Author's note: In this chapter, I'll explore the basis of how most abilities in this fic work, including Sirena's apparent water walking.
Blake and Sun were chasing the White Fang spy across the rooftops of Kuo Kuana, and as the woman jumped over a steam pipe, she used her whip to crack it, releasing steam in an attempt to shake off her pursuers. Blake and Sun followed her through the steam, only to find her face to face with a snake faunus. He wore a white dress shirt under a dark gray tailcoat, brown, fur-lined pants, boots and vambraces, and thick, brown leather gloves with steel studs on the knuckles. He had shoulder-long black hair tied into a ponytail with a snake scale pattern, light blue eyes, and a long black snake tail with orange spots on it protruding from his waist. Blake and Sun stopped to look at the man, who focused on the spy. He punched the spy in the stomach, uppercut her and used his tail to slam her into the ground before kicking her into the nearby wall, all within a single second. Blake and Sun looked at the spy as her mask crumbled.
"… Ilia?" Blake asked, recognizing her old friend. The snake faunus extended two claws from his left vambrace, and got ready to punch Ilia with the steel blades. Blake rushed forward, grabbed her friend and used her semblance to get both of them to safety. Both Blake and Sun got ready to fight the newcomer.
"Blake, I didn't come to fight you," the snake faunus said, "My name is Argent Star, and I have come to protect you." Ilia put her whip away and resumed a more peaceful posture.
"Ilia?" Blake asked, confused as to why her friend didn't want to fight back.
"Blake, remember the stories?" Ilia asked.
"What stories?" Sun asked. Blake sighed.
"The White Fang's version of boogeyman stories," Blake answered, "Back in the day, there were a lot of stories about what would happen if we left our group and went on solo missions. But Ilia, why'd you bring those up now?" Ilia looked over to Argent, and Blake was hit with a daunting realization.
"Why are you here?" Blake asked.
"Like I said, to protect you," Argent answered, "There are people out there who want to get rid of you and your team, and I decided that this can't happen. Well, actually a teammate of mine decided, and I'd rather not disagree with her on things when she gets like that, so here I am."
"Then why are you here, and not going after Adam?" Ilia asked.
"Adam?" Argent asked, "You really think Adam is dangerous? He only has the power you give him. No, I'm talking about Cinder and her allies. After all, she managed to force Adam to work for her. I don't know why, but they're after Ruby now, and they never do anything halfway. We'll meet again tomorrow at Blake's house, at 6am. Be there." With that, he turned into fog and disappeared.
~o~
Ilia met with Fennec and Corsac Albain, who were more than displeased with her failing to gather information on Blake and Sun.
"We hope you understand what consequences your actions could have," Fennec said, and his right fox ear twitched angrily.
"I'm sorry," Ilia said, "I'll meet with someone tomorrow and get more information on them."
"Good," Corsac said, "Tell them we want you out of the picture permanently. That should get you their trust."
~o~
The next morning, Ilia walked up to Blake's house, and knocked on the door. Blake came to open the door, and let Ilia come inside. Sun and Argent were already inside, with Sun sitting on a couch and Argent having his tail curled up and sitting on it.
"Looks like I'm the last one," Ilia said, nervously rubbing her neck, "Sorry about that." Her skin turned darker and she sat down in some distance to Sun.
"It's fine," Blake said, sat down between Sun and Ilia and asked, "Now, Argent, who is after us that is more dangerous than Adam?"
"Just about everyone is more dangerous than Adam," Argent answered, "Like I said, he only has as much power as you give him. But once I'm done with you, he'll run from you like others run from him."
"Meaning?" Sun asked.
"Meaning that I'll train you," Argent answered, "I originally came to train Blake, but since you and Ilia are here now as well, I figured I could at least make the offer."
"Thanks, but I already got a lot of training from the White Fang," Ilia said, "I don't think there is much more for me to learn." Argent gave her a serious look, and in the blink of an eye, she found herself beaten across the room and wrapped up in his tail, looking directly at Blake. Ilia uncontrollably turned green with red spots.
"How about now?" Argent asked, released Ilia and resumed his original position, "I can offer you a training method my family has been perfecting since the early days of the Great War. One of my ancestors, who developed it, took three enemy fortresses by himself, with nothing but what nature had given him."
"How did you do that?" Ilia asked, returned to her normal color and got back to her seat.
"I am part Menagerie giant boa," Argent answered, "It is the most efficient ambush predator on land, second only to the Vacuo desert chameleon. The training method my family developed unlocks a faunus' full potential by honing their animal instincts. This is why I am such a capable fighter." Ilia took on a red hue.
"You know our kind has a lot of issues because of humans treating us like animals, right?" she asked, "This kind of thinking is not really helping our cause."
