Author's note: Remember when Ruby used her silver eyes a few chapters back? Yeah.
Also, this chapter includes some of the most excessive violence in the entire fic. You remember Sophie Weber, right? Yeah, she goes to Vale.
Ruby and her friends sat in the living room, getting ready to go and have Ruby and Jaune fuse so they could learn to enter their soul cores. Just as Ruby wanted to get up, someone knocked on the door again.
"It's for me… again," Blake said, "Sorry." She got up, opened the door and was immediately hugged by her mother, with her father standing behind Kali. Kali let go of Blake shortly after.
"Mom, dad?" Blake asked, composed herself again and said, "Please, come in." She gestured her parents to come in and sat down on her spot on the couch, with Kali sitting to her right and Ghira to her left.
"Is something?" Weiss asked after she noticed how both Kali and Ghira looked at her. Kali chuckled a little.
"Sorry," Kali said and answered, "It's just, when Sun told me that Blake was friends with a Schnee, I didn't quite believe that at first."
"Mom," Blake said, getting somewhat worried Kali offended Weiss.
"Don't worry, it's fine," Weiss said, "I mean, if you would've told me three years ago that I'd be just sitting around and having a nice conversation with a faunus, I wouldn't even have believed myself."
"So, mom, dad, what are you doing here?" Blake asked.
"We were in the area," Kali answered, "And your father wanted to see how you were doing, so here we are."
"You just happened to be here?" Blake asked skeptically, "And dad was the one who insisted you visit me?"
"I might have something to do with that," Ruby said, and everyone looked at her.
"What do you mean?" Blake asked.
"Well, first off," Ruby said, looked at Kali and Ghira and explained, "I can turn Grimm to stone when I'm sad enough, and I can sense sadness. A while back, when I used this ability intentionally for the first time, my soul kind of detached from my body and I astral projected into your house." Kali and Ghira gave Ruby surprised looks, and Kali chuckled again.
"Well, Sun told me you were quite lively," Kali said, "And you have such a vivid imagination, too."
"Ruby, can we please agree you don't do that any more?" Blake asked, "Also, what did you do back then?" Blake's parents were a bit surprised that Blake played along with this like it was completely normal.
"Well, I saw your mom pace up and down in the room," Ruby answered, "I figured, since she couldn't hear me anyway, it wouldn't hurt if I talked to her a bit. So, I told her that you were fine, and with your friends, so she wouldn't miss you as much."
"This is a lovely story, really," Kali said, turned to Blake and asked, "But Blake, how have you been? Did anything new happen?" Ruby pouted a little at how Kali just wrote her powers off as make-believe.
"No, why?" Blake asked.
"Because your left ear just twitched," Kali answered, "Which means you're hiding something from us."
"Wait, her ear twitches when she's hiding something?" Yang asked excitedly.
"Only slightly," Kali answered, "And I don't think anyone but her father and I would even notice." Blake sighed, realizing she couldn't get out of this situation.
"Mom, dad, I'm the current Fall Maiden," Blake said, and everyone except for her parents and Ruby gasped. Ruby was fine with whatever Blake decided to do about her powers, and who she told about them, and Blake's parents didn't believe these powers really existed.
"Blake, you know you just put them in a lot of danger, right?" Qrow asked.
"Really?" Blake asked, got up and angrily walked over to Qrow, "And how about all those people in Vale? Did they know about the maidens? Because I'm sure they didn't, and yet they're still dead!" Blake was now standing in front of Qrow, with energy flaring up from her eyes.
"Blake..." Kali whispered.
"Them knowing about this didn't put them in danger!" Blake shouted, "The maidens existing put them in danger! Our enemy won't spare anyone, whether they know about it or not! And these are my powers, so I do with them what I think is right! And if I think it is best that my parents know why power-crazed maniacs are coming for them, then I will tell them as much as I like, and you can't stop me!" Blake was hovering in front of Qrow, with a small tornado underneath her, and after her tirade, the entire room was silent, safe for the howling winds and pounding rain of the storm she had accidentally conjured up. Blake paused for a moment, all eyes resting on her, and made the storm die down before she slowly faded away.
"She really cares about you two," Yang said after a few moments of intense silence.
"Are you sure?" Kali asked, not sure what had gotten into her daughter, or how she should react to the maidens being real.
"Yeah," Yang answered, "I'm kind of an expert when it comes to getting angry. People don't blow up like that if they don't care. You should've seen me when I saved Blake back at Beacon. It almost cost me an arm and a leg, but luckily I got her safety for half the prize." She held up her right arm and turned her hand a little, and chuckled a bit at her own joke, removing some of the tension from the room again.
"True, she cares a lot about people," Kali said, "But Blake has always been more the quiet type. I'm just surprised she exploded like this."
"Well, her parents have a target on their backs now," Nora said, "So she's probably just been stressing about this for the past week or so."
