New chapter, and less then 48 hours since the last one. I haven't done that since the very beginning of this story. Crazy. I guess I wanted to get this one published so I could move on to writing the next few chapters, which will be very character focused.
Speaking of character focused, Volume 9 Episode 9 was... short. Like, really short. Shorter then Neo. Too short, in my opinion. Like I thought for sure that Cruncyroll messed up and cut out the first five or so minutes of the episode because it felt really rushed.
I don't really know how I feel about it. On one hand, I really enjoyed Ruby's perspective of the Tree and Ascension. And the Cat has been a great side villain so far, and while I do think they could use some more spectacle instead of just swiping at WBY+J like a Grimm, I look forward to seeing what they do next episode.
But it really feels like they should've included a scene where WBY+J reacted to Ruby's choice. Episode 8 ended with them all being mostly in shock, but they get over it pretty quickly and are just like "Alright, let's go to the Tree." Kinda lame. That's why I felt the episode was supposed to be longer.
Even if it had just been a three minute scene where they are talking about what Ruby did, I would've been happy. I wanted to see WBY cry about the fact that Ruby felt pushed to doing that, that she was put into such a bad place that she simply wanted it all to end. Instead, they hug Jaune and have big grins on their face.
I'm willing to give RT the benefit of the doubt and say that it's a budget issue, since they have so much more to do and not a lot of time left to do it in Volume 10. And I'm confident that Episode 10 will see Ruby interact with the others and they'll have a heart-to-heart. But I just wish it had been a bit less rushed. Oh well, Volume 9 has still been pretty good so far; I like how it's been a step in a different direction and a breath of fresh air. Just one more episode to go, and I hope they stick the landing.
Anyways, here's another chapter of Silver Spectre, this time updated at a reasonable time.
Weiss really hated Nora right now. She just had to open her mouth. Everything had been going great; they'd captured Arslan without casualties, the enemy hadn't even noticed them slipping away, and the heiress herself was mostly uninjured.
But as they made their way back towards their allies, they quickly saw the problem. A swarm of black shapes was tearing through the right flank that Weiss and Sun had attacked as fire raged and pillars of smoke rose into the sky. Grimm. And a lot of them. It wasn't uncommon for a few to show up during a battle, but this was a lot more than just a few.
Easily over a hundred Grimm could be seen, though thankfully they were mostly Beowolves and Ursa. Deadly, but not something that couldn't be beaten by a team of rebels working together. Unfortunately, a few more deadly types could be seen, including a large King Taijutu, a black and white serpent with two heads, one on each end.
As was the unspoken rule of combat, the soldiers nearest to the Grimm didn't bother fighting each other, instead focusing on the more dangerous foe and tentatively cooperating to eliminate the Grimm. The middle and left flanks continued the fighting, however.
Weiss and Ruby shared a brief glance, a silent conversation passing between them. Ruby seemed nervous about the Grimm but gave Weiss a nod. The Atlesian took that as confirmation that she should interfere. "Sun, take Arslan," She ordered the faunus as she passed their unconscious prisoner to him.
"Weiss? Are you thinking what I think you're thinking?" Nora asked, shifting her hammer to be ready to swing at a moment's notice. Weiss nodded.
"We need to help push back these Grimm. We won't be able to force the enemy to surrender until they're gone." She explained.
Ren nodded at her words. "She's right. Sun, you take Arslan and my squad with you back to camp. We'll help deal with the Grimm," He gestured at Nora, Weiss, and himself.
"Hey, hold on. I can fight too. And my boys are down there, risking their lives against the Grimm. Why shouldn't I go join them? Four fighters is better than three, and there are enough people to carry her back to camp without me."
Ren shook his head. "You're the fastest runner here, and we need someone who can defend themself and keep Arslan from being rescued at the same time."
Nora gave him a reassuring grin. "Don't worry. We got this. Though I'll try and save you an Ursa or two. Deal?"
