Author's note: Let's follow Ichigo a bit.
Ichigo got off of her boat and took in her surroundings. She was in the kingdom of Vale, a few days away from the capital. Also, she was hungry. She followed the sweet taste of despair to a nearby settlement, knowing they wouldn't have much food, but be unable to send her away. She entered a tavern and headed for the counter.
"Hello there," the barkeeper said and asked, "Can I get you something?" He was a tall, muscular human, smelled of hard work, and sounded honest and kind.
"Yes, I was looking for something to eat," Ichigo answered, "I don't have money, but I can fight off Grimm."
"Don't worry about it," the barkeeper said, "Just eat your fill and get better. You look like you've had a rough time."
"But what about the villagers?" Ichigo asked, trying to get him to give her more information.
"We'll just have to adapt, is all," the barkeeper answered, "Won't be the first time, either. We'll be fine. You just go take a seat over there, and I'll get you something to get your strength back." He pointed at a free chair at a table, and went through a door behind him. Ichigo sat down on the chair and waited, taking in the environment. There were cranky children nearby, so she formulated her plan.
"Here you go, miss," the barkeeper said and put a plate down in front of Ichigo. She turned to face it and smelled the air. Whole wheat bread, pig sausage, and goat butter.
"Thank you," Ichigo said and began to eat while the barkeeper walked away. It wasn't the best, but based on the reaction of the people around her, it was better than the standard. She enjoyed both the food and the people's suffering.
~o~
Ichigo walked through the village, looking for sad people. The air tasted sweet with pain, and especially the faunus in the village had taken a liking to her, due to her beneficial treatment of them.
"What is that?" Ichigo thought as she sensed something slowly approach. She went to investigate, and sensed four large orbs floating towards her. The first orb circled her, the second circled the first, and so on, creating a rather chaotic array of orbs making sure she was safe from something. While she was distracted by the orbs, Grimm had managed to sneak up on her, and when she noticed them, it was a bit too late, and the villagers soon panicked, filling the air with the biting spiciness of fear instead of sweet sorrow.
"She said she can fight," the barkeeper called out to the others, and the villagers all gathered around Ichigo. She was overwhelmed by their emotions burning on her tongue, and couldn't focus properly. The Grimm all headed for her and the villagers, when one of the orbs began shooting the Beowolves with explosive blasts that burst into roses. Every time a Grimm was hit, a small sphere erupted from it and harmed a nearby Grimm. The roses quickly covered the ground, with shots from three orbs creating new ones on each hit. Every time a Grimm cut itself on one of the thorns, another white sphere emerged and harmed a nearby Grimm. Sensing that, Ichigo had an idea. She raised her left hand and made a ball of pink cream shoot into the sky, which rained down as knives, killing all the Grimm. The people calmed down and were audibly impressed.
"I must go now," Ichigo said, "Thank you for everything, and I will leave this one with you." She created a cream cage around the fourth orb, making it impossible for the orb to follow her. Then she left the speechless villagers, headed back to her boat, and decided to return to Salem after all. If only to leave a little gift as gratitude for abandoning her and leaving her to rot in prison.
~o~
Winter was still adrift in a void, only aware that she was breathing. Countless memories flooded her mind, each more vivid than the last. She remembered her secret sword training with a huntsman, where she learned to dual-wield, trident training with Niob, and much, much more. Then, she found herself lying on a dock of the Mantle harbor, gasping for air before she calmed down. She sat up, and Mithala helped her to her feet.
"What was that?" Winter asked.
"What was what?" Weiss asked, and she and Maria both looked rather exhausted. Ren was sitting on the dock, staring into the water.
"I saw… things," Winter answered, "I don't know what, but they felt like memories. My memories. Except, they weren't."
"Those were my memories," Mithala answered, "Cinder still holds a grudge against your kingdom, and all it represents. You also must be secure in your own identity, or else you risk losing yourself in the fusion's shared consciousness."
