Warning: I do not own RWBY, that belongs to Oum & Rooster Teeth
Bold: other speaking
Bold: other thinking
Hi: normal thinking
Hi: normal speaking
Reviews:
Connor Worsnop: Woops, that is an error I have to fix later. Also knowing this world Ozpin that sadly may be a thing.
Eternity456: Thanks, and again mind you that all they know of Salem is that she is the queen of the grimm and has made their lives miserable up to this point. As for the training thing I think this chapter explains that for you. And thanks for the support.
Luine Mercury LWG: Poor Oscar should he be brought in.
If you guys like the chapter then leave a like and review while your at it (please)
MISTRAL, OUTSIDE OF THE KINGDOM ,UNKNOWN AREA
"Alright, we need to unlock your aura" said Ruby.
"Right now?" Jaune asked.
"Yeah, this is a great time to do it. Who knows how long till we reach Atlas, besides, with Salem's goons coming after us giving you guys aura would do good. I bet they'll all be so surprised when you whip out your aura."
"I agree with Ruby, aura is an extremely useful tool for civilians and allows us to not worry so much for your health" Weiss agreed. "And I wonder how magic and Aura will react with each other?"
"Well, you go make a good point Ruby" Pyrrha admitted. After that battle with Salem there was no doubt she would now double her effort in capturing them. Aura was an edge they couldn't dismiss.
"But don't we need training to use aura?" Ren pointed out.
"Well yeah but it's not hard it's really just practice and lots of it. The big thing is keeping your aura up, it's not something that is up all the time you have to manually keep it on. But don't worry, after a while it becomes second nature" Ruby assured them.
"Anything else we need to worry about?" Jaune asked.
"I mean you do need to eat more since aura burns through calories faster. And outside of that ... not really much from that" she said.
"I see, well I'm in" said Jaune.
xxx Some Time Later xxx
His aura was bright. Looking at his body the white light was disappearing as he felt his soul for the first time. Looking at his siblings they all seemed at awe with Aura following freely.
The surge of raw energy felt amazing he felt like he could do anything at the moment, heck even running from here to the nearest town suddenly felt possible. Of course this energy high quickly wore as the energy began to recede back.
"Um hey Ruby, I think something is wrong with my aura. It's um kinda of disappearing" said Jaune, panicking a little bit.
"Oh that? Just focus on your aura and it will come back" she waved "Still, how does it feel?"
"It's ... it's amazing Ruby. I feel like I could do anything right now."
"Well don't think you can Jaune" Yang pipped up "That's just the energy rush, it will go away in a few minutes. Like Ruby said you need to call on your aura manually, just think about that energy rush you just experienced and it all come to you."
"Right ... just call your aura again Jaune" he took a deep breath as he focused on his aura. His brows furrowed as he tired to reach further, yet all he could find was his magic.
"I ... I don't feel my aura, I can't reach for it" he panic even more a bit. Both Yang and Ruby giggled at his worry.
"Ah don't worry to much lady killer. You're not going to pull your aura out in the first day, like Ruby said, it takes time and training. Just practice pulling it out when we continue later, you have it in no-"
"I think got it" Pyrrha called out
"-time, excuse me?" Yang walked over Pyrrha "What did you say?"
"I said that I think I got it down. The whole bringing out your aura" Pyrrha said.
"Um Pyrrha I don't think that is possible. You can't just pull aura out like that, especially when it's your first time" the blonde objected.
"Well how do you explain this?" a red glow covered Pyrrha. It was aura, the huntresses could easily see it. They were shocked to see Pyrrha already knowing how to pull her aura; That was crazy, nobody can do that on their first try.
"That, that shouldn't be possible. I never heard of anyone being able to summon their aura so easily" Weiss wondered.
"Not even in the Fang I've seen this either" Blake agreed.
"It's not to hard, I mean it kinda feels like magic but more ... sterner? I don't really know what to say, it just feels tougher then magic but nothing I can't do" she said back.
"And your a hundred percent ok?"
"I kinda feel a bit tired and it's not really easy, but I can do it."
"Aw man that's not fair, why can Pyrrha pull her aura out so easily?" Nora complained.
