Author's note: This is the first of many chapters of my rewrite AU fanfiction, where I mostly explore how the plot would change if the main characters, and some others, had access to abilities I think could be plausible within the canon universe. Between V3 and V4, I set up some rules to explain the things we saw in the show, and this is the result of said rules. This chapter eventually turns into a flashback to further explore one of my OCs, but you can skip that if you want. Consider it on par with the Red, White, Black and Yellow trailers.

Anyway, this story is named after a plan my OCs have. Feel free to try and figure it out before I reveal what it is.

And lastly, there are 4 important character deaths in the story so far. One canon, one planned, and two just happened.


Just as Qrow was about to pull his sword from the stone wall, Tyrian dashed to attack him. Before he could reach him, however, the scorpion faunus was hit by a powerful stream of water and launched through the village. The stream carved a trench into the stone ground and left Tyrian soaked and sitting in front of a large building. He looked at where the water had come from, and Ruby rushed back to her friends. They heard foot steps walking through the water, and a woman walked towards Tyrian. She wore a dark blue tank top and copper colored combat skirt, which was held by a dark blue and black leather belt. She also wore black unattached sleeves going from above her elbows to her wrists, and had her reddish-brown hair styled in a ponytail by running it through a hole above the knot holding her black headband in place. She held a golden trident in her left hand, the tips just barely above the stone ground, and slowly approached Tyrian. Whenever she lifted her feet out of the water, the group could see that she had six toes on each foot.

"Sirena, what are you -" Qrow began to ask, but Sirena quickly shot an icicle into the stone wall next to him, cutting him off. After regaining himself, he went to Ruby and her friends and urged them into a building.

"Who is this?" Ruby asked while Qrow tried getting everyone away from the battle.

"Sirena Blue," Qrow answered, "She is… difficult to handle. When this is over, I'll do the talking."

"Who… are you?" Tyrian asked after Sirena had stopped in front of him.

"See for yourself," Sirena answered and looked Tyrian in the eyes. He grinned and immediately attacked her with a spinning attack. Sirena brought her trident around, holding it in both hands to block the attack. While the hit connected, Sirena didn't move at all and Tyrian was thrown off balance when he landed.

"Stop insulting me like this and fight seriously!" Sirena demanded angrily and kicked Tyrian away with a roundhouse kick before shooting water from her trident and propelling herself on top of the building to get a better view over the area.

~o~

Qrow and the others entered an empty room in an abandoned building and looked around.

"See what I mean?" Qrow asked and said, "She is more than dangerous, and incredibly violent towards her enemies." Suddenly, Nora spoke up.

"See, Ren?" she asked, holding up a shoe box, showed a magazine of sniper ammunition and said, "I'm not the only one hiding ammunition in case of an ammunition emergency."

"This isn't mine," Ruby said, "I told you, I've never been this far away from home."

"Well, if you don't want it," Nora said.

"Pretty sure Sirena wants Ruby to have it," Qrow said, "So if you keep it, you won't make it out of this room."

~o~

Tyrian dashed behind a building, less than a second before another powerful burst of water cut through the stone ground he had just been standing on. He peeked around the corner, only for Sirena to send another powerful blast at him, aiming for his face. He looked at the hole in the ground, which was filled with dark water, and ducked under another attack in the last moment. He began running behind the buildings, with water jets pulverizing the walls he used as cover, and tried getting a clear line of fire to attack. Then, he got an idea and changed his course.

~o~

Ruby was just done putting the new ammunition in her pockets, when Tyrian crashed through the wall and kicked Qrow out through the hole he made.

"Let's end this," Tyrian said, smiling with murder in his eyes.

"You're right," Jaune said, "Ren, now." Jaune charged towards Tyrian, his sword raised and his shield partly blocking the view of Ren. Tyrian caught Jaune's sword arm with his tail and flung him around, throwing him through the wall behind him. He blocked Ren's scissor-cut strike with one of his own weapons.

"You think this trick will work on me?" Tyrian asked and said, "Don't be ridiculous." Ren fired a short burst of bullets into Tyrian's face and made a back flip, dodging Nora's grenades. Tyrian was launched through the wall and landed on his back. Jaune walked up to him and held his sword against his throat.

"Now, who do you work for?" he asked. Tyrian raised his stinger to attack Jaune from behind, but Ruby fired an earth-dust round at it, pinning his stinger to the ground. Suddenly, the floor cracked and water began pouring out of the crack. Tyrian wanted to kick Jaune away, but Ruby fired another bullet, pinning his tail closer to his body to the ground as well.

"Jaune, come back," Ruby called, and Jaune huffed and turned away. As soon as he reached the building where his friends were waiting, the ground collapsed and revealed a massive underground lake covering the entire section of the village.

~o~

Qrow was struggling to stay at the surface, and had lost his sword. After taking a deep breath, he went under water for another attempt. Making his way through the cold and murky waters, he suddenly heard an all too familiar voice.

"Smite all evils, and protect the light," Sirena said and handed him his sword before swimming away again. Qrow held on to his sword, but it dragged him down and he had to climb one of the stone pillars still standing.

~o~

After seeing the village floor collapse, Ruby saw Sirena seemingly stand on the water. Sirena walked over to Ruby and her friends, and looked at where Tyrian seemed to be.

"Let's end this," Sirena said before disappearing beneath the waves.

"But don't kill him!" Ruby called out.

"I don't think she heard you," Nora said. Sirena swam after Tyrian, who was still trying to free himself, but was running out of air.

"Water is the source of all life," Sirena said, circling Tyrian, "How ironic then, that it will be your undoing. This is the force I wield. The surface world may be cruel by some standards, but the deep sea is much worse. The most hostile places on the surface can't hope to compare to the nicest places in the deep sea. One wrong move, one moment of carelessness, one unearned bit of hope, and it is over. Nothing will remain of those who think the deep sea is caring. And just like the light from the surface, you will suffocate, smothered by the inevitable darkness that awaits at the deepest depths, where only the most wretched and wicked dare to dwell. And like the a tsunami, I will come to wash away all you hold dear. Your queen will perish at my hands, and there is nothing you can do against it." Suddenly, Tyrian cut off his tail and tried hitting Sirena, but she dodged his attack without issue.

