Author's note: And now, the big reveal of who Ruby wants to punish for hurting her friend.
Team RWBY, Jaune, Ren, Nora, Qrow and the Ace-Ops left the mine, with Elm and Yang carrying Harriet, whose legs were mostly flattened and just dragged behind her. The entire group was feeling pretty down, though the Ace-Ops seemed more annoyed than anything. Four cargo trucks and an ambulance drove up to the mine, and Amity Colosseum floated up to it as well. While Elm and Yang brought Harriet to the ambulance, General Ironwood walked up to the group, meeting up with Clover.
"Clover, what happened to Harriet?" General Ironwood asked.
"Her legs seem broken, and she can't feel them," Clover answered, "We might need a replacement."
"Replacement?" Blake asked, walked over to the two and asked, "Do you even care for your team? One of your friends just got crippled for crying out loud, and you just toss her aside like a broken tool?" After Elm and Yang handed Harriet over to two medics, they walked back to the group.
"This isn't the playground, kid," Elm said, "We're a team, and that's it."
"And a team is supposed to stick together," Yang said, "Yet here you are, abandoning her like you don't care!" Yang's eyes turned red, and the snow around her started to melt.
"What good is she for us now?" Elm asked and said, "Her semblance is speed. She runs fast and hits hard. That's her role in the team. And since she can't do that anymore, she's dead weight."
"Look, I lost my arm at Beacon," Yang said, holding up her prosthetic, "My whole fighting style is based around punching, so without my arms, or even with just one, I'm useless in a fight. But Ruby still tried to cheer me up, to make me feel wanted, because we're an actual team. Not some posers."
"This is kind of on you, though," Clover said, "Nora didn't properly communicate her plans, and Ruby didn't tell us she could do that… thing with the light."
"That's what Sirena wanted us to do," Ruby said absentmindedly, catching everyone's attention.
"What do you mean?" Jaune asked.
"Before we entered the mine, Sirena asked us if we got everything," Ruby said, "She wanted us to talk about our semblances, so we would know what to look out for. If someone with a water breathing semblance gets dragged under water, it'd be pointless to try and save them, since they couldn't drown anyway. Same with saving Nora from being electrocuted."
"Then why didn't she just say so?" General Ironwood asked.
"Well maybe because someone said that we didn't need her input," Qrow said.
"That would be Harriet," Marrow said.
"So it's her own fault," Clover said.
"I don't care whose fault it is," Ruby said angrily, "Fact is that Harriet lost her purpose in life, and needs the support of her friends."
"We'll ask her, and then call them if it makes you happy," Clover said.
"I think she was talking about you guys," Weiss said.
"Except we're not friends," Elm said, "We keep each other alive, and trust that the others do the same. That's all there is to it."
"Besides, we don't need friendship," Clover said, "Cartoons and whatnot may tell you that it's some kind of super power in and of itself, but it's not. It won't help you win any fights or whatever. If it would, the world would look much differently. All we need is our semblances, and our training." General Ironwood walked away to take a call.
"Look where that got Harriet," Ruby said, almost shouting, "Her semblance is useless now. How would you feel if your stupid good luck ran out? What could you do without it?"
"D- don't be ridiculous," Clover said and answered, "My luck can't run out." Ruby pulled out an arcade token, with a cat on one side and a dog on the other.
"Let's test it, then," Ruby said, "Best of three, I pick dog." She flipped the coin.
"Where did you even-" Clover said, but was cut off when Ruby announced the result.
"Dog, I win," Ruby said, "It's not my lucky coin for nothing." Clover stared in disbelief, and a tiny bit of abject horror.
"How are you?" Ren asked, looking at Nora, who held her right elbow with her left hand.
"I'm… fine, I guess," Nora answered, "It's just, you know, I kinda caused all of this."
"She'll be fine," Ren said, "Atlas has some of the best medical staff and equipment in the world, so they will definitely get her back on her feet."
"Can I get the team leaders over here?" General Ironwood asked and said, "There is something I'd like to discuss with you all. You too, Qrow." Ruby put her coin away and she, Jaune, Clover and Qrow walked over to General Ironwood.