"What was our fusion like?" Winter asked.
"Wait, you don't remember?" Weiss asked in shock, "But, you were part of it. How can you not know?"
"I don't know," Winter answered, "It felt like… like I was drifting in some void. And then, all of those memories came rushing in."
"We'll discuss that later," Maria said, walked up to Mithala and asked, "Why are you here? Didn't Sirena forbid her people from entering Atlesian waters? And what was that with leaving permanently?"
"I am not one of Sirena's people," Mithala answered, "Also, you can admit that you are grateful that I am here."
"Yeah, it was pretty nice that Donna found you," Weiss said, "But that still doesn't explain why she came back."
"She didn't," Mithala answered.
"And what about Blake seeing Sirena here?" Weiss asked, hoping to throw Mithala off. However, much to her surprise, Mithala remained completely calm.
"That was a personal matter of hers," Mithala answered, "She wanted to make sure your plan worked as intended, but was interrupted by Blake."
"How did Sirena know about my plan?" Weiss asked.
"She has her ways," Mithala answered.
"Why didn't she tell us that she can use Glyphs?" Weiss asked.
"It never came up," Mithala answered and said, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have elsewhere to be." Before anyone could respond, she jumped into the ocean and disappeared beneath the waves. While Weiss and Maria looked after Sirena, Winter walked away a few steps.
"I also have somewhere to be," Winter said, summoned a Manticore and flew away on its back. Ren got up, dusted off his clothes, and he, Weiss and Maria headed back to Atlas as well, seeing as the sun was about to set.
~o~
Winter landed in front of the Glass Unicorn and made her summon disappear. Normally she would come as a guest, but now, she had more personal reasons. Her throat ached a little as she set foot on the staircase leading up to the door, even though it wasn't her pain she had remembered. She walked up to the receptionist's desk, where she saw a sign informing faunus that they wouldn't be served, and a receptionist going over some books.
"Hello," Winter said.
"Sorry, we're full," the receptionist said, then looked up and asked, "Miss Schnee, welcome, what brings you into our fine establishment?"
"I need to see some documents," Winter answered and pulled out her scroll displaying her huntress license, "Official business."
"Why yes, of course, this way please," the receptionist said and hurried to lead Winter into a staff room, "What kind of documents are you looking for?"
"A former owner," Winter answered, "She died in a storage room, along with two staff members and a huntsman. The staff were killed with a single blade, the huntsman with two, and the owner was choked to death." Hearing that, the receptionist went quiet for a moment, and Winter got ready for anything, since she never learned to read the room.
"There was… one case," the receptionist said and shifted through some files, "The current owner's older sister was attacked about five or six years ago, and her daughters were killed, as was a huntsman who frequently stayed here while he was on missions. The killer was never found. Whoever did that-"
"Was a slave," Winter said, cutting the receptionist off, "She was bought at an orphanage in Mistral, forced to work here, and the law turned a blind eye because of her owner's wealth. There were multiple instances of physical abuse, on top of the more obvious crimes like slavery and child trafficking." The receptionist stared at her, shocked at the accusations, then recomposed herself.
"Miss, I need you to understand-" the receptionist said, but was cut off again.
"Do you know the girl's name?" Winter asked and said, "It's Cinder. The same Cinder who came to hate everyone so much, from what the former owner did to her, that she destroyed Beacon and almost started another world war, just to see the world go up in flames. Atlas is my kingdom. Slavery is outlawed. So, even though Cinder did all those horrible things, even though she is dead, and even though the former owner died long ago, I will not rest before everyone knows what that woman and her children did."
"She isn't," the receptionist said, confusing Winter and pulling her out of her rant.
"Who isn't what?" Winter asked.
"The former owner is alive," the receptionist answered, "The attack left her paralyzed from the neck down and unable to speak, so she was only found two days later when customers got fed up with the lack of room service and decided to look for the staff. The current owner kept it hidden from the public, but I believe you can know."