~o~

Ruby looked into the water, thinking about jumping in to make sure Sirena didn't kill her assailant. Suddenly, Tyrian came flying out of the water and slammed into a building, and his aura was depleted entirely.

"Look, his tail," Ren said, and Ruby gasped as she saw the stump flailing around. Tyrian coughed up some water and crawled away from the lake on all fours, shivering and coughing. Sirena walked out of the water, moving as if she was walking up a stair, and stopped in front of Tyrian. She grabbed his ponytail and wrapped it around his neck to pull him up, and crouched down a little to be on eye level with him.

"Tyrian," Sirena said in a cold and threatening voice, "Miss Rose decided your life was worth saving. While I disagree with this decision, I still respect it. However, should you return to that bitch you call goddess, let her know that, if she ever sends another one of her worthless mutts to kill me, Miss Rose, or any of her friends, I will not go as easy on them as I did with you." She then pushed Tyrian aside and walked back into the water, while the crippled faunus curled up and shivered. Ruby dashed over the water and cut several wooden beams, forming a bridge for her friends.

~o~

On the shore of the lake, they met with Sirena, who had her trident collapsed into a scepter with a blue sphere on top and walked out of the water again. They immediately noticed that Sirena was barefoot, with no footwear in sight, and she had six toes on each foot.

"Are you alright?" Sirena asked, looking at Ruby. She sounded strict and formal, but also somewhat caring.

"You… have silver eyes," Ruby said.

"Yes, we are," Jaune answered, "Thank you."

"I wasn't talking to you three," Sirena said, "You were irresponsible, not at all cut out for this sort of encounter, and almost lost one of the last people that could save Remnant. Do you have any clue what would have happened if I had not interfered?"

"We were trying our best," Ruby defended her friends, "That guy was just too good for us."

"Sirena, wait!" Qrow shouted as he ran towards the group.

"Qrow, are you alright?" Ruby asked after Qrow stopped between the group and Sirena, soaked and panting.

"Yes, but you better go now," Qrow answered, "Sirena and I have a lot to talk about, I guess."

"Actually, I came to speak with Miss Rose," Sirena said, looking at Ruby.

"Really?" Ruby asked and said, "Also, 'Miss Rose' sounds too formal, you can just call me 'Ruby' instead."

"Alright," Sirena said, "Now, follow me, I have a place where we can talk." She walked past the group and down the road leading away from the village. As they left, a few more buildings crumbled, forming a bridge for Tyrian to leave the little island he was stranded on.

~o~

The group walked through the forest, with Sirena taking the lead, and Jaune whispered something to Ruby.

"If you are wondering, no, I cannot walk on water," Sirena suddenly said, and Jaune blinked a few times, "I merely alter my personal water friction using my aura. If at least one of my feet is fully submerged, that friction can support my entire body."

"Can you read minds?" Nora asked excitedly. Sirena looked back at her.

"That is a question for another time," she answered, "Anyway, we're there." She pushed a few bushes aside and revealed a clearing with six stone sculptures of Boarbatusk. Sirena sat down on one of the two that had moss covers on their backs, and gestured the others to sit down as well. Jaune sat to her left, then came Ren, who faced away from the path, then Nora, Ruby, who sat on the second moss-covered stone Grimm, and lastly Qrow, who sat down between the two silver-eyed warriors.

"So, Sirena, what brings you here?" Qrow asked.

"You told her, didn't you?" Sirena countered, gesturing to Ruby.

"Told me what?" Ruby asked, and Qrow sighed.

"A few years ago, Sirena and I made a deal," Qrow answered, "She told me how to use the silver eyes, and where they came from, and I'd tell every silver-eyed warrior I met."

"But why didn't you tell me?" Ruby asked, "Do you know how much better things would've been if I had known this?"

"Trust me, Ruby," Qrow answered, "These powers paint a target on your back, and people like Tyrian will come to kill you."

"It is true," Sirena said, "Which is why I am here now. My teammates are protecting your friends as well, and helping them become stronger, should our enemies try and attack them as well."

"Ok, just for those of us who don't know what's going on," Nora said and asked, "What is so important about the silver eyes?"

"And who was that guy?" Jaune asked.

"I suppose I should start at the beginning," Sirena said and explained, "At first, there were two gods on Remnant, the god of light and his younger brother, the god of darkness. The god of light would create life, and his brother would destroy it. However, life always returned stronger than before. In a desperate attempt to turn the tide, the younger brother created the Grimm. They are creatures of darkness, born from it, feeding from it, and returning to it once slain. One day, the god of light proposed a truce. They would combine their powers, creation, destruction, knowledge and choice, to make one final creation, then leave the planet."

"That was the humans, right?" Nora asked.

"Not quite," Sirena answered, "That species was called therianthropes. They had the ability to switch between an animal form and a human one. Due to various circumstances, mostly related to creating offspring, they lost this ability over time. However, the god of light hid a secret weapon in this ability. The seventh child of a therianthrope which does not inherit their parent's abilities, is instead blessed with a spark of creation to combat the Grimm. This spark manifests as silver eyes."

"You know, Ruby," Nora said, "You're pretty humble, considering you're wielding the power of a god."

"Very funny, Nora," Ruby said sarcastically, "But I don't have any special powers, aside from that one thing."

"Speaking of which, what do the silver eyes actually do?" Ren asked.

"They turn Grimm to stone," Sirena answered, "Also, this spark does allow one to connect to all of creation on a deeper level."

"Meaning?" Ruby asked, tilting her head a little.

"I suppose you could call it magic," Sirena answered, "Some of my people can manifest that energy as force fields or energy blasts, heal injuries, track others, make hovering light spheres, or transmute materials."

"Wait, magic?" Nora asked excitedly.

"What do you mean by your people?" Ruby asked.

"I am the queen of a deep sea kingdom called Soraklia," Sirena answered, "We have had trouble surviving on our own, so we had little time or interest in relations with the surface. Especially considering our ancestors left the surface due to human prosecution. I came to the surface a bit over seven years ago, learned to use my aura and semblance, and returned to teach my people."

