Author's note: I'm back, baby.
Ironically, so are quite a few characters. So, enjoy.
On the way to her destination, Ruby used Telepathy through Kindred Link, making sure that Cardin and Russel went to where they needed to be to drive the Grimm in the right places with the help of the light-ice-dust. The group arrived at a transformer and set up an easily defensible position. Sky and Khione both placed towers augmented with regular ice-dust, while Professor Peach set up a wire trap between lamp posts, and Ruby created a Healing Circle.
"Coco, let them go," Ruby said over communicator. The Grimm fled from Coco and came straight for Ruby. Some were taken out by the towers, and left ice behind, while others ran into the wires and got cut up, with the cuts freezing over due to the ice-dust. When there was enough ice nearby, Ruby began repairing the transformers. As Ruby's aura dropped, and the transformer slowly regained its shape, the ice dissipated and turned into sparkles that floated over to Ruby as powdered snow.
~o~
Yang walked through Mantle, visibly upset that the new monsters were so powerful, and they could do so little against them. She walked a bit faster than usual, but with no clear goal besides clearing her head, and the people around her immediately picked up on her being tense. She stopped at a crossing and looked around, only to see two familiar faces sitting on a bench and enjoying croissants, so she sat down next to them.
"And, what have you two been up to?" Yang asked.
"Nothing much," Roman answered, "We learned our lesson, after all."
"That's nice," Yang said, "I'm sure you'll be glad to hear that we've been getting our butts kicked lately."
"Why would I be happy about that?" Roman asked and said, "We're trying to be upstanding citizens now, so you guys are kind of important. So, what's going on?"
"Some weird monsters," Yang answered, "Giant, plant-like, really tough on their own, but they can also fuse with stuff and get even stronger. We need something with serious firepower if we want to beat those things, but I don't know where we can get that." Neo looked at Roman, who paused for a moment and then sighed.
"Well, I suppose I can help with that," Roman said, and pulled a small, black mirror in the shape of a coffin from his back pocket.
"What's that?" Yang asked.
"My semblance, Black Mirror, lets me create these," Roman answered, "I can make them grow larger, and if a person looks into them, they get replaced by a twisted clone of themselves, which then turns into a monster minion for me to use."
"Wait, you've had that kind of semblance the entire time?" Yang asked, "Why didn't you use it?"
"It requires a lot of preparation, and it can be difficult getting the right person," Roman answered, "Also, sometimes, the monsters retain some of the person's personality traits, making them difficult to control. Not to mention that it's not exactly my style to control giant monsters." He put the mirror back into his pocket.
"And you'd really help us?" Yang asked.
"Like I said, I'm trying to be a better person," Roman answered, "And if this city gets destroyed, I'd have nowhere to live."
"So, what's the catch?" Yang asked, and Roman chuckled.
"I never thought you'd be the smart one," Roman said, "Basically, I need a person to turn into a monster, and that monster would be under my control. It would be a serious risk for you."
"True," Yang said, "But I suppose we can't really afford the alternative. I'll talk it over with the others." She got up and headed back to the base. On the way, she walked up a fire ladder to get onto a rooftop, turned into her dragon form, and flew the rest of the way, just because she could. In the corner of her eye, she spotted the humanoid Rakshasa fly towards the city, and changed her plans.
~o~
Russel killed some more Grimm, creating more ice chunks near a transformer, and causing the remaining Grimm to flee at the sight of the light ice. Satisfied with his work, he took a break and watched the transformer get coated in a green energy and slowly rebuild itself. When it was fully restored, he decided to move on to the next point. After flying for a bit, he turned back into his human form and dropped on an Alpha Beowolf, stabbing it with both his daggers at once, then shot the remaining Grimm with light-ice-dust bullets.
~o~
After Ruby had used up all the ice in one area, and repaired as many transformers as she could, she wanted to retreat into her soul core and get back to her normal self, but sensed Grimm gather nearby and head towards one location. She pulled out her scroll and used Puppeteer to transfer her knowledge to the scroll's map, and saw that the Grimm were headed to the Whitecliff base.
"Not on my watch," Ruby said and used Petal Burst to quickly get to another area dense in ice chunks. She set up a Healing Circle and used Wolfpack, augmented with lightning-dust, to send groups of spectral wolves crackling with energy after the Grimm.
"Ruby, wait," Taiyang said when he, Khione, Sky and Professor Peach finally caught up to Ruby.
"Sorry, but I had to do something," Ruby said and stopped summoning wolves, "Whitecliff should be safe now, though." Hearing that, Khione raised an eyebrow, though Ruby didn't seem to notice.
"Alright," Sky said and looked at his scroll, "Anyway, the nearest transformer is by the museum, so we should go there."
"Good idea," Ruby said, "I also sense some Grimm in there, so we can go and kill them." The group headed to the natural historical museum of Vale, and Ruby sat down on the stairs in front of it to enter her soul core, resetting her personality to normal. After she was done, she drew Crescent Rose and led the group inside, and they killed any Grimm they came across, and leaving ice in their wake. Suddenly, Ruby created a clone of herself and swung Crescent Rose in a vertical swing, opening a portal. Her clone used Vines to extend two vines through the portal, and pulled Dove, Zwei, Bartholomew and Peter back through it before it closed.
