Author's note: And now, catacombs. But we'll also take a look at Atlas, because we're not done there.
On the way to the cathedral, Khione occasionally used Frost Shell to give one of the police officers following her a protective shell and keep them safe from harm, at least for a few attacks. They stopped near a chunk of ice, and Khione gave the rest of the officers their shell, then the group headed for the cathedral.
"You know, you don't have to do that for me," Diamond said, looking at the ice shell circling her.
"Nonsense," Khione said, "I'm going to be a huntress in training, and I plan to take my role seriously. That means that if I can keep someone safe, then I'll do it." They turned a corner and saw the large building. After checking her crossbow one more time to make sure everything was ready for combat, Khione went ahead, and the group met up with Ruby, Weiss, Nora, Cardin and Velvet in front of the entrance to the catacombs.
"Hi Kiki," Ruby said and asked, "And, ready?"
"You bet," Khione answered. She looked over to the police officers, all of which gave her a little nod.
"Alright," Ruby said, "Just one more thing before we go. Weiss used a semblance she copied back in Mistral, meaning there will be some creatures walking around that are coated in a green aura. They're on our side, and will only attack Grimm."
"Got it," Diamond said and asked, "What kind of creatures?"
"Mostly bats made from cobwebs," Weiss answered, "Their screeches block Grimm abilities. But there's also a skeleton walking around." The police officers were visibly unsettled by the idea of walking skeletons, but composed themselves, knowing it was on their side, and the group headed into the catacombs.
~o~
One morning in Atlas, Harriet woke up from the military's emergency alarm. In the blink of an eye, she got dressed and was ready for combat, but when she stepped out of her room, she was met by three Atlesian Knight 130 models with their weapons deployed.
"Attention all military personnel," Penny said over the speaker system, "This is Penny Polendina speaking. In accordance with General Ironwood's push to remove humans and faunus from danger, I have decided to completely replace all organic combatants with automated units. For your own safety, please relocate to the holding facilities and remain there until further notice."
"This is crazy," Harriet said, deployed her weapons and punched one of the Knights, then ran through between the other two. She fired two disks behind herself to keep the robots from following her. She turned around a corner just as the Knights opened fire, and stopped in front of some soldiers who had been scheduled for the early morning shift.
"Harriet, what's going on?" One of the soldiers asked.
"I don't know," Harriet answered, "But we need to get in touch with the others, and put an end to this madness." She took the lead and walked through the hallway. She peaked around a corner and saw several Knights, so she fired two special disks around the corner and ran after them, taking the Knights out in the confusion. She heard the sound of metal breaking from the corridor she just came from and went back to check, only to find Kobalt taking out two Knights that had snuck up on the soldiers.
"Harriet, there you are," Kobalt said, "I've been looking for you guys."
"Good to see you're still free," Harriet said, "Let's stick together. Follow me." She walked away, and the others followed her. When she walked around a corner, a Knight, with its melee weapon raised, spotted her and immediately let its weapon arm snap down, sending an aura arc at her. She took a direct hit and her aura broke, and several Knights held her at gunpoint.
"Harriet!" Kobalt called out, and tried to help her.
"No, run," Harriet said, "Find help, and stop this. Don't worry about me, ok. Just end this madness!" The soldiers and Kobalt hesitated, but they all turned around and ran, with Kobalt using his semblance to create three orbs that would shock the Knights if they tried to follow the group.
~o~
After making sure that everyone's aura was fully charged, and everything was in order, Ruby started leading the group into the catacombs. Instead of Crescent Rose, she used Thief's Respite, due to the cramped space inside the underground tunnels. As they walked through the dark, cold water dripped from the ceiling, and the temperature dropped the further they headed inside.
"This is equal parts exciting and scary," one of the officers said as the group rounded a corner.
"Yeah, I'm actually more used to open spaces," Ruby said, "I can tell where the Grimm are, but there's walls in the way, and I don't know exactly when we may encounter which Grimm. So keep your guard up, everyone. Some of them are small enough to fit into these bone piles, and if there are no solid walls, they can sneak up on us."
"Did you have to say this?" Weiss asked. Ruby looked back at the officers following them and noticed they were visibly nervous.
"Sorry," Ruby said, "But don't worry, like I said, I know where they are, so I can protect everyone."
"That's weird, there are no puddles," one of the officers said, drawing everyone's attention to himself. The group stopped and looked at the water running down the wall in a small trickle, and they saw that there was really no puddle on the ground. Suddenly, Ruby burst into rose petals and appeared next to the officers, staring into a dark hallway. She fired several water-dust rounds into the darkness, and red markings appeared in the distance. Several officers pointed their flashlights into the hallway, revealing a pack of Scavengers staring at them.
