Author's note: And now, the third assault. This time with their secret weapon. But the group also runs into a problem with the new ammo.
Opal led Weiss, Blake, Yang, Jaune, Nora, Cardin, Bartholomew and Peter through Vale's industrial district, following the line of plant-dust Combat Drones. Everyone knew the plan, and this time, it was a lot more solid, since they knew the enemy's abilities a lot better than before.
"If only we could get rid of that slime," Jaune said, "Guardian's Gambit would make this a lot easier."
"Why's that?" Cardin asked.
"It turns cobwebs into bats," Weiss answered, "And those bats' screeches disable Grimm abilities."
"No matter," Opal said, "We've got the next best thing; me." They continued walking through the deserted city, which was largely inhabited by wolves made from branches and leaves now. In the distance, another Beowolf died to a Drone, creating another wolf. When they came to the next crossing, the Drone located there was on its way to the next one.
"Well, guess another one's down," Weiss said, "But that's the price we pay for there being so many." As they kept walking, they encountered another Leshy, and Blake shot three wasp-dust bullets into its shadow, immobilizing it. The Grimm periodically took damage as if the bullets hit it, spawning three wasps every time, and triggering Spectral Assault. However, the wasps didn't home in on the Grimm, and instead flew off into random directions, eventually dissipating as they hit a wall or the ground.
"Wait, what?" Yang asked, "Why aren't those things attacking it?"
"No matter," Opal said and walked over to pick up a small chunk of concrete, "Blake, put three more bullets into its shadow. We'll deal with it later, if it's still around then." She used Emphatic Beacon to make the chunk of concrete irresistible to Grimm and left it near the Leshy. Blake shot the shadow three more times, then the group got going again.
~o~
As the group made their way through the city and towards their target, Opal sensed Beowolves approach the Leshy, only to be hit by the wasps, triggering Spectral Assault for additional damage. As Opal focused on the Carcolh, she grimaced, and her resolve to kill it grew even more. However, something made her pause.
"What's wrong?" Yang asked.
"There are too many," Opal answered.
"What do you mean?" Peter asked.
"Grimm," Opal answered, "There are more than there should be. Something is definitely happening there."
"So, what do we do?" Weiss asked.
"We improvise," Opal answered, "Blake, I need you to go there and use that incendiary-goo clone trick of yours, but be sure to come back right after."
"Shouldn't we find out what's happening first?" Yang asked, "What if there are more surprises, and Blake can't come back?"
"I've got this," Cardin said, ran behind a car and turned into a bird, then flew ahead. He came back about a minute later, turned back into a human behind the car, and stopped in front of the group, breathing quickly and resting his hands on his knees.
"What's wrong?" Blake asked.
"It's full of crabs," Cardin answered after catching his breath, "Beach Breachers. They're attacking the Carcolh, it summons minions, then it heals itself by killing some of them. Rinse and repeat. There's hundreds of slimes by now, and they're only growing in number. Before long, they'll overrun the city." Everyone got nervous, except for Opal, who just became thoughtful.
"Blake, can you target the slimes with Deathzone?" Opal asked.
"Sorry, no," Blake answered, "They aren't their own creatures, after all. However, I can target them with my predator sense, and hit them with Shooting Star."
"Shooting Star?" Opal asked.
"Ivori's semblance," Blake answered, "It lets me shoot stars from my hands, which home in on my enemies. They deal little damage on their own, but can be used with dust to get additional effects, among other things."
"Alright, then," Opal said and asked, "Can you focus on the slimes closer to the Combat Drones?"
"Sure," Blake answered.
"Actually, some slimes have spilled past them already," Cardin said.
"All the better," Opal said and pulled out an earth-dust crystal, "Here, use this to enhance Shooting Star, and only target the slimes behind the Drones." She used Emphatic Beacon on the crystal, then handed it to Blake.
"Got it," Blake said, took the crystal and asked, "Do you want me to use Deathzone on it, too?"
"No, that will not be necessary," Opal answered, "I already made it attract Grimm on sight for the next hour. They will come to the rocks, and get taken out by the Drones."
