Author's note: I would like to apologize for a little something that will come up in this chapter. I slightly misinterpreted the nature of Cinder's semblance, and since I originally wrote this fanfiction before it was revealed, I decided on something else that seemed plausible based on what we saw her do in the show.
Also, trigger warning at the bottom.
Talia and Oscar were standing in the training room and facing each other. Talia had assumed a defensive stance, whereas Oscar was trying to look like he was ready to attack. Since this was just training, Talia had her tail wrapped around her waist.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Oscar asked.
"Of course," Ozpin answered mentally, "Talia will just block your attacks, so you can focus on your offense while learning some good defensive techniques from her at the same time."
"Well, if you say so," Oscar said, looked at Talia and asked, "Are you ready?"
"Of course," Talia answered. Oscar ran up to her, trying to uppercut with his right fist. Talia deflected the blow and spun around, positioning herself behind Oscar.
"What? How?" Oscar asked.
"Simple," Talia answered, "I'm better than you." Her demeanor had changed from her usual child-like self to something more fitting of a real huntress, and for a split second, Oscar thought he could see a little bit of silver in her eyes. He attacked again and again, but his blows were always deflected.
"Ok, let's take a break," Oscar said after half an hour of training, with his hands resting on his knees.
"Come on, we just got done warming up," Talia said.
"Are you serious?" Oscar asked.
"Perhaps I should have warned you," Ozpin said mentally, "Talia is a master at preserving her energy during fights."
"Come on," Oscar groaned and said, "Let's see what you can do, old man." Without giving Ozpin time to react, Oscar let him take control.
"Ozpin?" Talia asked.
"Yes," Ozpin answered, "It appears Oscar wants to see how a real fight goes. So please, do not hold back."
"I was waiting for you to say that," Talia said and rushed Ozpin. She delivered a quick series of left and right hooks. Ozpin blocked the attacks. Talia broke through his defense with a left uppercut. Ozpin stumbled backwards. Talia jumped up and repeatedly kicked Ozpin in the face. Ozpin stumbled backwards and tried to block the attacks. Talia hit Ozpin with her tail whip. Ozpin was stunned by the shockwave. Talia landed on his shoulders and bent over backwards. Ozpin lost his footing. Talia twisted her body and slammed Ozpin into the ground. Ozpin landed on his back, and the air was knocked out of his body. He bounced off the ground. Talia put her hands on the ground and spun her body around again to kick Ozpin in the face. Talia stood next to Ozpin and waited for him to get back up.
"I think that is enough," Ozpin said. He gave Oscar control again, and Oscar immediately collapsed, hissing in pain.
"I'll get back at you for this," Oscar hissed, his arms tightly wrapped around his upper torso.
"Don't worry, I can help," Talia said and hit Oscar with her tail whip. The first four hits burned like hellfire, but when the final strike connected, his body relaxed and the pain disappeared. Oscar got up and pinched his arms and legs, only noticing small sensations. It felt weirdly soft, and he felt somewhat wobbly on his feet.
"What was that?" Oscar asked.
"Pressure point therapy," Talia answered and explained, "I used some of my aura to suppress your body's ability to feel pain. It'll fade gradually as your own aura removes mine, but you'll have more than enough time to get used to the pain, so you won't really feel as bad as you did before. A downside is that your body is sort of messed up now, so don't try operating and heavy machinery, like kitchen knives." Suddenly, Qrow came running into the room.
"I heard screaming, what's going on?" Qrow asked.
"We were just training," Talia answered. A red portal opened next to Qrow, and Team RWBY came out of it. After Yang had walked through, the portal closed again.
"You're back," Qrow said and asked, "And, how was it?"
"Great," Ruby answered, "Well, sort of. I'm still somewhat exhausted, and sad, but I managed to petrify a bunch of Grimm at once."
"That's great," Oscar said. Ruby turned to him.
"Oscar?" Ruby asked, unsure who was in control of the boy's body at the moment.
"Yeah," Oscar answered.
"Ok," Ruby said and asked, "Do you need something? You kind of look like you're barely standing."
"I don't know," Oscar answered, "Talia did a thing to stop my pain after she almost took apart my body in her spar with Ozpin, and I don't know how my legs will react if I try to walk now." He tried to walk, but stumbled, and Ruby rushed to catch him.
"Don't worry, I got you," Ruby said and helped Oscar walk to his room.
"What did you actually do to him?" Yang asked.
"Pressure point therapy," Talia answered.
"What's that?" Yang asked.
"An old technique," Blake answered, "Basically, there are several points on your body where your aura responds better to stimuli. They're incredibly small and you need to apply the correct amount of pressure, but with the right skills, you can do a lot of damage to someone, without any sign of what happened."
"Like what?" Yang asked.
"Like this," Talia answered and whipped Yang's side with her tail. Yang felt a short sting, followed by a persistent itching all over her body. She started itching like crazy.
"Yang, are you alright?" Blake asked.
