Author's note: Some action in this chapter. Plus minor characters based on my favorite magical girl and her totally platonic partner.
After Team RWBY had bought the materials they needed, which were surprisingly few, yet inexplicably expensive, Weiss absorbed them and the team headed to the nearest exit. On the way, they saw a group of people standing around a floating bubble showing a war zone, with eight people fighting in it.
"What's this?" Ruby asked, and looked at Blake.
"An underground fighting tournament," Blake answered, "They're fighting in a shared dream, to avoid injury or death, and so everyone can go all out."
"Can I join?" Ruby asked excitedly. The girls heard an explosion from the bubble, and the crowd cheered as the combatants woke up from their shared dream.
"The winners are Kuro and Shiro, our old, and new, champions," the announcer said, and before anyone could react, Ruby burst into a cluster of rose petals and rushed to the center of the crowd, where she saw eight chairs in a circle, with an opening for two people wearing outfits resembling normal sports referees. Two girls collected their prize money. They both looked almost identical, safe for the color of their clothes. They both wore boots with leg warmers, a short skirt with a corner slit that revealed a pair of shorts, and a top, though the one in black wore hers belly free. They had dark brown hair tied to a side ponytail, and green eyes. One of them wore her outfit in black, with mauve accents and boots, and the ponytail on the right, and the other wore hers in white, with light blue accents and boots, and the ponytail on the left.
"Look who it is, Kuro," the one in white said with a slightly friendly undertone.
"Hello, I'm Kuro," the one in black said, "This is my sister Shiro. You must be Ruby Rose."
"Yep, that's me," Ruby said and asked, "Did you really beat all those people?" She looked around and saw a lot of people who looked much more dangerous and skilled than the two girls in front of her, who looked like they could have just graduated from an academy.
"Sure did," Kuro answered, "Our teamwork is perfect, after all."
"You could say we're meant to work together," Shiro said.
"How about you two go against me?" Ruby asked, and the crowd suddenly paid the three of them full attention.
"Just you, against the two of us?" Kuro asked, "Well, if you want to lose so badly, sure. How about it, Shiro?"
"I'm not exactly alone," Ruby answered, "I have a little surprise for you two, but I won't say what it is. You'll have to figure it out during the fight."
"Now I'm interested," Shiro said, "Let's go." They gave the two men in the middle a nod and sat down in their chairs, with Ruby taking another one.
"You can pick the terrain, if you like," Kuro said.
"Alright, thanks," Ruby said, turned to the announcer and said, "Just give me whatever terrain you want."
"Sure," the announcer answered, "Now just close your eyes and relax. This is a bit strange the first time, but you'll get used to it."
"Alright, thanks," Ruby said and closed her eyes. She could hear her friends try to get through the crowd, but she was confident that she could beat the duo. She had a bit of an idea what they could do, and she had a few tricks up her sleeves as well.
~o~
When Ruby looked around, she found herself in a vast wasteland, with scarce vegetation and a few ruins dotting the landscape. She drew Crescent Rose and started looking for her opponents. Ruby got to the top of an old church tower and looked around through her thermal scope she got in Argus. She saw one of the girls walk around behind a building, carefully examining every high ground. Just before Kuro poked her head around the corner, Ruby fired a regular bullet into the ground in front of her and made it explode with Cinder's semblance.
"Got you," Shiro said and hit Ruby in the back, with her fists coated in white lightning. Ruby created a shadow clone to stop her fall, and immediately had to block a punch from Kuro, whose fists were coated in black lightning. She hit Ruby with a left hook, then a right one, followed by her right elbow and a spinning kick with the left foot, all in one fluent motion. Shiro attacked Ruby from her blind spot, but Preflexes warned her in time to create a shadow clone. She hit Kuro with an earth-goo round and stuck her feet to the ground, then engaged Shiro. Ruby jumped up and raised her scythe above her head and swung downwards, building up momentum to hit Shiro like she had hit Bolin in the Vytal Tournament. Shiro stepped aside, stopped the scythe with her left hand near the tip, and grabbed the midsection with her right hand. Using Ruby's own momentum, she threw her overhead. Ruby quickly rotated Crescent Rose, but Shiro gave way, allowing the head to rotate. She then jumped on the weapon and embedded its tip in the ground. Before Ruby knew what was happening, Shiro kicked her in the stomach and sent her flying without her weapon. She got back up and saw the twins stand beside each other, their ponytails facing away from one another, and took each other's hands. Their hands were surrounded with lightning in their respective colors again, but something felt different. Their hair floated up as if blown by the wind. They clenched their free hands into fists and pointed them at Ruby. Powerful blasts of black and white lightnings shot out from the twins' fists and coiled around one another, carving up the ground and hitting Ruby at full force.
