Author's note: This chapter is a bit shorter than usual.
One day before leaving for Argus, everyone except for Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Ren were sitting in the living room, waiting for the other four to return from their little trip. Ruby had suggested that Blake copy her semblance as well, to help keep the relic safe, though Blake had quickly figured out that Ruby wanted to copy her semblance. Ren had come with them, seeing it as useful to copy Ruby's semblance, just in case. Sirena drew her scepter, created an ice blade from the tip and created a portal next to the couch. Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Ren and Ilia walked out of the portal.
"We're back," Ruby said, "And we found someone."
"Hey sis," Yang said and asked, "And, how do you feel?"
"Good. Never felt better," Ruby said and began pacing around the room.
"Ruby, can you please sit down?" Weiss asked.
"Nope, gotta move," Ruby answered, burst into a cluster of rose petals and zipped around the room in circles close to the ceiling.
"Sirena, what's wrong with her?" Qrow asked.
"It's because of her silver eyes," Sirena answered, "The way my people use them is more powerful, but comes with more drawbacks as well. Using these powers against weaker opponents leaves us with too much energy, which she will have to get rid of now. She will be fine, though."
"But when will she calm down again?" Yang asked.
"Right about… now," Sirena said, and Ruby slowed down again. She manifested and jogged around the couches once, then stopped behind Yang, resting her arms on the couch and catching her breath.
"You okay sis?" Yang asked, looking at Ruby.
"Yeah, I'm just a bit exhausted," Ruby answered, looked at Sirena and asked, "Why was I so energetic back there?"
"Because you used your silver eyes on a single Beowolf," Sirena answered, "Using your silver eyes releases a lot of energy, and with how often you have used yours, you are much stronger than when we started your training. When you release that much energy, it has to go somewhere. Normally it is used to neutralize the negativity in Grimm, but when there aren't enough around, it gets reabsorbed into your body, where it can have all sorts of side effects."
"Wh- what kind of side effects?" Ruby asked.
"In Soraklia, they are very severe," Sirena answered, "But, since you have trained your soul to manifest as an aura, the effects will be diminished. Your aura will simply overcharge, resulting in you feeling more energetic than normal, unless you can get rid of that excess energy. Right now your aura will simply be at 150 percent of its normal levels at best, but you have to be careful as you improve your powers."
"Wait, didn't you overcharge your aura to twice its normal level?" Yang asked, and everyone looked at Sirena in shock.
"You did?" Jaune asked and said, "That's dangerous. Your body can't handle that much."
"Not for long, no," Sirena said, "However, faunus can manifest their aura outside our bodies, as opposed to just around it, to mitigate the drawbacks somewhat. I can keep my aura at thrice its normal levels for about a minute before it gets dangerous. Argent taught me." Sirena looked over at Blake and Ilia, and they realized that they also had this incredibly ability waiting to be unlocked.
"How… does it work?" Ilia asked, "How can I overcharge my aura like this?"
"And what does it feel like?" Nora asked.
"Know this," Sirena said, "It is a last resort, and you should only use this technique if no other option is available."
"Of course," Ilia said. Sirena thought about it for a moment, and Jaune sensed that she was using another one of her semblances, though he didn't know which one, or what it did.
"Alright then," Sirena said, "It is a very intense process. It is emotionally, mentally and physically taxing. However, in general, time slows down, things weigh less, and you won't feel pain or exhaustion. Everything your aura does gets amplified beyond what would normally be possible. Any injury gets healed, you become stronger and faster than anyone without a semblance that helps with these things, and you can react much faster to attacks."
"Does that mean I can use my silver eyes to recharge my aura?" Ruby asked.
"Yes, it does," Sirena answered.
"Anything else I'd need to know about doing this?" Blake asked.
"Yes," Sirena answered, "When you manifest your aura outside your body, it will look like additional physical traits. These traits are pure energy, and that energy will flow into anything it comes into contact with if it doesn't match the natural habitat of the animal you share a trait with. For example, I can swim just fine with my aura fins and tail, but if they were to touch anything outside the water, or anyone, the results would be catastrophic. In any case, I believe some of you still have to pack for your trip to Argus." She looked at Ruby, who stood up and used her semblance to bring herself, Weiss, Blake and Ren into their respective team's rooms to start packing.