"It's fine," Yang answered, "It just itches like crazy, and I can't make it stop."
"Don't worry, I got you," Talia said and hit Yang in the stomach. The itching stopped almost immediately.
"That was crazy," Yang said and asked, "Without using me as example, what else can you do?"
"Well, a lot," Talia answered, "I once stopped someone's heart because it was going nuts. It started again shortly after and he was perfectly fine."
"You can stop someone's heart?" Blake asked.
"Yeah, but only for a few seconds," Talia answered, "But you should see my brother when he gets serious. He'll give you an aneurysm that kills you a week later and walk away like nothing happened. Anyway, I got to go now, bye." She turned into a ghost and was gone. Everyone just accepted that they definitely should never mess with anyone on Argent's team, and went to bed.
~o~
The next morning, after breakfast, Ruby and her friends were sitting in the living room, with Qrow leaning against the wall. Nora looked around the room.
"Aren't we missing someone?" Nora asked.
"Not really," Blake answered, "We're all here."
"But what about Sirena?" Nora asked, "Shouldn't she be here, too? Or at least one of her teammates?"
"No, they've got other plans," Ruby answered and said, "Argent sent me a message this morning, telling me we'd be on our own for a bit because they all had something else to focus on for the time being."
"Did he tell you anything specific?" Qrow asked.
"No, not really," Ruby answered, "But they helped us so much, I think we should just let them do their thing for now."
"I don't think that's a good idea," Qrow said.
"Why not?" Ruby asked and said, "They took the time to help us, and didn't ask for anything in return."
"I hate to break it to you, but that's probably not true," Qrow said, "Argent and his team are notorious for having ulterior motives and carrying out their plans no matter what."
"Don't you trust them?" Ruby asked.
"I do, but that's the problem," Qrow answered and explained, "When Sirena is around, my gut tells me to trust her, and that she can protect us all. Something about her just shuts down all my instincts as a huntsman, and that's not normal. I know I should distrust her, not just because of all she's done, but also because of all the things she's capable of, but whenever she's around, I just can't."
"Ozpin also has something to say," Oscar said and let Ozpin take control.
"Qrow's concerns are justified," Ozpin said and explained, "Argent is an assassin. He kills people for money. He puts his job as huntsman first, but if someone gets in his way, he will eliminate them. Niob is… difficult to describe right now, due to Oscar listening. Just know that he is feared across Remnant, and for good reason. Noone knows how he does most of the things he does, not even myself, but when he arrived at Beacon, he asked me to not make him the leader of whatever team he ends up on, because he can't trust his own judgment. Sirena is especially complicated, due to the vast difference between our society and Soraklia's. In Soraklia, it is a common belief that the god of light hand-crafts every silver-eyed warrior for a specific purpose, and fulfilling that purpose is everyone's highest duty. I don't know what Sirena sees as her purpose in life, as it is a rather personal topic and not often talked about, but she will stop at nothing to achieve that goal, and trying to argue with her about it is completely futile, as she is convinced the god of light put her into this world for that single reason. And finally, Talia. I am certain Yang can confirm that her mental state is… fragile."
"Yeah," Yang said, "She acts like a child one moment, then suddenly turns into a scientist or huntress, and it's actually kind of terrifying to watch her fight Grimm."
"Exactly," Ozpin said, "She has multiple distinct personas, though I do not know why, which she switches between depending on the situation. During her time in Beacon, she has been switching between them more and more fluently, and I am afraid of what might come if she is not careful." Suddenly, Yang seemed like she had an idea, but tossed it aside after a few seconds of consideration.
"What is it, Yang?" Ruby asked, noticing her sister drifting off shortly.
"I just remembered something," Yang answered and said, "But it's probably nothing."
"What was it?" Ruby asked.
"Well, ok," Yang said and explained, "On my way here, Talia and I stopped at an Inn, and there was this guy. Talia ordered a seafood platter for him, and he completely freaked out. He cackled maniacally, started attacking people, I had to step in and give him a good beating. Really crazy thing."
"Did he have a ponytail shaped like a scorpion tail?" Ren asked.
"Yeah," Yang answered and asked, "Why?"
"Tyrian," Ruby answered.
"Who?" Yang asked.
"Some guy who tried to kill Ruby on the way here," Nora blurted out. Ren gently nudged her with his elbow to get her attention, then gave her a stern look.
"Don't worry," Ruby said, "Sirena stepped in and saved me. Well, after Qrow did. And of course, Jaune, Ren and Nora were there as well."
"Did Sirena do anything to him?" Yang asked and said, "I mean, that reaction was pretty extreme, so she must have really messed him up. He seemed terrified by those fish."
"Hold on a second," Ruby thought, "Sirena can sense fear, and Tyrian is terrified of her, which means..."
"Now it's Ruby's turn to zone out," Nora said, pulling Ruby out of her thoughts.
"You ok, sis?" Yang asked.
"Yeah," Ruby answered.