"I wish I could go there," Ruby said, "Underwater must be really beautiful."

"It is at first, yes," Sirena said, "But the deeper you go, the creepier it gets. The bottom of the sea is the most brutal, ruthless, unforgiving environment there is."

"I see," Ruby said, took out one of the ammunition clips and asked, "What about this ammo? It feels weird, even for dust."

"That is because it is goo," Sirena answered and said, "It was created by my people. They used magic to fuse dust and common sea rocks together, and then grew seaweed on it. The seaweed is harvested, mashed and purified, and the resulting gelatinous substance can be used like dust."

"Great, so you can give some to General Ironwood and help him out, right?" Ruby asked. Sirena looked to the ground and sighed.

"I offered him a deal, but he refused," Sirena answered, "I proposed a deal that he would give me the dust I needed for my research, and he would access to the resulting product if my people were successful. The plan was to find an alternative to dust that would work outside of Remnant's atmosphere, so we could establish a network of satellites to replace the four academies' towers. I had hoped that by doing so, we could dissuade our enemies from targeting any major city, or at least make it harder for them to recruit forces like the White Fang."

"Come on, we can try again," Ruby said, "I'm sure he'll change his mind when he sees the finished product."

"I appreciate your help, but I made my choice, and he made his," Sirena said, "We all have to live with the consequences of our actions."

"Wait, if these stones are actually Grimm," Ren said and asked, "How do they get here? I've never seen Boarbatusk on Anima before."

"I brought them here a few weeks ago," Sirena answered, "Just before I made that lake."

"Hold on," Jaune said and asked, "Are you saying you knew this would happen?"

"I had reason to assume you would come this way," Sirena answered, "And that our enemies would try to kill Ruby. So, I set up camp here and waited."

"Did you spy on us?" Jaune asked.

"Sirena's teammates have more than enough ways to figure things out," Qrow answered, "Talia likely hacked into the school's computer systems and accessed your psychological evaluation files."

"Qrow, I let you decide how much you share about yourself, so please give me the same respect," Sirena said, "Unless it involves you directly, please do not reveal people's personal information. It is rude."

"You're one to talk," Qrow said.

"Never once have I revealed personal information that did not relate to me directly," Sirena said, huffing like an insulted noblewoman.

"There were a lot of times where this exact thing got people in trouble," Qrow said.

"Revealing information about someone without their consent denies them their autonomy and violates their privacy, and I will not stoop so low," Sirena said, raising her voice a little.

"Anyway, how do the silver eyes work?" Ruby asked, trying to deescalate the situation. Sirena cleared her throat.

"Right, about that," she said and asked, "Is it alright if they know about it as well?"

"Of course," Ruby answered.

"Well, fine," Sirena said and explained, "Like I said before, the silver eyes are a weapon designed by the god of light. My people theorize there are other ways, but the way we use them is by utilizing negative emotions. Namely fear, sorrow and anger."

"Really?" Ruby asked.

"Yes," Sirena answered, "For me, the emotional trigger is fear. I know what it is like to be scared, so I can protect those that need it the most. I also know what scares others, allowing me to utilize the emotion to further protect the people from Grimm if necessary. From what I have seen of you, your eyes emit the light of creation in times of despair and deep sorrow."

"Well, I mean, kind of," Ruby said and looked down.

"See?" Qrow asked, turned to Sirena and said, "I knew she wouldn't like it."

"That's not it," Ruby said, "I just need time to think it over. This is the first time I ever heard about how to use these powers, and I'll do what I can to save people. To make sure I won't lose anyone ever again."

"We'll help any way we can," Jaune said, and Ren and Nora nodded in agreement.

"Thank you," Ruby said, turned to Sirena and asked, "So, how do I best use these powers?"

"First you must understand that these powers are meant to preserve life," Sirena answered, "Then, when the darkness is closing in, remember how it made you feel in the past, and unleash the light to make sure you never feel that way again."

"I'll try," Ruby said and asked, "By the way, you said something about human prosecution earlier. Does that mean you're a faunus?"

"I am, yes," Sirena answered, "Everyone in my kingdom is a faunus, and we all have gills as a trait, though the millions of years of having this one trait had some strange side-effects. While they do not allow us to stay under water indefinitely, they do allow us to replenish some of our oxygen reserves, and my ancestors have evolved to stay under water longer anyway. In general, I can fight under water for up to five hours before I need to resurface. Though, some things I can do with my aura almost negate that limitation."

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.

"I can use my aura to extract oxygen from the water around me," Sirena answered, "And since it covers a much larger area, I can gain all the oxygen I need to stay under water for as long as I have my aura."

"What are those side-effects you mentioned?" Ren asked.

"I have poison glands under my skin," Sirena answered, "They are poorly developed and don't produce enough poison, and I can't use it anyway, but they're there. They also influence my semblance."

"Your semblance?" Ruby asked.

"Retaliation," Sirena answered, "Normally, when I am hit with a melee attack while my semblance is active, my enemy takes as much damage as me. However, due to my poison glands, my semblance instead poisons anything I come into contact with while it is active. It can be rather dangerous for those around me, as it can damage aura with a single touch." She looked at Qrow as if she wanted to say something, and Qrow sighed, but remained silent.

"Anyway, what about those people the gods first created?" Nora asked.

"Therianthropes," Sirena answered and explained, "Like I said, they could switch from a human form to an animal form, and retain all their cognitive capabilities. Grimm would not bother them in animal form, allowing them to live as nomads. Eventually, they began settling down and mingle with one another, which caused some to be born humans, while others were born as faunus. The former was the case whenever two different kinds of therianthrope had children, while the latter was the result of a therianthrope in animal form having offspring with an animal of the same kind. That child could turn into a faunus form, retaining a single physical trait from their animal form and most of their instincts, but also gaining human-like intelligence."

"Could some turn into alligators?" Nora asked.