"And ruthlessly murdering everyone who looks like trouble is?" Argent asked, "I'm accepting my animal instincts as part of myself, while the White Fang acts like rabid animals, attacking anyone they don't like without considering an alternative. We're not humans, but by trying to act like them, we only dig our own graves, and fighting them gets us nowhere."
"But we can't just sit around and do nothing," Ilia called out and turned bright red.
"I never said we should," Argent responded, remaining perfectly calm, "But what the White Fang is doing doesn't help anyone except the ones who destroyed Beacon."
"About that," Blake said, trying to calm Ilia down and asked, "What is up with that anyway? Why did those people destroy Beacon?"
"Because they want to divide us," Argent answered, "When humans and faunus work together, the Grimm stand no chance. Their queen knows this."
"Wait, the Grimm have a queen?!" Sun asked, and a gasp could be heard from another room, followed by the sound of crashing plates.
"I'm fine," Blake's mom called over from the kitchen.
"Yes, and she is after Ruby," Argent answered, "As you can imagine, her followers are powerful. Some are even human, or faunus. She is dangerous, but not invincible. She pits humans and faunus against each other because she is afraid of what we'll do when we work together. But right now, my training will have to suffice."
"Let's say we agree," Blake said and asked, "What do we get out of this training?"
"You already are more agile than a human with your build and training would be, right?" Argent asked, "This training would increase it even more. You would also gain faster reflexes, a stronger awareness for aura and dangers, and gain multiple ways of manipulating your aura that would take a human decades to master."
"And me?" Sun asked.
"Not much in terms of combat," Argent answered, "But you would get better spacial awareness, much better control over your aura and semblance, and some other benefits."
"Alright, I'm in," Blake said.
"Me too," Sun added.
"When do we start?" Ilia asked, giving a confident smile.
"Whenever you are ready," Argent answered, "I'll be waiting a little outside of Kuo Kuana." He sent the coordinates to Blake's scroll, evaporated and disappeared through cracks between the floor boards.
~o~
Argent effortlessly dashed through a pack of Beowolves, shooting them with the guns hidden in his vambraces. He extended the claws of his weapons and impaled an Alpha Beowolf while wrapping his tail around the other one. Both Grimm died almost immediately.
"And that is what my training can do for you," he said and activated his aura again, "I just wish we could have found bigger Grimm. I once took down a Big Ursa while my aura was depleted."
"What do we learn first?" Ilia asked, taking out her scroll to take notes.
"First some safety measures," Argent answered, and Sun groaned.
"Can't we skip to the part where we become awesome?" Sun asked.
"This training method has a lot of risks involved," Argent answered, "If you're not careful, especially when you're hungry or exhausted, your instincts can take over, and then you become a threat to everyone around you. But, as long as you eat enough, and get enough sleep, you'll be fine."
"Are you sure?" Blake asked, "I don't want to hurt my friends."
"Yes, I am sure," Argent answered, "Now, pay attention to your instincts. What do they tell you?" Blake looked around. They were near an oasis in the deserts of Menagerie, with the town of Kuo Kuana just behind a hill in the distance. Sun ran up to a palm tree and quickly made his way to the top.
"Guys, I think we have a problem," he called down from his vantage point.
"What is it?" Blake asked.
"Lions," Argent answered, "But don't worry, I got this." He walked up to a small hill, and a pride of lions appeared on top of it. The leader had a black mane, indicating that it was fairly strong, and he and the others glared at Argent. The snake faunus didn't budge or flinch, even as the lions came to take in his scent. He stood his ground, and the lions walked around him and ignored him and the other faunus. They went to drink by the water hole, with one always keeping an eye out for danger.
"How did you do that?" Blake asked.
"I can increase my aura's presence," Argent answered, "That way, others can sense if I'm stronger than them or not. Animals are most receptive to this, and can often times sense a strong person's aura even without that person wanting to. Faunus are next, and then humans. The difference isn't that big though, unless you went through my training program."
"Really?" Ilia asked, "I didn't sense anything."
"That's because I didn't want you to," Argent answered.
"Wait, you can increase your aura at will?" Sun asked.
"Not really," Argent answered, "Just how easy it is for others to sense it."
"Can you let us sense your aura?" Blake asked, "Just so I know what it's like."
"I'd rather not," Argent answered.
"Why not?" Blake asked.
"For safety reasons, mostly," Argent answered, "I've been told it's a very disturbing experience. Also, I can't choose who gets to sense my aura. If I do this here, the people in Kuo Kuana will be affected as well, as will the animals for sale there."
"Alright," Blake said. The group continued practicing until the evening, with the three faunus slowly getting in touch with their instincts, and then all four headed back to Blake's home.