"I guess we'll ask Argent if he can help keep us safe, then," Ghira said.
"You know he's not exactly a bodyguard, right?" Qrow asked and said, "And he's not cheap, either. Unless he wants something from you, you'll have to put down a lot of cash."
"Good thing he asked us for help on our way here, then," Kali said.
"He did?" Qrow asked, "With what?"
"Sorry, but we can't tell you," Kali answered and said, "Before he told us, we both had to sign a non-disclosure agreement, so we can only tell you that we're working with him, but not on what."
"I see," Qrow said.
"Anyway, anyone want to watch TV?" Nora asked, grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. She turned on the news, where a woman was in the streets and reporting on the strange weather just now. Suddenly, Argent appeared on the screen.
"Excuse me, is this live?" Argent asked the woman.
"Yes, it is," the woman answered and asked, "And you are?"
"Argent Star, a huntsman from Vale," Argent answered, "My team is sort of responsible for the weather. We were experimenting with an experimental substance similar to dust, which we hope can operate in Remnant's outer atmosphere. However, our aircraft exploded, releasing the substance and causing this small storm. We take full responsibility for what happened, and will compensate anyone for any damages the storm caused." Argent then gave the viewers a number they could contact to report their damages.
"That was fast," Yang said, and everyone looked at her.
"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.
"Well, the storm just happened," Yang answered and said, "Yet Argent is already out there covering our tracks. He'll probably get bombarded with requests now, and has to pay a ton of money. I'm just surprised how quickly he put this together."
"Argent is an expert at reading people's emotions," Qrow said, "He knew that Blake's parents were here, and that Blake was the fall maiden. He likely had a lot more time to prepare than you think."
"Hey guys," Blake said, standing in the doorway and looking apologetic, "Sorry I blew up like that." Weiss walked up to her.
"Blake Belladonna," Weiss said, "If I go out there and my clothes get dirty, you'll pay for the cleaning." She sounded serious, but then smiled at Blake.
"Sure," Blake said, and returned the smile. Both sat back down.
"And, how do you feel?" Yang asked.
"Better," Blake answered and said, "It's just been pretty bad recently. We all know what kind of people are out there, and I don't want those people to go after my parents."
"Don't worry, we'll be fine," Kali said, "Argent is keeping us safe."
"That's good to know," Blake said.
"Anyway, did you bring any baby pictures?" Yang asked with a cheeky smile.
"Yang," Blake said, sounding both frustrated and a bit embarrassed.
"I knew we forgot something," Kali said with a smile, "Anyway, we have to leave now. We still have a ship to catch." Blake walked her parents to the door, they all bid their farewells, and Blake closed the door behind her parents. After her parents were gone, Blake sighed and sat back down.
~o~
Niob Bolt was leading half a dozen other winged faunus to Vale to try and clear out at least some of the airborne Grimm. They all wielded a modified version of the rifles used by Atlesian Knights, which were better suited for long-range combat and shot ice-dust rounds. As soon as the circling Grimm came into view, Sophie shot past them. She had her webs woven into a temporary gliding membrane, and shot fire from her palms to propel herself forward.
"It is perhaps best if we keep our distance," Niob said and hovered in place.
"Why?" a raven faunus asked. Sophie flew into the beak of a Giant Nevermore, and came out of its neck. She flew upwards, with other Grimm following her, being drawn in by her agony and rage. When she was high above the city, Sophie made her gliding membranes disappear and her lower arms changed color from bright red to bright yellow. She began shooting silk pellets at the Grimm, firing ten per second from each palm, for five seconds. As soon as the bright yellow pellets made contact with a Grimm, they unleashed raw electricity into their victim, ending its pathetic existence in a powerful surge of vengeful fury. After five seconds, Sophie stopped shooting pellets. She let herself fall until she was in the middle of the Grimm and clenched her fists. Niob shielded his eyes with his right arm, and gestured the other faunus to do the same. Sophie slammed her fists together, unleashing a powerful electric blast that ionized the air around her. In an instant, half the Grimm over Vale were vaporized by a massive disc of plasma.
"Because she tends to do this," Niob said, looking at the raven faunus. Sophie fell closer to the ground and spun a bright red silk string from her right hand.
"How did she survive that?" the raven faunus asked. Just before hitting the ground, Sophie turned around and cut a Big Ursa in half, setting the asphalt underneath on fire and landing in the smoldering crater.
"It is quite simple," Niob said, "She will not allow anything to keep her from exacting her vengeance upon the Grimm. Not even death." Sophie found herself surrounded by a pack of Beowolves, with an Alpha Beowolf among them. In a second, she shot lightning-dust pellets through all the Beowolves around her. The Alpha Beowolf tried running away, but Sophie caught it in a regular silk string and pulled it back. She grabbed it by the throat, and its fur started burning with light blue flames.
