What Happens Next (Slay The Princess/RWBY)

Time to face the Salem:


And you are going to... put the mother of all target on your own ass, giving some free hits to everyone in the room.

Flipping her the bird would've led to a raised eyebrow and a remark on breaking your *unearned* confidence, doing it with all your hands will have Salem think you are a mere god, and we have discussed how she reacts to those.

You think, not of if you want to betray Ozpin, as Salem no doubt expects, but about what you could do here. The original plan was to have you and Sable contribute as if you were humans, fighting alongside Ozpin and his coconspirators to prove that humanity is worthy of this victory.

It would be risky for them, is the thing. Yes, basically stealing their hard-earned work by reminding everyone that the game is rigged and you cannot lose would sting, but is their pride worth their life?

You thought you would be able to accept it, that your recent revelations when you obtained a voice among many would allow you to put your own desire for control aside and work with them instead of above them. In a way, it did work, the reason you are hesitating is not because you want to take control for its own sake, your old instincts coming back, no.

You are hesitating because you got attached, you do not want any of them to die. Be it Ozpin, Glynda, Qrow, even Winter and James. You want to make sure they see what the future will show, to bring changes by living instead of by dying.

"I am sorry, Ozpin…" You begin, prompting a smug smile from Salem. "I am changing the plan, nobody dies here."

Salem's smile only grows, she probably thinks you are about to sacrifice yourself or something just as stupid.

Instead, you flip her the bird, with your two normal arms first, then you add another hand, and another, and another, and another, a veritable forest of hands covers the battlefield, all of them radiating *I am a god, go on and take me if you can* to Salem.

If she wasn't already completely white, you expect she would've gone livid in rage, as is, she begins trembling with fury.

"YOU!" She exclaims in a voice distorted by her magic, beginning to prepare one spell or another in her hands, probably to destroy you.

But she is not the first to have reacted to your little display, behind her you can see Ozpin moving at full speed using his Semblance, doing the most he can with the distraction and approaching her sidekick that is too busy gawking at you to react.

By the time Salem is sending a veritable torrent of thunder your way, Ozpin is busy pummeling her follower with such fervor the man's aura break in seconds due to him not blocking in time.

"You couldn't resist taking center stage, couldn't you, Princess?" Sable tells, unleashing his own nature enough to make Salem snaps her neck to watch him.

With her attention completely taken by you two, she doesn't even see Qrow get propelled by a Glyph from Winter in her direction, leading to her begin cut in two by his scythe and her head being blown up by a shot from James.

"I would have preferred proving to myself that we could do it." Ozpin begins during the short respite this created. "But I guess you got close enough to us mortals it was never going to happen, wasn't it?" He finishes knowingly, making you blush and avert your eyes.

You then decide to bring out a haughty air and humph loudly, acting as if embarrassment wasn't your first reflex.

"I was only doing it because I thought of what face Dorothy would do if any of you died, this is not me caring for you, don't misunderstand." You proclaim, head high, one eye *discreetly* opened to look at his reaction. "She has no right to be this cute."

"Of course, of course." Ozpin nods. "Now," He turns to the quickly regenerating Salem. "Since you have generously decided to take on her attacks, can you please do so for long enough that we can capture her?"

"I will grandly accord you this favor." You answer, before getting in position with all your hands spread around the vicinity to cover any stray shot.

"I will of course follow my dear Princess' direction and protect all her frien…" At your mock glare, Sable changes mid-word. "…retainers."

"So that is your plan, Ozpin?" Salem hisses, having finally recovered enough to talk. "Call back the two Brothers behind my back under new forms and beg them to not destroy the world just so they can take care of me?"

You blink and feel for her impression of you, and indeed, she is now certain you are a disguised god of light, oblivious to the fact that your power doesn't even feel the same. You might feel offended for this if you didn't also know that her condition makes her very unlikely to react correctly to such a sudden change. For her unchanging mind, it makes more sense for the old gods to be back than for new ones to be here.