"G- Grimm," one of the officers said, and those who didn't hold flashlights opened fire, while the Scavengers threw their javelins at the group. Ruby crossed her arms to protect her face, and the officers were protected by the Frost Shells floating around them.
"Don't worry," Ruby said, reloaded and continued firing at the Grimm. The officers kept firing at the Grimm as well, and while most of them slowly backed away, Diamond was far more confident, and took out the Scavengers with her special pistol and its integrated tactical laser attachment, while the integrated flashlight helped her see. Once the officers had backed away enough, Velvet weaved through them and took up position next to Ruby, and threw several hard-light throwing knives at the Scavengers, killing almost them, either with the initial hits or with Light Bomb. The remaining Grimm ran around a corner and into the bone piles lining the walls.
"Thanks," one of the officers said and asked, "But, why weren't they afraid of you?" Ruby sighed and put her weapons away again.
"Right, didn't your dad say something about that?" Weiss asked.
"I don't know," Ruby answered, "And I don't know who I can ask about this, either." She walked back to the front of the group and they got going again, looking for more Grimm.
"Anyway, Diamond, you're pretty good at this," Cardin said and asked, "How did you manage to stay so calm?" Ruby didn't hear the rest of the conversation, and instead focused on what was wrong with her powers. Grimm should fear her, even to the point of obedience. Stronger Grimm wouldn't dare attack her, after all, yet the Scavengers didn't hesitate to throw their javelins at her.
"Ruby!" Weiss' voice echoed through the catacombs as Weiss grabbed Ruby's shoulder and whirled her around, and the group stopped.
"Weiss, wha- what's wrong?" Ruby asked, after returning to the mentality she usually had when talking to her friends.
"I should be asking you that," Weiss answered, "You were thinking about something, and didn't respond when I asked what it was. If there is anything on your mind, we can try to help. Just tell us."
"Normally, Grimm are scared of me," Ruby answered, "But not any more. Those Scavengers wouldn't have dared to move a muscle a few days ago, even as I was killing them. And yet, they attacked me, and those around me. I don't know why, and I don't know who to ask for help. And… I'm scared."
"Then, can't you ask Sirena?" Weiss asked, "She is the person for that kind of thing, right?"
"No, not this time," Ruby answered, "Back when Harriet broke her legs, her despair didn't fade until Oda appeared, even though both her and I use our silver eyes through sorrow."
"Wait, really? But, didn't you tell us that sad people came to you for guidance?" Weiss asked.
"That is what I believed then, yes," Ruby answered, "But the incident with Harriet taught me how those powers really work. If I can't help someone, they're not affected. So, since I don't feel like I should ask Sirena for help, she can't help me."
"Sorry to interrupt, but is that normal?" Cardin asked and pointed at a skeleton coated in green energy sitting on a stone bench, holding a rusty steel dagger.
"Yes, perfectly normal," Weiss answered, "That is one of the minions created through Guardian's Gambit. It will just keep patrolling this part of the catacombs, and attack any Grimm on sight."
"That is equal parts freaky and cool," Velvet said, "I wish I could do that."
"You're in luck, then," Ruby said, now much happier than before, "Guardian's Gambit is the semblance of Lux, a fusion between Jaune and me. We can let you copy it later, if you like."
"I'd love to," Velvet said.
"Me too," Khione said.
"Same," Cardin said, and Ruby clapped her hands.
"Alright, that settles that, then," Ruby said, "Once we're done here, I'll fuse with Jaune again, and then you can all copy Lux' semblance." Weiss noticed how Ruby had cheered up again once she could help others, and the group got going again, killing dozens of Scavengers along the way, though some always escaped.
~o~
Harriet was dragged to prison by two Knights, letting herself hang as much as possible, to make it as difficult for the robots as she could. Every bit counted, and if she could hinder just two of them, that would definitely help a lot in the long run. She was also hopeful, because Penny had spared them so far, and Sirena would definitely find a solution. The Knights shoved Harriet into one of the rooms with prison cells, which was only guarded by unarmed Knight 200 models. She stumbled into the room, confused why they even let her keep her weapon.
"Seems like you lost, too," Sirena said, and Harriet saw her sitting on one of the benches provided to prisoners, but with no hard-light barrier in place.
"Wait, what?" Harriet asked, confused about the complete and utter lack of security. In response, Sirena just nodded to the side, directing Harriet's attention to a billboard.