"Well it's not normal Nora. I never heard of someone being able pull out their aura so quickly, it's unheard of" Weiss stated
"Wait Pyrrha is ok, right?"
"I don't think it's dangerous in any way just worrying to say the least. I'm sure your fine Pyrrha, just try to practice more when you have the chance. And that goes for you all as well" the heiress replied.
"So, what can we do with aura anyway? I mean dad always told us that aura can boost your physical abilities but is there anything else that we should know?" Ren asked.
"Well aura can be used for special attacks that rely on using aura, but the important thing is dust. By pushing aura into dust you can supercharge it and have it release all of it's energy at once" said Weiss.
Pulling out a vial of dust she sprinkled a tiny bit on her fingers as she pushed her aura into it. The dust started to glow before the tip of her finger was covered in snow.
"As you can see aura can augment dust and make it stronger, but the cost is that it makes it more violate; Now you can hold the aura in dust for a time but the longer you do the more dangerous it becomes."
"I see, so what else can aura do?"
"Hm ... well I have heard from my sister some hunters can project their aura outward and use that as a weapon" said Ruby.
"Oh yeah I heard of that to. Uncle Qrow use to tell me and Ruby about that, last time I heard it's a pain to actually do" Yang spoke up.
"Indeed, you need years of training to even begin doing it as well as large enough aura reserves to begin with. It has it's benefits but I would not try to do it at the moment, we neither have the time nor skill to show you" Weiss explained.
"Well what about weapons, can we learn how to fight with swords yet?" Jaune raised.
"... I guess we can start now ..."
xxx
"Nora ..." Weiss twitched her eyebrows.
"Yes?" she asked, confused why the heiress was so angry.
"We're getting you a different weapon" she stated.
"What! No way, why can't I have my hammer. That's unfair!?" she waved the magically formed hammer in the air. The lighting sparked out angrily at Weiss statement.
"Nora, I will buy you a new weapon if just stop. Please Nora, there's not much ground even left" she pointed to dozens of craters littered across the ground.
"..."
"I'll also buy your favorite food if you stop" Weiss added.
"... Fine, but you better keep you end of the bargain" Nora conceded. She waved her magical hammer away, Weiss sighed as it dispersed.
"So now your resorting to bribing your way out Weiss, shame for shame" Yang lightly chided, walking up the heiress.
"Quite you, how was I suppose to know Nora was so crazy with a hammer" she snapped at the blonde "Still, at least she has something to work with not so much with the rest ... can't say for the rest"
Yang nodded, as civilians they had expected them to have no knowledge about using weapons. Well they were right, just not how much; To simply put it they were bad ... real bad. It was a miracle alone that they knew how to hold a sword properly.
"I don't know about that Weiss, I mean they know how to use the a sword ... well the part about putting sharp end into the enemy. About skills ... well everyone outside of Pyrrha, whose a goddamn prodigy, could use some work a lot of work."
The heiress nodded. She and rest had discussed who would train who and after much discussion they decided that they would shift around to their needs. It wasn't the best and the training wasn't exactly top tier but hopefully by the end of their journey they would know how to defend themselves, which was all they asked for.
"And what about there well ... you know, other abilities" asked Yang.
Their grimm abilities. That was a ... touchy subject to say the least, it was clear that none of them liked to even talk about and that was fair.
Still, it was an issue that none of the girls really knew how to deal with. From what they understood their curse gave them increased magic and physical abilities at the cost of their mental control.
From what Pyrrha had told them the headmaster had forced the- Pyrrha, to transform and try to maintain control as long as she could. Almost like building up a mental resistance. At the moment their best bet is to continue where Ozpin left off.
Only if Pyrrha allowed it.
Ever since their battle with Salem she's refused every attempt and none of them wanted to push the subject either. Whatever happened back their shocked Pyrrha to her core, and badly at that.
"I will concede their Yang. Still, we can focus on training on the road; We should be close to the town Raven told us" said Weiss.
"Yeah, I know"
xxx A Few Hours Later xxx
The eight man party arrived to the town as the last bits of sunlight finally died down. It was a rather well place, certainly had it's fair of buildings as they saw a few carts entering the front gates.
The eight grabbed a night at a local inn and when the morning came they began looking for this Maria person.
