Author's note: Now we finally see Niob's semblance in action.
Weiss was sitting on a chair in her team's dorm room, with a Seer hovering in front of her. She had a Healing Circle and Safezone around her, and Jaune helped recharge her aura faster. Five pairs of Queen Lancers were flying around outside Mantle, using their bone spikes to break up the large ice chunks and use Guardian's Gambit on them to form avian minions from the ice. Meanwhile, Ruby and Maria were taking turns petrifying Grimm in the tundra, with Maria then turning them into metal and Ruby sending them to Atlas with her copied Bubble Teleport semblance. In the evening, Team RWBY, Jaune, Ren, Nora, Penny, Oscar and Maria met in a break room, and Ruby pulled out her scroll. She projected a paused video as a hologram above it, and looked around.
"So, what do we need to know?" Yang asked.
"Clover is dead in that timeline," Ruby answered, "Qrow and Robyn are in jail, the rest of us are hunted by the military. Ironwood has completely lost sight of who his enemies are, and Salem is waiting on Atlas' doorstep with an army." Everyone looked at one another, not sure if they really wanted to see that footage.
"I… guess we can watch that later," Nora said hesitantly, and everyone nodded in agreement. Ruby made the hologram disappear, sent a message to one of Sophie's swarm members and put her scroll away again, and everyone went to bed.
~o~
The next morning, Ruby's Group and the Ace-Ops met with James in a conference room to discuss their plans going forward. Niob entered the room as well, and James gave him a questioning look, but decided he was better off not knowing how he got past security.
"Niob, good timing," Ruby said, "I need you to do me a favor."
"Of course, boss," Niob said, startling Qrow and James, and asked, "How may I assist?"
"I need you to give Arthur his gun back," Ruby answered, "I had one of Sophie's swarm members hide a recording device in it, so we'll be able to hear what they're up to." Ruby knew that Salem would now know of the spying device, but until she got in touch with Arthur again, they could spy on him and his friends. Also, if Salem told Arthur about the device, they would know that she had a spy in their ranks, and Ruby could just reveal the thing with Qrow.
"One more thing, Niob," Jaune said, and Niob stopped in his tracks.
"What is it?" Ruby asked.
"Niob, can you remove the stuff Ichigo left in the walls?" Jaune asked.
"I can," Niob answered.
"Good, then you can do that, too," Ruby said, and Niob paused for a moment.
"Alright, boss," Niob said and left the room again.
"What's wrong?" Blake asked after Niob left, and looked at Qrow and James.
"He called Ruby 'boss'," Qrow answered.
"Yeah, that was kind of strange," Ruby said, "But I don't mind. I mean, I've dealt with Sirena, and also Sophie's swarm, so I'm pretty much used to people calling me weird things."
"That's not it," James said, "Niob only calls people 'boss' when he accepted them as his superiors. He won't go against your orders. Ever."
"That's kind of cool," Ruby said, and James cleared his throat to get everyone's attention.
"Now, about why I called you here," James said, "A few days ago, Sirena approached me with a plan of hers, which aims to weaken Salem's forces by dividing them and pitting them against stronger opponents than what they are expecting. In other words, she and Ruby are going to fuse with one person each, and their fusions will then let one hundred of my men copy their semblances. Then, I will have my men go to strategically important locations along the border, where they will fight off any Grimm that might attack."
"When can we start?" Yang asked.
"As soon as Sirena comes back," James answered.
"Actually," Ruby said, "It would be better if Sirena comes to me when I'm already on scene, so she doesn't have to travel by aircraft."
"So, who do you plan on fusing with?" Weiss asked and said, "Because I'll fuse with Sirena. Aurora's semblance is pretty good at protecting areas from Grimm."
"How about me?" Jaune asked.
"I'll pass," Blake said, "Last time was too wild."
"Yeah, Ladybug's semblance is a bit difficult to control," Ruby said and answered, "And sorry Jaune, but I'd actually like to fuse with Ren."
"Me? Why?" Ren asked.
"Because I want to see what our fusion can do," Ruby answered. They made a few more plans for how exactly they would go about upgrading the soldiers, then went to meet with said soldiers and explain the whole thing to them in detail.
~o~
Tock and Tyrian were sitting around on Tyrian's bed, watching Arthur try to get through the city's security system. Ichigo was sitting around on her own bed, and Arnold was inspecting the bed Ichigo had made for him. Suddenly, Ichigo wrapped her arms around herself and collapsed on the floor, shivering uncontrollably and hyperventilating. Everyone looked over to her, and Arnold hurried over to make sure she was alright.
"Death surrounds me, singing to me softly," Ichigo whispered between breaths, "Death, a shadow, spreads its wings around me." As Arnold reached out to her, something dark gray dripped on his hand. The ooze dripped onto the floor and formed a puddle, and Niob climbed out of it. Ichigo screamed and moved away from him, frantically pushing herself backwards. Niob ignored Arnold and Ichigo, and first looked at Tock and Tyrian.