~o~
Niob was flying over Vale, looking at the city and trying to locate the objective. The Amity Colosseum was lying on the ground after crashing in the city, and Penny's shredded body was lying close to where it had dropped. Grimm of all shapes and sizes were roaming the area.
"Cover me," Niob said to the other winged faunus around him, grabbed his grenade launcher and fired a dozen canisters into the arena as he approached. The winged faunus kept aerial Grimm away from him with ice-dust bullets. The canisters stuck to whatever surface they landed on, then formed hard-light turrets that immediately began shooting any nearby Grimm. Each turret had ten shots, after which it just disappeared. Niob landed in the arena, put his grenade launcher away and wrapped his bat wings around himself like a cloak. A pack of Beowolves charged at him. His wings lit up with ice blue lines. Ice blades shaped like a crescent moon shot out from his wings and decapitated the Grimm. A Geist with a body made from Atlesian Knights attacked him. Niob gave the Grimm a death glare, and the Grimm froze in motion. The Geist dropped its body parts and tried to flee, but the ice blades came back and cut it into pieces, before they started floating around Niob in a protective circle.
"Wh- what was that?" One of the winged faunus asked over communicator.
"They don't want to die," Niob answered, "So, if they realize they can't win against you, they will leave you alone." Niob pulled out a handful steam-dust grenades from under his wings and tossed them in the air, concealing the arena. He walked over to Penny, picked up all her pieces, and contacted Argent through his communicator.
"Dracul to Boa," Niob said, "Objective secured. Ready for extraction." A dark red portal opened next to him, and Niob walked through. He found himself in Raven's camp, and Raven opened another portal for him, taking him to Argent, who was waiting in Menagerie.
"Here you go, boss," Niob said as he handed Penny over to Argent.
"I knew I could count on you," Argent said, "Now, head back to Vale and keep up appearances. Salem must never know of Project Alpha."
"Got it," Niob said. Argent put Penny down, jumped up and landed on his hands, curling his tail up into a spring. Niob jumped onto the tail and Argent flung him into the air, where Niob unfolded his wings to fly back to Vale. It was already after sunset when Niob saw Vale appear behind the horizon.
"Day and night," Niob thought, "Two sides of the same coin. Light and dark, good and evil, Ozpin and Salem. They cannot live without each other. One day, they will see. I hope. Until then, I will continue to carry out my tasks. A little speck of darkness fighting for the light. Fear, courage's strongest ally. Greed supporting generosity. I am a demon in service of heaven." He drew his twin pistols and shot several rounds of ice-dust bullets into airborne Grimm, creating spiky balls of ice in their mouths and killing them. He flew an aileron roll through a pack of Griffons and took out every one of them with super-human precision.
~o~
After Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Ren had finished packing for the trip, they all returned to the living room, where Ilia was juggling three walnut-sized stones without touching a single one of them, much to Nora's amazement.
"Incredible," Ruby said, dashed beside Ilia and asked, "How are you doing this?"
"It's… complicated," Ilia answered, "But in short, Talia genetically modified my skin so it naturally generates dust. This means that the stones or ice I create are infused with my aura, rather than just touched by it, making it easier for me to manipulate them. You see, when you use dust, you can infuse it with some of your aura to manipulate the resulting material, for example making it fly around like I do with these stones, but doing so is very difficult, and it takes years to master this technique."
"Then why would someone spend time learning it?" Nora asked.
"Because it makes that person incredibly powerful," Ruby answered, remembering her first encounter with Cinder, but speaking in a tone that let her friends know she didn't want to discuss the matter further.
"It can't be that good," Nora said, and Ilia levitated her three rocks around. One hit Nora in the back of the head, another in the guts, and the last one came down on top of her, sending her to the ground. Nora got back up and dusted off her clothes.
"I think it just might be," Ilia said with a smile and said, "Seriously though, I actually had some faunus ask if my semblance had something to do with earth bending. Even some people who know my semblance asked if it was somehow related. This technique requires a lot of aura to pull off though, and I'm not sure I can keep this up for too long, so I'll have to keep practicing. Also, since I basically turn my skin cells into stones, my skin starts to crack if I use too much dust."