"Thank you, Ruby," Bartholomew said, and the ice started recharging everyone's auras, though mostly the two former teachers.
"It's fine, really," Ruby said, "Anyway, Professor Peach, please come with me. The rest of you stay here and recover."
"Uh, sure," Amanita said and followed Ruby. They came into a room full of ancient jewelry, which had multiple Beowolves in it, who all froze in fear when they saw Ruby. Instead of drawing her weapon, however, Ruby unleashed her silver eyes, petrifying the Grimm and copying Amanita's semblance.
~o~
On the way to Mistral, Winter was stopped by what seemed to be a camp of sorts, with several faunus looking out of their tents to see what was making so much noise. A man wearing snow-themed camo boots, black pants, and a snow-themed camo vest over a black t-shirt came up to Winter, his assault rifle ready to fire at a moment's notice, while the other faunus seemed more afraid of the tanks.
"A Schnee? What are you doing out here, so far away from daddy?" Arevik asked mockingly.
"I am on my way to Mistral, for a diplomatic mission," Winter answered, "If everything goes well, it will help both humans and faunus." Hearing that, Arevik laughed.
"You really think I'll buy that?" Arevik asked. Before she knew how, he was in her face and hit her with a clawed uppercut, throwing her out of her tank and behind it. She landed on her feet and made her tanks disappear, then drew her sword and dagger. Arevik fell to the ground as the tank disappeared under him, and Winter landed a quick horizontal strike as she dashed past him before he could recover.
"I'm not here to fight you," Winter said, "But if you will not accept that, I will not hold back." She turned around to strike again, but her blade met his assault rifle, and he dashed away from her. Arevik shot a burst from his assault rifle, but Winter blocked the bullets with her sword and closed the distance. He blocked her sword strike with his gun, and she spun around and kicked it out of his hands.
"Look who isn't here to fight," Arevik said and bared his claws again, going into melee combat. Winter blocked all the attacks, using Retaliation to boost her offense even when forced into defense. He dashed around her, leaving her confused as to where his next attack would come from. Remembering a conversation she had with Weiss about how Yang compared real fights to video games, she felt like she was close to a breakthrough, when her aura flickered and Arevik stopped attacking.
"H- how did you do that?" Winter asked and used Grassy Terrain, using up the last bit of aura she had to create an area that increased aura regeneration.
"My semblance, Ambush," Arevik answered, "And another one, Petal Burst."
"You know Ruby?" Winter asked.
"I'm surprised you know her," Arevik answered, "She didn't strike me as the type to deal with people like you."
"Ruby is the kind of person to deal with anyone who needs help," Winter said.
"I suppose that's true," Arevik said and asked, "So, what kind of mission are you on that you come here on your own?"
"I'm not supposed to talk about it," Winter said, "However, since you appear to be affiliated with the person I wish to speak with, I think I can make an exception. In short, I am on my way to Mistral, to speak with the White Fang's High Leader." Hearing that, the entire camp got curious, and when she looked around, Winter saw that most of the faunus were simple engineers with little combat capability.
"Well, you seem determined enough about it," Arevik said, "But I still don't know if I can trust you. What kind of mission is it?"
"I was sent to offer her a deal," Winter answered, "In short, my friends learned a technique by which they can allow another person to use their semblance, without the need for the silver eyes, though it only works in one direction. The idea came originally from one Ilia Amitola."
"You know Ilia?" Arevik asked, "Why didn't you say so sooner?"
"I didn't want to presume all faunus knew each other by name," Winter answered, causing Arevik's train of thought to come to a screeching halt.
"Makes sense, yeah," Arevik said, regained his composure and said, "Anyway, if you want, we can get you to our High Leader real fast. Or, well, close enough that you can probably find the way."
"That would be very helpful for all sides involved, I'd say," Winter said, "Thank you." Arevik waved Alya over to the two of them, and she put Winter in a bubble before sending her off to a White Fang warehouse somewhere in Mistral. After getting out, Winter summoned a Seer and contacted Weiss.
"Hello Winter," Weiss said and asked, "Where are you?"
"Hello," Winter said and answered, "To be honest, I have no idea. This one faunus had another one put me in a bubble and send me here."
"Didn't you plan to take the train?" Weiss asked.
"Yes, but something came up," Winter answered, "A new species of Grimm, which I decided to call the Glowtail. It released strange coins during our fight, which should arrive in Atlas shortly, for research."
"I see," Weiss said, "Anyway, I'll call Ilia over, she can probably help you find the way."
"Alright," Winter said, and Weiss pulled out her scroll, and sent a message to Ilia, who arrived shortly after.
"Hello," Ilia said and took a look around through the Seer, "Don't worry, I know that building."
"That's good to hear," Winter said and asked, "So, how do I get to Sienna?"