"Speaking of Tyrian," Qrow said, "I still don't know why Sirena let him live."
"Because Ruby told her to," Nora said.
"No, I mean earlier," Qrow said, "Sirena usually doesn't let her enemies live that long. He should have been dead before we knew what had happened. And with those ice chains of hers, he should've been dead much sooner. She's the kind of person to pull her enemy under water at the first chance she gets, and then don't let them get back up until they stop breathing. It would have been too easy for her to pull off, yet she didn't. That still confuses me."
"Well, you know what they say," Ruby said, "Never look a gift horse in the mouth. Maybe she's just leaving her murderous past behind and trying to be a better person, or something like that." Ruby wanted to tell her friends that Sirena could sense fear, and thus locate Tyrian, but she knew how Sirena felt about people revealing information about others without their consent, so she decided to not say anything.
~o~
Niob was flying towards Lake Matsu, with three airships following him. They carried simple barricades that were quick and easy to set up, as well as a few faunus with combat experience and assault rifles. The pilot of one of the ships contacted Niob through the earpiece communicator in his right ear.
"We're picking up five Grimm near the lake," the pilot said.
"Understood," Niob replied, "I will eliminate them." He sped up and drew his weapons, two pistols which could convert into short swords. He turned them into their gun forms and loaded ice-dust bullets, preparing for the encounter. He first encountered two Lancers and took them out in one shot each, freezing their wings and causing them to plummet into the lake below, where Sirena's people would take care of them. Then, three Sea Feilong appeared from behind the rocks. Niob swiftly maneuvered past them and fired bullets at the Grimm in passing. He angled around a floating rock and dove underneath one of the winged Grimm. The Sea Feilong passed over him and Niob shot several bullets into its wings, freezing the joints. Another Grimm pinned him to a rock. Niob turned his weapons into their sword forms, folding the barrels upwards and revealing a blade on the underside, which had a hand guard in the shape of a crescent moon. He jammed the blades into the Grimm's arm and used lightning-dust to cut through the limb in one move. He dashed forward and cut the Grimm's head off. The last Sea Feilong approached him from above. Niob flew down and underneath the massive boulder. He came up on the other side, the Sea Feilong still following him. As the Grimm charged its breath attack, Niob dropped a grenade into its jaws, killing it instantly. He sheathed his weapons and landed on the boulder nearest to the intended campsite.
"All clear," he said over communicator.
"Got it, approaching now," the pilot responded. Niob took out a safety bolt with a noose on top, hammered it into the rock and tied a thick rope to the noose. He took a grappling hook gun, tied the rope to a grappling hook and shot the hook to the campsite. The airships landed and one of the faunus there took another bolt with a noose, tied a steel cable to it and tied the other end to the rope. Niob pulled the rope back and tied the steel cable to the bolt on the floating island.
~o~
Qrow led Team RWBY, Jaune, Ren, Nora and Oscar to Haven Academy to meet with Leonardo, who wanted to talk to them about about something important.
"What's wrong?" Blake asked as she noticed Qrow look around nervously.
"This feels like a setup," Qrow answered.
"Don't worry," Blake said, "I have Ilia look around for anything suspicious, and she has some friends in the White Fang help her out, too. It goes all the way to the top, to Sienna, and she has someone help out as well. If our enemies were here, Sienna would know within five minutes, then tell everyone else, including Ilia, and Ilia would tell me. They're keeping each other updated on their positions in real-time, so there is no chance our enemies can slip through the cracks."
"Which means this is Sirena's doing," Qrow said.
"Why do you say it like it's a bad thing?" Ruby asked.
"Because for the rest of us, it is," Qrow answered and explained, "Sirena knows using your silver eyes requires you to be sad, and she wants you to get better at using those powers."
"She wouldn't hurt any of us though, right?" Yang asked.
"Not in a way that can be traced back to her," Qrow answered. Suddenly, Ruby stopped in her tracks.
"Qrow, this has to stop. Right. Now," Ruby said, "Sirena isn't a bad person, and she would never hurt my friends."
"Let's just keep going," Qrow said, "I have seen what she can do, and I don't want you to be shocked when she finally kills someone again."
"Fine," Ruby said, still not satisfied, but not sure how she could get through to Qrow. They kept going and entered Haven Academy. There was a hole in the ground where the statue used to be, and Leonardo was sitting on the stairs to the left of it, resting his head on his hands. When he heard the others enter, he looked up, obviously confused.
"Qrow?" Leonardo asked, "What are you doing here?"
"I got your message," Qrow answered, looked around and asked, "Wait, what happened here?"
"Qrow, please, I can explain," Leonardo said.
"What?" Qrow asked, "That you lied to us, let Salem kill dozens of innocents and let her get the relic?"
"I had no choice, you have to believe me," Leonardo pleaded. Everyone except for Qrow got angry at the headmaster.
"Calm down," Qrow said, "I'll just tell Argent about this, and he'll deal with Leo."