Sun chuckled at her words. "Sure. I'll hold you to it, Nora. Don't you dare go dying on me, you three," He said before slinging Arslan's unconscious body over his shoulders. "Alright men, let's get going. The sooner we get back to camp, the sooner we can fight the Grimm."
His words ordinarily would've seemed crazy, but Ren's men were hardly in a position to blame him. Even Weiss, despite only having been part of the Rebellion for a few weeks, knew how loyal Sun was to his mercenaries.
As they watched the faunus take off down the hill in a job with his comrades surrounding him defensively, Weiss drew her sword with a flourish. "Nora, I really hate you. Why'd you have to tempt fate?"
The hammer-wielding girl just laughed. "Hey, don't blame me. This is probably Lionheart's fault." Weiss arched an eyebrow.
"How would this be his fault?"
Nora shrugged. "I dunno. Most things that go wrong around here are because of him."
Weiss felt her lips tug upwards at Nora's antics before she took a deep breath and turned to stare down at the battlefield. They were about two hundred feet from the Grimm, enough to see their individual forms but too far to actually do anything.
"Let's do this!" She cried, taking off into a sprint, Nora and Ren right behind her. Ruby flew above the ground ahead of her, silver flames licking at the edges of her form. A hundred feet away.
Channeling dust into her blade, she felt a slight tingle as electricity began to crackle along it. Ahead, she could see a Beowolf pounce on a Mistralian soldier while three rebels stabbed at an Ursa that was rearing up on its hind legs. Fifty feet.
A Beowolf turned to glare at her balefully, a snarl slipping out from its barred teeth. An arrow from Ren quickly struck its throat, causing it to dissolve into black mist. Twenty feet.
As her feet thundered against the ground, she let out a cry and drew her sword back. With a yell of exertion, she lunged forwards, stabbing a Beowolf before leaping back to avoid an Ursa's swipe. A series of two cuts made the beast roar in anger, while a third to its throat ended it.
A distorted squeal told her that a Boarbatusk was charging toward her, but Nora dealt with it by swinging her hammer and sending it spinning through the air. The teal-eyed woman gave her a thumbs up before turning to face a Nevermore that dived down at her.
Ren fired arrows rapidly, yet each shot was aimed with such deadly precision that it only took a single arrow to kill each Grimm. And since the creatures of darkness dissolved upon death, all he had to do to restock on arrows was pick them up when they fell.
Weiss drew a large glyph and activated it. The glyph spun in the air and glowed a dull orange that gradually began to glow brighter. A Beowolf tried to scratch at her, only for its claws to bounce off the glyph. The Grimm snarled and began to furiously paw at the large orange glyph, not noticing as it grew hotter and hotter.
Eventually, the glyph began to glow white-hot as it began to hiss. The Beowolf and a few of its fellows surrounding it howled in confusion right before the glyph exploded violently. Weiss rolled out of the way, wincing as the blast of heat collided with her.
An Ursa tried to capitalize on her distraction, but Nora reached her first, raising Magnhild to block its blow and flooding her muscles with aura to push it back. Raising her hammer high above her head, she slammed it down with a scream, flattening the bear-like monster's skull like a pancake.
Weiss repaid her friend by drawing a shield glyph to defend against a rain of razor-sharp feathers from small Nevermore before firing small darts of magic from glyphs that killed the small birds. Nora nodded at her before taking off to fight another Ursa.
A roar was all the warning she received before an Ursa Major barreled towards her, the ground shaking with its footsteps. Dodging to the right, she tried to plunge her sword into its side only for it to bounce harmlessly off its spikes.
The Creature of Grimm swiped out at her, catching her slightly as she rolled away and sending her sprawling. Her armor protected her from the brunt of the damage, however, and she responded by drawing a glyph that shot a purple beam at the Grimm.
A purple and black glow emanated from the monster as gravity weighed it down and hindered its movement. She drew three medium-sized glyphs in front of her with her rapier, waiting to activate the first two until she finished the third.
