Author's note: And now, the first of many attacks on Beacon.
Also, I will begin uploading a new fanfiction next week, for another fandom, meaning that I will be alternating between them.
In the morning, after breakfast, Glynda gathered the teachers and students, Ruby's Group, Taiyang, Sirena and Khione in a waiting room in the train station, and put her tablet on a large table. She made her tablet project a holographic image of Beacon's floor plan, and everyone knew what was coming. Khione took a closer look at the map, in awe at how close she was to actually enrolling, and also how big of a role she played in the school's history.
"Alright, today is the day," Glynda said, and used her weapon like a pointing stick, "As per Ruby's suggestion, we will enter here, in the library. Once we secured that area, we will move out and systematically reclaim every last corner of our school."
"But what about the military?" Cardin asked, "Will they be alright without our help?"
"Yes, they will," Glynda answered, "Penny arrived here today, and she has begun helping them, meaning they'll have much better chances now."
"But won't we be exhausted if we keep fighting for too long?" Velvet asked.
"We will take turns," Glynda answered, "Today, we will only send a small team to clear out the library."
"What kind of team?" Coco asked.
"Good question," Glynda said and answered, "It would have to be a team that can move quickly, and fight well in confined spaces. I was thinking that Weiss could fly Blake, Ren and Russel up there on her summons, although that would put you three at risk."
"Don't worry about it," Russel said, "I can get in there by myself. All I need is an open window. And once I'm inside, Ruby can open a portal to me, and we can bring in more people."
"Good idea," Glynda said and asked, "But, how do you plan to get inside?" Russel swallowed nervously, and both he and Ruby realized he talked himself into a corner.
"I can use Bubble Teleport," Ruby answered, stepping in before he revealed his bird magic, "I can send a few people to my team's dorm room, and then they can make their way to the library."
"Alright," Glynda said, "Then I think we send Ren first, since his semblance is by far the easiest way to move undetected."
"I'd also like Weiss and Blake to accompany me," Ren said.
"Understood," Glynda said, "Now, get ready everyone. We'll begin in an hour." Everyone left to check their equipment one more time, and Yang used Deathzone to make two earth-dust crystals harm Grimm within a ten meter radius for three days, then gave them to Weiss and Blake.
~o~
Weiss, Blake and Ren appeared in pink bubbles in Team RWBY's old dorm room, and popped the bubbles. They landed and checked for danger, but saw no signs of Grimm, and Ren quickly used Tranquility to hide the three of them. They drew their weapons and proceeded to the library.
"Hold up, I think I hear something," Blake said and focused. She disappeared into her own shadow, came out of an Alpha Beowolf's shadow and made an earth-dust Shadow Clone. Some of the Alpha Beowolves filling the hallway immediately started taking damage, triggering Spectral Assault, and exploded in golden flames when they died. However, most of the Grimm were too far away, and only some took damage from the golden flames. With some Grimm dying, the rest knew there was someone there, and the pack started looking for the intruder.
"I think we should also do something," Weiss said and created a Shock Crystal, augmented with earth-dust, where three hallways met. When several Alpha Beowolves came through, the Shock Crystal repeatedly attacked them with energy blasts, creating rocks on impact. Whenever one of the Grimm tried to leave the Crystal's area, Weiss and Ren cut them down. A few minutes later, Blake returned, and the group continued towards their goal.
~o~
Ruby kept track of Weiss, Blake and Ren, and the Grimm in relation to them, and fed all that information into Glynda's tablet with Puppeteer to create a real-time map of Beacon, complete with the movements of the Grimm. The rest of her friends, especially Yang, Jaune and Nora, looked over her shoulder to see if their friends needed any help.
"Wait, hold up, what's that?" Yang asked when a dozen red dots approached the trio, before disappearing.
"Those were Alpha Beowolves," Ruby answered, "The side buildings are full of those. However, the main building has a lot of bigger ones, so it's good that they go the long way around." They kept looking after their friends, until the trio made it to the library about an hour after they started their mission. With everything in place, Ruby gathered everyone, and the group got ready to move in.