"Most likely, yes," Sirena answered, "But they are all extinct now. Anyway, it is getting late, so you should go get some sleep. I will be watching you from afar, and step in should you need my help."

"Yeah, me too," Qrow said.

"Why can't you travel with us?" Ruby asked.

"I guess I have to tell you eventually," Qrow said, "My semblance is, well, it's not like other semblances. It is constantly active at a low level, and brings bad luck to everyone around me. It's useful for fighting, because my opponent has to fight their environment as well, but it doesn't care if someone is my friend or not, so it's hard on the people I care about." After he was finished talking, he got up and was about to walk away.

"Oh, ok," Ruby said and asked, "And what about you, Sirena?"

"I would prefer to keep a low profile," Sirena answered, "When Salem realizes I am here, she will undoubtedly launch a large-scale attack on my kingdom." Sirena got up as well.

"Salem?" Ruby asked, "Who is that?" Both Qrow and Sirena gave each other surprised looks, then the realization hit them and they sat back down.

"Guess we forgot to tell you about her," Qrow said.

"You forgot," Sirena said, "I don't even know how that works in the first place. I simply assumed you had told them at least that much."

"So, who's Salem?" Ruby asked.

"Imagine the worst person you know," Qrow said.

"Cinder," the four students said in unison.

"Fair enough," Qrow said, "Well, Salem is much worse. Remember what Sirena said about the gods?"

"They put their powers of creation, destruction, knowledge and choice together to create mankind, right?" Ruby asked.

"Exactly," Qrow answered, "Well, there just so happen to be four relics, each correlating to one of these powers, or gifts. One such relic is hidden under each academy, so there would always be capable warriors nearby to protect it. It's said that, if you have all four of those relics, you literally hold the power of the gods in your hands. Needless to say, someone like Salem can't get any of those."

"So, how do we go about protecting those relics?" Ruby asked, but then yawned.

"First you all get some sleep," Qrow answered and got up again, "Tomorrow you'll go to Mistral, then we'll see what we can do there."

After making some preparations to better protect Ruby, Sirena sat half hidden in a bush and looked into the campfire. The wood cracked, popped and sparked as the flames danced around in the night sky. It reminded her of the night a bit over three years ago, when she graduated.

~o~

The full moon was high in the sky above Vale, and fireworks lit up the sky with flashes of light and sound. Sirena looked at the festivities from the harbor and thought back at all the times her people had used similar displays of light and sound to warn others of approaching Grimm. Here, however, it was a happy occasion. New huntsmen and huntresses would be released into the world, fighting evil in all its shapes. There was not a trace of fear in the capital, and as usual, the crime rate had dropped by over 80 percent in the past days, because criminals fled the city to evade the new huntsmen that would be on their trails. Their fear drew the Grimm away from the city, and the drop in Grimm activity eased the nerves of the citizens, further decreasing the likelihood of a Grimm attack. She only wore her combat skirt, headband and tank top, without the black sleeves. She dropped her leather satchel, containing her surface-world belongings, such as wallet and scroll, and took a step forward.

"Virho Vur, dear friends," she thought before she dropped into the icy waters beneath, and the cold embraced her skin. Sirena swam north until the city was out of sight, then turned west, and finally south-west.

~o~

Swimming towards her first destination, Sirena encountered a few big white sharks, which began circling her after she stopped to hover in place. She focused on one of the sharks and kept eye contact, until the shark swam back to where it had come from. She followed the animal, passed it, and found a birthing ground, which had been taken over by Lurkjaw. These Grimm, which looked like angler-fish, had already claimed several victims, and now focused on Sirena. She immediately closed her eyes to avoid being enthralled by their lure, and focused on the water brushing over her skin to sense the enemies. One of the Lurkjaw tried biting her legs, but she hit it with the palm of her right hand, crushing its skull with an aura shockwave. Sirena continued the motion and made a front flip, using her left foot to send a razor-sharp wave of water over most of the Grimm. One of the Grimm got away and attacked, but Sirena kicked its lower jaw through its upper jaw, killing it. With the Grimm dead, Sirena left the sharks to themselves and continued her way back home.

~o~

Sirena stopped on a ledge overlooking a pitch-black ocean trench. She closed her eyes and focused, sensing that her aura was at full capacity. Sirena took a step forward and sunk into the black depths of the abyss. Using her aura, she nullified her water friction, and began rushing towards the darkness as if it were a vacuum. When it became too dark to see, even with her exceptional night vision, she had her water friction return to normal and slowed her descent. The darkness slowly crept up on her, taking away all her senses and all means of navigation. Time and space lost all meaning, and there was only the cold, unforgiving void. Out of a hole in the nearby cliff, an elongated Grimm attacked. The Mameleu, a serpentine Grimm with two front-facing horns, shot towards Sirena, trying to skewer her. Sirena pushed herself out of the way and reduced her water friction, shooting out of the way faster than a bullet. She drew her trident and dashed towards the Grimm, stabbing it in the gills. As the Grimm tried to get away, or attack Sirena, she activated her semblance, coating herself in a toxic aura and poisoning the enemy. The stonefish poison partly paralyzed the Grimm, and Sirena pulled her trident from its body, repeatedly jamming it into the large enemy's body until it died. She turned her semblance off again and continued her descend into the darkness below.

~o~

After about an hour of falling through the water, Sirena saw several bursts of light, heard the war cries of her people and saw light spheres illuminating the battlefield. Battle mages flung silver-white energy bolts at Grimm, while soldiers of the royal army used blades, polearms or thrown weapons to take out the aquatic Grimm. Aside from a few Lurkjaw, Sirena also saw many Razorfin, shark-like Grimm with bone plating on their bodies and bony blades on their fins. She crashed into a Razorfin, impaling it with her trident, and used palm thrusts and aura shockwaves to hurl water projectiles into two Lurkjaw. She then held her trident behind herself, blocking three Razorfin's attacks from different directions, and used her semblance to kill them with poison. Another Razorfin attacked her from the front, and she jumped up and stopped it with one foot, increasing her water friction to become immovable. The Grimm died shortly after making contact, but the people around her were impressed with how she stopped its attack completely.