"I see," Winter said, a bit taken aback by the fact that this woman was still alive, and asked, "Where is she now?"
"The owner's family has a private hospital in Mistral," the receptionist answered, "She is taken care of there."
"Give me the address," Winter said.
"I'm afraid I can't do that," the receptionist said, "Miss."
"Then bring me to someone who knows the address," Winter said, and the receptionist took a moment to process that Winter had twisted her response to mean that she didn't know the address.
"Of course, this way," the receptionist finally said, and led Winter to the current owner. As she was led through the corridors with golden and brown walls and a red carpet on the floor, Winter noticed the other guests looking at her, but decided to ignore them.
~o~
Ruby walked through Sirena's castle, looking for things to transmute to get better at accessing the vast reserves of power she had built up so far. She entered a meeting room and saw Sirena sitting on one of the chairs, gesturing her to take a seat.
"Hey Sirena, what's wrong?" Ruby asked in old Soraklian as she sat down.
"Not much, I just felt like telling you something," Sirena answered, "Your friends know already, after all."
"What is it?" Ruby asked.
"Jaune was able to discover something," Sirena answered, "One of the semblances I have copied." She made a glyph appear above her right hand, and Ruby gasped.
"You can use Glyphs, too?" Ruby asked, "Since when?"
"Quite a while now," Sirena answered and made the glyph disappear, "I copied it years ago from Winter when she was about to get killed by a Megoliath. At least, that's what I thought was happening back then. Turns out, she had a plan, and I kept her from getting a new summon." She let out an annoyed sigh, confusing Ruby a bit.
"What's wrong?" Ruby asked.
"Qrow and Clover," Sirena answered, "They're talking about me, and not exactly kindly. I have half a mind sharing Eavesdrop with one of them and letting them know that I can hear them. But at least Clover started training with a proper weapon, rather than that stupid fishing rod that won't work if he doesn't have his semblance."
"So, what else is going on up there?" Ruby asked.
"Not much," Sirena answered, "Weiss has a plan, which I tried to support, but failed. It's not a big deal, but I was able to put something else in place instead."
"What kind of plan was it?" Ruby asked.
"She had some of Sophie's swarm members protect Ichigo with combat drones," Sirena answered, "Then she arranged for Ichigo's prison escape, hoping that Ichigo would return to Salem. The drones were supposed to follow her, shoot Grimm, create roses everywhere, and then those roses would harm Grimm. And due to a semblance Sophie's swarm has copied, every time a Grimm would cut itself on one of those roses, an orb would deal additional damage to a nearby Grimm."
"But why would she do that?" Ruby asked, groaned and said, "Ichigo isn't interested in ending the world. She won't return to Salem, she'll just look for somewhere else to grow negative emotions."
"I know," Sirena said, "But Weiss believed it to be the right thing, based on something I told her."
"What did you tell her?" Ruby asked.
"That a true huntress takes any chance she can to kill Grimm," Sirena answered, "Also, your old Soraklian is impeccable." Ruby paused for a moment, realizing she had already defaulted to speaking old Soraklian, after just a few days.
"I see," Ruby said and asked, "Also, didn't you teach me all I know about it?"
"I did, yes," Sirena answered.
"So, by telling me it's good, you're complimenting yourself," Ruby said.
"You have to admit when you've done something good," Sirena said with a smile, "But I think you've come here for a different purpose."
"Right, transmutation," Ruby said and asked, "Do you happen to have some rocks?"
"No, sorry," Sirena answered, "But I can get you some other things to practice with."
"No, thank you," Ruby said, "I need to practice with rocks first. I already stick out too much among my class."
"And you don't want to be the bee's knees?" Sirena asked, "Just a normal girl, with normal knees, right?"
"Yeah," Ruby answered, a bit confused, and asked, "How do you know that?"
"I saw it," Sirena answered, "When I first fused with Talia, our fusion saw a lot of things."