"My apologies for my earlier announcement," it read, "The current events are not what I had claimed, but instead a training exercise, initiated under General Ironwood's orders to examine the combat readiness of the military and its automatons. The exercise will conclude at 8pm, if all human and faunus combatants have been captured, or if anyone makes it to the headmaster's office. Please be patient, and let the guards know if you need anything." Harriet looked back at Sirena, who just sat there, and noticed that Vine had also been caught already. She sighed in defeat and sat down next to Vine, and just let the realization sink in that this was simply a game, rather than the end of the world.
~o~
Ren led a garrison of soldiers through Vale's streets, making sure that there were no Grimm in one of the city's districts. Suddenly, a flower pot smashed onto the pavement next to the soldiers, and when they looked at where it had come from, they saw an Alpha Beowolf up on an overhang, with several projectiles ready to be thrown at people.
"Leave it to me," Ren said and ran up to the wall of the building. He jumped up the wall and quickly scaled it, jumping from ledges to windowsills, and impressing the soldiers with his athleticism. As soon as the Grimm was within reach, he drew one of his weapons and hooked its blade into its forearm. He let himself fall down, holding on to the overhang with his free hand, and yanked the Grimm off the platform. The Alpha Beowolf tumbled down the facade and crashed onto the ground with broken limbs, allowing the soldiers to take it out without risk while Ren got back down.
"That was impressive," one of the soldiers said.
"Thanks," Ren said, "I learned a few things recently, and decided to improve on my athletic skills a bit more." The group continued their patrol through the city, checked up on a few more barricades along the way, and took note of any issues with the Knights stationed there, then returned to their respective bases of operation.
~o~
Ruby, Weiss, Nora, Cardin, Velvet, Khione and the police officers climbed out of a hole in the floor of a lecture hall in Vale's University of Technology, following a Combat Drone that Weiss had sent upwards to clear the way. The officers provided light again, except that now, more of them switched to flashlights, to cover more ground.
"It's a bit stuffy in here," Velvet said and coughed a little. Ruby folded her hands, with only her thumbs, index- and pinkie fingers sticking out, and made a carafe with water, as well as enough glasses for everyone, out of the dust in the room.
"Here you go," Ruby said and let out a sigh, and everyone sat down for a quick break.
"That will never not impress me," Khione said, "I mean, you just made that out of thin air."
"Well, I actually made it out of all the dust in the air, but thanks," Ruby said.
"You know, I've been thinking," one of the officers said and asked, "Can't we turn on the lights?"
"We could, but that would use up the city's electricity," Ruby answered, "And right now, that is needed for more important things, like water purification." After everyone was ready to go again, they got up and went back into the catacombs, and Weiss placed a Landmine in the door that would burst into a cloud of anti-Grimm steam if any Grimm approached.
~o~
Glynda and Jaune split up again and stared at a map of Vale, where their fusion had marked every potentially important location with different symbols, to try and figure out where Salem might strike, or already be striking. However, they had to bring in two additional maps, otherwise they would have rendered the one utterly unreadable.
"Well, that is definitely interesting," Glynda said.
"Sure is," Jaune said and asked, "So, what do you think she'll do?"
"Ruby has already secured the bandits' support, so that's out," Glynda answered, "But we can't live without dust, so she might try to attack our supply."
"But with Ilia in Atlas, the Grimm won't approach the ships," Jaune said, "So really, our fire-goo supply is the more viable weak spot."
"But even we don't know where that comes from, other than Soraklia, which is too vague to make an attack plan," Glynda said and looked at Jaune, "Also, I have to admit that it's somewhat alarming how good you are at finding weak spots and coming up with attack plans like that. Especially considering what I just saw in your memories."
"Well, according to Sirena, that's what it takes to be a good protector," Jaune explained, looking at Glynda, "And, it does make sense. You can't defend against an attack if you don't know what it'll be."
"I suppose that does make sense," Glynda said and asked, "Now, any other ideas?" They both looked back at the map, and continued trying to find out where, and how, Salem might try to sabotage their efforts. Both proposed ideas, and then explained possible counters, while also considering weaknesses of said counter measures.
~o~
In the evening, after ending her little game, Penny gathered General Ironwood, Winter, the Ace Operatives, and several select soldiers in one of the academy's class rooms, walking up and down in the front and holding one of her swords like a pointing stick.
"Hello everyone," Penny said and asked, "And, what did we learn today?"
"That you can lie now," Harriet answered.
"Well, not quite," Penny said, "I developed a text-to-speech program that sounds like me. In any case, I noticed that you did not find a new way to communicate after I turned off your electronic communication. This, in turn, led to you being disorganized and easier to defeat. Grimm are crafty, so it is only a matter of time until one appears that can shut down electronics. We already have Thunderbirds, after all, and their evolved form could be much more trouble for us, if they show up again. Therefore, I want you to come up with ways to communicate over long distances if electronics fail."