It probably doesn't help that you naturally tend more towards spreading light while your love tends to spread shadows, making the comparison even more pronounced if entirely coincidental.

"Salem…" Ozpin begins, shaking his head with grief. "I know full well the two brothers couldn't, wouldn't help, why would they take care of their own mess when they clearly sent me to do so instead?" He enters a fighting stance. "I hope we will be able to discuss this after, but for now, we have to fight you."

Contrary to what Salem seems to expect, he isn't the one to strike after that declaration, but James, punching her from the position he took while she was distracted.

Too reliant on her regeneration, Salem takes the hit at full force, springing back to try and punish him with fire. Except Ozpin does strike at this point, first redirecting her flaming hand with his cane before punching her himself with his free fist.

Salem decides to explode with electricity but you smother it in your closest hands and Winter launches one of her summons to bowl over the witch, losing it but allowing Qrow to scrap her with his scythe.

The fight continues going on that way, Salem gets hit, you or Sable stop her counterattack, and she gets hit some more, Ozpin and his friends so coordinated she would have lost several times if not for her regeneration.

She may be a powerful sorceress, but with her area of attacks neutralized, she cannot chase them off her long enough to power some more dangerous spells, allowing Ozpin to slowly create a dizzying array of runes around her with each pass, reinforcing it over and over.

The runes take effects, Salem moving slower and slower, she tries to destroy the array or move out of it but someone always stop her, she tries to kill her attackers but her magic is either strangled by your hands or hitting some invisible walls created by your love.

And then, she stops moving. You can feel her curse working overtime to stop the effect, Ozpin had told you that he normally could power such a spell for hours but expected minutes only against her. Judging by the rate of the reaction, it seems he was about right.

"I guess this is the part where you do your magic and get rid of her for good?" Qrow asks, panting from the recent efforts.

"The details are going to depend on Ozpin." You say, looking at the man in question. He is watching the frozen Salem with a thousand-year stare but react to your remark judging by the slight refocus of his eyes. "I will not choose for you this time, I think I took enough of your agencies with that little stunt to concentrate her attention on me."

"Do you think she can even recover from her current state?" Ozpin still asks you.

"Absolutely not, this is too risky, Ozpin, I know this was your wife but it seems the woman you loved disappeared a long time ago." James interjects.

"I... I want to hope, James. Can you give me this?" Ozpin sighs.

James begins to open his mouth, only for Winter to put her hand on his shoulder and shake her head. He closes it and reluctantly turns to you.

"So, is it even possible in the first place?" He asks instead of the negation he was probably thinking of.

"Can she recover? Yes." You begin, prompting Qrow to raise an eyebrow.

"But?" he asks.

"Will she recover is an altogether different problem. It would take a lot of time, and a very good therapist, one that preferably wouldn't make her begin raging at their mere sight." You quickly end before anyone can even propose putting the task on you. "I am sure you can see it, her soul was damaged by the amount of time it spent unchanging, there will be aftereffects."

"Ozpin, we do know some other people that can help fi you want." Glynda softly says. "But they would have to be informed of quite a lot about you. I know you do not like talking about the past, but I think anyone working with her would have to get context, and you are the best placed to give it."

"I know, Glynda, I did have time to think about it." Ozpin answer just as softly. His gaze turns more certain, his posture straightens. "Stella Panoply, Sable Vault, I am thankful for the help you gave us all in removing this threat. Now it is time to leave this long period of darkness behind us and enter a new age, one where everyone can truly hope for the future, including Salem."

You take the desire to cure her for what it is and begin your work, delicately removing the two arrays that her conflicting conditions created around her soul. You take on the one related to the dark brother first, as its very nature is antithesis to her keeping her own soul, then go for the other one.

