Author's note: Now, we'll get to see some action.
The group was sitting in the living room, with Ilia sitting between Sun and Blake. An awkward silence filled the room, and noone knew what to say, due to Ilia looking rather uncomfortable.
"Ilia, what's wrong?" Blake asked, noticing how her friend stared at Weiss.
"It's nothing, really," Ilia answered, "I just didn't believe you were really friends with a Schnee, that's all."
"Trust me, I can't believe I'm related to most of those people," Weiss said, "My dad is especially awful. He's a self-absorbed, abusive, manipulating narcissist, who would burn down Atlas with everyone in it to save his own skin." Blake chuckled a little.
"What's so funny?" Ilia asked.
"Her dad reminds me of a certain someone," Blake answered, "And I know that both would absolutely refuse to believe they were anything like the other."
"So, what have you been doing lately?" Ruby asked to steer the conversation away from badmouthing other people, even though they were awful.
"Right, about that," Blake said and answered, "Argent taught us to be more in touch with our animal instincts, giving us better control over our aura and semblance, as well as some additional abilities. But, Yang, why are your eyes red?"
"Oh, that?" Yang asked and explained, "You see, Talia taught me to use my semblance more effectively. I absorb energy more efficiently now, and because of this, I have to release a lot of excess energy, since I can't store it for long. It also helped with my anger issues, because now that I'm always angry, I'm in much more control of myself."
"Sounds great, I guess," Blake said, not sure if her friend always being angry was such a good idea.
"By the way, Ruby, anything new on your end?" Sun asked and said, "I heard Sirena was the reason we all got this training, and she was here because of you, so it must be important."
"Well, there kind of is," Ruby answered, "But it may be hard to believe. You see, I can turn Grimm to stone. I'm still learning, but I'm getting there."
"Can Sirena do that, too?" Blake asked.
"Yes," Ruby answered, "But she wants it to be kept a secret. I don't think she even told her teammates. However, I think more people should know about it, since it can give them hope and a sense of safety to know that this kind of power exists, and that is important, especially now."
"So, wait," Sun said and asked, "Those Goliath statues back where we set up camp used to be real Grimm?"
"Yes," Ruby answered.
"How is it that so few people with this ability still exist?" Ilia asked. Ruby looked over to Qrow, who gave her a stern look and slowly shook his head.
"You see...," Ruby began, but was cut off by Ilia.
"You can't tell us, right?" Ilia asked, "Is it because he doesn't trust us?" She pointed at Qrow.
"Ilia, please," Blake said, "I'm sure Qrow has his reasons."
"Then what are those reasons?" Ilia asked, looking directly at Qrow.
"How do you even know I just shook my head?" Qrow asked.
"Aura-based seismic sense," Ilia answered and asked, "Now, why can't you tell us about the reason people like Ruby are disappearing? Argent said we had to protect her, so who are we protecting her from?"
"Salem," Ruby answered, shocking Qrow for a moment.
"Who?" Sun asked.
"The leader of a group bent on destroying the world," Ruby answered, "She is behind every bad thing that ever happened, and is actively keeping faunus and humans at war with each other because it's convenient for her. But now, we will put an end to this."
"Any plans how we should do that?" Blake asked.
"Yes," Ruby answered, "Ilia, you and Sun go and keep an eye on the city. Call us if you see anything suspicious." Ilia and Sun looked at Blake, who nodded confidently.
"Come on, I can show you some great spots," Sun said, got up and pulled Ilia along as he left the house. After the door closed, Ruby let out an exhausted sigh.
"Being a leader is exhausting," Ruby said.
"So, what do the rest of us do?" Blake asked.
"Well, we have to fill you in on some more things," Ruby answered, shrinking a little in her seat. Oscar got up and left the room.
"And you couldn't do that sooner?" Blake asked, her ears angrily pinned to her head.
"No, sorry," Qrow answered, "Some things are too important to share with just anyone. In general, the fewer people know these things, the better. I want to trust them, but I've seen a lot of people break, and something tells me it's too risky to tell Sun and Ilia." Oscar came back and handed Blake a book.
"Here," Oscar said, "Yang told me you like this one." Blake looked at it, and immediately recognized it.
"The man with two souls?" Blake asked, "Did you read it? It's a bit heavy for someone your age, isn't it?"
"If I've read it? Not quite," Oscar answered and let Ozpin take control.
"I wrote it", Ozpin answered. Blake looked at the book, then at Ozpin, back at the book, and back at Ozpin, who was now leaning on his cane.
"Professor… Ozpin?" Blake asked.
"Indeed, Miss Belladonna," Ozpin answered, and explained his immortality to her as well.
~o~
In the late afternoon, Ruby was once again training hand to hand combat with Oscar, and Yang was giving them advice. Ren was sitting beside the training field and meditating, and Jaune was going through some stuff on his scroll. Suddenly, Niob landed on a fence post, with his arms crossed in front of his chest, his eyes closed and his wings spread. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at him, and Yang decided to see how things play out, and if Niob introduced himself, before she told her friends who their visitor is.
"Can we… help you?" Ruby asked.