"You will not allow anyone to escape," Sophie growled, "So why should you get that privilege?" She plunged the Alpha Beowolf into the burning and partly molten asphalt, smiling as she heard its tortured dying screams.
"That is insane," an eagle faunus said and asked, "How can one person be so powerful?"
"Pure, unadulterated rage, and an insatiable thirst for vengeance," Niob answered. The Grimm all ganged up on Sophie, allowing the other faunus to shoot them.
"Is she burning them just by touching them?" a pigeon faunus asked, looking at Sophie through her weapon's sniper scope.
"Yes," Niob answered and explained, "Her hatred for Grimm is so deep, so powerful, that her soul actively harms them whenever it makes contact with them." Sophie swung her two bright yellow silk whips around, cutting down multiple Grimm with each swing. She swung both of her weapons down at the same time, cutting off both of a Deathstalker's pincers. Sophie let go of her weapons and jumped up. She shot a silk string at the Grimm's head and pulled herself towards it, slamming into it with enough force to break through its shell.
"So, why are we here?" the raven faunus asked. Sophie shot lightnings from her palms, killing two Giant Nevermore that were coming for her.
"For this," Niob answered and fired a few ice-dust rounds into the Grimm still wandering the city. The ice chunks froze to the Grimm, pulling airborne ones to the ground and slowing the others down. A black King Taijitu head broke out of the ground behind Sophie. She shot a silk string to its chin and pulled it to the ground, sinking its fangs into the ground. The white head came out of the ground and Sophie shot a silk string to its chin, pulling it to the ground as well and killing the black head with the white head's teeth. She walked up to the side of the white head, pulled her right fist back and made it glow bright red.
"If you have a queen, make her see this," Sophie said, practically spitting out the words, and plunged her fist into the Grimm's eye. The serpentine monster hissed and screamed as its insides slowly heated up, and red cracks formed all over its head before it erupted in a fireball and died.
~o~
Three summoned Griffons landed some distance away from Lake Matsu, carrying Ruby, Weiss and Jaune. After the summons had touched down, all three got off and looked around. They heard a bush rustling and turned to where the sound had come from, only to find Ilia sitting in a tree above the bush. Ilia jumped out of the tree and dusted off her clothes.
"Good, it's just you three," Ilia said and asked, "What are you doing here, though?"
"Hi Ilia," Ruby said and answered, "We're trying to learn something new."
"What are you doing here, though?" Weiss asked.
"Well, I sensed three Griffons land here," Ilia answered, "So, when I sensed people get off of them, I came to investigate."
"So, you were just in the area?" Weiss asked.
"Not really," Ilia answered, "The White Fang has a camp nearby, and I'm one of the people assigned to protect it from Grimm."
"And we're here to help," Ruby said.
"I thought we were here to learn to enter our soul core," Jaune said.
"We're doing both," Ruby explained, "We'll draw in a few Grimm and turn them to stone, including the Grimm threatening the White Fang camp."
"Wow," Weiss said, "That's… awfully smart of you."
"Thanks," Ruby said, looked at Jaune and said, "Now, let's get started." Ruby and Jaune took each other's hand and hugged each other. Their auras became visible to the point where they completely concealed the two, before merging into a pink one. The shape of their bodies merged and grew a little. When the aura faded, Weiss and Ilia saw an androgynous figure with medium-length blond hair, with a single black streak running from the top all the way to the back, where it extended a bit past the rest of the hair and ended in a wolf's tail with red tips. The fusion wore black boots with golden soles, black tights, a red combat skirt under white armor plating, as well as white armor on their torso. They wore white armored gauntlets with a black rose pattern winding around the arm pieces, with the flower on the back of their hands, and all of the fusion's white armor plates had golden outlines.
"Wait, what? How?" Ilia asked, staring at the fusion.
"You can call me Lux," Lux said and answered, "I'm a fusion. Essentially, two people, whose auras are unlocked, can merge into one. In an ideal case, the fusion is more than the sum of its parts. Anyway, I'll be attracting some Grimm now, and turning them to stone, so please don't kill them when they get here." Lux sat down, sitting cross-legged, and closed their silver eyes. Ilia looked around nervously as she sensed Grimm coming towards them from all directions, and her eyes met with Weiss' for a split second, before Ilia looked away again.
"Don't worry, just watch," Weiss said. When the first dozen or so Beowolves came running onto the clearing, Lux opened their eyes again and unleashed a burst of white light. Weiss forced her eyes to stay open, and Ilia was too surprised to close her eyes in time. Both realized that, while it was a powerful burst of white light, it wasn't nearly as blinding as one might expect. Immediately after using their silver eyes, Lux latched on to the light as it retracted into the depths of their soul.
"Incredible," Ilia said. She walked around the clearing, touching the petrified Grimm, and her seismic sense told her that they were, in fact, solid stone.