"That… sounds painful," Blake said.
"It's not, though," Ilia said, "Well, not more than the initial procedure. It just feels like when your hands dry up in winter. Also, my aura gets better at healing me the more I use this type of dust, meaning I don't have a lot of issues for long."
"Still… genetic modification? Are you sure that's safe?" Blake asked, "What if you develop dust blight?"
"Talia said I'll be fine," Ilia answered, "The procedure was actually based on research into dust blight, but uses pure micro-particles without any impurities. It's perfectly safe."
"What's dust blight?" Ruby asked.
"Like cancer, but you can also explode," Ilia answered, "It's caused by high concentrations of dust micro-particles in the air, which enter a person's cells and mess them up. It's only an issue in poorly ventilated dust mines, though."
"That sounds awful," Ruby said and asked, "Is there a cure?"
"Sort of, yes," Weiss answered, "My family has to deal with this issue a lot, since most of our workers are exposed to dust micro-particles. In early stages, taking a few weeks off allows the cells to regenerate normally. Also, proper ventilation can prevent the condition in most cases."
"If only most of your family's employees were cared for," Ilia said, trying to not sound too accusatory.
"Don't worry, I'll talk to my dad about it," Weiss said in a friendly and reassuring tone.
"Thanks," Ilia said.
"Can this happen to humans, too?" Jaune asked, freaking out a little at the idea of not only getting incredibly sick, but also exploding.
"More or less, yes," Ilia answered, "And it's not as predictable as in faunus. For us, it only affects our traits, but for you guys, it could affect any part of your body."
"Don't worry, though," Weiss said, "There are a lot of regulations in place to make sure the final product is safe for consumers. Dust particles have to be at least a hundred times as big as human or faunus cells, making it almost impossible for any particle to break down enough to become dangerous. And the myth about accidentally inhaling dust is wrong, too. International trade regulations require dust particles to be infused with a special substance that binds to stomach acid, effectively coating any particle you may inhale or eat into a little harmless ball that gets removed as waste."
"That's… good to know," Ruby said, "Thanks."
"What about eating avocado seeds?" Nora asked.
"Your stomach is too acidic for any plant to grow," Weiss answered, "But if you somehow got a seed into your lungs, it could grow there. But that is almost impossible, since you'd usually start to cough once a foreign object gets into the wrong pipe. Also, I don't even want to imagine how you can eat those in the first place."
"You really know a lot," Yang said.
"Thanks," Weiss said, "It kind of comes with being expected to lead the world's largest producer in dust, and I like keeping my mind in shape."
"I know some interesting things, too," Ruby said, and Yang sighed.
"What is it, Yang?" Blake asked.
"Well, it all started when Ruby enrolled at Signal," Yang answered, "She was failing her survival theory classes, so dad and I, and Qrow, made the mistake to tell her that she'd need to know some of the basics to stay alive if she ever gets lost in the wilderness, or else she won't be able to save people."
"Survival theory?" Weiss asked, "Also, what was so bad about it?"
"They taught us how to not die," Ruby answered, "Like, when you find yourself stranded in a forest with little to no supplies. But I may have gone a bit overboard in learning those things." Ruby smiled innocently, and both Yang and Qrow gave her disapproving looks.
"That bad?" Blake asked.
"Minimalist camping elitism," Yang answered, "For months, we'd have to find her somewhere out in the woods, sleeping under something that barely qualifies as shelter, and listen to lectures about why we couldn't make it a day out in the woods, even though there was a trail of cookie crumbs and leaves in her bed every day."
"There were Grimm everywhere," Ruby said, "And it's not like I could take them down bare-handed."
"Correct me if I'm wrong," Weiss said teasingly, "But isn't your ability to take down any Grimm bare-handed the reason why we went through all that training?"
"I didn't know it back then," Ruby said, pouting half seriously.
"I know," Weiss said with a smile, and everyone laughed for a bit. Sirena looked around the room, seeing all the happy faces, and knew that she had done the right things, despite how hard they were. She would reach her goal, no matter the cost. And then, Salem would pay.