"Jaune Arc," Niob said, "I've come for you." He stepped off the fence post, and Jaune and Ren got up to respond, should a fight break out. Ruby rushed inside and came back with her weapon drawn.
"Who are you, and what do you want?" Ruby asked.
"My apologies," Niob answered, opened his eyes and folded his wings, "I did not mean to startle any of you. My name is Niob Bolt. I simply came to help Jaune unlock his semblance." Everyone relaxed and put their weapons away.
"Wait, you come to help me?" Jaune asked, "Why?"
"Because I see a bright future for you," Niob answered.
"You're the one who trained Weiss, right?" Ruby asked, "Do you know why she has those weird nightmares?"
"Indeed, that was me," Niob answered, "However, as to the source of her nightmares, I sadly cannot give an accurate answer."
"Can this happen to me, too?" Jaune asked.
"No," Niob answered, "The training Weiss received was intended to push her limits. Your training will revolve around controlling your aura." Jaune looked around, not knowing how he should feel about this, and all of his friends gave him reassuring looks.
"Alright," Jaune said and asked, "When do we start?"
"Tonight, if you are ready," Niob answered.
~o~
Talia sat in front of a large computer, skimming over some files on her scroll. Lines of code flashed across the screen, and for the most part they looked like she had predicted it to look.
"Incredible," she thought, "Sirena really managed to improve my White Queen virus. This approach to a multi-agent system is definitely something else." As her inner scientist looked in awe at the new and improved virus, Talia's right eye turned from ice blue to yellow for a moment. She used the new virus to access Haven's main server, trying to isolate the digital anomaly.
"Hold on," she thought as she spotted a familiar line of code. Talia stopped the scanning process and went back to the line. She recognized it immediately, took out her scroll and sent a message to Raven.
"Raven, I need your help," she wrote.
"What is it?" Raven replied.
"Well, before you decide, just know that if you don't want to help, I won't get my teammates involved, I promise," Talia wrote.
"Fine, what is it?" Raven asked.
"Can you go to my parents' place and get me Schweinstein?" Talia asked.
"Schweinstein?" Raven asked.
"Yes," Talia replied, "Just ask my parents, they'll know what to look for." When Raven didn't reply, Talia sighed and went back to work, trying to isolate the rest of the program.
~o~
Jaune found himself in a round room with a ceiling so high that he couldn't see it. Invisible candles lit the room, and it had a symbol on the ground, resembling vampire fangs with bat wings sprouting from them. It was the same symbol that was embroidered in black thread on the back of Niob's dark red tailcoat. Niob was standing next to Jaune.
"Where are we?" Jaune asked.
"Inside your dream," Niob answered, "I remodeled it a little to be less distracting, but you are free to alter it as you wish."
"And this will help me unlock my semblance?" Jaune asked.
"Controlling your dream will be the first step," Niob answered, "I will also teach you to detach your soul from your body, opening the door to a plethora of abilities. And along the way, you will certainly unlock your semblance, yes."
"So, how do I control this place?" Jaune asked.
"It is your dream," Niob answered, "Everything you see here, safe for me, is created by your mind. All you have to do is take control."
"Where is the door?" Jaune asked.
"Make one," Niob answered. Jaune focused, closed his eyes, grunted and tried for what felt like a minute, before he opened his eyes and let out a defeated sigh.
"Can you help me?" Jaune asked, thought a bit and said, "I mean, maybe if I see someone else do it, and experience what is possible in my dream, I get a better understanding of it."
"Very well, follow me," Niob answered. He walked ahead, and Jaune followed him, holding his hand. He noticed that they walked up to a plain oak wood door, and wondered if it had always been there. Niob opened the door and took a step into the forest outside. He dropped through the ground, and Jaune was pulled along. They walked through the grass, which suddenly turned into a bush, and the two found themselves in a park in the city of Vale.
"What? How?" Jaune asked as he looked around.
"Perfect creativity," Niob answered, "This world is created as you discover it. It is a loop. Your brain processes information while creating it. With training, you can intercept this process and shape the world in any way you like." Niob walked towards a clothing store, and when they entered through the glass door, they were in one of the dorm rooms in Beacon.
"I think I get it now," Jaune said. He went to a drawer, opened it and pulled out stuffed eagle that could barely fit into it.
"Precisely," Niob said and asked, "And, where are we going now?"
"I figured we could fly instead," Jaune answered. He opened the wall like a window and sat down on his stuffed eagle, giving it the spurs and making it fly away with him on it. Niob jumped out of the hole in the wall and followed Jaune. They flew over the city of Vale, which Jaune poorly reconstructed from memory, and eventually landed in the Forest of Forever Fall. Niob landed next to him, and he let the stuffed eagle fly away. Niob looked around in the forest.
"More detail than before," he said and asked, "Is this a special place for you?"
"Sort of, yes," Jaune answered, "Over there I stood up to Cardin when he wanted me to throw some red tree sap on Pyrrha. She was standing right here back then."
"I'm sorry," Niob said, and suddenly all the trees wilted, before growing into grotesque versions of themselves.
"Wait, what are you doing?!" Jaune asked.
"Just a safety measure," Niob answered, sounding far more serious than before, "A place that you have emotional ties to is especially likely to trap you in here forever. That is why you should never recreate a real place in your dreams. Small things like shrubs and rocks are fine, but this was too much."
