Author's note: Lots of stuff happening in this one, so buckle up.
Blake walked through Atlas Academy, not really knowing what to do with herself, since the kingdom was as peaceful as ever. There was the hole the Apophis left behind, which was filling with some weird dark yellow liquid dripping from Amity, and had an artificial island in the middle, with a large tree growing on it, but it was under constant surveillance, and didn't seem to do much of anything. Just as she stopped and wanted to decide whether to go left or ahead, she heard General Ironwood approach her from the left, and saw Marrow from the front.
"Blake, hello," James said after he turned the corner and stopped in front of her, "I've been looking for you."
"Really?" Blake asked, hoping for something to do.
"Yes, really," General Ironwood answered, "You see, the thing is, I kind of-"
"He wants to ask for your help," Marrow said and stopped next to the General. Blake chuckled a little at the revelation that James needed a translator to help him get things done.
"Yes, that is one way to put it," James said, "I was hoping you or Marrow could use your tracking ability to find someone with a specific semblance, to lead the reserve for the Ace Operatives."
"I'm not sure it works like that," Blake said, "But I know someone with a support semblance. He still owes me a favor, too. At the very least, I can have him talk to you. He's a mercenary, so you'll have to hand over some lien, but he does good work and doesn't mind who pays him."
"That sounds like a plan," Marrow said, "Getting some fresh blood in our ranks should add some variety to the soldiers' mentalities."
"I don't know," James said, looking at Blake, "I feel like your acquaintances wouldn't be the kind we need. I'm looking for someone people can trust, not someone stealthy."
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing," Blake said and pulled out her scroll. She turned away from the others and walked a few steps, then typed in the six digit code for one of the folders in her contact list and sent the message.
~o~
Blake, the Ace Operatives and General Ironwood were in the latter's office, waiting for Blake's contact, one Albus Stone. She had silently listened to their discussion about who this mystery person might be, with most theories being in the direction of assassins, thieves, or saboteurs, and the general consensus was that he was small, agile, but not fit for a direct confrontation.
"G- General, a ma- man named Albus is h- here t- to see y- you," Stephanie's voice came from the speaker on his desk. She sounded intimidated, slightly confusing the people in the room, safe for Blake, who took out her scroll and got her camera ready.
"Send him up," James said.
"A- alright," Stephanie said. General Ironwood got up and walked in front of his desk, to welcome the man.
"I thought he'd come in through some air ducts," Harriet joked. A few minutes later, the door opened, and a white tiger faunus about the General's size walked into the room. He wore thick dark brown leather boots, padded black pants, a black shirt under a dark gray jerkin with matte metal studs, and heavy dark brown leather gloves, as well as steel pads on his knees and elbows. His tail moved in a small area, showing his unease.
"Albus… Stone?" General Ironwood asked, not sure if what he saw was actually the contact Blake had mentioned.
"That's me," Albus answered, "I'm only here because Blake asked me to, and she helped me out in the past. If I don't like your offer, I'm out." He had a thick leather sash holding multiple throwing daggers around his chest, and a musket falchion by is side. Blake quickly took a picture of everyone's shocked faces as they saw the massive mountain of a man, who was on eye level with General Ironwood despite standing somewhat hunched over and knees slightly bent.
"Well, alright then," James said, trying to hide his own nervousness, "I would first need to see what you're capable of. If I like what I see, I would hire you for a month at a time to accompany some of my soldiers, until I can find a leader for them."
"Sounds good to me," Albus said.
"Good," James said, "Now, let's see how you fare against my Ace Operatives in a training match." He left the room, and Albus followed him, still hunched over. Blake followed as well, and the Ace-Ops were last to follow, having to regain their composure again after the shock.
~o~
Albus stood in the training room, still hunched over. The Ace Operatives were spread throughout the room, with General Ironwood and Blake watching. The former of the two wanted to see the faunus' skills, the latter was more interested in the beating, and how long the Ace Operatives would last.
"Alright, begin," James said. Elm fired a pair of rockets at Albus, who countered with a throwing knife, hitting one rocket mid-flight. The knife exploded into a wall of dark yellow crystals, pointing towards Elm.
"Stay," Marrow said, stopping Albus from moving. Harriet came running and punched him, but he was too heavy for her and her upper torso stopped. She fell on her back and rolled over the floor, ramping over the crystals and headbutting Elm at full speed, knocking both out.
"Vine," Clover said, and both tried to restrain Albus, grabbing his wrists with Vines and his fishing rod, respectively, while Marrow tried entering his alpha state to finish Albus in one hit. Albus let the men pull his arms a bit, then brought them together, flinging Clover and Vine towards himself. He elbowed both of them in the face, knocking them out, then charged Marrow and tackled him against a wall.