And after a few minutes resulted them in waiting in front of a slightly run down door. It Didn't help that the neighborhood itself looked like it had a few bad apples in it too.
...
"So this is where this Maria person lives? Seems kind of ... sketchy" said Nora as she eyed the place.
"Well this is where she is suppose to live, I mean I don't see why Raven would lie to us about this" said Ruby.
"Still, is this Maria even worth it? I mean we should be heading out to Atlas, not look for a person that we have no idea of" stated Weiss "This just doesn't seem like a good idea Ruby, special eyes or not."
"Come Weiss, we should at least try. Raven clearly thought my eyes were special or something. I say we should see this, and if it isn't good we can always leave" Ruby urged.
...
Weiss grumbled but did not argue with the reaper. Seeing that neither Weiss or the rest were going to argue she knocked at the door.
...
She tired again
...
Maybe one more try was needed
...
...
"Uh Ruby, I don't think this Maria is at home" Pyrrha spoke.
"Come on please don't tell me so. I really don't want it to be true" Ruby begged, knocking on the door faster.
"Ruby, I don't there is anyone the-"
The door slammed opened, in front of the door was small women wearing blue furred robes. Her most prevalent feature was her cybernetic eyes as they looked quite annoyed.
"What!? Seesh can an old lady have some peace and quiet. What do you eight want, I don't want any of your cookies ... unless their cashews ... are they cashews?" The old women demanded.
"Um ... no, we're looking for a Maria Calavera" said Ruby.
"Well your looking at her, what do you want?" said Maria.
"Oh, um we were told to come here. A ... friend of ours said you can help us with something."
...
"Well what is it? Your period or something kiddo, because if it is then your looking at the wrong person" the old lady ignored the spluttering and surprised look she was getting.
"What no!? No why would even think about that!?" Ruby gasped "We came here because your know something about my eyes."
"Your eyes?"
Ruby learned down and pointed to her eyes. A few seconds passed before Maria's eyes widen, she quickly grabbed the young girls chin and brought it closer before letting go.
"Well shit, you have sliver eyes. And here I thought I would never ..."
"Wait you know about my eyes?" Ruby questioned. Maria's lips curled as her body tensed. A few moments later Maria further opened the door and walked back in.
"... Well what are you all waiting for? Come on in and close the door on the way, I don't want a draft in my house!" the eight of them looked at each other before shrugging their shoulders.
They entered into the house as they reached the living room. It was rather quite homey, around the place were different colored carpets with a few synthetic grimm trophies lying about. On top of it were dozens of different little trinkets scattered across.
"Now don't go touching anything here, some of those things are one of a kind and I rather not lose anymore reminders of my youth" Maria warned "To be honest I never thought I'll ever see another sliver eyes again."
"So what's so special about my little sisters eyes? I mean sure there sliver and all but that's just eye color" Yang asked, eyeing a portrait with what seemed to be an younger Maria.
"A lot more then you know but I don't blame you for not knowing, been a long time since I seen another one" Maria sat on her personal chair as everyone else gathered around her.
"So what's so important about her eyes?"
"Simple, your a sliver eyed warrior" she explained.
...
"I'm sorry?"
"You heard me girl. Your a sliver eyed warrior, like in the old legends. People who could destroy grimm with but a glance" Maria explained "They were a real power house in the ancient days ... well until they nearly all died, seemed like one of your parents were a sliver eyes themselves."
"Sliver what now? I'm sorry but I find this highly unlikely. I've never heard of a sliver eyed warrior in my life, besides, how can Ruby's eyes destroy grimm?" Weiss responded after a few seconds.
"Because it's in her eyes snow cone. Her eyes are magical" Maria ignored the glare sent by Weiss.
Around her everyone tensed up at the word of magic, Ruby looked to Jaune who was surprised by the older women's statement. He saw Ruby staring at him and shook his head, clearly confused like she was.
"How do you know her eyes are magical, do you have any proof?" Ren asked.
"Of course I have proof, your looking at it" she pointed to herself "I was sliver eyed warrior myself ... well until I lost my eyes ... yeah that sucked."
"You had sliver eyes to?" Ruby nearly whispered.
