Author's note: And we're in Argus. I consulted the transcript from the Wiki again for some dialogues, but some stuff is still going to go different.
Shortly after Team RWBY, Qrow, Oscar and Maria arrived in Argus, the entire group was on a trolley and taking in the city.
"It's a lot bigger than I thought it'd be," Yang said, and looked up into the sky. Before long, she would be soaring through the air and seeing the city from above.
"It's actually one of the largest non-capital cities in all of Remnant," Ren said, and Ruby gasped in surprise.
"No way!" Ruby exclaimed and asked, "But wait, wouldn't it be harder to settle something this big so far away from the main kingdom?"
"Well, it was, until Mantle showed up," Jaune answered and said, "Early settlement attempts by Mistral didn't go well, but colonists from Mantle helped them brave the cold climates, and return for supplies that Solitas couldn't provide."
"The two nations worked together to form a hybrid city," Ren continued, "While it falls under Mistral domain, Atlas maintains a military presence here to keep citizens safe and to keep trade between the nations steady."
"Well, until recently…" Nora finished. The trolley stopped and everyone hopped off.
"We should probably start looking for a ship," Blake said.
"So, where have you guys been staying?" Oscar asked, looking at Jaune. Jaune tried not to answer, and just chuckled nervously. A blonde woman holding a baby in her arms waved at them from the other side of the road.
"There you are," the woman said, and walked over to the group.
"Hey, Saph," Jaune said and introduced his sister, Saphron Cotta-Arc, to his friends, as well as introducing his friends to her.
~o~
Less than ten minutes later, everyone was sitting in the living room of Saphron's house, and Ruby was a bit unsure what to do. When she and Jaune fused every day for training, they had shared all sorts of knowledge, such as weapon techniques, how to use their semblances, and personal stuff. Because of this, she knew almost as much about Saphron, and his other sisters, as he did. She also knew that Jaune didn't like talking about his sisters, so it would probably be weird if she let Saphron know just how much she knew about her.
"So, Saphron, you're the only Arc living here?" Blake asked, pulling Ruby out of her thoughts. She noticed Weiss and Yang playing with Saphron's son, Adrian, and making baby talk with him. Weiss summoned two small Griffons and let them circle Adrian, who tried to grab the tiny creatures.
"Yep! Moved out the second I could," Saphron answered, "Jaune and I are the only ones living away from family. I guess he just wanted to be like his big sis." She gave Jaune a teasing look, much to his annoyance.
"No offense, but I actually wanted to become a huntsman," Jaune said, "That way, I can protect those who can't protect themselves."
"If you say so…" Saphron said, still giving Jaune a teasing look. The front door opened and they turned to see who it was, seeing a woman with dark hair and glasses, carrying a bag of groceries.
"I'm back," the woman called.
"Hello," Saphron said, turned back to the group and said, "Everyone, this is my wife, Terra Cotta-Arc." Everyone greeted her, and she chuckled a little.
"Wow, quite a party, you weren't lying," Terra said and asked, "Hun, can you help me in the kitchen?"
"Sure," Saphron answered, got up and went into the kitchen. Jaune, Ren and Nora went to help them prepare sandwiches for everyone, and Saphron and Terra let them handle the food.
"And you're sure it's alright if we stay with you?" Weiss asked.
"Of course," Terra answered, "We're happy to house huntsmen and huntresses."
"You all risk so much to keep people like us safe," Saphron said, "It's the least we could do." Ruby remembered something from Jaune's memory, from a day when Saphron had read about housing regulations in Mistral, shortly before moving out.
"Also," Ruby thought, "If you build a house for ten or more guests, and reserve the rooms for huntsmen, the reduced taxes and benefits mean that the town will actually pay you to live here." She quickly snapped back to reality, and saw that Saphron was looking at Qrow.
"Especially for such an elite huntsman as yourself," Saphron said, "Although, I will say I was a bit surprised to hear that you had students helping you. Is that even… legal?" Ruby nudged Qrow, who hadn't really been paying attention.
"What? Yeah, of course," Qrow answered, "Think about it as an… extended training mission. Trust me, I was a professor. Even went to the same school as them. I tell ya, these kids are a lot better than we were at their age. Well, not me specifically, but some students -"
"Shut up, there's food," Ruby said, interrupting Qrow, when Jaune, Ren and Nora brought sandwiches. Everyone was eating peacefully, when Blake's ears twitched a bit and she looked towards the door.