"What did you have in mind?" Clover asked.
"I cannot tell you this," Penny answered, "You will have to be creative and figure it out on your own." Hearing that, Clover looked at his weapon and smiled, hopeful that he could come up with something. He just needed to know where to start, which would definitely be hard, but he felt confident. Also lucky.
~o~
Ruby, Weiss, Nora, Cardin, Velvet and Khione returned to the train station just in time for dinner, although Ruby was visibly exhausted. Diamond had accompanied them, to report to Glynda about the events of the day, even though Ruby had insisted she go back to the police station and rest.
"Welcome back, everyone," Glynda said and asked, "And, how did it go?"
"Pretty good," Diamond answered, "Well, until we reached ValTech."
"What do you mean?" Glynda asked, and noticed Ruby sit down on one of the chairs, looking like she just sat through a five-hour lecture on something no normal person should be expected to understand.
"Well, Weiss insisted she explain the periodic table to Ruby," Diamond answered, "It didn't go well."
"Yes, I can imagine, especially given her grades," Glynda said, "Thank you, Diamond. Have a nice night." Hearing the officer's name, Yang got an idea that, while morbid, was too good to ignore.
"You too, headmistress," Diamond said and turned to leave.
"Wait, you're named after a gemstone, too?" Yang asked, and Diamond paused and turned around.
"Well, yes," Diamond answered and asked, "Why?"
"Just, you know, I've kind of noticed a pattern concerning my sister," Yang answered, "You see, when she uses her silver eyes near someone who has just died, that person's soul mistakes her light for the afterlife."
"Yang, what are you getting at?" Blake asked, not sure if she should get upset already.
"I'm just saying, it's weird that so far, she has captured the souls of two people," Yang answered, "And both are named after gemstones." Everyone looked at Ruby, who seemed too drained to really process what Yang said, filling the room with an awkward silence.
"Well, thanks for the warning, I guess," Diamond said, "I'll be careful." With that, she left, and the huntsmen and students had dinner, then went to bed. However, unbeknownst to them, Ruby did pick up what Yang was talking about, and got a bit worried about whether or not some higher power was dooming people named after gemstones.
~o~
The next morning, during breakfast, Weiss kept looking back at Ruby, and initially told herself it was to make sure she really was fine, especially after what Yang had said. She also looked over to Yang, to figure out what she was doing, and if she was as worried about Ruby. Eventually, though, she had to admit to herself that she had other reasons.
"Alright Ruby, I have to ask," Weiss said, drawing the attention to herself and asked, "How does your alchemy work?"
"What do you mean 'how does it work'?" Ruby asked and answered, "It just does."
"But you said you learned it, right?" Weiss asked, "How did they teach you?"
"Oh, that's what you mean," Ruby said and explained, "Well, imagine breaking a plate. And then you keep breaking the shards until you reach something that you can't break any more. That's made up of even smaller stuff, which in turn is made up of vibrations in one of many fields that permeated our world. And depending on what I'm working with, I can either use the raw material, go to the tiniest parts, or just vibrate those fields a little to trade energy for what I need."
"I'm sure I'm misunderstanding a few things here, because that sounds like you skipped molecular physics, and learned quantum field theory," Weiss said and asked, "Are you sure what I tried to tell you yesterday didn't make sense?"
"Wait, was that what you were trying to teach me?" Ruby asked and swallowed the bite she was eating, "Why did you make it sound so complicated yesterday?"
"Yes, those really small things you can't break down easily," Weiss answered, "They're atoms. They form molecules, and make up everything we see and interact with. Well, except for aura, dust, and Grimm, but that's beside the point. And I didn't make it sound complicated, it is complicated. I just thought knowing about those could help you."
"Sorry, I guess I just approach those things differently," Ruby said, "I can go back later today and use Loremaster to comprehend it better, if you like."
"Well, this isn't-" Weiss said, paused, and said, "Yes, I guess that would be fine. Thanks." They finished eating, and afterwards, Ruby and Jaune fused into Lux one more time, leading Cardin, Velvet and Khione to a nearby pack of Beowolves and Ursai, with a Big Ursa in it as well, and petrified it using their silver eyes.
Author's note: Fake robot uprising speedrun, any%. Ruby really shouldn't have taken her to see that movie. On the other hand, it's a valuable exercise, especially considering that the military's firewall had gaping holes in it in the past, and could potentially be taken over again in the future.
Also, Jaune uses the skills he learned from Sirena.