Author's note: Some action in this chapter.
Eight days before Amity Colosseum was scheduled to arrive in Atlas, the team got their upgraded weapons in the morning, and headed to Schnee Manor at noon. Jacques Schnee was holding an open stage charity concert in his house, trying to raise more money for Vale. Everyone could attend to perform a song, as long as they weren't easily identifiable as a faunus.
"I can't believe Sirena talked my dad into this," Weiss said. Ruby's group was sitting on a balcony overlooking the concert hall.
"Well, you know how she is," Ruby said. The lights dimmed and music started playing. It was a mysterious and foreboding tune, and as Sirena walked onto the stage, she used her semblance, augmented with steam-dust, to coat herself and the speakers in fog. The sound waves carried the fog away from the speakers, slowly filling the concert hall with a knee-high fog. Then, Sirena started singing.
"I see your face before my eyes,
I'm falling into darkness.
Why must I fight to stay alive?
Heroes fallen."
~o~
Off the coast of Atlas, an Atlas military soldier piloted a repurposed Atlesian Paladin, which had been modified with a new power source that could work under water. A ship full of scientists was located above, observing the test phase.
"This is Triton 1, approaching drop, all systems functional, over," the pilot said.
"Copy Triton 1, proceed, over," one of the scientists said. The pilot proceeded towards a steep cliff leading into an ocean trench. He stopped and took a deep breath.
"Drop reached. Preparing for descend, over," the pilot said.
"Roger, proceed when ready, over," the scientist said. The pilot took another deep breath to calm his nerves, then jumped over the edge.
"This is Triton 1, beginning descend," the pilot said, "Approaching dead zone. One hundred meters. Ninety. Eighty. Seventy. Sixty. Fifty. Forty. Thirty. Twenty. Ten. Dead zone passed, motor systems fully functional. Over." The pilot let out an exhausted and happy sigh, knowing he was the first person to see this part of the world.
"Understood, Triton 1," one of the scientists said, "Gather samples and return to ship, over." In the background, the pilot heard cheering scientists. He turned on the lights and looked around. The ocean floor was covered in broken bones, torn pieces of flesh and skin of various animals, and in the distance, he saw a vague shape resembling a cargo ship. It looked like an almost alien world, mixed with a barren wasteland that was left to wither away after a brutal war. The pilot turned around a bit more, and saw a small creature shining in the colors of the rainbow.
"Triton 1, we noticed a new species," one scientist said, "It is of the utmost importance that you recover it for testing. Get closer. Closer still. Almost." The pilot followed the scientist's orders, but as soon as he was close to the creature, it lunged at his mech. Noticing it couldn't pierce the reinforced glass, it swam away.
"This is Triton 1, the creature got away, over," the pilot said.
"What creature? Over," one of the scientists asked.
"The one you wanted me to recover, over," the pilot answered.
"We didn't say anything like that, over," the scientist said.
"Then what just happened? Over," the pilot asked.
"Your brain scans show signs of mild illusions, over," the scientist answered.
"Roger, over," the pilot said.
"Be careful," the scientist said, "We have no idea what the pressure down there does to a person. Proceed with caution, over."
"Copy that," the pilot said, "Activating sensory equipment for life feed, over." The pilot activated the camera and microphone, letting the scientists see and hear what he saw and heard.
"Transmission stable, over," the scientist said. The pilot walked along the edge of the cliff and found a cave going into the side of the continent. The cave was filled with strange, glowing plants, which resembled flowers in their structure, but were as tall as trees. A constant eerie scream filled the cave, and it sounded like the sea was singing.
"By the Gods," the pilot said under his breath and asked, "Do you see that? Over." He swerved the camera around to capture as much of the strange alien landscape as possible.
"Positive," one of the scientists answered, "Activate biometric and geological scanners, over."
"Copy that," the pilot said, "Activating biometric and geological scanners, over." He activated the scanners, and the information was sent to the scientists. The pilot kept walking further into the cave, lured in by the surreal environment and enchanting singing.
"Triton 1, all clear," one of the scientists said, "Area is free of harm and safe to explore. Proceed into farthest reaches, over."