~o~
A few weeks later, Blake, Ilia and Sun were chasing Argent through the forest of Menagerie, trying to capture him. Ilia tried grabbing Argent with her whip, but he evaporated and appeared somewhere else. Sun tried jumping on him from above, but Argent kicked him away. Blake swung around a tree, but was too slow to tag the snake faunus. Ilia stopped on a tree, and felt a vibration as if someone had just landed on it, but realized it was a different tree. She put her right hand on the branch under her and focused on the aura in the trees. Like a raindrop landing in a puddle, she felt a vibration when Argent jumped off of a tree. She jumped off the branch and swung through the forest, periodically stopping to pinpoint Argent's location and estimate his path, trying to intercept him. Blake stopped at the bottom of a tree, trying to locate Argent through his sound. She put her blade away and began sneaking through the foliage, stalking her prey like a real black panther. Sun was half running through the treetops, effortlessly navigating the tricky terrain. He eventually caught up with Argent, but as he tried to jump on him, the snake faunus evaporated again and Blake, Ilia and Sun all crashed into one another.
"Well done," Argent said after reappearing in front of the three faunus.
"But we didn't catch you," Sun said.
"You never had a chance," Argent explained, "I could track you the entire time, and your fluctuating aura made it pretty obvious to me what you were planning. But you all made an important first step towards unlocking new ways to manipulate and use your aura."
"What else are we going to be able to do?" Blake asked.
"You'll get better control over your aura and semblance," Argent answered, "And gain some extra-sensory abilities. One of the most common abilities is sensing negative emotions, but you'll also be able to tell when an area is dangerous. Also, you'll all get different abilities based on what animal you share a trait with."
"What about me?" Sun asked, "What abilities do monkey faunus get?"
"Greater agility and mobility, mostly," Argent answered, "But also much greater control over your aura. Also, a good sense of where the perfect camp site is."
"Really?" Sun asked, "I can find a good camp site? That's… a bit underwhelming."
"Not quite," Argent answered, "With the training complete, you'll be able to find the perfect camp site, no matter where you are. Stable, safe, dry, well protected, whatever you want, you'll find it."
"And me?" Ilia asked.
"In addition to the normal abilities," Argent answered, "You'll get a seismic sense, faster reflexes, and the ability to find perfect ambush spots."
"So, what's in it for me?" Blake asked.
"Quite simple," Argent answered, "You'll become able to predict the weather, sense danger in an area, get faster reflexes, and track any target you want. Within reason, that is. But we better get back to training now." The four faunus continued their training until the evening, then Argent had Sun look for a good place to set up a camp for the night, and Blake contacted her parents to let them know that they'd spend the night in the wilderness for training purposes. After everything else was done and they got ready to go to bed, Argent looked at his scroll, going through the various automated messages he had received from Sirena's scroll over the past three years.
~o~
Argent walked around in the harbor of Vale, looking for any trace of Sirena. She had disappeared without a word immediately after getting her huntress license. His seismic sense told him she had been at the harbor, but she had jumped into the ocean after leaving her things behind. The snake faunus found her satchel, containing her scroll, wallet and other personal items, and informed the police. It was still morning, and while it was a warm day for the season, he still shivered a lot, due to his training making him more susceptible to low temperatures. The police came and got him to the station for questioning.
~o~
Argent sat by a heater in the Vale police's main station, with an IT expert trying to get past the security measures on Sirena's scroll. A thorny devil faunus walked up to the snake faunus and sat down on a chair next to him, her tail placed to her right.
"It's pointless," Argent said, "My sister wrote that system, and only Sirena can access that scroll now. It scans for the user's aura and won't let any signals through unless the person pressing the buttons has Sirena's aura."
"Hello Argent, I'm officer Crimson," the woman said and asked, "Do you know where Sirena could be?"
"Hello," Argent said and answered, "She always talked about a deep sea kingdom. I fear she might be headed back there. If she finds out it doesn't exist, it would be very bad."
"Won't she just come back here?" Officer Crimson asked.
"Yes, and no," Argent answered, "Two years ago, in early summer, she found out that sirens weren't really real. They're apparently well-liked in her kingdom, due to sinking ships and therefore providing materials to her people. She's actually named after them for this very reason. They're seen as guardian deities by her people. When she found out they didn't exist, well, she went into the nearby forest, which is now known as Dead Woods. Her semblance went out of control and killed everything she came into contact with." While Officer Crimson was still processing the fact that a single person could wipe an entire forest off the map, Argent's scroll rang. He looked at it and saw that it was a message from Sirena's scroll.
"What is it?" Officer Crimson asked.
"Sirena prepared this message to be sent to me now," Argent answered, "She wants you to go to the museum and keep an eye on the blonde human male with brown eyes." He read the rest of the message, put his scroll away and evaporated.
~o~
Argent appeared in front of Junior's club and walked toward the door, but the bouncer blocked his way.
"Hey, you know your team's not allowed here," the massive human said.
"I just have a few questions for your boss," Argent said.
"Sorry, can't let you in," the bouncer responded.
