Author's note: Now, stuff I wish I could've set up properly, but kinda always forgot.
A snow owl flew through the tundra of Atlas, looking for the right spot for the ritual. She headed towards a plateau overlooking a frozen lake, covered all year in light blue ice, and as she flew behind a boulder, Weiss turned back into her human self. Weiss manifested chalk, candles, and various other things from her pocket dimension and looked up the instructions on her scroll. Drawing the circle in chalk and placing the candles, she made sure to align it properly, then took a mirror and magnifying glass.
"Indirect sunlight? Who came up with this?" Weiss thought as she sat down in the middle of the circle, facing the direction of the mine her father put her in charge of when she was six. She held the mirror into the light reflecting from the lake, and focused it with the magnifying glass. The candle behind her was the first to ignite, followed by every second one going counter-clockwise. When the last candle ignited, they all flared up and the chalk began glowing. Weiss absorbed the mirror and magnifying glass into her hand again and began taking deep breaths as the chalk kept glowing brighter and brighter. As the glow fully enveloped her, she began seeing shapes and colors she couldn't possibly comprehend, yet somehow, she did. Her essence dissolved into the fabric of reality, like glass into snow. Before her eyes, she saw intersecting shapes that never touched, and the truth of existence unfolded before her. She stood in a hallway made of otherworldly shapes and strange colors. In front of her, it took a right turn into a wall, and behind the corner, she saw herself just wandering around.
"This… is amazing," Weiss said, but her voice seemed to echo from the walls, rather than her mouth. In that moment, she didn't know why she even had a mouth. She looked down at herself, but only saw more of the surrounding area. There was no ground, no Weiss, only existence.
"Who are you?" A female voice asked.
"I am Weiss Schnee, and I have come to bargain," Weiss answered. Suddenly, she was surrounded by beings of all shapes and sizes. Somehow, she knew the entity that had just asked for her name, and she turned to a giant female humanoid whose white hair turned into a large robe covering her features.
"A Schnee?" A male voice asked.
"Let me speak," another voice said.
"I can fulfill your dreams," another female voice said, and the first one chuckled.
"Dreams are my domain," the first voice said.
"Are you normally this eager?" Weiss asked, and the chattering stopped.
"Not always," the first voice answered, "But you have taken a lot of lives, so you are valuable to us. Almost all of us will want to make a pact with you."
"I see," Weiss said and asked, "So if I can choose, what are your powers?" Confused murmuring started.
"I don't believe we follow you, mortal," a male voice said.
"It's simple, really," Weiss said, "I have something you want, and all I want from you is basic magic. Any special powers would be a bonus to me. So, since my choice in who I make a pact with only affects the bonus I get, you will have to convince me that your bonus, the control over your particular domain, is better than the others." Despite the words being under her control, and forming at her discretion, Weiss felt she did not understand their meaning, if they even had any.
"I am the arch-angel of dreams," the first voice explained, "I command the peaceful sleep of all things. Through me, the door to people's dreams may never be locked to you, and you shall never fear nightmares." A male voice cackled.
"Nightmares are nothing to fear," the arch-demon of nightmares said, "I train mortals, and prepare them to face danger. Only I allow them insight into their deepest, darkest desires, so they may better themselves."
"I, the arch-angel of order, must object to that," a male voice said.
"And I, your opposite, must tell you that you're boring," a female voice said, "Follow me, mortal, and we shall have all the fun your heart desires, unbound by any rule or law. For I am chaos, the embodiment of change beyond measure."
"I sense another war approaching," a female voice said, "You would do good with my powers. Walk the field of battle like a lioness among mice, and be forever victorious."
"Or bring peace with my powers," a male voice said.
"Grant me dominion of the lives you stole," a youthful voice said, "For I am what none can escape."
"But if she does so, she will reject you, and choose to cling to me eternally," an elderly voice chimed in.
