Author's note: This is the chapter that finally got me out of my writer's block. It's more formulaic at some points, because having a simple template that I could repeat with different characters and vary slightly was easier than just making up a whole story.

Weiss stood in a Grassy Terrain that Jaune had set up for her and focused on a Seer she had summoned, using Aura Wall through another one. However, she also used Guardian's Gambit, hoping to combine the effects into one. The Seer sprayed a green mist from one of its tendrils, which crackled with green lightning, leaving a barrier on the ground. When a Beowolf ran through the wall, the dust manifested sticks around it, slowing it down and dealing some damage. Before the Grimm could recover, the sticks assembled into a wolf that pounced the Grimm, going for the throat, killing it. The wolf then looked around the park and began patrolling its territory. Despite the increased aura regeneration, her scroll's alarm rang, notifying her that her aura ran low, so she made the summon disappear.

"Aura Wall at Oregano Park, drive Grimm to run through it from north entrance," Weiss wrote in a message to everyone, "It creates minions, but only lasts five minutes." She sent the message and set up a Safezone and Healing Circle, then took a break to let her aura regenerate. Still, she needed to get stronger.

~o~

Yang stuck a bomb to an Alpha Beowolf and used an air-dust shell to hurl it into an oncoming pack of Grimm. Both the punch sticking the bomb to it and the air-dust triggered Spectral Assault, and the small orbs followed the Grimm. When the bomb exploded, it killed the Alpha Beowolf, triggering both Daybreaker and Spectral Assault. The entire alley was engulfed in golden flames and white orbs, and the Grimm died shortly after, with help from the soldiers accompanying her.

"That was awesome," Khione said and asked, "Since when can you do that? And can you let me copy that semblance?"

"Thanks," Yang said and answered, "But the golden flames aren't part of my own semblance. They're from the semblance of a fusion I'm part of, and the other half is somewhere else right now. We also can't really contact her, so you'll just have to hope she comes here."

"I see," Khione said and let her head hang a bit.

"But don't worry," Yang said, trying to cheer her up, "Your Frozen Savior is a huge boon to any huntsman, and I'm sure if you keep at it, people will line up to team up with you once you graduate."

"Thanks," Khione said.

"Good work, everyone," the leader of the soldiers said, "We'll set up a barricade here, and then head back to base camp." Several Atlesian Knight 200 units brought anti-gravity pallet trucks carrying materials to set up a barricade, and began their work, while 130 and 130b models further secured the parameter. The safety measures consisted of three rows of hidden spikes, which could pop up to skewer attacking Grimm at the press of a button, waist-high walls for soldiers and Knights to hide behind, and small turrets mounted to the walls. Seeing her job done, Khione left to join another group.

~o~

Blake made her way through Vale, followed by a pack of Grimm. To ensure they would follow her, she focused on all the anger in the area, making herself irresistible to them. As she reached Oregano Park, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a small metal disk with four purple rectangles evenly spaced out along its edge. She jumped over the Aura Wall and threw the disk on the ground, where four prongs popped out of its edge between the rectangles, making it stick to the rubbery floor at the bottom of the slide. Blake turned around mid-air and shot the Grimm, who were starting to slow down and attempted to run away.

"Oh no, you don't," Blake thought as Spectral Assault triggered from the gunshots, damaging the Grimm somewhat. She landed behind the device and gently tapped it with her foot. It began beeping slowly, then faster, and after three seconds, it pulled the gravity-dust bullets embedded in the Grimm towards itself, and the Grimm with them. When the Grimm passed through the wall, each one created enough sticks, twigs and branches for another wolf, and Blake killed the Grimm with her katana and its sheath. She tapped the disk with her foot twice, deactivating it again, and waited for more Grimm to approach.

"You're so cool," Khione said as she approached, and asked, "Can you teach me?"

"Thanks, but sadly, no," Blake answered, "All I can tell you is to be true to yourself, and not try to be someone else, or to be who someone else wants you to be. Carve your own path, both as a huntress, and as a person, and you will find good people."

"Got it," Khione said and asked, "Anyway, what's with those small white orbs? I've seen Yang make those too, and they look really useful, with how they attack Grimm and all. Is it a semblance? Whose is it? Where can I get it?"

"It's a semblance, yes," Blake answered, "It's called Spectral Assault, and belongs to Micheal, the fusion of Jaune and someone else, who isn't here right now."

"Oh, I see," Khione said and let her head hang again.

"Yeah, sorry about that," Blake said and turned her sword into its gun form again, "Anyway, if you want to help, you can tap this disk when I tell you."

