Chapter 35
"Hiyaaa!" Ruby exclaimed as she unleashed a flurry of blows. Her father grunted as he blocked her fists, a smile on his face.
It had been two days since his arrival but they hadn't wasted any time. They had a few weeks before they marched on Raven, and Ruby was pushing to learn more of her father's martial arts. Taiyang also spent time training Oscar, who he hadn't been too surprised to discover was the reincarnated Ozpin.
Jaune smiled as he watched the father/daughter duo train. He'd just finished a spar with Pyrrha and was taking a rest before starting again. He took a swig of his bottled water as Ren collapsed next to him. Qrow had decided to help train Ren and Nora by putting them through the wringer.
"Good!" Taiyang said, ducking under a right hook. "But you need to change it up, remain unpredictable. Otherwise, your opponent will start to see a pattern and be able to take you down. You've got strong legs from all of your running, use them."
Ruby responded by dropping down and trying to sweep out his legs but Tai just hopped over with a sigh. "Helps if you don't do that immediately after I tell you too."
Ruby bounced back to her feet and, with Semblance boosted speed, struck out again. A flurry of fists rained down on Taiyang, who simply and easily dodged and blocked each one, a glint in his eye. As petals filled the air Ruby leapt up and struck with an axe-kick. Tai grabbed her ankle before it hit and twisted, throwing her to the side.
Ruby grunted as she rolled along the dirt and jumped onto her feet. She smiled as she dusted herself off.
"Let's take a quick break." Tai said. Ruby reluctantly nodded and walked over to Jaune and Ren. Jaune threw over a spare bottle. "That was good work. You've gotten better. You just need to vary your attacks and you'll do fine."
"You think?" Ruby asked.
"Yeah. You can rely on your gauntlets for damage and power, even if it would be better for you not to. Your best bet is to focus on dodging and landing hits when you can. With how your Semblance has begun to evolve it shouldn't be too hard."
"What do you mean?" Ruby asked, wiping her forehead clear of sweat.
"You seem to be dispersing a lot more than you used to."
"Dispersing?"
Taiyang nodded. "Yeah. Before you were bunched up. Fast but really only in one direction. Now you can twist and turn and even flow around objects. With the right training, you might be able to partially disperse, letting you basically dodge any attack."
"Oh." Ruby replied simply, looking down at her hands. "How?"
"I'm… not sure to be honest. Your Semblance is very different from mine so I don't have much experience to draw from. So it is more of an idea without any proof."
Ruby nodded. "Something to look into I guess."
"At least you have a Semblance." Oscar said as he exited the dojo.
"Don't worry. You'll find yours soon." Ren said.
"Yea! Jaune doesn't have one either!" Nora announced as she ran past, followed by a scythe-wielding Qrow. Jaune looked to the side, embarrassed.
"Speaking of Semblances." Ren interrupted. "Mr Xiao-Long you never told us yours."
"Didn't I? Well, mine is a little weird, but simply put: when activated my Semblance gives me a stacking boost to my strength the more I attack. So long as I keep hitting my opponent I'll keep getting stronger. Of course, if I don't hit an opponent for about ten seconds I lose all of my built of strength. I also sometimes lose it after getting hit but that doesn't really happen unless they're very strong. Oh and call me Tai or Taiyang, no need for formalities."
"So if this was a fighting game you'd get stronger the higher the combo you get?" Jaune asked.
"Kinda. It's not the fastest to get going but once it does it's hard to overcome. There's a minor increase to my speed and durability as well but those aren't as noticeable. My Semblance is pretty damage focused."
I can see where Yang's took inspiration from. Jaune didn't voice his thought out loud. Ruby splashed some water on her face and took a swig.
"Ready for the next round, old man?"
"Ha! Let's see if you can land a hit this time!"
"Remember. The power is a part of you. It's connected to you in many ways but it does not require Aura. It isn't a Semblance, it's something much older. True magic comes from something deeper." Ozpin said through the young boy.
Pyrrha breathed in and out slowly, focusing her mind on the power within. Wind began to subtly blow through the dojo, causing weapons to shift. Ozpin hummed appreciatively. "Good. You're acclimating well. Do not force the power to come, call for it. Will it to come forth and aid you."
The wind picked up around Pyrrha, pulling her off of the floor and hovering her a few feet above. She held it for about a minute before she dropped back down. Ozpin handed her a glass of water as she sat back up.
"That was good. You're progressing very quickly. I knew you would be perfect as a Maiden. It is sad you only have half of the power you deserve."
"Thank you." She drank the glass and thought for a few moments. "Do you think I'll be able to defeat Cinder?"
"With only the power of a Maiden? No. She's had over a year now to train. Add the training she already had and there's no single person here could beat her right now. But we can do what she did."
"What do you mean by that?"
"When she attacked Amber she used numbers, teamwork and tactics to defeat her. Maidens are powerful, but numbers can still overpower them. Of course, it's not necessarily the best choice. More people makes it more likely the Maiden will think of someone other than yourself when they die. If it is a man or an older woman then the power could of course go anywhere. Even if you only brought women along, you could have to kill all of your own allies just to secure it. Salem figured a way around it, however." Ozpin shook his head.
"So we just team up on her then." Pyrrha looked lost in thought for a moment "I do have another question. What will happen if Cinder or I die while thinking of someone else?"
"Hmm?"
"Well, when I thought I was about to die on the tower I thought of Ruby. I wanted to keep the power from her. But would it have gone to Ruby or sought its other half in Cinder?"
"I do not know." Ozpin looked thoughtful. "Either could happen, in truth. The Maidens have never before been split like this. What happened when Amber was slain?"