"Are you alright?" Jaune asked, seeing how Ruby was a little lost in thought.
"What? Yeah, yeah I'm fine," Ruby answered, "Relatively speaking." She looked over to the ambulance, where the medics still performed initial scans on Harriet to assess the damage. They said something to Harriet, and Ruby felt her hope practically disappear into nothingness. Yang walked up to Harriet, who was lying strapped to a stretcher in the ambulance so she wouldn't fall out during the ride back to Atlas.
"How're you feeling?" Yang asked.
"Empty," Harriet answered and looked away.
"I get that," Yang said, "When I lost my arm, I felt like my life was over. Punching stuff was all I knew, aside from drawing, and even that doesn't go too well with my left hand. Plus, my semblance is exclusively made for fighting. But you can still do something."
"And what?" Harriet asked, and Yang felt somewhat uncomfortable all of a sudden, realizing that that's what it must have been like for Ruby back then.
"I'm sure we-" Yang said, but was cut off when Harriet turned to look at her again.
"Look, Blondie, I don't care," Harriet said, "All my life I've worked my ass off to get here, and now I'm useless. You don't know what it's like to want something your whole life, only for it to be taken in a flash because some stupid kids come along, playing make-believe and pretending to be heroes. I don't believe in destiny, or luck, or whatever you want to call it, but if any of this is true, if the universe really is conscious, it hates me, and there is nothing anyone can do about it."
"You know what? You're right," Yang said, "I don't know you. And I'm glad about it. I can see why the universe hates you. I go out of my way to come here, and try my hardest to cheer you up so you can get back to helping your team, even though they're already looking for a replacement for you, and you give me this crap. You're arrogant, cocky, and so full of yourself that there is no room left for anything else. No friendships, no teamwork, nothing. You're not here because the universe hates you. You're here because you thought you were better than us, just because you have some stupid uniform and a rank. Get that massive ego of yours sorted out first, then we can talk." Yang got out of the ambulance and closed the doors.
"Just so you know, I never believed in you either," one of the medics said. Harriet looked up and read her name tag. Destiny C..
"New problems in Mantle?" Qrow asked, pulling Ruby back to the issue at hand just as she saw Yang approach the ambulance.
"Something is going on, but I don't know what," General Ironwood answered, "At first it was just random murders, but then it became clear that the targets were exclusively people who speak out against me. But… something else has happened, and that honestly concerns me more."
"What do you mean?" Ruby thought, "What could be worse than Salem having your critics killed to make people hate you and use that anger to lure Grimm into the city?" She decided not to say anything, however, to avoid alerting Salem of the fact that she knew her plan.
"Reports say it's big," General Ironwood said, "A massive insect of sorts. It crawls through the sewers and attacks any Grimm or Atlesian Knights in sight, and comes out onto the streets at night. It also seems to cooperate with the Happy Huntresses, bringing them the remains of the Atlesian Knights."
"But, that's good, right?" Jaune asked and said, "I mean, now they can use them to fortify the wall, thanks to our help."
"Except, noone but us knows of this," General Ironwood said, "Or rather, noone was supposed to know, yet the Happy Huntresses seem to know exactly what to do."
"Sounds like you have an ally to win," Ruby said.
"If anything, I have a threat to take out, before it-" General Ironwood said, but was cut off by his communicator beeping. He listened to the report, then gave orders to let the visitor land.
~o~
Team RWBY and General Ironwood were standing in front of the airship, which had the SDC logo on it, and looked up the ramp extending from its double doors. When the ramp was fully extended, the doors opened to reveal a very angry Jacques Schnee, who started making his way down the ramp.
"So let me get this straight, James," Jacques said and asked, "In addition to that nonsensical embargo crippling my business, you also think you have the authority to commandeer private property?"
"The council didn't mind, though," General Ironwood answered calmly, "Also, this is now the site of a classified military operation. I let you land here once as a courtesy. Next time, it won't be such a nice reception." Jacques noticed Weiss and wanted to say something, but was hurled away by an invisible force. He landed face-first in the snow and looked up. A Sabyr jumped at him, but Weiss rushed in and impaled it with her sword.