~o~
Argent was sitting at a table in the Belladonna's home, with his tail coiled up to serve as chair. Ghira and Kali were sitting opposite of him, with Trifa between them. Trifa nervously looked around, and the ticking of a grandfather clock was the only sound in the room. After a short moment, Argent reached for his scroll on the table and turned off the audio player.
"Do you know why I asked you to come here?" Argent asked, looking directly at Trifa.
"N- no, I don't," Trifa answered and said, "I swear, I didn't do anything bad."
"I know, otherwise you wouldn't be here," Argent said, "I called you because of this." Argent opened a holographic display on his scroll, and it showed the blueprints for some kind of device.
"Wh- what is that?" Trifa asked.
"A weapon," Argent answered, "It is worn on the back, and unfolds when used. The top part accumulates ambient aura into a disc, and launches it forward. A single well-placed shot can take down an Alpha Beowolf, and it has no recoil, meaning that anyone can use it. However, if the user has their aura unlocked, the disc gains an additional effect."
"Why do you make this sound like it's a bad thing?" Trifa asked.
"Because, in the wrong hands, it is," Argent answered, "And the people working on it are definitely the wrong hands. Sophie Weber, a spider faunus, has a massive swarm of people all across Remnant. Since Atlas can't rely on Penny any more, they needed a new weapon, and Sophie's swarm was willing to provide. However, if they used this weapon, their discs would create clouds of toxic fumes upon impact, that only swarm members would be immune to."
"And… you want me to do what about it?" Trifa asked.
"I want you to infiltrate the swarm," Argent answered, "The main danger of the swarm is that Sophie is what my family refers to as an Omega Faunus. Basically, she gave in to her animal instincts. Because of this, she constantly seeks to provide food for her swarm, which will inevitably result in her taking over Remnant."
"How would me infiltrating the swarm help?" Trifa asked.
"Right now, not at all," Argent answered, "However, I can train you, and then you would provide information to the swarm that would make them stronger, but also help them control their instincts, as opposed to the other way around."
"And that would save the world?" Trifa asked.
"It would avert one danger, yes," Argent answered, "I'll also have Talia go to Atlas and sabotage the development of this weapon, at least to slow it down, to buy you more time."
"I see," Trifa said and asked, "Anyway, what's up with that plot of land you bought by the shore?"
"That, I'm afraid, is highly confidential," Argent answered and asked, "So, will you help me?"
"Of course," Trifa answered.
~o~
Sirena walked out of Lake Matsu, drawing the attention of every faunus in the White Fang's camp to herself. She drew her scepter, formed an ice blade, and created a dark red portal. Numerous faunus gathered around it, and winged faunus watched from above, and Ruby stepped out of the portal. She had her hood up and was completely hidden by her cloak, earning quite a bit of respect from the faunus around her due to her mysterious and serious appearance. Ilia made her way through the crowd, followed by a lion faunus with two sets of ears. She wore black sneakers, sky blue cargo shorts and a black t-shirt under a long-sleeved cyan vest. She had long blond hair and yellow eyes, and a standard-issue assault rifle on her back.
"Hey Ilia," Ruby said, took off her hood and opened her cloak, and suddenly looked much less like a crimson specter of death, and much more like a cheerful young huntress in training.
"Hi Ruby," Ilia said, "This is Alya, the friend I told you about."
"Hello," Alya said and asked, "Is it true what Ilia told me?"
"In my case, most of it, yes," Sirena answered and said, "I'm Sirena, nice to meet you."
"Hello," Alya said and asked, "But, is it true that you two can copy semblances?" She was still unsure of whether or not Ilia had told her the truth.
"Yep," Ruby answered, "But you also copy ours when we do that, so it's a win for both of us."
"Good to know," Alya said.
"Anyway, Sirena," Ruby said and asked, "How did you know what Ilia told her about you?"
"I may tell you some other time," Sirena answered and said, "Now Ilia, if you would take the lead."