"What was that?" Blake asked.
"What was what?" Saphron asked.
"I heard some commotion out there," Blake answered, "Shattering ceramic, splintering wood, and breaking metal. Something small, like a screw. No, two screws." Saphron and Terra gave each other confused looks, not knowing if they should ask how Blake heard that.
"Wait, how did you hear that?" Yang asked.
"My training," Blake answered, "On one hand, I've learned to listen more closely to quieter sounds. However, a part of my aura also extends outwards about ten meters and lets me hear any sounds it picks up, even if they would be too quiet for me to hear by the time they reached my ears."
"Yeah, I wondered when it'd show up again," Qrow said.
"What shows up?" Terra asked. She and her wife got a bit concerned when they noticed Qrow's expression. Qrow hesitated a little before answering, but Ruby gave him a reassuring smile.
"It… has to do with why I'm such a good fighter," Qrow answered, "Basically, my semblance brings bad luck to anyone around me. People trip, or flop a landing, or a stray bullet hits something fragile and causes a chain reaction that takes down an entire airship. When I'm fighting for my life, it's good to be the only one the universe doesn't hate, but I have no control over it, and it doesn't take it easy on my friends either. I'm sorry, I'm putting you all in danger just by being near you. I can understand if you want me to leave."
"Nonsense," Terra said, and gave Qrow a comforting smile, "You have no control over what your semblance does, so we shouldn't blame you for it."
"Besides," Saphron said, "We have to deal with bad luck every now and again, so a little more won't hurt." While Qrow was still trying to process the new reaction to his semblance, Ruby got up from her chair.
"Alright. Blake, Ren, you two come with me," Ruby said, "We'll go and see what happened, and make sure everyone is fine." She turned into two clusters of rose petals, scooped up her friends and rushed out of a window, stopping in front of the door. Saphron and Terra looked after them in surprise, and Terra turned back to Qrow.
"Shouldn't they, you know, do what you say?" Terra asked.
"Well, kind of," Qrow answered, "You see, Ruby is the leader of her team, and even though Ren isn't part of that team, one aspect of this training is to have two teams work together. It happens a lot more often than you'd think, so they need to be ready to work together." That answer seemed to satisfy the two women, and they continued eating sandwiches.
"Are you sure they're fine?" Saphron asked after some time.
"Of course," Qrow answered, "There is nothing they can't handle. And even if, they still have backup." Terra turned her attention to Weiss, not sure if she should ask what she wanted to ask, and Weiss noticed her conflicted expression.
"If you want to ask if I'm really friends with a faunus, yes, I am," Weiss said, "I had a couple people ask me before, and I'm quite used to it, so don't worry."
"Good to know," Terra said, "But yeah, with your family's history, I was a bit confused to see you and Blake get along so well."
"Well, we did have a bumpy start," Weiss said, "But Ruby helped us a lot, and now we're pretty close."
"Really?" Terra asked, "Did she help you work through your differences or something?"
"I think it's more that she's very hard to dislike," Weiss answered, "Ruby is just one of those people who can get along with anyone if they try hard enough, and at some point, our friendship with Ruby became more important than our prejudices against each other, and that's that. At least, that's it for me."
"She's like a maelstrom of kindness and understanding," Nora blurted out, "If you get too close, she'll suck you in, and then you'll feel loved and appreciated, whether you want to or not." Saphron chuckled a little.
"Well, that's definitely one way to put it," Yang said.
"I'm a bit conflicted, though," Weiss said, "On one hand, I'm curious what happens when she gets mad, but on the other, I know that people like her are the worst when they get angry."
"I can't say I've ever seen her angry, to be honest," Yang said.
"There was one time at a zoo," Jaune said, "She told me about this one kid who kept picking on a goat in a petting zoo, so she followed him to a nearby restaurant and sprinkled some salt and powdered ice-dust in the kid's drink while noone was looking."
"Wait, that was her?" Qrow asked and wanted to say something else, but was cut off when a powerful shockwave rolled through the area, shaking the furniture.
"What… was that?" Saphron asked, and she, Terra and Adrian looked around concerned.
"Sorry," Qrow said, "We better go check this out."
"Don't worry, sis," Jaune said, "We've got this." Weiss, Yang, Jaune, Nora and Qrow got up and went outside, looking for the source of the shockwave.