"Yep and I figured since you have it too I'll teach you a bit. Also, what's with the tension in you all got an issue or something?" she asked, looking at the eight.
"Uh no of course not, we're uh ... just surprised that's all ... so um can you show us proof that Ruby's eyes are magical?" Nora switched the topic of discussion, hoping that she would not pray further.
Maria narrowed her eyes, right before returning to normal "Well that's going to be a slight issue. If I'm going to show you how to use your eyes then we're going to have leave the town. It'll only work with Grimm kid."
"I see, well can you tell us more about my sliver eyes and their powers?" Ruby asked.
As Maria agreed Pyrrha looked at the conversation as everyone else tried to find more about the sliver eyes and their relation to magic. Like everyone else she to was interested.
Of course if her headache stopped.
The moment Maria talked about the sliver eyes she had been having a headache and it was not getting better by the second. She tried to use magic to sooth it but all it did was make it worse, she worried when it would become unbearable for her.
"Um, excuse me ma'am. Can I use your bathroom for a moment?" Pyrrha asked.
"Last room to the left" she called out. The girl nodded as she went to the bathroom.
xxx
Locking the door Pyrrha massaged her forehead. Nothing she did made it better.
"Come on, why are not stopping" she whispered to herself. Using her magic she easily found the medicine cabinet inside, ignoring her guilt she found some headache medicine and took a few pills.
...
...
...
"Kill her"
"What! Who said that?" Pyrrha cried out. Her eyes darted around where the voice came from.
...
"Kill her ... take her eyes"
"Who, Who are you? Kill who?"
"... Them ... KiLl ... THEM! Their EyEs MUST die"
"What!? No, I will not kill anyone besides, who are you an-GASP" Pyrrha's eyes widen in horror at her arms. Gone was her tanned skin and it's place was pale white and black veins.
It was a grimm arm, her grimm arm.
"You KnOw WHAT we aRe PYRRHA, have YoU FORGOTTEN you PrOmIsE NOW?"
And like that, memories from days ago rushed back in vivid detail. Salem, her magic nearly consuming her, ... her promise. On that day she promised to accept it, her grimm form.
"I ... I ..." she had no words.
The darkness within her arm shot up to her face as she momentary lost sight and control of the left side of her face. It returned quickly back, only that everything was tinted red on the left side and it felt more like she was watching someone use half her face.
Both grimm and normal eyes looked at the mirror, it looked like her body was at war with itself. She tired to fight back for her arm but it would not budge.
"You STiLl DENY us PyRrHa, why? wE HAVE accepted YoU YET you PuSh us? WHY."
"... I didn't do it by choice. I reject you, I never accept you" she spat
"Why/wHy/WHY"
"Why should I tell you, you should know it by now. I never wanted you or this power, I won't lose myself to you I won't dammit."
...
"You ArE A FOOL young PyRrHa, kill ThE SLIVER eyes AnD BE done WiTh IT"
"Never, I never listen to you"
Her body shuddered as she both saw and felt the grimm powers spared across her face she tried to fight it off. In her mind the sheer anger from the curse was a like a hot spike ramming itself into her skull, everything became woozy for her as started stumble a bit.
As she tried to channel her magic she started to-
"Hey Pyrrha, you ok in there" Yang's voice called out.
And like that the grimm like features receded quickly, returning her features back to normal. But more importantly her control of her body.
"Y-Yeah, I'm fine" she said back.
"Well hurry up, Ruby needs to use the bathroom. I told to not drink to much cranberry juice and see what happens next" said Yang as Ruby squeaked further away.
"Alright ... alright" her eyes darted back to the mirror one more time. And she saw her own green eyes ... and in her eyes for split second she black and red.
xxx The Next Day xxx
It was bright and early as RWBY/JNPR walked across the forest with Maria in the lead. They had discussed in length whether or not to follow the women and after much arguing they decided to follow the women.
But more importantly about her claims of sliver eyes. The siblings had pushed their magic into Ruby's eyes to see if what Maria said was true. And she was, they could feel magic in her eyes. But it was faint and seemed more ... asleep.
"So um, how long before we reach this place your talking about?" Yang yawned, it was still earlier in the morning dammit.