~o~
While the Ace Operatives recovered from the sparring match, Albus and James met with the rest of the reserves, consisting of Neon Katt, Reed Thorne, Candy Hart, and Yew Green. When Albus entered the room, the other four were somewhat intimidated by his posture, and the fact that he was taller than the General, now that he stood up straight.
"Everyone, this is Albus Stone," James said, "He will be working with you from now on, until further notice."
"Nice to meet you," Albus said. Reed was the first to speak up. He wore black boots with white armor pieces on the shins, calves and soles, blue jeans, a plain green shirt under a white tailcoat, and black gloves with green fingers, and white armor plating on the knuckles and back of the hands. He had green eyes and short, red hair. The armor plating was obviously designed to be coated in dust, but he also had a war-era carbine, in case he needed it.
"I hope we can work together and make this kingdom even better," Reed said. Yew stepped forward. She wore black boots, blue jeans, a plain red shirt under a white hooded cloak, and black gloves with red fingers. She had a collapsed bow on her back, but no visible arrows, had orange eyes and short, black hair.
"If you need something dead, do not hesitate to tell me," Yew said.
"I'll remember that," Albus said, a bit unsure what to make of her upfront and slightly violent disposition. Seeing him nervous, even a bit, seemed to ease everyone else's worries, and they relaxed.
"I- I'll do my best to keep our escape route free," Candy said. She wore black boots, blue jeans, a plain pink shirt under a white hoodie, and black gloves with pink fingers. She had pink eyes and dark brown hair, with a light purple streak, and wielded a sniper rifle as a weapon, which had a collapsible glaive blade at the end of the barrel.
"And I'll be right in their faces," Neon said. She wore black anti-gravity skates, blue jeans shorts, a sea green crop top under a white cropped jacket, and black gloves with sea green fingers. After a bit more chatter to help everyone get to know each other better, they were briefed on their first mission.
~o~
The Ace Operatives' reserve were on their way to an old military outpost that had been overrun with Grimm, though bandits had managed to barricade themselves inside, with a hostage. At least, that was the scenario presented to them. However, due to a lack of real Grimm, summons would be used. As they approached, the Manta came under fire from Manticore and flew a turn to drop them off nearby. Yew opened the door, drew her bow and held it like she had an arrow ready, then an arrow made from red energy manifested in her hand as she pulled back the string.
"Impressive," Albus said.
"Thanks," Yew said and shot the arrow upward. It split into multiples as it flew, which grew to full size and split again, until the sky was filled with the red gleam of the crystal-like projectile. The summoned Grimm were shot down by the aerial bombardment, and the only thing left was white fragments and memories.
"That was amazing," Reed said, and the Manta landed closer to the base than initially planned, now that the threat was gone. As soon as the Manta landed in a small canyon and the team disembarked, a pack of summoned Beowolves charged at them.
"Leave them to me," Neon said and rushed towards the summons, readying her nunchucks with ice-dust. One group of Grimm got past her, and Reed drew his gun, taking them out with piercing rounds. The others caught up, with Candy being the last, due to touching the ground every once in a while and leaving a barely visible pink circle behind. She caught up with the group and fiddled a bit apologetically, before they got going.
~o~
When they reached the base, more summoned Grimm attacked. Reed held out his left hand, and dark green and black beams shot out of his fingers, impaling or grabbing the Grimm and holding them in place. He had the constructs push themselves off the ground, then slammed the Grimm into the ground, killin them.
"Impressive," Yew said.
"Thanks," Reed said, "But it still takes a bit out of me, so I can't do that too often." A Big Ursa came around a corner and charged at them. Before anyone could draw their weapons, Albus charged at the Grimm and tackled it. After they clashed, the Grimm rose to its hind legs, and Albus drew his sword, killing the Grimm with a single powerful strike. A pack of Beowolves followed the Big Ursa, and Albus fired a single earth-dust round at them. Upon impact, the bullet exploded into a series of dark yellow crystalline spikes pointing towards the Grimm. They ran into the spikes and died.
~o~
After some more combat training with her father, Ruby sat on a rock near her house and held a sphere of purple energy in her right hand. She squeezed it a little and let it expand again, and three wolves made from purple energy manifested in front of her, running off into the woods almost immediately.
"What is that, Ruby?" Zwei asked as he looked after the wolves.