~o~
Two clusters of rose petals gathered in front of the house, and Ruby, Blake and Ren manifested in its place shortly after.
"Alright Blake, where was it?" Ruby asked.
"This way," Blake answered and took the lead. The trio ran through the city, garnering a few concerned looks from the citizens, who had no idea what was going on, but saw two young huntresses and a young huntsman running through the streets with serious expressions. They eventually reached a park bench with one of the sitting boards being broken, and the two screws on one side being missing, while there was a broken flower pot on the other side. Ruby saw a man wearing blue jeans and a white t-shirt approach with a tool belt.
"Excuse me, do you know what happened here?" Ruby asked.
"Sure do," the man answered, "Saw the whole thing. Caused it too, kind of. Was just sitting around on my balcony when a gust of wind blew some smoke in my face. I coughed, knocked over my plant and then it came down here. I know a thing or two about this kind of work, so I figured I might as well clean up a bit."
"Alright, thank you," Ruby said and asked, "Do you know where those two screws went?"
"That way," the man answered and pointed in the direction where the screws were sent flying.
"Thanks again," Ruby said, turned to her friends and said, "Alright, let's go." She grabbed her friends and used her semblance to bring them all up in the air. Once high above the streets, Ruby pulled out Crescent Rose and used her sniper scope to find any clue of where the screws might have landed. A few blocks over, she spotted a loading ramp covered in a cloud of powdered lightning-dust.
~o~
Ruby, Blake and Ren arrived on the shop near the loading ramp, and Blake rushed into the powdered dust, leaving a clone of herself behind. Ruby heard a sneeze, and Blake's clone manifested two more people, just as the cloud ignited. They both wore a blue overall over a white t-shirt each, had short black hair and orange eyes, and looked like they were twins.
"Thank you," one of them said, "But, it's not over."
"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.
"Something small hit me on the head," the other one answered, "And, well, I dropped a few cylinders." The dust ignition caused a chain reaction, following a trail of powdered fire-dust that led into the nearby sewers. Following the cylinder that had rolled into the open manhole, the dust reached a pile of fire-dust crystals gathered by Scavengers, with a Scavenger King resting on it. The dust exploded, sending a powerful shockwave through the entire city. The manhole covers jumped a bit, car alarms went off across the city, but all the Grimm in the sewers were killed. After the shock wore off, everyone went back down and met with the store's apparent owner, who looked like an older version of the two workers, but with green eyes, slightly longer hair and a blue cap. He also had a name tag with his name on it.
"What was that commotion about?" Bolat, the owner, asked, and the two workers visibly shrunk. Ruby stepped forward.
"I'm sorry, it was our fault," Ruby said, "But the good news is, noone got hurt." Bolat looked at Ruby for a moment, not sure how to respond, then changed his attitude completely.
"Yes, of course, that is good news," Bolat said, "Welcome, I'm Bolat, thanks for saving my boys back there. Please, come in and take a look around." He led the trio into his shop through the back. When she saw what the store was selling, Ruby stared with wide eyes, and a big smile crept onto her face.
"So. Many. Weapons!" Ruby exclaimed with excitement, and happily bounced up and down a bit.
"Yep, got a new shipment last week," Bolat said, "They sent a bit too much of everything, so take whatever you want. As thanks for saving my boys." Ruby froze in motion, then slowly turned to Bolat.
"I can take whatever I want?" Ruby asked, looking like an unsupervised nine year old was given a hundred Lien and let loose in a candy store.
"Yeah," Bolat answered, and Ruby burst into rose petals, screaming in joy. The petals scattered across the entire storage area, then gathered in front of Bolat, and Ruby manifested shortly to hug him.
"Thank you," Ruby said, then burst into rose petals again and picked up a night-vision scope, a tactical laser, a tactical light, a range finder, three new sniper scopes for various ranges, and a few muzzle attachments. She then stopped in front of Blake and Ren, who watched her erratic dashing with a mix of surprise and joy, and gave them each a box of ammunition. Ruby stopped for a second, looked at Ren, then dashed away and handed him another ammo box, almost knocking him over.
"Ruby, what is all this?" Blake asked and put the box down, stacking it on top of another one Ruby had brought. Ren put the two boxes he was holding down as well, and Ruby put one on top, leaving two towers of three boxes. Ruby stopped in front of her friends.
