Author's note: And now, the meeting between the two biggest threats to the kingdom of Atlas that we saw in canon.
Salem sat in General Ironwood's office, with the General in his chair, and Penny standing beside his desk. The latter two were tense, while Salem was sure of what she was doing. She pulled a bottle of black liquid, with a single red eye floating in it, out of the pocket on her coat, which hung over her chair, and put it on the General's desk.
"What is this?" General Ironwood asked.
"My newest creation, the Rakshasa," Salem answered.
"You came all this way to tell us this?" Penny asked.
"I heard what you call my other creations," Salem answered, "I just find it strange how you let others decide what to call their creations, but not me."
"That would be on you, though," Penny answered, "You officially don't exist." Salem shot her an angry glare, which didn't get any reaction, since Penny knew her soul would return to cyberspace and could be put into a new body within an hour if her body was destroyed.
"I will be going now," Salem said, "You try to find the other one, and be prepared for what I have created, General." She put on her cloak and left the room. When the door opened, she saw Weiss, Jaune and Maria on the other side.
"Hello Salem," Weiss said, "I have a proposition for you."
"And you are?" Salem asked.
"Weiss Schnee," Weiss answered.
"And I'm Jaune Arc," Jaune said.
"I don't recall asking," Salem said.
"I'm Maria Calavera," Maria said.
"The Grimm Reaper, yes, I remember," Salem said, "I had thought Tock took care of you."
"Anyway, about my proposition," Weiss said, "Basically, the idea was that Jaune, Maria and I fuse into one, and then our fusion uses her silver eyes on you. Since you're part Grimm, that might do something."
"You do realize I cannot be killed, correct?" Salem asked.
"Yes, that's why I came up with this," Weiss answered, "No matter how much damage you take, you always come back. But the silver eyes can disintegrate Grimm, and you can't come back if there is nothing left of you. In theory, at least." Salem simply raised an eyebrow.
"Well then, let's give it a try," Maria said and pulled Weiss and Jaune into a fusion. The fusion had short dark brown hair that faded into a lighter shade at the tips and silver eyes. She wore brown leather boots under a light blue dress similar to Maria's, but with golden embroideries, as well as a white chest armor plate with golden edges. She also had two two-handed katana hanging from the belt around her waist, one on each side, and she knew they could be combined into one formidable blade.
"Are you done now?" Salem asked as the fusion, Catrina, inspected herself more thoroughly.
"Yes, I am," Catrina answered, "Now, let's give this a try." She used her silver eyes to try and disintegrate Salem, and while she did do noticeable damage, it wasn't nearly enough to actually hurt her. However, the real objective, copying Penny's semblance, was accomplished. After she was done and needed a break, Catrina stepped aside and let Salem leave, then sat down in an empty room and summoned a Seer in front of her, and another one in another timeline.
~o~
In another timeline, another Atlas was facing a horde of Grimm pouring out of a giant flying whale. For some reason, however, the military had not been trained to fight, as the soldiers, Paladins and Knights just stood around while the four remaining Ace-Operatives did all the work, along with only two huntsmen in training.
"Never stop improving yourself," Catrina said, contacting the Seer next to Winter with the one in her timeline.
"What? Who are you, and what is that?" Winter asked and said, "But yes, that is what I do."
"I'm Catrina, a fusion from another timeline," Catrina answered, "And it's funny how you told Weiss this, but refused to work on your own issues. Anyway, I'll help." The Seer reached into Winter's pocket and grabbed her scroll. A green lightning zapped through the summon's tentacle and into the scroll, giving Catrina full control over the army.
"What are you doing?" Winter asked.
"Like I said, helping," Catrina answered. The first attack was a barrage of gunshots from the Paladins, clearing pockets in the Grimm and spawning red, blue or silver teardrop-shaped boosters, with the tip waving in the air. The Knights advanced and picked up the red and blue boosters, leaving the silver ones, then they opened fire.
"H- how?" Winter asked as she saw the Knights mow down the Grimm like it was nothing.
"My semblance, Aura Nebula," Catrina answered, "Every time I kill a Grimm, it spawns a little booster. Red of offense, blue for defense, silver for aura regeneration. Each booster adds half the base stat, and everyone can have a total of three boosters of one kind. I recommend you get some of those aura boosters and start summoning."
"I don't have to take your orders," Winter said. In the distance, pockets of Grimm exploded as the Paladins fired their rockets into them, spawning even more boosters. Whenever a Knight ran out of ammo, it took a few steps back, ran towards the front line and stepped into the hands of two other Knights, giving it a higher jump. It initiated self-destruction in mid-air and killed a dozen Grimm upon detonation.