"Okay," Khione said. Blake rushed off and shot the Grimm, triggering Spectral Assault with each hit.

"Now," Blake called, and Khione tapped the disk with her foot, then used Petal Burst to rush up the slide as soon as it started beeping. The Grimm crashed through the Aura Wall, spawning more wolves, and Khione took the monsters out with ice-dust bolts before they could recover. Once the Grimm were killed, the Aura Wall expired, and Khione went on to find someone else who might need her help.

~o~

Jaune swung his great sword and sent an aura arc through a horde of Grimm, then ran along the street. He created several clones of himself and formed a shield wall, allowing the Knight 130b units to catch up to him and establish their own shield wall, while the Knight 200s and soldiers brought materials for the barricade. Jaune's clones disappeared again and he made an Aura Guardian appear, positioning it at the end of a road leading to a big plaza.

"Awesome," Khione said under her breath, walking up to Jaune from behind and startling him a bit.

"Thanks," Jaune said and turned around, "But, to be honest, this isn't really my semblance."

"Yeah, I figured," Khione said and asked, "You and someone who isn't here right now, right?"

"How did you know?" Jaune asked.

"Blake told me," Khione answered and asked, "But wait, what about Spectral Assault?"

"That's another fusion," Jaune answered, "Aura Guardian is Aegis' semblance, Spectral Assault is Micheal's."

"Got it," Khione said and asked, "Do you need help with anything?" Jaune looked around, and saw that the soldiers had everything under control.

"Not at the moment, no," Jaune answered, "But it's good that you're so invested in helping others, so keep at it."

"Of course," Khione said and walked away again, sticking to the edge of the areas where people had established a foothold and looking for people she could help. She paused for a moment, checked her crossbow, and loaded one more bolt into the magazine built into the handle, then continued.

~o~

Nora was in her wolf form, and walked through Vale, trying to sniff out Grimm, even though she had no idea what they smelled like. She heard gunshots in the distance, and the sound of soldiers realizing they were outnumbers and had to retreat. She turned around and ran through some back alleys to get to them faster, and transformed back before reaching the road the soldiers were on.

"This way, quick," Nora called out and waved the soldiers into the alley she had come from. They ran around the corner and jumped over the Aura Wall, while Nora ran through it normally. When the Beowolves, Alpha Beowolf, and Scavengers followed them, they ran into the electric barrier and got paralyzed by Shocking Shackle, while Chain Lightning relayed the attack to the nearest Grimm, and Spectral Assault caused additional damage whenever a Grimm took a hit.

"Thanks, you're a life-saver," one of the soldiers said as the Grimm died, and Nora chuckled.

"It's nothing, really," Nora said and asked, "What were you guys doing here, anyway?"

"We were hoping to expand in this direction," the leader of the soldiers answered, "But, as you know, Grimm tend to be a problem."

"They sure are," Nora said, "Well, I guess I can stay with you guys for now, and make sure you're safe."

"I can help, too," Khione said and walked into the alley.

"Thanks, but that might be too dangerous," Nora said, "I'm… not exactly careful when fighting, so you could get hurt. Sorry."

"It's fine," Khione said and left again, trying to hide her disappointment. Seeing her trudge away, Nora felt bad, but she didn't want to put Ruby's friend in danger, especially if she could help others better. She turned around and focused on keeping her group of soldiers safe.

~o~

Ren fired several crystal rounds into a pack of Grimm as he ran along a rooftop, disrupting the pack's charge and allowing the Atlesian Knight 130s to take them out more efficiently. He jumped off the rooftop and jammed his blades into the wall across the street, landing in front of another pack of Grimm. Using Sword Dash, he made several short dashes through the Grimm, leaving a purple trail behind and creating a sword at all his starting positions. The Grimm were cut to pieces as they charged, decreasing in numbers until the Knights could take them out.

"That was so cool," Khione said, walked up to him, calmed down again and asked, "Let me guess, the semblance of a fusion of you and someone who isn't here?"

"Thank you," Ren said and answered, "But no, this is the semblance of a single person. But I doubt he would be interested in sharing it with you. I only got it because someone else convinced him to."

"I see," Khione said and let her head hang again, "Anyway, I'll be on my way now. See you." She walked away, and while Ren wanted to follow her, another pack of Grimm attacked him and he had to fight them off. By the time the Grimm were killed, Khione was gone and the Knights had moved on to the next location.

~o~

Ruby walked out of a portal and saw Weiss sitting on a park bench, which had become overgrown with weeds due to over a year of neglect. Weiss looked up in surprise as Ruby put her scythe away, and the portal closed behind her.

"Hey Ruby," Weiss said and asked, "Did you copy Raven's semblance?"