~o~

After the fight was over, Sirena turned off her semblance again and let herself sink to the ground, and the familiar deep sea sand caressed her feet. A bulky man wearing heavy padded armor approached her from behind.

"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" the captain of the royal guard asked. He had dark red hair, silver eyes, and wielded a large halberd.

"I am crown princess Sirena Blue," Sirena answered, "And I wish to speak with my father." She turned around and the captain stumbled backwards.

"My sincerest apologies, your Highness," the man said, "I did not know it was you. Please, forgive me."

"You are forgiven," Sirena said, "But now, please bring me to my father."

"Of course, your Highness," the captain said, "Please, this way."

~o~

Sirena followed the captain through the city, which was constructed inside a massive deep sea cave, with stone pillars holding up the ceiling. The people gathered to see their returned crown princess. The people wore simple clothes, such as shirts and shorts, and their clothes had holes in different places to not cover their gills.

"Mommy, who is this?" a young girl asked, and Sirena stopped to see who it was. The crowd parted and revealed Marina, a woman with shoulder-long, reddish brown hair and gills on the height of her collarbone, standing next to a girl with the same hair color and length, whose gills were on her back. Marina wore a light blue shirt patched with pieces in various colors and black shorts, and her daughter wore a sleeveless, dark blue vest and beige shorts. Sirena started walking towards the woman.

"Please, your Highness, she didn't mean to offend you," Marina said.

"I know," Sirena said, stopped in front of them and continued, "She seems too young to remember me. However, you still have to answer her question."

"Thank you, your Highness," Marina said, and Sirena turned around and continued following the captain to the castle.

~o~

Sirena was sitting in her castle, which was constructed around an old slave merchant ship called the Crimson Mermaid. She sat at a long table, facing her father, a hammerhead faunus with short, black hair and gills under his arms. He wore dark blue pants and shirt, and a dark blue cloak with white fur trims. The royal chronicler, an elderly crab faunus wearing black shorts, sat next to the king.

"My daughter, you have returned," King Narius Blue said and asked, "What did you learn from the surface-dwellers?"

"They have forgotten about magic, and their eyes are not silver," Sirena answered, and both men opposite of her were shocked to hear the second part.

"No silver eyes?" the chronicler asked, "Then, what is it that allows them to fight Grimm?"

"They can use what is called an aura," Sirena answered, "A manifestation of their soul, which temporarily renders them immune to all damage. Another ability of theirs is a so-called semblance, a representation of their inner-most selves. I also know why they value these glowing crystals so much." She pulled out an air-dust crystal.

"Do these help them in some way?" King Narius asked.

"Yes," Sirena answered, "They call them dust, and in the right environment, they can be used to control the forces of nature. On the surface, this crystal could release a powerful gust of wind, capable of knocking down weaker buildings."

"Well then," King Narius said, "If this is all, I will have Marina prepare your coronation. Please seek out the chronicler if you wish to have more things taken note of."

"Of course, father," Sirena said, and all three got up and left the room. Sirena went into her room, which had an old solid oak wood drawer in a corner, and opened a secret stash hidden in one of the supports on the back. She reached into one of her bags, pulled out a small circular item wrapped in tin foil, and placed it in the stash.

~o~

A bit over a week later, the newly crowned Queen Sirena Blue the third walked through her kingdom, looking at the people smiling at her. She entered the magic academy, a large building constructed around one of the cave's support pillars. The secretary, a stingray faunus wearing a white hooded pullover and white pants, looked up as she stopped in front of his desk.

"Ah, your Highness," the man said and asked, "May I ask what brings you here today?"

"I wish to speak with a diviner," Sirena answered, "I must know how me unlocking my aura has changed who I am, so that spells can be created to support the use of aura. This will, of course, help in creating an alternative to dust that works in these conditions."

"Of course, your Highness," the secretary said and held his fingertips together, creating a series of symbols around his wrists. After a few seconds, the symbols disappeared and he put his hands down again.

A few minutes later, Sirena was standing in the middle of an arcane circle located in one of the halls, facing arch-mage Aquarius, a man wearing a hooded yellow robe with long and wide sleeves. Several second grade students were present to observe the following procedure.

"Now, students," arch-mage Aquarius said, "This small ritual is usually performed only once per person, as it reveals much information about them that is unlikely to change. Pay close attention, I will be giving an explanation afterwards." He folded his hands and held them in a flat position, with only his thumbs and pinkie fingers sticking out and touching the tips of the respective finger on the other hand. Three circles of symbols appeared, one around each of his wrists and one around the middle of his fingers. The circle on the ground lit up and Sirena was surrounded by symbols, and arch-mage Aquarius studied the symbols for a while. Some broke apart and formed different symbols, while others combined into new symbols.

After about a minute, the procedure was finished and the arch-mage dismissed Sirena, so he could write down his findings. Sirena went back to her castle and met with the royal chronicler. The man was sitting in his room, looking through scrolls of parchment, when Sirena came in.

"Your Highness, what an honor," the man said and asked, "May I ask what brings you here?"

"I came to draw a map of the surface world," Sirena answered, "And maybe discuss the people inhabiting it a bit more as well, if you would like to hear about them."

"Of course, your Highness," the royal chronicler said, "Here is some parchment, ink and a pen." He handed Sirena a roll of seaweed woven into what could best be described as under water papyrus, an inkwell filled with squid ink, and a pen carved from old metal.

"Thank you," Sirena said, sat down at a table, filled the ink into the pen and began drawing. She started with the fields her people used to grow food, then included deep sea cliffs, and went on to draw the surface continents.

"Now, your Highness, if I may ask," the chronicler asked, "What is the most unusual trait of the surface-dwellers, aside from their lack of silver eyes?"

"They… forget," Sirena answered, and the chronicler tilted his head.

"I don't know what that means," he said.

"Simply put," Sirena explained, "They do not recall everything forever. Like traces left in the sand, their memories can be washed away by the currents of time, even to the extend that they have to read the same book multiple times to retain any of the information contained within it."

"That is… interesting," the chronicler said and asked, "Though, this begs another question. Your Highness, may I ask what you know of their government?"