"Sorry, I didn't know that," Jaune said.
"No, I must apologize," Niob said, "I came to train you, yet I overlooked the obvious danger of learning such a skill with too little warning."
"So, how much time do we have left?" Jaune asked.
"A lot," Niob answered and explained, "We are in a part of your memory that stores information much more efficiently than your short- or long-term memory. As a result, your sense of time is altered, and we have what can feel like up to two months before the night is over in the waking world. Assuming you get eight hours of sleep, that is."
"Wow, two months of training in eight hours?" Jaune asked, pulled a chalk board out of thin air and began mumbling to himself while writing some numbers on it.
"What are you doing?" Niob asked.
"Calculating how much training you got with this during Beacon," Jaune answered.
"Enough," Niob answered with a slight smile and said, "But we should continue with your training now."
~o~
In the evening of the day when Blake arrived in Mistral, Weiss got a message on her scroll, informing her of a small group of White Fang members that planned to attack the city's SDC warehouse. She met with the person in charge of the warehouse, and waited for the thieves to attack. Late at night, three faunus wearing the standard White Fang stealth suit and masks broke into the warehouse through one of the windows. She created a steam-dust glyph in the air ducts, slowly filling the storage area with fog, and summoned a Seer and five Life-Stealers, the latter being only the size of a medium-sized dog.
"Do you have to do this all the time?" one of the faunus asked her ally.
"Yes," the other answered.
"Quiet, you two," a male voice hissed. Weiss sent her Life-Stealers to surround the thieves, without them noticing anything. She had her Seer keep her updated on what the people were doing. One of them, a lion faunus, was using her semblance to coat entire dust crates in bubbles of yellow energy, made them shrink to the size of a watermelon, tapped them on the top and made them vanish into thin air, likely sending them somewhere else. Weiss got an idea.
"Who's there?" one of her Life-Stealers asked in Ruby's voice, prompting one of the faunus, a stag beetle faunus, to light up the horn on her forehead and shoot a lime green energy beam from her right hand. The summoned Grimm jumped aside and the blast hit a crate of steam-dust, triggering an explosion and completely obscuring the vision of the group.
"We're not alone...," the male tiger faunus said, extending his claws and getting ready to fight.
"Sorry," another Life-Stealer said, and the tiger faunus jumped at the invisible Grimm, disappearing into the mist. The two other faunus were left wondering what had happened to him.
"Get back to work," the stag beetle faunus said after a short moment, and the lion faunus continued sending crates of dust and other resources away.
"Why are you doing this?" another Life-Stealer asked.
"What does it matter to you?" the stag beetle faunus asked.
"I just want to know," yet another Life-Stealer asked, coming from the opposite side of the large room. The two faunus turned around, not sure how someone can get past them like this without them noticing.
"Are you sure it's one person?" the stag beetle faunus asked her ally.
"Yes," the lion faunus answered, and her ears moved a little to locate the source of the sound, or any footsteps. The duo kept walking and stealing materials.
"Seriously though, why?" Weiss asked, standing not two meters away from the faunus. Both faunus jumped back in surprise. The stag beetle faunus fired an energy blast at Weiss. Weiss blocked it with a glyph. A Life-Stealer shot a paralyzing blast at the stag beetle faunus. Another Life-Stealer paralyzed the lion faunus. The stag beetle faunus created a force field around herself. A third Life-Stealer disabled the force field, and another Life-Stealer paralyzed her as well. Weiss made two Life-Stealers disappear, shrunk the remaining two to the size of peas, and made each of them hide in the clothes of one of the thieves. She then used her glyphs to launch the thieves out the window and make sure they landed safely, before heading back to the woman in charge of the warehouse.
"Hello again, Miss Schnee," the woman said and asked, "Is everything alright?"
"Hello," Weiss said and answered, "Yes, it is. I have disabled the thieves, but they sadly managed to steal several crates of merchandise. I expect a full list by tomorrow morning. Also, one crate of steam-dust was destroyed in an altercation."
"Of course, Miss Schnee," the woman said.
"Thank you," Weiss said. She went back to the house, with the Seer following her. She met a few people on the way, all of whom were at least somewhat freaked out by the summon and stepped aside when Weiss approached them.
~o~
The next morning, Weiss woke up and immediately felt the effects of keeping her summons active for too long. The most notable effect was exhaustion, but her aura didn't want to fully activate either, and was only strong enough to keep her summons active. Her Seer told her where the thieves were hiding, and she made all her summons disappear after writing it down on her scroll. The girls then went to go get breakfast with the rest of their group.
"Weiss, you ok?" Yang asked during breakfast.
"Yeah, why?" Weiss asked.
"Your aura was a bit, well, weird this morning," Yang answered.
"How can you tell?" Weiss asked.
"Talia modified my arm," Yang answered, "So now, it can connect to my scroll. That way, I can see how people's auras are doing without having to look at my scroll. It's like in a video game, just in real life."
"Wait, really?" Nora asked, "What else can you do?" Yang sent everyone a text message.
"I can send texts to people with my mind," it read.