~o~
After the fight, Weiss, Blake and Yang finally reached Ruby, who felt a bit disappointed that she lost, but impressed by this powerful combination of two semblances.
"That was more than reckless," Weiss said sternly.
"Yeah, I know," Ruby said, "Sorry." Weiss put a hand on Ruby's shoulder and smiled at her.
"You were pretty good," Kuro said, and Team RWBY saw the twins walk over to them.
"Thanks," Ruby said, "But your teamwork was incredible."
"Yeah, it comes with our semblances," Shiro said, "Our combo move becomes stronger the more we're in sync."
"That's so cool," Ruby said and asked, "But, why didn't you help fight Grimm?"
"We don't like fighting Grimm," Kuro answered, "They disappear, and that's just no fun."
"So we teach people the power of teamwork instead," Shiro added, "It's easier for us, and we get to see our opponents after we defeated them."
"I see," Ruby said.
"Anyway, we'll have to go," Blake said, "Now." She grabbed Ruby's lower arm and pulled her away. The group made their way through the crowd, when the announcer stepped in front of them and stopped them.
"I'm still waiting for the money," the announcer said, "After all, you lost." Ruby looked around and noticed a sign, listing a participation fee that would go into maintaining the fighting ring, as well as some price money.
"Oh, right," Ruby said, "Sorry, but I don't have any cash on me. But I can transfer it to your bank account if you want."
"Sure, whatever," the announcer said, and gave Ruby his bank details. She quickly transferred the amount, a small amount compared to what she had earned after killing all those aquatic Grimm, and Team RWBY left the black market again.
~o~
After recovering from what Niob did, and said, Tock, Tyrian and Arthur decided to return to Salem, since their mission was just to get Arthur out of jail. They also took Arnold with them, to introduce him to Salem and have her decide whether or not they can use him.
"Ichigo, let's go," Tyrian said and donned his hood.
"Nope," Ichigo said, "I'll have some more fun here. Don't worry, I know the way. But I'd like to borrow Arnold for a while. I need someone to help me with tech stuff."
"Our mission was to get Arthur back," Tyrian said.
"I know," Ichigo said, "But I have a plan that will help destroy this city, and the General will suffer."
"I say we let her stay," Arthur said, "For now, at least."
"Don't worry, I'll only need a bit," Ichigo said, "Just a few weeks at best."
"What about Sirena?" Arnold asked.
"I don't know who that is," Ichigo answered, "But when I'm done, not even she will be able to salvage the situation. Atlas will fall. I just need to stay away from that bombshell and the cat faunus."
"Alright, I'll stay," Arnold said, and Tyrian groaned.
"Fine, but don't be surprised when Salem is mad at you," Tyrian said. He, Arthur and Tock left and headed to an aircraft Ichigo had stolen a few days ago.
"Finally we're safe," Ichigo said after the others were out of her hearing range.
"What do you mean?" Arnold asked.
"Arthur's gun is wired," Ichigo answered.
"Really?" Arnold asked.
"Yep," Ichigo answered, "But once they're out of the kingdom, those goody two-shoes will lose contact and it'll be useless."
"So, what do we do about the two you mentioned?" Arnold asked, "And what is so bad about them anyway?"
"I was lying," Ichigo answered, "I need them to think that only those two can stop me, when in actuality, me fighting them is a core part of my plan."