A fireball slowly left the first glyph, with the second firing a blast of lightning just before the fireball collided against the armored spikes of the Ursa Major. The electricity collided with the fire and created a large explosion, the two spells combining to create a much more powerful blast.
The third glyph drew several streams of dirt from the ground, elongating them into a densely packed spike made of earth. The hardened chunk of dirt shot forwards, piercing the side of the Ursa and sending a wave of dark mist pouring from its wound.
But the creature was not dead, and managed to shake off the gravity glyph she'd used to slow it down. With a roar, it charged towards her, dragging its paw through the ground and kicking up a cloud of dirt that flew towards her, blinding her. Fortunately, she didn't need to see. She just needed to have faith in her friend.
"Weiss, dodge left!" Ruby called out. The swordswoman didn't hesitate, throwing herself to the side as Ruby instructed, hearing the whoosh of the Ursa's paw as it slammed into the ground where she had just been standing. The Grimm tried to whirl around and snap at her with its powerful jaws, but a swift jab from Myrtenaster to its mouth discouraged it from trying again.
Weiss backpedaled and drew a small glyph on the ground in front of her, baiting the Ursa Major into stepping forward and activating it, causing electricity to surge through it painfully. Dragging the tip of her sword behind her, she drew a glyph from memory.
A series of rapid-fire blasts of weak magic shot toward the monster's face, blinding it and causing it to twist its face away. Doing so exposed its throat, which Weiss quickly cut with a slash of her blade. The Grimm let out a strangled roar before collapsing and fading to mist.
Sweat clung to her frame as she took deep breaths. The numerous Grimm fading around her left her disoriented, the black mist cutting off her line of sight. But a familiar voice called to her and told her where to go.
"Weiss, over here!" Trusting Ruby, Weiss raced toward the direction her friend's voice had come from. Ruby sounded worried, which meant that Weiss had to hurry. Leaping through the fog of a dissipating Boarbatusk, she quickly took stock of the situation.
Ruby floated near her, pointing at where an Alpha Beowolf loomed over Bartleby Brunswick. Amber and the rest of her students were in various states of injury but seemed to be fine as they supported Sun's mercenaries with magic. A few Mistralian soldiers were working together to deal with an Ursa as Sage and Scarlet danced through a pack of Beowolves to try and reach Bartleby. They wouldn't make it.
But Weiss did. Or rather, she was able to throw her sword forwards and catch the Beowolf by surprise. Its attention left the downed old man in front of it as it turned to glare at Weiss. It growled in challenge, snarling at her for having the gall to throw her weapon at it.
That turned out to be the last thing it did, as a swift blast of fire from Weiss's palm wounded it long enough for a sudden spear of lightning to pierce it from behind, courtesy of Amber. The white-haired woman nodded at her before racing to Bartleby, picking up her rapier along the way.
"Are you alright?" She asked worriedly, pressing her hands to his chest to check for any wounds. Her knowledge of healing magic was limited to using aura to speed up her own body's regeneration, and first aid was never a worry for her before on this journey, but still. She'd do the best she could.
"I'm fine," He grunted out, struggling to his feet. "Just pinned me. Bruised me up real good." Weiss nodded at his words, still glancing at him to check for any injuries. "Thanks for saving m- look out!"
Weiss reacted without even turning around, thrusting her rapier over her shoulder as she heard the howl of a Beowolf get cut short by the tip of Myrtenaster. Withdrawing her blade from its corpse with a flourish, she looked out over the battlefield with a grimace.
"Miss Schnee? What do we do?" One of the young mages under her tutelage asked her. Weiss glanced at him before turning her attention back to the horde of Grimm ahead of her. The numbers had thinned slightly, but this was still too many for them to force the enemy to surrender.
"We need to thin their numbers," Weiss explained, gesturing towards the loose pack of black shapes that was inching forwards. "But while you all can handle the smaller ones, the larger Grimm are too much for you to handle, even if you work together. That King Taijiutu especially worries me." She admitted.