"It is called a democracy," Sirena answered, "Basically, the people elect multiple individuals to represent them in a council, and that council then rules the kingdom. Every decision must be made by vote, needlessly slowing down the pace at which they can respond to a crisis and endangering lives, for no discernible benefit."

"I see," the chronicler said and asked, "May I ask what these regions are called?" He pointed at the map Sirena was drawing.

"This is called Vale," Sirena answered, "It is by far the best kingdom. Human violence against faunus is actually illegal, yet still present in many places. Their guards, called the police, is incompetent and self-centered, often doing more to punish those who do their job better than them than to stop crime in the first place. This kingdom down here, Vacuo, is even worse. The council has no power over the people, and most criminals go unpunished by the authorities. Then there is Mistral. It is too big for its own good, and the council repeatedly failed to protect its people. The little island down here, Menagerie, is quite nice. I have had multiple positive experiences with the people, and will ensure their safety with all I can offer."

"I see," the royal chronicler said, pointed at Solitas and asked, "And, may I ask what this is?"

"Nothing of importance," Sirena answered, drew the border and said, "In fact, effective immediately, none of my people are to enter their waters." The chronicler gave his assistant a nod and the tigerfish faunus hurried off to find a guard, or Sirena's personal assistant.

~o~

A few days after the new law was in effect, Sirena was sitting on her throne to see her people and hear their complaints. It was an old chair from a pirate ship, made from solid oak wood and with a cushion made from red cloth, which had been restored through magic several times in its lifetime. Her father was standing to her right, and her personal assistant, a young squid faunus woman, was standing to her left. Her assistant wore a short black skirt, black short pants, and a black crop top. She had strawberry blond hair and held two notebooks and pens in four light blue energy tentacles protruding from her back. A farmer, an eel faunus with short blond hair wearing olive cargo shorts, was kneeling before her throne.

"Rise," Sirena said, and the farmer rose to look at her.

"Your Highness, the Grimm have learned when the guards patrol which route, and attack when no guards are present," he said.

"Well then," Sirena said, "I will visit the area tomorrow and figure out a solution the problem. Until then, every farmer is to be accompanied by a guard for protection." She gave her assistant a nod and the woman wrote a note.

~o~

The next day, Sirena was swimming along the main path used by the farmers to commute to and from their fields, with four guards and the lieutenant following her. The guards wore padded armor and wielded various forms of polearms, including war scythes, halberds and spears. She looked over the fields, which were mostly rocky floors used to grow seaweed, and had an idea.

"How about we build outposts?" she asked and turned to her guards, who were unsure if they were allowed to respond.

"Your Highness?" the lieutenant asked. He wielded a double-sided war scythe, with a blade on either end of the staff.

"An idea from the surface," Sirena said and explained, "If we built outposts, where guards could live for a few days or even just rest between battles, we could keep guards in the area for longer and enable them to better protect the farmers. We would need materials to construct them, and make sure there was air available, but it could work."

"Excellent idea, your Highness," the lieutenant said, "I will ask the captain about this right away."

"I think I should discuss this with him personally," Sirena said, "I will also need to ask the farmers where they need additional protection." Over the next few weeks, the royal guard constructed various outposts, reaching further and further into the darkness surrounding the capital, and Sirena realized that maybe other ideas from the surface may have a beneficial effect on her people.

~o~

A bit over a year later, Sirena was sitting in her castle, having called her people's leaders, consisting of the seven arch-mages, the captain of the royal guard, and the recently appointed head of farmers, for the first conference to discuss future plans for the kingdom. The head of agriculture, a hagfish faunus, was nervously looking around, not sure how to handle being in the same room as the queen and the eight next highest-ranking members of society. After Sirena was done explaining some things she had learned on the surface, that did not directly relate to aura or dust, there was a silence in the room, until the captain spoke up.

"So… what do we do about this… Project Alpha?" he asked hesitantly.

"Yes, it is doomed to fail," Sirena answered, "It will work at first, of course, but only a hundred generations at best, but in the end it will only cause more trouble. However, once my allies reach that goal, it will draw Salem's attention away from us long enough to prepare our final assault and end her reign of terror. For this goal, I have decided to aid them in their pursuit."

"Your Highness," Korallion, the arch-mage of combat, said and asked, "If you help them, doesn't this mean you will have less time and resources to ensure our survival?"

"That is exactly what it means," Sirena answered, "But the risk is calculated, and I am confident we will survive it."

"Your Highness, with all due respect, but you have a responsibility to protect this kingdom over helping the surface-dwellers," Oceana, the arch-mage of deceit said.

"We will have to take action before they endanger our civilization," the captain of the royal guard said. Sirena slammed her hands on the table and stood up.

"They are not to be harmed!" Sirena declared, calmed down and asked, "How long are our resources expected to last at the current development?"

"Steel is running low, even with the alchemists helping out," the captain said.

"We are doing our best," Belisama, the arch-mage of alchemy said, "But we cannot create steel from nothing. Our best resource is stone, but the farmers need it." Everyone turned to the head of agriculture.

"W- well, your H- H- Highness, that is c- correct," he said, still not comfortable with his new position, "B- but the alchemists have also requested stones to perform research on, regarding dust."

"Your Highness, if I may intervene," Oceana said, "I am certain it will please you to hear that one of my students, one Cerulea Leda, has made a lot of progress researching dust and its functionality under water."

"Really?" Belisama asked, "What did she find out, and how?"

"Apparently, she unlocked her semblance," Oceana answered, "It shows her glimpses of the future, though only some senses at a time. She heard her Highness explain the process of creating a substance with effects similar to dust."

"When was that?" Sirena asked.

"This morning," Oceana answered, "I was coming to inform you, but you called for this meeting, so I was waiting for the right time."

"Well then," Sirena said, "Take note of her findings and hand the results to Belisama. Now, how long are the kingdom's resources expected to last?" She turned to the captain of the royal guard.

"With our current growth in population due to aura and semblances, we will run low on materials for weapons in about ten years," the captain said, "And with the construction of outposts taking up materials, it may even be sooner."