"I see," Arnold said and asked, "Anything I can do to help?"
"Just be ready," Ichigo answered, "I'll need you to record and upload something for me." She then explained her plan, which Arnold realized was as diabolical as any Grimm, and the two made the necessary preparations for it. Arnold used his skill in technological matters to secure a handful cameras, and got in touch with old acquaintances.
~o~
Hazel was sitting on his bed in Salem's castle, Ichigo's words echoing through his head. He had realized it was likely all made up, but the thought that he was insulting his sister's legacy still lingered. He looked at his hands. Cold steel. He clenched his fists and got up, heading to Atlas.
~o~
Trifa walked through a tunnel the swarm's termites had dug into the side of the mountain, and came out into a clearing in the forest north of Mountain Glenn. The ground had recently been dug up by other swarm members, who mixed the ash of the burned trees into the soil. She felt a slight breeze as the air got sucked into the tunnel, and got to work. Ever since eating enough of the mushroom, her spinnerets had been able to generate plant-dust on demand, and she planned to use this to her advantage.
"Hello there," Dr. Oobleck said as he walked up to her, and asked, "Who are you?"
"Hello Doctor," Trifa answered, "My name is Trifa. It was my idea to burn this specific section of the forest."
"I see," Dr. Oobleck said and asked, "But, why?"
"Watch," Trifa answered and knelt down. She created a manuka sapling between her hands and planted it in the ground before making it take root and grow into an adult tree within minutes.
"That… is impressive," Dr. Oobleck said and asked, "But, why do this?"
"To help Vale," Trifa answered, "We need to feed the mushroom, which now feeds on the waste of the city. By having people return to the city, we can generate more waste. By making honey, we can earn money to rebuild." A swarm of bees came flying to the tree, controlled by Sophie, and buzzed around the area while Trifa continued creating and planting manuka trees. The swarm members in Mistral bought beekeeping equipment, mostly things needed for making honey, as any bee in the hive would be under the swarm's control and not harm them.
"I see," Dr. Oobleck said, "Well then, good luck."
"Thank you, Doctor," Trifa said, and Dr. Oobleck went back into the underground section of Mountain Glenn, which was filled with a putrid scent from all the waste being poured into the large crevice in the middle of the ruined city. Termites would later build mounds throughout the artificial forest, but instead of expelling air, these mounds would suck it in, to keep the air free of fog. The tunnels led to the one Sirena had dug, so any air sucked into it would pass through the tunnel connecting Mountain Glenn and Vale, further helping the swarm by moving the conveyor belt they would use to transport the honey. After planting a few trees, Trifa began weaving a web between them. The web atop Mountain Glenn was already being extended down the side of the mountain, being spun between mounds and the juniper trees Trifa had planted in the rocky soil.
"I really hope Trifa is safe," Ilia said in Mistral, with a hawk listening to the conversation between the chameleon faunus and Sienna Khan, who were both sitting some distance outside the capital, and hunting Grimm. Knowing that Ilia's sorrow could attract Grimm, Trifa pulled out her scroll.
"I am," Trifa wrote, using the White Fang's communication network to get the message through to her. Ilia read the message, and her colors changed into a bright rainbow of surprise while she tried to locate Trifa with her seismic sense.
"What is it?" Sienna asked.
"Trifa just sent me a text," Ilia answered, "It's as if she was listening to us."
"Look up," Trifa wrote, slowly leading Ilia to look at the hawk.
"Wait, Trifa?" Ilia asked the hawk, "You can turn into a hawk? And how are you sending me these texts?"
"I am now part of Sophie's swarm," Trifa answered via text, "Argent trained me, and the swarm is now stronger than ever. The hawk is also a member. I am in Vale, helping rebuild the city. But I have been watching over you for a few weeks now, ever since I joined."
"Thanks," Ilia said and asked, "So, do you know how Yuma is doing?"
"He is doing fine," Trifa wrote, "But he is still not active."
"I see," Ilia said, "Anyway, I think I might know something the swarm would like to know about."
"What is it?" Trifa asked via text.
