Author's note: And now, we see how Ruby reacts to people getting hurt because of her.
After her clone in Atlas disappeared, Ruby took a moment to process the new information, and the new bond with Maria, then focused on the nearby Grimm again. Her group had barricaded itself in a house, giving them some safety, as it was easier to defend than the open roads.
"Grenade," Amihan called out and tossed an air-dust grenade into a passing pack of Beowolves, and the soldiers opened fire. The grenade detonated and hit over a dozen Grimm with a powerful burst of air, triggering Amihan's semblance and creating a minefield of Cutting Air spheres.
"Alright, I think we're good," Ruby said after the Grimm were dead, "Let's call it a day, so you guys can rest up." The soldiers looked over their guns and realized that they were indeed low on ammo, and the sun was approaching the horizon, too. When they met up with the rest of Ruby's friends at the base camp, Weiss briefly fused with Amihan, on Ruby's suggestion, and shared their fusion's Windy Terrain semblance with him, then split up again and everyone went back to their respective bases of operation.
~o~
On the way back to the train station, Yang noticed that Ruby walked differently than normal, slightly slumped over, and her head hung a bit lower than normal. She looked over to Blake, who returned the look, letting her know that she had also noticed the slight change in Ruby's posture. After dinner, when Ruby wanted to go to bed, Yang spoke up.
"So, Ruby," Yang said and asked, "Did anything interesting happen today?"
"You noticed?" Ruby asked and answered, "Well, yes. I messed up, and if those soldiers didn't have aura, I'm sure they would've sustained more serious injuries. I just didn't do well enough."
"What do you mean?" Blake asked.
"Well, one of them, Amihan, unlocked his semblance," Ruby answered, "When he hits an enemy with air-dust, it creates a small sphere of powerful cutting winds for about a minute, which carves up anything that gets inside. Low damage, high attack speed. A death by a thousand cuts. But when I fired a water-goo bullet, it caused ice shrapnel to fly everywhere, injuring the soldiers. They got hurt because I was careless, and they could've died."
"That's not how I saw it, though," Weiss said, drawing the attention to herself, and explained, "When I fused with Amihan, he showed me what happened. He unlocked his semblance, and it had unexpected consequences when combined with water. However, you stayed calm and responded accordingly, and made sure that the soldiers were fine."
"But I didn't stay calm," Ruby said, getting choked up, "I panicked, I got mad at myself, and I know I could've done better if I actually had stayed calm. But I didn't. They needed me, and I messed up." She sobbed a bit and burst into rose petals, leaving her friends unsure of what to do now, until Yang spoke up.
"Jaune, can you go and see what happened?" Yang asked and said, "And Sirena, I need you to judge how well she handled things. She still respects and looks up to you, and she knows that, while you care about her, you don't sugarcoat things as much as we do."
"On it," Jaune said and hurried to the upper class district.
"Of course," Sirena said. She stayed at the train station with Yang, waiting for Jaune to return, while the others cleaned up and got ready for bed. When Weiss went to bed, she decided to check on Ruby first, and found her in bed, with her head buried under her pillow. She sighed quietly and just gave her the time she needed.
~o~
In Atlas, one of ten Ruby clones made her way through the Mantle portion of the city, looking for a very specific person. When she looked around, she noticed that things looked fairly bad, and the people seemed somewhat agitated. She followed a man into an alleyway and clenched her right fist.
"Stay," Ruby said, immobilizing the assassin with her left hand when he whipped around. She kicked his gun out of his hands and activated Venomhand, coating her fist in a lime green energy and letting him go again. She rushed in and landed a gut punch, sending the man stumbling backwards as he held his stomach. Ruby switched to Prism Chain and restrained the man.
"Please don't," the man said and asked, "Who are you, anyway?"
"I'm Ruby Rose, and I need your help," Ruby answered, released the man and said, "Sorry I had to be so rough, I wanted to talk without it escalating. You're the one they call Horde, right?"
"Sorry, everyone's been on edge lately, so I got jumpy. But yes, that's me," Horde answered and asked, "What do you need help with?"
"Your semblance, Kin Summon," Ruby answered, "I'd like to copy it. I can offer you mine in return, if you want."
"Thanks, but I'm good," Horde said, "But if you want mine, then sure." Ruby used Mentor to teach him how to imprint his soul on other people's, and he left an imprint of his soul on hers. Once that was done, she disappeared, leaving the assassin a bit perplexed. He turned around, opened a manhole cover and went underground before summoning several dozen minions to help him kill the Scavengers that had made the sewers their home.
~o~
Raven and her bandits fought off a mixed pack of Grimm, when a pack of wolves made from icy mist suddenly ran up and took out most of them, leaving chunks of ice behind. A Manticore swooped down and grabbed one of the bandits. A Ruby clone appeared standing on the Grimm and petrified it, copying the man's Venom Net semblance in the process. She grabbed the man and used Flight, bringing him back down safely.