"I did, yeah," Ruby answered, sat down next to Weiss and said, "Anyway, I just read the whole atom thing."

"And?" Weiss asked.

"It does explain the basics of alchemy," Ruby answered, "But it's also incomplete. A lot of materials are missing from it, especially the weird ones."

"Wait, really?" Weiss asked, "Also, what weird ones?"

"There are several that apparently don't want to exist," Ruby answered, "If they were to exist, it would only be for a short time. They constantly fall apart, and poison everything around them."

"Are you sure?" Weiss asked and said, "Because that would actually be really interesting to study."

"I am sure, yes," Ruby answered, "As for studying them, that would be difficult. Watch." She folded her hands and focused on a sand pit, transmuting some of the sand near the bottom, to shield the two of them from some of the problems. Just as Weiss was about to ask what she was looking at, and immediately after Ruby let her hands down, the sand pit exploded in a ball of fire and glass, causing Weiss to instinctively cover her face and put up a Glyph as barrier.

"What was that?!" Weiss asked, staring at Ruby, and let the Glyph disappear.

"One of the materials I told you about," Ruby answered, "Its own heat is greater than its melting point, or even boiling point, causing it to almost immediately vaporize itself."

"Are they all that bad?" Weiss asked.

"No, some are quite manageable," Ruby answered, "They still poison everything around them, but they aren't nearly as hot, meaning they can be used for some things, like heating water."

"But, would that even be safe?" Weiss asked, "Not to mention, why go through all that just for some warm water?"

"Not in the slightest," Ruby answered, "I ran some simulations on my scroll, and if anything went wrong, anything at all, the result would be apocalyptic. Even staying long enough to take a single picture would be your doom. All in all, this method of generating energy would be insane to use as anything but a last resort."

"You mean, when dust no longer works?" Weiss asked.

"Not even then," Ruby answered, "Take the sun, for example. It can be used to heat water just as well, and I'm sure there are other methods of using it, too."

"I see," Weiss said and paused for a moment before she continued, "You know, you've changed. I don't know if I like it just yet, but you've definitely grown in a very interesting direction."

"Thanks," Ruby said, "But to be honest, I wanted to show you something else I have learned. However, I seem to have lost that ability recently, and I don't know what to do."

"You mean scaring Grimm into submission?" Weiss asked and said, "But you don't need to do that."

"Except I do," Ruby said, "I need to be able to command the respect that the god of light demanded from them. How else will I-" Her rambling was cut off when Weiss slapped her.

"Stop it!" Weiss shouted as Ruby turned to look at her, rubbing her cheek, "Stop with this nonsense. You're not some messenger of some god who doesn't even care about the world. You're Ruby Rose, leader of Team RWBY. Yes, that is confusing, but so is the whole situation. A little girl who shouldn't even be in Beacon was put in charge of a racist, a former terrorist, and the daughter of a bandit leader. How many people, how many gods, could have made this setup work as well as you did?!"

"Weiss…," Ruby said, took a deep breath, hugged Weiss and said, "Thank you, I think… I really needed to hear that."

"You're welcome," Weiss said and hugged Ruby back. They remained like that for quite a while, long after Ruby's cheek stopped hurting, and for just a moment, Ruby allowed herself to ignore the world around her, and turn down her ability to sense Grimm. Then, Weiss had an idea that would help both her, and also the world at large.

~o~

Khione popped the bubble Ruby had used to send her to their destination, and looked around in the dorm room her friend's team had temporarily occupied. There were no signs of anyone having lived there, except for Ruby's emblem immortalized on a golden plaque at the head end of one of the bunk beds. A red portal opened next to her, and Ruby stepped out.

"So, this is where you slept?" Khione asked and said, "Looks… sterile."

"Also boring," Ruby answered, "Anyway, let's go find the people we're here for. Hopefully we can avoid going outside." She put her scythe away and headed towards the door.

"Why? What's wrong with being outside?" Khione asked and followed Ruby, "Does it have to do with why you left your scroll in Vale?"

"Nothing," Ruby answered, "It's just that I may have been a bit too awesome for the people here, so I'm worried they already built a statue in my honor, and I feel like statues should be reserved for dead people and heroes, not someone who just followed her gut."

"I see," Khione said and asked, "So, what exactly did you do?" She noticed several people watching the news on a big TV in a break room, showing a reporter standing in the middle of a petrified horde of powerful Grimm, including a badly injured Wyvern.

"I am standing here in front of the third Wyvern that attacked our kingdom several months ago," the woman said, "While there are no known eyewitnesses, all reliable sources name one Ruby Rose as the one who defeated these monsters, presumably all in one strike. Her current whereabouts are rumored to be the kingdom of Vale, but how she could have made it there is currently unknown."

