Chapter 13 – Black and White

Beta read by Levi Ackermanlet

"Here, kitty, kitty, kitty..." Roman Torchwick kept his cane raised as he stalked towards the shipping containers before him. That irritating Faunus girl was somewhere behind them, if he could flush her out then he could be rid of her before she grew from an annoyance to a problem. That she'd interrupted his little dock's raid spoke volumes of her ability to annoy.

To her credit, she wasn't as annoying as that other Faunus she was with, who had just dropped a banana peel on top of his freshly cleaned bowler hat.

"Leave her alone!"

The Bullheads that he'd brought with him finally saw fit to step in and do their jobs, unloading several armed White Fang onto the ground. Roman allowed himself to smirk as the animals quickly surrounded the blonde-haired Faunus.

"You're not the brightest banana in the bunch, are you, kid?"

They stepped forwards to attack him, swords and guns raised to wipe out their treacherous brethren, before promptly being blasted away as a series of fireballs smashed into the ground. From atop a distant set of containers a scarred teenager leapt through the air, fireballs flying from his fists and knocking down the remainder of the White Fang who had arrived to help Roman.

"Oh great, more of you."

The new arrival and the blonde Faunus shared a glance with one another but otherwise said nothing, their attention turning to the groans of their enemies as they tried to rise to their feet. Roman took the initiative, unlike the rodents around him, and raised his cane to blast them away.

They dove away as the first shot hit the ground between them, the explosion ripping a small hole in the concrete where they stood. Any follow up attacks were quickly dropped when the cat girl appeared out of nowhere and began to slash at him again.

"He's mine!"


Zuko spared only a glance to Blake as she charged at the red-headed guy. He looked vaguely familiar, like someone he might have passed on the street, though he still had no idea why they were fighting. The Grimm masks that his friends wore had made it fairly clear that he wasn't a 'good guy' when Zuko had decided to intervene. Speaking of friends…

The henchmen he'd knocked down were back on their feet, even if some of them still looked a little dazed. Zuko had forgotten about them possibly having a damn aura, the criminals he'd beaten up earlier had reminded him far too much of his usual time spent ending fights quickly. He didn't wait for them to make him regret his mistake however, and he was on them in moments.

He didn't bother drawing his swords as he leapt between his attackers, swords slicing uselessly through the air as they tried to hit him. His biggest threat were the guns that some of them held, as even one lucky shot would take him out of the fight for good. So he dodged around their pathetic excuses for swordsmen, and sent attack after attack into the real threats.

Several well placed kicks sent most of them off their feet and onto the floor again, the second time proving to be actually effective. The ones he didn't immediately get however, were handled by his new temporary ally, who batted each of them down with some kind of collapsible staff.

The big problems dealt with, Zuko swiftly moved on to the remaining swordsmen just as the blonde Faunus left him to go and help Blake. The Grimm masked thugs were more nuisances than legitimate threats, each one armed but woefully undertrained. In a way, the whole fight reminded him of when Azula had tried to trick him after the Siege of the North, blasting aside Imperial Fire Benders so that he could get to the real threat. Although Azula was much more terrifying than whoever this moron was.

He was good though, that much was certain. During the short time it had taken for Zuko to knock down the thugs for good, he'd made an absolute mess of the docks. Several containers were blown apart along with some type of advanced crane. The more pressing matter however, was that Blake was down, and the man's exploding cane was levelled firmly at the blonde Faunus' head.

The blast of fire that Zuko kicked towards his head caught him off guard, but he recovered quickly. Not fast enough to escape the barrage of attacks Zuko unleashed upon him, desperate to keep him on the defensive and unable to blow Zuko apart with that cane of his. Unfortunately, the man's aura wasn't as pathetic as his henchmen's were, and as he let it absorb one of Zuko's attacks he was quickly returning fire with his cane.

They were certainly quicker than arrows, and Zuko didn't have the benefit of an aura to help him if he couldn't dodge, but much to his own pride he managed to just graze past the two blasts that rocketed towards him. The bowler hat man was completely out of patience however, and shot the ground by Zuko's feet, flinging him away and into a nearby container.

