Author's note: Time for people to get hurt because of Ruby. Yay.
After the break, Ruby led her group of soldiers further into the city's upper class district. One of them, Amihan, had loaded a magazine of air-dust bullets into his gun after experiencing the speed boost from Tailwind, and subsequently unlocking his aura, and felt oddly compelled to use those, so she decided to let him try it next time they encountered Grimm.
"Amihan, you're up," Ruby said when the group came across a pack of Creeps, and Amihan fired a short three-round burst into them. Upon hitting the Grimm, each bullet created a sphere of winds, half a meter across, centered on the point of impact. Ruby used Puppeteer to make her scroll start a timer, and kept an eye on the wind spheres.
"That looks pretty cool," Apoy said and asked, "What is that?" The Grimm attacked, and when they jumped through the wind spheres, they were cut up by the strong winds and either came out badly injured and emitting black smoke from dozens of cuts, or not at all.
"A never-ending series of tiny slashes," Ruby explained, "On their own, the damage is negligible. A single bullet against a Wyvern, if you will. But there are thousands of cuts every second, so it adds up."
"Incredible," Amihan said and looked at his hands in awe, and the soldiers opened fire. When the first three spheres disappeared, Ruby stopped the timer and drew Crescent Rose, loaded with water-goo bullets. She shot at a Beowolf, and some of the water got sucked into a nearby air sphere. It froze immediately, flinging tiny ice shrapnel everywhere. Ruby felt as though time slowed down, and she saw the soldiers get hit by tiny ice chunks moving as fast as a bullet. Ruby created two clones of herself, and all three quickly killed the Grimm.
"Don't worry, I've got you," Ruby said and created a Healing Circle, while her clones dragged the injured soldiers into it, and used Aura Amp to help them heal faster, prioritizing the ones with more serious injuries.
"Huntress, what happened?" Apoy asked, with blood running down the side of her face.
"I messed up," Ruby answered, "I didn't pay attention, and you all got hurt because of it. But don't worry, I won't let you die." When the clones were done dragging soldiers into the circle, one sent a message to Blake, while the other sent one to Ilia, and both began recharging the soldiers' auras.
"Please don't be so hard on yourself," Amihan said, "We chose to go on this mission, and we knew the risks." One of the clones disappeared when her aura broke, and the other disappeared shortly after.
"No, it's my fault," Ruby said, "I'm the huntress in this group, and it's my duty as a huntress to protect others. I swear, I'll be more careful from now on." A series of Shooting Stars hit the nearby buildings and created rocks that attracted Grimm, while a large mass of Shooting Stars covered the ground surrounding the Healing Circle in incendiary-dust shards that harmed nearby Grimm, triggering Spectral Healing.
~o~
Glynda, Amanita, Zwei and Seiryu walked through Vale's industrial district, looking for the Withershrub. Zwei occasionally took the lead to show the way, but stayed close to the others, so as to not be in too much danger. The teachers quickly disposed of several packs of Grimm, while Seiryu just watched from the sidelines.
"You know, this would be a lot easier if you helped," Glynda said and killed an Alpha Beowolf with a telekinetic blast.
"I already told you, I'll help when you need it," Seiryu said, "If I deal with all of your problems, you'll never improve. Then when I'm gone, you'll die to the next best threat. And I will not have that on my conscience."
"Come on, you're exaggerating," Glynda said, "I'm not Beacon's headmistress for nothing, you know." Seiryu looked up to the school's ruin, then back at Glynda.
"Nice school you have there," Seiryu said.
"That could have been avoided had Sirena not kept this to herself," Glynda said.
"And then what?" Seiryu asked and said, "Had Sirena told you about Salem's plan, you would have stopped it, and Salem would have realized that she needed to bring out bigger guns. And you weren't ready for that kind of threat yet. Because of Sirena's actions, the world now knows there is an enemy, and how they operate. The faunus are on the road to becoming heroes, and dozens of silver-eyed warriors are born. Now, let's move on." They took the lead, and Glynda, Amanita and Zwei reluctantly followed the fusion. When the group came to a crossing, Zwei showed where the Withershrub was, and the group continued to try and find it, so they could kill it before it got too strong.
~o~
Sienna led a small troop of faunus through the forests of Mistral, tracking down Grimm in the area and helping the council reduce their numbers. When the group encountered a pack of Beowolves, she engaged them and hit them all with Power Whip, allowing the faunus to kill them. An Alpha Beowolf jumped out of the undergrowth, but before the faunus could kill it, a white Beringel jumped at it, grabbed it by the head, and repeatedly slammed it into a nearby tree, killing it.
"What is that?" Nina, a pangolin faunus, asked.
"Looks like one of them Schnee summons," Wolfram, a gecko faunus, said, "Seems they think we need help."