"So then what do we do? Hold them off until General Nikos or General Daichi brings backup?" Ambers asked nervously, craddeling her staff. Weiss shook her head.
"No. For now the older Grimm are being cautious and allowing the weaker ones to lead the charge. But once they join the fight themselves, they'll break through our defensive line." She placed a hand on her chin. "And with the panic of battle, more and more Grimm keep getting drawn here. We need to stem the tide."
"How do we do that?" Scarlet asked, gesturing to the battlefield. "Sage and I can handle the Alphas on our own, and could probably take down an Ursa Major if we worked together, but even we won't be able to scratch that big one."
"Don't worry. I have an idea. Between Ren, Nora, and myself, I think we can kill it quickly." Weiss confidently declared. "Once it's gone, it'll be easier to push forwards and thin their numbers. But until it goes down, focus on holding the line. Mages, fall back. You're all too exhausted to continue, despite what you may think."
"But we can still fight!" Several of them tried to argue, but Weiss cut them off with a shake of her head.
"You're of more use to the Rebellion alive then dead. Your actions today proved that. So fall back to fight another day. Sage, Scarlet, split your men into two groups; one to cover their retreat, and another to lure as many Grimm away as possible to give us a clear shot at the King Taijiutu."
A few of the Stone Monkey Mercenaries seemed like they wanted to argue, but they nonetheless deferred to her orders, forming a tight line to cover the mages' retreat. Their willingness to follow orders was appreciated, but not surprising. She had been the one to kill the Nuckelavee after all.
Seeing Ren and Nora a few dozen feet away, she hurried over to them, conserving her energy and only fighting Grimm when she had to. Still, despite the short distance she had to fight several Beowolves just to reach her friends.
"Weiss, I really hope you have a plan," Nora said as soon as she noticed her coming. "Because Ren doesn't, and I wouldn't trust any plan I came up with," She admitted with an easygoing smile. Despite that, it was clear she was exhausted from the way her hammer sagged in her grip.
Weiss had a smug smile on her face. "You're in luck. I've got an idea to thin the horde."
Ren looked at her in surprise. "Great. Let's hear it?"
Jerking her head over to the large serpent-like Grimm, she explained. "We can trust the rebels and common soldiers to handle the common Grimm. It's the big ones like that need us to bring them down."
Nora nodded. "Yeah, we get that. The issue is, how do we do that? I'm about dead on my feet, and you don't look much better."
Weiss just glanced at Ruby. "I have a way of dealing with it quickly." Ruby and Ren both gained a look of understanding, though Ruby's quickly shifted into a nervous expression.
Nora's eyes widened as well. "Like the trick with the silver light you used against the Nuckelavee?"
Weiss nodded. "If I can get one good shot on it, I can take it out without too much trouble. With it out of the way, our comrades can move in and help us push the Grimm back."
Ren and Nora looked at each other and nodded. "Sounds good to me. Ren?"
"It's our best bet. We'll go on your command."
Weiss smiled gratefully at them before taking a deep breath to try and calm her nerves. Clutching Myrtenaster tightly, she broke out into a sprint, Ren and Nora right behind her.
A few Grimm tried to intercept them, but either Ren or Nora usually dealt with it before catching up to her. At one point Nora was forced to block an Alpha Beowolf's claws with her hammer while Ren engaged a medium-sized Nevermore up above.
It was at this brief moment of isolation that Ruby spoke up, her silver eyes full of anxiety. "Weiss, I'm not sure about this. I... I don't think the aura thing is going to work."
Weiss shook her head. "It'll work. It has to. I'll force it to work!" She hissed out, ducking under a Beowolf that attempted to tackle her.
Ruby shook her head. "Weiss, no! You don't understand. This... aura combination... It's based on our emotions. We... we don't see eye-to-eye right now. I don't think this is going to-"
Weiss wasn't exactly listening, too focused on the Grimm she was charging towards. By now, the double-headed snake monster noticed her and was slithering toward her. Raising its black head, it opened its jaws and fired a jet of acidic sludge that hissed as it collided with the ground beside Weiss.