"Copy that, over," the pilot said. He kept walking further into the cave, his mech's hands stroking the plants, which glowed light purple upon contact, and listened to the fascinating sounds of the deep sea. Suddenly, the Paladin stopped moving, turned around and walked towards the cave's exit again.
"Triton 1, coming," one of the scientists said, "Brain scans indicate severe delusions and loss of judgment. We have taken remote control and are returning you to ship for immediate treatment, over."
"Wait," the pilot said, "She needs our help. She is in pain. We have to help her or she'll die. Please, let me to her!" Suddenly, the radar picked up a creature approaching, and a large creature hit the Paladin. The Paladin was knocked into a rock formation and the remote control antenna broke off, returning control to the pilot.
"Triton 1, what is your situation? Over," the scientist asked.
"All systems green," the pilot answered, "I will protect her, over."
"Who is she? Over," the scientist asked.
"The goddess of the seas," the pilot answered, "She is dying. I must find her. I will find her, over." The creature hit the Paladin again.
"What was that? Over," the scientist asked.
"A mistake," the pilot answered, "Lethal force engaged, over." The pilot activated his mech's arm guns and began firing into the water as soon as he saw the creature, or any part of it. He followed it on the radar. A portion of its back poked out behind a rock formation. The pilot unleashed a burst of high-impact under water rounds into the stone. The rounds were designed to have lower water friction and fly through water as if it were air, and easily shattered the stones. The creature zoomed around the cave almost too fast for the Paladin to keep up.
"What is that thing? Over," the scientist asked.
"Dead," the pilot answered, "I got it on my radar, so it can't escape. Over." Suddenly, the creature attacked from behind and tore off the Paladin's left arm. The pilot shot at the creature with his right arm gun, but missed.
"Can you get a clear view of it? Over," the scientist asked.
"I can try, over," the pilot answered. The creature tore off the Paladin's other arm, spat it out and stopped in front of the Paladin. It spun around a little, but paused every couple seconds.
"Incredible," the scientist said under his breath and asked, "But, what is it doing? Over."
"It looks like it's… posing," the pilot answered, "I'll attempt to get closer, maybe it's sentient. Over."
"Proceed with caution," the scientist said, "This creature has never been observed before, and could be dangerous. Over." The pilot slowly walked towards the creature. It had a somewhat bulky body, elongated neck and tail, four fins on the underside of its body, two bigger ones on the back, and its mouth was filled with razor-sharp teeth, some of which were visible even while the mouth was closed. The creature was covered in light purple scales, making it incredibly difficult to see in the cave, since the only natural light was the same shade of purple. Its tail ended in a thagomizer, four large bone spikes pointing away from the tail horizontally, two on either side. The creature looked at the pilot as he slowly approached. Suddenly, the creature rolled forward, turned its body and slammed its thagomizer into the glass panel covering the cockpit. The bones scratched the glass and the impact rocked the Paladin. The creature screamed, gargled and spat a viscous green liquid onto the glass. Within seconds, the acid burned through the glass, and the freezing cold ocean water hit the pilot like a truck.
~o~
After Sirena's performance, the concert had to be halted in order for the fog to clear out. Ruby and her friends met with Sirena behind the stage.
"That was great," Ruby said and asked, "But, did it have to be so dark and ominous?"
"Thank you," Sirena said and answered, "And of course it did. After all, it was about the deep sea." Suddenly, Ruby's scroll rang and she picked up.
"Hello?" Ruby asked.
"Ruby, this is General Ironwood," General Ironwood answered and asked, "Is Sirena with you?"
"I am, yes," Sirena answered and asked, "What do you want?"
"There is something I need you to look at," General Ironwood answered, "My scientists need your expertise on something."
"Alright," Sirena said, "But just because I don't have anything else to do right now."
"Don't worry, General," Ruby said, "Whatever it is, we'll find a solution."
"Thank you," General Ironwood said and hung up. Ruby hung up as well and put her scroll away again, then the whole team went to the General's office.
~o~
Team RWBY, Jaune, Ren, Nora, Oscar, Qrow and Sirena were standing in General Ironwood's office, with Winter, Whitley and Penny present as well. Sirena stood in front of the General's desk, with General Ironwood sitting on his chair, and the others either sitting by the door or standing a little behind General Ironwood.
