Author's note: With everything done in the office, let's meet the glorified thugs. I've decided to not include their names, until Ruby and her friends know them. Just because.
Also, some trigger warning at the bottom.
When Ruby and her friends left General Ironwood's office to meet with the Ace-Ops, they heard someone talking on the floor.
"And that was the second time I was banned," one of them said, "Then there was the third time when-"
"Alright, cut the chatter," the apparent leader said, turned to Ruby and said, "I'd like to sincerely apologize for the miscommunication down in Mantle. We didn't intend to-" He was cut off when a woman pushed past him and began shaking Ruby's hands, as well as Ruby.
"I feel so bad, honestly," the woman said, "If we knew who you were, we'd be laughing over a hot meal now and-" She stopped mid-sentence and dropped Ruby to the floor. Sirena helped Ruby back up and shot the other woman an angry look.
"I understand," Ruby said, "You were just following orders."
"I mean, you could have asked us," Weiss said.
"Questions are for the weak," a dog faunus said, "But we're on the same team now. Not that I'm happy about that." The man's wagging tail revealed his true feelings.
"I see the council voted in favor of the faunus quota," Sirena said, looking at General Ironwood.
"Faunus quota?" Ruby asked, "What's that?"
"Another brilliant idea to promote equality," Sirena answered, "Basically, businesses have to employ a certain percentage of faunus in every position to avoid hefty fines. What this does, obviously, is create the sense that faunus can't find jobs on their own and need help from humans to make it in the job market. Also, not everyone is interested in all jobs, and sometimes there simply aren't enough faunus interested in a certain job to meet the quota. To avoid those fines, businesses then offer bonuses to faunus, to make the job more attractive to them. What that also does is further reinforcing the idea that faunus can't work as well as humans, and that they need those bonuses to function on the same level as humans."
"Except the council voted against that idea," General Ironwood said.
"Of course," Sirena said, "They look like a perfectly normal team where everyone earned their spot through hard work and dedication."
"Yes, of course," General Ironwood said.
"Still," Sirena said, "If they go on missions, it will always be four humans and one faunus. People will see them, and depending on their views of us faunus, they will either see the humans' success as prove of their superiority, or consider the faunus lucky if he gets to finish a job for once. No matter how you twist it, the team is keeping him safe and just lets him stay so you don't seem racist, and the more you deny it, the more people will be convinced that it's true."
"Sirena, that's enough!" Ruby shouted, stomped her left foot and said, "I know you're trying to get under his skin, but we're all fighting the same enemy here, so I expect you to treat them like friends. And if you can't do that, leave!" Everyone was quiet for a moment, then Sirena took a deep breath.
"I… suppose I can try," Sirena said.
"Thanks," Ruby said, now sounding much more like her normal self, "Also, I really have to stop doing that." She raised her left foot, leaned on Weiss, and rubbed her left shin a little. Sirena turned to face the Ace-Ops.
"I must apologize," Sirena said, "Now, to start over, my name is Sirena Blue. But you may know me as the Shark of Sanus." The woman who had shaken Ruby gasped.
"The Shark of Sanus?" She asked, "Is it true that you can smell fear?"
"Not quite," Sirena answered, "However, I was trained by Argent Star, whose training allows faunus to detect differences in a person's interaction with the ambient aura surrounding them, especially those brought about by negative emotions. It is simple aura manipulation."
"Did you say Star?" The dog faunus asked, his tail wagging excitedly, and said, "I heard quite a lot about that family. Exceptional huntsmen and huntresses, all of them." Nora stepped forward, a little unsure at first.
"Does the name Valkyrie ring any bells, by any chance?" Nora asked. She didn't quite know why she suddenly wanted to know more about her past, but she didn't mind the idea either. The Ace-Ops thought about it for a bit, then the other woman in the team spoke up.
"Well, kind of," she said.
"Really?" Nora asked, "What do you know?"
"They're somewhat known in… certain parts of society," the woman answered, and Nora felt a bit disheartened.
"What for?" Nora asked, getting worried she might not like the answers.
"Well, you see," the woman said nervously, "They make… how to put it… anatomically correct Grimm dolls." Nora's face turned bright red, Ruby was confused, and everyone else avoided eye contact with each other, until the woman burst out laughing.