"We'll gladly take it, then," Sienna said, "They are trying to atone for their sins by helping us, so we shouldn't refuse when they approach us. We cannot in good conscience claim to strive for equality if we oppose their attempts at helping us. Now come, it's only an hour until we reach the village." She walked ahead, and the faunus and Beringel followed her.
"Something's coming," Nina said and whipped around, and the group got ready for a potential fight, while the Beringel remained calm.
"I hear something," Sienna said and focused on the sound, "At least twelve." A dozen Grimm broke out of the canopy and dropped down in front of the group. Their spherical body was covered in fur, they had short and bulky arms and legs with shackles at the wrists and ankles, a tail with three rings near the tip, and were completely white, safe for their light blue eyes.
"More summons?" Wolfram asked, "What do they take us for?" One of the Grimm walked up to Sienna and handed her a piece of paper.
"They're humans, cut them some slack," Sienna said, took the paper and read it, "It says here those are called Baviaan. High mobility, coupled with strong attacks, makes them well suited for this kind of terrain. Alright, let's move." She put the paper in her back pocket and walked ahead again, with the Grimm following her once the faunus did, though the Grimm moved through the treetops.
"Don't you find it weird?" Nina asked, leaning over to Wolfram.
"You gotta be more specific here," Wolfram said.
"I mean, how did the Schnee family know we were doing this?" Nina asked.
"Maybe the council contacted Atlas," Wolfram answered.
"But then, why don't we know about this?" Nina asked and said, "You'd think they would at least tell Sienna about this, but she seemed just as surprised as we are."
"I really don't know enough about politics for this conversation," Wolfram said, "All I know is that Sienna says they want to help us, so we just have to trust that she knows what she's doing. If she's right, Grimm die, and people live. If she's wrong, we have a reason to fight humans. That's my take, at least."
"Head's up, everyone," Sienna said, and the group got ready for combat. She made her way through a thick bush and onto a clearing that had formed on tree roots, with murky water occasionally gushing up from underneath. The faunus followed her, and all of them shielded their eyes against the sun shining down on them, now that the canopy no longer obstructed it.
"This is gross," Nina said, lifting her right foot up, and the thick green sludge dripped off it. A pack of Beowolves, with several Alpha Beowolves among them, approached the clearing, and the faunus aimed their guns at the Grimm. The two groups stared each other down, waiting for the other to make a move. When one of the Beowolves moved to attack, Sienna dashed forward and hit all the Grimm with Power Whip, augmented with ice-dust, and the faunus killed them.
"It's not over yet," Sienna said and the faunus followed her gaze, and saw a swarm of Lancers and pack of Manticores approach in the distance. As soon as the Grimm came close enough, the snowflake minions attacked them, dealing some damage and causing some of them to tumble a bit, making them easy targets for the faunus. The Baviaan held out their hands and the markings on their shackles started to glow golden, before they fired golden energy beams at the flying Grimm, knocking them down completely. With the flying Grimm downed, the Baviaan and Beringel attacked them.
"Guys, look," Nina said and pointed at one of the Baviaan. The markings on its shackles glowed green, and a similar glow covered its fists. Every time it hit one of the Manticores, its fist left a small number of spikes in the Grimm, and when it tried to move, the spikes cut into its body, dealing additional damage.
"What're those doing?" Wolfram asked, drawing everyone's attention to two Baviaan that just stood on the sidelines. One of the Lancers tried flying away, but one of the two Baviaan shot it down again.
"That, apparently," Sienna answered. The Baviaan kept attacking the Lancers and Manticore, while the faunus stood nearby, since they had no clear line of fire. Once the Lancers and Manticores were dead, Sienna gave the signal to continue, and the group moved on, with the Beringel and Baviaan retreating into the canopy to stay out of sight.
~o~
Ren made his way through Vale's agricultural district, and swiftly cut down a pack of Beowolves with Necrotic Bubbles, moments before the effect of Douse wore off. He loaded ivy bullets and immobilized a Deathstalker near the bubbles, then waited for Jaune and the others to catch up with him, while the bubbles popped and shot energy blasts at the Grimm, releasing a bit of water and triggering Spectral Healing with each hit, moistening the filth covering the ground.
"Ren, there you are," Jaune said when he, Cardin, Russel, Dove, Ilia and Coco came running up to him.
"How's it going?" Coco asked.
"Quite well, thanks," Ren answered, "However, I am getting low on ivy bullets, so I don't think I can keep this up for much longer."
"Got it," Jaune said and checked his scroll, "Well, I guess we did accomplish a lot today, so I say we head back once this thing is dead." The group waited and watched the Deathstalker, making sure it wouldn't move. When the last column of bubbles stopped, an aqua blue Combat Drone slowly caught up to Ren and hit the Grimm with all of its hundred shots, releasing a large amount of water with each hit and killing it.