"Alright, let me think," Weiss said, and retreated into her inner mind, a place she never knew existed. She already knew to pick an arch-angel, though there seemed to be little difference. Whether she spread war or removed peace, the result would be the same, yet the two corresponding entities sounded like entirely different beings.
"And, what did you choose?" The arch-angel of dreams asked after Weiss returned.
"I choose you," Weiss answered, "You sound the nicest, and you were the first to talk to me. You can have all the lives I stole, under one condition."
"Of course, what is it?" The arch-angel asked.
"Make sure they can live out the rest of their lives," Weiss answered, "As if nothing happened to them. They will wake up, as if from a dream, and be able to have a job that can support their families, without harming them. When it is time, their souls will then move on to the afterlife they earned in that dream."
"Very well, my little dreamer," the arch-angel said.
"Thank you," Weiss said and mentally extended a hand to seal the deal, even though the concept of hands seemed infinitely alien to her at the moment. Raw power surged through Weiss' very essence, and she saw flashes of other timelines, where she made a different choice. In some, she chose war, while in others, generosity. She chose fame, and pride, and humility, and everything, except deception. The cosmos, the very fabric of creation itself, and the truth of existence, all flooded her very core and filled every corner of her being. Then, she was Weiss again. Just Weiss Schnee, with two arms, two legs, two eyes and ears and nostrils and hands and feet, sitting on a plateau one chilly Friday morning in the tundra of Atlas, on the continent of Solitas, on the planet Remnant, the only officially known inhabited planet in this universe. But she knew. She heard it. She felt the dreams of beings so far away, their galaxy was a tiny twinkle in the night sky. Then the last remains of power faded, and she was back to normal. She got up, whisked the chalk circle away and jumped off the plateau, then turned into a snow owl and flew back to Atlas.
~o~
Marcus looked at the pile of poisonous steam-dust crystals Tyrian had created, and the three minions he had been able to create from them thus far. He knew that he had to do something, otherwise the crystals would become unstable over time and trigger, potentially killing all of them, aside from Tyrian and Salem.
"What's wrong?" Tyrian asked. His aura armor was still strong, except for his right hand. As his chitin-like armor approached his wrist, it became more brittle, ending in cracked and broken edges.
"This semblance drains a lot of my aura," Marcus answered. Suddenly, the doors to the castle opened. Tyrian, Tock and Marcus turned around, and saw Salem leave the castle and walk towards them.
"Tock, bring four of those crystals to the children," Salem said, "And Marcus, hurry up, I need more minions." Tock took the four most recently made crystals and headed into the castle.
"My apologies, Salem," Marcus said, "This semblance is very draining on my aura, and I can't use it too often in a row."
"If only you were a faunus," Tyrian said, "I'm regenerating my aura so quickly, I wouldn't know what to do with it if I didn't make these crystals."
"Can't you give that semblance to him?" Salem asked, looking at Marcus.
"No, sorry," Marcus answered, "A normal person can only have one semblance at a time, and his was somehow damaged, so I can't take it away from him to make room for Ex Machina. And even if I could, there is no saying what effects it would have on him. My semblance protects me from any problems that come from using another person's semblance, but his core personality would be replaced with that of a commander."
"Then I must slightly change my plans," Salem said and headed back inside. Tock came back shortly after, and continued trying to emulate what Tyrian was doing so she could make unlimited plant-dust crystals, for multiple purposes. Just as Tyrian was about to fully crystallize another poisonous steam-dust crystal, he froze as if in shock, his aura trait disappeared, and the crystal erupted into a massive cloud of poisonous steam-dust. Tock and Marcus began coughing as the poisonous gas burned in their eyes and mouths, and both tried to get out of the cloud as fast as possible, while Tyrian just sat there in shock, staring into the landscape as an instinctive memory of a primal evil clawed at his mind.
~o~
Ruby was walking through Mantle, looking for any signs of trouble. Yang was in her dragon form and flying above, while the rest of her group and the Ace-Ops all did their own little thing to make sure whatever was attacking Grimm wasn't around any more, seeing how it seemed to work for Salem.
