Author's note: Finally, the reunion. How will Ruby's friends react to the new Ruby?
Weiss, Blake, Yang, Jaune, Ren, Nora, Qrow and Oscar left the ship docked at the harbor in Vale, and took in the air, while the Atlas military's trucks drove off the ship to prepare reinforcing the barricades and help drive the Grimm out of the city. Blake and Jaune focused on a nearby cargo container, hearing and sensing Dove, without knowing it was him. Dove came around the corner, followed by Ruby. Upon seeing her friends, Ruby dashed towards them and shared a group hug with her team, secretly using Kindred Link to bond with them.
"Guys, you're here," Ruby said and let go of her team, hugging Jaune, Ren and Nora as well, and bonding with them, too.
"Yep, we sure are," Yang said, "And it looks like you're back to normal, too." Ruby let go of Jaune and his team, but found Qrow hugging her unexpectedly. She returned the hug, and Oscar joined in on it, allowing Ruby to bond with him, too.
"I've missed you," Qrow said, then let go of Ruby.
"I know," Ruby said.
"We've got guests," Blake said, and everyone reached for their weapons as a pack of Beowolves appeared.
"I know," Ruby said, now more coldly, turned to the Grimm and said, "You interrupted my reunion. You know you'll pay for this, right?" She drew Crescent Rose and rushed over to kill all the Grimm, only leaving one alive after cutting off one of its legs. The Beowolf tried to run away, limping along on three legs, when Ruby extended her free hand and used Strings to catch it in thin strings. She pulled it back a little, and with a flick of her wrist, cut it into chunks.
"That was… unusually cold," Blake said, and Ruby walked back to her friends and waved Dove to go ahead.
"Sorry, I'm a bit on edge as of late," Ruby said, "Anyway, Oscar, just a head's up, I told everyone that Ozpin left you his cane because you helped him out a few years ago, so you don't have to hide the fact that you have it."
"I see," Oscar said, "Thanks." After some Atlas soldiers left the ship, Dawn walked over to the group.
"Hello, do you know how the Atlesian embassy is doing?" Dawn asked.
"Thirty-two Beowolves and three Alphas inside," Ruby answered, "Twenty Boarbatusk in the courtyard, and a Giant Nevermore perched on top."
"That is… oddly precise," Dawn said. Suddenly, Ruby got a call on her scroll. She opened her scroll and saw that it was a member of Sophie's swarm, so she picked up.
"Hello Sophie," Ruby said and asked, "What is it?"
"Hello, apostle," an older man answered, "We would need permission to continue taking water from the city's sewers, or our swarm will run out."
"Of course," Ruby said and asked, "Anything else?"
"No," the man answered, "Thanks."
"Alright, bye," Ruby said and hung up, then turned back to Dawn and said, "If you want, I can help clear out the building. All I need is some dust."
"Thanks, but we're good," Dawn said.
"Got it," Ruby said, "But if things get difficult, don't hesitate to let me know. Also, Hotel de Tiffauges is close by, and free of Grimm, in case you need additional beds."
"Alright, thanks," Dawn said, walked back to the trucks transporting the troops and materials, got in and gave the go sign.
"So, what now?" Yang asked.
"Now we're heading back to the base," Ruby answered, "I have a lot to tell you, and there may even be some semblances in it for you, if you're interested." She opened a portal to Cardin and went through, followed by her friends, and the portal closed again behind them.
~o~
Cardin was sitting on a chair in the train station, bored out of his mind because he had to stay behind while everyone else got to go on patrols through town. He looked over his dust crystals for his mace again, and saw that he was already running low on ice-dust again, due to using so much. Suddenly, a red portal opened, and Ruby and her friends walked out of it. Unsurprisingly, his eyes were fixed on Blake, who he just now realized was faunus.
"Is something?" Blake asked, tilting her head when she noticed Cardin staring at her.
"Not really, hi," Cardin answered, "I just, you know, didn't notice your ears before."
"Probably because I was hiding them to avoid people like you," Blake said.
"Makes sense," Cardin said, "I'd avoid the old me, too."
"Anyway, Ruby, where's dad?" Yang asked.
"He's on a patrol with Glynda and Velvet," Ruby answered, "But they should be back in a bit." As if on cue, the door to the train station opened.
"We're back," Taiyang said when he entered the train station, followed by Glynda and Velvet.
"Told you," Ruby said with a smirk. Seeing this many new people, and especially knowing they knew Ozpin, Oscar kept to the sidelines more than usual, or at least more than since he got comfortable around Ruby and her friends, and stayed out of things while the others handled introductions.
"So, Blake," Glynda said, "It's quite the surprise to see you're a faunus."