"I see," Ruby said, sadly looked down, then looked up again and asked, "Do you know what happened to Niob?"
"I do, yes," Sirena answered.
"Then why aren't you sad?" Ruby asked.
"Because there is no need," Sirena answered, "We were teammates, but we didn't like each other."
"How can you say that?" Ruby shouted and stood up, throwing her chair back a bit, "He died to save me! And I- I promised myself I'd never let Salem take anyone from me again! And I failed! I… I failed." She picked her chair up and sat back down, letting her head hang.
"Death surrounds, my heart beat's slowing down," Sirena said in Vytalian, almost singing, confusing Ruby.
"Wait, how do you know what he said?" Ruby asked.
"It's a song," Sirena answered in old Soraklian, "Mimi heard it when Talia and I first fused, and I told him to tell you the first two lines if he ever needs to fake his death."
"Wait, faked?" Ruby asked, her mood improving, "You mean he's alive?"
"Yes, he is," Sirena answered, looking away.
"You… don't seem happy about it," Ruby said.
"Indeed, I would prefer the likes of him not exist," Sirena said, "I know his semblance, and like the two of us, it is deeply tied to who he is. He fights his nature, but there will be moments of weakness. And that is when he will become our enemy."
"I don't believe you," Ruby said and asked, "But anyway, what's the next part of the song?"
"I won't take this world's abuse," Sirena said in Vytalian, almost singing, "I won't give up, I refuse."
"So, it's really a song about fighting against all odds?" Ruby asked, her mood improving more and more.
"Precisely," Sirena answered in old Soraklian.
"Those other universes sound interesting," Ruby said, "I wonder if we exist in all of them."
"You exist in more than I do," Sirena said, "Though, in some, your adventures, trials, tribulations, and your victories, are all but a story told for entertainment."
"Yeah, I figured as much," Ruby said, "I mean, that's Multiverse 101. Some people simply only exist as fiction in some universes. I wonder what those universes are like."
"One universe has festivals," Sirena explained, "During one, a mysterious figure clad in red comes to visit those pure of heart and grants their wishes, as reward for their virtuous actions throughout the year. But I need to go now. You go and find some rocks, and get back to practice." She got up and left the room.
"Of course," Ruby said and got up as well, looking to find some rocks to work with. However, the idea of a festival to honor those pure of heart wouldn't leave her thoughts. She could do it, if she was smart about it. All she had to do was astral project near the right people, use Mentor to borrow their bodies, and then use alchemy to make the presents. However, she might need help, considering the amount of people she would have to visit. Ideally, it should be an important date as well, so she settled on the sixth of December, her mother's birthday.
~o~
It was an unusually warm day in Atlas, and a lion faunus had all hands full trying to keep up with the demands for her frozen food. Her tail flicked around happily however, as she was able to see the smiles on people's faces. After her shift was over, she closed the shop and changed back into her normal clothing, consisting of dark blue sneakers and jeans, and a black jacket over a white t-shirt. She untied her light blue hair and let it spring back into its mane-like shape, and her ice blue eyes shimmered in the evening sun as she headed back home.
"I'm back," she said as she let the door fall shut behind her.
"Eira, why haven't you answered my texts?" Lavan asked, audibly upset about her actions. He wore black socks and shorts, his black hair was scruff and unkempt, and his dark green eyes seemed to pierce her soul.
"I just didn't have the time," Eira answered, "You know my work is important to me."
"More important than me?" Lavan asked.
"Look, I have work time, and I have private time," Eira answered, "And I need to separate the two. You're free to stop by my work place and talk, but I can't spend every minute talking to you. I have a job, after all."
"So you're cutting me out of your life, just like that?" Lavan asked and said, "I honestly didn't know you could be so evil." Hearing that, Eira had enough.