"Someone's coming up," Blake said.
"How many are there?" Qrow asked, giving Leo an angry look.
"Two," Leo answered, "Cinder and Emerald."
"I can only hear one," Blake said, "And she sounds angry."
"If it's Cinder, leave her to me," Jaune said. The statue rose from the ground and revealed Cinder, whose left arm was pitch black and ended in a blood-soaked claw for a hand.
"C- Cinder," Leonardo said and asked, "Did you not get the relic?"
"No Leo, I did not," Cinder answered angrily, "Because a certain someone thought he could give Salem wrong information and get away with it."
"He is not to blame," Salem's voice echoed from behind the door above the statue, and everyone looked at it. Cinder and Leo bowed down in respect. The doors were thrown open with enough force to break one of them off the hinges, and everyone gasped when they saw who it was.
"I see you finally understand who the real queen is," Sirena said with her own voice, and Cinder looked up at her. Sirena held a petrified Seer in her right hand, and a familiar black scroll in her left.
"Sirena, what are you doing here?" Leonardo asked.
"Fighting Grimm," Sirena answered and said, "I won't charge you for this one, don't worry." She tossed the Grimm towards Leonardo. The Grimm shattered as it hit the floor, and Leonardo jumped back in shock.
"That's a Seer," Weiss said in disbelief.
"How do you know of those?" Cinder asked.
"Niob taught me," Weiss answered, "I thought he made them up. The idea of Grimm that can be used for long-distance communication is rather difficult to believe."
"Just shut up," Cinder said, and her eyes flared up in anger, mostly because she didn't get the relic, but also because Weiss' answer was unnecessarily long.
"That's not very nice," Sirena said, "Also, as queen of Soraklia, I will have to punish you for your attack on my people."
"What are you talking about?" Cinder asked and said, "I never attacked any of your people."
"Wrong," Sirena said, "By royal decree, Professor Ozpin and all his future incarnations are honorary citizens of Soraklia. And the kingdom of Vale is an ally of Soraklia as well. Your acts of aggression against both are tantamount to a declaration of war. You can either face me in battle now, or delay your defeat for the duration of one more fight. Choose wisely."
"Why should I choose?" Cinder asked and said, "I'm more powerful than anyone in this room together."
"Then how about you fight Jaune?" Sirena asked.
"Who?" Cinder asked. Sirena chuckled.
"And that is why you can't win," Sirena said, "You don't even know your enemies."
"Why should I care about that nonsense?" Cinder asked and said, "I can just incinerate all of you!"
"Because, if you know your enemy, you're invincible," Sirena answered, staying completely calm.
"As if," Cinder said and asked, "What would that even change? And what do you think you know about me, anyway?"
"You came to Salem because you wanted to be feared and powerful," Sirena answered, and Cinder had to restrain herself from taking a step back or letting anyone see how surprised she was.
"That was just a lucky guess," Cinder said.
"You are free to believe whatever you want," Sirena said, "But the time for talking is over. Jaune, if you like, you can fight her now. I'll take over afterwards."
"Do you really think you can beat me?" Cinder asked and said, "You're all alone, and if that redhead couldn't kill me, you have even less of a chance." Jaune clenched his fists.
"She's trying to get to you," Qrow said, "Don't do anything hasty."
"You're wrong," Jaune said, looking straight at Cinder and said, "I'm not alone. Pyrrha is with me, and together, we will never lose to the likes of you." His hands started glowing white, and small black dots formed on the back of his hands.
~o~
In an asylum in a coastal city south of Vale, a huntsman walked through the halls, with patients screaming or laughing hysterically in the rooms next to him. His navy blue cargo shorts held multiple dust crystals, and his black sneakers squeaked on the floor. His black vest was open and revealed his scarred chest. His black hair was tied into a wolf's tail and his green eyes scanned his surroundings. Francis opened the door to the office of the chief doctor and went inside.
"Hello, Mr. Alkali," the chief doctor said and asked, "Were you successful?"
"Hello Dr. Abha. Sort of, yes," Francis answered, "But it was… difficult." He put a tablet on the doctor's table and the man looked at it. He wore a long white lab coat and had his golden brown hair styled back. His orange eyes widened as he saw the reports.
"Is this true?" Dr. Abha asked in disbelief.
"Yes," Francis answered, "Whoever, or whatever, did this to them, the memory sits deep."
"How deep are we talking here?" Dr. Abha asked.
"Imagine the soul as a building with ten floors," Francis answered, "The consciousness is the tenth floor, subconscious is the ninth, and so on. The deeper you go, the more distorted your sense of time becomes. The third floor is where logic and reason happens. After that, things get increasingly abstract. I took five years to figure out how the second floor works, and another decade to figure out how the first floor operates. That is where the semblance is located. And in her, it's changing." The doctor gasped.
"It's changing?" the doctor asked, "What does that mean?"
"It means she's in trouble," Francis answered and explained, "I found the memory of what happened to her in the third underground garage, the very foundation of her soul. The soul core."