"It's not really, though," Velvet said, "She has the same last name, eye- and hair color as the chieftain of Menagerie and his wife, both of whom are cat faunus and have a daughter about her age. If you pay attention to politics, especially faunus issues, it's pretty easy to tell who she is."
"I had no idea," Glynda said, "But in any case, I feel like at least faculty should know what kind of students enroll at the school, once it opens again."
"I don't think that's such a good idea," Oscar said, drawing the attention to himself.
"And you are?" Glynda asked.
"Oscar Pine, ma'am," Oscar answered, and leaned on his cane.
"It's really Ozpin's cane," Cardin said in disbelief.
"It is mine now," Oscar said, "But yes, it did belong to your headmaster."
"How does a kid like you end up saving the headmaster of an academy?" Cardin asked, and Ruby realized the flaw in her story.
"Well, it wasn't exactly me," Oscar said, "It was my pigs, actually. I was just there to help him inside, and all that."
"But how do pigs do this?" Cardin asked and said, "I mean, he had to have some skill to get where he was, and it feels like anything that could put him in a bind would be too much to handle for a pig."
"You would think so, yes," Oscar said, "But pigs are incredibly resilient, and intelligent, and they're omnivores. A single thunder-hoof boar can drive off an Alpha Beowolf."
"Yes, but those are wild animals," Cardin said, "Domesticated pigs can't be that bad, right?"
"You know why we call them domesticated?" Oscar asked and said, "If they're left to their own, they'll revert to their wild state. They'll grow fur, and tusks, and within a year, they look nothing like house pigs."
"Wait, really?" Cardin asked and looked over to the shelf of canned food, "So, those pigs, and the wild ones, are the same?"
"They are, yes," Oscar answered.
"Anyway, back to the topic of faunus," Glynda said, and looked at Blake.
"She's gone," Yang said and swiped her hand through Blake, dispelling the clone.
"Wait, really?" Cardin asked and said, "But I'm pretty sure I saw her blink."
"She's just that good," Yang answered, "Anyway, she left pretty quickly after you guys started talking about her being a faunus, rather than asking her directly. I'll go get her." She turned around and left the train station.
"In any case, Oscar, I believe I should test your combat skill," Glynda said, "After all, this is a dangerous situation, and I need to know what you're capable of. Cardin, Velvet, you two go on another patrol. The entertainment district needs another inspection."
"Got it," Cardin said, and he and Velvet left the train station.
"Are you sure?" Oscar asked, and Glynda adjusted her glasses.
"Yes, I am quite sure," Glynda answered, "I can't let a child run around a Grimm-infested city without knowing what I can and can't trust him with, regardless of how many people he has in his head." She left the train station, and Oscar followed her, drawing his cane and getting ready for the match, while Ruby helped her friends get settled in and find a place to sleep.
~o~
When Sky, Dr. Oobleck and Khione came back, they first saw Weiss come down the stairs after setting up her sleeping space, followed by Ruby. Weiss immediately noticed Khione glaring at her, even if it was a bit more subdued than usual when people glared.
"Hey Ruby, we're back," Khione said.
"Hey Kiki, guys," Ruby said.
"Is something wrong?" Weiss asked, catching Khione off-guard.
"What? Oh, sorry," Khione said and asked, "You're Weiss Schnee, right?"
"Yes, I am. Nice to meet you," Weiss answered.
"Same," Khione said, "I'm Khione Waters." One by one, the others came downstairs, and introductions were had again.
"By the way," Dr. Oobleck said, "We discovered something on our patrol just now." He nudged Khione to step forward.
"Well, you see, there was this thing," Khione said, "We heard some noise from ValTech, and went to investigate."
"ValTech?" Weiss asked.
"Vale university for Technology," Dr. Oobleck answered.
"I see," Weiss said.
"Anyway, we heard some noise from one of the lecture halls," Khione continued, "And we found a hatch under the speaker's podium. So, we opened it, and we saw a tunnel filled with black fog. And there were arms and tentacles, too."
"It looked pretty scary," Sky said.
"So, we closed the hatch again and went back here," Khione said.
"Any idea what we could do?" Sky asked, and everyone looked at Ruby.
"Do you have a picture?" Nora asked, drawing the attention to herself.
"Sure, here," Khione answered and showed Nora a picture on her scroll.
"Yep, that's that alright," Nora said, "Don't worry, I know what to do. Thanks to Chain Lightning, I just need to get one good hit in, and most of these will be gone in a zap."
"That may actually be a bit more complicated," Ruby said and asked, "Also, wait, Chain Lightning?"