"I'm just setting boundaries, you know," Eira said, raising her voice for the first time in their strained relationship, "If you think that is evil, I'll show you how evil I can really be!" The hair tuft at the tip of her tail stood off to all sides and froze into a spiked mace, and Eira pushed past her boyfriend, emitting cold air as she went into her bedroom and looked through her drawer for something more appropriate.
~o~
Weiss entered the tavern in Mantle's suburbs that Blake had led the team to, and immediately drew everyone's attention. She felt somewhat uncomfortable, but she had made it this far, and she wasn't going to stop now. She knew exactly what she wanted, she just didn't know for sure if it was possible.
"Hello," the barkeeper said and asked, "How can I help you?"
"I want to order a rather special drink," Weiss answered, "Not sure you've heard of it."
"Well, if I know it, I can try to mix it," the barkeeper said.
"It's called a White Shadow," Weiss said.
"Got it, this way, please," the barkeeper said and let Weiss behind the counter and through a hidden door. In the Ice Cave, she looked around and quickly found what she was looking for. Her plan was simple, fuse with people that have combat related semblances and have the fusion share their semblance with her. However, just as she was about to make her move, her scroll rang. She looked at the text she had gotten, and hurried back to her friends.
~o~
Blake swiftly made her way through Mantle, jumping from rooftop to rooftop, following reports of a suspicious individual messing with pipes and such. Her predator sense told her that the target was near, so she sent a message to all her friends to meet up with her where the target was. She jumped onto a rooftop near the alley where the target was, and saw a woman wearing black boots with small icicles hanging from the zippers on the side, black jeans, and a black tailcoat over a white shirt. Her tailcoat split open above her waist, letting her lion tail move freely. She also wore back leather gloves and a black choker, and her light blue hair was tied to a ponytail. She knew the woman's aura was fairly weak, and not at all trained to block damage. However, she was exceptionally good at using her semblance, being able to use it at almost no cost, and she had a lot of control over her semblance. After she followed the woman for a bit, the first of her friends started arriving, so Blake made her move.
"Stop right there," Blake said as she dropped in front of the woman, showing her huntress license on her scroll. Weiss and Yang dropped down beside her. Eira threw an ice dagger at Blake, who created an ice-dust clone to dodge and stop the attack. The dagger embedded itself in the ice clone. The clone glowed light blue and broke into razor-sharp fragments that homed in on Blake. Blake quickly drew her sword and curled up as much as possible, using the sheath as an improvised shield.
"Blake!" Yang called out and glared at the woman, then took a step back, "My semblance, it won't activate."
"How?" Weiss asked.
"I know you guys," Eira taunted, "I know where Blake jumps, and I know that Yang needs to be angry to use your semblance. And I know you, Weiss." A glyph formed under her and launched her into a wall. The ice shards flew towards her and created a ramp, allowing her to slide along it and avoid hitting the wall.
"How are you disabling my semblance?" Yang shouted, trying to get angry, but to no avail. She ran towards Eira after she came to a stop, trying to hit her, but Eira simply dodged the attacks. After a few missed hits, Yang gave up.
"Light Ice," Eira answered, "My semblance embodies the calmness and beauty of ice. It cools even the hottest tempers." Suddenly, Harriet ran past the road and shot a disk into it, aiming at a wall. The projectile bounced off the wall and ricocheted across the road. Eira leaned back and dodged the disk, which bounced off a car windshield and flew into the sky. It bounced off a summoned Manticore and hit the ground next to Eira.
"Sorry I'm late," Winter said as her summon landed.
"I almost hit her," Harriet said, rather proud of herself for getting better at the new weapon, "But now, let's show her who we are."
"I already know who you are," Eira said, "You are Harriet Bree, the impatient speedster of the Ace Operatives. And you are Winter Schnee, the General's right hand and little puppet. You're not as famous as these three, but some of your coworkers come to me quite often, and they like to chat. Of course, I can't help but overhear some things."
"Wait, Eira? Is that you?" Harriet asked, startling Eira a bit.