"It's the second time I see this, but you're right, it is incredible," Weiss said.
"You know, you're much nicer than I imagined," Ilia said.
"Is… that supposed to be a compliment?" Weiss asked.
"In a sense, yes, I guess," Ilia answered, "I just sort of expected you to be stuck-up and rude to me. Or, well, faunus in general."
"To be honest, you'd have been right just a bit over a year ago," Weiss said, "But a lot has changed. When I found out that Blake was a faunus, I realized that she was a person, just like me, with her own dreams, wishes and fears, and I decided to just see her as the person she is now, instead of the person she used to be."
"Blake is really lucky," Ilia said, "When my friends found out that I was a faunus, they just shunned me." Ilia turned blue and green, and turned away.
"Well, I'll be heading to Atlas soon," Weiss said, "And I'm still the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. So, if you want, you can give me their names, and I'll see what I can do." Ilia returned to her normal colors and looked at Weiss.
"You would really do that?" Ilia asked, "Why?"
"Of course," Weiss answered, "You're Blake's friend, and she's my friend, and the friend of my friend is my friend." Ilia chuckled a little.
"Thanks, but I'm good," Ilia said turned red and yellow and said, "I already let them know what I think about all their racist jokes."
"You know, I think Ruby has played a big role in me changing my mind," Weiss said. Ilia returned to her normal colors again.
"What do you mean?" Ilia asked.
"I don't know, to be honest," Weiss answered and said, "But, something about Ruby just makes you want to be friends with her. She's just that kind of person that can get along with anyone, I guess. When we learned that Blake was a faunus, she was the first to accept it, and she was the one who got us to stop arguing over why she kept it a secret from us. Without Ruby, our team likely would've fallen apart then and there. Don't tell her that, though. It might go to her head."
"Sounds like Remnant could use a lot more people like her," Ilia said, and looked over to Lux.
"True," Weiss said, following Ilia's look. Suddenly, a realization hit her.
"What if that's why Salem is hunting the silver-eyed warriors?" Weiss thought. The two spend some more time watching the meditating fusion, or walking around among the petrified Grimm, and then Ilia spoke up again.
"If you have any questions, no matter what, just ask," Ilia said, catching Weiss' attention.
"What do you mean?" Weiss asked, not sure if Ilia could tell what she was feeling.
"I know that you have something on your mind," Ilia answered and said, "I can sense your tension, both emotional and physical. Also, Argent told Blake, Sun and I that the best way to combat discrimination is to just get rid of misconceptions or uncertainties. He knows a lot of humans who didn't know how to interact with him at first, or what to say, because they didn't know what kind of topic he was comfortable with. So, just ask whatever you want to ask, and I'll answer as best as I can."
"Well, if you say it's fine," Weiss said and asked, "How does your color change work?"
"It's based on my emotions," Ilia answered, "When I'm angry, I turn red and yellow, for example. When I'm sad, I turn blue and green. But since I have pretty good control over my emotions, I can suppress color changes in most cases, or change color on command. Well, most of the time."
"That's actually pretty cool," Weiss said and asked, "Do you have night vision?"
"Kind of, yeah," Ilia answered, "Not as good as some other faunus I've met, but when the moon is visible, I can see as good as in daytime."
"What about behavioral patterns?" Weiss asked and said, "I mean, I know Blake likes tuna, and she once got distracted by a laser pointer, so I was wondering if you have something like that, too."
"Actually, yeah," Ilia answered, "When I'm on assassination missions, I like to sit on branches or other elevated locations, and just wait for my target to come by. And I really like sitting on warm rocks, or in the sun in general." Ilia tipped over a petrified Beowolf standing in the sun and sat down on its back.
"I see," Weiss said, "Though, something is still a bit weird to me."
"And what?" Ilia asked.
"How we're just talking like this," Weiss answered and said, "With all the things my family has done to the faunus, I figured you'd hate me or something."
"Believe me, I did," Ilia said, "In fact, just half a year ago, I would've tried to kill you at least three times by now. But on my way here, Argent told me something that changed my mind."
"And what?" Weiss asked.
"He said that discrimination isn't just a human crime," Ilia answered, "And that is why he dislikes the White Fang so much. They complain about racism, but then turn around and attack random humans because some other humans hurt them. It's the same thing. And being upset with you just because of your name would be the same as someone picking on their classmate just because she's a faunus. You haven't done anything wrong, as far as I know. Your parents, on the other hand, are quite awful in my eyes." Weiss tipped over another Beowolf and sat down on it as well.
"Not just in yours," Weiss said, "I mean, my mom is a rampant alcoholic, so she doesn't know what's happening at any given time, but my dad is pretty awful. He's a lying, manipulating, abusive bastard who only cares about himself." Ilia let out a little laugh, and Weiss gave her a confused look.