"Stay down, and don't move," Weiss said in an incredibly professional tone. She created a large ice blue orb behind her, right in front of his nose. Another Sabyr jumped at her, but Blake shot it out of the air. Weiss rushed off to help fight off all the Grimm that had been attracted by the negativity, and Jacques got up and looked around. There was gunfire and fighting everywhere, and easily a dozen Grimm between him and his bodyguards. A Sabyr walked up to him and he backed away, pressing against the orb. The Grimm got closer, baring its teeth, and Jacques slipped on the snow. As soon as the orb had a clear line of fire, it shot an ice blue burst of energy at the Sabyr, impaling it on an ice spike. Jacques started to panic and looked around. When he found a clear path, he got up again and ran as fast as he could, trying to get back to his ship. On his way, he was picked up by Ruby rushing past him, and landed in a pack of Centinel. Ruby disposed of them with her scythe while Jacques was thrown around by the wind of her movements. He landed on his back, saw Ruby dash away again, and got back up.
"Are your friends trying to get me killed?" Jacques asked, shouting at Weiss.
"Not friends," Weiss answered, the others looked at her, and she said, "Family." Jacques huffed and ran towards his ship again, but was stopped when five Centinel appeared around him. Blake put her hand on his shoulder and waited until the last moment, then created a fire-dust clone to bring the two of them to safety. The Grimm lunged at the duo and the clone exploded, killing them all.
"You were given clear safety instructions by an expert," Blake said, "You chose to ignore them, so this is on you."
"Take your hands off of me, you stupid faunus," Jacques said and slapped Blake's hand away before he continued running towards his ship. He looked behind himself to make sure that Blake was really keeping the Grimm away from him, and didn't notice the pack of Sabyr he was running towards.
"Incoming!" Yang called out. Jacques looked up and stopped in his tracks. Yang came down like a meteor and hit the ground with her prosthetic arm, using an air-dust shell in her weapon. Jacques went flying backwards and landed in the snow, with only his rear sticking out. When he got up, the sounds of gunfire were muffled and he heard a constant ringing. Everything moved much faster and the world was blurry beyond belief. He heard people shouting, but it sounded like they were hundreds of meters away. Ruby looked around the battlefield and got an idea.
"Ren," Ruby called out, rushed over to Jacques and brought him to the entrance of the mine. Ren shot his weapon's blades into some pipes by the entrance and pulled himself towards Ruby. Weiss used her glyphs to jump to her friends, and Jaune used his shield and the gravity-dust in it like a battering ram, forcing his way past the Grimm in his way. Yang and Nora cleared several of the Grimm that were in his way. Clover noticed how coordinated they looked, and couldn't help but watch.
"Ready?" Ruby asked, looking at Ren, and anchored her scythe in the ground.
"Ready," Ren answered. Jaune amplified his aura and he masked everyone's negativity, except for the ones near him. Vine threw a Sabyr towards Elm, who hit it with her hammer and killed it. He wanted to grab another one, but it stopped running towards him and instead focused on Ruby, Weiss, Jaune, Ren and Jacques, as if noone else was present.
"What are they doing?" Elm asked in disbelief.
"Being a team," Qrow answered, "You should try it some time." The Grimm all ran towards the mine, and Ruby took them out with her sniper rifle. Weiss created a pale yellow orb, making the first one disappear, and sent the new one towards the Grimm. The orb shot lightnings at every Grimm within a fifty meter radius, killing the entire horde with its high attack speed. Ren shot special bullets that created hard-light caltrops on impact, harming the Grimm and slowing them down.
~o~
After the Grimm were killed, Weiss summoned two Arma Gigas and had them carry her shell-shocked father back to his airship. Clover, still impressed by the improvised plan, approached Ruby.
"I must admit, it was risky," Clover said, "But I'm impressed with how well you and your team work together. Just one word, and everyone knew what to do. You guys must've gotten some really good training."
"We get by," Ruby said, "Anyway, excuse me real quick." She dashed over to Jacques and stopped in front of him, just as a Centinel came out of the ground behind him. She unleashed a focused burst of white light, disintegrating the Grimm. Ruby then rushed back to Clover like nothing happened.