"Alright," Blake said, closed her eyes, gripped the crystal in her left hand and held her right hand up to the sky, facing the direction of the dust processing plant. Her palm flared up golden, with an earthen hue, and five-pointed stars shot out from her hand, disappearing behind the buildings. Jaune stepped forward and began recharging her aura.
"Cardin, there is one thing I'd need you to do as well," Opal said.
"Sure, what is it?" Cardin asked.
"Send a message to Sophie," Opal answered, "Tell her that I want her to have a member of her swarm attach a silk string to a rock in the stream feeding into the river running through Vale's industrial district, specifically a plant-dust one, modified with Deathzone."
"Sorry, but that would be too long," Cardin said, "I can't really do it that well yet."
"It's fine," Opal said, pulled out her scroll and called Sophie directly.
"My apostle, what is it?" Sophie asked, though she sounded much less enthusiastic than normal.
"Remember the ice silk in the river?" Opal asked and said, "I need more of that. This time with plant-dust."
"I do not recognize your voice, my apostle," Sophie said, and Opal turned on video.
"I am a fusion," Opal answered, "Ruby is a part of me." Opal turned off the video again to save battery.
"My apologies, I did not know," Sophie said and asked, "So, what do you need?"
"There is a river running through Vale's industrial district," Opal answered, "I need you to put a plant-dust silk string into it, to create wood. Make sure the dust in the silk is augmented with Deathzone, and harms Grimm over a twenty meter radius, for one week. As for the damage, make it enough to kill weaker Grimm."
"On it," Sophie said.
"One more thing," Opal said.
"What is it?" Sophie asked.
"I noticed you sound different," Opal answered and asked, "Why is that?"
"My swarm recently got a new member," Sophie answered, "And she taught us some skills that helped us be more, well, normal. We used to be mostly driven by instinct, and a desire to kill Grimm, but her skills helped us get our instincts under control, rather than it being the other way around. I will of course always be there to help your kind, because of what you have done for us, but I am learning to be my own person now as well, even if that includes being your loyal disciple."
"I see," Opal said and asked, "And who taught this new member those skills?"
"Argent did," Sophie answered, "He knew that, if we were left to our own devices, we would eventually cover the entire world, which he deemed to be an issue. So, he took some precautions."
"Alright then," Opal said, "Well, that is good to hear, I suppose." Both hung up, and Opal put her scroll away again. She looked around and saw that the earth-dust crystal in Blake's hand was almost completely gone. She could also sense the Beach Breachers marching in a single direction and dying, though the holes in their ranks revealed that there were still slimes present. So, she hatched a new plan.
~o~
Velvet sunk three hard-light throwing knives into an Ursa, creating three Light Bombs, killing the Grimm. Dove cut down another Alpha Beowolf, and the Atlesian Knights caught up to them, securing the parameter. The 130s deployed their guns, ready to fire at any Grimm, and the golden energy disks in their chests began spinning at half speed, while the 200s began setting up fortifications. While Velvet and Dove were taking a short break on a bench, a portal opened next to Dove, and Ruby and Nora came out.
"Ruby, what's wrong? What happened?" Velvet asked, getting worried.
"Where's Cardin? And everyone else?" Dove asked.
"They're fine, we just need to prepare better," Ruby answered, "Velvet, I'd like Nora to copy Wisp's semblance."
"That's good to hear," Dove said and let out a sigh of relief.
"Agreed," Velvet said, turned to Ruby and said, "And sure, let's do it." She got up, and the two of them fused again. Wisp imprinted her aura onto Nora's soul, and when the two split up again, Velvet fell backwards onto the bench.
"Velvet, are you okay?" Dove asked, worried about the rabbit faunus suddenly being so exhausted.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Velvet answered, "It's just… I don't know, somehow fusing this time took a lot out of me."
"Sorry about that," Ruby said, "I've been fused with two people for hours now, and that took a lot out of me. When we fused, both our exhaustion were added up and evenly distributed."
"You know, you should really take a break," Velvet said.
"I will, later," Ruby said, "But right now, we need to protect this city. The Carcolh is summoning minions by having Grimm attack it, and if we don't stop them, they will overrun this entire city." Before either of the two could respond, Ruby opened a portal back to her group, and Nora followed her, giving an awkward and apologetic smile to let them know that she'll take care of Ruby.