"Look, you can either let me in now, or I make you," Argent said, "But if I have to make you let me in, you'll be in a lot of pain."
"I'm not afraid of huntsmen," the bouncer said, "You have to follow the rules."
"I am following the rules," Argent explained, "One of my teammates is missing, and she is a hazard to international security. If I can't find her, we're all in serious danger. This means that I can, and will, treat this mission as a renegade recapture mission. She is in my team, and I am responsible for her actions. Therefore, according to article thirty-eight of the Vytal Conventions, I am allowed to do whatever I think is necessary to protect the people from her. This includes ignoring some racist's opinions on who can enter his establishment and beating up anyone who thinks he can stop me."
"I'll have to discuss this with the boss," the bouncer said.
"Not necessary," Argent said, evaporated, and reappeared behind the man, "I'll talk to him." The bouncer grabbed Argent's left shoulder.
"Wait," he said with a serious voice.
"No," Argent responded equally firm, extended the claws on his right vambrace and glared at the guy. The man froze up as Argent lowered how much he suppressed the presence of his aura, and the bouncer took his hand off the snake faunus' shoulder.
~o~
Junior was sitting on a stool in his club, looking over the news and thinking of which huntsman or huntress to try and recruit for his club, and the fog on the dance floor started to waft over to him. Before he knew what was happening, Argent sat next to him.
"Hello, Junior," Argent said and asked, "Have you seen Sirena lately?"
"Argent, what are you doing here?" Junior asked, "I told you guys to stay out of here."
"I ask the questions," Argent responded and asked, "Where is Sirena, and why did she send me a message to go see you?"
"Wait, Sirena is missing?" Junior asked and said, "She was my best customer."
"Are you sure this is the only reason you didn't ban her from this place?" Argent asked.
"Well, she's not a widely known assassin, or outright terrifying, and she's not your sister, either," Junior answered.
"You know how my sister is," Argent said and asked, "Anyway, do you know where Sirena could be?"
"Maybe she's back in her kingdom," Junior answered.
"You don't really believe in that, do you?" Argent asked.
"Over time I've learned not to question what people say," Junior answered, "Now, get out."
"Fine," Argent said and evaporated.
~o~
A few days later, Argent was on a ship to Vacuo. As he leaned on the railing, he heard an all too familiar voice.
"Now that's a surprise. What's my favorite assassin doing here?" the man said. Argent turned around and said a muscular human wearing navy blue cargo shorts, black sneakers and a black t-shirt.
"Hello, Francis," Argent said and answered, "You know I can't stay in Vale over the winter. I was hoping to find someone in Vacuo, or on the way." He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, they had turned pitch black, and he looked out onto the sea.
"What are you doing?" Francis asked, "And does it have to be this creepy?"
"It's called Grimm Vision," Argent answered, "It allows me to see negative emotions, which makes it incredibly easy to find Grimm." His eyes turned back to their normal ice blue color.
"Can you teach me?" Francis asked.
"No, sorry," Argent answered, "Only faunus can learn it, at least to that degree."
"You know, that's kind of unfair," Francis said, "You guys have so many cool abilities that you can learn, and we humans are left with nothing."
"Actually," Argent said, "While faunus can learn these abilities faster, we're limited to a handful abilities. Humans, on the other hand, don't have these limitations, and can learn just about any ability. It just takes you longer than us."
"So, can you teach me?" Francis asked.
"No, sorry. I don't know how humans can learn these things," Argent answered, "Anyway, where is Sophie?"
"Still on Sanus, I think," Francis answered, "She went back to her home village, but made it clear that she didn't plan on coming back. By the way, who are you looking for?"
"Sirena," Argent answered, "She went missing right after graduation, and I'd rather find her before she does anything dangerous."
"What's the worst that can happen?" Francis asked.
"Well, quite a lot," Argent answered, "Especially considering she is an incredibly skilled tactician and seems to always know when her plans are going to fall apart long before they do, and then she plans accordingly. It's as if she has a second semblance or something."
"Really? A person with two semblances?" Francis asked, "What's next, magic?"
"You know what she always said about her kingdom," Argent answered, "Besides, there is no proof that magic doesn't exist. The fairy tales had to have their roots somewhere."
"That was obviously just someone's imagination," Francis said, "Or maybe some powerful semblances with smart users." Suddenly, the ship's sirens went off and the captain's voice came from the speakers.
"Dear passengers, we are being approached by pirates," the woman said, "Please seek shelter on the lower decks. Any huntsmen and huntresses on board, please prepare for combat."