"Salem has brought back my sons, has she not?" Niob asked and said, "I warned you. Eliminate them, before they consume you."
"Wha- who are you?" Arnold asked, but Niob ignored him and turned to Arthur. He walked up to him and reached into his coat, and Arthur started shaking on his chair, not sure what Niob was planning.
"Here," Niob said and put Arthur's gun on the desk in front of him. Ichigo got back on her feet, drew her mace and charged at Niob.
"Leave me alone!" Ichigo shouted in a panicked frenzy. Niob, still facing Arthur, leaned forward a little and dodged the strike. He kicked Ichigo in the stomach and turned around, his hands behind his back. Ichigo attacked him again, this time with an upward strike. Niob stopped the mace with his right foot. Ichigo pulled it back down and swung it around, aiming for Niob's head. Niob folded his left wing around his torso and caught the mace on it. Niob used his aura to create sound waves only faunus with rabbit ears could hear.
"The darkness will grow ever stronger, lest all serve the light," Niob said. Ichigo gasped and took a step back, but formed a dagger from white cream in her left hand and charged Niob again. Niob dodged the mace and dagger. Tock and Tyrian got up and drew their weapons, and Arnold got out of the way.
"I don't know what you want from us," Tyrian said.
"But I don't like ya," Tock finished his sentence.
"If you truly wish to face the darkness, then so be it," Niob said with an evil smile, and drew two pitch black hook swords out of his sleeves, which were darker than the darkest night. Tock attacked him first. He caught her swords on his own and pulled them aside to get a few hits in with a spinning strike before disengaging. Ichigo attacked next, just as Niob disengaged Tock. He caught her mace on his swords and brought the crescent moon blade on the handle to hit her. Tyrian attacked Niob from behind. Niob turned around and threw Ichigo at Tyrian. Ichigo created a platform above Tyrian and jumped off of it, tackling Niob to the ground.
"Now, for the final blow," Tyrian said, "My Goddess will be pleased." He activated his semblance and touched Niob's throat with his right hand, trying to disrupt his aura, but took a step back when it had no effect.
"Wait, what?" Tock asked, "How'd it not work?"
"I… don't know," Tyrian answered. Niob threw Ichigo off and got up, and Tyrian hit him with his semblance over and over, but it never seemed to work. The more he tried, the more Tyrian panicked, thinking Niob was somehow immune to his semblance.
"He turned off his aura," Ichigo said.
"What?" Tyrian asked, "Why?" Niob chuckled.
"You are a bold one," Niob said, "You truly thought you were enough of a threat to me that I had to rely on my aura for protection. Very well." He turned on his aura, and Tyrian tried disrupting it. As soon as his right hand made contact with Niob's chest, it was surrounded by black smoke with red lightning crackling through it, and an unholy growl could be heard throughout the building.
"What is happening?" Tyrian asked, trying to pull his hand back.
"That is the power of darkness," Niob answered, "The power to consume all things. Do not challenge me again." He let go of Tyrian's hand, whose purple aura was sucked into the black vortex. Tyrian tried activating his semblance, but it now only worked on his left hand, while his right hand was completely without aura.
~o~
Niob entered Pietro's clinic in Mantle, and the doctor was obviously surprised to see the bat faunus walk in. He sat in front of his desk, going over the new program Ruby had installed on Mantle, and thought of adding it to Penny's security measures as well.
"Niob Bolt, correct?" Pietro asked, "What brings you here?"
"Correct, Doctor Polendina," Niob answered, "I require assistance, and you are the only one I know to be capable of what I wish to have done."
"Of course, sit down over there," Pietro said and asked, "So, what can I help you with?"
"I am in need of a partial soul transfer," Niob answered, and Pietro took a step back to really process the request.
"Are you sure?" Pietro asked, "How did you even know I could do that?"
"Talia informed me you had pioneered this technique," Niob answered, "I must rid myself of parts of my soul. At least the parts that I was not born with."
"Parts you… weren't born with?" Pietro asked, "What do you mean?" Niob sighed.
"As you know, the Gods exist. The relics, too," Niob answered, "And just like preservation is an ally of creation, consumption is an ally of destruction. I can only reveal little right now, but a part of my semblance… is the ability to consume all things. I do not like using this power, however. It is cruel, unforgiving, destructive. First, I just consumed small things. Stones, sticks, and the like. I moved on to insects, small animals, and eventually… people. Their souls are within me. Their hopes, their dreams, their sins, they are all within me, and I must rid myself of them, before I can do any more harm with their power."
"Wait, hold on," Pietro said and asked, "So, you're telling me that your semblance lets you… absorb people, and… steal their power?"
