Author's note: And now, more Grimm, and also the conclusion of Winter's mission to talk to Sienna.
You won't believe how much fun it was to write those dialogues between Winter and Sienna. We don't know a lot about these two, but we do know that they don't like each other, which will make diplomacy really fun.
Yang roared and tackled the human Rakshasa and dug her claws into its black goo arms, forcing it towards the ground with her. She let go of the Grimm at the last second, letting it slam into the ground at full force. She landed in the cloud of debris and transformed back into her human form, then called her friends as backup and got ready for the fight. Just as she was about to attack, the Cenitaur popped up behind her and landed a few hits.
"Nice to see you, too," Yang said and hit back, putting all the built-up energy into the strike. She killed the Grimm, creating a small orb with Spectral Assault and triggering Daybreaker. The golden flames set the Rakshasa ablaze and created another orb, with both orbs homing in on the Grimm and dealing even more damage.
"Pain," the Rakshasa said, grabbed her leg and threw her away. It jumped at her, but was hit in the side by three star-shaped projectiles and crashed beside her, where a light blue ball hit it and erupted into a larger orb, continuously damaging the Grimm. Yang looked at where the projectiles had come from and saw Ivori and Kobalt, with Jaune, Ren and Blake following them.
"And remember, there's a person in there," Jaune said, and he and Ren sent aura arcs at the Rakshasa. Yang jumped away using air-dust rounds, and the arcs collided in front of the Grimm, causing an explosion that partly revealed the man inside. Blake grabbed his lab coat and created an incendiary-goo clone of the two of them, then got out of reach and handed the unconscious man to Jaune.
"Color me impressed," Kobalt said, watching the team. The Rakshasa collapsed into a blob around the red-hot glass shards, taking considerable damage every second. It writhed in hatred and agony, trying to get free, but Kobalt's semblance was still in effect and harming it. He sent another projectile, augmented with ice-dust, to slow it down, and Ivori used his own semblance, Shooting Star, releasing a flurry of star-shaped projectiles from his hands.
"Come on," Yang said, and fired a bunch of explosives at the Grimm, hoping to kill it before the fire went out. Seeing her efforts, both Blake and Ren joined her, and kept firing at the Grimm. However, the golden flames faded just a second before the monster died.
"We did it," Kobalt said in disbelief.
"Damn it!" Yang shouted and shot a hole into the ground, "We were too slow."
"What do you mean?" Ivori asked.
"If I kill Grimm, they explode into golden fire," Yang answered, "Other Grimm catch fire if they're in range, and if they die while burning, they disappear. Now we have all this negativity just floating around that can turn into new Grimm, and cause more problems for us down the line."
"That sounds bad," Kobalt said, "I mean, the fire thing sounds really useful, but it sucks that we weren't fast enough."
"Exactly," Yang said, "But at least I could get a read on how long it burns, so that's good to know."
"Hello, are you alright?" Blake asked when Abital Dew woke up and looked around.
"I- yes, I am," Abital answered and asked, "What happened? Where am I?"
"You're in Atlas," Blake answered, "The Rakshasa is dead. You are safe now."
"Do you remember anything?" Kobalt asked, "What did it want?" Blake scowled at him, but Abital got thoughtful.
"It wanted… to destroy everything," Abital answered, "That's it."
"That's good to hear," Jaune said, "I just called for a transport, so you'll be back in the capital in no time."
"But you're still under investigation for releasing the Rakshasa," Ren said.
"Yeah, I kind of figured that," Abital said, "But thanks anyway."
"Just doing our job," Jaune said with a smile.
"Anyway, Kobalt, Ivori, how do your semblances work exactly?" Blake asked.
"My Shooting Star is pretty simple," Ivori answered, "I shoot stars that home in on my enemies. They don't real much damage, but they're great for throwing enemies off-balance when they're in the air."
"My Annihilation Field is also pretty simple," Kobalt said, "I can shoot these light blue projectiles, and when they hit somewhere, every enemy within a 1 meter radius around that point takes constant damage for ten seconds, or until I make another one. Right now I can have three at the same time, then the first I made disappears again."