~o~
Ren dashed through Beacon's corridors, leaving behind a purple trail, and purple blades wherever he started to dash. He sliced and slashed any Grimm he passed, and Weiss, Blake and the blades he left behind took care of the rest. The trio entered the library, and looked for a suitable spot for Weiss to set up a Healing Circle and Safezone, while Blake set up a Grassy Terrain. The Grimm caught in the Safezone immediately started taking damage, and looked around to find out what was wrong, but couldn't find anything.
"Ten seconds," Ren said, and Weiss created a series of Glyphs at the edge of the Safezone, then created a Shock Crystal above each of them, completely surrounding the Safezone with leafy green crystals. As soon as Tranquility wore off, the Grimm attacked, and the trio quickly killed the ones that were closest. A red portal opened near Weiss, and Sirena came dashing through, followed by Sky, and then the rest. Sirena stopped at the edge of the Grassy Terrain, near the door, and activated Retaliation, creating small clouds of spores all around her.
"Ren," Weiss said, and Ren hid everyone except for Sirena with Tranquility, making the Grimm focus on her and letting the others fight them more easily.
"Good job, everyone," Glynda said after the Grimm were killed, "Now Jaune, you and Sky keep the entrance safe so the rest of us can get started repairing this place."
"Understood," Jaune said and walked over to the entrance, and Sky followed him. Sky created several Shock Crystals near the entrance, while Jaune got ready to fight, should more Grimm show up. Just as Jaune wanted to turn around and see how the others were doing, Preflexes warned him of incoming danger, and he saw a large pack of Alpha Beowolves coming down the hallway. The ethereal swords that Ren had left behind were still there and cut up some of the Grimm, and Sky took some out with the help of Hydra. Jaune created four duplicates of himself and formed a shield wall, then activated Retaliation. When the Grimm got close, the spores homed in on them and dealt damage on contact, with each hit also triggering Spectral Healing.
~o~
A door to another part of the library opened, and the Alpha Beowolves, Scavengers and Scavenger King inside looked at the newcomers. Glynda picked several of the smaller Grimm up with her semblance, and then crushed them in the air. The Alpha Beowolves charged, but Sirena exhaled, creating pockets of compressed air with the air-goo in her gills, and fired them at the Grimm. The remaining Scavengers, and their King, escaped through the air vents, and the duo got to work.
"Thanks for the help," Glynda said after putting down a book shelf back where it belonged, "I'd like to ask the students for help, but this is the teacher's section."
"You're welcome," Sirena said, picked up a book, quickly looked through through it and levitated it into its proper place. Glynda levitated a couple books over to her to go through, and put another book shelf in its place after clearing up some space.
"I've heard you've fused with a lot of people," Glynda said, catching Sirena's attention, and asked, "What about fusing with me?" She cleared up another area, and put another book shelf in its place, while Sirena kept sorting the books without looking up from her work.
"I would… rather not," Sirena answered, "Not only is it a bad time, but we both tend to be somewhat strict with those we care about. In addition, you possess a certain draw, and I know that you, as well as others, think of me in much the same way. Lastly, some fusions I have been a part of recently have seen… things."
"Wha- what do you mean?" Glynda asked and dropped the book shelf she was holding.
"Nothing," Sirena answered, "I just know that there is a chance our fusion could exhibit certain characteristics, and I would rather avoid that happening, since I am not fond of those traits." Glynda picked the book shelf back up, and both continued their work in silence.
~o~
Ruby cut down several Alpha Beowolves with Thief's Respite, since Crescent Rose was too unwieldy in an enclosed space like this. Blake dashed around the room, cutting down any Grimm she found. Nora surrounded herself with electricity and engaged the Grimm in unarmed combat, seeing how Magnhild was also too unwieldy.
"Nora, a bit of help!" Jaune called over from the door. Nora hurried to get to him, drew her weapon in its ranged form, and fired several grenades at an incoming horde of Grimm.
"Yang, I'm ready!" Russel called out from the center of the Grassy Terrain, and his Reflectors glistened in all corners of the room. Ren ran up to a table, touched the ground to put down an earth-dust Landmine, drew Stormflower and jumped onto the table before firing his weapons' hooks into a Grimm. He pulled the Grimm towards himself and made a backflip, causing it to land on the Landmine. In another corner of the room, Blake created an earth-dust clone of herself.