"Wait, what?" Nora asked.
"You should see your face right now," the woman said and calmed down, "Sorry, but when you asked that question, I got this random idea, and it was too good to pass up." Ruby gave Sirena a passing glance, which was met with a sheepish smile that let her know that Sirena had decided to have a little fun. When everyone had calmed down again, Penny walked up in front of Ruby and threw her arms in the air.
"C'mon! Let me show you around campus," Penny said excitedly before walking away, and Ruby and her friends followed her.
~o~
Ilia walked through the swamp, dropping walnut-sized pebbles every ten meters and using her semblance to make them attract all the symbiotic mushrooms the trees had attracted. She had changed how her semblance affects the mushrooms once they reached them, so now they looked for new plants to connect to. Five meters behind each pebble, she knelt down and pushed a plant-dust crystal into the ground. She triggered it to create a dosera, or sundew, and used her semblance to make the carnivorous plant attract insects.
"There, that should do it," Ilia thought, got back up and kept heading towards the final destination for her mission. She created another pebble, planted another sundew, then another pebble, sundew, pebble, sundew, until it was late and she had to go back to her camp. She spent the next few days repeating the process, getting closer to her target every day. The fungi shared nutrients with the plants, allowing them to grow much better, and the entire network flourished. A day before the Mistral airship would pick her back up, she reached the CCTS relay tower that used to connect Mistral to Blackport, which then connected to Vale.
"Well, here goes nothing," Ilia thought, "Just touch the plant, make it attract Grimm, and don't die. Easy. Super easy. Like taking candy from a baby. A baby with thorns that release electric charges on contact, and fine hairs that react to touch. A baby whose survival strategy is to just electrocute everything to death and let its decaying corpse fertilize the soil it grows in. A baby that is one of the ten deadliest non-toxic plants in the whole world." She shook her head, shaking off the anxiety, and just went to work. Using her seismic, she avoided touching the fine hairs she couldn't see and carefully put her right index finger on the plant, near the bottom of the stems, where there were no hairs or thorns.
"And remember, you're doing this for Blake," Ilia said to herself, "She's fighting Grimm in Atlas, and she left it to you to protect Mistral. Do not disappoint her." Ilia felt her determination well up, and her aura coated the plant entirely. Her desire to help Blake grew stronger, as did her aura, and she felt like when she first used her semblance to cheer up that girl in her class, back in Atlas. Ilia felt like she could do anything right now. Her aura knew no bounds. A light purple tail sprouted from her back and three horns grew out of her forehead, all made from pure energy, and her mind went blank.
~o~
Weiss found herself sitting in a large theater of sorts, and an older version of Oscar walked on stage, stopping in front of the microphone.
"Welcome, everyone," Oscar said, "Today, we will honor and award the best huntress of the century, who unified the world, vanquished the evil known as Salem, and brought everlasting peace by eradicating the Grimm for good. The Crimson Reaper, Ruby Rose." The crowd cheered, and Oscar left the stage. Ruby walked on stage, initially hidden by her red hooded cloak, but took it off for a dramatic reveal after she reached the microphone.
"Thank you so much, everyone," Ruby said, "I don't know what I'd do without all my friends. I asked the guys in charge to have them come on stage too, but then we'd be here all day." The crowd laughed a bit, then calmed down again.
"No, really, my friends are the reason I'm here today," Ruby said, "My sister Yang, who looked out for me all my life, for example. Or Blake, who helped me in so many different ways that I don't even know where to start. Jaune was always a very good friend for me, too. And whenever I saw Ren and Nora, and the feelings they shared, I knew what I fought for." She kept listing more and more names, many of which Weiss didn't recognize. After her lengthy speech, she paused for a moment, mumbled something into her ear piece, angrily pulled it out and asked the audience if they had any questions. A woman sitting next to Weiss got up. She wore a brown hooded cloak, completely hiding her identity.
"Yes, I have a question," the woman said and asked, "Are you sure you thanked all of your friends?" Hearing that question, the crowd got a little restless, and Weiss felt like she knew that voice, but couldn't quite put her finger on it.
"Yes, I'm pretty sure," Ruby answered, "I'll admit, I'm not the best with names, but I thought about this for the past few weeks, and had Blake and Yang sit backstage to read me all the names."