"What power she still had went to Cinder. But Amber died seeing Cinder. Her last thoughts could still have been of Cinder."
"True. I doubt we shall know until it occurs. However, if it remains split it could cause complications. If there are two Fall Maidens then Salem only needs to claim one and they will be weaker and easier to capture. If it splits we will need to make sure both parts are secure and ensure they both pass it to the same individual." Ozpin sighed. "It is not a pleasant situation to deal with, however. We shall have to hope that when we slay Cinder it comes to you."
"Yeah…" Pyrrha took a deep breath. "Alright let's try again." She whispered, summoning the wind to her again.
"They're gone." Vernal said as she closed the tent flap.
"Did they see you?" Raven asked, sliding her whetstone across Omen.
"Of course not. They're staying in some ship they brought. Are we really going to help them?"
"They shall call Qrow and his brats there. While they all fight we shall take the Relic. It could be a useful bargaining chip if it comes down to it."
"Not worried about your brother or husband?"
"If they die to Cinder then they are weak. I do not suffer the weak. You know that."
"Of course, Raven." Vernal bowed deeply and left.
Silence reigned for several minutes, only broken by the sharp sound of her whetstone grinding across her crimson blade.
Damn you, Tai. Don't you dare die to that bitch.
When the message came Ruby and Pyrrha donned their cloaks and headed deep into Mistral. It didn't take long to retrace their steps to the bar/inn that was the home of Lil Ms Malachite. They were welcomed, remembered and expected.
"As promised." The info broker said with a smile as she slid a scroll over. Ruby nodded and quickly downloaded the files onto her own scroll while Pyrrha passed over a pouch with the rest of the Lien. "Most of them didn't have much that could be found, Tyrion Callows though? That man is a serial killer with quite the body count."
"Thank you. I appreciate all of this." Ruby replied, sliding their scroll back over. "If I have need of information again I know where to go."
"I'm happy to be of service." Malachite responded with an arrogant grin.
Ruby and Pyrrha took their leave whilst going over the info. As she'd said there wasn't much on them. Aside from Tyrion's serial killer ways, the only new information was that Mercury might be the son of a well-known master assassin who disappeared many years before.
It was something at least.
Ruby felt a lot calmer than she had in a while. Three weeks of training had passed and all had gone well.
Jaune and Pyrrha were training now, keeping up their routine from their trek across two continents. The clashing of swords and shields echoed around them only to be met by the sounds of Ren and Nora sparring as well as her father and Oscar practising the basics of hand to hand.
Ruby sat to the side continuing to modify Ember Emortus. Now that they had Ember Celica she could see what improvements Yang had made that weren't in her old blueprints. The result had her bracers sitting a little more comfortably.
As she tinkered there was a low flash of white light that drew everyone's attention. Jaune looked mildly confused down at his body.
"What was that?" Nora asked.
"I… don't know." Jaune replied, sounding mildly distressed.
"Jaune…" Pyrrha interrupted. "look at your Aura counter. It's gone back up." Pyrrha showed off her scroll to Jaune.
"Wha… is this… my Semblance?"
Oscar shifted slightly and when he spoke it sounded more like Ozpin once more. "I believe so. You must be close to unlocking it. They can come at any time, though usually in a situation when they are needed." His eyes flashed green again and returned the body to Oscar.
"Wow…" Jaune marvelled, looking down at himself.
The beep of a scroll threw everyone off. Tai pulled it out and let out a confused sound. "Qrow just forwarded a message from Leo. He's apparently got a team of Huntsmen from the council and wants to meet to discuss the plan tomorrow night."
They shared a few confused looks. "That's… sudden." Ruby said.
"Yeah."
"I'll message Sun and his team. They should be returning by tomorrow night. If they get back in time they can join us." Ruby pulled out her scroll and began typing a message.
"So tomorrow night we finalize the plan then?" Jaune asked.
"Looks that way." Tai replied. "Leo's been acting strange however so let's be cautious."
Ozpin switched back into control and spoke. "He has been acting strangely, he hasn't been sending as many reports as he should and the city is not how it should be. Haven should be prepared to welcome me if I return in Mistral, but it isn't. That and he's left the Relic undefended. I hope he has just lost his nerve and been forgetting things. The other option is…"
"Betrayal." Ruby snarled.
"Yes. Be prepared for anything tomorrow. Oscar shall remain in control. Until we are sure Leo is still on side, I shall remain hidden." He suited words with action, letting Oscar have his body back again. The boy shuddered slightly.
Tai clapped his hands together. "Alright then. Let's all turn in early tonight. Who knows what will happen tomorrow."
Ruby chuckled. "No need to get into teacher mode, dad."
Tai smiled. "Hey, I'll give you detention if you aren't careful missy! Now go cook dinner, you kids."
They gathered their things and moved to comply with a laugh. Ruby looked down at her scroll. No new messages. Hopefully, they can make it.
For some reason, Ruby didn't understand her scars felt uncomfortably warm.
A/N: Welcome to the new year, where I introduce a Semblance my friend and I came up with a couple years ago for Taiyang! Basically, we wanted to keep the same inspiration Yang's had, fighting games. We used the combo counter for it with some inspiration from games like Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor. Hopefully you guys like the idea! Other than that we've got some training and some of my ideas for how the Maiden magic works. The characters in the show haven't had much time to explore how it works so I have to try and be creative. The Battle of Haven is on the horizon, will SSSN make it back in time? How will things change without Yang and Weiss? How will they change with Pyrrha and Tai there instead? Will Zwei fulfil his destiny and become the One True Maiden? Find out next time on Mission Successful!
I hope you all enjoyed and I'll see you next time!