"Have you found anything about the tattoo?" the doctor asked.
"No," Francis answered, "But I think it has to do with her friends. It's their initials. It's a pentagram, so there must be a fifth friend. Actually, now that I think of it..."
"What is it?" the doctor asked.
"Six to seven years ago, I worked on another case," Francis answered, "I was just a junior detective back then, still studying at Shade, but it was an interesting case nonetheless. A woman had jumped off a skyscraper. Her family and friends had no explanation for it, and they said she was always very lively and happy. She had a tattoo like those four, and it happened the day they arrived here."
"You think it is related?" Dr. Abha asked.
"I'm certain," Francis answered, "Whatever happened to those women, the horror they lived through is more integral to who they are than their semblance, and it is corrupting them from the inside out. It's a phenomenon my mentor has warned me never to even think of risking, because the results can be catastrophic. Whoever did this to her must be a master at entering people's dreams."
"Can you try and figure out who did it?" Dr. Abha asked.
"No," Francis answered, "I already tried, but they covered their tracks perfectly. Normally I could sense their aura, but they somehow managed to align theirs with the woman's without leaving any residue."
"I'm no expert on the matter, but that sounds impossible," Dr. Abha said.
"It should be," Francis explained, "At least, if you only have one life time. And even then, it would take a lot of commitment, focus, willpower, and most importantly insanity to alter one's own aura like that. Whoever these women last had contact with before coming here is a monster, ruthless, cold and unyielding beyond what we normally think of when we hear those words."
"What do you plan on doing if you find this person?" Dr. Abha asked.
"If I ever encounter whoever did this, I'll pray to whatever God dares to listen, and ask it to destroy me," Francis answered, "The alternative would be too horrifying to even imagine."
~o~
Taiyang was working in the garden in front of his house, when a red portal opened and Niob came flying out. He hovered in mid air and looked around.
"Niob, what are you doing here?" Taiyang asked.
"That is classified," Niob answered. He suddenly tumbled and dropped to the ground, holding his head.
"What's wrong?" Taiyang asked. He sat down next to Niob and put his arm around his shoulder to keep him from falling over.
"Jet lag," Niob answered, "I am used to it, but it is still an issue when I travel long distance this quickly."
"Do you need anything?" Taiyang asked.
"No," Niob answered, "I just need rest, and a high place to jump off of so I can reach my destination." Niob shook his head to clear his mind and got back up.
"Are you sure you're alright?" Taiyang asked, getting back up as well to help Niob should he get dizzy again.
"Yes, I am certain," Niob answered, "I just need assistance to get back in the air. If you would be so kind."
"Sure, if you say you can handle it," Taiyang said. He held his hands together, with the palms facing upward, and Niob stepped into them with one foot. Taiyang tossed him up and Niob jumped off, and Taiyang used an aura shockwave to send him a hundred meters into the air. Niob spread his wings and flew away, disappearing behind the treetops.
~o~
Jaune focused, using his semblance on himself, and the black dots on his hands formed black lines running up his arms. They connected on his chest, and several black cracks spread from that single spot. Blake's cat ears twitched and a cold shiver ran down her spine. Yang checked her augmented vision and saw that Jaune's aura was rapidly switching between 99% and 101%, with a new aura slowly appearing. Jaune's aura began dropping, still rapidly switching between different percentages, and the new aura began increasing as the black cracks on Jaune's body expanded.
"Jaune, what are you doing?" Ruby asked.
"He's charging up someone else's aura," Yang answered, "It's crazy."
"Nothing you do can change the fact that I'm the most powerful here," Cinder said, "So I might as well let you finish whatever it is you're doing." Jaune's aura turned into a thick gray mass, completely concealing him, and changed shape. He grew in size a little, and when the aura faded again, everyone was shocked to see an androgynous figure instead.
"You can call me Arkos," the fusion said, blushed and said, "It, well, it was Jaune's idea." Arkos had medium-length red hair, a copper circlet around their forehead, and a copper gorget around their neck. The fusion also wore a black balaclava and had white armor plates on their shoulders and chest. The leg armor was strapped to blue jeans, which were tucked into heavy armored boots. A red sash and two pouches around the waist, as well as unattached red sleeves on their lower arms and copper armor plate on their lower left arm, completed the outfit. Arkos drew their weapon, a white sword with a gold-lined blade, and a matching shield.
"Do you really think that trick will help you?" Cinder asked.
"You're just mad because you're alone," Arkos replied, "I'll teach you what power you just threw away so carelessly, and when I'm done, you'll wish you hadn't been so foolish."
"Go tell her," Yang said. Arkos blushed a little, and turned around.