"So cool," Ruby said and asked, "What else?"
"Well, Talia installed a few programs on my scroll," Yang answered, "One of them compares people's combat skill to mine, and tells my how I'd handle them in a fight. My scroll also keeps track of what's happening around me, can offer solutions to smaller problems, and so on."
"What do you think who of us would win?" Ruby asked and said, "Just out of curiosity, of course." Yang checked her augmented vision and saw a red frowning face next to Ruby's aura.
"It wouldn't be easy for me, but still doable," Yang answered, "But I'd never hurt you."
"Yeah, I know," Ruby said, "But I was curious. You know, in case someone with a really freaky semblance makes us fight clones of each other or something."
~o~
Talia sat down in front of Haven's main computer, a massive structure hidden under the academy, and pulled out her scroll again. She started her program to isolate the code, and was about to continue her work, when a red portal opened next to her and Raven stepped out, holding a brown paper bag.
"Here," Raven said as she set the bag down next to Talia.
"Thanks," Talia said, and gave Raven a genuine smile. Raven created another portal and returned to her tribe. Talia took the bag, reached inside and pulled out a stuffed pig with light gray hair and mustache. She pressed a key on her scroll and opened a new chat window.
"Hey Talia," her friend wrote and asked, "Where are we?"
"Hi, Kenny," Talia replied, "At Haven. I need your help with something."
"Need a pic?" Kenny asked.
"No, I need help with a code," Talia answered.
"Why don't you ask my sis?" Kenny asked and said, "I mean, she's better at that sort of thing."
"That's the thing," Talia answered, "I need help getting her back together. You have the next best information processing protocols, so it's the best way to get her back."
"Got it," Kenny said, "Just let me take care of it."
~o~
Argent walked through Mistral, looking at the vendors, when he got a message on his scroll. He pulled it out and checked the message.
"Weiss Schnee?" he thought, "What does she want from me?" He opened the message and saw that it was a mission sent by Ironwood, and relayed through Weiss. He contacted his team in their own chat room.
"Guys, we got a mission," he wrote.
"Is my assistance required, boss?" Niob asked.
"Yes, all of you," Argent answered.
"I am currently preoccupied," Sirena wrote, "I have to restock on water-goo, but you can enlist the White Fang's help."
"I knew I could count on you," Argent wrote.
"I'm on my way," Talia wrote, manifested next to Argent and asked, "How can I help?"
"I need you to go to the location of Project Alpha," Argent answered, "We'll have to start up the laboratory early, but it'll be worth it, I think." He sent a message asking Sirena about it.
"Yes, it'll work," she wrote back, "But I'm approaching the deathline, so I'll be silent from now on."
"Got it," Argent wrote, just before the signal of Sirena's scroll disappeared as she passed 300 meters below the ocean's surface and the dust in her scroll stopped working.
"What do I need to do?" Niob asked.
"You'll be our ghost assault, as usual," Argent replied, "Talia and the Fang will set up a base camp in Mountain Glenn, and once they got everything set up there, we'll move to Vale and get Penny's body back. Sirena will lead the main charge, at which point Niob will sneak past the Grimm and get the objective. Have Raven bring you to me. If all goes according to plan, I'll be in Menagerie at that time, and we can use our lab there to get her back."
~o~
Shooting through the ocean faster than a bullet on the surface, Sirena masterfully dodged swarms of fish, and dove into the pitch black darkness of her kingdom. She spotted a lime green light, and stopped near one of her people's outposts. It was constructed from four petrified Sea Feilong, tied together by their hands using plant fiber ropes, and transmuted into wood. Magical light spheres were floating around the post, which had a structure above the Grimm's arms. Most of the structure was sails, keeping the water outside, but there also was a wooden floor with plants on it, to provide oxygen. Three guards were patrolling the area, with another six inside the structure to recover, but they had their feet hang into the water to sense if anything moved. The guards outside saluted as soon as they saw Sirena, and the guards inside, sensing their movements, came out and saluted as well.
"Your Highness," one of the guards said and asked, "May I ask what awards us the honor of your visit?"
"I have come to restock my supply of water-goo," Sirena answered.
"My sincerest apologies, Your Highness," the guard said, "But we used it all up. Our lieutenant is currently going to bring more of it, however. He has left me in charge in the meantime."
"Very well then," Sirena said. Suddenly, a massive cargo ship crashed into the ocean ground a few hundred meters away, and the shockwave rolled over the group. Grimm and aquatic animals came rushing in immediately, with the animals fighting the Grimm over the resources, not knowing, or caring, that Grimm won't steal their food. Sirena sensed the fear of the people inside, and located eight smaller groups of people trapped in rooms, with a larger group trapped in the back of the ship.
"Your Highness, we await your orders," the guard in charge said.
"Follow me," Sirena said. She swam ahead, and her guards followed her. As they entered the ship, Sirena created four ice chains from each of her bracers.
"Guards, take these chains and bring them to the people trapped in the rooms. Tell them to hold on and not let go," she ordered. The guards each grabbed a chain and swam away, while she created new links at an incredible pace. She and the remaining guard arrived in a large room at the stern of the upright standing vessel and poked their heads out of the water.