"I've learned a few new tricks," Nora answered, "Basically, when I hit an enemy with an electric attack, it jumps from one to the next. It's really useful for dealing with large crowds."
"In that case, maybe Dandelion may be useful, too," Ruby said.
"Dandelion?" Nora asked.
"A fusion of Sky and me," Ruby answered, "Their Shock Crystal semblance sets up a crystal that rapidly shoots small energy blasts at any nearby enemy. Augmented with dust, it fires elemental attacks."
"That sounds pretty useful," Weiss said and asked, "Can I get it, too?"
"Sure. Right, Sky?" Ruby asked and looked over to Sky, who nodded approvingly. The two fused into Dandelion again, and let both Nora and Weiss copy their semblance. After they split up again, Ruby also fused with Khione, and let Jaune copy Snowfall's Frost Shell semblance.
~o~
Cardin and Velvet were just done killing Grimm, when another Alpha Beowolf dropped off a roof behind them. They rolled their eyes and wanted to kill it, when Nora ran up to them in her wolf form, holding the sword of Weiss' Arma Gigas in her mouth. She jumped over them and cut the Grimm in half when she came down, and transformed back while hidden by black smoke.
"Nora? Is that you? Since when can you turn into a wolf?" Velvet asked, and Ruby and Weiss followed Nora.
"Well, I learned a few tricks," Nora answered.
"Me too," Weiss said and created a Glyph that was red in the center, and turned green towards the outside. An Ursa came around a corner, and Weiss blasted it with a stream of razor-sharp leaves. The leaves were suspended in air for a moment, then detonated in fire, killing the Grimm and clearing the snow in the area around it.
"And here I thought I got better," Cardin said and let his head hang a little.
"Don't worry, you've improved plenty," Ruby said, "My friends and I just had more intense training, so of course we're a bit ahead."
"Thanks," Cardin said and cheered up again.
"You're welcome," Ruby said, "But now, we need to get to the catacombs and deal with those limbs." The group got going, with Cardin and Velvet tagging along, since the church was on the duo's route, and they wanted to see what would happen. Not to mention that traveling together was safer for everyone.
~o~
In the church, Ruby saw that the black fog had crept out of the tunnel and into the basement, and got ready to fight, should the need arise. Nora drew her hammer and firmly planted the end of the handle on the ground, and electricity started to surge through the walls, ceiling, and floor in a wide area around her.
"What's this?" Ruby asked and looked around in awe.
"Electric Terrain," Nora answered, "The semblance of Weiss and my fusion. It makes lightning-dust more effective, and any semblance automatically acts like it's augmented with lightning-dust. Anyway, here goes." She clenched her right fist and coated it in light blue energy, and when she opened her hand and pointed it towards the ground, a light blue crystal appeared, hovering in the air about two meters off the ground. Light blue particles seemed to form a dome, with the crystal at the top, and the widest part being on the ground. Almost immediately after being created, the crystal began zapping any limbs within the dome with small lightnings, which jumped from one limb to the next.
"This is amazing," Ruby said, "With this, we could deal with large groups of Grimm much easier." The limbs began dying one by one, but eventually, all limbs within the dome were gone, while the fog remained. Nora created two additional crystals, and the slaughter continued. After the area was mostly cleared, Velvet used hard-light throwing daggers to take out the remaining limbs, and the group advanced into the tunnels.
"I've got an idea," Weiss said, looking into the tunnel, "I'll show you what I've been working on. Nora, get ready." She extended her right hand and formed a turquoise energy sphere, which she sent into the tunnel. It moved slowly, and only lasted for three seconds, but it rapidly shot lightnings at any limbs in reach and temporarily stunned them with Shocking Shackle. Nora rushed past the stunned limbs and set up a new crystal in a cross-section, then came back while Weiss used another Magnet Sphere to keep the limbs paralyzed while the Shock Crystal killed the limbs.
"That was… pretty awesome," Cardin said after the limbs and black fog were gone.
"Thanks," Nora said.
"But I still have something I can do," Weiss said and used Safezone and Healing Circle, creating two overlapping areas to increase her aura regeneration. She held her rapier in front of her and it crackled with light green energy. With one swift swing, she sent nine bolts of energy along the tunnel floor, and they disappeared around different corners.
"What was that?" Cardin asked.
"Guardian's Gambit," Weiss answered, "It allows me to infuse natural things around me with energy, allowing the discarded materials to rise once more, in defense of all life."
"In any case, we should wait for backup," Ruby said, "This semblance takes a huge toll on your aura, and we can't leave these circles anyway, until it regenerates." She pulled out her scroll and sent a message to Khione to come and bring several police officers along.