"Looks like my time has come," Francis said and pulled out a cybernetic monocle from one of his pockets. He opened his backpack and five small drones flew out, flying in an outward spiral to locate the enemy vessel. Francis walked around the hull of the ship, and when a large smoke screen appeared, masking the bigger vessel, he extended his right hand towards where his drones had located the ship. He augmented his semblance with incendiary-dust and fired a bright orange concussion blast from his palm. As soon as it made contact with the armored steel hull, it exploded into shrapnel and heated up parts of the ship. He shot a longer blast, this time using fire-dust, heating up the ship even more before shooting an ice-dust blast from his left hand. The hull cracked from the massive temperature difference and the ship filled with water, sinking quickly.
"Don't worry, there was noone on board," Argent said as he walked up to his friend.
"What do you mean?" Francis asked.
"Niob took care of them a few days ago," Argent answered, "The ship had been drifting around ever since." Suddenly, Francis got a text on his scroll. He had his drones return to him and checked his message.
"Thank you," the message said, but he didn't recognize the number. Argent looked over his shoulder and gasped as he saw the number that sent the message.
"Who is that?" Francis asked Argent.
"Sirena," Argent answered, "She has prepared this message over a year ago. She arranged for this ship to come here, and for you to be here as well, so you would sink the entire thing."
"How can she know this stuff?" Francis asked, "Also, if she wanted this ship sunk, why didn't she do it herself?"
"I don't know how she knew this," Argent answered, "But her kingdom's laws forbid sinking ships, so she has to find other ways."
"But isn't it the same if she arranges for a ship to sink?" Francis asked.
"Believe me, you do not want to argue about her people's laws with her," Argent answered. The two kept talking for a while, and a crew member got Francis to the captain, who offered him a permanent job as the vessel's personal huntsman.
~o~
About a week later, Argent was walking through the deserts of Vacuo. He came across a recently destroyed desert village and used his Grimm Vision to see what had happened. There had been a bandit attack, signified by their green anger and the villagers' red fear. Yellow sorrow quickly mixed in as well as people started dying or getting captured. When the Grimm came, everyone got scared, safe for a group of scorpions that decimated the attackers. The villagers got carted off by the bandits, and Argent followed their trails to the bandits' hideout. They had built a camp around a small cave in the side of a mountain, and had fortified it relatively well. They could overlook the nearby area, had lookouts posted to keep track of approaching enemies, and had torches to keep the area illuminated. At night, he used his semblance to turn into fog and approached the camp, appearing behind an outlook and grabbing the bandit with his tail.
"Alarm!" the man called out before being tossed over the palisade and cracking his skull on a rock below. Bandits came running up to Argent, who extended the claws from his vambraces and rushed to attack the bandits. He caught one blade between his claws and disarmed the wielder. Another bandit tried hitting him with a war hammer from behind. Argent evaporated, causing the man to hit his ally. Argent reappeared behind another bandit and hit him with his claws. One bandit tried hitting him with a war axe from above. Argent caught the weapon on his right vambrace and kicked the woman in the torso. She flew through a tent and revealed a cage full of people behind it.
"Save us," one of the people in the tent called out.
"That's why I'm here," Argent said. He dashed and flipped around the attacking bandits and fired water-dust bullets at the torches, extinguishing them and making it almost impossible for the bandits to see.
"Get him!" one of the bandits shouted, but Argent kept evading them, rushing in to finish off one or two bandits, and then disappearing back into the shadows. The bandit leader finally came out, a heavy war hammer in his hands, and looked around. Argent knew immediately that he was in trouble, because the man was a faunus, and spotted him almost immediately. He wore heavy brown leather boots, simple white linen pants and a matching shirt, and fingerless brown leather gloves. His koala ears twitched and he swung his hammer. Despite the distance between them, Argent felt the impact as if the man had hit him in the chest. He tried running up to the guy, but the man kicked the air and Argent felt the foot hit his chin. Argent retreated into the shadows to try and think of a strategy. The bandit leader hit the tip of his hammer on the ground, and the head began moving. Two mechanical eagles came off from the tip of what was now a spear, and began following Argent. As soon as they spotted him, they launched energy blasts from their beaks. Argent dashed away, but was hit by the thrust of the bandit leader's spear.
"Impressed?" the man asked, "My semblance lets me hit anything I can see, and all I have to do is move like I hit it."
"Interesting," Argent said, "So, without seeing the enemy, you can't do anything, right?"
"My birds have thermal vision, so don't even try an invisibility semblance," the man said.
"I wasn't going to," Argent responded and augmented his semblance with air-dust. He turned into a powerful gust of wind, slammed the birds against the rocks and blew sand into the man's eyes. While the dust settled, Argent reappeared in front of the man and hit him with his weapons, striking too fast for the naked eye. Several dozen puncture wounds appeared on the man's torso, which his aura immediately begun healing, until it was depleted entirely.
"How did you do this?" the man asked. He was still bleeding, and sunk to his knees.