He let out a small yelp of pain before he clambered back to his feet. Aura or no, he'd been smacked around by the Avatar, the criminal before him was nothing compared to him. He also wasn't a fool. As soon as Zuko made ready to fight, more and more of those strange balls of energy were hurtling towards him. He'd learned from his mistake however, and Zuko was quickly darting closer and closer to the man before he could take him down again.

The two clashed against one another, fire daggers blazing from Zuko's fists as he pressed against the cane that had been placed between them. In terms of strength, Zuko should have had the edge, having trained for nearly his entire life and nearing the prime of his youth. Thanks to the man's aura however, Zuko swiftly found himself being pushed back.

Fire blazed as Zuko dashed away from the losing battle of brawn, his feet sweeping out to cover his retreat. Instead of charging back into the fray however, his hands whirled through the air. Hot air shimmered, then burst into flames as it continued to whirl around him. Blasts of energy soared just past his head as he narrowly dodged. His hands continued their work, an inferno whirling around him as the flames grew brighter, higher, and hotter.

In one swipe, he brought his hand crashing down to the ground, and sent a torrent of fire towards his enemy. His brief pause in motions earned him a direct hit in the chest, that sent him flailing away once more, but his attack had already been loosed. A colossal explosion consumed Torchwick, and the sweat boiled off his body from the heat.


He crashed into a heap a short distance away. Angry, in pain, and thoroughly humiliated, but still unharmed as he felt his preciously little remaining aura work its way through his body. He got up with a groan, relieved to find that the scar faced punk who had just embarrassed him was still on the ground.

"Hey!"

Roman turned to look at up Ruby as she stepped into view on the rooftop. He swept off some soot from his jacket as he composed himself, before smiling and waving dramatically at her, losing all interest in his three defeated opponents.

"Well, hello, Red! Isn't it past your bedtime?"

From behind her, Penny stepped forwards curiously, daring a peek over her shoulder and down at the docks below them.

"Ruby, are these people your friends?"

"Penny, get back!" Roman raised his cane and fired, hitting Ruby directly as she was distracted, and sending her scythe hurtling away from her. The criminal allowed himself to enjoy a menacing laugh as he watched Ruby struggle to stand back up, oblivious to Penny as she narrowed her eyes at him and stepped forwards.

"Penny, wait! Stop!"

"Don't worry, Ruby. I'm combat ready!"

She leapt off the roof as a blade sprung from her backpack, hovering in the air as it split into a dozen separate ones. The Bullheads which had been content to watch the previous battle flew towards her, intent on getting their own share of the fight. Their miniguns whirred as Dust rounds tore up the concrete around her. The bullets which were on-target were all deflected harmlessly as her blades formed a makeshift shield in front of her.

The strafing run ended, the blades reformed into a circle, and a green orb of light pulsated inside. With a punch, a deadly beam shot out and tore one of the Bullheads in half, the debris crashing into the ground in a powerful explosion.


Roman watched angrily as the ship went down, his hand flying to the scroll by his side as it blew up.

"One of you pick me up, we're leaving! And for god's sake will one of you animals at least take care of this bunch!?"

He didn't want yet another group of brats to be around to give him trouble, but nor did he want to stick around to face whatever the hell that little girl was. One of the Bullheads landed close by him while a second flew over, guns already whirling up to wipe out the three he'd fought before. One final glance to the girl with the swords as she pulled another Bullhead out of the sky, and he was quickly reassured about his decision to leave.

"These kids just keep getting weirder..."


Zuko crawled to his feet just in time to see the Bullhead turn towards him. Blake and the other Faunus were likewise trying to make it to their feet, only they were moving much slower. Zuko's mind went haywire as he desperately thought of plan after plan, the Bullhead's guns glinting menacingly as they passed by one of the dock's lights.

He could run, maybe. If it focused on the other two then he just might get out of the path of its attack, but that was slim at best. Not to mention he wasn't going to leave Blake to die, nor the other one. Which meant he had to come up with some way of protecting them all.

He knew only of one thing that he could do, and he prayed to anyone, anything that would hear him that it would work. He took a deep breath to clear his mind and set to work.

His hands were moving before he could second guess himself, circling in front of him as he gathered up a well of power from within him, and drew it into his fingertips. The energy in his body split as he made his final moves, the Bullhead letting rip with its guns as it closed in. He thrust his hand towards the craft, and a bolt of lightning leapt from his fingertips.