"Alright," Ilia said and walked into the forest, using her seismic sense to locate any nearby Grimm. Ruby thought about how Sirena may have known what Ilia had told Alya about her, and realized that she likely had a semblance that let her know what others said about her, or something similar. After walking a few minutes, they stopped on a clearing, and Ilia gave Sirena a small nod that there were Grimm nearby. Sirena focused and Ruby could hear Grimm approaching. A pack of Beowolves, several Beringel and a Lancer attacked them, but as Alya reached for her rifle, the entire clearing was covered in white light, and the Grimm turned to stone. Alya and Ilia looked into the light, and after the light faded, Alya stared in awe at the petrified Grimm.
"This… is amazing," Alya said and asked, "And I can use your semblance now? How do I do that?"
"Indeed it is," Sirena said, "My semblance, Retaliation, will activate once you encounter Grimm that fight in close quarters, and it will damage them based on how much they damage you. However, it will only activate if you really want to protect others. But for now, I will return to Mistral. Try not to injure Ruby." She walked off into the forest, heading towards Lake Matsu. Ruby knew that Sirena had to shed some excess energy, and was barely keeping her composure.
"So, where to now?" Ruby asked, looking at Ilia.
"This way," Ilia answered and led the trio to another pack of Grimm.
~o~
A few days after recruiting Trifa, Argent was walking through the forest behind the Belladonna family home. He reached a massive web, with Trifa struggling to navigate it while adding more silk strings to it. Argent jumped up, his arms crossed behind his back, and easily made his way up to Trifa, who was close to a hundred meters above the ground.
"Impressive," Argent said, startling Trifa. He used his tail to catch her by the ankle and flung her back onto the nearest silk string.
"How do you make this look so easy?" Trifa asked.
"I have three spider faunus uncles," Argent answered and asked, "Why didn't you see me coming?"
"How would I?" Trifa asked.
"A spider's web is like her nervous system," Argent answered, "When you're done with your training, you'll feel every breeze on any part of your web, even if it is half a kilometer away."
"That sounds pretty stressful," Trifa said.
"That's why you'll be using your instincts to handle that information," Argent said.
"Anyway, I've been thinking," Trifa said, "Those weapons Sophie is developing sound pretty useful. I'd really like to have one of those. And, well, maybe give some to the people of Menagerie, in case any Grimm attack."
"Don't you worry," Argent said, "I have already tasked Sirena with delivering them here once they're finished. She and Talia work incredibly well together. In fact, I almost feel bad for sending them to deal with the same issue. That's why I didn't tell them what the other was doing."
"Wait, you have your team members work against each other?" Trifa asked.
"Sort of, yes," Argent answered, "But I know Sirena well enough to know that she'll figure out that I have Talia sabotage the weapon's development, and use it for her benefit. But in any case, let's continue your training. Now that you have a web, try to get me out of it while you stay in it." Argent got ready to fight, and Trifa barely managed to draw her knife in time before Argent kicked her out of her own web and she fell down to the ground. She got back up and felt a bit embarrassed that she couldn't hold her own on her home turf.
~o~
Ruby, Ilia and Alya stopped by a small cliff, and Ilia gave Ruby a small nod to get ready. Ruby closed her eyes and took a deep breath, reaching out to the sorrow of those around her. A pack of Beowolves and a few Alpha Beowolves came running up to the trio, and Ruby unleashed a burst of light. Alya and Ilia both looked into the light, and Alya was again speechless when she saw the petrified Grimm standing all around her after the light had faded.
"Don't worry, you'll get used to it," Ilia said, noticing her friend's surprised expression. Ruby wobbled around a bit and sat down on the ground.
"Is she alright?" Alya asked, looking at Ilia and pointing at Ruby.
"Yeah, it just takes a bit out of me," Ruby answered.
"I see," Alya said and asked, "Anyway, how does your semblance work?"
"It's quite simple, really," Ruby answered, "Basically, when I want to save people, I can. I don't think about it too much."
"Alright then," Alya said, gasped and said, "I totally forgot to tell Sirena how my semblance works."
"Don't worry, she'll be fine," Ruby said, "She can just enter the depths of her soul, find your emblem, and learn how to use your semblance that way."