~o~
Trifa made her way down the mountain Beacon Academy was located on, using her silk as safety, in addition to her aura-based adhesion. She had ditched her old White Fang outfit, and instead wore heavy, light brown climbing boots, black pants, and a black long-sleeved shirt. She also had the swarm's new weapon, an energy disk launcher, on her back. She had also upgraded her weapon, allowing her to coat her knife's blade in the dust her spinnerets produced. When a flock of Giant Nevermore approached her, she fired a special disk at them, creating a cloud of toxic fumes on impact, which stuck around in the air and harmed the Grimm as long as they were in it.
"Alright, new plan," Trifa thought as the Grimm just flew through the toxic cloud, and held out her right hand. It began glowing grayish-blue, and a circle in the same color appeared on the nearby rocky surface. Within a few seconds, a turret appeared, anchored to the rock with its eight segmented legs, which supported a main body, while the spider-like head locked on to the enemies. The turret fired an egg-like projectile towards the Grimm, aiming a bit above them. At its zenith, the projectile burst into multiple tiny spiders, which rained down on the Grimm and bit them, triggering Spectral Assault. The Grimm were quickly covered in purple spots where the spiders had bitten them, and their limbs contracted, causing them to crash into the mountainside.
"Now, with that out of the way," Trifa said to herself, looking at the Grimm writhing in agony, then continued her way to the stream. After using Deathzone as instructed, she held out her left hand and shot a string onto a rock in the stream. Unlike the usual ones, this string was a healthy leafy green, and if anything touched it, it would produce a piece of wood. As soon as the water came rushing over the silk, branches started manifesting and being carried away by the current.
~o~
Qrow was helping Taiyang clear out a weapons shop in the commercial district, trying not to trigger any of the ammunition, as it had been left untouched for months and was likely very volatile. Thanks to a little gift Ruby had given them, the Grimm were coming to them, leaving the shop and making them much easier to kill. After they got rid of the last member of the pack, a red portal opened nearby, and Qrow instinctively prepared to fight, but lowered his weapon when Ruby and Nora came through.
"Oh, it's you two," Qrow said and asked, "What's up?"
"Is everything alright?" Taiyang asked, visibly more worried than Qrow.
"Yes, we're fine," Ruby answered, "We just need new ammunition for Nora, and this shop has what I'm looking for. Don't worry, it's not much, so they won't miss it." She walked into the store, grabbed a box of grenade launcher ammo and came back out.
"What are those?" Nora asked.
"Special hard-light grenades," Ruby answered, "The Flechette Storm. When fired high into the air, they will explode at their highest point, creating a rain of tiny hard-light arrows. This makes them really good against large numbers of enemies, even more so if you have a semblance like Wisp's Light Bomb."
"That sounds pretty cool, actually," Nora said, "Thanks." Ruby handed her the box, and Nora put the individual grenades into her pockets, leaving the empty container on the ground.
"Are you sure they're safe?" Qrow asked.
"Of course," Ruby answered, "This manufacturer works with huntsmen with preservation semblances, meaning their products don't start deteriorating for at least five years. They also only deliver by demand, meaning that these are all perfectly safe for the next four or so years."
"Wait, really?" Qrow asked, "Then, we didn't have to be so careful?"
"Yes, really," Ruby answered, "But with ammunition, it's always better to be careful, no matter what."
"Says the girl juggling explosives," Qrow said with a chuckle.
"Well, I am a professional," Ruby countered, "So yes, I was being careful, even if it didn't look like it. That's the whole point of shows like that. Anyway Nora, we're ready, so let's go." She opened a portal back to Yang, and both she and Nora walked through, with Nora giving another apologetic smile to let the two know that she'll keep an eye on Ruby for them.
~o~
When Blake's aura fully regenerated, she gave Jaune a little nod and he began recharging her aura again, while she used Shooting Star, augmented with incendiary-goo and aiming at the slimes on the bridge leading to the facility. Seeing this, Weiss had an idea and summoned a Seer, as well as several Queen Lancers. She made her Queen Lancers fly ahead towards the facility, and then swarm out from there. Whenever they came to a crossing, she made them fire several bone spikes into the road and used Landmine, augmented with light-ice-dust, through the spikes, to set a trap. Noticing her aura drop, Jaune began charging her aura as well, splitting his attention between Weiss and Blake.