"I'm a snake faunus," Argent answered, "We only attack when it's too late for our prey. Also, you probably know how you can move your finger through a flame so fast that it doesn't get hot, right? Well, I can do that with aura. Air friction and the resulting heat are a bit of a problem though, so I need to have a way to negate that damage. Luckily, my aura is incredibly heat-resistant and actually regenerates faster when it's warm." Argent left, led the people back to their village, and gave them some tips on how to better defend themselves. They dismantled the bandit's camp to get the supplies, and he helped them rebuild for a few days, until he got a new message from Sirena's scroll.
~o~
Professor Ozpin entered his office, only to find Argent sitting on his desk, with his tail laying all over the table.
"Mister Star, might I ask what you are doing here?" Ozpin asked.
"Just looking for Sirena," Argent answered, "You two got along quite well, so I figured I'd ask you. It's been half a year now, and the only signs of her are those weird automated messages. She just asked me to buy fifty green umbrellas at that store she always went to. My mom has said that there is no chance of rain within the next few months, so I don't know why Sirena wanted me to buy those."
"But did you do it?" Ozpin asked.
"Of course," Argent answered, "But now I want to know where she could be." He got off of Ozpin's desk, curled up his tail and sat down on it.
"It is her decision whether or not she wants to remain with her team," Ozpin said, "You should respect her decision, no matter what it is."
"You know as well as I do that letting any of my team members do their own thing is not an option," Argent said, "Now, where could she have gone?"
"How did you get in here?" Ozpin asked. He went around his desk, sat down on his chair and looked at the snake faunus.
"My sister let me in," Argent answered and asked, "Where is Sirena?" He used his instincts to sense Ozpin's emotions to tell if he was lying.
"Why do you want to know that?" Ozpin asked.
"Because she is dangerous," Argent answered, "You know that more than anyone. If she has a goal, she will reach it, and I'm afraid she'll do something to harm the kingdoms. Atlas especially is at risk from her. I need to find her to convince her to stop whatever she is doing."
"I wouldn't worry about her," Ozpin said, "She won't harm the kingdoms."
"How do you know?" Argent asked.
"I just do," Ozpin answered. Argent sensed how Ozpin got sad and fearful, and came to a shocking conclusion. He augmented his semblance with fire-dust and rushed past the headmaster, leaving him with a red-hot coffee mug and making a hole in the window behind him.
"Well, we all deal with loss in a different way," Ozpin said to himself, then ordered a new window panel.
~o~
Argent materialized on one of the support beams of Beacon Academy, pulled out his scroll and contacted Qrow.
"Where is you sister?" he asked the man.
"Oz already told me what happened," Qrow responded, "Just let it rest."
"Qrow, listen," Argent wrote, "Sirena is out there, doing and planning Gods know what, and we have to make sure she isn't trying to kill us all."
"I know, but she won't hurt people any more," Qrow said.
"If you don't want to help me, fine," Argent said, "I'll just find another way to get your sister's attention." Argent put his scroll away and augmented his semblance with air-dust to turn into sentient air. Qrow tried to contact Argent, but didn't get a signal, so he contacted Taiyang instead.
"Tai, listen, Argent's gone nuts," he wrote, "Get the girls away from wherever you are!"
"Sorry, your message got lost at sea," an error message said, "Here, have a cookie."
~o~
Argent was sitting on a tree branch in the forests of Anima, contacting his two remaining team members.
"Niob, any luck yet?" he asked.
"No, sorry," the bat faunus replied, "But I will keep looking."
"Maybe try using her semblance to enter her dreams," Argent's sister suggested, "You know, like how I use it to get to her whenever I want."
"Could work," Niob said, "I'll try it."
"Good," Argent said, "Let her know that we're serious about this." He put his scroll away and jumped off the tree, heading towards the city of Mistral.
~o~
A few days later, Argent walked through the streets of lower Mistral, when a red portal opened next to him and Raven stepped out. She wore her Grimm mask, but was wobbly on her feet.
"So, you finally decided to help me," Argent said. Raven drew her sword and dashed forward, trying to attack the snake faunus. Argent augmented his semblance with lightning-dust and let Raven dash into a sentient lightning. He reappeared behind her and gave off a few shots with exploding bullets, depleting her aura almost completely.
"Just… leave me alone," Raven said. She was clearly tired, and Argent could feel that she was barely able to stay awake.
"First, help me find Sirena," Argent said.
"I need to sleep," Raven said.
"Good," Argent said, "You have twenty-four hours, then I'll come for you. If Niob doesn't hear anything from me after that time is up, he'll just keep going."
"You're cruel," Raven said.
"You're a bandit," Argent responded, "Considering the mission with your name on it, and how we usually handle those types of missions, I'm being nice. Also, you had the option to help us, but you chose to make it difficult on yourself." He turned into fog and Raven disappeared through another portal.
~o~
The next day, Argent walked through the city of Mistral, and a red portal opened next to him. He walked through and found himself in Raven's camp.
"So, here we are," Raven said, opened a portal and said, "This will take you to Sirena. Now go."