"When you look into the light of the silver eyes, you copy that person's semblance," Ilia answered, much to Sienna's surprise, "Also, if you use another person's semblance too much, you become like that person. It feels really weird, though. You don't notice it at first, but when you think back at how you would've approached the situation before, your actions make no sense to you anymore."
"I actually learned that when I joined the swarm," Trifa wrote, "The swarm has copied many powerful semblances, and we are proud to use them over our own, so as to become closer to our saviors."
"What kind of semblances?" Ilia asked, a bit disturbed by how Trifa talked about getting rid of her personality like it was a good thing.
"This one, for example," Trifa wrote, and used Combat Drone through the hawk, creating an orb with a leaf green hue and a stylized image of a strawberry in the middle, no matter how one looked at it.
"What does it do?" Ilia asked.
"It shoots any Grimm within range," Trifa answered, "I also augmented it with the plant-dust from my spinnerets, so that its projectiles will create strawberry seeds upon hitting a Grimm."
"Your spinnerets generate plant-dust?" Ilia asked in surprise, startling Sienna, who only heard Ilia's side of the conversation for the most part.
"Wait, what?" Sienna asked, "How?"
"Apparently, someone created a safe form of dust blight," Ilia answered.
"And the mushroom our swarm feeds on has a similar effect," Trifa wrote, "It was fed with the bodies of those that were experimented on, and now any faunus eating this mushroom becomes able to generate one random dust type from their trait. But now, I would like to ask you to use your semblance on the next orb I create, so that it attracts Grimm."
"Sure," Ilia said. The hawk landed on her right shoulder and created another Combat Drone, this time with a potato in the center. It slowly floated along a straight path, high enough to not get caught on most boulders, and Ilia jumped onto it and made it draw in Grimm. She jumped off the drone and sat back down on the sun-heated rock, so her aura would regenerate faster.
"Thank you," Trifa wrote, "But now I have to resume my work."
"You're welcome," Ilia said to the hawk and asked, "What kind of work are you doing, by the way?"
"Planting trees to make honey, so we can sell it for money to rebuild Vale," Trifa wrote.
"That's pretty interesting," Ilia said, "It also makes sense, since the swarm can just control the bees to save on beekeeping suits and stuff."
"Precisely," Trifa wrote, "Plus, with my knowledge on all things beekeeping, it will certainly be very easy for us to make that money."
"Alright then, bye," Ilia said.
"Bye," Trifa wrote and collapsed her scroll, then returned to making trees and weaving webs. Two other spider faunus arrived and added their webs to Trifa's, connecting them to the larger system. The other spider faunus then began setting up the bee hives, and the bees moved into them. A few dozen spiders finished expanding their webs down the mountainside, and spread through the artificial forest. They were the only ones with hollow webs, except for Sophie, so they were the most important to help the mushroom grow. With the added food from the city, the mushroom grew much faster, and it would soon reach the area. The mound atop the mountain was close to being finished, and then any excess material would fully go into constructing the ones on the mountainside and in the forest.
~o~
Team RWBY, Jaune, Ren, Nora and Oscar were on their way to meet with General Ironwood, one hundred of his soldiers, Team FNKI, and Penny, while Maria was waiting in Atlas to turn the petrified Grimm into steel for the aircraft's rockets. Their Manta landed next to a large gathering of men and women, who looked a bit confused at the seemingly arbitrary criteria to be selected for this mission they still knew very little about. A large airship was hovering above them, ready to pick up the soldiers and move to the next pack of Grimm, and an SDC cargo ship was present as well. As soon as they arrived, Jaune helped Ren mask everyone's negativity. Sirena arrived via portal, and General Ironwood spoke up.
"Attention, everyone," James said, "I have selected you all for this particular mission on request of Sirena Blue, who assured me that we would be able to protect our kingdom, and all of Remnant, much better if we follow this plan. She will now explain further."