~o~
Glynda hit a King Taijitu in the head with a telekinetic blast, and it fell into a series of Strings, allowing Amanita to cut it to pieces. When the Grimm evaporated, the teachers, Zwei and Seiryu focused on the large storage building behind it, which had pulsating fleshy veins growing over it, with some coming through holes in the walls and roof.
"Wh- what are those?" Amanita asked.
"They come from the Leshy," Glynda answered, "We don't know exactly what they are, or do, but they're bad news. Don't touch them."
"What do we do, though?" Amanita asked and said, "I mean, that Withershrub is in there."
"It is, yes," Zwei said, "But I believe that, with the right tactic, we can defeat it, and take out the Leshy."
"I'm calling backup, just in case," Glynda said and pulled out her scroll.
"I don't think you'll need it," Seiryu said, earning stern looks from both teachers, who turned around just after the fusion had put their scroll away again.
"True, we wouldn't if we had more people helping," Glynda said, "But you don't seem to do much." A Shooting Star hit the road in front of the group, creating a small boulder.
"I help you when you need my help," Seiryu said and drew their weapon, just before flock of Griffons appeared behind a building, attracted by the boulder. The Grimm circled above the boulder, and Seiryu fired a shot of plant-dust into the horde. Each pellet dug into the Grimm and turned into a small piece of plant matter, tearing off limbs and killing several Grimm with each shot.
"That was- wait, what's that?" Glynda asked and looked at the glowing green seeds that dropped whenever Seiryu killed a Grimm. When the seeds hit the ground, they quickly grew into small, green, ethereal sprouts. After the first sprout grew, Seiryu suddenly dealt a lot more damage, taking out more Grimm in a single shot than before.
"My semblance," Seiryu answered, "It's called Power Root, and it makes it so that, if I kill Grimm with plant-dust, one of these sprouts appears. They buff my allies' damage output by 100%. Also, unless they're destroyed, they'll remain in place indefinitely, and the benefit they provide increases by 10% every month."
"That sounds really useful," Glynda said.
"Agreed," Amanita said and asked, "Can I copy it?"
"Of course," Seiryu answered, "But we'll have to wait a bit, since I believe Ruby has some plans of her own."
"Alright," Glynda said and asked, "So, what happens if their areas overlap?"
"The effect doesn't increase, if that's what you're asking," Seiryu answered, "The area of effect is a five meter radius, but if additional sprouts appear within that radius, it increases by a meter for every additional sprout." Seiryu reloaded their shotgun and killed the last dozen Griffons.
"Does Taiyang have that semblance already?" Glynda asked.
"He does, yes," Seiryu answered, "He asked Sirena to share it with him as soon as I knew what it was." Suddenly, Ivori dropped down from a nearby roof, startling the teachers.
"Ivori, is that you?" Glynda asked, "How did you get here?"
"Yes, hello Miss Goodwitch," Ivori answered, "Or is it Headmistress already? In any case, Ruby appeared in Atlas, or rather a clone of her. She gave me this address and sent me to a nearby weapon shop with a bubble semblance."
"Until Beacon is open again, it's just Glynda," Glynda said and asked, "Did she tell you what we were doing here?"
"Not a lot," Ivori answered, "All I know is that she thinks I can gain a useful semblance here, and maybe some experience."
"Well, the experience is over there," Glynda said, and pointed her weapon at the storage building. When Ivori looked at it, his eyes widened in horror and he reached for his whip.
"Wha- what is that?" Ivori asked and took a step back.
"Why don't you find out?" Seiryu asked and said, "Blake did teach you how to use an aura-based predator sense, after all."
"Well, alright," Ivori said and focused, "There is something big hanging from the ceiling, with powerful armor, and spikes on it. Melee attacks won't work. It can also shoot spikes, which grow into these fleshy veins and trap living beings, draining them of their negativity. That negativity is then stored in the spikes, and Grimm can absorb those to increase their strength or heal their wounds. It is also fairly mobile, so you need to immobilize it before you can land an attack that can actually hurt it."
"Sounds like a plan," Seiryu said and approached the building, while Glynda, Amanita and Zwei were still a bit shocked at what the spikes are for. They quickly recomposed themselves, and followed Seiryu. When another flock of Griffons attacked them, drawn in by the group's fear, Seiryu activated their silver eyes, killing the entire flock without even turning to face them. Hearing the stone hit the ground, Glynda, Amanita and Ivori turned around and saw the petrified Grimm.
"That was… cold," Ivori said and asked, "Wait, does that mean that I can use your semblance now, too?" All three turned around again and caught up with Seiryu.
"Yes, it does," Seiryu answered, and gave Ivori a quick run-down of how their semblance worked. They hid everyone with Tranquility, and the group made their way past the veins, making sure not to step on any, to avoid getting stuck. When they looked around inside the building, they saw the Leshy hang from steel beams, and numerous egg-like objects in various corners, nooks and crannies.