It pierced the sky in a blinding, deadly light, striking the Bullhead and coursing through it, sparking at every piece of it before it shot back out of the tail and into the ground. Thunder boomed. The guns went silent. And for a moment, it was like time stood still. Zuko, in awe of what he had just done, and the ship unable to comprehend what had just been done to it.

It continued on its path, guns still quiet before it listed, and fell out of the sky. It crashed into the ground with a fiery explosion, shreds of metal spitting out in every direction as it tore itself apart against the concrete.

'I…I just killed those people.'

He flinched at the realization, the feeling of blood on his hands slowly creeping in. Quickly, he forced the thoughts from his mind. He'd long prepared himself for the day he would have to take a life, and he knew that if he hadn't done it, it would have cost him the life of not only himself but the two others with him.


It was a few hours later when the police were all on scene, along with Yang and Weiss who had eventually found them. As they arrived, Weiss began to storm towards Blake, determination in her eyes even as Ruby stepped protectively between them.

"Look Weiss, it's not what you think, she explained the whole thing. See, she doesn't actually have a bow, she has kitty ears and they're actually kind of cute..."

Weiss ignored her and stepped past, coming face to face with Blake, who looked down in shame.

"Weiss, I want you to know that I'm no longer associated with the White Fang. Back when I was with the-"

"Stop! Do you have any idea of how long we've been searching for you? Twelve hours. That means I've had twelve hours to think about this. And in that twelve hours, I've decided... I don't care."

"You don't care?"

"You said you're not one of them anymore, right?"

"No, I-I haven't been since I was younger-"

"Ah-bah-bah-bah-bah! I don't want to hear it. All I want to know is that the next time something this big comes up... you'll come to your teammates. And not some..." She glanced at the blonde Faunus disapprovingly. "Someone else."

Blake nodded, a tear dripping down her cheek as she smiled. "Of course."

"Yeah! Team RWBYZ is back together!"

The team stared at their leader, who shrugged apologetically for ruining the moment. As they began to wonder where that strange Penny girl had gone, Zuko began to tune them out. That girl seemed impossible, and what she had done was beyond belief, but then so did everything else in his new messed up world. He wasn't too worried about it much to his own surprise, instead his mind was on other things…

'…I should tell them.'

He couldn't, he knew that. They would never believe him, instead they'd just think he was crazy. Even he had trouble believing it. But…they at least deserved the chance to decide for themselves. Right?

"So Zuko, since when could you zap people with lightning?"

Zuko grimaced at Yang's reminder, clearly she had been told by Blake what had happened. He answered anyways, leaning as comfortably as he could against one of the containers still remaining in the docks.

"Since now. I'd tried before, but it never worked. I…actually didn't think it would work then. I just hoped it would."

"Really? Well, you might want to try a little sooner next time. Probably not the best idea to let your aura tank those shots."

Zuko raised an eyebrow, and followed where she was pointing with her finger. It was a hole. A vicious tear in his new robes. Not from a sword slice, they hadn't gotten even remotely close enough to him, it was from that criminal Torchwick. When he'd been hit, it hadn't just been some weak energy, thing that had dispersed into the air or something. He…had been shot, and lived.

'How?'

His mind raced as he threw a hand to the hole, desperately trying to feel for where he'd been shot. There was nothing, not even a scratch. He'd…stopped it…with an aura…

'…how!?'


Roman sighed with tiredness from inside the warehouse. Even the mountain of dust that surrounded him, a testament to his skills and prowess wasn't enough to lift his spirits. The docks heist was supposed to be their biggest haul yet, it was why they'd been so open with their strength after all. Instead, it'd turned into a disaster. Three Bullheads destroyed, a ton of those White Fang animals captured, or killed when their Bullheads crashed, and his reputation taking a blow as well.

"How very disappointing, Roman."

The voice sent a shiver down his spine, though he hid it well. He turned to face her, spying two other figures still in the shadows behind her.

"Whoa! Hehe... I wasn't expecting to see you guys so soon..."

"We were expecting…more from you."

He let out a small nervous chuckle, before his irritated pride returned.

"Hey! You were the ones who suggested working with those stupid mutts from the White Fang."

She chuckled, a sound which terrified him.