She had no time to be relieved that she dodged the attack, however, as the white head shot forwards with a hiss, slamming into the ground in front of her. The white-haired woman let out a curse as she lost her balance, falling gracelessly on her rear.
The white head glared hatefully at her, raising itself slowly to peer down at her with its reptilian red eyes. Weiss felt herself freeze up with fear for only a moment before she rushed to get to her feet. But she was too slow, and the creature lunged forwards, mouth open to devour her whole.
"Not on my watch!" A blur of pink, white, and black cried out as Nora appeared suddenly, slamming Magnhild into the head and sending it slamming into the ground. The black head let out a hiss of pain as its other half struck the ground with enough force to leave a small crater.
"Weiss, now!" Ren called out, firing all but one of his remaining arrows into the eyes of one of the King Taijiutu's heads. The black head, now blinded, began to spit globs of acid at where Ren had been standing. The green-garbed man managed to dodge them all however, much to Weiss's relief.
"Right!" She called out, outstretching her hand to Ruby as the white head shook off its daze and hissed hatefully at them. Ruby's expression seemed worried but nonetheless, she dissolved into silver flames and allowed her aura to flow into Weiss's.
And suddenly, Weiss's world exploded in pain. Every inch of her felt like it was being torn apart as silver flames began to lick at her skin, leaving no burns. But Weiss could feel deep within her that something was wrong. Like she was being suffocated.
It wasn't like the previous times when they had used this ability. When they first did it the power flowed easily, and though subsequent times had been more difficult it had never been painful. Just difficult to control. But this time it seemed as though their auras just wouldn't fuse.
Ruby had been right when she said they shouldn't try this. Weiss could feel it deep within her soul, at the spot where Ruby's aura met hers. Whereas usually there was harmony, now there was discord. Their emotions just weren't in sync.
From the outside, it was clear something was wrong. Nora and Ren both screamed in shock when Weiss alighted in silver flames and let out a cry of pain, hunching over and dropping her rapier. The pair raced over to her to try and help, but they weren't the only ones.
The white head of the King Taijiutu swayed angrily as it saw the silver flames surrounding Weiss. A primal sort of intelligence let it recognize the threat they posed, and so its rudimentary intelligence told it who to kill first.
Weiss could feel all of Ruby's doubts vividly, her fears and concerns being subsumed into Weiss's soul. Likewise, she knew that Ruby was feeling her stubborn determination to see this journey through. The pair was stuck in a feedback loop, aware of the pain they were causing each other but unable to break the connection.
Why won't she accept that I'm doing this for her?
Why won't she listen when I say I'm worried about her?
Doesn't she see that she's being childish? Life isn't a fairytale, people have to do bad things for good reasons sometimes.
Doesn't she see that she's going too far? Her actions are getting more and more concerning by the day.
She needs to realize that I am listening to her. I understand her fears, but I won't let them stop me. I have to do this. I can't live with myself if I don't.
She needs to realize that I understand that she's doing this for me. But I don't want this. I'd rather be stuck like this forever then lead her to her death.
Countless emotions swam through their bond. Their doubts and fears mixed with their concern for each other, clashing horribly and kicking up a storm of silver flames that wracked Weiss's body and Ruby's soul. Weiss wasn't sure which one all of these emotions were coming from, or even what all of them were.
Desperately, Weiss tried to break the bond as more and more thoughts and emotions began to slip back and forth between the two of them. This was just too much. More than she wanted to share. More than she even knew she felt. But despite it, she still couldn't cancel the link.
Ren and Nora were both screaming at her, but it sounded as though they were underwater. Dimly, she was aware of the fact that the snake-like Grimm was racing towards her, but she couldn't find it in her to feel afraid, overloaded with emotions as she was.
Faintly, she could feel a tug in her soul. There was... a piece of herself that she could tell Ruby was holding back, that she was giving her all to prevent from slipping out. Ordinarily, she wouldn't pry, but she wasn't exactly in the most rational state right now.