"Wolfpack, a semblance I picked up a while ago," Ruby answered, "It lets me send those wolves after my enemies, and they will track them until the enemy is dead or the wolves take too much damage. At the moment, I can only make three at once, but I'm training to increase that number. But I also need to focus on Glyphs." She made the energy sphere disappear, created a Healing Circle around herself, and tried to summon a Seer.
"So, you're just sending kill squads after the Grimm now?" Taiyang asked. He was sitting under a tree, drinking some water after the training.
"Naturally," Ruby answered, "It is the fate of the darkness to be cleansed by the light, after all."
"Anyway, do you know something about a green circle?" Taiyang asked and said, "A while ago, I went to Vale, and a green circle appeared around the teachers and I. When Grimm entered it, a white orb came out of them."
"That must've been Raven," Ruby answered to Taiyang's surprise, "She copied two semblances, Safezone and Spectral Healing."
"Wait, Raven did that?" Taiyang asked and immediately sat up straight, spilling some water.
"Yes, I'm sure," Ruby answered, "Sirena and I helped her, so now she takes her duties more seriously and protects those she cares about. Safezone, the semblance of my fusion with Penny, makes her allies' auras regenerate faster and harms Grimm. Spectral Healing, the semblance of Weiss' fusion with Maria, recharges an ally's aura a bit whenever she harms Grimm."
"I see," Taiyang said thoughtfully, "Yes, that does line up with what happened. But it's still impressive that you two got through to Raven."
"It was only a matter of time," Ruby said. Suddenly, Ruby perked up and stared into the forest.
"What is it?" Zwei asked, and was about to run in the direction she was looking.
"Someone is in danger from Grimm," Ruby answered, "My wolves won't reach them. I must go." She burst into a cluster of rose petals and disappeared into the undergrowth, leaving Taiyang and Zwei to wonder what happened to make her so determined to eradicate all Grimm, or how the others had changed.
~o~
Rushing through the forest, Ruby followed the trail of sorrow emanating from the girl, and the darkness feasting on her pain. She manifested as she rushed through a shrub, and saw a girl about her age, wearing black shoes with black knee-high socks, which had beige frills at the top, a long, black skirt with beige frills separating it into three layers, a black corset with white laces over an off-white shirt with puffy sleeves, black gloves with ice blue hearts embroidered on the back of the hands, and a black choker. The girl had long, dark red hair tied into two ponytails, two horns, and wielded a crossbow with arms that could fold into a double-headed axe, and she was surrounded by Grimm. When Ruby came to a stop in front of the girl, the Grimm stopped approaching and turned to leave.
"Who allowed you to leave?" Ruby asked, and the Grimm froze in motion.
"That voice," the girl said in disbelief, and Ruby turned to look at her.
"No way," Ruby said and asked, "Kiki? Is that you? Hold on, I gotta take care of something." She turned around and petrified the Grimm, then turned back to the cow faunus, who looked at the stone Grimm in awe after the light disappeared.
"That- that's incredible," Khione said and asked, "Since when can you do that? What was that, anyway? And… why did those Grimm stop when you told them to?"
"Oh, right, sorry," Ruby said, "Basically, people born with silver eyes, like myself, can just do that. It takes some training, and I didn't know about it until after Beacon fell. In any case, Grimm are really scared of this power, and since a few months ago, weaker ones just kind of obey me out of fear."
"That's… fascinating," Khione said and asked, "But where do those powers come from?"
"The god of light," Ruby answered and said, "I know you don't believe in this sort of thing, but look around. That should be enough evidence, right?"
"I suppose so, but let's not get into this now," Khione said and asked, "Anyway, how did you know I was here?"
"I sensed your sorrow, and that there were Grimm near you," Ruby answered, "I didn't know it was you, though. Nice new outfit."
"Thanks," Khione said, "I'm going for a darker look, kinda like what you used to wear." Hearing that, and remembering her old choice of clothing, Ruby couldn't help but chuckle a little.
"True, I guess I did look rather glum back in the day," Ruby said, "Anyway, there is one more thing about the light."
"What is it?" Khione asked.
"It is my soul," Ruby answered, "When you looked into it just now, our souls collided, and left an imprint on each other. We can use this imprint to make our auras act like each others' auras, allowing both of us to emulate the other's semblance."
"Wait, really?" Khione asked and said, "That's so cool."
"Sure is," Ruby said, "It takes some training to be able to use it, but I can help you with that, if you want. I have one semblance that makes that training really easy."
"I'd like that, thanks," Khione said. Ruby put her left hand on Khione's right shoulder and used Mentor to teach her how to enter her soul core.
"There you go," Ruby said, "Now all you need to do is go and find my emblem, then touch it."