"It's not an order," Catrina said, "Just common sense. Grimm don't die if you don't kill them, and all your summons benefit from the boosters you pick up. Now go." Without waiting for an answer, Catrina used her Glyphs to throw Winter into an area dense with boosters that the Knights hadn't picked up, getting massive boosts to her offense, defense and aura regeneration.
"Everyone, follow Special Operative Schnee," one of the soldiers shouted, mistaking Winter being thrown as her charging into battle due to her elegance and reflexes. As the soldiers picked up their third aura booster, it unlocked their aura, and the men and women filled any gaps whenever the Knights spread out too thinly. The Paladins remained mostly at the back, firing short salvos into the horde every now and again to take some pressure off the main force. Winter created three summoning Glyphs and summoned three Manticore, which took on aerial Grimm or provided cover fire from above. Lastly, Catrina had some Knights in the academy go and remove the virus from Penny, as well as execute Arthur and General Ironwood, using her sleep magic to make them fall asleep before having Knights shoot them in the heads.
~o~
Catrina walked through Atlas, not knowing what to do, but wanting to stay fused for a little longer. A Seer followed her, allowing her to send her summons into different timelines and help the people there. When she turned around a corner, she almost bumped into Blake.
"There you are," Blake said and asked, "Can I copy Micheal's semblance? I have a plan how I can deal a lot of damage by combining different semblances, and I need Spectral Assault for it to work better."
"Sure, why not," Catrina answered, made her Seer disappear, and split into Micheal and Weiss.
"How did you know who to ask?" Micheal asked.
"Predator instincts," Blake answered, "I went looking for Maria, and got a weak signal from here, so I followed that. And I even located some Grimm already."
"I've just had an idea," Micheal said and asked, "Would you like to fuse with Maria? She's training to detect Grimm from farther away, and maybe you can help her with that."
"Sure," Blake answered, "But later." Weiss, Blake and Micheal went to a nearby hangar, running into Yang and Nora on the way, who decided to go as well. They found a pilot who flew them out into the tundra, following Blake's directions. Once they had spotted the pack of Sabyr, and secured a landing spot, the group jumped into the snow and Micheal petrified the Grimm, copying the others' semblances.
~o~
Emerald sat on the couch, not knowing what to do. Taiyang was worried and paced up and down, and she was fairly uncomfortable sitting around so much, but she had to keep Ruby's body safe. Zwei sat next to her and nudged her, pressing his nose under her arm until her hand slid down his back. Without thinking, she kept petting him, and started to feel better. After a while, Taiyang's scroll rang, and he picked up.
"Hello?" Taiyang asked, listened for a bit and asked "Wait, what? How? Ok, I'm on my way." He hung up, and Emerald looked at him.
"What is it?" Emerald asked.
"There was this guy I dealt with a few years ago," Taiyang answered, "A thief I captured and threw in jail. He was released last year, but has been active again. So, I need the lock him up again."
"Can I help?" Emerald asked and said, "I used to be a thief, so I know a thing or two. I can't fight right now, though."
"Alright then," Taiyang said, "Come, we need to hurry." Emerald and Zwei got up and all three went outside and got in Taiyang's car, and he drove them to the city.
~o~
Cinder laid on a couch and looked at the ceiling. A while ago, the island began to sank as Sirena died, but it was raised again, and since then, Sirena hadn't shown herself. She thought about herself, for once in her life. She had a safe place to call home, no problems like hunger or disease to worry about, and if she wanted something, the person who managed to break Tyrian would get it for her.
"Then why am I still not happy?" Cinder asked herself. She thought about other things. Her semblance, for example. It let her make all her projectiles explode after impact, even if she just threw a sponge, or a sack of flour. But maybe that was no longer who she really was.
~o~
Taiyang, Emerald and Zwei entered the police station in a coastal town on Patch, and met with Officer Nikau, an old friend of Taiyang's, who had called them over to help out. Emerald had put on the rings she stole from Arthur again, and the Officer eyed her suspiciously.
"It's a long story," Taiyang said, "But anyway, hello."
"I see," Officer Nikau said, "Hello Tai. And I see you brought your daughter."
"Well, actually," Emerald said, "I'm… kind of… not her. I died, but my soul didn't move on, and now I'm in her body. She's tired, so she asked me to make sure everything is fine."
