Author's note: Second attack on Beacon.
A snowy owl flew into Beacon's library through a broken window, and Weiss landed in the middle of the room, causing all the Grimm to run towards her, ready to strike. As soon as she landed, a portal opened up and Jaune dashed out of it. He jammed his sword into the ground and covered the area in an icy mist, and Weiss created six Glyphs around herself and summoned a Shock Crystal from each. The Alpha Beowolves were bombarded with energy blasts that left a small chunk of ice on them, and each chunk immediately exploded, firing an icy blue energy blast at the nearest Grimm.
"Ice Trap sure is nice," Weiss said, looking around in the carnage, while the orbs from Spectral Healing recharged her aura. Ruby, Glynda, Blake, Nora, Sky and Sirena came out of the portal as well, and it closed behind them.
"Alright everyone, just as planned," Ruby said and positioned herself in the middle of the room, focusing on all the negativity she could reach to draw the Grimm to herself. Weiss created a Glyph by the main door and sent an icy blue Combat Drone down the hallway, just as a flood of Alpha Beowolves attacked. Sky rushed over to the entrance and set up three turrets with his Tower Defense semblance, with each tower's head emitting icy blue flames.
"Here they come!" Blake called out, just as the Drone fired its last shot and disappeared. The ice spikes fired more energy blasts at the Grimm, but quickly disappeared, and the Alpha Beowolves charged towards the library. As soon as the Grimm came within reach, the turrets fired ice blasts at the Grimm, killing one with each hit, and created more ice spikes. The Grimm jumped over the first line of spikes, only to get hit again, and once there were four rows of ice spikes, the Grimm simply landed on them and got impaled.
"Good work, everyone," Ruby said, "Blake, go around and kill any Grimm that come close. Jaune and Sky, you keep an eye on the door so we don't get surprised. Glynda, Sirena, you continue your work. Weiss, Nora and I will keep cleaning up here."
"Got it," Blake said and disappeared into a shadow. She came out of a shadow in the cafeteria and created an incendiary-goo clone, then left and let Deathzone and Spectral Assault do the work. Weiss summoned two Arma Gigas without their swords while Nora generated electricity to increase her strength, and both began putting the book shelves back where they belonged.
~o~
Glynda and Sirena entered the teacher's section of the library again, and took out another handful Grimm that had made the room their home, before Glynda put up the book shelves and handed the books to Sirena, so she could determine where they should go.
"You know, it's rare to have you help with tasks like this," Glynda said.
"Is it really?" Sirena asked, "Or do you simply not know me well enough to expect me to help?" She put another book in the proper place and began reading the next.
"Well, I suppose it's the same in the end," Glynda said and asked, "So, why do you help, anyway?"
"Personal reasons," Sirena answered, "Schools are important, and the sooner they can open their doors, the better it is."
"That is definitely true," Glynda said, "But I get the feeling you have ulterior motives." She put another book shelf in its proper place, and caught some books that fell when she moved it.
"You're right, I do," Sirena said, "But they are of no concern to you. I will give this my all, for as long as I can continue doing it."
"Do you have other plans?" Glynda asked.
"Yes, and I am leaving in two days," Sirena answered, "So we should finish this by then."
"What kind of plans?" Glynda asked.
"Ones I had not expected to carry out," Sirena answered, "I believe Ruby knows this, and decided to help me prepare for them." She went through another book and put it on a pile for later, and when Glynda put the next book shelf in place, Sirena picked up several books from all throughout that pile and levitated them on the shelf.
~o~
Ilia wandered through Vale's upper class district, with several faunus soldiers following her. When a pack of Beowolves appeared, she held out her right hand and made several ice shards emerge from her skin, then hurled them into the Grimm, killing them. The group took a short break, and Ilia used the ice-dust in her skin to cool the surrounding air, while the ice shards regenerated her aura.
~o~
Oihana, a deer faunus from the bayou the White Fang had came to, woke up in an unfamiliar bed, and saw a beaver faunus woman wander around. She looked around the room and saw her friends in the other beds, though they were still unconscious. Then, she remembered what had happened.
"Wait, where am I?" Oihana asked, getting the beaver faunus' attention.
"Oh, you're awake," the woman said and answered, "You're in the White Fang headquarters in Mistral. I don't know exactly what happened in your village, but you're safe with us. Our leader should return in a day or two though, and then she can explain what happened. I'm Paprika, by the way. Please refer to me if you have any question."
"How did I get here?" Oihana asked. She didn't know what to think, and just needed to get the answers she knew she could get, if only to ease the sense of helplessness.
"Our leader took a few faunus with her," Paprika answered, "One of them, Alya, has a semblance that lets her send stuff to places she considers safe. She used it to evacuate anyone who got injured, it seems."
"Anyone?" Oihana asked and looked around, "Then why are there only faunus here? There were Grimm everywhere, so there is no way no humans got hurt."
