“Watch out, Fox!” Nolan warned. “It’s—”

Nolan stopped midsentence.

“Very funny,” Fox said. His head hurt and it was draining his own Aura to use his Semblance to broadcast constantly to the Beacon Brigade.

“Nolan?”

Fox turned in a circle. He already sensed one of the Crown’s people behind him, but it wasn’t until he turned that he could see her vague shape. Her Aura was distorted, but he knew who she was when she spoke.

“Hey, Fox,” Umber said.

“Is Nolan okay?” Fox sensed his friend’s Aura, but Nolan wasn’t moving.

“He just can’t believe his eyes,” Umber said.

“She’s frozen me somehow,” Nolan sent.

“Oh yeah, she can freeze people when she makes eye contact,” Neptune sent.

Fox grinned. “That won’t be a problem for me.”

Fox and Umber circled each other. Good. With her eyes on him, Nolan was free from her paralyzing gaze.

“Thanks,” Nolan said. “Watch out!”

“Can you be more—”

Oh. Umber had shot one of her whips toward him and it felt like she was wrapping him up like a spider encases its prey in webbing. Umber almost never used her weapons in a fight—she didn’t need to with such a killer Semblance. Fox extended his tonfa and sliced through one of the whips. He reached out for the other, missed, then grabbed it. And he pulled, sending Umber spinning.

- RWBY: Before the Dawn, Chapter 20