"Assorted dust ammunition," Ruby answered, "I found hard-light-dust rounds for you, Ren. They burst into a dozen hard-light caltrops wherever they hit, spreading over a radius of half a meter. Great when coupled with your rapid-fire weapons, and perfect for restricting enemy movement. And Blake, I got you wire mine rounds. It's the new version, since the original one was outlawed. They hold two thin wires, each one being fifty centimeters long, which are under a lot of stress and rapidly unwrap when there are Grimm nearby. The original version could be triggered via scroll, but they were used to cut people to shreds, so they were made illegal seventy years ago."
"I see," Blake said, pointed at another crate and asked, "And that?"
"It's for Yang," Ruby answered, "I noticed she never found any dust ammunition for her gauntlets, and here they have everything, so I just picked up a nice mix of everything. Now, I just need some grenade launcher ammo for Nora."
"Maybe this can interest you," Bolat said and unveiled a stack of boxes.
"What's that?" Ruby asked, eyeing the box with excitement and interest.
"Mobile Fortress Mk. 1 canisters," Bolat answered, "They stick to whatever they hit, and form a hard-light turret like you see on trains like the Argus Limited. A tad smaller, but every bit as powerful. Ten shots each, too. Great for protecting an area from Grimm. A delivery mistake had me end up with hundreds of those, so feel free to help yourself."
"Thank you," Ruby said, "I'm sure Nora will love those." She dashed over to the box and pulled out a belt with twenty gray canisters, which had a light blue ring near the bottom. She tossed several belts to Ren, who had trouble standing due to the weight, until Blake took some off of him.
"Ruby, can we please talk to you for a second?" Blake asked, and waved Ruby over to a quiet corner.
"What is it?" Ruby asked and rushed over to her friends.
"We can't possibly carry all this," Ren answered.
"I know you're excited, but this is too much," Blake said, "We can take a few clips, but if we took all of this, it would only slow us down, and we can't put this city in danger." Ruby's smile faded a bit, but she knew it was true.
"I… guess you're right," Ruby said, "It's just, this is paradise for me. I get to not only look at all these ammo types and mods, but also take whatever I want." She looked back at the five stacks of ammo crates, and her look wandered off to another shelf. She dashed over to it and stuffed several magazines of sniper rounds into the bags on her belt.
"I see you like the Hellrazer Mk. 3 rounds," Bolat said.
"Of course," Ruby said, and dashed back over to her friends.
"What are those?" Ren asked. Ruby stopped in motion for a bit, and her excitement and hyperactivity were replaced with a more mature, teacher-like personality, which still had some resemblance to her weapon nerd side.
"During the Great War, Atlas created armored vehicles," Ruby answered, "They were immune to regular dust-based rounds. In response, Vale developed Hellrazer Mk. 1 rounds, which spread their fire-dust payload around the point of impact and contain a small initial detonator, which can be activated and brought to detonation through early means of wireless communication to trigger the rest of the dust to explode, dealing significant damage to the target."
"Interesting," Blake said, "I didn't know you knew so much about the War."
"Please, save your questions for later," Ruby said, "When Vacuo introduced reinforced shields three years later, Mistral responded with what would later become the Mk. 2 rounds. They have a reinforced carbon tip and a hidden hook, anchoring them in the target before a delayed explosion goes off a second after impact. The initial impact is not too bad, so the target lowers their guard, increasing the damage done by the explosion. It also does a lot of damage to shields of all kinds, since the explosion occurs almost inside the shield. The development of new weapons with this kind of mechanism, as well as the use against non-Grimm combatants, was later made illegal in the Vytal Act article 14, due to the unfair advantage this type of ammunition provides."
"But selling them is fine?" Ren asked, looking over to a shelf filled entirely with the rounds.
"Yep, you can still use them against Grimm, after all," Ruby answered, "And finally, the Mk. 3 rounds. They were created by Atlas, in the final days of the Great War, to help fend off the large groups of Grimm drawn to the battlefields. They carry an incendiary-dust payload, sending razor-sharp glass shards flying everywhere when they hit. They don't do much damage on their own, but the more the victim moves, the more they cut it, dealing damage over time and restricting their movement."
"Wow, you really know your stuff," Blake said.
"That's nothing," Ruby said and asked, "Want to hear about the people involved in developing these and other weapons?"
"Maybe later," Blake answered and said, "Anyway, we should probably pick only what we can carry, and leave the rest."