"Shooting Star sounds pretty useful," Blake said, "I'd really like to use that one, too. I can teach you some things in return, if you want."
"What do you mean?" Ivori asked, "I know that silver-eyed warriors can do this thing with their eyes and the light and stuff, but doesn't that require, you know, silver eyes?"
"Yes, copying semblances that way requires silver eyes," Blake answered, "But I can also imprint my aura on your soul, getting the same effect, though only in one direction. Nora can teach you to do that later, and then we can fuse into one so I can help you learn to track your prey the way I do."
"Sounds good, I guess," Ivori said, not entirely sure what would happen if the two of them fused. After they returned to the academy, Nora taught Ivori and Kobalt how to let others copy their semblances, and helped Blake and Ivori to fuse, and the duo's fusion shared their Shadowpoint semblance with Marrow, just because it seemed useful to his skill set.
~o~
When Winter looked around, she found herself floating in front of a massive and ornate double door made from pure white marble, which was held close by silver chains. She slowly approached the door, and as she touched the massive lock, which was almost as tall as she was, a bolt of purple energy zapped her and she jolted back out of reflex.
"No Winter, keep it together," Winter said to herself, "You know what to do." She approached the door again and grabbed the lock, and the energy pulsed through her. It filled her every cell with a purity so intense, it burned like molten metal, yet it didn't hurt. The chains faded away and dissolved into her as a purple wave, and when they were gone, the doors to her new power opened.
"Hey, you ok in there?" Winter's guard asked, seeing her aura flare up in purple before she opened her purple eyes.
"Yes, I am fine," Winter answered, swung her hand in a diagonal upward chopping motion and sent a purple energy wave through the door, cutting it in two and throwing the guard against the wall, knocking him out. She walked out the cell and headed straight towards Sienna's throne room.
"What was that?" Another guard asked when several faunus came to see what that explosion was. On the way to the throne room, Winter picked up her sword, then went to confront Sienna, in hopes of sealing the deal with her.
"High Leader, hello," Winter said, and Sienna got up from her throne.
"How did you get out?" Sienna asked and drew her whip. Winter drew her sword in turn, and both charged each other. Sienna hit Winter with her whip, landing dozens of consecutive hits with the chain links, while Winter blocked with her sword and dagger. As Sienna kept attacking, her attacks became more ferocious and powerful.
"Now I see," Winter said and waited for an opening, then shot a ball of purple energy from her dagger, sending Sienna flying into a wall and breaking her aura in one hit.
"H- how?" Sienna asked and looked at Winter.
"Holy Silver," Winter answered, "The power to purify and protect." Before she could sheathe her weapons, Winter was hit in the side by a lightning bolt and sent flying, breaking her aura as well. Sienna looked at where the bolt had come from, and saw Sirena stand in the door to her throne room.
"What are you two doing?" Sirena asked, collapsed her trident into its scepter form, put it away and gestured both to come to her.
"She started it," Winter answered, her eyes returning to light blue.
"Because someone decided to drop in unannounced," Sienna said, and Sirena groaned.
"Children, both of you," Sirena said and asked, "Winter, what are you doing here?"
"I came to discuss a plan with Sienna," Winter answered, "It's going to help both of us."
"As if," Sienna scoffed, "Why would a Schnee help a faunus?"
"Because things have gotten bigger than our petty squabbles," Winter answered.
"So now you're mocking our cause?" Sienna asked, and Sirena cleared her throat, drawing both of their attention.
"Winter, again," Sirena said.
"I… well, the thing is, things are different than I thought," Winter said, "Also, my sister has worked out a plan, together with Ilia."
"So that's where she ran off to," Sienna said and asked, "Or maybe you made her go to Atlas?"
"What? No, we didn't," Winter said, "Sirena, tell her she came on her own terms."
"I wasn't there when she made that decision," Sirena said, "Besides, that is not the point you are discussing here. So, try not to get off topic."
"Right, right," Winter said.
"So, even assuming Ilia went to help the people she hated the most, what is that plan?" Sienna asked.
"Ilia and my sister wanted to fuse into one," Winter answered, "Then their fusion, Permafrost, summons a Seer, which contacts the one I wanted to summon, and then she uses that connection to let you use her semblance at will. That's it."