"Yes, thank you, General," Sirena said, "This plan involves the silver eyes, as well as multiple semblances. Some of you have probably seen us use other people's semblances over the past few months. Well, we will let you use two rather strong semblances, in order to fight back the incoming horde of Grimm. The first one will let you create a Combat Drone, like the ones that used to line the wall around Mantle. It is the manifestation of a ruler's will to keep her subjects safe from Grimm. Now, for this plan to work, you will have to keep your eyes open when the light emerges, and look into it. But I can assure you, it will not hurt. Ruby will now go around and teach you how to use this new semblance once you have copied it." Ruby created a clone of herself, who also created a clone and so on, until there were fifty of her, and each clone went around and used her Mentor semblance on two soldiers, teaching them how to enter their soul core. While Ruby was busy, Sirena fused with Weiss and Aurora started attracting Grimm. More than half of the soldiers unlocked their own semblance as Ruby taught them to delve into the depths of their soul. This was aided by a side-effect of James' new Leader semblance, which made it easier for those loyal to him to use and control their semblance.
"Grimm!" One of the soldiers shouted, and the soldiers immediately started shooting at the approaching Teryx, Manticore and Sphinx.
"Now!" Aurora shouted to get everyone's attention, and when all eyes were on her, she unleashed the light of her soul and turned the Grimm to stone. The cargo ship came down and androids started loading the petrified Grimm into the cargo bay, while the soldiers were speechless. Aurora dropped to the ground, mostly from exhaustion, but also because Weiss wanted to know what kind of semblances they had copied.
~o~
Ruby, Blake, Yang, Jaune, Ren, Nora and Oscar left the Manta, meeting up with the soldiers in a new location to petrify more Grimm. Jaune and Ren didn't mask anyone's emotions this time, as they relied on the soldiers' negativity to attract Grimm. Sirena and Weiss came out of a portal, with Weiss massaging her temples.
"Weiss, are you alright?" Ruby asked.
"Yes, just a bit shaken," Weiss answered, "Don't worry, I'm used to it."
"Why aren't these two doing the thing from before?" One of the soldiers asked, pointing at Jaune and Ren.
"Because Ren and I will fuse this time," Ruby answered, "Also, unlike Sirena, and her and Weiss' fusion Aurora, I use positive emotions to trigger my silver eyes. I focus on my family, and friends, and all of life, and when there are Grimm nearby, I can unleash the light of preservation to protect all life from them."
"That's interesting," another soldier said.
"Yep," Ruby said, turned to Ren, held out her right hand and asked, "And, ready?"
"Of course," Ren answered and took Ruby's hand. They hugged each other and their auras lit up, merging into a dark red with a purple hue and completely concealing both people. Their form didn't grow much, and when their aura faded, it revealed an androgynous fusion with silver eyes and black hair with purple streaks ending in red tips. The fusion wore black tabi that faded into purple near the top, black pants with red rose patches on the knees, a black pleated belt with red pockets on it, and a black ninja coat with various pockets. The black sleeves faded into purple, and their right arm was covered by black and red armor with a similar style to Ren's.
"I am Lotus," the fusion said, "First, allow me to learn what my semblance does, and how to use it." Lotus sat down and entered their soul core.
"So, what now?" Flynt asked.
"We can just wait," Weiss answered, "I don't know how long it'll take, plus we need to wait for Grimm to arrive."
"Alright, I'm ready," Lotus said and got back up, less than a minute after sitting down.
"That was fast," Weiss said. In the distance, Grimm started approaching.
"Yes, but we have to get ready," Lotus said, "In any case, my semblance lets me use the semblances of my fallen allies, keeping their memory alive and allowing them to aid me in battle, even from beyond the grave." The Grimm reached the group, and the soldiers started to panic. Weiss made the lamp appear, drawing the Grimm towards herself. The Grimm all focused on Weiss, and as the soldiers looked at her, Lotus unleashed their silver eyes. While the soldiers inspected the Grimm, which were oddly unusual for the region, Lotus split up again and Ren rubbed his aching eyes.
"That is… weird," Ruby said, looking over the Grimm, "I thought Deathstalkers only appeared in Vale."
"And Beringel usually only appear in Mistral," Nora said.