"Got it," Yang called back and stuck an explosive to the nearest Alpha Beowolf before throwing it into a small pocket of Grimm. The explosion killed the Grimm and set off golden flames, which the Reflectors spread across the room, wiping out almost a third of the Grimm. When the Deathzone rocks that Ren and Blake had placed killed their first Grimm, the process repeated, and the remaining Grimm were quickly taken care of.
"Good job, everyone," Taiyang said, "Now let's get to cleanup." Yang, Nora, Cardin, Dove, Yatsuhashi, Peter and Qrow went to help him put the book shelves back up, while most of the rest collected or sorted the books, and Jaune and Sky stayed at the entrance to make sure that Grimm wouldn't come in.
~o~
Ilia hit a pack of Grimm with Power Whip, augmented with ice-dust, and the soldiers and Atlesian Knight 130s opened fire, creating a slew of snowflake minions. When most of the Grimm were dead, the soldiers stopped firing to let the minions do the rest, while the robots kept going until the enemies were gone.
"Good job, everyone," Ilia said, "Now, let's keep moving." She walked ahead, constantly using her seismic sense to check for more Grimm, and her ambush sense to see where she should move to maximize her effectiveness.
"Thanks," Buck, a deer faunus, said and asked, "But could we take a break? It's getting pretty hot in all this armor, and the Knights are overheating, too." Ilia checked her scroll and noticed that, despite it being winter, it was fairly warm, due to the reflective facades of the district's buildings. She looked at the soldiers, who all seemed unusually nauseous and dizzy, with some sweating more than they should.
"Of course," Ilia answered and focused her seismic sense, "We can go over there." She led the soldiers and robots to a side alley the sun didn't reach, and used the ice-dust in her skin to create fist-sized chunks of ice. The soldiers sat down in the shade, surrounded by ice spheres, and let out an exhausted sigh.
"This feels amazing," Buck said, paused for a moment and asked, "But wait, didn't you say that doing this breaks down your skin?" The soldiers looked at the ice spheres with realization dawning on them, then looked at Ilia with a worried expression on their faces, not knowing whether they made her hurt herself for their convenience, or if she was fine.
"It does, yes," Ilia answered casually, "But don't worry, my aura heals small damages like this pretty quickly, and thanks to Argent's training, I can absorb ambient aura to recharge my own when I'm in warmer areas, such as this one."
"What kind of training?" Hvitur, a fox faunus, asked and said, "Also, I'm getting kind of thirsty." She looked around and saw the other faunus nod in agreement that they were also thirsty, pulled out her scroll and sent a request for drinks to the base camp, and put the scroll away again once she got confirmation that a Knight 200 unit was on the way to deliver a cooler box of soft drinks.
"He helped me get more in touch with my instincts," Ilia answered, "It helps me control my aura better, allowing me to use some extrasensory abilities that humans would need to train years to unlock." The faunus looked at her in awe, and remembered how quickly Marrow had improved once Ruby and her friends arrived in Atlas.
"Once we get better, can you teach us?" Buck asked, and the rest of the faunus mumbled in agreement. Ilia thought about it for a moment, knowing she was never quite the teacher type, as well as the problems that could pop up down the line if these people entered the alpha state with no one around to keep them safe.
"I'll think about it," Ilia answered, "But for now, just rest up. I'll make sure you're safe until then." She walked out of the alley and into the sunniest spot around, and immediately felt the warmth on both her skin and her soul.
"Thank you," Buck said, and Ilia manifested several ice sheets on her body before using Guardian's Gambit, turning them into two ice birds, who took flight to look for Grimm. Once her aura had fully regenerated, and repaired her skin, she repeated the process, and kept going until the Knights arrived with drinks an hour later.
