Amplify (A RWBY Story)

Weeks have passed since Ryder returned to Vale and during that time, he's been training to hopefully evolve his Semblance and push his magic to new heights. But during that time, his mind has just been consumed by his need to locate the Dragon Balls. He did spend some of his time searching around Vale for the Dragon Balls in-between training sessions. He didn't search for very long though as he went back to training.

He kept trying to push his Semblance past 10X but for some reason he couldn't. Just like before, he thinks there is some kind of inhibitor. He believes this because his Semblance is quite powerful so it must have inhibitors to prevent too much power from flowing at once. Maybe his Aura cannot handle that much power yet. So, he'll focus on his Magic for now until he can figure out how to lift that inhibitor if there even is one. 

There are some magic techniques he wants to develop such as Teleportation, Telepathic communication and maybe some other Dragon Ball techniques. What? He was able to replicate the Final Flash so why not? He was currently in the Emerald Forest all alone. Kairos was off helping Glynda, while Tai and Yang are still in patch. When a few Grimm came along to interrupt his training he kindly got rid of them. The first thing he attempted was teleportation and let's say it didn't end well.

He ended up high in the sky and then at the bottom of a lake before popping up in the city. So safe to say he'll need to put that on pause or practice with it a lot so that doesn't happen again. So now he was trying to figure out how to use telepathy to speak to people through their minds. He figures this would aid him in battle whenever he's working with someone so they can execute plans without the enemy hearing their conversation. 

So, there he was in the Emerald Forest, at the same ruins where He, Kairos, Team RWBY and JNPR found the relics for initiation at the start of their Beacon days. There were currently no relics in the ruins, but the memory of initiation came to his mind. He smiled to himself as this was the day he met his other friends. But his smile fades as he thinks about Pyrrha. She was one of his closest friends and she's gone.

She died during the Fall of Beacon, and he could've saved her if he wasn't being held back by that Greater Warden. Maybe if he wasn't such a pacifist, he could've defeated the Greater Warden sooner and went to save Pyrrha. The things he could've done if he wasn't so damn weak and so much of a pacifist flow into his mind. He could've prevented many deaths, he could've saved Pyrrha and he probably could've saved Ozpin, his trainer in magic. 

He failed in more ways than one that day and it angers him. But he cannot let his anger get control of him. So, he forces himself to calm down. He needs to focus on his training. Once he calms down, he sits down on the ground and begins to meditate to focus his mind. Then he hits a snag. How the hell does he do this? He decides to just do some trial and error, not the best strategy but it's all he's got. Eventually he feels something in his head, almost like something was touching his head. So, he decided to talk. 

{Uh, hello?} Ryder said within his mind. 

(For future reference, {this} means talking with telepathy or inside the mind) 

{What? Ryder?} A Voice responded. 

He recognized the voice. It was Ironwood! Somehow, he managed to reach Ironwood through telepathy. A smile came to Ryder's face. 

{Haha! it worked!} Ryder cheered within his mind. 

{What's going on? How are you talking to me right now?} Ironwood asks. 

{I'm using telepathy.} Ryder answers. {I'm currently training right now and decided to see If I could use telepathy.} 

{I see.} Ironwood acknowledges. {How is your search for the Dragon Balls going?} 

{Great. I have four Dragon Balls now and only need three more.} Ryder answered. 

{that's great news!} Ironwood said, clearly glad to hear it. {And you're training in Magic?} 

{Coming along wonderfully. Though, I'm still struggling with trying to learn Teleportation.} Ryder answered. 

{Take your time. Ozpin wouldn't want you to rush your growth.} Ironwood said. {But keep practicing with Teleportation.} 

{Will do.} Ryder said. 

Ryder then hears someone approaching him. 

{Someone's coming, I gotta go.} Ryder said. 

Ryder then severed the connection and opened his eyes. He pushed himself off the ground and turned around to see Tai walking towards him. 

"Glynda said I could find you here." Tai said. 

Tai sees the ruins as he reached Ryder's location. He thought back fondly to his Beacon days as he crossed his arms. 

"Man, this place brings back memories." Tai said. 

"Was your initiation similar to ours?" Ryder asked. 

"I'd imagine so. We had to find relics in ruins just like this while fighting through all kinds of Grimm." Tai explains. "Those were the days." 

Ryder smiled a little and looked at the ruins with Tai. Ryder then looked at Tai. 

"Needed something?" Ryder asks. 

"Just wanted to check up on you." Tai said, his face turned to the ruins. 

"I'm fine, Tai." Ryder stated. 

"Are you?" Tai looked at him. "I can tell you're not" 

Ryder hesitated. He looked away from Tai, a look of shame on his face. Tai saw this and grew concerned. Over the time he's known Ryder, he's come to see him as somewhat of a son. Sure, he has his own family back on Earth, but Tai cannot help but shake the way he looks at Ryder. The way a father would. Tai waited for Ryder to speak but got nothing. He sighs softly. 

"If you don't wish to talk about it, that's alright. But you shouldn't bottle up emotions." Tai said, gently. "All it'll do is hurt you in the long run." 

Ryder remained silent. Tai turns. 

"I'll let you go back to what you were doing." Tai said. 

Tai then walks away, leaving Ryder alone. Ryder just couldn't bring himself to reveal that he killed someone. He just couldn't do it. But he reminds himself, he must find all the Dragon Balls to avoid any further tragedy from happening again. No matter the cost.