"Do you think I'd fall for that?" Argent asked and said, "You go, and tell her I'm calling her back. Then you both come back through."
"That wasn't part of the deal," Raven said.
"The deal was that you'd get one day without nightmares," Argent said, "That's it. Now go." Raven groaned.
"Fine," she said and walked through the portal. After a few seconds, she came back out of the portal, as if something had thrown her, and crashed into a pile of boxes. Her aura depleted and the portal disappeared. She was soaked and shivering, and the water in her clothes immediately turned into ice.
"And?" Argent asked, "Where is Sirena?"
"I don't know," Raven answered, "It was pitch black, colder than all of Solitas, and the pressure was intense. Without my aura, I would've been dead before I even knew what was happening."
"So that's what you think of our deal," Argent said, "I'll keep that in mind when discussing things with you." He evaporated and disappeared through the cracks in the walls around Raven's camp.
~o~
In the White Fang's headquarters, Argent was standing in front of Sienna Khan's throne, with beat-up guards shakily pointing their spears at the snake faunus.
"Argent Star," Sienna said as she reached for her weapon, "What do you want here?"
"I just came to trade," Argent answered, and Sienna looked more interested than threatening.
"Really?" she asked, "Then why did you have to beat up my guards like this?"
"They attacked me," Argent answered.
"Because you came in without an appointment," Sienna responded.
"Fair point," Argent said.
"So, what kind of trade did you have in mind?" Sienna asked.
"Information," Argent answered, "You give me a certain bit of information on one of my team members, and I tell you what I know about the traitor in your midst."
"What traitor?" Sienna asked.
"Everything at a time," Argent replied and asked, "Where is Sirena Blue?"
"I don't know," Sienna answered.
"Then you better get your men to look for her," Argent said, "That traitor won't wait too long."
"The White Fang is not there to help people find their friends," Sienna said, "We make sure faunus are treated with the respect we deserve." Suddenly, Sienna got a message on her scroll and opened it. Her eyes widened with surprise as she read, word for word, the exchange she just had.
"That is why I need to find Sirena," Argent said, "She is too good of a strategist to do her own thing without me keeping her in check. If I don't find her quickly, we're all in serious danger."
"I… I can't help you, sorry," Sienna said.
"Well then, if that is your decision," Argent responded, "Just be sure you can live with the consequences." He evaporated and left the building.
~o~
Argent was sitting on a tree in Mistral, checking his messages, when his scroll gave off a high-pitched beeping sound. He covered his ears and tried to make it stop, but it stopped on its own after a few seconds. When he looked at his scroll, he saw a message from his sister.
"Hello," she wrote, "Sorry about that, my combat suit's AI went rogue and weaponized the nearest device it could find. On the plus side, I now know a loophole in my security system that I didn't think of before."
"Hello," Argent replied, "How are things going with Project Alpha?"
"Great, really," his sister answered, "I secured the first and second objective, and once I get through the academies' firewalls, I'll get the plans we need."
"Alright," Argent said and asked, "Any chance you can get into Sirena's scroll through that loophole?"
"Nope, sorry," his sister answered, "Benny already fixed it, and Jenny and Kenny are on their way to make sure it's really safe."
"Right, about those," Argent said, "How many do you even have?"
"I remodeled our village on my computer," his sister answered, "So, around five hundred. Once we get Project Alpha rolling, can I route it all through the village? It'd help give them some purpose, and I'd really like to see how they interact with the physical world. And of course, there is another issue I'm worried about."
"Sure, just don't break anything," Argent answered and asked, "But, what are you worried about?"
"Nothing current," his sister answered, "However, we can't ignore the possibility that a Poltergeist could possess a virus to create virtual copies of itself, or other Grimm. I actually have a rough basis for this virus. Sirena wanted me to make it, and hand it to Arthur for modification."
"And you did that?" Argent asked in disbelief.
"Well, yeah," his sister answered, "Sirena knows what's best for us. But don't worry, I outfitted all my AIs with the proper antivirus to protect them from it, no matter how much it gets modified. And I always have a backdoor, so I can shut it down at any time, as well as track any device it has infected."
"What does it do?" Argent asked.
"It gives the user control over all devices it has infected," his sister answered, "I also added a hidden feature that scans the aura of the users and sends information about them to me. If someone uses it, I'll know their location, semblance, personality, and everything else. Hold on, Benny got a signal from the virus." She hung up and Argent thought back to how he started training under water combat with Sirena.
~o~
After a quick flurry of blows, Sirena sent Argent flying out of the lake they were sparring in, and Argent crashed against a tree. Sirena came walking out of the water.
"That was incredible," Argent said and got back up.
"I know," Sirena said, "My people learn to swim from a young age, and the deep sea is very dangerous, so we have to be able to defend ourselves."