"Guys, I found one," Ruby said over communicator, then chased after the small seed-like thing running away from her.
"Don't let it near Grimm," Elm said. Just as it was about to jump onto a Centinel, likely to infect it, a snow owl came down and struck it mid-air, disappearing into an alleyway with it in its claws.
"Sophie, is that one of yours?" Ruby asked over communicator.
"Negative, Your Highness," the man on the other side answered. As Ruby looked at the street corner, Weiss came out of it, holding the twitching seed on her rapier, and put her own communicator in her ear.
"Nope, that was me," Weiss answered.
"How did you mistake Weiss for a member of Sophie's swarm?" Blake asked in disbelief.
"I'll explain later," Ruby answered, "When Sophie isn't listening."
"Alright, contact me when you're done," the man said and turned off his communicator, and the pigeons in the area flew away as well.
"Remember when Sirena shared all those semblances with me?" Weiss asked and said, "Well, she also gave me one that lets me copy any one ability of another person, as long as they allow it. And initiating physical contact, like catching me when I trip in the morning, counts. So now, I can turn into a snow owl."
"Wait, that was planned?" Qrow asked.
"Why didn't you tell us sooner?" Yang asked.
"I- it's difficult to explain, especially like this," Weiss answered, "But a big reason was that, in order to tell you about it, I would've had to tell you that Sirena had this semblance as well, and we all know that she doesn't like people revealing things about her. I'm sorry."
"It's fine," Ruby said, "I mean, yeah, you did kind of hide this from us, but we never asked for a full list of semblances she let you use, so it's not like you lied to us."
"Thanks, Ruby," Weiss said and asked, "Now, what do we do with this?" She held up her sword, and the seed died and disappeared as a crackling red energy, fading out of existence within seconds.
~o~
A few days later, Ruby watched the news, and while the animosity between humans and faunus wasn't as bad anymore, it was still noticeable, and drew Grimm towards the city. The Atlas military had begun constructing hangars and other buildings above ground, and Fiona and Weiss were helping to move larger things that didn't fit through the doors of the old facilities.
"Thanks for the help," Harriet said, carrying smaller things to the new facilities.
"You're welcome," Fiona said, and she and Weiss released a few Manta aircraft from their right hands. Outside the walls, Hazel was fighting Grimm. He primarily used earth-dust, shooting rocks in every direction with each punch. Every time Hazel hit a Grimm, it created another healing orb, which just hovered in place for five minutes. He had a timer set on his scroll, reminding him every four minutes to use Guardian's Gambit on the rocks to create serpentine minions.
"This is incredible," Hazel said as he created nine new minions, only to have his aura immediately recharged by the orbs. Schnee summons hunted the ice birds made with Guardian's Gambit, since they had fully charged up and made new minions upon death. Occasionally, the minions closest to the walls got hit by rocks, usually killing them and priming the rock to create another minion.
"Guys, I realized something," Ruby said over communicator, "The Grimm are retreating."
"Yeah, I noticed, too," Hazel said, taking a break from punching Grimm, "That usually means we're in for a big problem."
"How big?" Nora asked. As if on cue, three quakes shook the ground in rapid succession. Then another three, this time stronger. Finally, three big mountains exploded, and Wyvern rose into the sky above them, with ice on their skin.
"Everyone, move out," James said, and his military got ready within minutes.
"Sophie, go," Ruby said, and rats swarmed to the wall, sending combat drones out into the tundra to catch any approaching Grimm. The Schnee summons changed their course and headed for the walls, preparing to fight off any Grimm that tried to get past. Pigeons flew to the wall, covering every single inch in several pairs of eyes, and several humans activated the kingdom's new security system. A series of hard-light barriers activated, running almost completely around Mantle, with only a few gaps leading into corridors. The barriers created a labyrinth, forcing Grimm to move a certain path, which was lined with combat drones.
