierce uppercut into its stomach that made the behemoth of a lion gasp out in pain as it briefly got airtime off the ground. Landing on his feet, he waited for the beast to come back down before unleashing a barrage of blows into its thinly armored underbelly that smashed heavily into its stomach, threatening to crack the armor protecting it just beneath its hide.

In the distance, the two girls heard the violent conflict. Each blow let off a monstrous boom, horrible shriek, and blood curdling cries. Ruby's heart sank deeper and deeper into her stomach. All of this was her fault. She should be in there helping her father, not hiding like some coward. As she tried to walk towards the active brawl zone up ahead, Yang firmly grabbed her arm to stop her.

"Just where do you think you're going, Ruby!?" Yang demanded.

"I caused this! I have to help dad!" Ruby yelled, trying to wrench her arm from her sister's grip.

"Help dad!? Ruby, if you go back in there, you'll just get yourself killed! You saw that monster!" Yang told her baby sister in a lecturing tone.

"I can help! I just… I just need to reach in deep and grab hold of it!" Ruby said, her voice shaky as her confidence wasn't what she wanted to portray.

"Grab hold of what? Ruby, you're not making any sense!" Yang told her baby sis.

Ruby took a deep breath, knowing this wasn't going to be easy. "About that time that you lost me some days ago…" She said as a calamitous cacophony erupted from the inside of the ruins.

Man and demon hurled themselves at each other with reckless, barbaric abandon. The insides of the ruins, once untouched, were now as chaotic as the vile events that turned it to a lifeless husk. Tai grabbed in his hands a keystone of a fallen arch, hurling it straight into the charging head of the Leo. The keystone hit it in the eye, making it roar in pain as it came crashing down, skidding to a halt in front of the blonde Sun Dragon. Vaulting over it, Taiyang quickly grabbed the lion demon by its tail.

Feeling its tail be grabbed, the Leo tried to get up and whip him around only to find it held in place, the blonde bracing his feet against the ground to hold it in place. Then, as if by some miracle, the lion behemoth found itself being slowly swung in a direction to its left. Bit by bit, the momentum increased as Taiyang swung the gigantic beast around by its tail. Using all his strength, he kept swinging it until he got its momentum as fast as he could, the lion Grimm practically becoming a blur of movement from the speeds it was moving at. Finally, Taiyang released the beast as the momentum of the swing sent it flying through walls, deeper into the depths of the ruins. Getting into a running stance, Taiyang took off after the monstrously massive feline, making a beeline for it.

As the fight began to lead away from the sisters, Yang was engrossed in the… frankly insane things her sister was saying. Even if she was a terrible liar, this was…

"Ruby… that sounds crazy. The only reason I believe you're telling the truth is because I know you're practically the worst liar to ever exist." Yang told her baby sister.

"You think I'm crazy, don't you?" Ruby said with a pout.

"No. It's just… a lot to take in. My sister found a nature god and has become its host. That's… hard to believe or comprehend…" Yang admitted.

'Balam! A little help here!' Ruby shouted into her mindscape, trying to rouse said entity. 

"Calm thyself, child! Take a deep breath, calm thine teets, and focus on my voice and presence within thee." Balam's voice told her.

'Can't you like… talk to Yang? Make your presence known or something?' Ruby asked, beginning to panic a bit.

"There is a way, but thou must physically manifest me in a lesser form outside of thee. Focus on mine voice and presence, reach down deep, and pull a bit of my strength to the surface." Balam told her in a calming tone.

'Does that hurt you at all?' Ruby asked, not wanting to accidentally harm her new partner.

"Not at all. It merely allows this one to communicate with mortals other than thee by manifesting slightly outside of thine spirit." Balam explained.

With a nod, Ruby closed her eyes and began to focus. As she did, she began to see the greenish-blue strands of power, sprawling like a spider's web. Following them however, she saw a swirling center of power, as if the essence of life itself was concentrated into one place. Reaching out, she was able to wrap her spiritual fingers around a strand of it, feeling cool, yet eerily serene in her hand. It was only then that Balam spoke again.

"Well done, child. You learn quickly. Now pull it to the surface. Picture thyself pulling a fraction of the power out of thine soul and I shall have my consciousness follow. Picture a physical form of mine self outside of thine body and pull the power towards it." Balam explained to her.

Holding firm to the strand, Ruby knew that, if she didn't do it now, she would fail. She did her best to picture the majestic form of the statue, the mighty hunter of the mountains of old. Yanking back on the strand hard, she pulled it away from the web with force she did not have. The strand remained attached but stretched. Then she lifted the strand clenched in her fist above her head as it began to glow.