"Really? Thanks," Khione said and sat down, entering her soul core. Ruby went around and used Bubble Teleport to send the petrified Grimm to the beach resort, hoping the people there would either put them up on their own, or at least keep them long enough for her to arrive and tell them what they were. After she was done, Khione stood up.
"Hello Kiki, welcome back," Ruby said and asked, "And, what do you think?"
"I like it," Khione answered and asked, "And what do you think of my semblance? Also, where did all the Grimm go?"
"Sorry, I was busy sending the Grimm elsewhere with a semblance," Ruby answered, "I'll get to it now." She sat down and entered her soul core, leaving Khione to wonder what she should do. She was supposed to come back once the Grimm were dealt with, but it didn't feel right leaving Ruby alone. She began walking up and down the clearing to pass the time, but then decided to give Petal Burst a few tries and zip across the clearing instead. After a while, Ruby stood up again.
"Ruby, you're back," Khione said and asked, "And, what do you think of my Frozen Savior?"
"It's nice," Ruby answered, "I can definitely use it. But there is one more thing I'd like you to see." Her hands began glowing white as she used Aura Amp on the bracelet she got from Niob, strengthening Sapphire's aura and allowing the two to fuse into Garnet.
"Wha-" Khione wanted to ask, but just stared at the fusion.
"I'm Garnet, nice to meet you," Garnet said. Her dark red boots had horse shoes made from light silver steel under the red soles, and blue zippers on the sides, and her thigh-high maroon socks ended under a black combat skirt with red tulle underneath. She also wore a dark blue vest over an off-white shirt, and a red hooded cloak. Her long, dark blue hair was tied into a single ponytail, and a light blue horse tail protruded from her waist. She had two red revolvers by her side, which had transparent red blades under their barrels.
"G- Garnet?" Khione asked, "What happened? Where's Ruby?"
"She's part of me," Garnet answered, "I'm a fusion of her and Sapphire, a former pirate whose soul she saved from oblivion."
"I'm really confused now," Khione said, "But those past few minutes have been confusing already, so who cares." Suddenly, a Big Ursa broke through the undergrowth and rose to its hind legs, attempting to attack Khione from behind. Khione realized the enemy's presence too late, due to her confusion about the fusion, and was left wide open.
"Oh no, you don't," Garnet said and manifested her light purple aura around her fists, launching two large fists at the enemy. One fist stopped the paw strike and knocked the Grimm off-balance, the other hit it with an uppercut, causing it to stumble backwards, then the first one came down and punched it into the ground. Khione zipped away from it and loaded her crossbow with an ice-dust bolt. The Big Ursa got back up and tried to hit one of the fists, but it backed away and the other one struck its front leg, throwing it to the ground again.
"Take this," Khione said and fired the bolt into the Grimm, causing ice to form on it. The ice disappeared rather quickly, and recharged her and Garnet's auras.
"Let me handle this," Garnet said and unleashed her silver eyes, petrifying the Grimm.
"Thanks, Garnet," Khione said, "My semblance has a bit of a downside, as you can see. But I like it, and most people don't mind. Plus, if there are no allies that need aura, the ice acts normally."
"You're welcome," Garnet said, "But I just had an idea." She reverted back to Ruby, who sat down on the Grimm's head. Khione sat down as well, entering her soul core to find out how to use Garnet's Aura Hands. After she made up her mind, Ruby shared Frozen Savior with Marrow, and Mentor with Nora.
~o~
Albus and the Ace-Ops' reserve were cornered by a bunch of bandits, who aimed their guns at them and were ready to fire. At the other end of the old storage building, Oscar sat on a chair, with his hands tied behind his back. A banner hanging from a pole, both made from orange energy, appeared on Albus' back, and the bandits opened fire. The bullets bounced off of the team's auras due to their heightened defense. Neon loaded earth-dust in her nunchucks, skating around and hitting the enemies, creating crystal spikes. Yew augmented her energy arrows with earth-dust and fired in front of some enemies, forcing them against the wall with the resulting crystals. Reed grabbed Oscar, and he and Candy escaped, while the others kept the enemies busy. Neon and Yew followed shortly after, and Albus was last, blocking the enemies' path with more earth-dust before making his escape.
~o~
Back in Atlas, Oscar told James how the team had performed, giving his own recommendations for potential improvement. Albus was hired for half a year, with potential for additional extension if he continues to perform well in the field.
"Oh and, one more thing," James said when Oscar wanted to leave.
"Yes?" Oscar asked.