"What are those?" Glynda asked and took a picture with her scroll.
"Rage Seed," Seiryu answered, "Sirena has dealt with them in the past, but she never knew where they came from."
"Wait, she did?" Glynda asked, "What does she know about them?"
"She did, yes," Seiryu answered, "They usually appear in groups of around ten, and only get noticed when people start disappearing, or hunters can't find as much game in the wild as they should. For obvious reasons, she is one of the few people who can deal with them. However, she never figured out enough about them to make a proper report. And since she was the only one to survive an encounter anyway, she felt it wasn't necessary."
"Any idea how we should proceed?" Ivori asked.
"We need to know what we're dealing with," Glynda answered, "Not to mention, we still need to find that Withershrub."
"On it," Ivori said and focused, "Their armor has no weak spots, and as you can see, they're covered in spikes."
"So, no melee attacks?" Amanita asked, "Anything else?"
"Exactly," Ivori answered, "However, that's it. They absorb negativity from anything the veins catch, and eventually become Leshy, but they can't fight back."
"Well then," Seiryu said and walked back out of the building, "Glynda, if you would." Glynda used her Telekinesis to lift the small Grimm up and threw them out onto the road, where Seiryu shot them one by one, triggering Spectral Healing with each hit. As more sprouts appeared, and the area increased, Seiryu walked backwards, until they were back in the storage building.
"And now, the main event," Amanita said and threw her throwing knives all over the building, running her Strings through the loops in each one, just as Tranquility wore off and the Leshy noticed the intruders.
"Looks like it knows we're here," Seiryu said confidently as the Grimm fixated the group with its red eyes.
"Oh no, whatever shall we do?" Amanita asked sarcastically as she pulled the Strings tighter, cutting through the Grimm's tentacles and suspending it in the air. As the Grimm struggled to break free, the Strings carved through its bone armor, eventually cutting it to pieces. When the Leshy evaporated, so did the fleshy veins on the ground, walls, walkways, steel beams, and ceiling.
"Now we just need to destroy the remaining Rage Seeds," Ivori said, and Glynda gave him a confused look.
"What do you mean?" Glynda asked and said, "There aren't any left."
"I'm pretty sure there are," Ivori said, "That Leshy had already regenerated some of its spikes, so it looked like it had fired fewer than it did. But even so, it lacked more spikes than you threw Rage Seeds."
"I have a bad feeling about this," Zwei said. Suddenly, a Grimm hiding behind a stack of wooden boxes attacked the group with a storm of wilted leaves, forcing them all to shield their eyes. When the attack stopped and the group looked at the attacker, they saw a quadrupedal Grimm with two bone structures resembling bushes on its back, with some wilted leaves hanging from the branches.
"Is that the Withershrub?" Ivori asked.
"No, that's the next stage," Seiryu answered, "The Wilt-shell."
"That's trouble, right?" Ivori asked. In response, the Grimm created a series of small energy orbs around it. While the rest of the group wondered what it was doing, Seiryu created a Glyph as barrier, a split second before the Wilt-shell fired the orbs at the group, creating a sizable explosion on impact.
"Spread out," Seiryu said, let the Glyph disappear and engaged the Grimm. They hit the Grimm with their weapon, and evaded a head-bash. Ivori fired a flurry of Shooting Stars at the Wilt-shell, and Glynda hit it with several telekinetic blasts, while Amanita threw her throwing knives in its general direction. The Wilt-shell tried to fight back, but every time it attacked, the target evaded and created an opening for their allies.
"Alright, I'm ready," Amanita said and jumped in front of the Grimm. Glynda disengaged, and Seiryu and Ivori followed suit, despite not knowing what the two had planned. The Wilt-shell charged at Amanita, hitting her at full force. The impact tightened her Strings, and the Grimm's own strength forced the Strings into its black flesh, cutting deep wounds and removing most of its legs, while the orbs from Spectral Healing restored her aura.
"That was pretty reckless," Seiryu said, walked over and shot the Wilt-shell.
"I know," Amanita said, "Normally I only do this when Peter or Bartholomew are nearby, in case it isn't enough. But here, I think it worked well enough."
"Alright, let's head back," Glynda said, "You too, Ivori. Thanks for your help."
"You're welcome," Ivori said and asked, "But, how do I get back?"
"Let me help you," Seiryu answered and split up into Taiyang and Sirena again. Sirena created an ice blade from her left sleeve and opened a red portal to Maria. Ivori bid his farewells and went through, and the portal closed behind him. With everything wrapped up, Glynda, Amanita, Zwei, Taiyang and Sirena headed back to the train station to meet up with the others. On the way, Glynda gave Sirena a long-overdue lecture on reporting Grimm.
Author's note: Surprise, small bonus thing about the White Fang.