"You have to tell me how you do that," Clover said.
"Maybe later," Ruby said.
"So, how did you guys learn to work together like that?" Clover asked and said, "I'm sure it could help us get better, too."
"It's… difficult to explain," Ruby answered, "But yeah, it would definitely make you much better huntsmen. We'll begin training once Harriet is back on her feet, but only if everyone really wants it."
"Don't worry," Clover said, "I'll get them to join."
"That kind of defeats the purpose, though," Ruby said, "They have to want to do this, on their own free will. It's a very delicate process, and trying to force it usually backfires."
"I see," Clover said and asked, "Anything I should tell the others before we begin?"
"It'll be difficult," Ruby answered, "There will be times when it seems like you're drifting apart as a team, but if you keep at it, if you really want to work together as one, this training will let you reach heights you currently can't even dream of."
"That sounds almost too good to be true," Clover said, "Which, in my experience, means it's perfectly safe."
"Great," Ruby said, "Once Harriet is back on her feet, you can ask the rest of your team if they want to train with us. And remember, don't order them to join, or it'll have the opposite effect."
"Got it," Clover said. The groups gathered in multiple supply trucks and went back to Atlas to recover from their mission and the shock, and also to keep the ambulance transporting Harriet safe.
~o~
The morning after their mission to the mine, Team RWBY, Jaune, Ren, Nora, Oscar, Maria and Qrow were standing in General Ironwood's office, and General Ironwood was going over the medical report of Harriet's condition. The other Ace-Ops, Winter and Penny were with Harriet.
"How bad is it?" Ruby asked.
"Very bad," General Ironwood answered, "Based on these reports, her weapon short-circuited from the impact, sending an additional electric shock through her nervous system and destroying the part that sends signals to the legs."
"There has to be something we can do, right?" Jaune asked.
"No," General Ironwood answered, "Even with our most advanced technology, she would still need a functioning nervous system to use prosthetic legs. One of my best doctors, Dr. Oak, has a semblance that tells him how he can solve a problem. It's never wrong. There is nothing that can be done." Nora hugged herself, and Ren put an arm around her.
"Nora, noone is blaming you for any of this," Ren said.
"I am," Nora said.
"There is… one thing we can try," Ruby said, and everyone looked at her.
"What do you mean?" General Ironwood asked.
"Sirena told me something just now," Ruby answered, "Telepathically, that is. She used one of her semblances, which lets her find loopholes in rules, and learned that Dr. Oak's semblance can only tell him how the things he knows about can fix a problem. But if he doesn't know something exists, his semblance won't tell him about it, even if it can fix the problem he has."
"And what do you suppose we do?" General Ironwood asked.
"Magic," Ruby answered, and everyone turned to look at Blake and Yang.
"I don't know if we can," Blake said.
"Don't worry, you can," Ruby said, "Emerald told me that she used the summer maiden's powers to regrow T- someone's limbs when she got it."
"Well, it's worth a try," General Ironwood said and asked, "But what if it doesn't work?"
"Then we'll just ask Sirena," Ruby answered.
"Sirena?" General Ironwood asked, "You mean the same Sirena who would rather declare war on my kingdom than give me a single grain of sand to help me?"
"Well, I don't know anyone else named Sirena," Ruby answered, "So, yeah."
"Nice idea, but that's actually impossible," General Ironwood said, "We need another plan in case maiden magic fails."
"I could teach Harriet astral projection," Ruby said, "I copied a semblance back in Argus that lets me share experiences with others, so I'd just have to touch her, and then she could move around within a certain radius around her body."
"Can you… do that for emotions, too?" General Ironwood asked.
"Sir?" Ruby asked.
"Can you let me experience what Sirena felt?" General Ironwood asked, "You know, when she remembered her people that died because of me. Can you do that?"
"I mean, I'm sure I could," Ruby answered, "But I don't know if I should. It's a lot to take in."
"I don't care," General Ironwood said, his resolve wavering, "People always tell me that I'm heartless, and don't consider other people's feelings. I want to know what other people feel, so I can understand why she is so angry with me."