"You're sure you're not forgetting anyone?" The woman asked.
"Pretty much, yes," Ruby answered, "I mean, I even asked Jinn yesterday if I forgot anyone important, and she said I hadn't."
"Really?" The woman asked, "Then what about… me?!" She angrily threw back her hood, revealing a fair-skinned woman with light blue eyes and a scar over her left eye. Weiss gasped in shock, and panic broke out in the crowd, as her older version summoned five Arma Gigas at every exist and began attacking the attendees. One of the summons targeted Weiss and she covered her face with her arms.
"No!" Weiss screamed, sitting upright and breathing heavily. She looked around and felt that the ground was a bit soft and wet, and she heard the crackling of a fire beside her.
"Bad dream?" Sirena asked, sitting next to Weiss, who found herself sitting in a cave with a small body of water in one corner.
"Y- you kidnapped me?!" Weiss asked and stood up.
"You posed a threat to Ruby's other friends," Sirena answered calmly, "I had to intervene somehow, and I know Ruby wouldn't like if I eliminated you."
"Wait, really?" Weiss asked and fell back down to the ground, letting her head hang in shame.
"Yes, really. Fear, if left unchecked, is dangerous," Sirena said and asked, "So tell me, what worries are clouding your mind?" Weiss looked at Sirena, and felt like she could genuinely trust her. It didn't feel like she was forced to reveal her secret fears, but rather like Sirena could actually help her overcome them.
"I… feel pretty useless," Weiss answered, "It's just, Ruby copies all sorts of semblances, Yang and Blake are maidens, and everyone keeps getting better, while I'm just… the girl who can summon stuff. And what if Salem one day sends stronger people to kill Ruby? If it gets too dangerous for me, because I'm not special like they are, she'll have to leave me behind, and neither of us wants that. It's just… these three are the first real family I had, and the thought of losing them… it terrifies me."
"What if you were more than that?" Sirena asked with a gentle smile.
"That'd be great!" Weiss answered, now much more excited.
"Good, then I shall share several semblances with you," Sirena said, "One will let you use your semblances as long as you have aura, regardless of other circumstances. Another will let you share your abilities with others. Then there is one that will let you copy any one ability of another person, as long as they give permission. And lastly, Jaune's."
"Sharing my abilities sounds like the exact opposite of what I want," Weiss said.
"That is why I started with that first semblance," Sirena said, "It will let any fusion you are a part of use all of your semblances as well, allowing you to share them with yourself. We can fuse, if you want, and I can teach you how to do so without your partner knowing."
"That's pretty good, actually," Weiss said, "Alright, do it. And then we fuse." Sirena plucked one of her hairs and held it to Weiss.
"Good, now, eat this," Sirena said. Weiss looked at the strand in disgust and pulled back from it, when Sirena suddenly burst out laughing and threw the hair into the fire.
"Wait, what?" Weiss asked, and Sirena calmed down again.
"My apologies, I simply had to see your reaction," Sirena said, "Anyway, let's get started." Sirena held her hands as if she was holding an orb, they started glowing green, and swirls of green, blue, purple and white energy formed into an orb in her hands. She released the orb and it flew towards Weiss, disappearing in her chest. A wave of energy washed over Weiss and she glowed in the four different colors for a short moment, but also learned how to use these semblances.
"Wow. That felt… surprisingly good," Weiss said, looking at her hands.
"Now, how about we see what our fusion can do?" Sirena asked, got up and extended her hand to Weiss. Weiss took her hand and Sirena pulled her into a hug, and Weiss felt Sirena's aura pull on hers. Instead of fighting back, however, she let it happen and closed her eyes as their dark blue and white auras merged into a light blue one.
~o~
Sun and his team were fighting off a pack of Sphinx, led by a Manticore, to protect a group of people installing turrets along the road to a coastal city and important trading hub in the south-west of Mistral. The Manticore shot a fireball at Neptune, breaking his aura, and flew directly towards him. A beam of light purple energy shot out of a nearby tree and stuck to the Grimm. Cracks of energy formed all over its body, tearing it apart within a second after contact. The beam of energy retreated into the tree. Sun made two clones to help Neptune get to the nearest turret for protection, and turned to look at the tree. Ilia crawled out of the tree, sticking to the bark with all fours. She looked mentally absent, and focused her attention on the Grimm. The Grimm attacked her, she drew her whip and killed them all in the blink of an eye before putting her weapon away again.