"Well, I mean, I'm trying, but thanks, I guess," Arkos said. Cinder saw her chance to attack and created a sword from molten glass to attack Arkos. The fusion swung their blade and shattered the glass sword, leaving Cinder wide open for a kick to the chest. Cinder flew backwards and skidded across the floor. She used her fire powers to melt the stone floor and made over a dozen shards of molten stone float up. Cinder launched the shards at Arkos, who activated their semblance and surrounded themself with an impenetrable force field. The fragments scattered around Arkos and suddenly exploded, hitting the fusion despite their force field.
"Are you alright?" Ruby asked.
"Yes," Arkos answered, "I just didn't expect that." The fusion dropped their force field again and Cinder stretched her Grimm arm, trying to grab Arkos by the neck. Arkos swatted the hand away with their shield and used an aura shockwave to launch it into a wall. They turned their sword into its javelin form and hurled it into Cinder's hand, pinning it to the wall. Arkos slammed into the stretched arm with their shield, drawing Cinder towards them. The fusion elbowed Cinder in the face, pulled their javelin out of the wall and turned it back into its sword form before cutting Cinder's arm off. Cinder tumbled backwards, screaming in pain, and took another kick to the chest. Arkos sent a portion of their own aura into Cinder's body to disrupt her aura, breaking it as soon as she hit the wall.
"Impossible! I have the powers of two maidens! You are nothing compared to me, you hear? Nothing!" Cinder screamed, looking at Arkos ready their javelin for another throw. The weapon embedded itself in the stone wall and Cinder could feel the weapon's vibrations beside her.
"I won't sink to your level," Arkos said, "I used to hate you, but during our fight, I realized that you didn't deserve my hate, or anyone's. I no longer hate you. Now, I just pity you." Arkos pulled their javelin out of the wall, turned it back into its sword form and sheathed it. As the fusion turned away, they blushed, turning bright red in the face.
"That's crazy," Yang said, "I'm a dragon, and Cinder is a maiden, but Arkos is the one roasting people." While Arkos walked away, with both parts gushing over how awesome the other was during the fight, Cinder screamed in anger. She used her maiden powers to melt the rock and form it into a red-hot spear. Cinder hurled the spear at Ruby. In the blink of an eye, Sirena caught the spear and shattered it in her right hand. Half a dozen splinters embedded themselves in Sirena's hand, and her eyes were covered by a cold darkness.
"Qrow, get everyone out of here," Sirena said in an emotionless voice and slowly turned to face Cinder. Qrow opened the door and quickly urged Team RWBY, Arkos, Ren, Nora and Oscar to leave the building. Leonardo looked on in pure terror as Sirena slowly walked up to Cinder.
"Stay away from me!" Cinder screamed, flinging fireballs at Sirena. Sirena took the hits head-on, but the attacks didn't slow her approach. The door closed behind Qrow and the others.
"Cinder Fall," Sirena said, "You have outlived your usefulness. Not only that, but you assaulted Ruby. That was the one thing I did not plan for. Now, you will pay the price." She grabbed Cinder's throat with her right hand, and the glass shards dug into Cinder's neck. The panic jump-started Cinder's aura, blocking the damage from the glass shards.
"Let go of me!" Cinder demanded, clawing at Sirena's arm and kicking at her torso.
"Frail soul lost in darkness," Sirena said in an unsettelingly calm voice, "I am the light smiting all evil. Let me be your guide, and follow me into a brighter future." She activated her silver eyes, using only the fear Cinder was experiencing, and burned Cinder's left side. Her skin was scorched and her aura eventually failed trying to prevent that much damage, and the glass shards cut through Cinder's throat. The right side of her body dropped to the ground, with the charred border and cracks smoldering for a few seconds, and her arm stump being solid stone.
~o~
Shortly after Ruby and her friends had left Haven Academy, a bright light shined through the windows and door. Two spheres of energy broke through a window each, circled Haven Academy a few times and came flying towards the group. The first hit Yang, and yellow energy erupted from her eyes for a moment. The second sphere hit Blake, whose eyes shortly erupted in purple energy. Both felt a tremendous amount of energy surge through their bodies.
"What just happened?" Yang asked, looking at her hands.
"Cinder… is no more," Oscar answered in disbelief, repeating what Ozpin had told him. Ruby looked at the front door of Haven Academy, then at Qrow, who didn't want to meet her gaze at the moment. They both knew he had been right about Sirena, but neither wanted to hear it. Suddenly, Blake's ears twitched.
"Who's there?" Blake asked and shot a lightning from her right hand, blasting a hole into a wall and revealing Adam cowering behind it. Blake created a small tornado over her left hand and waved it towards Adam. It moved towards him and grew in size, picked him up and returned to Blake before dissipating.
"What do you want here?" Yang asked, and everyone pointed their weapons at Adam.
"I came to atone for my actions against Vale," Adam answered, still sitting on the ground.
"Fine by me," Yang said, "I guess I'll take this baby on a joy ride across your face, then." She pulled back her right fist and was ready to plunge it into Adam's face to imprint his mask on the back of his head, when Blake put her right hand on Yang's left shoulder.