"Correct," Niob answered, "But there are drawbacks I only realized when it was too late. Of course, all this falls under patient confidentiality. Just draw one or two souls out of my body, and all will be fine."
"Alright, I… I'll see what I can do," Pietro said and asked, "Any particular preferences which souls I should go for?"
"Thank you, Doctor," Niob said and answered, "Simply open the way, and I will relinquish the souls myself."
"Good, good," Pietro said, "I'll get right to it. I'll need some materials, and we need to do it in my laboratory up in Atlas, but it should be possible. Soul transfer is rather easy for me. I can get it done in a week, when I get the materials I need. Though, I'd need to know the aura frequency of the souls, otherwise the transfer won't work."
"Thank you," Niob said, "I will come to see you then. Here are the frequencies." He sent a message containing both souls' aura frequencies to Pietro's desk, left the clinic and walked into a dark alleyway, while Pietro made some preparations for the process, even though he was still unsure.
~o~
On the way to meet with the Atlas soldiers and have them copy the semblances of two fusions, Penny got a message on her scroll, and had to stop in her tracks after conversing with her father for a bit.
"What is it, Penny?" Ruby asked.
"Pietro needs our help," Penny answered.
"With what?" Blake asked.
"He can't say," Penny answered, "But he needs materials, clearly to build new androids. Not new bodies for me, though. New ones, others like me. Based on the aura frequencies, neither of them are my siblings, though."
"So, what do we need?" Maria asked, and was ready to make the materials.
"Some illegal substances," Penny answered, "They're the core for holding a soul, and are not available in Atlas." She showed everyone a list of things they needed, and Blake got a bit nervous.
"Well, they're not legally available here," Blake said, "But... I know a place."
"Alright, guess we'll have to delay the other plan," Ruby said and asked, "Where is it?"
"Wait, what?" Qrow asked, "You're just going to decide that you'll delay the plan? What if James disagrees?"
"Then he can find other silver-eyed warriors," Ruby answered, "We'll just do it tomorrow instead. But right now, we have the chance to make new android friends for Penny, and more immortal protectors for the world. We don't know how long we'll have the chance, and it's a big chance for us, so I'll do it."
"Do you even know where to get those materials?" Blake asked.
"Nope, but you do," Ruby answered.
"So, what if I wanted to do the other plan first?" Blake asked.
"I'd ask you to reconsider," Ruby answered, "And maybe make puppy eyes."
"So, shouldn't we discuss this with James, too?" Blake asked.
"Alright, fine," Ruby said, called James and said, "James, hello. Yeah, so basically, we'd like to postpone the semblance thing until tomorrow."
"Hello Ruby," James said and asked, "Really? Why?"
"Because Pietro is working on new androids," Ruby answered, "And he needs some things he can't get easily, so we want to help him. And we don't know how much time we have before he can't build those androids any more, so I wanted to do it right away."
"And what about the other plan?" James asked and said, "I've already gathered my troops. We explained everything to them, and they're all ready to go."
"Sorry," Ruby said, "But we'll draw Grimm away from Mantle with our plan, so Pietro can work on the androids more efficiently, while the Grimm are gone after we petrify them all. Also, while Blake and I were fused, and jumping from timeline to timeline, we asked Jinn how to best protect Atlas around the time we got here. And among the things she told us is that silver-eyed warriors have a subconscious connection to all life, and can intuitively make the right decision to save as many people as possible, especially when neither option seems better than the other."
"Alright," James said with a defeated sigh, "Just be sure that we get this plan done tomorrow. I will personally wake you all up if you're not in the hanger at sunrise."
"Got it," Ruby said and hung up. She looked around and her friends all gave her reassuring nods, and Team RWBY got going, heading to Mantle.
~o~
Team RWBY was walking through a more shady part of Mantle, and Weiss nervously looked around, not sure if people were watching her or not. Yang had activated her semblance again, and was giving off excess energy as heat. There definitely were people on the streets, and most looked like they weren't sitting there by choice.
"Just a quick reminder," Blake said, "When we're in there, you let me do the talking. I know those people, and they know me. Ruby, Yang, keep Weiss safe." Ruby and Yang positioned themselves left and right of Weiss, while Blake took the lead.
"There are… a lot of faunus here," Weiss said.
"Yes, there are," Blake said.
"Is it me, or are they angry at me specifically?" Weiss asked.
"They are," Blake answered, "I'm fine because I'm a faunus myself. Ruby gets a pass because she's a hero for the people. Yang gets a pass because she's hot. You're a Schnee."
"Casual compliments, thanks," Yang said with a grin.
"You're literally emitting heat," Blake said and asked, "Why did you even turn on your semblance again?"
"I like it," Yang answered, "Plus, it's getting kind of chilly down here."
"Anyway, we're here," Blake said and opened the door to a shady tavern, "And remember, I talk." The four of them walked up to the counter, and the barkeeper finished serving another customer before coming to them.