"And food?" Sirena asked and turned to the head of agriculture.

"F- five years, your Highness," the head of agriculture said, "I have already accounted for the growth in population, as well as increased productions and higher demand. In five years, we will reach a tipping point where our population needs more food than can be provided, but once that is over, if our civilization survives, we will be safe for another few centuries."

"Five years," Sirena said thoughtfully, "Another two years, then a few months until that event. Two more years at best, and it should work out."

"Your Highness?" the captain of the royal guard asked.

"I have set things in motion on the surface," Sirena answered, "We will be getting enough food for a decade within those next five years, and materials to arm ten times our current population."

"Are you certain, your Highness?" the captain of the royal guard asked.

"Yes," Sirena answered, "I have improved my strategic skill during my time on the surface, and understood how their society works. I could make them do pretty much everything if I so chose." The group discussed several other topics for the rest of the day, and well into the night, before everyone headed back home.

~o~

Sirena laid down in her bed to rest after a long day of politics, and trying to introduce democracy into her society to see if it would work, and heard a knock on the door.

"Your Highness, your dinner is waiting for you," Marina said.

"Bring it to me," Sirena responded and sat back up. Her maid came in shortly after, bringing a bowl of seaweed and meat.

"Your Highness," Marina said, "I know it is not my place to say this, but the other maids were confused by you inviting the arch-mages into your castle today. May I ask what the reason was?"

"An idea from the surface," Sirena answered, "They decide things based on votes of several representatives of the people, and since another of their ideas has proven useful, I wanted to see how this one would turn out."

"May I ask how it ended?" Marina asked, still not sure why Sirena wasn't telling her to leave her private chambers.

"I was able to gather much information, but the final decisions were all made by me. The system failed," Sirena answered and said, "You may leave now."

"Of course, your Highness," Marina said and left the room. Sirena finished her dinner, then laid down and fell asleep.

~o~

A year later, in which the council was mostly used to gather and share information, Sirena walked through her kingdom, picked up her trident which she had to leave behind after a small, surface-related incident the previous day, and headed for the newly constructed goo production facility. Two guards were standing outside, making sure the deliveries were on time and properly separated by type, and when Sirena approached, they bowed and let her pass without a word. Inside, several farmers were handling large canisters of mushed seaweed, making sure it was free of impurities and filling it into smaller vials.

"Your Highness," the farmers said in unison as they noticed Sirena enter, and took on a more respectful posture.

"Please, continue your work," Sirena said, trying not to sound too commanding. The farmers returned to their work, and the forewoman walked up to Sirena.

"Your Highness, may I ask what brings you here?" the woman asked. She wore blue jeans shorts and a blue t-shirt, and had short black hair.

"I came to see if there is any goo available," Sirena answered, "I wish to test it for its functionality."

"Of course, your Highness," the forewoman said, "Please, this way." She led Sirena into a small room filled with shelves, with small vials of goo lying on them. The vials were based on the ones in Sirena's trident, and had the exact same measurements as the ones she used. Sirena took one vial and inserted it into her trident, then headed out to test it.

~o~

Sirena swam through the pitch-black waters surrounding her kingdom, with the light from the magical illumination orbs fading quickly. She felt the presence of several Razorfin, and drew her trident. The Grimm surrounded her in a sphere, with each row swimming in opposite directions to the row above them, and were ready to attack at a moment's notice. As soon as they noticed she was distracted, they all attacked at once, moving in perfect unison. She ignited the tips of her trident and swung it around, impaling the first Grimm with red-hot metal. A second Razorfin bit into her right leg, but she activated her semblance and killed it with poison. She augmented her semblance with fire-goo and felt the water around her turn into a semi-gaseous state, as the high pressure kept it from evaporating despite being heated past 150 degrees Celsius. Grimm attacked her, and she blocked all of their attacks as best as she could as the heat damaged her aura. The Grimm were burnt by every single touch, but didn't retreat. Sirena sensed one of her people approach, and knew the Grimm would go after them, so she unleashed a powerful burst of light and petrified the Grimm.

"Your Highness," the guardsman said as he swam up to Sirena, "I was told to deliver these to you, as well as the results of the research you requested." He levitated a couple hundred pea-sized pearls to Sirena, and gave her a piece of parchment with rather disturbing findings written on it.

"Well done, soldier," Sirena said, "Now, follow me. We'll bring them back to the royal treasure chamber." She swam ahead and the guard followed her without another word.

~o~

Almost three years after Sirena returned home, she was sitting on her throne again, listening to her people's troubles. On the surface, she sensed a starting unrest, and knew that her plans for the Vytal Festival were coming to fruition. Suddenly, a guard ran into the entrance hall and stopped in front of the throne.

"Your Highness, the Grimm are on the attack," the man said, catching his breath, "The guards in the lower eastern fields are overwhelmed. I was sent to get help, but the others are struggling to hold their ground." Sirena got up from her seat and grabbed her trident.

"Well done, soldier. Go and get some rest," she said as she walked past him, then turned to her assistant, "You are in charge until I relieve you of this duty." With that, she left the castle and headed straight towards the goo distribution and storage facility near the tunnel leading to the lower eastern fields. She took a three vials of goo, water, ice and plasma, and headed off into the sea.

~o~

Marinus Tidebreaker, a middle-aged man wearing padded armor and wielding a harpoon with a scythe in the handle, reeled in a Razorfin and cut its head off with the blade of his weapon. A Sea Feilong approached him and was about to devour him, when the Grimm was stopped by Sirena, who suddenly stood right in front of him. Using her semblance, she paralyzed the Grimm, before hurling it away with a powerful blast of water.