"Yang, wait," Blake said, "It's a trap. He's used this trick several times in the past. First he lets you attack him, then he absorbs the attack with his sword in the last second and catches you off-guard to finish you."
"Loser," Nora said and asked, "Anyway, anyone down for celebratory pancakes?" They walked around Adam, and as they were about to leave the court yard, Adam screamed in anger and attacked them with his weapon's ranged form. As soon as the bullet hit, the group, a shadow clone Blake had created, exploded into a large cloud of steam, obscuring Adam's vision and leaving him unable to follow the group.
~o~
Niob was hovering above Mountain Glenn, with Grimm circling in the sky around him. The Grimm ignored him and just did their thing, and Niob returned the favor, just hovering in the air and not bothering them. A red portal opened above Niob, and Sirena dropped out of it. He caught her in his arms and the portal closed again.
"Your Highness," Niob said with a smile and asked, "Can we begin?"
"Yes," Sirena answered and said, "But, I have one request."
"Of course, what is it?" Niob asked.
"Close your eyes," Sirena answered. As much as Niob wanted to see the silver eyes in action, something told him he should trust her judgment. He could feel Sirena trembling to her core, as if she was pushing herself just to stay conscious, but didn't know that that was an issue concerning her silver eyes. Sirena focused and reached out, stretching her mind to grab the residual fear in the area, as well as the fear of the people living in the different villages and cities in Vale. This was the first time in her life that she used her silver eyes three times in such rapid succession, and she knew she should take a rest for a few days after each use, but she had to do this now. Both for Project Alpha, and for Operation Siren. All the Grimm in the ruined city turned to Sirena and Niob, sensing the equivalent of an entire city's fear in Sirena. They were hovering above the city, and the airborne Grimm approached them. Before the Giant Nevermore and Griffons reached them, however, Sirena unleashed a burst of light and turned them all to stone. The petrified Grimm crashed into the ground, setting off a chain reaction that brought the entire surface area of Mountain Glenn down into the underground section. Niob opened his eyes again and saw the city collapse. In the distance, he saw two pillars of dust and debris erupt from the holes in the subway tunnel's ceiling. He flew to the side of the gaping crater and landed, and sensed that Sirena was even weaker than before, so he let her down near a tree she could lean on.
"Sirena, are you alright?" Niob asked.
"Yes, I am fine," Sirena answered, "You need not worry about me. We should contact Argent and initiate the next phase."
"I am sorry, but I cannot let you do that," Niob said, "You are barely conscious, and proceeding in this state would be your undoing."
"You are not my superior," Sirena said angrily, "The people of Remnant need my protection, and I cannot allow myself to let them get hurt any more." She pulled out her scroll and wanted to contact Argent.
"No, you will rest," Niob said and took Sirena's scroll before she could call Argent.
"Give it back!" Sirena shouted and tried to grab her scroll.
"No," Niob said and stepped away from her.
"I demand you return my scroll at once!" Sirena shouted and drew her trident.
"You are in no condition to fight," Niob said, but Sirena charged at him regardless. He unfolded his wings and had her trident slide off of them.
"Just give me my scroll!" Sirena yelled. Niob put her scroll away and drew one of his weapons, an assault rifle with a concealed axe head in the stock. Wielding his axe in his right hand, Niob focused on deflecting Sirena's flurry of jabs. While Sirena caught her breath, Niob pulled out his own scroll and contacted Argent.
"Boss, we have a problem," Niob said.
"What is it?" Argent asked.
"Sirena used her silver eyes, and is acting rather unusual," Niob answered.
"How so?" Argent asked.
"She is on the brink of collapse," Niob answered, "In fact, she is well beyond what the average person can endure, yet she refuses to rest. She tried to contact you to initiate the next phase, so I took her scroll, and she attacked me."
"I see," Argent said, "Give her her scroll and head to Vale. Look for entrance points for Sophie, and locate a suitable location for our base of operations once we start our attack. Then return to Mountain Glenn."
"Boss?" Niob asked.
"You have been given orders," Argent answered, "Follow them."
"Of course," Niob said and hung up. He collapsed the gun barrel, which served as handle for his weapon's axe form, put it away and gave Sirena her scroll back. Sirena collapsed her trident into its scepter form, put it away and called Argent.
"Ready for the next phase," Sirena said, still out of breath.
"Sirena, why are you so out of breath?" Argent asked.
"Niob tried to sabotage the operation," Sirena answered.
"Is there an issue with using you silver eyes?" Argent asked and said, "You always seemed a bit exhausted after your night-time raids on those Grimm packs, if I recall correctly."
"I unleash my soul against the darkness," Sirena answered, "It does have some drawbacks, but nothing I couldn't handle."
"How often have you done this within the past week?" Argent asked.
"Three times, today," Sirena answered.
"What do your people's laws say about using your silver eyes that often?" Argent asked.
"One should only use them once per week," Sirena answered.
"So why did you use them so often?" Argent asked.