"Well, alright," Ruby said, "But first, we should test the maiden powers."
"Leave it to me," Yang said, "If anyone has the right mindset to fix limbs necessary for someone's semblance to be of any use, it's me." The group left the office and headed for the hospital room, which was a journey and a half away.
~o~
Harriet was lying in a hospital bed, with an IV connected to her arm to supply her with painkillers. She was hooked up to all sorts of devices, and her scans showed that her bones, every single bone in her legs, were completely pulverized. Her teammates, Winter and Penny were sitting outside the room, waiting for some kind of miracle. Marrow stood up and entered the room.
"Hey Harriet," Marrow said, sat down next to her and asked, "How are you holding up?"
"Well, I'm alive," Harriet answered, "But imagine if your semblance suddenly became completely useless. If you… broke your hands and couldn't point at stuff anymore. That's… that's a fate worse than death."
"Yeah, sounds awful," Marrow said.
"Why are you even here?" Harriet asked, "Shouldn't you be looking for my replacement or something?"
"You're sad, so I'm keeping you company," Marrow answered and asked, "And who could even replace you?"
"Someone stupid and gullible," Harriet answered, "Someone who falls for Ironwood's lies about honor and glory. Being the best. Training all day long, just to get bested by some kids, who come out of nowhere, and do my job so much better than me."
"Come on, I'm sure they'll find a way to help you," Marrow said.
"I still don't get why you're keeping me company," Harriet said, "I've been awful to you since day one. I don't get why you'd want to make me feel better."
"Husky faunus," Marrow said and wagged his tail a little, "Huskies are made to keep others company. Sirena taught me to listen to my instincts more, and they tell me that you need company, so I'm here now."
"Maybe that's just the drugs," Harriet said, looking at Marrow's tail, "But your tail looks super soft right now."
"Thanks, I guess," Marrow said, "I have a strict tail-care program."
"Anyway, about Sirena," Harriet said and asked, "What's she like? And what about her training? Is that why your semblance worked so well?"
"Well, she's surprisingly understanding," Marrow answered, "But yeah, she helped me learn a lot of new tricks."
"What's Clover doing?" Harriet asked, looking at Clover. He sat on a chair, flipping a coin and after almost every second flip, he let his head hang before trying again a few seconds later.
"He said that his luck ran out," Marrow answered, "He and Qrow apparently had a run-in with some freaky shadow apparition. Ever since then, his semblance hasn't been working."
"His semblance isn't working?" Harriet asked, "What do you mean?"
"Look," Marrow answered, and the two observed Clover a bit. He raised his head a little, as if he was cheering slightly. He flipped the coin again, raised his head higher when he called it right, and flipped it again, only to look disappointed again.
"His semblance wasn't working?" Harriet asked, "And this happened to me?" She looked at her legs, which were barely thick enough to make a bump in the blanket.
"Looks like it," Marrow answered.
"Then, how good are we really?" Harriet asked, "I mean, if that's what happens when Clover's semblance stops working, what does that say about us?"
"So you admit that his semblance is real?" Marrow asked.
"I… I don't know," Harriet answered, "I mean, luck, fate, all that stuff sounds stupid if you think about it. Some higher force that controls the universe and moves us all around like puppets. But if that really is the only thing that was different now, then maybe there's some truth to it. I mean, the maidens are real, too."
"And what about destiny?" Marrow asked when he saw the doctor enter the room.
"Not sure," Harriet answered, got angry and said, "I mean, I got here with my own skill, my own training, my own two arms and legs! I just won't accept that destiny can do anything, because I don't need it to be any good! I'm one of the best, for crying out loud!" She tossed a nearby tray at Marrow, who jumped in surprise at Harriet's sudden mood shift. Two guards came in to restrain her, but she activated her semblance, grabbed a pencil and fought them off at high speed.
"There, there," Destiny said, "Let's calm down again." She gave Harriet an injection, and Harriet got sleepy.
"What… how did you…" Harriet said, but fell asleep before she could finish her question.
"How did you do that?" Marrow asked and said, "I mean, she had her aura active."