"I see," Officer Nikau said, "That is at least a weird story. Not sure if it's long, though."
"So, any leads yet?" Taiyang asked.
"Oh, right," Officer Nikau answered, "We found his hideout in a nearby forest, and we're about ready to dispatch some people there. Including some special forces. But, you know, having a huntsman on the team is still a benefit."
"Don't send anyone who will retire soon," Emerald said, confusing the other two.
"What? Why not?" Officer Nikau asked and said, "Those are the best."
"Those are also high priority targets," Emerald answered, "If they die, people will be sad, because they were so close to their well-earned retirement. Not just family, but a lot of people. That sadness will draw in Grimm, taking huntsmen away from the bigger cities to protect the smaller villages, and that leaves the cities less protected against criminals."
"You seem to have some experience," Officer Nikau said.
"I know a thing or two," Emerald said, "But please trust me on this. If someone talked about retiring recently, don't send them out."
"Well, alright," Officer Nikau said, "Thanks. Now, let's move out." He relayed the new orders, assigning senior members a different post to keep them out of the line of fire, and they all moved to an old, abandoned facility.
~o~
The police took up positions some distance away from the old computer factory in the woods near the city, and Taiyang and Emerald stepped out of their cars, along with several officers who failed to get accepted into Beacon and found other ways to help people. Emerald saw a shimmer in the cracked wall and created a hard-light barrier with her rings, blocking a sniper shot aimed at the oldest officer in the group.
"Leave this to me," Emerald said. She dropped the barrier, drew her weapons, and fired steam-dust rounds at the factory before running in under the cover of the smoke.
"Wait," Taiyang called out and followed her. Emerald reached out to the people inside the factory, and when she located them all, she made them see Grimm attack and overwhelm the police, then set their sights on the criminals, giving the police an opening to storm the factory. Seeing the cops killed by Grimm, some of the criminals ran out of cover to try and get the guns. Emerald switched to ice-dust bullets and immobilized the criminals by shooting at their feet. The cops fired lightning-dust rounds at the criminals, paralyzing them with electricity.
"They can't see you, so hurry," Emerald called back as some of the criminals began shooting the Grimm, while others retreated into the factory, and she made sure the criminals only saw Grimm where there were no cops.
"Emerald, wait," Taiyang said and grabbed Emerald's shoulder, "What about not fighting?" The officers with aura ran past them and arrested the criminals that hadn't retreated into the factory, and gave them to their aura-less colleagues.
"It's mostly about not taking hits," Emerald answered, "But I'm good. I'll incapacitate these goons before they even know what's happening. That's my specialty."
"Well, if you're sure," Taiyang said, "I just don't want you to put Ruby's body in unnecessary danger, that's all."
"I… honestly didn't think of that, sorry," Emerald said, surprising Taiyang with her response.
"You didn't think I would be worried about my daughter?" Taiyang asked, both shocked and a little angry.
"Nope," Emerald answered, "I've heard that's what parents do, but mine never cared about me. So, I didn't realize that was an issue." Hearing that, Taiyang calmed down again.
"I see," Taiyang said, "But yeah, I don't want to see Ruby in danger. I don't know what's going on, or why, so this is already scary enough for me. I just got her back, and now she's somehow asleep, and you're walking around in her body. Just be careful, okay?"
"Alright," Emerald said, and both continued into the factory. It was mostly empty, since the criminals thought they were attacked by Grimm and had retreated deeper inside to better defend. Emerald went ahead, scanning for any consciousness other than the officers' or Taiyang's. She loaded steam-dust rounds into her revolver, and the lights went off, so everyone turning on the tactical lights on their guns. A man came around a corner, and Emerald shot a few rounds from one of her guns while using the other to grapple a nearby walkway and get away from him. The man shot several shotgun shells into the group of cops, and they scattered to avoid the attacks. Emerald distracted him with illusions and Taiyang rushed in to take him down.
"Good job," one of the officers said as she handcuffed the criminal. The group continued through the factory, taking down the occasional criminal that went to see if the Grimm were gone, or why the other scouts hadn't returned yet. When they reached the central assembly room, the cops were surrounded on all sides by criminals, many standing on the metal walkways overlooking the room.
"Now what?" Taiyang asked.