"Ruby, what are you doing here?" Raven asked. The clone landed and let the man back down.
"I need to get stronger," Ruby answered.
"Wait, really?" Raven asked and said, "I'm trying to be as strong as you."
"That's nice, but I'm not strong enough to deserve that kind of admiration," Ruby said, "Anyway, tell your bandits to hand me their weapons. I can fix them for you, since I'm here already." Raven was a bit confused, but stepped aside, and one by one, the bandits handed Ruby their weapons. As she used Repair, the ice chunks let off ice blue particles that restored her aura. After all the ice was gone, she kept going until she disappeared.
~o~
A Ruby clone left the guest bedroom in the Cotta-Arc house and went to find Saphron, who sat in the living room, watching the news to stay up to date with the recent unusual Grimm attacks. After a short exchange of pleasantries, and an explanation for her appearance, as well as why and how she visited, Ruby taught Saphron how to leave an imprint of her soul on someone else's, and then left after Saphron let her copy Aura Storage.
~o~
Team SSSN briefly stopped in Blackport, to stock up on some things before going on to Vacuo. They met in a rather shady-looking bar to plan their next moves, when some local thugs decided to rough them up a little.
"Sun, what do we do?" Neptune asked, not sure if going all out was appropriate in this situation. Before Sun could answer, a Ruby clone appeared between the two groups, clenched her left fist, coated it in an orb of yellow energy, and hit the apparent leader of the thugs, knocking him out cold. She stared down the rest of the thugs, and they picked up their friend and left. Ruby let out a sigh, the orb of energy faded, and she turned around.
"Hey guys," Ruby said, "I need your help." The four boys looked at each other, not sure how to feel about what they just saw.
"Sure, I guess," Sun said and asked, "What's the problem?"
"I need to get stronger," Ruby answered, "So, I figured if I fused with one of you, and have our fusion share their semblance with me, I can do just that."
"Sorry, we're all pretty beat," Sun said, "Maybe tomorrow, though."
"I don't really have time tomorrow," Ruby said, "Well, it was worth a try. See you." The clone disappeared, and the boys stared at the pale red sparkles for a bit, then paid for a room and headed off to bed for a good night's sleep.
~o~
The next morning, before breakfast, everyone waited for Ruby to wake up. When she came downstairs, her friends saw that she was still feeling down, but seemed more confident now as well. Everyone sat down, and during breakfast, Yang gave Jaune a slight nod.
"Ruby, I think we need to talk," Jaune said, "About yesterday, that is."
"Sure, what is it?" Ruby asked, surprising her friends with her change in attitude.
"I went to check it out," Jaune answered, "And I told Sirena what happened, and how you reacted when people got hurt." He looked over to Sirena, and Ruby looked at her, too.
"As far as I can tell, you handled it pretty well," Sirena said.
"I already told you, I panicked and didn't think about it," Ruby said.
"My point exactly," Sirena said, "We silver-eyed warriors were put on this planet to protect people's lives, and when you panicked, you did what came natural to you. You acted on instinct, and that instinct allowed you to take the best course of action to save people."
"I- thanks," Ruby said with a smile, "I think I really needed to hear that."
"We all need reminders every once in a while," Sirena said, "Now finish eating, we have important things to do today."
"Before we go, can we do something?" Taiyang asked and said, "I have an idea that I'm sure you'll appreciate." After breakfast, Taiyang explained his idea, and he fused with Sirena again. Seiryu let Weiss, Ren and Ilia copy their semblance, then split up again, and everyone went out to help the military. While they were preparing for the day, Weiss had Blake set up a Grassy Terrain, and surrounded the train station with leaf green Combat Drones.
~o~
A pack of Beowolves ran through Vale's upper class district, chasing a group of soldiers, when half a dozen wolves made from flames ran into them from a side alley and exploded, killing the pack. The soldiers stopped and turned around, and saw the embers from the fire linger in the air for a bit. When the soldiers approached, the embers hovered over to the soldiers and delved into their guns, briefly covering them in intricate red lines.
"That's Fire Power," Ruby said, and the soldiers saw her stand on a nearby rooftop, with rose petals trailing down from behind her. She jumped down and drew her scythe.
"Huntress, there you are," Amihan said and asked, "How are you feeling? And what is Fire Power?"
"I'm fine, thanks," Ruby answered and explained, "Fire Power is a semblance I picked up in a bandit camp in Vacuo. If I kill an enemy with fire-dust, it creates these embers that boost nearby allies' attack strength for the next few hits. However, the embers disappear after a minute if no one picks them up. These lines will appear again when you fire the last boosted shot, so keep an eye out."