"No," Eira answered, trying to deflect the attention.
"Now that you mention it, she does look like it," Winter said.
"Really?" Weiss asked.
"Who is she?" Blake asked.
"Founder and head of Eira Ice Specialties," Winter answered, "If you need anything ice-related, you go to her. She's actually quite famous for her company's ice sculptures and frozen foods."
"I get ice sculpting, but an ice cream business in Atlas?" Yang asked, "Who would want frozen food in this place?" Suddenly, she was hit by an ice spike and launched back a fair distance, and the entire street was covered in a layer of ice, and water droplets in the air froze into snow.
"A lot of people!" Eira answered angrily, "A lot of people care! I can make them happy with my powers, and that's what matters!" She blocked the group with a wall of ice and walked over to the fans blowing air through the city, releasing freezing cold air and snow into the air ducts. Winter summoned three Manticore and had them shoot fireballs at the ice barrier, slowly chipping away at it.
"No need to get so worked up about it," Yang said as she walked back to her group, "I just asked a question."
"Well, she is known for being passionate about her work," Winter said.
"What do we do now?" Weiss asked and said, "We can't let her freeze this city. People will panic."
"You know, it feels kind of weird," Yang said, "I know it's a serious situation, and we should definitely do something about it, but the ice just looks too pretty. And even though I've taken a serious hit, I'm not the slightest bit mad at her. Still, people don't blow up like that over nothing, so we best find out what we can about her."
"Alright, I'm through," Winter said as her Manticore shot the last fireball at the ice wall and it broke, only to reveal another wall.
"Good job," Yang said sarcastically.
"We could try going in from above," Weiss suggested, and Blake jumped down from the ice wall, leaving a clone behind.
"Yep, it's open," Blake said, "She locked herself in from all sides but above."
"Alright, let's go," Yang said, and Blake made them all switch places with her clone on the ice wall. Winter made her summons disappear and drew her sword. Harriet jumped down first and slipped on the ice, landing flat on her face.
"Careful," Winter said and jumped down as well, followed by Weiss and Blake, all three of which jammed their swords into the ice to slide down slowly. Harriet got back up and Yang jumped down, struggling to keep her balance at first. The area was covered in fluffy snow from the cold air she emitted and the water vapor rising from the manhole cover in the ground.
"Ganging up on a weaker enemy, really?" Eira asked, still emitting cold air, "You really are my cousin's daughters. But I'm done here." She made the snow flakes rush towards the group, who covered their faces with their arms and braced for the attack. When they looked at where Eira had stood, they saw a hole in the ice wall close behind her, and she ran away into an alley. The group looked at each other, but decided to return to the academy for now.
~o~
Yang was angrily going through all sorts of files, using her arm's connection to her scroll to brute-force her way through any Cyber security that got in her way. She needed to know who that woman was, and which cousin she had referred to. She decided to check her business page again, and found something that might give her a clue.
"Yang, did you find anything?" Weiss asked, walking up to her.
"Yes, but you might not believe it," Yang answered. She pulled out her scroll and wanted to make it display the information she had found, when Penny came into the room.
"Yang Xiao Long, what did you do?" Penny asked, sounding rather upset.
"I… was just looking for stuff," Yang answered, tilted her head in confusion and asked "Why?"
"Cyberspace is a mess," Penny answered, "It looks like someone ran amok in there, and I didn't even know that was possible."
"Wait, really?" Yang asked and said, "Sorry, guess I got a bit carried away." Suddenly, the lights went out and they heard a sound from across the hallway as if someone ran into a wall or door.
"Hey, what gives?" Nora asked and banged against the door to her team's dorm room. Penny went to flip the light switch in Team RWBY's room and the door opened in front of Nora.
"That's messed up," Weiss said and asked, "Can you fix that?"
"I'm not made for that, but I'll have to learn," Penny answered, "We honestly thought it was another enemy hacker, judging by the damages, but then I realized that it was too random for an organized attack."