"I can give you cargo lifts," Bolat said.
"Sorry," Ruby said, "But, we're working on something important, and we can't carry around too much. Besides, you need to sell some of these things to make a living."
"You're right," Bolat said, "I guess I just got too excited to finally meet one of your kind."
"What was that?" Ruby asked, and Blake and Ren also got suspicious.
"Well, you see, I mean," Bolat stammered, composed himself and said, "I don't usually deal with huntsmen and huntresses. Most of the time, the military just wants me to get them some weapons, so I got excited."
"I see," Ruby said, "Well, we'll be looking around a bit more, but then we have to get back to our friends." Ruby, Blake and Ren looked around a bit more, with Ruby answering any questions they had about different modifications, ammunition types, or weapon parts.
~o~
Weiss and Yang were walking through the streets of Argus, seeing all sorts of people walking around. They looked concerned, but calmed down when they saw the two young huntresses pass by.
"You know, I could get used to this," Yang said.
"What?" Weiss asked, "The constant threat of blood-thirsty assassins, the impending end of the world, or having something small like a random explosion to worry about for once?"
"The attention," Yang answered and said, "I mean, look, they love us. And we're just standing around."
"We're walking," Weiss said, "Also, we don't do this for the attention."
"Yeah, I know," Yang said, "But it's still nice."
"Trust me, it can get annoying really quickly," Weiss said, noticed that Yang was no longer next to her, turned around and saw Yang looking across the street.
"Look," Yang said and pointed at a store.
"A weapon shop?" Weiss asked and said, "We don't have time for this. We have to find out what caused the explosion."
"I'm sure it's connected to what the others were looking into," Yang said, "I also know that Ruby couldn't just walk past one of these, so they must have at least seen her."
"Fine," Weiss said, "But we only ask if they've seen her, and then we continue looking." The duo walked over to the store, a trolley stopped in front of it, and Jaune and Nora hopped off.
"Hey guys, weren't you headed the other direction?" Yang asked, "What are you doing here?"
"I sensed some disruptions in the city's electric field," Nora answered, "They all kinda lead here, so we came to see why."
"And I followed Ruby's aura to a bench," Jaune said, "The guy fixing it told us all three were there, and where they went."
"I wanted to keep looking," Weiss said, "But Yang insisted we ask the employees or owner if they have seen her."
"Great idea," Jaune said. All four entered the shop, and while Jaune looked at the various guns and gun parts, he remembered his training with Ruby.
~o~
Jaune and Ruby were floating through the section of Ruby's memory that dealt with her knowledge of weapons, and Jaune looked around in amazement.
"This is bigger than the library at Beacon," Jaune said, staring at the shelves upon shelves of books, magazines and fliers.
"A bit, yeah," Ruby said and asked, "Want to read some of it?"
"What about the light?" Jaune asked.
"I know this place inside and out," Ruby answered, "No matter how fast it is, I can catch it."
"Well, alright then," Jaune said, and Ruby gave him a book on simple handguns.
"You know, I think a gun would suit you," Ruby said, "Maybe just a small sidearm, but something to help you against ranged enemies."
"Are you sure?" Jaune asked.
"Yeah," Ruby answered, "I can help you learn to use whatever weapon you want. Maybe we can even incorporate it into your sword."
"I think I'll stick with a simple gun," Jaune said, "If I get a gun at all, that is."
"What's wrong with guns?" Ruby asked.
"Nothing, really," Jaune answered, "They're just not my type. And I don't think I could keep track of my ammo, so I'd definitely run out at the worst times."
"Alright," Ruby said, "Let me know if you change your mind." They kept looking through different magazines and books, and Jaune did actually see a few things he found interesting enough to consider getting a gun, but the prices were a bit outside of his normal price range. After a while, they caught up to the light and followed it deeper into their fusion's soul.
~o~
Jaune looked at the gun parts in front of him, and thought of how useful a ranged weapon could have been in the past. He built a small sidearm in his mind, but then the price tag appeared in front of his inner eye.
"Hey Jaune," Nora said, pulling him back to reality.
"What?" Jaune asked and said, "Sorry, I was just thinking about something Ruby said a while back."
"Do you want a gun?" Nora asked.
"I don't know," Jaune answered, "I mean, it could certainly help, and Ruby could teach me, but it doesn't feel right, somehow." They heard a door open in the back of the shop and turned around, expecting an employee or the owner, but saw Ruby come out, carrying belts of shotgun shells and grenade launcher canisters, with Blake and Ren following her, both of which held a few new magazines for their weapons.