"That's good to know," Alya said, "Still, I'd like you to tell her that she can only bubble things that weigh up to half a ton, and she can only teleport things to locations she has been to and considers safe."
"Okay, I'll let her know," Ruby said, "Also, if you want, you can bring these petrified Grimm to the camp."
"Thanks," Alya said, walked over to a petrified Beowolf and put it in a bubble of yellow energy. The bubble shrunk a little and Alya tapped it on the top, sending it away. Meanwhile, Ruby entered her soul core to look for Alya's emblem, a stylized lion's head on a cloud.
"Ruby, hello," Emerald said and asked, "Did you need something from me?"
"Hello Emerald," Ruby said and answered, "Well, yes. I'd like to know if you have thought about the things you'd like to do."
"Sorry, I haven't," Emerald answered, looked down and said, "It's just so difficult."
"It's fine, no pressure," Ruby said and asked, "Anyway, have you seen a new emblem appear around here?"
"Yes, this way," Emerald answered and led Ruby to a tree where she found both Blake's and Ilia's emblems as well. She left them for later, and touched Alya's emblem.
"Don't worry, I'll keep you safe," the woman's voice said. It had the gentleness of a mother protecting her children, mixed with the determination to go through hell and back to see them safe. Then, Ruby noticed another emblem on a nearby tree.
"You're in the bullet's way, the white death's prey," a male voice said. It sounded like an expert assassin, ready to make yet another kill with nigh-impossible precision. The emblem looked like a stylized tiger's head in front of a sun, and even though they were only crescent moon shapes, Ruby knew that this tiger had murder in its eyes.
"That's weird," Ruby said.
"What is?" Emerald asked.
"I don't remember this emblem, or anyone it could belong to," Ruby answered.
"Do you think someone followed you?" Emerald asked.
"That must be it," Ruby answered, "I mean, I don't copy random semblances out of nowhere. I think. Anyway, I'll go back and see now."
"Alright, bye," Emerald said.
"See you," Ruby said and returned to the waking world. Emerald kept walking through the forest, looked at the trees, and found a nice spot to sit, relax, and maybe nap a little again.
~o~
Cardin, in his bird form, flew over Vale and headed towards a warehouse. He entered through a ventilation shaft, landed behind a box and transformed back. Talia was standing at a work bench and working on something. Tiny Atlesian Paladins were carrying tiny steel beams and plates around, and Tiny Atlesian Knights welded them into place.
"Here you go," Cardin said and placed a large bag of gravity-dust on the floor next to Talia.
"Thank you," Talia said. She extended her right hand towards the bag and three lines of runes formed around her wrist and lower arm. The bag began glowing in the same light green as the runes and shrunk to the size of a pea. Talia then levitated the bag onto the table and one of the Atlesian Knights brought it into the structure they were building.
"So, what is all this?" Cardin asked, gesturing at the structure. It was comprised of several cylindrical objects which could be stacked on top of one another. One had rotor blades on the side, held by what looked like a pleated belt, and the others had anti-gravity generators on the side. One of them also had some form of support beams that extended beyond its bottom, easily offering enough space to fit another section under it, and one had an eight-sided pyramid on the top, with satellite dishes on all corners where the sloped sides connected to their neighboring side and the bottom half of the segment. Lastly, Cardin noticed that the segments all seemed to have windows.
"What does it look like?" Talia asked. Cardin thought about it for a moment.
"I don't know," he answered and asked, "A space ship?" Talia giggled at the response.
"Nope," Talia answered and said, "In any case, I've got enough materials for now, so you can go and do whatever you want."
"Alright," Cardin said, walked away, turned into a bird again and flew away. After he was gone, Talia looked at her scroll to check the message she had gotten just before Cardin had returned.
"Talia, I have a new assignment," Argent wrote, "How far are you with the next step of Project Alpha?"
"It'll be done within a few months," Talia responded, "Cardin and his team were really helpful. Also, I managed to test a theory I had about the silver eyes."
"Good," Argent wrote and asked, "What is it?"