"Well where here if you want to know" said Maria.
"Looks no different to the rest of the forest"
"With that attitude it doesn't. The reason we're here is to get some grimm. Can't show you the girls's sliver eyes without some Grimm" Maria explained.
"So you want us to get you grimm?" Blake asked.
"No, I want you to get pissed off. Let the grimm come to us, better that way and if things go wrong we stay in a group" she said.
None of the girls or boys liked the women's answer, but at the moment they didn't have much choice. Having grimm come to them might get Salem's attention, yet at the same time they were rather close to the city so there shouldn't be any strong grimm.
"Are you sure that we can't ... I don't know do some other then having grimm come after us?"
"What, you eight scared or something?" Maria teased.
"Um no, but I think that-" anything else Blake wanted to say was drowned out by the howl a beowolf.
"Alright kid, best time to learn your powers" Maria nudged over to Ruby.
"Wait, what am I suppose to do. You never told how my eyes work!?" she objected
"It's real simple kid, just think happy thoughts"
"Wha-" Ruby had to dodge out of the way of the incoming attack.
"Happy thought kid, Happy thoughts!" Maria yelled. Ruby just grunted.
The grimm was young, it threw itself to Ruby without even thinking. For Ruby dodging it was easy but getting the whole happy thoughts was the annoying part. How in the world was she suppose to think happy thought when she not trying to get skewered?
Ducking under a swipe she kicked the grimm in the chest.
"Happy thoughts, happy thoughts Ruby" taking a deep breath she remembered the days with her mother. How she always had a tray of warm cookies with her and simile to greet her. She remembered all the times that when things got hard her father had given her his support. She also remembered the days when they weren't hunted down and enjoyed her schools days with her teammates/friends.
For a brief moment she felt her eyes getting ... itchy? The itch was only getting stronger as she thought more of her past, only until she rubbed her eyes and the feeling past.
"No don't do that, stop that kid don't go rub your eyes like that!" Maria yelled out.
"What do you mean, Ruby was just wiping her eyes?" Weiss asked.
"No snowflake she was starting to tap into her power" Maria replied.
"Wait for real!?" said Yang.
"Of course, I saw here eyes flare up for a second. It was hint of sliver but it was there" Maria pointed out. "She needs to concentrate of else she isn't going unlock her powers."
The girls nudged at the siblings for answers. They all could only shrug, they dared not try to extend their powers. And with such little known about this sliver eyed power caution was preferable.
"Well if that's the case ... Ruby! Do what she said!" Yang yelled out.
All seven of them saw her annoyed face as she jumped over another swipe, the beowolf itself was looking more tired too. Once again Ruby concentrated on those happy feelings as a minutes later that itchy feeling returned. This time she tried to ignore it.
...
"Hey, do you guys see that?" Nora pointed out, her eyes narrowing.
"What? What did you see?" Yang asked.
"Her eyes ... I think there ... glowing?" she pointed to Ruby's eyes as they were indeed glowing lightly, almost like a small flame within them.
As they were about speak a cry game out of Ruby, a brief shower of sliver erupted from her eyes. The grimm in front howled in pain as it began withering on that floor in agony. It's own chest almost looked ... stone or at least stone like.
"Holy shit, Ruby are you ok!?" Yang rushed over to Ruby. The young girl was on the ground covering her eyes, a low but painful moan coming out of her mouth.
"What the hell is this old bat! What did you do to my sister" Yang demanded to know.
"Oh don't get so worried, it's just her first time that's all. Her eyes are just adjusting from using their power for the first time, of course it's going to be painful at first. Besides, any of looked at the grimm yet?"
They turned to the grimm as they saw barely getting up. But what truly shocked them was it's chest, it was stone. The fur and flesh now was stone as it the grimm itself wheezed in pain as it tired to move it's chest in vain.
A quick jab from Weiss's weapon ended it's life before it could attack. And as it started to disappear the petrified parts remained.
...
...
"Kill/HeR/PYRRHA, you/NeEd/TO kill/HeR!" the voice within Pyrrha's mind roared. She pushed the voices back as best she can. "Is that ... the power of the sliver eyes?"