"Hello," he said and asked, "What can I get you?"
"I want to order a rather special drink," Blake answered, "Not sure if you've heard of it."
"Well, if I know it, I can try to mix it," the barkeeper said.
"It's called a Black Moon," Blake said, and Ruby could feel a bit of pain from her.
"Of course," the barkeeper said and asked, "Anything extra?"
"Large fries," Blake answered, "With mayo, ketchup and mustard."
"Got it," the barkeeper said, "This way, please." He opened a hatch in the counter and let Blake, Weiss, Ruby and Yang pass through, though they were a bit confused by the procedure. They walked through a secret door hidden as booze shelf, which led them into a stone tunnel. Blake led them to a staircase, and they reached a large metal door at the bottom.
"So, what was that about?" Ruby asked, "And when do we get our fries?"
"That was coded speech," Blake answered, "The drink is the password. Black for my primary color, and the moon for the semblance of the person who introduced me to this place. Large fries for three friends, and the condiments for your colors."
"So, what now?" Weiss asked, "And why all this secret language?"
"The language is to ward off pursuers," Blake answered, "If one of you had forced me to reveal this location, I would've ordered medium fries, and left out the condiment that corresponds to that person's color."
"And then?" Yang asked, "Also, what if you left out the mustard, or mayo?"
"If I left out the mustard, you would've gotten a bar fight," Blake answered, "No mayo, and Weiss would've been beaten senseless, and woken up on the other side of town in her underwear, with cuts and bruises everywhere."
"Aren't you worried we'll tell anyone?" Weiss asked.
"Of course not," Blake answered, "For one, I trust you guys. That's why I brought you here in the first place. Also, it's the barkeeper. His family has a thing for semblances that deal with keeping secrets. His semblance is Sealed Lips. It prevents people from spilling his secrets in any way. You can talk to people who are already involved, but you can't communicate the phrase to people who don't know it. He makes an exception inside the bar, but that's it."
"And now?" Ruby asked, "Where do we get the materials?"
"In the Ice Cave," Blake answered and dramatically opened the heavy double doors, and Ruby thought back at how Qrow and Sirena had let them into Mistral when they first arrived there. The team looked into a large glacier cave illuminated by oil lamps, with market stalls standing everywhere and all sorts of people inspecting the various goods.
"The Ice Cave?" Weiss asked in shock.
"You know it?" Ruby asked and tilted her head a little.
"Of course," Weiss answered, "It's the world's largest black market. The SDC, the military, and just about everyone in Atlas has been looking for it for decades."
"And you've found it," Blake said, "Now come, I know just the guy who can help us. Still, it's probably best for all of us if you don't talk to anyone, and don't touch anything." She walked down a flight of stairs, and the others followed her.
"Is anything here legal?" Yang asked.
"Our licenses," Blake answered, "And your weapons." They continued walking down the steel stairs, and headed into one of the paths between the vendors' stalls, which were much more organized than it seemed from above.
~o~
Ruby looked around the stalls as they walked past them, and checked out all the weapons laid out for sale. She slowed down a bit, but caught up to the others when Blake cleared her throat to catch her attention, and she realized she had fallen behind.
"Sorry, I was just admiring those counterfeit weapons," Ruby said, and the vendor, a burly elk faunus with ears, perked up. Blake stopped in her tracks and flinched, and turned around.
"Hadas, hello," Blake said and walked up to the man.
"What was that about counterfeit weapons?" Hadas asked and looked directly at Ruby. She swallowed nervously, but stepped forward.
"Ruby, let me handle this," Blake whispered, but Ruby walked past her and confronted the man.
"They're fakes," Ruby answered, "The original company's founder followed an old religion, with a single God, which taught that only God could make flawless things. So, he made it his company's rules that every weapon must have a flaw that is visible to the user when the weapon is used. These are weapons for right-handed users, so there should be a flaw on the left side somewhere. Smudged paint, a screw whose head doesn't match the rest, a scratch, something like that. But there's nothing. Anyone who knows what they're talking about will immediately know that those are fakes." Blake prepared for the worst, but Hadas relaxed after pondering for a bit, and smiled at Ruby.
"Thanks," Hadas said, "Those things kept getting confiscated off my clients when they tried crossing the borders, but I never knew why. It was really losing me business. But now that I know those company's rules, I'm back in business."
"You're welcome," Ruby said and turned around, signaling Blake to take the lead again.
"You know you just helped a wanted criminal, right?" Blake asked.
"Yeah," Ruby answered, "But at least he can make a living now. Plus, those flawless counterfeit weapons were hurting the original producer as well, because people who had no idea what they were talking about kept mixing up the real ones and the fake ones." The group kept walking around, following Blake and looking for the merchant who sold the materials they needed.
Author's note: Ruby can tell fake weapons at a glance.