"What do you need help with now, James?" Sirena asked.
"This," General Ironwood answered and pressed a button on his desk. A still image of a deep sea predator appeared as a large hologram over his desk, and Yang suddenly seemed very nervous.
"You're kidding, right?" Yang asked and said, "Please tell me that this isn't real."
"What's wrong?" Weiss asked.
"Unfortunately, this creature is real," General Ironwood said, "It was spotted a few minutes ago by one of my men, less than a hundred meters below the depth where dust stops working." Hearing that, Sirena paid more attention.
"This creature was first seen in a movie," Winter said, "A horror movie, to be exact, which was released around fifteen years ago."
"Now I get it," Qrow said and looked at Yang, who shrunk a little in her seat.
"What do you mean?" Ruby asked, looked at Yang and asked, "What did you do?"
"Do we… want to know what happened?" Ren asked, sensing Ruby's dissatisfaction and Yang's unease.
"Yang snuck down to watch that movie," Ruby answered, "And then Qrow wasn't allowed to babysit us anymore, because Yang was too scared of water to take baths for months."
"To be honest, it wasn't that scary," Sirena said, "It was also full of scientific inaccuracies, like the creature changing gender several times throughout the movie, being far too lenient, and the shower scene."
"Alright we get it, the movie sucks," Yang blurted out, "Moving on."
"That's all very interesting," General Ironwood said and asked, "But I still need to know what to do with this thing. Sirena, what do your people do with these creatures?"
"We cut them into bite-sized pieces," Sirena answered, "Then we marinade them in squid ink to destroy the acid, and cook them over black smokers until they're red."
"I don't need recipes," General Ironwood said angrily and asked, "How do I kill that thing?"
"I heard removing its head is a good idea," Sirena answered and said, "Now, if we're done here, I have places to be." She turned around and wanted to leave the office.
"Stop playing games, Sirena," General Ironwood said and stood up, "One of my men is dead." Sirena stopped mid-step, and Ruby gave Weiss, Jaune and Ren a small nod to be ready.
"One man?" Sirena asked, turned around, walked towards the General and said, "I asked you for dust so that my people could conduct research and fight back against the Grimm. I even offered you a more than generous reward. And you spat in my face!" Ruby and Ren started masking Sirena's negativity, with Weiss and Jaune amplifying their auras. However, the effects of Ren's semblance only extended up to Sirena's ankles.
"I-" General Ironwood said, but was cut off by Sirena.
"Do you even know his name?" Sirena asked, "His family? Does he have children? How many? What are their names? Why did he join the military?"
"That's-" Winter said, but was cut off by Sirena.
"Silence!" Sirena shouted, her aura traits flaring up, and everyone but Ruby stepped back in shock. In the distance, all over Solitas, Ruby sensed that Grimm stopped what they were doing and turned towards Atlas. Ren's semblance was dispelled entirely, and Ruby and Ren just gave up trying.
"Sirena…" Ruby said, sensing her immense grief, and asked, "What happened?"
"James… refused to help me," Sirena answered softly, her voice shaking, "And so I- I had to send my men to gather dust. I told them, every single one of them, that I would wait for their return. Two hundred and thirty-eight didn't return. They died because James couldn't see past his own selfish needs. Because he didn't care. I loved them. I looked upon them as if they were my own sons and daughters. And now… they're gone." The room fell silent for a painfully long minute.
"I- I'm sorry," General Ironwood said.
"I don't want to hear anything from you," Sirena hissed, used Talia's semblance to possess her aura, and disappeared. Ruby started sobbing, then broke down crying from Sirena's grief.
~o~
Sirena entered one of the Atlas military's laboratories, where Dr. Acacia was working on the new weapon. Two soldiers tried to stop her, but Dr. Acacia gestured them to let her in.
"My sincerest apologies, Your Highness," Dr. Acacia said, but Sirena seemed unbothered by the soldiers' actions.
"Grimm are coming," Sirena said, "They're everywhere. Send humans and faunus only, and only from Atlas and Mantle. Stop the Grimm before they reach Mantle, and only use Claws, Retaliation and Quick Travel. After these semblances have been used an accumulated total of one hundred times by an individual, have these individuals initiate the New Light protocol. No forced participation, under any circumstance. That is all."