"We?" Yang asked.
"The military's computer experts and I," Penny answered, "They noticed some strange things happening, and called me to help them pinpoint the source. After a few hits, I recognized your aura signature."
"Wait, so that weird code was you?" Yang asked and said, "Sorry. But on the plus side, I know something about our new problem."
"How much?" Weiss asked.
"I got her last name," Yang answered, and Penny sighed.
"If I had blood, it would be boiling now," Penny said and left the room, leaving an awkward silence.
"So… what's her last name?" Weiss asked after a few moments.
"Gelé," Yang answered.
"You mean like my dad?" Weiss asked in surprise.
"That's the bitch," Yang answered, "Apparently their fathers are brothers."
"And she's a faunus?" Weiss asked and said, "That explains why he never talked about her."
"So, what do we do now?" Yang asked.
"You help fix cyberspace," Weiss answered, "I still have something to do." She left the room and Yang focused, trying to send her consciousness into cyberspace the same way she sends it into video games. It took a while longer, but she eventually managed it, and saw that cyberspace really was a mess. The furniture in the dorm room was on every wall, sometimes even over a corner, and when she stepped out into the hallway, she fell to the ceiling. Robots were running all over, inspecting the damages and reporting back to the programmers.
~o~
Winter and Jaune were sparring in a training room, with Winter dual-wielding and Jaune using his sword in its two-handed form. Winter landed a quick series of blows against Jaune, who waited for an opening to land a devastating hit, sending Winter halfway across the room and doing more damage to her aura than she did to his. Just as Winter got back up, the doors opened, and Weiss stood in front of the room.
"Winter, there you are," Weiss said, "Yang found some info on Eira. Also, she caused quite the problem in cyberspace, apparently. But at least now we know that she's father's cousin."
"Wait, what?" Winter asked, "She is really father's cousin?"
"Apparently," Weiss answered, "But I have to go now, see you." She hurried away again, and the doors closed halfway, then a light blue cube popped up under Winter, throwing her into the air a bit. She landed beside the cube and got back up.
"Are you alright?" Jaune asked and sat down on the cube.
"Yes," Winter answered and asked, "But how are we supposed to beat Eira?"
"Are you sure that's what you're upset about?" Jaune asked and gestured Winter to sit beside him.
"Yes," Winter answered, hesitated a bit, said down and said, "Well, I don't know. I mean, I'm sure you have seen how rapidly Weiss has grown in power, especially by copying all those semblances. Then there is Whitley, who has also improved rapidly, and has yet to use all his summons. He is holding back something powerful, and the fact that he didn't use it during the last attack scares me a bit, considering how powerful it would have to be for him to not deem the situation dire enough."
"And you?" Jaune asked.
"I'm the oldest," Winter answered, "I'm just the oldest sibling. That's all there is to me now. The military I know is gone, replaced by a system I don't know how to navigate, I have no special powers, nothing. I can throw back melee damage, but that requires me to take hits, and I can't do that forever. There is nothing unique about me any more."
"I thought the military was all about uniformity," Jaune said, and began thinking about something.
"It is, yes," Winter said, "But I was still the best. Now, now there is nothing I can do that someone else can't do better."
"There may be a way to help you get stronger," Jaune said hesitantly, "But… it's risky."
"What is that way?" Winter asked, "And how risky is it?"
"You will very likely never be the same again," Jaune answered, "And I have never done it before, so I don't know if it'll work. We might just end up making things worse for you."
"What if it does work?" Winter asked.
"Then, you would have two semblances, maybe more," Jaune answered, "Every person's soul is a combination of their parents' souls. As such, you have multiple possible semblances, which could manifest throughout your life. As they usually all serve roughly the same basic purpose, but do it in different ways, people usually only unlock one semblance. Semblances that tell the user another person's semblance only tell them the semblance the target would like the most, based on their upbringing and learned values. That is also the one that activates under intense stress. Through intense trauma, one can discard their semblance, and unlock another one. Glyphs is tricky, as it will always take precedence over other semblances in dire situations, regardless of which one fits your learned personality better. But I believe that, through introspection and careful study of the self, one can access their potential semblances, without sacrificing the one they unlocked first." Winter was silent for a minute, not knowing how to respond.