"Sorry, but what you said just reminded me of someone," Ilia said.
"Really? Who?" Weiss asked.
"Adam," Ilia answered, "He pretends he cares for others and their interests, but just uses them to further his own goals."
"Sounds like my dad," Weiss said, "He gets really upset when things don't go his way."
"Or when people beat him at his own game," Ilia said.
"If he didn't have that much influence, he'd be unbearable," Weiss said.
"He used his charm to cheat his way to the top," Ilia said.
"And now he claims he worked hard and honest for it," Weiss added.
"And the best part," Ilia said, "He'd definitely get an aneurysm if you told him he had anything in common with a human."
"Or with a faunus," Weiss said, and both shared a little laugh.
"Anyway, how about we keep our little chat a secret?" Ilia asked and said, "And, well, just pretend we didn't like each other when people are around."
"Why?" Weiss asked.
"Don't know," Ilia answered, "But it'd probably be fun to see how they react."
"Well, alright," Weiss said, "But if they worry about us, we have to drop the act."
"Deal," Ilia said. Weiss and Ilia got up and walked over to each other to shake hands and finalize their little deal.
"It's just sad that I'll have to leave soon," Weiss said.
"I have an idea," Ilia said, "Give me your scroll for a second."
"Why?" Weiss asked.
"The White Fang has a global communication network," Ilia answered, "It's separate from the CCTS, and still functioning. I can make it so that your scroll can use it for long-distance communication, so we can stay in touch."
"Are you sure that's alright?" Weiss asked.
"Not at all," Ilia answered, "Adam and his supporters would be foaming at the mouth if they knew I told any human about this, let alone a member of your family, but we're trying to be better now, so if they disagree with my ideas, they can discuss this with Argent or his team." Weiss pulled out her scroll and handed it to Ilia, who installed some new software on it before handing it back.
~o~
Adam charged towards Argent, his sword drawn. Argent blocked the strike with the claws on his right bracer. He punched Adam in the face. Adam stumbled backwards. Argent wrapped his tail around Adam's left leg. Adam tried to pull his leg out of the coil. Argent lifted him up and flung him across the training room. Adam got back up and dashed towards Argent again. He tried to hit Argent in the back. Argent evaporated and reappeared behind Adam. Argent wrapped his tail around Adam's throat and lifted him about a meter into the air.
"Just so you know, Adam," Argent said, "Everything you did in these past three years was planned. You only did what we wanted you to do. Nothing more, nothing less. Always remember that." He let Adam drop to the ground again and evaporated. Adam landed on all fours and rubbed his aching neck, taking deep and slow breaths.
~o~
Immediately after using their silver eyes, Lux fell into a meditative state, holding on to the light retreating into their soul. Ruby's mind helped locate the light, while Jaune's mind helped navigate their shared consciousness. Initially, it was pretty easy to find the way, as they both knew each other rather well, but as they went deeper and deeper, they came across a few sections of their memory that they didn't want the other to know about. Ruby covered Jaune's eyes as they reached the part of her memory from when she first went buying underwear with Yang. Jaune covered Ruby's eyes and quickly led her through the portion of his memory from when he and his sisters did things only little children and adults do. The duo lost the trail of light in the memories of their first day at Beacon, spending too much time reminiscing to follow it further.
"Want to go back?" Ruby asked.
"Yeah," Jaune answered. They both returned to the waking world and Lux looked around. Weiss and Ilia were sitting on petrified Beowolves, on opposite sides of the clearing, staring off into the forest.
"Hey, you two," Lux said, got back up and asked, "How are you doing?"
"Fine," Weiss said.
"Yeah, fine," Ilia said.
"Well, alright," Lux said, looked at Weiss and asked, "Want to head back?"
"Sure," Weiss answered and summoned three Griffons. She gave Lux a questioning look, not sure if the fusion would want to split up for the trip back or not. Lux thought about it for a moment, then figured it would be best if Ruby didn't have to deal with Jaune's motion sickness. Lux' aura became clearly visible, and their shape changed a bit again. The aura split up into a red one and white one, and both auras faded again, revealing Ruby and Jaune hugging each other. After they let go of each other, Jaune held his head and stumbled backwards a little.
"Jaune, are you alright?" Ruby asked. She rushed beside him to support him.
"I'm fine," Jaune answered, "But somehow, my eyes hurt."
"Why?" Ruby asked.
"Well, it could be because of the silver eyes," Weiss answered, "I mean, that is some powerful energy that you release, and maybe Jaune's eyes aren't made for that."
"Sorry," Ruby said.
"It's fine," Jaune said, "You didn't know any better, after all."
"Do you still want to keep doing this?" Ruby asked.
"Yeah, I'll be fine," Jaune answered, "Maybe I'll get used to it over time, too."
"Alright," Ruby said, turned to Ilia and said, "Ilia, if you want, you can keep these petrified Grimm to keep the camp safe."