"Who are you?" one of the people asked. She had blonde hair and green eyes, and her marine outfit was soaked from the water.
"Watch your tongue," the guard hissed, startling the crew members.
"Abhainn, it is fine," Sirena said in a more authoritative tone than usual, "They do not know our customs, and it is not important right now, either."
"Yes, Your Highness," Abhainn said, shrinking a little, and swam away a bit. Sirena turned back to the people.
"My name is Sirena Blue, and you are in my kingdom, Soraklia," Sirena said, "I will make sure you all can go back home today. My guards are already making sure the other survivors can come here safely as well." One by one, the guards arrived in the room and reported their task successful.
"Your Highness, may I ask how I can redeem myself?" Abhainn asked.
"There is no need," Sirena answered, "I should have expected this to happen."
"Your Highness, I have completed the task you have given me," the last guard said after she surfaced in the room.
"Well done," Sirena said, "Now I will help them get here." She coated herself, the ice chains and the people holding onto them in air, and dropped to the floor of the room. The air drifted away in bubbles, but was immediately replaced by new air, maintaining a constant field of air around her. Her guards followed her, and she began pulling the chains towards herself. The guards began to help her, and one by one, the survivors arrived in the room. They were soaking wet, confused, freezing and tired, but alive.
"We're saved," one of the crew members said. The water in the room had been forced out by the air bubbles, and the survivors were now all sitting in waist-high water.
"Healers, give them a survival aura," Sirena ordered, and three of her guards cast the spell on the survivors. They held their hands in front of their chests, with the palm facing the survivors, the tips of their index fingers touching and their thumbs hooked to each other. Their other fingers were spread out. A series of symbols made from silver-white energy appeared around the healers' wrists and after a few seconds, the surface-dwellers were coated in that same energy. After the symbols around the healers' wrists faded, the ship's crew members slowly got up, feeling much better than before.
"What is this?" one of the people asked, looking at his hands.
"A survival aura," one of the healers answered and explained, "It will protect you from environmental hazards, like toxins, heat, radiation or pressure. It will last for a whole day."
~o~
Ruby and her friends were walking through Mistral after a long day of trying to recruit people to help them fight Salem. They were all feeling down, due to not getting any support, and were heading back home, when a red portal opened in an alley next to them. Several people, all wearing the uniform of a Mistral cargo company and being soaking wet, stumbled out of the portal. Ruby and her friends hurried to help them get out of the way so the next people wouldn't trip over them, and they noticed that the people were glowing silver-white. Ruby gave Weiss a small nod and she created a fire-dust glyph to help them get dry and warm. Lastly, Sirena walked out of the portal.
"Sirena?" Ruby asked, "What are you doing here?"
"Hello Ruby," Sirena said and answered, "I'm saving people, as is my job."
"So, you're Sirena," Yang said, "Thanks for keeping my sister safe."
"Wait, did you get Raven to help you?" Weiss asked.
"Don't mention it, Yang," Sirena said, turned to Weiss and answered, "Yes, I did enlist her help."
"So, what now?" Blake asked.
"They can go back to their company," Sirena answered, "They will be fine, if a little shaken."
"I don't think I can do that," one of the men said, "I mean, we almost died back there. I have to find a new job, or my family will be in trouble." Ruby felt the people's sorrow and hopelessness, and decided she had to do something.
"It'll be fine, I'm sure of it," she said, "I'm sure you all have great skills you can use to find new jobs. Or maybe there are other jobs in your company that don't involve the ocean. I mean, I don't know much about a lot of things, but I'm sure there is a way you can still earn money to support your families." Ruby felt how the people regained their hope, and while she didn't like what she did, she knew it was good for those people.
"You could be advisors," Weiss chimed in and said, "I don't know exactly what happened, but to me it seems like you went through a lot. Your experiences are invaluable to any company like yours."
"So, what happened?" Blake asked and said, "If we know that, we can help you find a solution to your situation." The people were nervous to speak up at first, but then one of them stepped forward.
"We were on our way to Vale," the woman answered and said, "We were trying to deliver resources to help reclaim the city. However, Grimm attacked, and our ship sank."
"Sounds rough," Yang said, "But you can't let that keep you down. There will always be Grimm, and there will always be people getting attacked by them. There will always be times when you fall, that's a part of life. But another part of life is getting back up, and showing the world that if it wants to keep you down, it better try a lot harder, because you're not done fighting. I mean, look at me, I lost my arm at Beacon. Sure, it sucks, but moping around won't change it. The ship is sunk, and no matter how much you huddle up in your homes, it won't come back to the surface and continue its route. All you can do now is get back on your feet, go back to your company, and do what you can to make sure something like this doesn't happen again."
"Besides," Sirena said, "You saw my guards, didn't you? There are thousands out there, fighting aquatic Grimm in the depths of the ocean, to keep the surface safe. My people attract Grimm, and defeat them, so the surface is safer. We occasionally let one or two slip through, I will admit, but over the past three years, since we started this endeavor, the sea has become less dangerous, I believe. And it will continue to get less dangerous, until it is perfectly safe."
"Really?" one of the people asked, and Sirena responded with a reassuring nod.