"I see," Argent said and asked, "Anyway, I know this is a weird question to ask, but are you religious?"
"Religious?" Sirena asked.
"Yeah, do you believe in some gods or stuff like that?" Argent asked.
"My people know of the Brother Gods, yes," Sirena answered.
"My dad told me a story once," Argent said, "He told me that, a long time ago, there were people who believed that everyone's soul is made up of different percentages of the four gifts, Creation, Destruction, Knowledge and Choice. Some people have more of one gift in them than others, and that is the gift they're attuned to."
"I see," Sirena said, sat down on a rock next to Argent and said, "Tell me more."
"Alright," Argent said and explained, "People attuned to the gift of Creation care for all living things, and directly oppose the Grimm. These people will fight the Grimm no matter what. They live to fight the darkness."
"For example?" Sirena asked.
"You," Argent answered, "Sure, you hurt people, but in the grand scheme of things, you just do it to protect people from Grimm attacks."
"What about Knowledge?" Sirena asked.
"People attuned to the gift of Knowledge are not only smart, but creative, studious, attentive, and open to new things."
"Like your sister, right?" Sirena asked.
"Exactly," Argent answered and said, "Now, people attuned to the gift of Choice are flexible, more metaphorically than literally. They know what to do, and what the consequences are, and no matter the situation, they can see an alternative and show it to others."
"Like you," Sirena said.
"Yeah," Argent said, "But also like Niob. He has had to make a few tough decisions, even if he doesn't want to show it, and he always pulled through. Now, people attuned to the gift of Destruction are, well, destructive. They like to upset the natural order, or the societal one, and can be incredibly reckless at times. They don't necessarily side with the Grimm, but they tend to be strong fighters whose actions often bring Grimm attacks with them."
"I don't like those people," Sirena said.
"Yeah, me neither," Argent said and asked, "Anyway, how about we continue our sparring match?"
"Sure," Sirena answered. Both got up and prepared to fight unarmed. Argent rushed forward to hit Sirena with his right fist, moving too fast for the naked eye, but Sirena dodged his attack regardless, grabbed his arm and tossed him around.
"I'm still surprised how you do that every time," Argent said as he got back up.
"My people have a perfect memory," Sirena explained, "We don't have to process information to know what is going on around us. It was a necessary evolutionary measure to ensure we could react in time to attacks." She rushed forward with super-human speed, covering Argent in a flurry of blows. Argent blocked every single hit, but had to use his tail to keep up with Sirena's punches and kicks.
~o~
A day before the 80th Vytal Festival, Argent walked through the forests of Vale, leaving a burning White Fang camp behind him and sighing. He used a piece of one man's uniform to wipe the blood off his weapons, retracted the blades into the vambraces and just walked away.
"Twenty soldiers," he wrote on his scroll, "Three years combat experience each, involved in numerous hits on SDC buildings and other targets, an average of fifty confirmed kills per person. Nothing interesting happened today." After sending his report to the local SDC distribution center, he received his payment and closed his scroll again. A few minutes later, he got a message and opened his scroll again.
"Target eliminated," it read, "No witnesses."
"Good, here's your share," he replied and sent some money to one of his subordinates, who had just taken out the man in charge of the local SDC distribution center for the White Fang. Just as he was about to put his scroll away again, Argent got another message, this time from Sirena.
"If you have carried out my instructions so far, withdraw all our assets and gather the team at Riverguard. Bring ammunition, weapons, and materials as well." He sent an according message to his team members and got on his way to their Vale outpost.
Author's note: I know there are 3 instances of Argent explaining the abilities his training will grant, but that's because the topic comes up more often, due to how unlikely it seems to the characters.
Francis Alkali is one of my earlier OCs, and actually the basis for Argent. Originally, he and his team would enroll at Beacon, and his team members would get picked on for being faunus. Though, most of their problems would come from noone wanting to talk to them, or just being weird around them in general. Francis would suggest that those people were just nervous, because they had no idea how to handle a bat, spider or reindeer faunus, so Francis would suggest to just set some boundaries or something. This would result in the faunus acting more based on their instincts, to show that yes, they do have them, and they do act on them, but they're still people. Eventually, they'd develop new abilities, and that's where this all started.
Sophie Weber will show up later. She was originally supposed to join Ruby, but there were... problems with that. I just really don't want Sophie to be around current Ruby. So, I made Sirena. Sophie is based on the idea of "What if Cinder was good?" I don't know when she became a spider faunus. Sirena is based on Sophie.
Argent can sense the ambient aura in the ground, as well as distortions in it. I also made up some new animals, which are more or less in line with real world ones. His sister shows up next chapter, so I didn't want to drop her name here.
And yes, Argent has henchmen that do jobs in his name. And yes again, he killed some White Fang members for some SDC dude, and had the SDC dude killed for the White Fang. He liked none of these people, so he doesn't mind.