~o~
Before the first Grimm even reached Mantle, the combat drones sent out by Sophie's swarm began shooting at them, leaving lines of ice spikes in their wake. As they approached the city, the turrets opened fire, leaving only the Grimm that were heading to where Sirena wanted them to breach the walls.
"Everyone ready?" Ruby asked and began shooting the Grimm from her vantage point on the wall. She fired water-goo bullets, which froze almost immediately and created a flat surface, causing some Grimm to slip and fall. After the ice sheet cracked, the shards harmed any Grimm stepping on them, until they were crushed too much.
"I could use a little help," Winter said, being surrounded by Grimm and running low on aura, trying to keep her summons active.
"Don't worry, I got you," Weiss said and created a Safezone around Winter, with a fifty meter radius. As soon as any Grimm entered the area, they emitted a healing orb, which restored Winter's aura somewhat.
"Ignore the Grimm that get past," Ruby said, "Sophie got those."
"Got it," Yang said and jumped off a Big Ursa leading a large pack into Mantle. A couple pigeons followed the Grimm and kept an eye on the pack. When the leader went ahead enough, a hard-light barrier activated behind it, and two other paths opened. The Grimm followed the other two paths, leading into other forks. Eventually, they found themselves trapped in groups of three or four, and after they were locked in, another barrier opened to reveal a combat drone augmented with steam-dust that harmed Grimm on contact. The small pockets quickly filled with a thick fog as the Grimm were shot to pieces.
"Everything set here," Ren said after shooting a small pack of Sabyr with hard-light caltrop rounds just outside the wall, creating a mine field for the Grimm. Whenever a Grimm stepped on a caltrop, it emitted one healing orb, which recharged Whitley's aura, allowing him to keep his and his sisters' summons active.
"What do we do with those?" Jaune asked and pointed at the Wyvern circling the city in just enough distance to be seen by civilians, but not enough to be a direct threat.
"At that range, our heavy weapons won't work," James said.
"And they're just spawning more Grimm," Clover said.
"Believe it or not, but that's the plan," Ruby said, and the light of Maria's silver eyes erupted in the distance as she petrified a pack of Grimm, "Maria and I can turn them to stone whenever we need to, but right now, they're free steel for us, and free aura for Blake and Hazel."
"Just make sure this crazy genius doesn't turn into dangerously crazy," Qrow said.
"Don't worry, I will," Ruby said and asked, "How's it going, you two?"
"Fine, thanks," Blake answered and created another incendiary-dust clone, augmenting the dust with Deathzone to harm nearby Grimm. A pack of Centinel attacked her, only to get hit by shrapnel and die. The Grimm emitted even more healing orbs, which homed in on Blake and recharged her aura. She then moved on and let the soldiers take her place. While they had some problem navigating the razor-sharp shards, they enjoyed the additional protection and constant stream of aura to keep their semblances going.
"Same here," Hazel said and punched another Grimm, sending out fist-sized rocks, some of which were coated in green energy. The rocks all hit nearby Grimm, creating more healing orbs, and keeping Hazel's aura fully charged to use Guardian's Gambit. The green glowing rocks picked up regular ones and formed into snakes, which immediately began coiling around Grimm to crush them.
"Apostle, we have great news," one of Sophie's swarm members said over communicator.
"What is it?" Ruby asked, and shot another earth-goo round into the flying Grimm, knocking down a couple of them at once.
"Our weapon is ready," the man answered, and Ruby could practically hear the surprise in every military member.
"Is this something we should know about?" Nora asked.
"It is quite simple," the man answered, "After Penny failed to perform in a simulated combat situation, we convinced the council to fund a different project. It allows anyone, even without combat training, to fight Grimm much better." Hearing this, almost everyone was a bit speechless.
"Alright," Ruby said, "Set it up as a temporary turret in Atlas, just at the border to the labyrinth security system, then hook it up to the city's computer network and lead any Grimm there as last resort. Penny, tell Harald to take control of it."