"Thank you," another crew member said and asked, "Can you come with us to our company?"
"Of course," Sirena answered, "Lead the way. Ruby, I will see you tomorrow in the morning. Your training is not yet complete."
"Alright," Ruby said. Sirena walked away, following the people, and Ruby and her friends returned home.
~o~
The next morning, during breakfast, someone knocked on the door. Ruby went to open and saw that it was Sirena. After a quick chit chat, Sirena came in and sat down in the living room, waiting until the others were done with breakfast.
"Aren't you hungry?" Weiss asked, looking over at Sirena.
"No," Sirena answered, "My people have evolved to survive extended periods without food, so I'll actually be fine for a few more weeks."
"Really?" Ruby asked and said, "That sounds a bit… unusual."
"It is," Qrow said, "On her third day at Beacon, she got into trouble because she didn't eat anything."
"Qrow," Sirena said with clearly suppressed anger, "Please refrain from revealing information about others without their consent."
"Wow, not having to eat or drink for that long sounds awesome," Yang said, trying to keep the situation from escalating.
"I still have to drink," Sirena said, "My people evolved to survive in the deep sea, where water is abundant. In fact, we can absorb some water through our skin."
"I heard the deep sea temperature is close to freezing," Weiss said and asked, "How do your people deal with that?"
"There is no sunlight down there," Sirena said, "The water at the bottom of the ocean is close to negative one-hundred degrees in most places, but somewhere around three-hundred in others. My people's skin insulates heat, preventing us from getting too cold. We also radiate excess heat off into the environment, keeping our bodies at a normal temperature similar to yours, no matter how hot the environment is. That is why I have to keep my arms and legs exposed, otherwise I can't lose excess heat."
"Hold on," Ruby said and asked, "If the water is that cold, how is it not frozen?"
"And if it's that hot, how does it not evaporate?" Yang asked.
"Pressure," Sirena answered and explained, "If you freeze water, the molecules get locked into a structure, where they are farther away from each other than if the water was liquid. That is why ice floats on water. If you boil water, the molecules get more energy and can escape the other molecules' attraction, thus taking up more space as well. The pressure at the bottom of the ocean is too great to allow for that, however. The water wants to freeze or evaporate, but it has no room to expand into, so it stays liquid."
"This is all pretty interesting," Blake said and asked, "But, don't you think it is a bit extreme to ask people not to reveal tiny bits of information about you?" Yang facepalmed internally, realizing her plan had failed.
"Consent is an important aspect of my people's culture," Sirena said, "But from your reaction, it seems to be different on the surface." Hearing this, Blake realized she had walked right into a trap, and got angry at Sirena for twisting her words like that.
"That's not what I meant," Blake said and explained, "I just find it too much to ask that people don't talk about you. I mean, how else are we going to learn anything about you?" Everyone at the table realized that they did in fact barely know anything about Sirena, and she wasn't making any efforts to change that.
"The same way I learned about each of you," Sirena answered calmly, "Careful observation, and practice."
"Don't worry, Sirena," Ruby said, "We're all friends, so we don't mind each other learning things about us from others." She looked around with an optimistic smile, and her friends nodded in agreement. Sirena sighed.
"Well, alright then," Sirena said, "But I still have my reservations about this matter, so please be considerate of my viewpoints."
"Sure," Ruby said, and gave Qrow a stern yet friendly look.
"Yeah, sure," Qrow said.
"But now I'm curious," Weiss said and asked, "What do you know about me?"
"You were raised by an abusive, manipulative narcissist," Sirena answered, "You came to realize that you had to escape, and went to Beacon. Ever since then, you defy him in everything you do. Accepting a role other than team leader, befriending a faunus, making your own decisions with your own money. It's not as obvious as with your sister, but your father's influence still controls a lot of who you are as a person." Everyone was silent for a moment.
"I… suddenly regret asking," Weiss said, "Anyway, Ruby, how do you plan to recruit people to help us against Salem today?"
"I'm afraid I will have to interject here," Sirena said, "Ruby still has a lot of training to do, and I have been far too lenient with it in recent times."
"I had a three day break," Ruby said in a deadpan tone.
"I didn't get three minutes, aside from sleep, until I petrified my first Grimm," Sirena said. Ruby groaned, finished her food and everyone went to go about their days.
~o~
A black bird was flying through the forests of northern Anima, dove under the treetops, and Raven landed on a clearing. Several Beowolves and Alpha Beowolves surrounded her, ready to attack. She grabbed the hilt of her sword and was ready to eliminate them all in a single strike. Suddenly, the clearing was covered in spiders, which came out of the greenery and swarmed the Grimm. As soon as the spiders made contact with the Grimm, the monsters erupted into blue flames. Raven looked around in horror, hearing the tormented screams of these soulless monsters. She turned around and saw Sophie Weber climbing down from a tree. Her dark red jeans were tucked into heavy black boots, the white shirt was a bit of a contrast to her crimson vest, and her black hair was tied into eight ponytails, one of which was hanging over either of her shoulders, while the remaining six just hung down. Her red eyes looked at the massacre. When her hands were less than two meters from the ground, she made a front flip and put her feet on the ground, before taking her hands off the bark. Her hands and lower arms were light purple, with light purple veins spreading across her upper arms. Sophie smiled devilishly as the Grimm fought a futile fight for survival.