"Yes," Dr. Acacia said. She became transparent and faded away completely within a second. Several dozen people, mostly women, from all layers of society appeared in the holes in the wall around Mantle. Dr. Acacia extended her claws, and she and every human started running towards the attacking Grimm, using their aura to not sink into the knee-deep snow. The other faunus drove military jeeps into the tundra, keeping up with the wolverine faunus and the humans.
~o~
Yang comforted her sister, with the rest of her friends sitting nearby and being worried for Ruby's well-being. Ruby stopped crying after about a minute, and wiped the tears off her face.
"You ok, sis?" Yang asked.
"Yes," Ruby answered, sniffled a little and said, "It's just… so much."
"Really?" Blake asked and said, "I didn't sense a lot of anger."
"Not anger," Ruby said, "Pain."
"To be honest, I think it felt more like g-" Ren said, but was cut off when Ruby put her right hand on his shoulder and transferred some information to him. He gave her a confused look, but Ruby nodded slightly and Ren looked away in a mix of surprise and sorrow.
"So, what do we do?" General Ironwood asked and said, "That thing is still out there, and if Sirena won't help us deal with it, who knows what it'll do." Ruby gave James a sour look, and her friends joined in.
"Look, Jimmy," Qrow said, "You messed up big time here, and until you find a way to show Sirena that you really regret what happened, things will only get worse. Not just for you, but for all of Atlas."
"And what do you suppose I say to her?" General Ironwood asked and said, "You heard her, she doesn't want to listen to me."
"Then let your actions speak," Yang said, "I'm sure Ruby has an idea."
"Me? Why me?" Ruby asked and said, "Qrow has known her for much longer."
"But you still know her better than I do," Qrow said. Ruby sensed everyone's hopelessness fade away and started to panic.
"I think this should be a team decision," Ruby said and asked, "Anyone got any ideas?"
"I say we do what you say," Nora answered, and everyone nodded in agreement, though to varying degrees. They all looked at her, expecting a good decision, and she suddenly felt highly uncomfortable.
"Well, I guess I'll think of something, then," Ruby said, "Right over… there." She burst into a cluster of rose petals and rushed out of the office.
"What just happened?" Nora asked, looking at the dented sliding door.
"I think something freaked her out," Yang answered, "Or maybe she just realized something important. No idea."
"Anyway, Jaune, can you do something for me?" Blake asked.
"Sure," Jaune answered and asked, "What is it?"
"Yesterday, Sirena bought a book for Ruby," Blake answered, "She paid with her card, which is connected to the same account that all the money from her book sales goes to."
"Doesn't that crash the system?" Winter asked.
"Exactly," Blake answered and said, "Later that day, a man got angry at an ATM, which broke due to Sirena crashing the city's banking system."
"Yeah, I saw the news. His shoe went flying," Jaune said and asked, "What do you need my help with?"
"I need you to see where the shoe went," Blake answered.
"Why?" Jaune asked.
"And how?" General Ironwood asked.
"Niob trained me," Jaune answered, then looked back at Blake.
"I think Sirena did that on purpose," Blake answered "I need to know where the shoe went. Maybe it's just the lingering effects of Death Zone, but something tells me that there is something going on."
"Alright," General Ironwood said, "I'll tell my men to look for the shoe and bring it back."
"No you won't," Jaune said, "Especially not that second part. I'll go see where it landed, and come back here as soon as possible, and noone will touch it. Something is in motion, and Sirena wants it to be in motion. You can try to stop it, but she will make sure you can't."
"Good, the rest of us go look for Ruby," Weiss said. The group got up and left the office, trying to find their friend, while Jaune went to where the shoe went missing to try and find it through astral tracing.
~o~
Ruby entered her team's dorm room, grabbed the book Sirena had bought her and rushed away again. She entered a different room and decided to spend the night there, to avoid affecting her friends too much. She opened the book and started flipping through the pages until she found what she was looking for.
"A sea dragon?" Ruby thought and started reading.