For a mortal, both would have been impossible to even touch, the two brothers may be far below you but they are truly gods, and their inherent abilities are not the exact same as the magic that Ozpin or Salem wield. For you, it only requires some concentration, as their creators probably never even thought that another god would try to do something like this, nevermind a being above them. A logical conclusion but one you exploit relentlessly to make absolutely sure not to hurt the delicate woman's soul, weakened by years upon years upon years of being almost frozen in time then constantly attacked.

She can heal, you didn't lie to Ozpin, but she will require a lot of rest and care to recover.

Once your work is finished, you decide to go outside to make sure that she isn't aggravated by seeing you and Sable first thing when waking up, as well as to take some of your nerves on the local Grimm that are now moving as if they lost their goal in life.

Though, in a way, isn't it exactly what happened? Salem has been at the center of all major Grimm actions for so long all but the oldest ones would not know what to do with a mind that doesn't feel her presence, and the oldest and most intelligent are probably still younger than her by now, meaning the entire balance of the world has just shifted massively in favor of humans.

You have no doubts there will still be hordes for a long time, and that humanity will have to fight to be entirely rid of this shackle, but the first step has been taken.

"You know, when we first entered this world, all I wanted was to be with you. I never imagined we would end up being responsible for saving it." Sable says, sitting at your side after you take a pause from destroying the closest Grimm pools. "I mean, I am happy, there is a reason my very first companion in the construct was always the voice of the Hero, urging me to do the good thing, but…" He looks at the world, idly playing with your hair. "I am not very proactive, you know this much. Thank you for pushing us to do more than just surviving, but truly living." He kisses you on the head.

"You really think you wouldn't have acted if you had been alone? You silly bird, you may not like to take the first step, but you absolutely know how to dance once it has been taken. You would have done fine. Plus, if I had been alone I am sure I would have spent so much time changing places and faces that I doubt I would have learned anything beyond the shallowest impressions. Thank you for anchoring us enough we were able to experience a true life and not a surface one." You answer just as sincerely as him.

"I love you, Princess." Sable finally says.

"And I love you too, Little Bird." You echo.

You stay like that, hugging each other and looking at the horizon for some long minutes, taking the moment.

Then you finally break the comfortable silence with a question that has been on your mind for a long time:

"Do you think the world is ready to see us in truth? Do you think it will ever be? We have both learned so much and I am sure I can refrain from acting like the narcissist I was at the very beginning, but can we find a place as ourselves and not as the masks we wear?"

"Wouldn't you be the best placed to know this, my dear?" Sable affirms as if he was declaring that the sky was blue or that you were multitudes. "I have my ideas, but I have long accepted the fact that I prefer being behind you rather than in front." His smile grows absolutely unashamed at his next words. "No matter the activity." He moves his eyebrows up and down a little, then recover his seriousness and continue. "I think we can try, but the decision is yours, do you want to reveal yourself to the world one day?"

Well, do you?

[] Yes and you will proclaim yourself queen of the world right now.
What did we say about being a bad girl, Apotheosis? To the corner with you.

[] Yes, but not today, you will let humanity grow before you do so.

[] Yes, but not everyone, you want to be true to all that you consider friends, but do not want the masses to know, be able to enjoy some anonymity.

[] No, you do not think they will ever all be able to see you in your entirety, but you can make exceptions for those you trust.

[] No, and you think that those that know right now are more than enough people, you will probably tell others at some points, but you will continue to hide otherwise.
[] No and you do not think you will tell anyone else ever again.
We are far past the point these options were even a possibility.

This will be the last vote, next update will be the epilogue.

The difference between the second and third options is one of mentality, not much actions, one hope it can change, the other thinks it can't.

A/N:

Dorothy may have sent a number of pictures of her making puppy dog eyes to Stella during the trip with the caption *please protect Daddy*.

That's Stella's excuse, at least.

On Ozpin having a timestop spell: I once read a remark that it was a pity all magic was used for in RWBY was make elemental explosions, even worse when you think about the fact that Dust already allows for that.

So here is some more esoteric usage to spice things up a little.