@talefatesâ / @swanstheoryâ
there was a time oscar feared his destiny. jinnâs vision told him of a time where he will leave behind the person he was for a purpose far greater. he fought to keep his identity. he implored his father if he would still be an ironwood. he pleaded with his mother to still see him as her son. but thatâs all gone now. being an ironwood is a pride that dissolves between his fingers. the alert naming him as a wanted criminal was on the first part.
divide them.  now the ace operatives are defeated.  tear them apart.  clover is dead, violently taken from them.  sever their trust.  tyrian is nowhere to be found.  it will strangle their hearts.  everything has fallen apart because of general james ironwood.
he comes to james not as oscar ironwood but as the next oz. with everything burning, everything dying, all he has is the destiny he has feared. all his tears have been cried. the grief has been spent. the spark of light has been blown out. in its place is the ignition of something much colder, searing his heart with pain that travels through every inch of his body. there might as well be lightning in his veins. it is this power that sparks his eyes with green that allows oscar to reach his father.
doors fly off their hinges as oscar approaches the general. long memory is held by his side, swinging as the teen walks forward with purpose.  â you need to be stopped. â cane is thrust forward at the metal transmitter on fatherâs forehead. all the knowledge of how the cybernetics work, all the wonder in the form of careful examination and many, many questions is now used against james. Â
â team rwby beat the ace ops. â there is not much james can do with one hand still in a sling -- oscar takes advantage of that. the strength and durability of long memory bends metal with precision blows. no one could do such a feat without intimate knowledge of the technology. forgive him, mother, for using his curiosity as a weapon.  â clover was killed, dad. he was killed. â he is like a white dwarf, burning coldly and impossible to touch. there is a beast inside of him, all rage and pain and simply waiting for the moment to be released for its cage. a black swan.
â itâs all your fault! â wings rise. magic billows to the surface. it is a part of him. it is an extension of his body. it is an extension of his will to protect humanity. hazel eyes hold no more warmth. they are like emeralds; cold, hard jewels. he must stop his father. he must stop him from reaching the vault. and sight trains on his legs. â you arenât protecting anyone anymore! youâre killing them! â he surges forward with praxic fury. body gives in to instinct, to muscle memory gained for thousands of years of fighting for what is right.Â
if oz is fated to be the one to make the mistakes, to do the worst thing for the right reason, then oscar will take his place as one of the many lives in this infinite cycle.  â it ends here! â weapon connects with the intention of only subduing the mechanical leg. but there is more. there is always more where matters of this infinite soul are concerned. magic. it is connected to his heart, to his desires and his will. it screams the teachings of his mother: love fiercely. fight to protect the love in your heart and the love around you.
and with the thrust of the cane comes the magic. lightning, stronger than any refined dust, flashes through the corridor and splits his vision. its unfathomable might strikes the generalâs leg as if it were cutting through the clouds. it slashes through metal and wire, severing limb from body with ease. thunder claps in oscarâs ears, sending them ringing. his entire body is thrumming from the after shock of the thunderclap and flash, from the mental shock of realizing what he had just done.
the floor is singed behind the general and the reek of burnt metal hits his nose with nauseating force. what has he done? what as he done!?  hope will be smothered. theyâll turn on each other.  long memory clatters to the ground as the young ironwood stumbles back. the world teeters on its side before knees buckle and oscar falls flat on his behind, staring at his father and the horror he has just committed.Â