"Thanks, Bolat," Ruby said, looking over her shoulder.
"See? I told you she'd be here," Yang said, catching Ruby's attention.
"Hey Yang," Ruby said, "Look what I got for you."
"Ruby, what is this?" Weiss asked.
"Some new shotgun shells," Ruby answered, "I noticed that Yang never uses dust ammunition, so I brought some for her."
"Thanks, sis," Yang said and took the ammo belts from Ruby.
"And some new canisters for Nora, too," Ruby said and handed Nora her new ammo.
"No, I mean, why do you have all this ammo?" Weiss asked.
"Blake saved the owner's sons," Ruby answered, "And to thank us, he let us take whatever we wanted."
"And you took all this?" Weiss asked.
"You're lucky we have to carry all this," Blake said, "If she didn't have to worry about that, she would've taken the entire place."
"Not true," Ruby said, pouted and said, "Only the good stuff."
"Like guns, ammo and modifications?" Yang asked with a smile.
"Exactly," Ruby answered and asked, "Why would I take all those walls and display cases?"
"Anyway, we still don't know what caused that explosion," Jaune said.
"I think we do," Ruby said, "But, let's get back home first." The group thanked Bolat for the supplies and help, and headed back to the Cotta-Arc family home.
~o~
Back in the Cotta-Arc home, everyone sat down in the living room, and while Saphron and Terra wanted to give them some space, Ruby and Jaune insisted that it would be rude to kick them out of their own home, and let them stay, since the matter at hand was not too serious or secret.
"Thanks," Saphron said and asked, "So, do you know what caused this explosion?"
"Yeah," Ruby answered and said, "One of the employees, the owner's sons, dropped a crate full of dust, and a few vials rolled into an open manhole. The other one sneezed, setting off a chain reaction."
"That can't be it," Weiss said, "There is no way a single crate has enough dust to cause that kind of explosion."
"Well, the White Fang has had trouble here in recent years," Blake said, "Somehow, dust crystals kept disappearing, and noone knew why. It was always single crystals, but always fire-dust. Undercover members, who ran fronts to gather and launder money, have called the police to investigate multiple times. They found holes that looked like rats dug them, but they were too big, and weirdly stretched upwards. As if they were made by a bipedal creature."
"That doesn't sound like something they'd just… tell… everyone," Saphron said, and she and Terra got a bit concerned.
"Don't worry, I left that life behind," Blake said.
"So, you really were with them?" Terra asked.
"Yes," Blake answered, "But like I said, I've left that life behind." Saphron and Terra were still a bit uneasy, and Blake just sighed.
"Anyway, could it have been this?" Yang asked, pulled out her scroll and projected a life-sized hologram of a Scavenger on the table.
"Well, the size fits," Blake answered and asked, "What is that?"
"They're called Scavengers," Yang answered, "Small, annoying bastards who stick to dark tunnels and use the bone spikes of their leader as weapons. Talia and I fought some of them on our way to Mistral."
"But, why would Grimm collect dust?" Saphron asked.
"To set off an explosion," Weiss answered and said, "They can't trigger crystals, but enough powder can, and they could set that off with as little as a single spark. We just need to find out where they put it all."
"Wait, are you saying they planned this?" Terra asked, and she and Saphron got a lot more concerned than when they thought a violent terrorist was sitting in their living room.
"I… think it's better if we leave this to you," Saphron said, "We don't want to interrupt you with our questions." Saphron and Terra got up and left the house, taking Adrian with them. After the door closed, an awkward silence fill the room.
"You know, I feel kind of bad," Ruby finally said, "I mean, we talk about this stuff like it's the most normal thing in the world, and didn't consider that to them, it must be pretty hard to believe."
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Jaune said.
"Anyway, any ideas where they put all that dust?" Qrow asked, drawing everyone's attention to himself and away from their little misstep.
"I know how we can find out," Weiss answered, and summoned a Seer and two tiny Queen Lancers.
"We'll help you," Ruby said, and started amplifying Weiss' aura, and Jaune joined in on helping her.
"Thanks," Weiss said and summoned ten more Queen Lancers. Blake got up to let the summons outside, and Yang opened a manhole to let the Grimm into the sewers.