"Thank you, huntress," Amihan said, "I'm still really sorry about what happened yesterday. If there is anything I can do to make it right, let me know." Ruby thought for a moment, knowing both that the man was innocent, but also how much she needed to hear the right thing.
"Alright then, if you insist," Ruby said and turned around, "Be better. Look to your left, and look to your right. Make sure those people can rely on you to keep them safe. But most importantly, take care of yourself first."
"I'll do my best, huntress," Amihan said, "Thank you."
"You're welcome," Ruby said, turned around and said, "And you can just call me Ruby. We're all in this together, so we're equals. Huntress is just a title, and soldier is just a job description. You're here to help me, a person, and I'm in this world to save lives, not job descriptions."
"Understood," Amihan said.
"Do you really?" Ruby asked.
"Sorry, I don't think I understand the question," Amihan answered.
"Did you really understand what I just said, or did you just hear it?" Ruby asked, and the soldiers got visibly confused.
"I'm not sure I follow," Amihan said and asked, "Is there a difference?"
"There is, yes," Ruby answered, "For example, how I told you that I can sense Grimm from afar. I don't believe you understand what it truly means to sense Grimm. How it feels."
"Well, I know that it means you can tell where they are," Amihan said.
"Exactly, you know the theory," Ruby said, "Now let me show you the practical application." She pulled Amihan into a fusion, and their fusion closed their eyes and focused on all the Grimm they could track. As the monsters' foul darkness bore down on their shared soul, Amihan tried to pull away, but Ruby held on to him just a little longer, until she was sure that he understood properly.
~o~
Blake and Ilia stood on the train station after Ilia had used her semblance on the antenna on top to make it attract Grimm. After a few minutes, the first flock of Griffons approached the building, and the faunus knocked them down with Shooting Stars, bringing them within range of Weiss' Combat Drones.
"You know, this is a pretty good idea," Ilia said, "Those sprouts will make it a lot easier to defend ourselves, should Grimm ever try and attack the train station."
"Exactly," Blake said, "But we also need to be careful not to get carried away, due to the side effects."
"I think I can already feel them," Ilia said, "It's not too bad yet, but I definitely feel more inclined to throw my enemies off and make it easier for my allies than I used to." Ilia shot icy Shooting Stars at a Giant Nevermore, freezing its wings and forcing it to land. Blake hit it with incendiary-goo ones, covering it with red-hot shards and causing Deathzone to harm it as well. Once it was in reach, the Combat Drones hit it with energy blasts that turned into spiky vines and quickly killed it, creating another sprout.
~o~
Weiss ran along Vale's rooftops, using her Glyphs whenever she couldn't jump far enough, and made her way to the nearest river. She jumped off a roof and fused with her shark's soul, and Donna hit the water. She swam as fast as she could trying to reach her target before it was too late, following Ruby's telepathic instructions to find her target.
~o~
Jaune and Amanita returned from a quick trip to Atlas, and found themselves in Vale's agricultural district. When they both returned, the portal, courtesy of Sirena, closed behind them. Amanita was still impressed that they could travel this far in just a few steps, and that she had a new semblance now.
"And, what do you think, professor?" Sirena asked. Jaune and Amanita turned around and saw her standing on the road, and were bit unsettled that she seemed so calm.
"Well, it's definitely hard to believe," Amanita answered, "I mean, you were always so up-tight in school."
"Not that," Sirena said, "I meant the semblance, Spectral Assault. And in general, what we accomplished in Atlas."
"Oh, that, right," Amanita said, "Well, it's nice. It seems that Atlas is finally moving into a better future, after all this time."
"True, it is," Sirena said, "Anyway, we should get going. According to Ruby, there are Grimm nearby. I'd like Jaune to use Douse, so that your Strings give off water when something hits them. That way, we can simultaneously clean some of this filth and fight Grimm."
"Of course," Amanita said, and Jaune created a blue energy sphere and nudged it towards her. Sirena took the lead, and before long, a pack of Beowolves attacked.
"That's your cue," Sirena said and jumped backwards. Amanita threw her throwing knives into the ground and walls, and set up a series of Strings that acted like water jet cutters. Whenever a Beowolf jumped into the Strings, it splashed some water on the ground and was cut up, either losing a limb or dying outright, while also triggering Spectral Assault.
"I've got this side," Jaune said as he and his clones formed a shield wall to hold back a pack of Ursai, using Retaliation to harm the Grimm whenever they tried to break through. Sirena jumped up the wall of a building and drew her bow before creating an ice arrow from her left sleeve. She fired it into one of the Grimm, then made it explode, killing the Grimm and harming those around it, setting off Spectral Healing on every hit.