"Feel the fire of my vengeful soul purge you foul beasts," Sophie said as the Grimm were engulfed in light blue fire. She laughed as the Grimm slowly succumbed to the hate-fueled flames and spider bites, and Raven swallowed nervously.
"Sophie… Argent needs you help," Raven said after the Grimm were dead.
"So?" Sophie asked.
"Sirena also wants your help," Raven said. Sophie's demeanor changed immediately.
"Really? What does She want?" Sophie asked excitedly, "How can I assist Her?" When Raven was about to answer, Sophie held up a finger to keep her quiet, turned around and punched, just as a King Taijitu broke out of the ground. Sophie stopped the charging Grimm with her right fist. The light purple portions of her arm lit up bright yellow. Raven's hair stood up in every direction as a powerful surge of electricity shot through the Grimm, and it turned to smoke. Sophie shot a light purple silk string from her left hand, trapping the Grimm's second head just as it was about to attack Raven from behind, and pulled it to the ground. The silk erupted in light blue flames where it made contact, and Sophie walked up to the Grimm's head.
"How?" Raven asked, unsure how Sophie knew these Grimm would strike. Sophie clenched her left fist and got ready to punch the King Taijitu.
"If you do have a queen, make her watch this," Sophie said before plunging her fist into the Grimm's eye. A fireball exploded inside its head, blowing it to bits.
"Impossible…," Raven said, looking at Sophie, who was standing in the middle of a smoldering crater.
"You have no idea what is possible," Sophie said, "All it takes is determination. Now, about what She wants me to do."
"Right, that," Raven said, straightened her hair again and explained, "The entire team is planning an attack of Vale. Argent would let you siphon the sewage out of the city to feed your swarm, if you make sure to keep damage to buildings at a minimum."
"So, I can kill those abominations and feed my swarm?" Sophie asked and said, "I'm in." She cracked her knuckles and gave Raven a determined smile.
"Also, Sirena would want you to help set up a base camp at Mountain Glenn," Raven said.
"Anything else She wants me to do?" Sophie asked, now sounding much happier again.
"Yes," Raven answered, pulled out her scroll and said, "She wants you to be on standby until the operation begins. You are free to do as you please until then, provided you do not interfere with anything going on in Mistral. Cinder Fall and Emerald Sustrai will soon lead an assault on Haven Academy. Until that happens, they are not to be harmed. Afterwards, however, if you encounter Cinder, eliminate her. Destroy every last cell of her body. If you see Emerald after that day, help her become a better person. Also, move your naval forces to Menagerie, reinforce land troops near the dust mines in Solitas. Move a group of foxes to a certain location. She'll give you the coordinates later. Lastly, beginning with the assault on Vale, slowly withdraw all your forces from the city of Vacuo, over the course of half a year, and move them to Vale."
"Got it," Sophie said.
"Good," Raven said and put her scroll away again. She still felt highly uncomfortable around Sophie, but at least she knew how to tame her.
"Can you bring me to Her?" Sophie asked.
"Sorry, no," Raven answered and quickly added, "She said you were to stay out of Mistral, and that's where she is right now, so you can't go." Sophie relaxed her fists, and the yellow glow of her arms faded as well.
"Understood," Sophie said.
~o~
After breakfast, Yang went to go grab something, while Ruby, Weiss and Blake waited in the training room. Ruby and Weiss were grinning widely in excitement. Blake started to hear leathery wings gliding through the air in the distance, and her feline instincts told her that the creature was bigger than a person, or any animal she knew. And it was coming. As she reached for her weapon, Ruby and Weiss got nervous, and Blake felt their concern, so she relaxed again. Yang, in her dragon form, landed in front of the entrance to the training room and looked at Blake.
"Wait, what?" Blake asked, walked up to Yang and asked, "Yang, is that you?" Yang nodded and hummed happily.
"Isn't this amazing?" Ruby asked and said, "She can carry us around now."
"Well, she can carry one of us, but it is still great," Weiss said.
"But how?" Blake asked and said, "I mean, I know stories about people turning into animals, but I never thought they'd be true. Or at least, I always figured it'd be some semblance."
"Actually," Weiss said, "Based on scientific findings, it is commonly accepted as a fact that semblances can't turn the user into animals. At least there is no precedent of this happening." While everyone was looking at Weiss, Yang turned back into human form.
"I think I got it from my mom," Yang said, "But Ozpin said it couldn't be, so we're at a loss right now."
"So, what do we do now?" Blake asked.
"I was thinking I could show you the city from above," Yang answered and put her left arm around Blake's shoulders.
"I still got training to do," Ruby said, "I mean, Grimm don't petrify themselves."
"I still can't believe you can do that," Weiss said and asked, "When you get to do it, can I watch?"
"Me too," Yang said.
"And me," Blake added.
"Sure thing," Ruby said, "I'll go ask Sirena about it later."
~o~
Sirena walked up to Ren, who was sitting on a rock behind the house and meditating. Nora was next to him, and Jaune and Oscar were training, with Oscar attacking Jaune, who used his shield to block the attacks. Ozpin gave Oscar pointers how to get past Jaune's defense, while Jaune had to react in case Oscar got past his defenses.