"That… was… awesome!" Sun called out, catching Ilia's attention. A thick mist covered the area, and Argent manifested in front of Sun.
"Run," Argent said, and got ready to fight.
"What? Why?" Sun asked.
"Ilia was overcome by her instincts," Argent answered, "You can't beat her."
"What do we do?" Sun asked.
"Like I said, run," Argent answered, "I'll handle this." His silver-white aura manifested as scales all over his body, and a pair of fangs protruding from his jaws.
"What… is happening?" Scarlet David asked, getting a bit wobbly on his legs. Neptune was already sitting, and Sage Ayana dropped to the ground as well, holding his head. Argent charged at Ilia, and the two exchanged a dozen blows in a single second. Ilia jumped back and drew her weapon again. Sun went to pick up his team members and brought them away.
"It seems she's just hungry," Argent said, deactivated his aura traits again and clapped his hands. A dark red portal opened next to him, and a crate full of fruits, vegetables and meat came out of it. The portal closed again, Argent stepped away from the crate, and Ilia shot a tongue made from her aura at the wooden crate. It disintegrated in an instant and she grabbed a piece of steak. She pulled the steak back to herself and retreated into the tree to eat it in peace.
"Alright, what's happening?" Sun asked, "What is going on with her? Why did my team members almost pass out?"
"They couldn't handle the strength of mine and Ilia's auras," Argent answered, "She overworked herself, and didn't eat enough. Throw in some strong emotions, and she's overcome by her chameleon instincts. Controlling this state is difficult at first, but once you know how to do it, it's easy. Still, she's looking for things to eat, and being based on a predator, everything that a chameleon her size would consider food is fair game. And I really mean everything. I suggest you go back to your mission and let me handle things here, since I'm the only one who can even fight her if she attacks."
"I see," Sun said, helped his team back onto their feet and they went to check on the workers, who had hidden by a turret twenty meters away and had passed out from the intense aura.
~o~
Robyn Hill and Fiona Thyme were on night-time patrol in Mantle, when Robyn got a text from a number she didn't recognize. After making sure that the coast was clear and there were no Grimm nearby, she opened the message.
"Robyn, I know you don't know me, but I can help you," the text read, "Gather as many Atlesian Knights as you can, and form barricades in the holes of the wall. It doesn't have to be perfect, but the Grimm must touch them. Every piece of Atlas military technology will cause serious damage to Grimm on contact for the next month."
"What is it?" Fiona asked.
"Just some weird message," Robyn answered, "Keep going." They went on with their patrol, and found a pack of Sabyr fighting Atlesian Knights. The Grimm quickly closed the distance to the robots, but as soon as they made contact, they evaporated.
"What was that?" Fiona asked.
"Not as weird as I thought," Robyn answered, "Get as many of those to the holes in the wall as possible." Robyn shot the androids, turning them into a blanket between her and the Grimm.
"Got it," Fiona said and absorbed the androids once the Grimm were dead.
"Attention everyone," Robyn said, contacting the rest of her group, "If you see any Atlesian Knights, disable them and bring them to the nearest hole in the wall. Make sure the Grimm touch them if they try to get into Mantle."
"Why?" A woman asked.
"Because I just saw a bunch of Sabyr go up in smoke," Robyn answered, "And they just touched those robots. I don't know what Ironwood did with them, but I got a text saying it'll only last a month, so we better make it count."
"Got it," another woman said. Robyn and Fiona continued destroying Atlesian Knights so that Fiona could absorb them, and then headed to the nearest hole in the wall to fortify it.
~o~
Tyrian and Tock walked through Mantle, holding hands and smiling happily. Tyrian wore a brown hooded cloak to hide his identity, and Tock wore black rough leather boots, black pants, and a dark brown under-bust corset over a dark green shirt, with the sleeves being rolled up and held in place by golden straps. She also wore two purple leather belts, one of which held her stop watch. They stopped in front of one of the buildings Arthur had told them to check out.
"Ready for some fun?" Tock asked.
"Of course," Tyrian answered. Both went inside and found two somewhat drunken men sitting slumped in their chairs.