Yang soon noticed something was up as she sensed a rising well of energy coming from her sister. She had felt Aura before, even the odd Semblance or two. But this… this was like nothing she had ever felt. Ruby's chest formed a ball of brown and greenish blue energy that began to swirl, as if her heart and soul had become supercharged enough to see them. Then, in a sudden flash of greenish light, Yang was forced to close her eyes. When she opened them, she saw to her astonishment, a greenish blue and brown jaguar cub, with eyes replaced with glowing green orbs.

The jaguar cub smiled as it floated next to Ruby, who opened her eyes to see it. "Well done, child! You did it!" Balam joyfully told her in a higher, almost cute voice.

"Thank you, Balam… oh my gods, you're adorable!" Ruby squealed before reaching down to grab hold of him.

Balam purred a bit before nuzzling Ruby as she released him. Turning to look at Yang, the nature god in physically manifested form bowed his head humbly. "Greetings, young one. This one is Balam, the Jaguar God of the Elementals. I take it that thou art Ruby's elder sister Yang?" He said, introducing himself to the older of the two sisters.

"... Okay. I believe you now… but is that thing talking?" Yang replied in sheer disbelief.

"He's not a thing, Yang. He is my friend." Ruby huffed and firmly asserted.

"Right. Sorry. Um… nice to meet you, Lord Balam." Yang replied, still trying to process what was going on.

"Just Balam, young one. Please. This one is now entwined with the soul of thine sister as her partner. Any friend or family of my Mystic's is precious to me." Balam replied humbly, "sitting" as he floated in midair.

"Alright, if you two are going to be some sort of thing, then we are having ground rules about you two going on dates." Yang sternly said, which immediately got a reaction out of the two.

Balam and Ruby both blushed at that. "Not that kind of partner, young one! A partner in battle! An ally and brother-in-arms!" Balam explained embarrassedly.

"Oh, thank the gods. For a second there, I thought my baby sister got hitched to a Jaguar spirit…" Yang sighed in relief, putting her hand on her heart.

"Yang! Focus, please!" Ruby whined, embarrassed that her sister was doing this in front of her new partner.

"Right, right. Alright, floating fluffy kins. How did Ruby just do that? The whole 'reaching and taking power' thing she was babbling on about." Yang sternly asked, turning her attention to the floating spirit before her.

Glad for the topic to be refocused on the task at hand, Balam cleared his throat. "By reaching within herself, picturing herself grasping onto a strand of my strength and pulling it to the surface, your sister managed to draw upon a bit of this one's power and used it to manifest a physical form for this one. The way she must draw upon it in battle is similar. However, instead of drawing it outside to manifest a physical form, she must use the strand to pull more out to wrap herself in it and draw more to the surface." Balam explained.

"... Okay. So how does that help fight a giant feline horror that is attacking our dad right now?" Yang asked with a confused look, not entirely understanding what the feline spirit was saying.

"By drawing upon my strength in battle, she can achieve feats of strength, speed, agility, and even magic that no normal mortal could hope to achieve. It should allow her to aid thine father in defeating the beast." Balam explained.

Before Yang could say another word, they heard a great roar of indeterminate origin coming from the ruins. Out of an instinctive concern, the two girls rushed to the former entranceway to check it out. Balam floated after them as quickly as he could, as the three soon saw what caused said hideous sound. Taiyang and the Leo had crashed through the entrance to the ruins, the two wrestling with each other as Taiyang punched the beast in the eye while it tried to slash at him with its claws.

Flipping away from its claws, the blonde Sun Dragon dropped down onto the beast's head and hit it with a heel drop spinning ax kick to the snout. After being hit in such a tender area, the beast howled in pain as it staggered back, momentarily stunned. Taiyang, seeing his opening, tried to tackle it as it turned away from him. However, now furious, the beast whipped its tail at him with lightning speed, smashing Taiyang into a wall of the ruins. Pouncing on him, it swatted him through the wall before it bound back inside after him.

"DAD!!" Ruby and Yang yelled in horror, rushing over to go help him.

"Focus, Ruby! Draw upon my power as this one instructed! It shall give thee the strength thou need to aid him!" Balam told her as they followed after the two combatants.

Ruby nodded, stopping her run as Yang charged forward. Closing her eyes again, she followed the strands to the core. With every ounce of courage she had, she plunged her hand into the core before grabbing onto and pulling its power back. Then, like the strand before, she hoisted it in her hand above her head. And, in the real world, the results were far more immediate than before.

As the Leo slashed and pounded down on Taiyang with its massive paws, a brown and greenish blue light began emanating from Ruby. The two blondes, Taiyang covered in injuries that got through his Aura and Yang in disbelief, and the lion Grimm looked at the girl in confusion before an aura of power erupted from the girl like a volcanic eruption, shaking the ground beneath their feet. A gust of wind was blown up from the force of the eruption as the power swirled around Ruby, beginning to take shape. Ruby's nails sharpened into claws that then retracted back into her fingers. Her outfit changed into green and brown jaguar patterns matching Balam's coat, a jaguar's tail sprouted from her back as jaguar ears sprouted atop her head, the earthen energy swirling around her as plant life sprang up from the earth beneath her, blooming beautifully and strongly as the power solidified.