"On it," Penny said, landed, and switched over to cyberspace for a few seconds.
"Ruby, are you crazy?" James asked and said, "We can't lead the Grimm to Atlas!"
"Then just don't let them in," Ruby said, "Sophie, let Elm know when there are only two waves of orbs left to fight Grimm, and then get her to the turret." She fired another series of rounds into the Grimm, taking down mostly the flying ones to help the aircraft. Sophie rearranged the network of barriers, leading Grimm to different combat drones to give the others a break.
~o~
After an hour of fighting, the fans in Mantle sprung to life, moving the steam from the inner sections to the outer edges, and collecting it in small pockets created on crossings. Behind the light blue barriers, thick fog built up, waiting to be released at the right moment. Ruby sensed a large group of Grimm approach and got ready for the large wave. Using her silver eyes, she overcharged her aura and used Tranquility on everyone.
"Leave the terrestrial ones," Ruby ordered over communicator, and everyone focused on the flying Grimm. Rats jumped onto flying summons and sent out combat drones mid-flight, augmented with plant-dust.
"Ruby, they're coming," Weiss said, looking at the city from above through one of her Queen Lancers.
"I know," Ruby said, "Sophie, now!" The Grimm, heading towards Atlas almost unhindered, suddenly ran into a hard-light barrier. Ceilings appeared above them, and the outer ring was completely sealed off as well, including ceilings. Elm stood mere centimeters away from enough Grimm to kill her ten times over, but they couldn't reach her. Suddenly, the pockets with fog opened up, and the fog, compressed by the hard-light walls, rushed into the streets, heading for the helpless Grimm. The fog slowly drained their life force as soon as it made contact, and one by one, the Grimm disappeared in front of Elm's eyes, seemingly fading into the fog of death.
"I don't know what to say," Elm said, "That was the most brutal, and admittedly scary, thing I've ever seen."
"You have got to tell me about it later," Nora said, walking along the route Blake had taken and leaving lightning-dust powder in her wake, using the healing orbs to keep her aura active.
"Nora, where are you?" Ren asked.
"You may not believe me, but I'm planning something," Nora answered.
"Very funny, what are you doing?" Ren asked.
"No, really," Nora answered, "Remember when I thought I vaporized all of you? I'm laying a strip of lightning-dust that we can ignite if we ever need to fall back. It's not as densely packed, but still dense enough to go off all at once. See?" She stopped next to Ren and pointed behind herself. He looked at the snow and saw a faint yellow trail following Nora.
"Wow, you really have a plan," Ren said.
"Alright, here's the plan," Ruby said.
"Hold up, that was my idea," Nora said, "And I say… wait, let me think… Sophie's swarm keeps an eye on the Grimm, and when they get too close, we get everyone out of range, then I set it off."
"Hear that, Sophie?" Ruby asked and said, "Let James know when he has to recall his men."
"Of course, Your Highness," a woman answered. Nora kept walking, her scars constantly emitting heavy lightning-dust, and the healing orbs following her to keep her aura recharged.
~o~
Clover fought some Grimm in Mantle's outer ring, luckily without a lot of issues, due to Sophie's swarm directing the Grimm to him in smaller groups that he could easily take out by himself. He also had a combat drone to help him, and he helped it save shots. Just as he was about to collapse his fishing rod again, a dark red Sabyr attacked him. He managed to dodge thanks to Preflexes, but for some reason, the combat drone didn't target it.
"What is this thing?" Clover asked while trying to hit the thing and avoid getting hit himself.
"What thing?" Ruby asked. Suddenly, Cucurbita jumped off a nearby roof in a combat suit made from cardboard, complete with toilet roll thrusters on her back and calves and sensors made from egg cartons and plastic beads on her shoulders, which was augmented with her semblance. The monster focused on her, and she shot a beam from her right hand, knocking it back. It landed between two lamp posts and a hard-light barrier cut the thing in half.