"Hey Ruby, come quick, they're talking about you," Khione called out, "On the news." Everyone in the break room looked at Khione, and several people suddenly appeared beside her, just as Ruby came back to her.

"Ruby? Is that really you?" Harriet asked, "How did you get back here? And who's the girl?"

"Hey guys," Ruby said and answered, "This is Khione Waters, a friend of mine from Signal. I sent her here with one of my semblances, then used Kindred Link to get to her. Khione, those are some of the Ace Operatives. Clover Ebi, Harriet Bree, and Vine Zeki."

"Hello," Harriet said.

"Nice to meet you," Clover said, and Vine just nodded.

"Hello," Khione said, turned to Ruby and asked, "Which one are we here for?"

"Marrow Amin, but also Ilia Amitola and Penny Polendina," Ruby answered, turned to Clover and asked, "So, where is Marrow?"

"In the training area, trying to figure out the semblance you shared with him," Clover answered, "Ilia is on a mission, and Penny is doing… something. I'm honestly not sure."

"Got it, thanks," Ruby said and walked away, with Khione following her. While Ruby walked around normally, Khione took in everything for the first time, and Ruby eventually had to hold her hand so as to not lose her in the massive building. She smiled a bit, feeling like she was some kind of professional, and showing the younger generation the ropes.

~o~

Marrow levitated an ice plate in place to block a shot from a Knight, hoping to get a reaction from the semblance, only to come up empty. Just as he was about to take a break, due to his tail fur running out, the door to the training room opened and he turned around.

"Hi Marrow," Ruby said as she entered.

"Hello," Khione said a bit more reserved, standing behind Ruby.

"Ruby, you're back," Marrow said and asked, "Who's your friend?"

"Khione Waters," Ruby answered, "Anyway, we came to tell you about the semblance, Frozen Savior." She stepped aside and let Khione explain.

"Well, it's quite simple, really," Khione explained, "Whenever I hit an enemy with ice-dust, the resulting ice recharges the aura of my nearby allies. It depletes the ice, and efficiency and range depend on your training, but it's a really good support semblance to have. Also, if you want, I can imprint it on your soul permanently."

"That sounds great, thanks," Marrow said, "I was about to try hitting my enemies next, but I doubt I would've thought of having allies nearby." Khione held her hand up in front of Marrow's face and manifested her aura until its essence was burned into Marrow's soul, allowing him to use Frozen Savior even if Ruby shared it with someone else.

~o~

While Ruby and Khione were waiting for Ilia to return from her mission, they went around teaching everyone with a projectile modification semblance how to imprint their semblance on someone else's soul, and they all went to Penny, due to her being functionally immortal.

"Ruby, wait," Weiss said, somewhat out of breath and running up to the duo, "I wanted to tell you, I want to come with you."

"Oh sorry," Ruby said and asked, "How did you get here, though?"

"Yang… sent me," Weiss answered, took a deep breath and said, "I'm going to go off on my own for a while, but I'll wait at our temporary dorm room when I'm done. So don't leave without me. Also, I'd like to get Frozen Savior."

"Got it," Ruby said, and they parted ways. While Ruby and Khione spent some time looking around until they could have Ilia copy Frozen Savior, Weiss went around fusing with people again, namely Marrow, to get their fusion's Icy Terrain semblance, though he wanted it as well. In the end, he got it, and Weiss had to get creative, or find another semblance to take home. She managed to track down a member of Sophie's swarm, and copy Lily's Fast Travel semblance, and then she went to fuse with Ilia. One way or another, she would get stronger, even if she had to leave this reality for a spell. The only condition Ilia had was that Permafrost would save her parents first and foremost, which was more than fine with Weiss.

Author's note: Khione walks around, looking for people who need help. It's a bit formulaic, but that helped me get it done faster.

Ruby and Weiss talk about potential elements. Also, Ruby made Astatine, which has a very short half life and can't be observed on a macroscopic scale because it would almost immediately vaporize from the heat of its own radioactivity. But yeah, Ruby has some very strong opinions about radioactive material, mainly because she doesn't know how many safety measures you can put in place in one location and still turn a profit.

Weiss and all her fusions can now teleport, meaning that due to her fusing with a maiden, she can teleport to different timelines. And, well, when you want to get stronger, but your own timeline is doing too well because there is nothing that can challenge you, you just go to another timeline, where things are worse. Obviously.

I'll be uploading a bonus chapter about Permafrost as well, so check the spin-off stories if you haven't already.