Finally, Ruby opened her eyes. Her normally silver eyes now shone with a greenish blue power as their normal silver peaked out through the light. Clenching her hands into fists, Ruby dropped into a battle stance. Then, in a flash of movement, it happened.

Ruby suddenly appeared in front of the lion Grimm, much to the shock of the other three combatants. Lashing out with a kick, she sent it flying with a single blow. The kick cracked and broke its armor beneath its hide where the kick landed and sent it flying through multiple walls of the ruins before it crashed against a pillar, rattling the ancient castle upon impact. Landing on her feet, Ruby looked down at her hand as she clenched and unclenched it, feeling the power flowing through her as Taiyang and Yang looked on in disbelief.

"What the…?" Tai asked breathlessly, stunned at what he just witnessed his baby girl do.

"That cat really can pack a punch…" Yang said in both shock but also pride. Knowing her sister can now finally defend herself.

Ruby looked at Taiyang before giving her father a smile. "Hi, dad." She said to her father in a voice that was a mix of hers and Balam's.

"Ruby… what happened to you…" Tai asked as he tried refocusing his mind, slowly shakily getting to his feet.

"Yang and I will explain later. Right now, we need to focus. After we all take this thing down together, we'll explain everything." Ruby told her father in that same voice, looking into the ruins as the lion Grimm slowly got to its feet.

"Let's kick its butt, Rubes!" Yang yelled, stancing up with excitement visible on her body.

Taiyang nodded, dropping back into his own stance. "Yeah, girls! Let's show this monster what the Xiao Long-Rose family can do!" He said, punching a hand into his other fist and cracking his knuckles before doing the same with his opposite hand.

Shaking itself off, the lion Grimm growled threateningly as it stalked towards its foes. Roaring in challenge, it bounded at its prey as the father and two daughters roared back in defiance. The three family members charged in at it together as the lion rushed at them at top speed. When the Grimm met the humans, it swung its paw at Ruby, deeming her the bigger threat. However, Ruby caught the paw with two fingers and her thumb, easily holding it back. The Leo strained to try to budge her as Ruby looked at her father and elder sister.

"Dad, Yang! Go!" The power-clad hooded girl told them as the two nodded.

Yang sprung up at the Leo and punched it in the eye with all her strength. It roared in pain and staggered back as Taiyang front flipped into a handspring and bicycle-kicked it in the chin. It reeled back as Ruby leapt in at it and, using a double ax handle, smashed her fists down onto the top of its head. The armor around its skull, just beneath its skin and fur, cracked from the strain as the lion Grimm roared in pain.

Beginning to panic, the Leo slashed down at Ruby with its claws only for Ruby to easily dodge it. Grabbing it by its paw, Ruby flipped the Leo onto its back with sickening force before bending its leg into something resembling an arm bar, keeping it from getting up. Taiyang and Yang leapt up and unleashed twin diving kicks that hit the Leo in its underbelly, putting a small crack in its armor. Raining down blows in tandem, Taiyang and Yang continued cracking its damaged underbelly armor more and more until, finally, it broke.

The shards of bone armor peeked out through its skin, penetrating its hide and insides as it roared in pain. Scrambling to get up, the Leo found itself held in place as Yang and Tai leapt up. Each did a diving kick down into the Leo's eyes, destroying them and blinding it as it howled in agony. Finally, Taiyang wrapped his arms around its throat as he struggled with it. With a strength he didn't know he had, Taiyang wrenched with all his might and snapped the Leo's neck through its armor.

The massive monster's corpse fell to the stone floor with a thunderous thud as it turned to dark smoke on the wind. A creature that caused massive destruction in the ancient halls was now no more, and nothing more than wisps on the wind. At this, the power that amplified Ruby disappeared, reverting her to her original form.

"That was awesome!" Ruby cried out, throwing both her hands in the air in excitement at what they just did.

Taiyang panted heavily and gave Ruby a thumbs up before collapsing as his girls caught him.

"Dad! Are you okay!?" Ruby asked in a panic as her thin form strained against her dad's more massive form.

"I… I'm fine, Ruby… just a little tired. More importantly…what did you do to get that kind of power…?" Taiyang panted out, covered in wounds.

Ruby gulped a bit sheepishly. "Let's get you home first and patched up. Then I can explain." Ruby said nervously.

Taiyang nodded as the family of three then headed back, Ruby and Yang supporting their father as they helped him limp along down the mountain. All knowing that from this day forward, things have changed. The question everyone had, however, was… was it for the better?