"Ignoring the whole fusion thing, and the semblance, because the world is crazy enough," Sienna said and asked, "What would be in it for you?"
"I'd get to help you get stronger," Winter answered, "That's it."
"So I'd be in your debt?" Sienna asked, and Winter groaned.
"Look, I'm trying to save people here, and whether you believe me or not, that includes you," Winter said and asked, "So, do you want this semblance, or not?"
"I'm still not convinced," Sienna said, "You never cared about the faunus before."
"Sienna, be reasonable," Sirena said, "Winter is already offering to help you, and you shouldn't dismiss her like that."
"But she might harm the faunus," Sienna said.
"Does it look like I'm trying to hurt you?" Winter asked, getting increasingly frustrated.
"Maybe we should start with this semblance," Sirena said and asked, "What does it do?"
"It's called Power Whip," Winter answered, "It makes the user's whip phase through enemies, trading attack strength for debilitating effects, such as a decrease in defensive capability. Also, all enemies hit by that whip will focus on the user, and ignore anyone else, for a time. Augmenting it with dust removes the defense reduction, but replaces it with another effect."
"That sounds like it would be very bad for your army if I had it," Sienna said and asked, "So, why offer me to have it?"
"Because, as I keep telling you, I am trying to help you," Winter answered.
"See, doesn't that sound convincing?" Sirena asked, and Sienna became thoughtful.
"It does sound promising, yes," Sienna answered, "Alright, do it."
"Thank you for accepting my help," Winter said and summoned a Seer.
"Now, this seems to be going well enough," Sirena said, "I'll be leaving now, to discuss some things with the council." Sirena left the building, and half an hour later, Permafrost summoned her own Seer. After she let Sienna copy her semblance, Sienna took some of her men to fight Grimm outside the city, even though it took a while to find some, due to the massive death zone surrounding the city walls killing every Grimm before it got too close.
~o~
When Ruby returned from her soul core, where she learned to use Strings and Tailwind, the semblance of an angel's tear in the museum, she summoned a Seer to contact Weiss, but only reached Whitley, so she relayed the information to him instead. Afterwards, she looked up and spotted a Beowolf, which had obviously tried to sneak past her and froze in motion when she saw it. Ruby raised her right hand and manifested strings from her fingertips, using them like a reverse whip to slice the Grimm into five pieces. After the Grimm died, Ruby got up and created two copies of herself.
"Alright, time to get this done," Ruby said, and her copies went to different ice chunks each, while she headed to the transformer box.
"Hey Ruby," Sky said, walking up to one of the clones and asked, "When do you start with the transformer?"
"I'm just a clone," Ruby's clone said and answered, "We're actually starting now." She set up a Healing Circle and began using Aura Amp, using Kindred Link as conduit to recharge Ruby's aura, while Ruby repaired the transformer. The clones moved through the museum, taking turns to ensure a steady flow of aura, until all the ice was gone.
~o~
In the evening, Ruby met with everyone at the train station again, and they all looked at a map of the city, which used pieces from a popular tabletop strategy game to indicate Grimm packs. Looking at the map, Ruby suddenly had an idea.
"Guys, I had an idea," Ruby said and asked, "Why don't we upgrade and get some technological stuff running again?"
"Like what?" Cardin asked, "And also, how?"
"Like a computer," Ruby answered, "If we had that, I could use my ability to sense Grimm, and Puppeteer, to more accurately display the locations of Grimm, making it easier for us to clear them out."
"Well, we do have more power now," Khione said, "The transformers are slowly storing up energy, now that they're mostly repaired."
"That is true," Glynda said, "We have enough power to cover the necessities, and even if we were to lose power now, we could hold out for a few days and fix the issue before it became urgent."
"But we still don't know how to fix computers," Cardin said.
"You would, if you actually paid attention to your team," Sky said, "I told you several times that my family owns a computer company. I can build you anything you need, from gaming computer to work laptop, optimized for your personal needs."
"Alright, then it's settled," Ruby said, "Tomorrow, we go to clear the shopping district, and then we get those computer parts."