"And you will continue to do so." A fireball appeared in her hand, a less than subtle warning. "We have big plans for you, Roman. All we ask is... a little cooperation. But don't fear, you will have a chance to redeem yourself."

Her associate laid a Scroll down in front of him, looping footage of the robed teenager in action. Fire balls knocked down the White Fang grunts with ease, before the footage changed to show lightning striking one of their Bullheads before it fell from the sky.

"All you have to do, Roman, is find out about him."

"…what do you want to know?"

"Everything."

A small document slapped on the table from her hands. Details she already had on him, basics mostly. His name, where he studied, everything she'd been able to gleam from their small conversation, and even his basic measurements provided by her personal tailor.

"Find out where he came from, what he wants to do. I want to know where he trained, what his grades are like, who his family is and…how close he is to them." She cast a glance over towards her two subordinates, still waiting obediently at the far end of the room. "You may be getting a new friend."


As soon as he stepped off the Bullhead back at Beacon, his uncle wrapped him up in a tight embrace.

"Zuko! I thought you were done getting yourself into trouble…"

He smirked as he returned the hug. "Never, uncle, you should know me better than that."

Behind his uncle, Ruby locked eyes with Zuko and gave him an understanding nod. The rest of his team turned to give him some privacy, even as the uncle and nephew walked slowly behind them. Zuko's smile quickly dropped into a frown as his thoughts returned full force.

"Uncle, something happened…"

Iroh turned serious, dropping the one armed hug they'd been walking with. He dropped his voice into a whisper as they slowed down, making sure to keep themselves a good distance away from eavesdroppers.

"What is it, Prince Zuko?"

"I…I have an aura."

His uncle was stunned silent for several moments, struggling to process what he'd been told.

"But…how?"

"I don't know. But, during the fight, I…got shot."

Iroh's fatherly instincts quickly kicked in as he began to check the boy over for wounds. Zuko took a brief moment to relish in the feeling, before he reassured him.

"It's okay uncle, I'm fine. Somehow…I wasn't hurt by it. The only explanation I can think of, is that I was protected by one of their 'auras'."

"Are you sure?"

"It fits with what I've learned about it. It's supposed to protect you from harm…and I didn't have any armor on…"

"Hmmm…" Iroh was deep in thought, his hands stroking through his long grey beard in contemplation. "Unfortunately, I am still not very familiar with the…gifts of this world. Perhaps however, whatever brought you here, gave you this power too?"

Zuko's eyes narrowed briefly, and he fought back the urge to correct him that they'd been kidnapped. Instead, he calmed himself with a breath, and waited for his uncle to continue.

"I will have to pray tonight, maybe I will find our answer."

He looked at him with disbelief. "Uncle, Agni can't help us here, you know that."

"Maybe…but I can hope."

"You-…whatever. There's something else too. I-…bent lightning."

For a moment, Zuko couldn't tell just what expression Iroh had on his face. However the tight hug that Iroh gave him yet again, certainly didn't seem angry.

"Oh Zuko, I am so proud of you! You have let go of your shame, and no longer does doubt cloud your mind."

Zuko looked away awkwardly, a slight grimace marring his face. "I didn't exactly have a choice, I kind of had to accept where I am. There's…no more going back."

Iroh clapped him reassuringly on the back, a sad smile growing on him. "It is a start my nephew, and what may help even more, would be to tell those young ladies the truth."

"What!? Uncle, you know I can't-"

"They deserve to know Prince Zuko, at least some of it." He didn't look convinced, and his grimace grew into a complete frown. "They should know who you are. How you came here, and where you came from, that is not so important."


Zuko's mind was still awhirl as he walked through the door and back into the Team RWBYZ dorm. The others chatted casually as they headed for their beds, content to simply sleep after such a long day. Unfortunately, Zuko knew he had to do it as soon as possible.

"I lied."

They stopped, glancing at him in confusion. Ruby was the first to ask what they were all thinking.

"You…lied? About what?"

"Well, not lied necessarily…just, left some things out."

They continued to look at him curiously, and he took a deep breath. Mentally, he prepared himself to try and spit out the truth. Or at least, a version of it.

"I come from…somewhere, really far from here. And, my name isn't exactly Zuko Lee."