"The sea dragon," the book read, "A dangerous predator, whose origins are of little concern to the average reader. Their intelligence rivals the average human, there are barely any differences between genders, and they are violent killers. When encountering a new thing, they opt to investigate first, learning how it acts before striking. Attacks are mainly aimed at the spine to paralyze the prey, which is aided by their various senses and the muscles that allow them to wiggle their teeth. That way, they can align their teeth with the victim's vertebrae every time. The two big fins on their back are mainly used to build up speed during a chase, and to maneuver during close combat, which they will only engage in if the spine strike fails or is not optimal. The smaller fins on their bottoms are mainly used to maneuver during a chase, for general propulsion, and to aid in maneuvering during combat. They can have a variety of weapons at the tips of their elongated tails, and possess some breath attack as well, which is related to the environment that the particular specimen hatched in."
"I really don't want to meet anything like that," Ruby said to herself. Using Penny's semblance, she hacked into the military's computers and looked for the rest of the footage from the experiment, then compared the creatures with the ones in the book.
"The abyss fairy," the book read, "A small and unassuming predator with a somewhat unique hunting strategy, that is found nowhere else on the surface. The four large fins on their backside are covered with specialized scales that reflect incoming light. The glistening and shimmering overloads the brains of any creature seeing it, causing minor hallucinations that make their prey come within striking range. Once the prey is within striking range, these fish will lunge at them. However, due to their small size and fragile build, they will not enter combat, and retreat if they fail to kill their prey in one strike." Ruby checked more footage and flipped through the book some more.
"The singing tree," the book read, "This plant is actually a combination of multiple filter-feeding plants, which have co-evolved to create a certain sound as the water flows through their filters. This sound contains waves that interfere with the most basic parts of the brain of any animal, as well as humans, resulting in a series of effects. Getting too close to this plant will result in delusions, keeping the individual from leaving the plant. Eventually, the victim will die of starvation, thirst or exhaustion, and nourish the soil on which the plant grows. The carcass will also attract scavengers, who will then suffer the same fate."
"A tree that kills people?" Ruby asked out loud, closed the book and got out of the military's systems. She mentally reached out to locate her friends, who were still missing her. She felt bad for leaving like that, but couldn't risk manipulating them and making things worse if she messed up. She spent the night in the unoccupied room.
~o~
The following day, Ruby stayed in the room, only rushing into the kitchen to get food, to not affect her friends with her powers. Trying to get her mind off of things, she tuned in to the charity concert and listened to some music. Just after she started the live transmission, a piano started playing a soft melody.
"You've got the words to change a nation,
but you're biting your tongue.
You spend your lifetime stuck in silence
afraid you'll say something wrong."
~o~
In the evening, Ruby entered her soul core and went to Sirena's soul to talk to her. She entered the imposing castle, walking with purpose, and headed straight for the throne room. Sirena appeared sitting on the throne.
"Hello Ruby," Sirena said and asked, "And, what can I help you with?"
"I want to know how James can earn your support," Ruby answered, "And I won't leave until I get an answer I'm happy with."
"Very well, I'll tell you," Sirena said with a happy smile. She brought the two of them into a dream and Ruby looked around. She was on a beach on the west coast of Patch, and in the distance, Ruby saw a little girl get harassed by seagulls, with another girl chasing them away.
"Where are we?" Ruby asked, looking at Sirena, who had a chalkboard standing beside her.
"A beach," Sirena answered, "Now, if James wants my help in protecting the kingdom of Atlas, he'll have to earn it. Two cargo ships, Orca class, are to be sunk here." A map appeared on the chalkboard, with a spot near Argus being marked on it.
"That's it?" Ruby asked.
"Essentially, yes," Sirena answered, "Well, provided these ships are filled with military equipment, plant-dust and hard-light-dust."
"Of course," Ruby said in a defeated tone and asked, "What kind of equipment?"
"Doesn't matter," Sirena answered, "Also, he needs to think that you came up with the idea."
"Why?" Ruby asked.
"Because it's important," Sirena answered, "If he knew that those were my conditions, he would just do it to appease me, and not because he really wants to help me."
"I'm pretty sure all that stuff is expensive," Ruby said.