So she pulled on the thread, trying to draw the strange emotion that Ruby felt into her. It was... warm. soothing. It calmed the silver flames slightly, though it didn't allow her to break the connection. So she continued to try and investigate.
Ruby was pulling back, aware that Weiss was trying to find this secret emotion and fighting to keep her from finding it. Weiss faintly knew she shouldn't, but she continued to try and find out more. Eventually, she felt Ruby's thoughts from deep within her soul.
Weiss, I lov-
Silver flames exploded from Weiss's body as the connection was forcibly cut, right in time. The King Taijiutu's jaws had been about to close around Weiss as Nora and Ren had raced to try and pull her out of the way in vain. The silver flames that flew outwards from her body left them unharmed but completely destroyed every part of the Grimm that they touched.
Weiss fell to the ground, exhausted and coughing up blood. Ren and Nora quickly pulled her up and supported her weight against them, though Ruby received no such aid as she lay on the ground groaning in pain.
The Atlesian noblewoman's mind felt foggy like she'd just woken up from a dream. She understood that she'd tried to fuse auras with Ruby, only for it to go horribly wrong. But she couldn't remember any of the thoughts she'd heard; only the sensations and vague emotions.
"Weiss, what was that? Are you okay?" Nora panicked, holding Weiss's unnaturally pale face with both hands. She checked her pupils and, seeing they weren't dilated, asked again. "What happened? Why didn't that work like you planned?"
Ren remained quiet, clearly having an idea. Weiss imagined he had felt Ruby's emotions in that explosion of silver flame and realized the problem. Weiss tried to formulate a response, but instead just coughed up some more blood.
"Oh shit. Ren, we need to get her to a medic, now!" Nora exclaimed, shifting her grip to carry Weiss across her back. Ren nodded and moved to help her, only for them to freeze when a large shape rose up behind them and hissed.
The blinded black head of the King Taijiutu slithered towards them clumsily. Weiss could see that most of its white half had been burned by Ruby's flames, and black mist hemorrhaged from the gaping hole in its back, but nonetheless it approached.
"Ren? What do we do?" Nora panicked, trying to decide between dropping Weiss to grab her hammer or taking her friend and booking it. Weiss was touched to know she refused to just abandon her, but couldn't express that sentiment on account of once again coughing up blood.
Ren stood still, clutching his bow, Stormflower, tightly. Drawing his final arrow, he spoke in a quiet voice without turning to look at them.
"Take Weiss and run. I'll buy you time."
Nora's eyes went wide and she shook her head vehemently. "Wh-what? No! I'm not leaving you behind!"
"Just go!" Ren screamed, pulling his final arrow and gathering the winds around its tip, holding it tight until the last possible moment.
"And just abandon you? Hell no!" Nora shouted, taking a step towards her friend. Weiss glanced at Ruby, who was still curled up on the floor and groaning in pain. Guilt washed over her as she realized that she had done that to her. Ruby had warned her not to, and she still tried to.
"Sorry," She mumbled quietly, prompting Nora to stare at her, but Weiss wasn't looking at her. She was looking at Ruby, whose silver eyes stared back apologetically. Ruby was blaming herself as well. Weiss wanted to say she was surprised, but she really couldn't. Ruby was always concerned about her. She didn't deserve such a good friend.
Ren tried to turn around and order Nora to flee with Weiss once again, but the Grimm cut him off. With a hissing roar, it lunged forwards, its entire body being carried in the act of its last desperate attempt at killing them.
Nora let out a scream as she tried to reach out to Ren, who likewise held out his hand with his expression twisted in fear for them. Weiss tried to will her muscles to move, but she was too exhausted to do so. She was helpless to do anything but watch as the snake-like jaws opened to devour them all in a single bite.
But a sudden blast of magic from their left sent the Grimm flying off course, landing in the ground and dissolving into black mist. Weiss, Nora, and Ren all froze in shock and looked to their left to see what had happened.