"Because I had to," Sirena answered.
"How would you treat one of your people if they did that?" Argent asked, and the realization hit Sirena.
"I… would ban them from leaving the city," Sirena answered and said, "At least until they had fully recovered."
"Then what example are you setting for your people?" Argent asked, "Who could be expected to follow a ruler who does not adhere to their own laws?" Sirena dropped the ground.
"I'm sorry," Sirena said, "I will take a rest now. Until later." She hung up, put her scroll away and laid down in the grass and debris, falling asleep immediately.
~o~
Niob was gliding through the air and looking at Vale. He pulled out his assault rifle, attached the sniper scope and surveillance screen, and loaded sonar rounds. He fired one round into the city, and as it hit, it sent out a sonar pulse, transmitting the data to his weapon's screen. He fired past buildings and into other areas where his own sonar couldn't reach and got a pretty good idea of what was going on in the city. Niob transferred the information to his scroll, put his weapon away again and contacted Argent.
"Here is the situation, boss," Niob said.
"Alright," Argent said, looked it over and said, "We'll set up our base in the train station. Make sure it's clear enough for the first wave of assault troops to clear out completely."
"Got it, boss," Niob said, hung up and grabbed his grenade launcher, which didn't have any secondary functions. He attached the range finder to the barrel and it showed him where the projectiles would hit. Aiming the weapon, Niob fired it a couple times and launched water-dust canisters on top of the train station. The canisters exploded and released large amounts of water, which seeped through the cracked roof and slowly covered the entire train station. When the water started flowing out of the front door, Niob fired a lightning-dust canister into the water, electrocuting most of the Grimm inside. He fired two more into the building in different locations, and every time, more black smoke came out of the station. With his job done, Niob put his weapon away again and headed back to Mountain Glenn, where he found Sirena sleeping. The sun set in the distance, and Niob placed several anti-Grimm proximity mines around the area before getting some sleep himself.
Trigger warnings: Trauma and suicide (mentioned), death.
Author's note: In this fanfiction, Cinder's semblance lets her make her projectiles explode, like what we saw in her initial fight against Glynda, or when she attacked Amber. Her ability to manipulate red-hot glass shards, or things in general, is either her maiden powers, or aura- and dust control. More on that later. But yeah, she's dead now. And so is Emerald. Originally I had other plans for them, but then Cinder attacked Vernal and revealed her Grimm arm, and I realized she was a power-hungry lunatic, so those plans died.
Cinder's semblance is more focused on control than damage, to be honest. It has a bit of lag when used, giving the intended target just enough time to get out of the way, but not enough to think about where to go. Essentially, it can be used to force the enemy to move when they're in an advantageous position. That is what the queen in chess is also for, and sort of what she did in Vale, and later in Atlas. It's basically the semblance for her, because its purpose in a fight is also her purpose in the show. She forces the heroes to act, thus depriving them of their advantages, and securing Salem's victory.
Originally, I had planned to have Cinder and Emerald barely escape, using Emerald's semblance to get away, and then they start to work on their relationship. During the fight, Sirena and Arkos were supposed to 2v1 Cinder, while Emerald kept the others busy, and Sirena was supposed to mock Cinder for going back to Salem even after she kept the information about her special weakness from her. This would make Cinder go off on her own, with Emerald sticking to her, and the two would become closer and closer over time. They'd be recurring villains outside of Salem's group, and the closer they got, the better they'd handle the heroes. Due to this, Cinder would actually be interested in getting to know Emerald better, because she realized how strong they are when they work together as equals, rather than in their usual dynamic.
Then, Cinder killed Vernal, and showed her Grimm arm, and that plan fell apart. Cinder and Sirena kind of hijacked that part of the story, and now we're here.
Argent is one of only three people on the surface who can convince Sirena to do something she doesn't want to do. He knows her well enough to understand her way of reasoning, at least sometimes, so he can talk her into some things.
Niob has a couple of weapons, all of which he can use without issue. He also builds them himself.
Talia can seriously mess up anyone's body if she gets too close. There is an actual martial art focused around pressure points, but it's dangerous, so I won't say what it is called. Blake at least knows of pressure points, and Ren can use some to relief muscle tension and such, but nothing as serious as Talia.
The parts of Pyrrha's armor that Jaune integrated into his still have some of her aura left in them, like a trace someone leaves behind when touching an object, which is what Jaune used his semblance on to fuse with her. Also, as you can see, Arkos is a walking awkward teen romance. Also, yes, they can use their aura to break another person's. Jaune learned that from Niob, but it takes an incredible amount of aura, so in almost every case, it's either useless or harmful. Arkos just got a few good hits in, and their aura regenerates much faster than normal auras, so they can afford to expand that much aura.
Arkos' semblance is called Shielding, and basically functions the same as the Kanohi Hau, or Mask of Shielding, from Bionicle. When activated, it surrounds the user with an impenetrable force field that blocks any attacks, as long as Arkos sees them coming.