"First, you leave through that door over there," Ilia answered, "And then you follow the hallway and take the third door to the left. Then up the stairs, and you should see a door that leads to the actual city. There's a map nearby, so you can't miss it."
"Thanks," Winter said, "I'll be on my way, then. You two fuse into one, and get ready." She made the Seer disappear and followed Ilia's instructions, quickly finding the door. When she opened it, she had to shield her eyes against the daylight, and was hit with a wave of air that smelled unusually bad. When she looked around, she realized she was among the few humans she could see, and felt oddly uncomfortable, for reasons she couldn't quite make out. However, she didn't have time to think about that, as a group quickly formed around her.
"Now look what we have here," a boar faunus said and asked, "What's a Schnee doing in these parts of town?" The bulky man got awfully close to her, and she crossed her arms just so she wouldn't draw her sword on reflex.
"Just let me through, I'm on an important mission," Winter said, getting agitated that things were so complicated.
"Sorry, but we've got questions," a hawk faunus said and impatiently tapped one of her claws on the stone floor.
"I really don't have time for this," Winter said, "I'm trying to help you."
"A Schnee, helping faunus?" A mouse faunus asked with a laughing tone, and his ears twitched a bit, "Don't make me laugh." He tried to push Winter back a bit, but she remained in her place and glared at the man, which clearly agitated the faunus even more.
"Don't think your daddy can buy your way out of this, Schnee," the boar faunus said and threw a left hook. Winter blocked the punch with a Glyph, and threw her own punch, following up with an uppercut and kick to the stomach. The man tumbled down a staircase and stopped at the bottom, still breathing.
"Final warning," Winter said, "Let me pass."
"You want to pass?" The hawk faunus asked, "Why didn't you say so sooner?" She jumped up, grabbed the steel pole holding the warehouse's sign, and kicked Winter in the face, sending her down the stairs, too.
"Good one," the mouse faunus said and drew his collapsing stun baton. Seeing the immediate threat to her life, Winter drew her sword to block the attacks. However, the electrified baton still hurt, despite her blocking, as her sword simply conducted the electricity.
"And that is for my family," the hawk faunus said, vaulted over the mouse faunus, and kicked Winter in the face with both talons clenched like fists. Winter tumbled backwards over the boar faunus, who got up and turned around, only to collapse on top of her.
"Enough," Winter thought and summoned an Alpha Beowolf to get the man off of her, then summoned two more behind the other two faunus, surrounding her attackers. She then sheathed her sword, went back up the stair to look at the map, summoned a Manticore and flew away. Once she was far enough away, her Beowolf summons disappeared, leaving the faunus rather confused.
~o~
When Winter landed in front of the White Fang's headquarters, she made her summon disappear and entered. After a brief, yet frustrating, talk with the receptionist, she was let through to Sienna Khan, the organization's High Leader. She knew wouldn't be so difficult if she was still a special operative, but she had to contend with being a lower rank now, even if it was frustrating how everyone treated her now.
"So, you must be the Schnee that just beat up a couple faunus," Sienna said after Winter sat down before her thrown the way Ilia had shown her.
"I was just defending myself," Winter said, "And I believe I made it clear to them that I had no ill intentions."
"Then why were you at one of our warehouses?" Sienna asked.
"A faunus sent me there with her semblance," Winter answered, "I had initially planned to arrive by train tomorrow, but that plan was cut short by a Grimm attack on Argus."
"I take it you repelled that attack?" Sienna asked and raised an eye brow.
"I have, yes," Winter answered, "But if we can please move on to the reason why I am here, I would highly appreciate it."
"And the fact that I am allowing you inside this building?" Sienna asked, "Do you appreciate that?"
"I am here on an important mission," Winter answered, "That is all."
"Then we are done," Sienna said and got up.
"Wait," Winter said, and also got up, and Sienna glared at her.
"There we have it," Sienna said, "You humans, especially your family, always act like you're entitled to our time, to our labor, to our property. Even to our children. But what do we get? What did your father give us in return for all the tears, sweat and blood we shed in the name of his riches?"
"Don't compare me to my father," Winter hissed through gritted teeth.
"Or what?" Sienna asked, "Are you going to have daddy buy this place? Or will your General and his men just come in and gun down every faunus they see? Which one will it be?" Winter reached for her sword, and Sienna drew her chain whip and went on the offense. She cracked her whip and sent an ice-dust link at Winter, creating an ice spike in front of her and knocking her back.
"I'm not here to fight," Winter said and drew her sword, "But if talking won't work, then I'll have to." She charged Sienna, who dodged the attack and landed a hit with her whip. Winter jammed her sword into the ground and created a Glyph, summoning a flock of miniature Giant Nevermore to attack Sienna. Sienna ran into the attack, swinging her whip to take down multiple summons while dodging others, and punched Winter into a wall with an unexpectedly strong left hook. Before Winter could react, Sienna wrapped her whip around her right ankle and threw her across the room, breaking her aura and knocking her out.
Author's note: Roman's semblance is based on the monsters of the week from Happiness Charge Precure. If you watch it, and see how Namakelder acts, you'll see why I thought of giving this ability to him.