"I'm sorry, but I don't know that, either," Paprika answered, "But our organization has taken a new path after what happened at Beacon, and I don't think our leader would prioritize faunus over humans to that extend. Or she just evacuated those that were most badly injured, and treated the rest in your village."
"Well, alright," Oihana said and asked, "Is there any chance I had a sword with me when I got here?"
"Not exactly, no," Paprika answered, "But there were several items that arrived after the people got here, and I'm sure your sword is among them."
"Can you go look?" Oihana asked and said, "It's a shorter one, single edge, with a hilt that looks like it's made from a deer's antler. Also, the hilt can hold a dust cartridge."
"I know that one, wait a second," Paprika said and got the sword, handed it to its owner and said, "Here you go. It's a very well-made weapon, it must've been hard to get those materials."
"Thanks," Oihana said, took the sword and said, "But no, it was actually really easy to get. It may sound crazy, but this thing just… appeared one day."
"It just… appeared?" Paprika asked.
"Yeah, I know it sounds crazy," Oihana answered, "But it served me well since, and I'm not really one to complain about random supernatural benefactors."
"No, I believe you," Paprika said, "The same thing happened with this key." She held up a small key, and smiled as if it was an old friend.
"Sorry if this comes off as rude, but what's so special about a key?" Oihana asked.
"It opened a lock box," Paprika answered, "It contains all the pictures I have of my mother, and other memories, but I lost the key within a year of losing my mother, so I couldn't open it. I was devastated back then, and I thought I could never see these pictures of her again. When I found the key in a pile of snow one morning, I saw it as a sign to keep moving forward, into a better future."
"I see," Oihana said, "It almost feels like we both got what we needed the most, in one way or another."
"What do you mean?" Paprika asked.
"When I got this sword, I had just lost a friend," Oihana answered, "Grimm, obviously. I was desperate to take the fight to them, but had nothing to defend myself with, much less anyone else. Then, this sword appeared, and I knew that I was meant to fight Grimm. I just need training."
"Well, we do have training rooms," Paprika said, "If you don't mind, that is."
"No, I trust this benefactor," Oihana said, "If they think you deserve a gift, that's good enough for me. Let's go." She got up, got dressed, and followed Paprika to the training room, while Paprika let another faunus know that she was heading out and needed a replacement to greet their patients, if any more woke up. After having her aura unlocked by a bear faunus, Oihana inserted an incendiary-dust cartridge into her weapon, and the training began. She started with basic form, to get a good feeling for her weapon, and then moved on to more complex forms.
~o~
Ruby scanned another book and used Vines to put it into the right book shelf, while continuously keeping a mental eye on the Grimm in the building, especially those close to Blake. When Kindred Link told her that Blake was in danger, Ruby burst into rose petals and found herself in the women's locker room in the gym. Before she even fully manifested, she created an orb of lime green energy around her left fist and jammed it into a Big Ursa's mouth. The Grimm chomped down, swallowing her arm entirely and leaving the rest of her body in its rose petal state.
"R- Ruby?" Blake asked in shock, seeing the rose petals sink to the ground as the Grimm ate her friend's arm. The Big Ursa died shortly after, due to the high damage of Venomhand, and when it began to evaporate, Ruby's body fully manifested, although she was dazed from the strain, and her aura broke once she was fully back together.
"S- safe," Ruby said, then passed out cold. Blake rushed to catch her, dropping Gambol Shroud to free her hands. When Blake laid Ruby down on a bench, she heard that she was asleep, and relaxed again.
"Alright, she sounds fine, that is good," Blake said to herself and began pacing up and down the room, "Now all I need to do is hold out here, either until the others find us, or until she wakes up again and can get us a portal back to the others. That shouldn't be too hard, just keep Grimm out of here for an indeterminate amount of time. No problem. None whatsoever." She felt a cold wind blow over her cat ears, and remembered that she was running low on incendiary-goo, meaning that she had to be careful, or risk running out entirely. She wondered when, or if, Emerald or Sapphire would take over for Ruby, but decided to put that matter aside that for now, in favor of surviving. Blake set up a Grassy Terrain, sat down on the bench, and focused her predator sense on any Grimm within 500 meters of the two.
~o~
Weiss took a break from putting book shelves back up, sitting on a chair inside a Healing Circle and Safezone, to regenerate her aura faster. She looked around, realizing that Ruby had been gone for quite a while now, and started to get worried.
"Jaune, can you come over for a second?" Weiss asked, getting Jaune's attention.
"Sure, what is it?" Jaune asked and walked over to Weiss, and Nora headed over to the entrance to cover for him. Everyone got a bit concerned, but continued to keep an eye out for Grimm.
"I'm getting worried for Ruby," Weiss answered.
"Me too," Jaune said, "She just left like that, without saying anything."
"Exactly, and it's been almost half an hour now, too," Weiss said and asked, "Do you think you can sense her?"
"I can definitely try," Jaune answered, "I mean, there used to be students around here all the time, so the ambient aura is pretty strong, even now."