"Are you sure?" Ilia asked.
"Yeah," Ruby answered, "I mean, I don't need them, and you kind of do, so there's no reason why I shouldn't let you have them. And I'll just make more tomorrow anyway."
"Thanks," Ilia said.
"You're welcome," Ruby said and asked, "Need some help transporting them?"
"Not really, but thanks," Ilia answered and said, "A friend of mine can use her semblance to help get them wherever we want."
"Really?" Ruby asked, "What does it do?"
"It's kind of complicated," Ilia answered, "But, in essence, she puts things in a bubble and then teleports them to a place she considers safe. It's hilariously easy robbing places like this." Weiss huffed and turned away, but gave Ilia a friendly look at an angle that Ruby and Jaune couldn't see.
"That sounds pretty useful," Ruby said, "I wish I had that kind of semblance. I mean, mine's great too, but I can't send letters home easily, or stuff like that."
"Your semblance?" Ilia asked, "What does it do?"
"It lets me burst into rose petals and move super fast," Ruby answered.
"That's actually pretty great," Ilia said, "All I can do is make objects invoke a specific emotion in a species of my choice." Weiss cleared her throat to get everyone's attention.
"Ruby, Jaune, if you two want to get home today, we have to leave now," Weiss said.
"Alright," Ruby said, turned to Ilia and said, "Bye, it was nice talking to you." Ruby, Weiss and Jaune mounted the Griffons, and the summons flew away, taking the trio back to Mistral.
~o~
Back home, Ruby, Weiss and Jaune met with everyone else. Oscar looked a little roughed up, likely from combat training with Yang, and Ren and Nora looked weirdly pleased with themselves.
"Welcome back," Qrow said and asked, "And, how did it go?"
"Hello," Ruby said and answered, "We made some progress, but we're not there yet. We'll probably try again tomorrow."
"Also, it's kind of painful to split up after we used Ruby's silver eyes," Jaune said.
"Are you alright?" Nora asked, and everyone gave Jaune a worried look.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Jaune answered, "Don't worry, it's nothing too bad. It was just a bit unexpected, that's all."
"So, are we going again tomorrow?" Ruby asked.
"I think so, yeah," Jaune answered, "Unless there is something else anyone wants to do."
"I'll probably go and see what the White Fang is up to," Qrow said, "But you guys can keep training."
"What makes you think the White Fang is up to something?" Ruby asked.
"Argent and his team made contact with them recently," Qrow answered, "I'm just making sure they don't plan anything fishy."
"Also," Blake said, "They bought a large amount of anti-slip table cloths recently. So either they're planning a banquet, or they're up to something else."
"If it's a banquet, do you think you can get us invited?" Ruby asked with a sheepish smile.
"Probably not," Blake answered, returning the smile.
"In any case, it's getting late," Qrow said, "So you better all go to bed now." Everyone groaned a little, but ultimately relented and went to bed.
~o~
Sophie took a break from killing Grimm to see how the rest of her swarm was doing. A scorpion faunus in Vacuo shot another poison dart into a Beowolf. The Grimm stiffened up, fell over backwards and died. The man wore desert-themed camouflage clothing, had dark brown hair and orange eyes. All around him, small black scorpions were injecting Grimm with their poison. In a small hut just outside the city, a dozen other scorpions were injecting their poison into pipes, which collected the liquid in a large container, from where it could easily be used to make ammunition.
"Good," Sophie thought. In Atlas, tundra bears and snow wolves helped the military tear through packs of Grimm. The waters were patrolled by sea lions and other aquatic predators.
"Yes," Sophie thought. Birds of prey scoured the continent of Anima, attacking any Grimm they came across. After the Huntsman Hunt, likely carried out by the Grimm Queen and her brainwashed slaves, only Sophie's swarm was protecting the people of Mistral from these monsters.
"Keep going," Sophie thought. Suddenly, she was engulfed in a black void. She had let her guard down and a Griffon had swallowed her. Her arms lit up bright red, illuminating the darkness.
"You think you can take me down so easily?!" Sophie shouted, "Have you not tried often enough?! Your cheap tactics have always failed! If you can't face me directly, and take me serious, just die and go to hell!" From the outside, the surrounding Grimm saw cracks form in the Griffon's feathers, and its beak made a sound like boiling water escaping a pot. Before any creature could react, the Griffon blew up in a ball of fire and molten asphalt, killing any nearby Grimm. Sophie's rage-filled battle cry completely drowned out the sound of the explosion, and a massive pitch black mushroom cloud rose to the sky. She took another look at the progress her swarm made, and saw that her scientists in Atlas were making some progress in developing their new anti-Grimm super weapon. It would allow anyone to fight Grimm, even if they had little to no actual combat experience. After the attack on Beacon, her swarm had suggested the idea to the Atlas council, and had gotten funding to develop the weapon, seeing how the earlier idea for a universal protector had failed in the combat trials. She also noticed that the termites were all gathered at Mountain Glenn, and decided to split them into two groups. One group would continue building the mound, the other would work on the wall around Vale. The termites of the second group immediately began digging a new tunnel, following the subway tunnel to the city without breaching the barrier between the tunnels. When they reached the wall, they would split into two groups again. One group would go in either direction, and dig through the intact portions of the wall until they reached a breach. Upon reaching a breach, they would split up into two groups once more, with one group continuing through the next intact portion of the wall, while the other group would stay to close the breach. If a breach was closed, the termites working on it would move to the next breach, split into two groups again, and keep working on the wall.