"Yep, told you all not to underestimate me. See I know what I'm talking about" Maria boosted "The power of the sliver eyes is not something you should underestimate kids."
"You forget part the pain in eyes part" Ruby weakly added.
"Bah, use it enough times and it'll stop hurting. This is your first time, I was like you back in my youth but with practice it'll become second nature to you" Maria assured the girl.
"How long does she need to practice with it?" Weiss questioned. The old women shrugged her shoulders.
"I have no idea. Depends on the person, I know for my dad it took years for him. Though it only took months for me, so ... up to how much Ruby here is willing to put in" Maria answered.
"Well what now, I mean yeah we believe what your saying ... but we kinda have to go to other places as well" Nora pipped up.
"Well I could always go with you all" she offered
...
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me. It's been a while since I left this place but I think it would be a good idea. I can finally stretch my legs and not get fat on sofa all day." she said cheerfully "Besides, you'll need all the help with your sliver eyes. There's a lot more to them then you realize kid and I figured I help you out."
"Um ... can we just ... talk about it later ... eyes still hurt" Ruby moaned.
"Oh yeah, that."
xxx
"Are we actually going to take that old lady?" Nora asked. All of them were in the local inn as they rested for the day "Don't get me wrong she's really helpful and all ... but is it smart to bring her with Salem coming after us?"
"I have to agree with Nora, it is a risky choice to include her. What do we even do if she learns about Salem, how do we explain that to her?" Weiss agreed.
"We'll figured it out on the way. If we need to ... we'll tell her about Salem, but only if there is no other choice" Ruby said "Come on Weiss, we can't let Maria go. I barely understand these new powers and Maria is only one who can help us Weiss."
"I still hold my opinion. What about you all?"
"I'm with Ruby, we need to know more about her eyes and if the old lady can explain that I'm all in for it" Yang stated. Siding with her younger sister on the subject.
"I ... can see the reason for it. I admit I am interested in what this sliver eyes can offer to us" Ren agreed after a little bit.
"Mm, sounds pretty risky" Nora said.
"Blake?" ruby asked. The cat faunus shrugged her shoulders.
"Well what about Pyrrha?"
"In the bathroom" said Jaune.
"Well I'm saying that we're taking her with us. I think she could be real useful for us till we reach Atlas" Ruby decided. She could see that not everyone was not on board with it.
"Look, I know this sounds like a bad idea but Maria can help us. With theses sliver eyes we may actually stand a chance against even Salem!"
"And what if Salem has already faced sliver eyed warriors before?" Weiss brought up "She's been alive for dust knows how long, I think it is safe to say that she would know about your powers Ruby. For all we know she may already have a counter or something."
"Or maybe she's hunted them down" Blake added.
...
"Well, my decision still stands" said Ruby after sometime.
xxx With Pyrrha xxx
"You MisSeD YOUR chance!" Red eyes glared back at her. Half her body was once more turned into her grimm form. The minute they had gotten back to the inn the thing had begun pounding at her mind, screaming at her to end Ruby's life or at least rip out her eyes.
"I'm not going listen to you, whatever you are" she spat back "Your just scared aren't you? Sacred of a pair of eyes that end your life."
...
"she WiLl KILL both Of US pyrrha dO NOT think ThAt YOU will bE SPARED. you JoiNeD WITH us ... YoU WILL die ToO" the thing replied back.
That made Pyrrha paused for a moment. What the thing spoke of wasn't wrong, she had grimm blood inside of her and the chance that Ruby's eyes could harm her ... well they were quite high.
"It ... It doesn't matter, I am not killing my friends just because you demand so. You do not control me."
"you ArE A fool ThEn. WE are OnE BEING pyrrha, No MATTER what you ThInK ... I wish To KEEP us SaFe TO keep uS TOGETHER"
"Well I never asked to be part of you, I never asked any of this. All you have done in my life has made gone crazy and attack everyone I love; Now your asking me to kill my closest friends!? No, I don't care what I said back then but I reject you and everything that you are and I won't let destroy me life"
...
...
...
"run, HiDe, COWER ... but We WILL become OnE, it iS INEVITABLE" the grimm markings receded, leaving Pyrrha alone as the monsters last words echoed in her head.