"It is, yes," Sirena said, "But you can offer to pay for it for him, if you want."
"Where should I get so much money?" Ruby asked.
"You kill Grimm," Sirena answered, "Twenty billion, to be exact."
"That number alone makes my head hurt," Ruby said and asked, "How am I supposed to kill that many Grimm before I'm, like, thirty?"
"I actually have a plan," Sirena answered and said, "There is a coral reef off the coast of Patch. When I fused with Weiss, we used Guardian's Gambit on the corals, creating sharks that guard the reef against Grimm. When the cargo ships leave the harbor to be sunk, use Emphatic Beacon on them, so that Grimm want to protect them from deep sea creatures. If you also use Puppeteer to make the military's Grimm radars perform a routine check-up, the system will shut down for twelve hours. The ships leave, drag the Grimm with them, and the Grimm attack deep sea creatures, which will then kill them in defense. Before the system comes back online, you have to turn into Ryn, and be alone for at least an hour. After that, just tell James that Ryn went on a killing spree once he asks where all those Grimm went."
"Are you sure the deep sea creatures will come to the Grimm?" Ruby asked, "Also, why do I get the feeling you planned all of this?"
"It was an emergency plan," Sirena answered, "Just in case it becomes necessary. You should start making those, too."
"Maybe," Ruby said and asked, "But what about the animals? Will they really come to the ships?"
"Of course," Sirena answered, "Grimm usually mean negative emotions, which means food."
"So, the fish raid the ship's buffet?" Ruby asked.
"Yes," Sirena answered, "But the crew is also a nice meal."
"For the fish, right?" Ruby asked, "You've never eaten a person before, right?"
"To be honest, I don't know," Sirena answered, "It all looks the same when it arrives in the deep sea."
"I'll take that as a 'no' and move on," Ruby said and asked, "But what about the animals? Will they be alright?"
"Of course," Sirena answered, "The deep sea is the most hostile place on Remnant, and surface Grimm are nothing compared to what's down there."
"Well, alright," Ruby said, "Now, to summarize, I go tell James that I think it'll help if he sends those two ships there to sink them, and while he's at it, I'll sabotage his equipment to help him get rid of hundreds of Grimm. I… think I need a list."
"Don't worry, I got you," Sirena said, "Now, go back to your body, get some sleep, and then we can talk tomorrow."
"Alright, thanks," Ruby said. She returned to her own soul core, got back to the waking world and went to bed.
~o~
A fancy shoe fell from Atlas and lodged itself in a large fan in Mantle, stopping the blade. Over night, it built up stress as the engine tried to move the fan blade. The following day, a young woman was chased by three Sabyr. She wore black sneakers, old dark blue jeans and a white shirt, had blue hair and dark green eyes. In the distance, she heard the sound of a machine creaking under intense stress. Bolts flew off a large fan further down the road, and the massive rusty blade came flying her way, flying horizontally. She suddenly got the impulse to jump, and jumped over the blade in the last moment before it rushed past her and cut the Sabyr in half. Further down the street, near the fan, she saw the transparent figure of a man with blond hair, blue eyes and large golden wings on his back, which slowly transitioned to being white at the tips. He wore white and gold plate armor and looked over to her. She stared in disbelief, then waved as if in trance. The man looked a little surprised, then disappeared into thin air.
Author's note: The first song Sirena sang is Creeping in my Soul by Cryoshell, and the second one is Read All About It by Emeli Sande. And yes, she was doing the voices.
Yang really doesn't like talking about that movie. On the plus side, I had set this up back when the group fought off the Grimm in Mantle, with Ruby commenting that Yang smells better than a tundra bear most of the time.
Sea dragons are based on the water dragons from one of my books, where there were four types of elemental dragons. The main character was an earth dragon. But I slightly tweaked the sea dragons a bit, mixing in some aspects of animals from Subnautica. Mainly the reproduction thing.
No, the shower scene is not erotic. It's the most gruesome part of that movie. The movie had to be halted after the scene was shot, because too many actors were in therapy.
Jaune was seen. That gets explained in the next chapter, but was actually already explained when Ruby first astral projected. In any case, this woman is definitely going to start a religion now.