"What about the zoo?" Zwei asked, and Ruby paused for a moment.
"The day after tomorrow, we get those computer parts," Ruby said, with the same enthusiasm as her original statement. After a fairly meager dinner, everyone went to bed, and Ruby returned to her soul core to discuss her plans going forward with Emerald and Sapphire.
~o~
After talking to Whitley, James asked the remaining council members to meet with him and discuss an urgent matter regarding the future of the kingdom. Unsurprisingly, they were hesitant to accept, despite his recent change in behavior and the numerous positive effects it had on the kingdom and its people.
"So, what did you want to talk to us about?" Councilman Sleet asked.
"Yes, I hope this isn't a return to your old ways," Councilwoman Camilla said.
"It is not, no," James answered, "In short, Whitley Schnee has just informed me of a conversation he had with Ruby Rose." Hearing that, the council members were much more eager to hear more.
"Really? What was it about?" Councilman Sleet asked.
"Why didn't you say so sooner?" Councilwoman Camilla asked.
"I didn't think it was necessary," James answered, "But in short, Ruby believes that the team led by Argent Star is building a new huntsman academy. In Menagerie."
"Wait, what? Why?" Councilwoman Camilla asked.
"And how is that important to us?" Councilman Sleet asked.
"It is an easy way of dealing with discrimination, apparently," James answered, "It is important because we must make a decision whether or not to recognize that academy's graduates as huntsmen and allow them the same rights and privileges as other academies' huntsmen."
"But this can surely wait, right?" Councilman Sleet asked.
"Agreed," Councilwoman Camilla said, "After all, they have to build the school first, then convince the people to enroll, and so on. Faunus moved to Menagerie because they don't care about the rest of the world, so I can't imagine it going very well."
"Classes start in five minutes, actually," Sirena said and shattered her illusion, appearing next to a window, "I have already unlocked the auras of a whole semester's worth of faunus, and my teammates are training them in all important matters that huntsmen should know. But I actually came back for other matters, so I will take my leave now. Please try not to have the same kind of discussion as last time." She left the room and closed the door behind herself, and the council members looked at each other, remembering the injuries they had sustained at the hands of Jacques Gelé.
~o~
When Sirena found Ruby's friends, Nora and Marrow just split up, and Weiss used Ability Sharing to share something with Marrow, while Kobalt looked at his hands. She approached the group, and they all turned to look at her with mixed expressions when they noticed her.
"Sirena, you're back," Weiss said and asked, "Why?"
"I just felt like it," Sirena answered.
"Can we fuse again?" Nora asked and said, "I want to let Weiss and Kobalt copy Surge's semblance."
"You do realize we need Grimm for that, right?" Sirena asked.
"Not anymore we don't," Nora answered with a smirk, "Fuse with me, and I'll show you."
"Can we do that later?" Yang asked, getting frustrated, "I have a way how we can turn the tides on those monsters, and the longer we wait, the harder it'll be."
"What? Why didn't you say that sooner?" Weiss asked.
"Nevermind that," Blake said and asked asked, "What is it?"
"Roman," Yang answered.
"As in Torchwick?" Kobalt asked.
"Exactly," Yang answered, "Apparently, his semblance is pretty powerful, and lets him make monsters out of people. He offered to help us, but obviously, we need to trust him with that." A deathly silence fell over the group as they pondered whether protection people was worth the risk of becoming monsters under Roman's control.
Author's note: Holy Silver works best against dark forces, such as Grimm, but it also has an increased effect against people who harbor strong negative emotions, or who are powered up by a semblance that relies on them, such as Grudge, Moonslice, or Burn. It doesn't affect those emotions, it just hits harder, and it doesn't count as an attack for semblances like Burn.
Also, Winter went down so easily because she had taken a bunch of hits from Sienna. Seems obvious, but I've had experiences with some people who failed to consider the circumstances surrounding the end of a battle, including the battle itself, so I thought I'd add it.
As for why Sirena, who will be teaching at this new academy, isn't at school, well, she has her reasons. It's totally not because she never actually planned to do this, and only agreed to be involved in it so she could plan around it, meaning she doesn't have any of the skills necessary for the job, or anything.