"Weiss, what are you doing?" Yang asked, tilting her head a little.
"I'm setting a trap," Weiss answered, "To help with Ruby's plan."
"What kind of trap?" Yang asked.
"When the slimes come, they'll trigger Landmines," Weiss answered, "Those will then create chunks of light ice, which will drive Grimm away. However, I'm leaving one path open for the Grimm, which leads them along the river, increasing the effectiveness of Ruby's plan."
"But are you sure that's a good idea?" Yang asked, "What if we need the light-ice-dust for the fight?"
"Don't worry," Cardin said, created a Messenger Bird and said, "Send light-ice-dust." He then let the bird fly away, and the group continued waiting.
"Weiss, are you almost done?" Jaune asked and said, "I know I have two hands, but my aura is running low." Weiss checked her Seer to find out how far she was.
"Hold on, I'm almost done," Weiss answered, "I just need to prepare three more locations, then I'm done."
"Don't worry, I'm close to being done, too," Blake said, "You can focus on Weiss for the time being."
"Thanks," Jaune said and stopped recharging Blake's aura. She continued firing stars from her palm for a few seconds, then decided to call it a day, sat down and entered her soul core. A few minutes later, Ren arrived, using his weapons' grappling hooks to swing between buildings, and dropped down by the group.
"Hey," Ren said and handed Weiss a duffel bag, "Here you go."
"Thanks," Weiss said, took the bag and looked inside, finding half a dozen light-ice-dust crystals, as well as some others. She set the last couple traps, then made her summons disappear, and Jaune stopped recharging her aura.
"Oh, and one more thing," Ren said, "Atlas was really impressed by the idea of unnatural dust, so now they're experimenting with it, to try and find more types."
"Sounds like they're really at it now," Yang said and asked, "So, any developments yet?"
"Remember Quartz?" Ren asked and said, "She volunteered, under the condition that she remains anonymous on official statements, so now there is dust that shoots crystal shards everywhere if triggered. Once the first shipments arrive, I'll grab some of them and use them for my own Landmines."
"Sounds awesome," Yang said, "Maybe I'll fuse with Sirena again, so that Daybreaker can help out, too."
"Isn't her semblance reactionary?" Weiss asked, "What would that dust even do?"
"Not anymore," Yang said, "I picked up what Ruby meant when she sent me to kill Grimm the other day, so I got really into the semblance's mindset, and evolved it." Before Yang could explain what the evolution meant, a red portal opened nearby, and Ruby and Nora came out of it.
"Ren, you're here," Nora said and asked, "Why?"
"Weiss needed more light-ice-dust," Ren answered, "I was just headed back, though."
"I see," Nora said.
"You can use this portal," Ruby said, "Anyway, Blake, I need you to cover the bridge leading to the facility in incendiary-goo, and make it hurt Grimm. Weiss, I don't know what you were doing, but set up light-ice-dust Landmines to drive Grimm to pass by the river."
"Already done," Blake said, and the group realized that she had already returned from her soul core without them noticing.
"Same here," Weiss said.
"See you," Ren said and walked through the portal, which closed behind him.
"Yeah, later," Nora said.
"Well, alright," Ruby said, "That makes things a lot easier." She pulled out her scroll and checked everyone's aura levels, and saw that she, Weiss, Blake and Jaune were fairly low.
"So, what do we do now?" Cardin asked.
"We rest a bit until everyone is ready to go again," Ruby answered, "Once we're all good, we'll keep going and launch our attack."
"And if we have to retreat again?" Weiss asked.
"Then we will wait until tomorrow and try again," Ruby answered, "Every defeat is another lesson, and eventually, we will find a way to win. What matters is that we do not give up trying." Weiss set up a Safezone and Healing Circle, while Jaune created a Grassy Terrain, boosting the group's aura regeneration as much as possible, and Ruby fused with Emerald and Sapphire's souls again. Once everyone's aura was fully regenerated, the group got going again.
Author's note: Trifa's semblance is loosely based on the Queen Spider Staff from Terraria.
Also, I lied about the third assault. That comes next week.
As for the ammo, that's easy: The wasps don't attack the enemy whose shadow the bullet is in.