Several more blasts of magic fired from large glyphs, far more complex than anything Weiss's mages knew. These glyphs were more in line with the ones Weiss herself used when she had time to draw a larger one. "But who was casting them?" She thought to herself.
Her answer came quickly as several figures in silver armor rode into the fray on horseback, their weapons flashing down on the Grimm and clearing a path for soldiers on foot, who charged on foot. There had to be at least a hundred of them, all wearing armor much better than anything the rebels or the Altan army had.
The Grimm roared in response to the newcomers' arrival. Several Boarbatusks charged at the armored warriors, only to be blasted apart by blasts of magic that exploded violently against the ground, kicking up dirt and Grimm alike. Those lucky enough not to be struck with magic were swiftly dispatched by the silver blades of the mysterious armored figures.
"Are those..." Nora began. "The bandits we saw the other day?" She asked disbelievingly, glancing at Ren and Weiss to see if they agreed. Ren seemed just as stunned.
"I... I think they are." He admitted, his voice sounding slightly breathless. His shoulders seemed to sag with relief despite his confusion. He must have realized just how close he had come to dying just now. "But what are they doing here? And why are they helping us against the Grimm?"
Weiss quickly figured out the answer when she saw a familiar figure riding towards them. Ruby clearly recognized them as well, given the way she gasped in shock and rose shakily to her feet.
"Are you three okay?" A boisterous female voice asked as a knight in silver armor steered her horse over to them, her silver sword drawn and covered in golden flames. Her armor shined in the sunlight as she rode atop a white steed, looking very much like a storybook knight, especially with her mane of golden blonde hair.
"U-uh... not really. We need a medic for her." Nora explained, gesturing at Weiss before shaking her head. "But that can wait. Who the hell are you?"
As the blonde knight opened her mouth to answer Nora's question, she caught a clear glance at Weiss for the first time, since the smoke and black mist had obscured her face from across the battlefield. Opening seeing her, she let out a gasp.
"Weiss?" She asked, her lilac eyes widening in shock.
"Yang?" Both Ruby and Weiss choked out, confusion overtaking the lingering pain from their failed atempt at melding auras. Both Weiss and Yang starred at each other, while Ruby was looking around the battlefield at the armored warriors trying to see if there was anyone else she recognized. Eventually, both Weiss and Yang spoke up similtaneously.
"What the hell are you doing here?"
Wow, I can't believe Yang showed up. It's only been... over a year since I've written about her in this story, brief appearance at the end of chapter 40 nonwithstanding. Yeah, I've made it no secret that Yang, Blake, Jaune, and all the loveable Vale characters would be making their way to Mistral, but I felt I had to give Weiss some time to interact with the Mistral characters first.
Moving on from that, Ruby and Weiss's aura fusing technique finally shows it's downside. In the past they've used it when they both agree on the need to fight, such as when Weiss first used it to save Blake, or against the Nuckelavee. But now, Ruby fundamentally disagrees with Weiss being a part of this fight. She thinks this isn't necessary, so the power isn't working.
And since the aura isn't mixing, it has a negative backlash. Think of it like magnets: when their emotions are matched, their aura melds together like two opposite magnets. But when their emotions don't mix, it's like trying to stick two magnets together. No matter how much you force it, it isn't going to work.
As for Weiss reading Ruby's thoughts, don't worry. She won't actually remember everything she heard, just the general feelings she got from Ruby. I'm not trying to do the thing a lot of shows do where they bend over backwards to keep the main couple from realizing their feelings for each other, it's just that I have a much better scene in mind for that, and this scene was more meant to show that their argument is holding them back and keeping them from using the aura mix.
As I said before, the next several chapters are going to be much more characters focused and may include some small timeskips. The next chapter should be out sometime next week, hopefully before Episode 10 drops. I want to write as much as possible before I lose my steam with this fic and chapters start taking longer to come out. Hopefully I finish this arc before I temporarily lose interest.
Until next time, then. Please feel free to review/comment, and have a great day!