"You know how the eyes are the windows to the soul?" Talia wrote, "Well, turns out it's more literal than you'd think. When Sirena used her silver eyes, somehow an image of her soul was imprinted on mine. I don't know what that means yet, so I'll have to be careful, but if we can apply general laws of nature to this as well, it would mean that some portion of my soul was imprinted on hers as well."
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Argent wrote, "If you notice anything strange, let me know immediately."
"Got it, sorry," Talia responded and wrote, "So, what's my new assignment?"
"It's fine, I suppose," Argent wrote, "Once you're done with your current task, head over to Atlas and sabotage the development of Sophie's anti-Grimm super weapon. Don't stop it entirely, just slow it down until I'm ready. I need at least a year from today."
"Alright," Talia wrote, "Though, I'd have to move quickly, since it's almost finished. I'll step in once Ruby and her friends are in Atlas, using my new Raven-based communication system to switch between Vale and Atlas."
"Good," Argent wrote, "But keep in mind that we need Penny up and running again within the next six months, and the earlier, the better."
"Yes, I know," Talia wrote, "I'm still struggling to gather the necessary energy, because some people just don't play their parts." She sent the message to her brother and grumbled angrily.
"Why is it so hard for a dragon to kill some people?" Talia thought, "All I've got are some racist birdbrains, and insects don't work fast enough."
~o~
When Ruby returned to the waking world, she saw Ilia, Alya, and a male tiger faunus standing around and discussing the silver eyes. The tiger faunus wore heavy black boots, forest-themed camouflage pants, and a black t-shirt under a forest-themed camouflage jacket. He had short black hair, dark green eyes and an assault rifle on his back, which was modified to function as a sniper rifle.
"Hello Ruby," the tiger faunus said, "I am Arevik." Ruby recognized the voice from her soul core.
"Hello," Ruby said and asked, "Say, what did Ilia and Alya tell you?"
"That you can copy semblances," Arevik answered, "But honestly, I don't believe it."
"Well, it's true," Ruby said, picked up a small pebble and used Alya's semblance to send it back to the house in Mistral.
"That's… my semblance," Alya said, staring in disbelief. Suddenly, an Alpha Beowolf came into view, but didn't notice the group, due to the petrified Grimm absorbing their negativity. Alya backed away from the monster, not knowing they were invisible to it, and left the area with the petrified Grimm. The Alpha Beowolf immediately detected her and ran towards her, jumping around the petrified Grimm. Just as the Alpha Beowolf was about to reach Alya, Arevik dashed forward and hit it in the back with his claws. He killed it in a single hit, dropped to the ground and looked behind himself, where he saw a few rose petals drop to the ground and dissipate.
"How did I do that?" Arevik asked, and noticed Ruby smiling at him.
"That was my semblance," Ruby answered, "It activated because you wanted to protect her. Though, I've never heard of a single claw swipe being that strong."
"Well, that's my semblance," Arevik said, "I call it Ambush, and it drastically increases my damage output when I land a surprise hit on an enemy. Because of this, I can land fatal blows against almost any enemy."
"Sounds cool," Ruby said, her eyes shimmering a little with excitement.
"Yeah," Arevik said, "Anyways, I was supposed to be back at the camp five minutes ago, so I have to hurry."
"Alright," Ruby said, "I have to get back as well, bye." Sirena opened a portal so Ruby could come back to the house.
"See you," Ilia said, and Ruby walked through the portal before it closed. Alya began sending the rest of the Grimm to the camp, Arevik headed back to it, and Ilia stayed to keep her friend safe, just in case.
Author's note: I initially meant to have Nora ask about watermelon seeds instead, but somehow I wrote avocado, probably because my mom was talking about it downstairs at the time, and the idea of Nora casually mentioning swallowing one of those like it's an everyday problem was too funny for me, so I left it.
Also, I once saw a Youtube video about Reddit posts that are basically Tumblr screenshots and stuff, and one of those was ultra-light camping elitism, which is where I got that idea.
To be specific, it was "BEHOLD the Cheese Stick Hath Returned (r/Tumblr)" by Oz Media.
Ruby can now use Tranquility to make herself invisible to Grimm, and has a passive semblance, Ambush, that increases the damage she deals when she lands a surprise attack.