"Soldiers, listen up," Sirena said, raising her voice over the sound of fighting, "Those who need to restock their goo supplies go, the rest stays here and fights. There are healers by the tunnel, as well as combat mages." Many of the guards swam back to the city, but Sirena and a few others stayed to fight. Another wave of Grimm approached the battlefield, and Marinus swam in front of Sirena and used his semblance. A wave of energy washed over the area, and every animal within reach gathered to attack the Razorfin, Lurkjaw, Mameleu and Sea Feilong. Sirena swam right into the attacking hordes, using ice-goo to turn her trident into a double-bladed axe, and cut off the lures on the Lurkjaw before they could gather enough to enthrall anyone. Bursts of energy were flung past her and took out smaller Grimm in a single hit, and stunned larger ones. Illusionists hid the retreating soldiers from the Grimm, and the more able guards kept the Razorfin from following them after tracking them with their electroreception. A giant octopus grabbed several Sea Feilong with its tentacles and tore them to shreds, but the Grimm fought back and called for backup, which killed the animal shortly after the larger Grimm died. Suddenly, a powerful shock rolled over the group, and everyone turned to look out into the sea, where the shockwave had come from.

"Your Highness, what do we do?" one of the guards asked. Another shockwave rolled over the battlefield

"I will go and investigate," Sirena answered, "You stay here and stand your ground." With that, Sirena swam out into the darkness.

~o~

Sirena reached a small crevice in the ocean floor, which was surrounded by dozens of Razorfin. As she approached, the Grimm attacked her. She dodged their attacks and swam into the crevice, and waited for them to follow her. The Grimm dove into the opening and Sirena shot bolts of light purple energy from her trident. The plasma blasts hit the Grimm and exploded on impact, killing them in a few hits. After sinking to the ground, Sirena looked around and found herself in a pitch black cave. The ground was awfully slimy, and when she grabbed some of the ooze, a large red eye opened in front of her. She swam out of the cave as fast as she could, with the massive Grimm following her, and augmented her semblance with plasma-goo, coating herself in a light purple aura. Unleashing an aura shockwave in every direction, she sent hundreds of exploding particles outwards, all of which homed in on the Kaiju. The humanoid Grimm had eight tentacles protruding from its body, its arms and legs were clearly twisted-up tentacles as well, and it had five massive, red and yellow eyes. Its entire body was pitch black, with the only bone plates being the blades and spikes along its various tentacles. Seconds after Sirena left the crevice, the Kaiju burst out of the ground and headed towards Soraklia. It scraped black ooze off of its body and hurled the mass towards Soraklia as it chased Sirena, creating more Grimm to keep her people occupied. Sirena shot bursts of water at the Grimm, while releasing homing plasma blasts with her semblance, in an attempt to slow it down. The Kaiju unwound all of its massive tentacles, with four making up each limb, and tried to grab Sirena. Sirena had to stop attacking and focus on evading, but made sure to stay between the Grimm and her kingdom. Using her semblance in its normal form, she paralyzed any tentacle she came into contact with, even if it was just a portion of the entire appendage.

"You will not harm my people!" Sirena called out as she slid along a tentacle, paralyzing it entirely. They had roughly the diameter of a Sea Feilong, and were constantly oozing black liquid, but she had to keep it from reaching her people at all costs.

"Your Highness, watch out!" Marinus called out. Sirena jumped away from the Grimm and shot water-goo out of it to propel herself away, seconds before a fully grown male sperm whale crashed into the Kaiju, ripping off one of its tentacles. The Grimm crushed the attacking animal, then set its sights on the silver-eyed warriors again.

"Thank you," Sirena said. She swam up to get above the Grimm, then augmented her semblance with ice-dust. The Kaiju stretched its tentacles and grabbed her with multiple tentacles at once and she unleashed an aura shockwave to trap the tentacles in a spiky ball of ice. As the tentacles retracted, they slammed the ice ball into the Grimm, leaving it a little stunned. Just as Sirena was about to attack again, the Kaiju swallowed her in one bite. Seeing their queen disappear in the dark jaws of this monster, her people suddenly found themselves overwhelmed with even the weakest Grimm around them, and had trouble holding their ground.

~o~

Sirena found herself in complete nothingness, with no way to know where anything was, or if she even existed at all. She saw a mass of red energy in a humanoid shape floating around and went to follow it.

"What is this?" she thought, "Why does it feel familiar? Who is this? Do I know him?" As she touched the shape, she remembered. The Fight. The Grimm. Her people.

~o~

The royal guards of Soraklia fought the Grimm to the best of their abilities, but they seemed so much more powerful than before. Suddenly, the Kaiju stopped moving and small cracks formed all over its body. Silvery white light emitted from the cracks and slowly turned the Grimm to stone from the inside. The other Grimm on the battlefield stopped to look at their most powerful ally, and Sirena's people looked at the spectacle. When the entire Grimm was petrified, its lower jaw broke off and crashed into the ocean floor beneath, with Sirena standing on it and holding her trident over her head triumphantly.

"My name is Sirena Blue the Third," Sirena said, "I, as queen of Soraklia, will do whatever is necessary to protect my loyal subjects. There will be hardships, times where it seems the gods themselves have conspired against us. I say let them come. As long as I live, as long as I breathe, none who point their weapons at my people shall prevail. I will oppose any force, big as it may be, that tries to harm those under my watch, and I will fight to the bitter end." Her people cheered and fought back against the Grimm, crushing them with ease. The Grimm tried to flee the battlefield, but many were killed before they could get away.

After the fight, Sirena went back to her castle, headed into her room, locked the door from the inside, fell onto her bed, and slept for three days.


Author's note: The magic Sirena's people use isn't like what Ozpin and Salem use. It's more closely related to aura manipulation, in that it utilizes the light inside a silver-eyed warrior to interact with the world around them.

Now, Sirena is a great tactician. So if she says a plan is doomed to fail, it is doomed to fail. However, she thinks of time very differently than other people, so yeah.

Also, she has a plan to supply her people with food and materials within the next 5 years, starting roughly a year prior to the show's events. Keep that in mind for later.

The phrase Virho Vur is old Soraklian, and translates to Destroy Danger. Soldiers returning from their patrols use it in place of "Good luck out there" when talking to the soldiers heading out, and it is almost exclusively used among people of equal rank. This is the first time in 4 years that Sirena admits that her teammates are equal to her.

The Lurkjaw belong to LongSean22 on DeviantArt, and the Mameleu belong to Lightning-in-my-Hand.