"Earlier today, someone shared a semblance with both Nora and Marrow," James answered, "We don't know who it was, but Nora can now use Mentor, and is on the way to help Eira make ice-dust from her semblance. Marrow, meanwhile, got another one, but we don't know what it does. All we know is that it is a support semblance, based on the sentence he heard."
"I see," Oscar said, "That is definitely interesting. So far, only Sirena would have that ability, but who knows, maybe Ruby can do that now, too. In any case, I have to go now, my cartoon is starting." He left the room, and James went back to looking over his files. With the aura reserves they had amassed before they ran out of Grimm, they should definitely be able to make a lot of light ice-dust, which would be a nice export, and help the other kingdoms.
~o~
When Ruby came back home, she found Taiyang sitting on a camping chair, clearly worried about her, due to her taking off so suddenly. As soon as Zwei saw her, he jumped up and ran towards her.
"Ruby," Zwei called out and jumped into her arms, "Ruby, you're back. Where were you?"
"Hey, come on, it's my job to ask that," Taiyang said as he walked over, "But seriously, what happened?"
"I sensed some Grimm, and had to intervene," Ruby answered, "I also met Kiki."
"Khione? What's she doing here?" Taiyang asked.
"Did she come with you?" Zwei asked excitedly and looked behind Ruby while wagging his tail.
"No, she had to go back to the others," Ruby answered, "She was out killing Grimm, and setting up safe spots for others."
"Safe spots? How?" Taiyang asked.
"With her semblance, Frozen Savior," Ruby answered, "When she hits an enemy with an ice-based attack, the resulting ice recharges nearby allies' auras. She kills Grimm with ice-dust bolts, and leaves the ice, allowing her allies to recover when they're near. Naturally, I copied it."
"I see," Taiyang said and asked, "So, what do you want to do now?"
"Kiki mentioned that the Patch coast guard needed help," Ruby answered, "So, I decided to join her in helping them, starting tomorrow."
"Well, alright then," Taiyang said, "But don't push yourself too far, you hear?"
"Of course," Ruby said, and both Taiyang and Zwei raised an eyebrow.
"We'll talk about what is 'too far' before you leave tomorrow," Taiyang said, "But now, it's time for dinner, and then bed." They went back inside, and Ruby helped prepare dinner. She ate a lot again, to get back all the weight she lost, and then watched some cartoons before going to bed.
Author's note: Yes, General Ironwood kinda needs an emotional support dog faunus to translate for him. He'll learn eventually, but the transitioning period to actually being respectful to his allies is going to be hard for him.
Albus is based on Mercenary, one of the main characters from Grimoire of Zero, and a supporting character in the sequel, Dawn of the Witch. Both are really fun, but have some fan service elements that some may find a but tacky. Still, it doesn't really take away from the story in my opinion, so it's nice.
By the way, Grimoire of Zero is amazing, in that we never learn the actual names of the main characters, or the villain.
My main reason to bring Albus into this, and make him so badass, is to help Ironwood's development by having him interact with a character who he can't intimidate with his posture and size alone. He's used to being the most physically imposing person in the room, and he clearly takes advantage of that, but no more.
Also, while Harriet has improved her speed, her technique is lacking, so she still struggles with some enemies. Not to mention that Marrow got a lot better at holding stuff in place than either of them realized.
Yew is based on Chris Yukine from Senki Zesshou Symphogear. More specifically, Chris' Giga Zeppelin attack. I could've also picked some other attacks, like the Nirvana Gedon, Double For All De Le Metallica, or something else, but I like this one. Also, some of Chris' attacks, like the Mega Death Party, Red Hot Blaze, or Billion Maiden, are pretty much just weapons. Very cool weapons that make it abundantly clear she doesn't give a damn about fairness and just wants her enemies dead, but weapons nonetheless.
Candy is mostly here because I like the Slipsnare spell from Huntik: Secrets and Seekers. It can secure an escape route, prevent enemies from sneaking up behind you, and throw an enemy horde into disarray by making them trip over each other, turning what could have been a tough fight into an execution.
Reed is in this for a similar reason, but mainly because I had initially planned to use Cure Yum-Yum's sub-attack from Delicious Party Precure as semblance for another character, before it was revealed to not actually be a binding move, but instead an energy blade attack. So, I used the Crunchy Cutter Blades as upgrade for Vine's semblance, and took the Blackwhip quirk from My Hero Academia for Reed.
Khione is an atheist. I just think it'd be funny to have a demigod be friends with an atheist. As for why she looks like Yurine Hanazono from Jashin-chan Dropkick, well, I've been watching that a lot. You should, too. It's fun. I just gave her horns because yes.