"Now you surrender," Ochieng, the head of the group, answered. Like the rest, he wore black combat boots, black jeans, a black shirt under a black protective vest, and thick black gloves. However, due to his antelope horns, he didn't wear a protective helmet. He aimed his magazine-fed shotgun at Taiyang and smiled. Before anyone knew what was happening, all sides opened fire. Emerald stayed out of sight and took pot shots, filling the room with smoke to conceal herself and occasionally taking down criminals, while Taiyang and Ochieng engaged in close quarters combat, where Ochieng tried to shoot Taiyang with his shotgun, while Taiyang delivered a series of punches and kicks to the man. The stray shotgun shots caused serious damage to the already damaged building, and before long, it all began crumbling, prompting the criminals to flee, unaware it was an illusion. In the confusion, Taiyang landed a hit on Ochieng and knocked him out.
~o~
Harriet ran through Mantle, looking for the other Rakshasa that Salem had supposedly hidden in the city somewhere. Marrow was flying overhead and using his predator sense to try and locate it, but only ever got the one in the academy. As she was about to give up, she came face to face with a giant, oozing, black bear with an eyeless face mask.
"G- guys, I think I found it," Harriet said over communicator and backed away from the hulking monstrosity towering over her.
"Alright, lead it to the first point," Marrow said.
"On it," Harriet said and ran away, luring the Rakshasa through Mantle. Every so often, Ilia dropped in and used Power Whip, augmented with ice-dust, to coat the Grimm in ice blue flames, while Sophie's swarm created Combat Drones along the path to deal damage and create snowflake minions. Harriet jumped over a crossing and landed, and saw the Grimm approach. Ren was hiding several soldiers with his semblance, just waiting for the Rakshasa to fall into their trap. However, it stopped before reaching the crossing, then stared directly at the soldiers.
"Wait, what?" Ren asked. Weiss and Winter created glyphs to keep the Rakshasa from attacking the soldiers, and Yang, Nora, Hazel and Elm dropped down behind the Grimm, effectively surrounding it on all sides.
"We've got you now," Yang said and got ready to attack.
"No," the Grimm said, shocking everyone. It suddenly sprouted wings from its back and flew away, leaving the entire group thoroughly stunned and confused as to what just happened. Elm quickly shook off the shock and used Homing to make her rockets home in on the Rakshasa. The rockets hit the Grimm and caused it to crash on the road. Hazel rushed in, with his fists augmented with fire-dust, and delivered a series of blows to push it onto the crossing. As soon as it was in position, the trap sprung and a rope manifested as a snare around the Grimm's legs.
"Got it," Yang said and rushed in, delivering a series of punches and sticking explosives to the Rakshasa. With each hit, Spectral Assault triggered, and when she disengaged and the explosives went off, even more orbs were created. The soldiers emptied their magazines into the smoke cloud, just to be safe. When the smoke cleared up, they saw a heavily wounded tundra bear, with black smears all over its fur, and the Grimm was gone.
"Wait, what?" Blake asked, "Where is the Grimm?" The Ace-Ops used Quick Fight to pacify the massive bear and make it experience the outcome of their fight. The biggest terrestrial predator passed out, and Clover called for veterinarian pickup to get the bear the necessary treatment. Maria, Penny and the rest of the Ace-Operatives arrived on scene, along with the veterinarians.
"This looks bad," one of the veterinarians said as the others loaded the bear into the aircraft. Suddenly, a black mass jumped out from the bear's fur and covered the man. He stumbled backwards, trying to pull the black sludge off of himself, but it fully enveloped him. Four red eye-shaped slits formed on his chest, and smaller lines along the black arms and legs, which ended in beast-like claws. A large eyeless bone mask formed on his face, his neck and upper chest split open to reveal a mouth of razor-sharp teeth, and he roared.
"Wait, what?" Yang asked.
"Impossible," Harriet said.
"Suffer," the Rakshasa growled and attacked, rushing towards Maria. It hit her with an uppercut and grabbed her leg with hits mouth, then slammed her into the ground. Maria created a clone and got out of the monster's vice grip jaws. While the group tried to come up with a plan, the Rakshasa stretched one of its arms and grabbed Maria's face, before slamming her into several walls. Before anyone knew what was happening, her aura broke and she passed out. The Rakshasa grew wings and flew away.
"Oh no you don't," Harriet said and flew onto a roof, then followed the Grimm with super speed while firing her special disks and making them home in on it. The disks hit the Grimm, triggering Spectral Assault, and bounced off of it, only to hit it again. However, the assault orbs couldn't catch up.