"I-" Winter said, but was cut off when Jaune got up.
"I'll give you a day or two to think it over," Jaune said and left the training room, leaving Winter by herself. She thought about what she should do, but realized she had no idea where to even begin. She never thought about herself, and she hated thinking about being related to Jacques. On the other hand, she could definitely use more power to combat the injustices that plagued her kingdom. Cinder's memories flashed up in her mind again, and she felt the burning hatred for the elites grow in her for a moment, before she realized that she was the elite.
Author's note: This chapter holds by far the oldest idea I've had for this fanfiction, at least among the ones that got added: Ruby inventing Christmas. Originally, it was planned to happen on Weiss' birthday, but since we got that confirmed, I had to improvise. You see, whenever I need a random real-world date and have nothing to base it off of, I just pick the current date.
This no longer works for Weiss' birthday, since we know that now, but the original idea was that I drop Weiss' birthday instead of Summer's. You know, a little treat for all you Whiterose shippers. Sorry this didn't work out.
Anyway, yeah, that's when I wrote this chapter: Monday, 6th of December, 2021.
Like, the whole thing. All 5k+ words you just read between those horizontal lines were written within those 24 hours. Also, I know that it was a Monday, because that's the only day I wake up early enough that it's dark out for long enough, which really helps me write. Go and ask people if they know which day that was. Or don't. Your choice.
But yeah, Ruby inventing Christmas was one of my plans for this story even before I had any of the OCs you know and (hopefully) love. I just kept it in the back, in case I had somewhere to put it.
And for you Snowfall fans out there, Winter pursues justice for Cinder. To be honest, I have no idea where that came from. That segment wasn't supposed to be in the story at all, and definitely not so long, and all in all that entire thing just wrote itself. I mean, it's great, and I love that Winter now has more personality than "Yes, sir," but I still have to admit that this entire exchange was entirely unplanned.
Though, to be honest, she only does it to make sure people understand that nobody, not even her father, gets to dance around the law while she's around.
Also, come on, did anyone really think that a malnourished teenager could kill someone that big with one hand? Madam now gets to watch Barney, until her hatred for that purple dinosaur forces her brain to rearrange neural pathways and allows her to communicate, just so she can tell people to turn it off. Real story, by the way. Today, the only thing this dude can't communicate, is how much he hates Barney.
Eira, a minor antagonist for the next few chapters, is based on Cure Gelato from Kira Kira Precure A La Mode, but with powers of Cue Beauty from Smile Precure. She sucks at being evil, because it's in her nature to be nice. Also, while the ice she makes looks beautiful to people and animals, it looks downright repulsive to Grimm, and they need a lot of persuading to even look at it, much less get close enough that they feel the cold air emanating from it. She used her semblance since childhood, every day, to make ice and keep it cool, ever since she unlocked it when she tried to keep a friend's ice from melting.
During the entire fight, she used up 1% of her aura, due to how efficient she is in using her semblance by now.
Finally, because this got a bit long (sorry), some stuff about semblances. I didn't like the "determined at birth vs. based on situation" conflict, mostly because a semblance being fixed at birth is boring, while the situation thing just doesn't fit with how many people die to Grimm. So, a middle ground: The idea is determined at birth, and if something that matches that idea can help in a stressful situation, that is what the person unlocks as a semblance. Glyphs is a special little snowflake semblance, and an attention whore, so it always comes up first. Also the generational bias due to the user's ancestors having it. If a Schnee grew up never learning of their heritage, they could theoretically unlock a different semblance, if Glyphs was entirely useless in the situation at hand.