"Family secret," Destiny answered, "Now go, she needs rest." She shushed Marrow and the two guards out of the room, and they saw General Ironwood and Ruby's group approach. The guards saluted and Clover put his coin away and stood up from his chair.
"Hey guys, General," Clover said and asked, "Did you get any ideas how we can help her?"
"Yes, two," General Ironwood answered.
"There's three, actually," Ruby said.
"So, what are those two plans?" Clover asked, and Ruby pouted a little.
"Yang will try her maiden powers," General Ironwood answered, "And if that fails, Ruby will teach her astral projection so she can at least regain some form of mobility."
"Astral projection?" Clover asked.
"A simple aura technique," Jaune answered, "Easy to do, difficult to learn, due to how most people see their soul and body as one entity. She'd be so transparent that most people would subconsciously ignore her, making her invisible, but she could still interact with the physical world."
"I see. Anyway, Ruby," Clover said, pulled out a coin and asked, "Heads or tails?"
"Heads," Ruby answered.
"Then I'll pick tails. My losing streak ends now," Clover said and flipped the coin. It bounced off the wall and hit Clover in the eye. Clover held his eye and stumbled backwards. He tripped over his chair and slammed against a wall, knocking down a ceiling tile above him.
"Maybe I should leave," Qrow said.
"Don't worry, Qrow," Ruby said, "Not everything bad that happens is your fault. Besides, remember what Sirena said about your sword."
"What did she say?" General Ironwood asked.
"Sh- someone used a semblance on my sword," Qrow answered, "It makes my semblance ten times as powerful, but it can't be used to harm silver-eyed warriors or their allies, even on accident." He kept it a secret that Sirena had multiple semblances, knowing that the Ace-Ops didn't know that yet, and how much Sirena valued privacy, autonomy and consent.
"So, what does that mean?" Marrow asked and said, "I mean, Harriet's accident wasn't exactly an accident, if you think about it. There were a few too many coincidences involved, if you ask me."
"I… actually have a theory," Jaune said and asked, "Ruby, why don't you challenge Elm to an arm wrestling match?"
"Why?" Ruby asked.
"Yeah," Elm said boastfully, "There's no way I'm going to lose to her." She wanted to push herself up from her chair, but the chair collapsed under her and she ended up on the floor.
"You ok?" Ruby asked and helped Elm back up.
"Yeah," Elm answered and anchored her feet to the ground when she was almost standing. She tried to pull Ruby to the ground, but the floor tiles she was anchored to broke off and she fell again.
"Guess I was right," Jaune said, "Something happened that is affecting the restrictions placed on Qrow's semblance through his sword. It seems to focus exclusively on people competing with silver-eyed warriors."
"Great, now what?" Ruby asked.
"You've got a pretty big advantage," Yang answered and asked, "Anyway, can we go help Harriet now?"
"Sorry, she's asleep," Marrow answered.
"Is that temporary?" Qrow asked and said, "The effects on my sword, that is."
"Most likely," Jaune answered, "Niob told me that a person's aura can sometimes get a bit wonky when they get new items, as the aura needs to settle in first, so to speak. But once that's done, it should be fine. Your semblance and the restrictions on it should be back to normal in a day or so."
"That's good to know," Qrow said. The group left the hospital and went about their business, waiting for Harriet to wake up so Yang could try to heal her.
Author's note: Yeah, Ruby keeps Tyrian's whole "being alive" thing a secret.
Also, that is what Sirena was trying to tell Harriet. When she said she was better than Ruby, Qrow's semblance focused on her, and since Qrow was getting used to not having to suppress it any more, it hit her at full force. It was over a larger distance at first, but it got worse as they got closer to each other.
Clover's semblance still doesn't work, though. But since Ruby copied it, she has more luck than him now. If it would work, they'd each have the same amount of luck, meaning that it would always come down to actual skill if they fought.
Ruby plans to teach the Ace-Ops how her team works so well together. Friendship. Also, Clover was wrong. Nora did properly communicate her plans, it's just that the Ace-Ops weren't trained to understand that kind of communication.
Writing Harriet high on painkillers was super fun.