"Ivy rounds, now," Marrow called, and he and the soldiers loaded new rounds into their weapons before firing at the Rakshasa. The Grimm dodged the attacks, but had to slow down and was hit with the disks and orbs, forcing it to crash on the street. Before anyone could reach the Grimm and kill it, it disappeared into the sewers, leaving the man behind. He was taken to a hospital for check-up, and Weiss created a Safezone around him, just to be safe that the Rakshasa wasn't hiding inside him.
~o~
After arresting Ochieng, Taiyang, Zwei and Emerald went back home, with Emerald still not entirely sure what she could or should do. She still felt as though she was invading or trespassing, probably because she was sitting on someone's couch in someone else's body. After dinner, she went to bed, but insisted on having her own bed, since she was already getting dressed in Ruby's body. When she fell asleep, Emerald retreated into Ruby's soul core, where she found Sapphire sitting next to Ruby, who was sleeping under a tree.
"She hasn't woken up yet," Sapphire said when she noticed Emerald, and asked, "What do we do?"
"I don't know," Emerald answered and sat down next to her, "But it looks like she can at least rest for now. She always pushes herself for others, so now we should do the same for her."
"I… I'm sorry," Sapphire said.
"For what?" Emerald asked.
"For today," Sapphire answered, "When I saw those two, it all just came back to me."
"What came back?" Emerald asked. Unbeknownst to either of them, Ruby started waking up, but decided to pretend to sleep and just listen.
"That day," Sapphire answered, "My crew and I had just hit another cargo ship. Stole some good stuff. Dust, food and water, weapons. Then, those three boarded our ship. Mint, Aela, and Niob. Along with the coast guard. The women freed our prisoners and left. Niob… he took everyone. The darkness emerged from his chest, and grabbed us one by one, dragging us into his body. He tried to break our spirits afterwards, so we lend him our strength. And whenever he was fatally wounded, he would pay the price with one of his victims instead." Hearing that, Ruby gasped, revealing that she was awake.
"Ruby, you're awake," Emerald said and asked, "And, how do you feel?"
"I'm good, thanks," Ruby answered and sat up, propped against the tree, "So, how are things going?"
"I helped your dad capture a criminal," Emerald answered, "No casualties."
"That's great," Ruby said, "Thanks."
"So, what's next?" Emerald asked, "Do you think you're good to get back out there again?"
"Yeah, probably," Ruby answered, "But Sapphire, we need to find a way for you to deal with what happened today. I can't keep pulling you back in whenever this happens."
"I know," Sapphire said, "I just… it's hard to see these people."
"I know," Ruby said, "What happened to you, exactly?"
"Well, it was Niob," Sapphire answered.
"Why did he absorb you?" Ruby asked.
"Mostly to sustain himself," Sapphire answered, "But also, because he wanted my semblance. Back then, it allowed me to trap people, so they couldn't get more than a certain distance away from me. But I changed it, so that even if I succumbed to his darkness, I wouldn't be of much use to him. However, he also taught me a new skill. Or rather, he made me learn it."
"What skill?" Emerald asked, and Ruby wanted to scold her for being so blunt, but saw that Emerald realized her mistake already.
"I can imprint my soul on another person's," Sapphire answered, "Basically, it allows the other person to use my semblance, by making their aura act like mine."
"That sounds pretty useful," Ruby said and asked, "Can you teach me?"
"Sure, but tomorrow," Sapphire answered, "And, maybe for a few days. I'm not good at teaching."
"That's fine, I got an idea," Ruby said, "Just wait for me to reach out to you." The trio spent the rest of the night planning, and explaining the whole thing with the silver eyes to Sapphire, as well as telling her about fusion. Then, in the morning, Ruby returned to the waking world, only to realize that Emerald had apparently eaten raisins, based on the gross taste in her mouth.
Author's note: The Rakshasa was inspired by the Hound, but there is a subtle difference.
Catrina's semblance is based on the set bonus of the Nebula Armor from Terraria.
The Rakshasa's human form was inspired by the Ignite Module from Senki Zesshou Symphogear. After all, what's more fun than seeing magical girls use the powers of Dainslaif, a cursed viking sword that can't be sheathed until it has taken a life, to save the world?
Also, I only added Ochieng because of the character Saiga from Upotte!. She's a Russian Saiga 12K shotgun, named after the critically endangered Saiga antelope. The whole story how he came to be is a mess, but it's the fun kind of mess. Also, if you're fine with having more guns than people in an anime, and don't mind fan service, definitely give Upotte! a try. It's one of the more unique anime out there.
Anyway, yeah, Sapphire can do the thing Ruby does when using her silver eyes, but only in one direction.