"Yes, very good," Sophie thought. A Beowolf entered her swarm's territory, but it was quickly killed by the spiders sitting everywhere in the webs.
"They will never free you, monster," Sophie thought, focusing on a strange kind of Grimm she had encountered in the past. It had taken over the mind and body of a human, and after she had killed them both, the Grimm had turned into a crystal and tried to poison her mind. She had it wrapped up in a cocoon in her old village, along with several others of its kind, which her swarm members had captured. It tried pleading with her to set it free, yet at the same time it tortured her with a constant burning feeling, as if every cell in her body was on fire.
~o~
A few days into their daily training, after breakfast, Ruby, Weiss and Jaune left the house and flew to another clearing to attract and petrify more Grimm, and practice reaching their soul core. After the Griffons had landed and everyone got off, Weiss made the summons disappear, absorbing some of the aura she had used to create them.
"Alight, let's do this," Ruby said and held a hand towards Jaune.
"Yeah," Jaune said and took the hand. Both hugged each other and fused into Lux again. Lux sat down cross-legged and got ready to use their silver eyes, but sensed Ilia approaching. Ilia walked onto the clearing, carrying a small dust crate, and noticed the fusion and Weiss.
"Hello," Ilia said, "Funny coincidence I'd run into you guys again."
"Hello Ilia," Lux said and asked, "What brings you here? Still on patrol duty?"
"Yeah," Ilia answered and asked, "And, still training?"
"You bet," Lux answered and said, "Anyway, I'm going." The fusion focused and unleashed another flash of white light, and immediately followed the light back into their core.
"So, how have you been?" Ilia asked. She set the small crate down and opened it to reveal several fruits and a blanket.
"A bit busy, but otherwise fine," Weiss answered and asked, "Did you bring apples?"
"Yep," Ilia answered, "Red and green."
"I'll take the green ones, then," Weiss said, "I don't like the red ones."
"Here," Ilia said, tossed Weiss a green apple and asked, "Though, what's wrong with red apples?"
"I don't know, to be honest," Weiss answered, "I just never liked them." Ilia spread the blanket on the floor, and both sat down and started eating.
"I see you got my text," Ilia said.
"I did. That network is amazing," Weiss said and asked, "Do you know how it works?"
"No, sorry," Ilia answered, "I'd have to ask the people who made it, but they're elusive. It's almost as if they didn't even exist."
"No leads?" Weiss asked.
"None," Ilia answered and asked, "And all this talk about the maidens and relics and such, is it really true?"
"It is," Weiss answered, "But I can't tell you who the maidens are. Mostly because I don't know if they'd want that."
"So you know who they are?" Ilia asked, leaning forward a little.
"I didn't say that," Weiss answered.
"You didn't deny it either," Ilia said.
"I know," Weiss said, and both chuckled a little. Suddenly, Ilia turned her head and looked into the woods, and Weiss reached for her weapon. Ilia gestured her to keep her sword sheathed and got up.
"Hello, Blake," Ilia said, and Blake stepped out of the shadows, moving with cat-like elegance and making very little noise.
"Blake?" Weiss asked, "What are you doing here?"
"I heard you tapping on your scroll all night long," Blake answered, "And based on where the sound came from, I could tell which buttons you were pressing. It took some effort, but I got there eventually. Thanks for the training, by the way, now I can spy on people's messages far more easily. Even before they ssend them. Anyway, I decided to see where you're going, and then I just followed you."
"You mean we followed them," Yang said, stepping out of the undergrowth as well.
"Anyone else blatantly disregarding our privacy?" Weiss asked with a half annoyed, half joking tone.
"Not that I'd know of it," Blake answered.
"You know," Yang said, "This doesn't look like you don't get along. Quite the opposite, actually." Weiss and Ilia gave each other a quick look.
"Well, you're right," Weiss said, "We're actually pretty good friends."
"But why would you keep this a secret?" Blake asked.
"It was my idea," Ilia answered and said, "I just wanted to see how long it took anyone to figure it out."
"And I just found the idea interesting, so I went along with it," Weiss added, "But we agreed to spill the beans if anyone got too upset because of it."