"Oh, sorry," Cucurbita said, making her suit change her voice, "I'm not supposed to be seen. Can you keep this a secret?"
"I mean, I don't even know who you are. So, sure," Clover answered, and Cucurbita flew away into the night, shooting lasers at Grimm whenever she saw any. The leader of the Ace Operatives looked at her take off and fly into the night, not entirely sure what just happened.
~o~
Winter killed another Sabyr and was about to kill the next, when Yang punched it in the side with her right fist and sent it flying. She shot a fire-dust shell into some distant Grimm and used the recoil to turn around and drive her left fist into another Sabyr. The Grimm exploded with ice-dust and nearby Grimm got impaled by the ice spikes.
"Those were mine," Winter said, and angrily cut down some Beowolves.
"I didn't see your name on them," Yang countered, moved around Winter and killed a Beringel before it could take advantage of the opening.
"Of course not," Winter said and sliced a few more Grimm, "I mean that I was prepared to take them on, and your interference threw me off. We could've both been hurt."
"Not much of a team player, are you?" Yang asked and did a barrel flip, landing with her right fist on the ground and using an earth-dust shell to send a series of rock spikes into an attacking pack of Sabyr.
"This isn't a game," Winter answered, getting even more upset, "We're trying to save a kingdom here." She switched into dual-wielding to cut down Grimm faster and vent her frustration.
"It's an expression," Yang said and landed a quick series of hits on various Grimm trying to ambush Winter.
"Why don't you use your maiden powers?" Winter asked.
"Don't need to," Yang answered and used two air-dust shells to jump into a Megoliath's face. She landed on its bone mask and sensed the flow of energy from her impact. When she found the weak spot, she punched, releasing all the energy she had built up from taking various hits, and focusing it on a tiny spot.
"Yang!" Winter called out after the ensuing explosion had subsided, and used her glyphs to rush over to her downed ally. Her body was still unnaturally warm when Winter picked her up, and the healing orbs homed in on both of them, recharging Yang's aura and healing the bruises and mild burns she had sustained from her own attack.
"Yes?" Yang asked, got up and assumed a fighting stance, "Come on, there's still more to do. No slacking off now, Princess." They both looked up at the walls of the crater the intense heat had melted into the ice. Grimm lined the edges and stared down at them, including a few Megoliath and an Alpha Megoliath.
"Great, we're surrounded," Winter said and asked, "What now?"
"Now we can fight in all directions," Yang answered. Suddenly, the Grimm parted and let a Seer float up to the edge, and Salem's face appeared in its spherical body.
"Winter Schnee, Yang Xiao Long, hello," Salem said, "As you can see, I have your city surrounded. If I breach the kingdom's defenses, I will slaughter every man, woman and child you hold so dear, and leave you for last. Just to let you watch helplessly as all you fought so hard for burns to ashes, and disappears before your eyes, forever forgotten. Your only hope to survive this night is to surrender, and join me." Both stared at Salem in shock, not sure why she would approach the two of them out of all people. Finally, Winter spoke up.
"If," Winter said.
"If?" Salem asked.
"Yes, if," Winter answered, "You said if you breach our defenses, not when you do so. This is my city, and my kingdom, and if you want the relic, you can pry it from my cold, dead hands. You pitted humans and faunus against each other. You made my father into the monster he is. You are responsible for my childhood being a mess. And you killed the producers of my favorite cartoon! Now there will never be a second season, all because of you!" While Yang and Salem were both confused about the last two sentences, Winter sent a flurry of aura waves into the Grimm, cutting them up one by one, but always intentionally missing the Seer.
"Yang, are you alright? I heard an explosion," Blake asked over communicator.
"Really? Where?" Weiss asked and said, "I can send reinforcements, if you need any."
"The only ones needing help around here are the Grimm," Yang answered, "Check this." She sent her friends the information on Winter's aura, which wouldn't go down, despite her sending dozens of aura waves into the oncoming enemies as they poured into the crater.