A part of him was already regretting saying anything as their confused eyes wandered over him. Nevertheless, he had already started, and so he gave them a proper Fire Nation bow, his hands easily morphing into the flame of his homeland.

"My name, is Zuko. Son of Ursa and Fire Lord Ozai. Prince of the Fire Nation, and heir to the throne."


Iroh sighed as he slid his key into the door of his room. It had been a long day indeed for the former general. An extended day in the kitchen thanks to an illness keeping them understaffed, and then with Zuko's little escapades at the docks…

'And here I thought we had left the excitement behind.'

He chuckled to himself, accepting that some things would just never change. He palmed the Scroll that Zuko had bought, a frown coming to his face as he wondered where exactly his nephew had gotten the money for it from. No, some things weren't changing, even if they perhaps should.

There was a knock at his door, which surprised the old general, given the late time of the day. What surprised him even more, was who was standing at his door.

"Professor Ozpin? How may I help you?"

The green haired man smiled whimsically, before raising his empty mug with a glint in his eye. "I know it's rather late, but I was hoping for some of that delicious Jasmine tea you make."

Iroh didn't believe him for a moment, and Ozpin wasn't so foolish to think he did. But, it was at least a polite way of asking to come inside to speak, and no doubt partly true at least. He drank his own tea so much for a reason after all.

"Of course professor." He stepped aside and let him in. "I'm running a bit short on my Jasmine supply I'm afraid, however I've found some good Ginseng recently, would you like to try that instead?"

"Yes, please. I'm sure that any tea you make would be delicious."

Iroh chuckled good-naturedly, and moved over to his brand new kettle, a courtesy present from the kitchen staff. He heated the water in but a moment thanks to his firebending, and mentally prepared himself for the conversation to come.

"I was very surprised when Zuko told me he had discovered his aura." To his immense credit, Iroh almost didn't catch the wince in Ozpin's eyes as he passed him his drink. Iroh wasn't so matured that he didn't take pride in the skills he'd garnered over years of experience, only feeling the sadness of what he'd so foolishly used them for when he was younger.

"He was very lucky that he discovered it in time, he shouldn't have placed himself in that situation without knowing he had it first."

Ozpin paused as he raised the cup to his lips, acutely aware of scolding heat which had begun to radiate from the tea before him.

"I don't suppose there is a way he could have been assured of his aura's presence?"

Ozpin set the cup on the side, taking a brief moment to prepare his words before he spoke to the elderly gentleman. The elderly gentleman, whose tenseness was broadcasting an assured danger should Ozpin fail to explain himself.

"Had he asked, I would gladly have unlocked his aura for him."

"Despite my efforts, I do know Zuko well enough that he would not ask unless he had no other options. As do you."

Clearly, Iroh wasn't happy with the danger his nephew had found himself in, especially if it could have been reduced. Ozpin sighed in resignation, oddly feeling like a naughty child before his superior.

"I didn't know that he would find himself in such a situation, had I known, then I would not have tried to teach him a lesson." Iroh looked ready to scold him, before the professor continued to try and defend himself. "But you must remember Iroh, that this is a combat school. Zuko has entered this school to train himself to become a Huntsman, danger will come."

Iroh did understand that, truly he did. It didn't calm him much however when his nephew had been in danger. It was one of the few areas he struggled with his infamous patience.

"I have done my own research into your 'aura', and there is still one more thing you can do to help protect him."

Ozpin nodded, pleased that Iroh had at least somewhat accepted his apology. He valued Iroh, and Zuko too, it was a shame that such a situation had occurred. He stepped over, and placed his hand on the firebender's chest.

"For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all, infinite in distance and unbound by death. I release your soul, and by my shoulder protect thee."


AN: Hey hey, final chapter of volume 1 is done and extra long, you all like? The plan is at the moment that all the volume finales will be extra long, just to make it that little bit better. The plan now however, is where some of you might be a little disappointed. There's going to be a break until volume 2 is complete, it's in progress don't worry, and when that's done I'll start posting it at the same day and time as I have been doing. Until then, next week will be a special FAQ chapter in which I answer general questions I've received, any that are left as a review in this chapter, and also adding a few extra details about the changes that have been made to the plan of volume 1 from how it was originally done. So, leave me a question and I'll answer it next week!