"I see," Yang said and asked, "So, what have you two been talking about?"
"Mostly about how awful my dad is," Weiss answered, "And… maybe a bit about the secret stuff, too."
~o~
Ruby and Jaune followed the light deeper into their soul, quickly getting to the part where they had stopped the previous day. They had already browsed through their respective memories of how to use their individual semblances, as well as Ruby's knowledge on weapons and Jaune's less personal information about his family. They slowed down as they approached the portion with their respective fears and regrets, and looked each other in the eye.
"Want to keep going?" Ruby asked.
"No," Jaune answered, paused for a bit and said, "But we have to."
"Same here," Ruby said, and both went after the light as it retreated into the void. Haunted shadows with demon's faces whispered all around them, howling and flailing, and occasionally, the duo could hear something they would rather not think about. Suddenly, Ruby stopped.
"Ruby, let's go," Jaune said, trying to pull her along.
"No, we have to deal with this first," Ruby said, without emotion in her voice.
"But we're losing the light," Jaune said, "Hurry."
"What are you afraid of?" Ruby asked, and hundreds of ghost-like shapes came flying towards them.
"Ruby, we don't have time for this," Jaune said.
"Look, it's waiting for us," Ruby said, pointed at the light and said, "We will deal with our fears first."
"But why?" Jaune asked.
"To keep us safe," Ruby answered, "If we hide our fears, Salem can use them against us. But if we accept them, there is nothing she can do. Just look at my fears." A single, tiny shape came flying up to Ruby. It swirled around her, squeaked weakly, and Ruby patted it on the head with her free hand. Jaune looked on in awe at how calmly Ruby interacted with her fears.
"But… how?" Jaune asked.
"I'm scared of losing people," Ruby answered, "It is in my nature to protect people from Grimm, no matter who. Not being able to do that scares me more than anything. But I won't let that fear control me. I know it is a part of me, and I can't just ignore it. But I'm also scared that Weiss and Ilia don't get along, and it causes more problems down the line. I just want everyone to get along."
"Don't worry about Weiss and Ilia," Jaune said, "Pyrrha kept an eye on them while we were busy, and she says they're actually really good friends. Ilia just thought it'd be fun to not tell anyone."
"That's a relief," Ruby said and asked, "But really, what are you scared of?"
"Quite a lot, as you can see," Jaune answered, gestured around and said, "But mostly, of how people will react when they find out I cheated my way into Beacon."
"You did what?" Ruby asked in shock.
"I know, but I really wanted to be a huntsman," Jaune answered and asked, "Just, please don't tell anyone, alright?"
"Alright," Ruby answered and said, "But we should still deal with some of your other fears. Just to be safe next time we come here."
"Have you been here before?" Jaune asked.
"Nope," Ruby answered, "But Sirena taught me a lot about how to handle fear without attracting Grimm."
"I see," Jaune said and asked, "By the way, why did you want to do this kind of training in the first place?"
"I have a suspicion," Ruby answered, "Some things don't really seem to add up or make sense, and I want to see if I'm right. Therefore, I had Raven use her semblance to bond with me, and now I'm learning to go deep enough into my soul to use that connection in order to get to Sirena's soul core. And then I'll ask her a few questions."
"That's actually pretty smart," Jaune said and asked, "But why keep it a secret?"
"Because I didn't want anyone to worry," Ruby answered, "If I'm right, it would mean that Sirena had something to do with a lot of what happened, and then a lot of people, especially Qrow, would think pretty poorly of her. I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, especially if it turns out I'm wrong and everyone was mad at Sirena for nothing, so I'm keeping it a secret until I know for sure. And I'll get Sirena to confess her involvement in person." The duo spent some more time dealing with Jaune's fears, mostly helping him accept them, and then returned to the waking world to find the rest of Team RWBY and Ilia having a little picnic.
Author's note: Sophie's main characteristic, aside from running on spider instincts, is that she hates Grimm. Kind of like how Hazel hates Ozpin, but worse. Also, let me know if you feel bad for the Grimm she encountered.
The crystal Grimm I mentioned in this chapter belong to jgresidenevil, who you can find on DeviantArt, and who kindly allowed me to use them. They won't play a big part in this story, because Sophie's swarm collects them all to keep them from taking control of people, but I like the idea, and I have some plans on how Sophie acquired that one. Also, she is a bit mistaken about these creatures' intent. And the pain it lets her feel is its own pain. They basically feel each other's pain, and since the crystal Grimm is stuck in a cocoon made from silk that is protected by Sophie's Swarm's aura, it is in constant agony.
Weiss doesn't like red apples. I actually asked on the RWBY subreddit if she's ever been seen eating an apple, and someone said she ate a green one once. So, since Snow White got poisoned by an apple, Weiss doesn't like them. At least not the red ones.
Lux is named after the Latin word for Light.