"Is this about Magical Dojimi?" Weiss asked.
"What?" Yang asked.
"Nevermind, I've got company," Weiss answered and continued fighting Grimm. When the Grimm stopped coming, Yang and Winter looked at the Seer, only to see it disappear in a large, thick cloud of black smoke, with unusual dark red lightning crackling through it.
"It appears my worries were unfounded," Niob said, walking out of the smoke, "You two are more than capable of handling yourselves."
"Where did you come from?" Winter asked, not even out of breath despite the impressive display of power.
"Vale," Niob answered, "If this is all, I will be off."
"Wait," Yang said and asked, "Did you have anything to do with the Seer dying weird?"
"Who knows," Niob answered. He wanted to walk away, but Winter held him in place with a gravity glyph.
"What is your semblance?" Winter asked sternly.
"Nobody I have told could handle the answer," Niob answered, ignoring the hostility in Winter's voice, "But I will tell you one thing. Every rumor has a kernel of truth to it." With that, he dispelled the glyph and walked away, quickly disappearing behind the edge of the crater. Yang and Winter hurried up the crater to follow him, but when they reached the edge, Niob was gone, with not even footsteps left in the snow. Winter looked around at the healing orbs still hovering in the air, and summoned a couple Manticore for help. Just as they wanted to continue fighting, and take on the Grimm drawn towards them, the aircraft headed out to sea.
~o~
Niob stood on the edge of the cliff south of Mantle, overlooking the ocean, when he saw an army of aquatic Grimm approach the coastline. Razorfin and Mameleu prepared to attack the warships still in the harbor, and Sea Feilong rose from the waves in droves to take on the aircraft of the Atlas military. He knew he should help them. Atlas was his biggest enemy, and the Grimm were trying to destroy it, so he might as well team up. Not like they would mind. They had no right to object to him in the first place, even after what he had done to them.
"Attention everyone," Ruby said over communicator, "A large group of aquatic Grimm has appeared and is on its way to the shore. Anyone who can fly or swim, move to the coastline immediately." Niob ignored his personal feelings, as usual, and took Ruby's public announcement as a direct order. He drew his pistols and took a step forward, falling off the cliff. In free fall, Niob spread his wings and angled downwards, leaving a trail of ice crystals behind him. He aimed his guns at the water and shot ice-dust rounds into it, creating platforms in case anyone fell into the arctic ocean. He angled upwards and flew straight into the army, switching to shooting lightning-dust bullets instead.
"Need some help?" Yang asked, using her maiden powers to fly on a ball of fire, and shot some Grimm with a beam of fire.
"No, I am fine," Niob answered, "They are trying to break through a bit south-east of here, though." Yang nodded and hurried to where there were more powerful Grimm. Blake was busy elsewhere, flying on a small tornado and conjuring a storm to strike Grimm with lightning some distance away from the warships, so as to not accidentally hit her allies. Nora, meanwhile, was too excited about flying, seemingly surfing on a lightning bolt, to really fight Grimm for a while, before she managed to reign herself in. Penny arrived late, but then came as well. She used her jets to fly, shooting Grimm with both her plasma guns and maiden powers.
Author's note: Weiss can do magic now. And while we may think of war and peace as opposites, and that removing one creates the other, those entities don't think like that. Also, yes, there is now confirmation that other inhabited planets exist in this fanfiction.
Magical Dojimi is a reference to Ojamajo Doremi, a magical girl anime I watched while writing this chapter. It has four seasons, and follows the main character Doremi as she tries to become a witch. And of course, giving an 8 year old walking safety hazard magic with no instructions other than to not be seen creates a lot of funny situations.
I mostly just brought that up as a kind of attempt to give some semblance of personality to the blank slate that is Winter, because when I wrote this chapter, she really had no personality other than being a bad big sister and not following her own advice.