~o~
When Sienna and her group reached the bayou village, the faunus were a bit on edge, since they didn't know how the mostly human populace would react to them showing up. They put their weapons away and slowly approached the village, with Sienna and a handful faunus taking the lead, while the rest stayed behind until she called them. Just as the people saw the faunus, a pack of real Baviaan burst out of the foliage behind them and charged towards the village.
"Everyone, hurry," Sienna called out, drew her whip and engaged the Grimm. The villagers panicked immediately and reached for bows, crossbows, slings and makeshift rifles to defend themselves, both against the Grimm, and the faunus that had come with them.
"Leave us alone," one of the villagers, a faunus with a bow, called out and fired a simple wooden arrow at Sienna, barely missing her.
"We're not the enemy here," Sienna shouted. A Baviaan hit the villager with a red glowing fist, and she screamed in pain. Sienna rushed the Grimm and hit it with Power Whip, and it focused entirely on her. The faunus she brought along focused on killing the Grimm, while she made sure the Grimm wouldn't target the villagers.
"Sienna, there are too many," Wolfram called out and shot another Baviaan.
"Focus on the Grimm!" Sienna shouted back and kept running across the burning rooftops while arrows, bolts and stones flew past her without clear goal or purpose. She hit more and more Grimm with Power Whip, making it easier for her allies to take them down. However, this also meant that the faunus were occupied with Grimm, and couldn't defend themselves against the villagers.
"I said leave!" The man from earlier shouted and charged a faunus with an axe. A Baviaan jumped him and slammed his head through the wooden walkway, then let his limp body fall into the swamp below. The villagers who saw what happened panicked and ran away. Just as the Baviaan wanted to jump away again, Donna came up from under the damaged walkway and impaled it with the serrated horn growing out of her forehead.
"Die. All Grimm, die," Donna said as she jumped out of the murky waters and landed on a wooden beam, wrapping her tail around it. She held out her hands and released a series of small Glyphs, and once the Glyphs were in place, they grew to their normal size and trapped all the Grimm with Prism Chain. When everyone had stopped fighting to see what she was doing, Donna released light blue energy blasts from her Glyphs, killing the Grimm. The villagers and White Fang all stared in awe, then bluntly aimed their weapons at her.
"Who, and what, are you?" Sienna asked and walked towards her.
"Donna, friend," Donna answered, "Ruby warn, Grimm come. Donna hurry, save people."
"I… alright, but what was with those summons?" Sienna asked, "Why did they suddenly disappear on us?"
"No summon," Donna answered, "Enemy semblance, change color. Grimm real, look summon."
"I'm… not sure I follow," Sienna said.
"Wait," Donna said and slid down from the beam, then reverted back to Weiss, much to everyone's surprise.
"In short, Donna is a fusion of me and a shark," Weiss explained, "As for the summons, an enemy has a semblance that lets them change the color of things, making Grimm look like they were summons. It's very possible that the enemy wanted to make you look like you were attacking this bayou with a pack of Grimm."
"I'd say they succeeded," Sienna said and gestured around. When Weiss looked around, she saw the village in flames and shambles, with numerous people either dead, injured, or missing. Seeing the destruction, and knowing that more Grimm were sure to follow, Weiss tried to come up with a plan.
"I think I have an idea," Weiss said, "But it could get risky. Not to mention that we need to evacuate the injured first."
"I can handle evacuation," Alya said and walked up to Weiss, "I can send them to the HQ, where they can get treated by some of the best doctors in the White Fang."
"Alright, do that," Sienna said, and Alya got to work.
"And now, the difficult part," Weiss said, "I'd like your help unlocking everyone's aura. Just so they're safe, that is."
"How can I help?" Sienna asked, more out of confusion than anything else.
"With Power Whip," Weiss answered, "If you use plant-dust, and someone hits an enemy, their aura regenerates. But if they don't have their aura unlocked yet, they gain a temporary one, and if that one gets strong enough, they unlock their aura. We can use my summons for this, too. And once that is done, I'll set up something to make it a lot more difficult for Grimm to do anything in this part. But that's all I can do, unfortunately."
"Well then, alright," Sienna said and set up a Grassy Terrain in the bayou's port. Weiss summoned several Arma Gigas, and Sienna hit them with Power Whip, before the villagers attacked them. Each hit created a small ethereal leaf, and before long, everyone's aura was unlocked. Once that was done, Weiss summoned a large number of Combat Drones, positioning them under the bayou, and in other places where they wouldn't be in the way, but set them to only deal the killing blow. Lastly, she used Deathzone on the wooden walkways, making them harm Grimm within a fifty meter radius. Just as she was about to leave, a swarm of Lancers attacked, but the Grimm were taken out by the Combat Drones before they could do any damage, creating a sprout upon death.
Author's note: Ruby gets some new semblances. She also talks a bit about the difference between knowledge and understanding, as well as other things.
Also, yeah, those "summons" were Grimm that got a new paint job.