~o~
Penny flew over the upper class district, transmitting all her visual information to the Atlesian Knight 130b units below. She held out her right hand, activated her maiden powers and fired a barrage of energy blasts into a pack of Beowolves, with several Alpha Beowolves among them, and killed them all. The Knights advanced, picking up the boosters from Aura Nebula along the way, and assumed their new position. When a flock of Giant Nevermore and Griffons appeared, she quickly deployed her swords and cut off their wings, causing them to crash and die on impact.
"System error," Penny wrote in her mission report, following her instructions to report any issue she encountered, "Challenge inadequate for means deployed." She swooped down and cut off a Leshy's limbs, and her Knights hit it with their special disks before shooting it to pieces. Once the Grimm fully disintegrated, she took to the sky again and continued advancing her troops through the district with brutal and calculating efficiency. Whenever she reached a house with a swimming pool, she froze the water and let her Knights cool off before advancing further, and by sunset, she had completely cleared out her assigned portion of the district.
~o~
After sunset, Dove flew into the train station and turned back into his human form. While he went to turn on the lights, a red portal opened beside him and his friends walked out of it, each looking more exhausted than the last. Lastly, Ruby dragged herself through the portal, and it closed behind her.
"My everything is sore," Ruby groaned and fell into a chair, then created a Healing Circle around herself. She used Via Sun to create two spectral copies of herself, and they began preparing dinner, while everyone else sat down as well, though they were visibly surprised, and concerned, about Ruby helping to prepare dinner after such a hard day of fighting.
"Ruby, are you sure you're alright?" Yang asked, slurring her speech a bit, "You're not pushing yourself to stay awake, are you?" Ruby looked around and noticed that everyone else was half asleep, whereas she only felt sore from moving so much.
"Don't worry, I'm alright," Ruby answered, "Just sore, that's all." Her spectral clones brought some food for everyone, and the group began eating, albeit slowly.
"I'm too tired to worry about you," Yang said, "We'll talk tomorrow." She continued eating in silence, and her look told everyone to not expect her to process anything they say. However, she made her scroll record everything, so she could listen to it later.
"Speaking of which, what if the Grimm undo all our hard work?" Coco asked.
"I set Landmines," Ren answered, "The rocks will keep the Grimm out."
"My Combat Drone, too," Blake said.
"Same here," Nora said.
"My Aura Guardian is also still active," Jaune said. However, the rest of the group remained silent, being too tired to actually continue the conversation, let alone plan tomorrow's moves. So, they all ate in silence, cleaned up, and went to bed.
~o~
A door in Salem's castle glowed dark purple, and when it opened, it led to a bayou in Mistral, instead of Marcus' room. Marcus walked through the door and closed it again, and the glow faded, returning it to normal. He walked past Lethena, who was sitting on a bench just outside her room, feeding one of the bat faunus babies, and headed straight for Salem's throne room.
"I think we failed," Marcus said, "But I got something else we can use. Look." He pulled out his scroll and made it project a hologram, showing an image of Donna.
"Marcus Black, presumptuous as always," Salem said, "You are fortunate I still have need for your abilities."
"Got it," Marcus said, "Still, it you can make a Grimm that looks like this, my Infection can create a minion for me, meaning we could make people think that this is their enemy, too."
"True," Salem said, "Well, at least you show more initiative than your child." She looked over to Mercury, who looked up from his scroll.
"Sorry about him," Marcus said.
"Whose idea was it to bring you back?" Mercury asked.
"Enough," Salem said, silencing both men, "I will make ten Grimm that look like this, and Marcus will make them into his minions before having them raid coastal towns." She stood up and left the room, and Marcus followed her to the Grimm pools, where she began making them, while he already prepared the dark green crystals.
Author's note: I got the idea of having Glynda and Sirena fuse after I started reading Gushing Over Magical Girls, and had a lot of trouble coming up with an in-universe explanation for why the two wouldn't fuse.
But since I couldn't come up with something, I went with this instead.
Yes, Penny literally submitted "Error 404: Challenge not found" as official status report. Imagine being a military support staff member, helping the soldiers on the front line with any issues that may arise, and one of them just goes "Huston, I'm bored."
Marcus has a semblance that lets him connect any door he touches to any door he's used before. However, both have to be closed for that to work.