"That is true," Sirena said, drawing the group's attention to herself, "However, I asked an associate of mine to… provide some assistance in locating Grimm. In exchange for helping him with his plans, of course."
"Who, how, and what plans?" Ruby asked in a stern voice, and her friends were a bit surprised that she was so assertive right off the bat.
"Nacht Schatten," Sirena answered, "A huntsman from Vacuo. A bat faunus, with a very special semblance, Shadow Space. It allows the user to turn into a black smoke bank, which serves as a gateway into another dimension, aptly named the Shadow Space."
"A gateway into another dimension?" Ruby asked and said, "That's so cool. I want that."
"Me too," Sirena said with a chuckle that somehow disheartened Ruby, "But sadly, only exactly one person with this semblance ever exists at any one time in the world. If the current user dies, their soul is immediately ripped from the afterlife and reborn."
"Wait, what?" Weiss asked, "Souls can be reborn just like that?"
"Of course," Sirena answered, "It happens all the time, but normally it takes a while for the right conditions to be met. Not with his soul, though. It has been this way for around five generations now. He has trapped many Grimm within that space, and his predecessors have as well."
"So, he kept them from harming anyone?" Ruby asked.
"Exactly," Sirena answered, "When I informed him of the abilities of the silver eyes, he insisted to help. It was him who released those Grimm trapped inside the Shadow Space, which were originally sent there because they were too powerful to combat conventionally. All of these Grimm are centuries old, and would have required at least two huntsman teams to kill."
"I see," Ruby said and looked as the Grimm were loaded into the SDC ship's cargo bay. Suddenly, she got more serious and made her way towards a Beringel. It was almost twice the size of the normal ones, its bone plate armor imitated the look of steel plate held by chains, and it had a short sword half buried in its left shoulder.
"Ruby, what's wrong?" Jaune asked and followed her.
"This one is still alive," Ruby answered and pointed at a Grimm that still emitted a faint darkness. Everyone tensed up and all but Ruby aimed their weapon at the Grimm. Its stone shell cracked, and Ruby held up her right hand to keep the soldiers from firing at it. As soon as the crack got wide enough for the black essence to be visible, Ruby used her silver eyes to disintegrate the rest of the Grimm.
~o~
Back in Atlas, Ruby's Group relaxed for a bit. The soldiers were in Mantle, practicing their newly copied semblances before being sent off to the various kingdoms in a few days. Following Ruby's orders, those heading to bases in Vale would make combat drones, augmented with plant-dust, whose attacks turned into phytoplankton on impact.
"What are you thinking about, sis?" Yang asked.
"We're winning," Ruby answered.
Author's note: Yeah, they're winning.
Kuro and Shiro, whose names literally translate to Black and White, are based on Cure Black and Cure White, the two main characters from Fuari Wa Pretty Cure and its sequel, Futari Wa Pretty Cure: Max Heart.
These two may just be the only RWBY OCs who are weaker than the characters they're inspired by. Except for Ichigo.
I mean, in the movie Miracle Universe, Cure Black, Cure White, and Shiny Luminous, their third team member, see an enemy that is visible all across Earth, and decide to sit this one out and just wait and see if the situation escalates any further. These three aren't at all bothered by a universe-sized serpentine bird thing brainwashing every living being in existence at once.
They usually wait until the other teams have attacked during group fights, because once they attack, the fight is over.
As for my OCs, well, they're twins. Their semblances are called Black Thunder and White Thunder, respectively, and they boost the user's unarmed attacks. They also have a strong empathy-like connection, allowing for perfect teamwork even when they can't see each other. If an opponent focuses on one of them, and she gets in trouble, the other one will step in and attack from the opponent's blind spot. Keeping an eye on both of them is not a good decision, though, because then they can just bust out their finishing move, which is based on the Marble Screw from Futari Wa Pretty Cure.
For reference, Ruby had around 90% aura left when it hit her.
Also, it's actually two attacks, so semblances like Moonslice couldn't even absorb it. Burn would work, but Yang would be out of aura after that hit. And the energy isn't actually electricity, so High Voltage would also be useless.