"Who are you?" One of the men asked and stood up. Tock ran him through with her cutlass from behind. The other men jumped up, suddenly realizing what was going on. Tock pulled her blade out of the first man's chest and spun around, ready to decapitate the other one. Tyrian stopped her weapon with his own, just before the sword could cut through the man's neck.
"Please, allow me," Tyrian said and shot the second man in the eyes.
"Well lookie here," Tock said, "A man of culture."
"Of course," Tyrian said, "Though, it is getting a bit boring. There is just no thrill or challenge."
"We're just too good," Tock said, sheathed her sword again, created a patch of dark purple moss in her left palm and pushed it into the open skull of the man Tyrian shot. The duo left the building again and went to the next address.
"What's that moss, anyway?" Tyrian asked and said, "I've never seen it before."
"My own creation," Tock answered, "It absorbs heat to grow, so once the heat goes out, these places will be the coldest, and the people will destroy the moss, thinking it will help make things warm again. But then, my little trap will spring." She smiled devilishly.
"And what happens then?" Tyrian asked excitedly, "Something good, right?"
"Ya bet yer stinger it's good," Tock answered, "It releases a nice cocktail of pheromones that increases aggression and decreases inhibitions."
"Yes, this will please Salem very much," Tyrian said.
"Ya ever think of pleasin' another woman?" Tock asked with a smile, and leaned to Tyrian a little. They heard Arthur clear his throat over their communicators.
"You know I can still hear you, right?" Arthur asked. Tock froze in motion and screamed in frustration, drawing some attention to the duo.
"Stupid tech nonsense!" Tock called out, "Why can't we jus' go 'round killin' each other like in my days?" A nearby stoplight malfunction caused a car crash, drawing everyone's attention away from the two faunus again, and they kept walking.
"I know, right?" Tyrian asked and said, "Arthur is such a pain. We HaVe To HaCk ThEiR sEcUrItY sYsTeMs." Suddenly, a truck swerved out of the way to avoid some bollards, steering directly towards the duo. Tock quickly created a hard-light ramp, causing the truck to miss them, turn on its side and crash into a building. Tyrian created a smoke screen from his tail, and both he and Tock ran into an alleyway.
"I can still hear you," Arthur said, "Now move to the next address, and stop hindering the mission."
"Says the one trying to turn us into parts of the pavement," Tyrian said, "We were just talking, while you tried to get us killed, you quack!"
"Jus' wait 'till the boss hears of this," Tock said, and Arthur sighed.
"Just do your job," Arthur said, then went radio silent. Tock and Tyrian came into a dead end and looked around a little, realizing they were lost. A cold shiver ran down both of their spines, and they nervously turned around.
"Salem's new assassins," a deep and growling voice said, "Welcome." Tock and Tyrian looked around, and spotted a pair of glowing red eyes on a wall.
"Who are you?" Tyrian asked, "And how do you know of our goddess?" He tried to resist the urge to visibly shake in his boots and back down from the looming presence, seeing how Tock was also standing strong.
"I just... know her," the voice answered, and the eyes moved to the opposite wall, "I also know... she will replace you... soon."
"As if," Tock said and asked, "Who'd be as good as us?" She tried to resist the urge to visibly shake in her boots and back down from the looming presence, seeing how Tyrian was also standing strong.
"Not as good," the voice said, "Better. Much better. Cold, ruthless, and perfectly... loyal. Those two exist... to serve her, and nothing... else. She will make a great sacrifice... to return two others to life... soon. They will be your... replacements, and you will both be... tossed aside. Unless you... destroy them." The voice laughed and as soon as the eyes disappeared, both faunus felt the vile presence lift its oppressive darkness from their souls.
Triggers: Minor character death, Tock making advances on Tyrian.
Author's note: Ruby went through some tough stuff over the past day, and she's kinda fed up with Sirena's antics.
Weiss has another nightmare. She is already used to them, and knows what they mean, but this one was especially bad, because it implied that not even Jinn considered her to be an important part of Ruby's life.
As for the voice, go watch Bionicle: The Mask of Light. The bit in this chapter was inspired by the scene where Teridax, just referred to as Makuta in the movie, talks to Takua through shadows. You can also find the scene on Youtube if you want.