"Here, this has a map of the city on it," Qrow said, handing Weiss his scroll. She summoned a Poltergeist and had it possess the scroll. The Grimm made the scroll project a holographic map of the city and the sewers, and marked all twelve tiny Queen Lancers on it in real time. While Qrow was inspecting the map, and realized that one of the Queen Lancers had left the sewers through a tunnel that wasn't on the map, the Seer clicked a few times, and Weiss gasped.
"What is it?" Ruby asked.
"See for yourself," Weiss answered. She summoned a second Seer through one of her Queen Lancers, and had both Seers contact each other. The group saw a large tunnel, lit up by the light of the summons, which had been dug by tiny claws over decades.
"Wait, they dug a tunnel?" Nora asked, "Why?"
"They learned from Bartleby," Qrow answered and pointed at the map, which showed that the tunnel was pointing straight towards Brunswick Farms. Weiss made her summons disappear again, and Ruby and Jaune stopped amplifying her aura.
"Who is Bartleby?" Jaune asked.
"He tried to settle further south," Yang answered, "But, to cut costs on huntsman protection, he locked some Grimm in the waterways beneath his farm. The Apathy. They drain your will to go on."
"He wanted to use them to take the edge off of everyone," Ruby explained, "But, it worked too well, and they died in their beds."
"That's horrible," Ren said. Suddenly, the door was thrown open and Saphron, Terra and Adrian burst into the living room, and all three looked very concerned.
"We have a problem," Saphron said.
"The people are panicking because of the explosion," Terra said, "And some are starting to panic because the initial panic could attract Grimm. Please, do something about it."
"I have an idea," Weiss said, "But you probably won't like it." Qrow gave her a questioning look, and she returned it with one that conveyed her idea more than clearly.
"No," Qrow said, "No, just no. It's too risky. There has to be another way." Everyone turned to look at Ren.
"Sorry, this city is too big for me," Ren said.
"Do we want to know what you're planning?" Saphron asked.
"Not really," Jaune answered, and Ruby started thinking out loud.
"If we use five of those, at night, and with no area overlap," Ruby said, "It could work. We'd go for three nights, and then we should be good."
"Probably," Weiss said.
"And we can always fall back on Ren," Blake said, "For smaller areas, of course. Just use Seers and Queen Lancers as relays, and we can cover much more ground."
"I think I can do one house at a time," Ren said.
"Do you even hear what you're saying?" Qrow asked and said, "It's too dangerous."
"But what other options do we have?" Ruby asked and said, "If we don't do something, Grimm will run rampant. We'll do this at night, when everyone is asleep, and we'll only keep this up for a few days, so the people will be back to normal."
"But if it backfires -" Qrow said, but was cut off by Ruby.
"It won't," Ruby said, "So far, we have done a lot of things everyone told us we couldn't do, simply because we did them our way. I know you think you know what's best for us, and you just want to protect us, but we can handle things ourselves. But, if you think you can keep up with us kids, we'd be happy to have you." Maria laughed a bit and nudged Qrow.
"Looks like you didn't give them enough credit either," Maria said.
"So, when do we start?" Weiss asked.
"At 10pm," Ruby answered, "And we'll avoid hospitals, to not affect the medical staff." After some more talking, and dinner, everyone got ready for bed. Team RWBY got their own room again, as did Maria, Oscar and Qrow. Jaune, Ren and Nora all had their rooms assigned already.
Author's note: Hellrazer ammunition is named that way because, when your enemy unleashes hell on you, you need something to raze it to the ground.
Ruby really knows her stuff. She strongly dislikes Grimm, so of course she'd be interested in everything that can help her wipe them out.
Ren gets to spam caltrops. I really have to put that in at some point.
Bolat is actually part of Sophie's swarm.
Weiss plays "kill the Grimm" with Adrian. Teach 'em young, and teach 'em good. It's still a lingering aspect of Guardian's Gambit, making her try to set future generations up to be safe from Grimm. Also, she gets to save an entire city from Grimm.
The Scavengers had originally wanted to have the Apathy do to Argus what they did to Brunswick Farms. The dust crystals were supposed to go off one at a time, effectively bomb-mining their way to the farm. But, well, looks like they weren't so lucky.
That one time at the zoo, the kid had a serious brain freeze and his parents called the zoo paramedics to help until the ambulance arrived. The only doctor on scene was a goat faunus, making the poor kid's situation worse.