~o~
Glynda looked at the new fusion, consisting of Yang and Jaune. They had a darker complexion, lilac eyes, and long, blonde hair that seemed to crackle with energy. They wore heavy steel plate boots, gauntlets, chest plate and horned helmet, and simple, black jeans with steel armor plates on the upper legs. The gauntlets, boots, chest plate and helmet were made from large matte golden scales, with white lines scratched into them as though they were battle-worn, and black steel on the edges of the scales. The fusion had yellow eye shadow resembling a maiden's energy flares, and looked around, inspecting themself.
"How… do you feel?" Glynda asked.
"Ready to kick ass," the fusion answered, "Also, I'm Dragonslayer."
"But… there are no dragons," Dove said.
"You're welcome," Dragonslayer said with a grin.
"Aren't there dragons in the sea?" Ren asked.
"Please do not remind me of those," Dragonslayer said with the same tone and expression, then returned to a more neutral tone and asked, "Anyway, where's the Grimm at? I need to punch something."
"Shouldn't you first find out what your weapon is?" Oscar asked and said, "And your semblance too, for that matter." Dragonslayer looked at their gauntlets, and a blade suddenly popped out of one of them.
"What's that?" Dragonslayer asked, with Yang's voice being more prominent.
"A gauntlet sword," Dragonslayer answered, with Jaune's voice being more prominent, "Ruby thought of using these at first, so she knows how to use them. I do, too."
"Now you just need to know what your semblance is," Oscar said. Dragonslayer made their weapon retract again, turned around and waved dismissively.
"Nonsense, there's nothing that can step to me anyway," Dragonslayer said and asked, "Now, where's those Grimm?" They pulled out Yang's scroll and looked through the military's temporary Grimm sensor system, quickly locating a small pack nearby. Before anyone could stop them, Dragonslayer put the scroll away again and ran off. They made their way through a series of back alleys, pushing past various obstacles that a more nimble person would have maneuvered around in a more impressive fashion, until they reached a proper barricade erected by the military, with soldiers shooting at Grimm. Without thinking, Dragonslayer jumped at a charging Big Ursa, stopping it in its tracks.
"We're saved," one of the soldiers exclaimed. Dragonslayer jumped onto the Grimm's back and ripped out one of its back spikes, losing their balance in the process. The Grimm rose to its hind legs, but was impaled through the head from behind, with Dragonslayer using its own back spike to cut its head open with an upward swing.
"You are, yes," Dragonslayer said as the Grimm evaporated. They stopped an Alpha Beowolf's attack with their right fist, extended their left gauntlet sword and stabbed it through the chest, then extended their right sword and walked out onto the crossing. Grimm charged them from all sides, but they fought them off.
"Behind you," one of the soldiers said. A Beowolf jumped at the fusion, and Dragonslayer elbowed it in the face, caving in its skull. Suddenly, translucent yellow armor manifested around Dragonslayer, covering their entire body. The fusion looked at themself, smiling as they felt the energy surge through their body. With an upward swing of their left blade, they sent a yellow energy arc through a horde of Grimm approaching from one street, and a Deathstalker blocked the attack with its pincers. The Grimm was pushed back a bit, and the armor on its pincers cracked.
"I'll handle fighting," Yang thought, "You find out what our semblance's weakness is." Dragonslayer retracted their blades and charged the Deathstalker, shattering the armor on its pincers with a few powerful strikes. An upward kick exposed the Grimm's vulnerable underside, and several more strikes all but killed it.
"I got it," Jaune thought, "We're on a time limit, but can extend it by defeating enemies." Suddenly, the fusion's armor flickered and disappeared as the time limit ran out, leaving the fusion unexpectedly exhausted. The crippled Deathstalker swung its tail back, but one of the soldiers threw a grenade under it, killing it with the explosion. The soldiers then loaded unholy bullets and took out the Grimm coming for the fusion. Dragonslayer made their way back to the barricade, but their body felt sore and heavy, as if they had been working for the past ten hours. The fusion walked around the barricade, sat down and slumped over backwards, letting out an exhausted sigh.
Author's note: Yeah, pigs are pretty darn dangerous. To be honest, if humans suddenly disappeared, they're one of the 3 most likely animals to replace us, just because there's so many of them and they're so tough. Corvids are also likely, especially those that started to tame wolves.
Dragonslayer has a bit of a high risk/high reward semblance. Once active, they can't turn it off again, and when it runs out, they're exhausted and can't split up until they recover. But, given enough training, and especially if both of them stay actively in control of the body, the semblance can turn the tide almost all the time, with the boost to offense and defense, as well as the energy attacks.