"Ren, Nora, we need to talk," Sirena said. Ren and Nora both looked up at her.
"What is it?" Ren asked.
"Your semblances are good, but they can be better," Sirena answered and slapped a bracelet on both people's right wrist. They were about as wide as a wrist watch, and made from polished gunmetal gray metal.
"What are those?" Ren asked.
"And why did you give them to us?" Nora asked.
"Quite simple," Sirena answered, "They track your negative emotions. Thanks to Argent's training, I can sense these negative emotions. If I sense either of your negative emotions, the bracelets will know, meaning that Ren will get a shock, and Nora's bracelet will get hot. Nora, you can absorb electricity, so you should be able to release it as well. You should try to overcharge the bracelets to make them come off. In the meantime, Ren should make sure your negative emotions are hidden from my sight. But be warned, I am much better at detecting fear than the Grimm are. I'll start easy, but I'll get more serious as time goes on." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, sensing both of their negative emotions. Ren felt a small shock, and Nora's wrist felt uncomfortably warm for a few seconds. Ren used his semblance to mask both his and Nora's negative emotions.
~o~
A little later, after Team RWBY returned from their flight around Mistral, Ruby met with Sirena in her team's bedroom.
"So, what do we do today?" Ruby asked.
"I noticed what you did with those crew members," Sirena answered. Ruby couldn't tell how Sirena felt about it.
"That?" Ruby asked and said, "I mean, you told me I could do it, so I kind of gave it a try. Those people needed help, and I knew what to do, so I did it."
"I'm proud of you," Sirena said with a gentle tone, "You finally accept your abilities as a savior of mankind."
"That was a one-time thing," Ruby said nervously and explained, "I didn't like taking their free will or anything, but like I said, I had to help them out."
"You saved their lives," Sirena said, "That is nothing to fret about."
"Come on, I just gave them hope, that's not a big deal," Ruby said. Sirena chuckled.
"It certainly is," Sirena said, "Hope is one of the things that Salem fears the most. It is the most effective defense against her methods, and it is her biggest weakness. She controls people by taking their hope. But thanks to you, those people have hope that things can get better, and as a result, things will get better for them. Every time someone survives a Grimm attack, Salem has to find new ways to combat mankind, and especially when ships are involved. There are usually few survivors of this kind of attack, so Salem is not used to creating new aquatic Grimm. There are more limitations for them, too."
"Aren't you going against your own ideals here?" Ruby asked and said, "I mean, you tell me something about Salem, and I don't think she'd want you to tell me this."
"This affects everyone on Remnant, including me, so it is fine," Sirena answered.
"I see," Ruby said and asked, "Anyway, what do we train today?"
"Sensing sorrow, again," Sirena answered, "You are still not very good at it. I want you to try and locate Ren and Nora today."
"Why them?" Ruby asked.
"Why not?" Sirena asked.
"Fair point," Ruby said. She closed her eyes and focused, trying to locate her friends. Ren's shape flared up shortly, but then faded again. She pressed further, trying to locate either him or Nora. Their shapes flared up occasionally, but disappeared again shortly after.
"Are you getting there?" Sirena asked after a few minutes.
"I can find them sometimes," Ruby answered, "But it's as if something was blocking my powers."
"His semblance deals with emotions, correct?" Sirena asked.
"Yes, why?" Ruby asked.
"I have found that emotion-based semblances can interfere with my powers," Sirena answered.
"So, should I focus on someone else instead?" Ruby asked.
"No," Sirena answered, "It is actually better if you use your powers to track Ren, because it helps you develop them better. Normally I would also have you try and tell the difference between a decoy and the real person, but I sadly do not have the means to create such a decoy here."
"A decoy?" Ruby asked.
"Yes," Sirena answered, "Some of my mages can create a decoy that looks, acts and feels like a real person. It even tricks Grimm, due to false negative emotions. They have incredible strategic value in combat, but are a more difficult feat of magic."
"They sound awesome," Ruby said and asked, "Do you think I can learn to pull that off, too?"
"If you can reach Soraklia, you are free to learn any kind of magic you want," Sirena answered.
"Ok," Ruby said and, after a while, asked, "Can I take a break now?"
"No," Sirena answered, "Detecting sorrow has to become second nature to you, like generating an aura. It is a lot easier to bear that way, and you will have less trouble petrifying Grimm as well."
"Alright," Ruby said. She didn't like the feeling of sensing other people's sorrow, but she knew that it helped her fight Grimm and save people, so she would bear it.
Author's note: Sophie really hates Grimm. And yes, when she refers to Sirena, she capitalizes her pronouns. It's a respect thing. However, the damage Grimm take from those flames, which are literally Sophie's aura rejecting the Grimm, is very small, and actually less than the strength boost they get from her hatred for them.
Sirena uses Ruby to train Ren, and vice versa. It's the most efficient way to train both of them.
A survival aura has nothing to do with the aura used on the surface.
The bit with Ozpin writing the book was inspired by a video on Youtube, The Siren and the Seamare, where a similar line was used.