"Is that good?" Weiss asked.
"It means that there is a lot to separate," Jaune answered, "But luckily, it's been months, so all the auras should be faded by now, meaning that Ruby's aura trail is pretty easy to follow."
"Good," Weiss said and summoned a Seer and tiny Queen Lancer, "Then I'll get this to her, and you tell me where to go."
"Alright," Jaune said, sat down on a chair and focused, "Out the door, then the first left." Weiss had her tiny Queen Lancer follow the instructions, and the summon flew through the school. Jaune had his left hand on the Seer to sense the Queen Lancer's position, and used it as a reference point to guide Weiss.
"I can't," Weiss said when Jaune gave her another direction.
"What do you mean?" Jaune asked and said, "Just go straight now."
"I mean that I can't," Weiss answered, "There's a wall in the way."
"But that's the way Ruby took," Jaune said and asked, "Are you telling me that she walked through walls?"
"Either that, or you made a mistake," Weiss answered, "But there definitely is a wall there, look." She summoned another Seer and made it contact the one in front of her.
"What's the problem?" Glynda asked, also taking a break from her work.
"Ruby suddenly just disappeared," Weiss answered, "I asked Jaune to help me find her, but the directions he's giving me make no sense."
"Alright, let me see," Glynda said and took a look at the Seer, "That seems to be the backside of the women's locker room. If you want to get there from here, the shortest way is through that wall."
"So, how do we get inside?" Weiss asked.
"You'll have to take the long way around," Glynda answered, "Or use the ventilation system. There should be an access nearby. Then you just go up, right, and then the next exit down."
"Thanks," Weiss said, summoned a human-sized Arma Gigas and had it open the ventilation shaft, then made the summon disappear again, along with the second Seer. The Queen Lancer made its way into the locker room, and fired a short barrage of bone spikes at the cover to get Blake's attention. She cut the ventilation shaft, and the Queen Lancer flew down into the room.
"You're there," Jaune said and took his hand off the Seer.
"Yes, thank you," Weiss said and summoned another Seer, then made it contact the one in the library.
"Hey guys," Blake said when her face appeared in the Seer, "We have a problem."
"Yeah, I know," Weiss said and asked, "How's Ruby? What happened, anyway?"
"She's fine, I think," Blake answered, "It sounds like she's just sleeping, but it's weird."
"It's weird? How so?" Weiss asked.
"Like I said, it sounds like she's just sleeping," Blake answered, "Normal sleep, like we do every night. Nothing unusual. But she's been sound asleep since the second she got here, and it looks like she isn't waking up anytime soon."
"That is definitely weird, I'll look into it later," Weiss said and asked, "But what happened to her?"
"Well, I guess I was low on aura," Blake answered, "She appeared, or rather her arm, and her fist was surrounded by a weird energy sphere. Then a Big Ursa swallowed it whole, and the rest of her stayed as rose petals until the Grimm died. Then her aura broke, and she fell asleep." Glynda rubbed the bridge of her nose and let out an exhausted sigh.
"That girl, I swear," Glynda said, turned to Sirena and asked, "Do you know what could be wrong with her?"
"Yes, but as you know, I cannot tell you," Sirena answered, "If her life were in danger, it would be a different situation, but as it stands, she just needs sleep." Weiss, Jaune and Glynda all gave Sirena varying degrees of sour looks, and for just a moment, she showed her regret.
"Alright, fine," Weiss said and asked, "But if I use Quick Travel to bring her here, can you get her to the station?"
"That could be arranged, of course," Sirena answered. Weiss became increasingly transparent, until she was completely gone, and appeared again in the locker room. She put a hand on Ruby's head, and the other on Blake's shoulder, and all three appeared in the library, before Sirena used Bubble Teleport to send Ruby to the train station, and Glynda decided to stop for the day. Weiss made the summons in the locker room disappear again and summoned a second Seer, which Sirena sent to the train station, allowing Weiss and Sirena to bring everyone there.
~o~
Weiss wandered through what seemed to be an endless desert, with the sands shifting from black to white, seemingly at random. Giant glass funnels grew out of the ground, and the sands were continuously pulled into the sky in fine strings, without disturbing the sands around the funnels. A small creature, only visible by its golden outline, flew ahead of her, sniffing the air with its mouse-like nose, while its fluffy hummingbird wings carried it through the desert air. The creature paused for a moment, then landed on its large hind legs and looked around, testing the air again.
"What is it, little one?" Weiss asked, "Did you find her?" The creature nodded and hopped over to a funnel Weiss hadn't noticed before. When she looked up at the sky above the funnel, she saw that the sand string flowed irregularly, and in shock, returned to the waking world.
"And, did you find something?" Jaune asked when Weiss' eyes snapped open again.
"I did, yes," Weiss answered, "But… I don't know what it means."
"What is it?" Jaune asked and said, "Maybe we can figure out what's wrong anyway."
"Well, for starters, I went to the land of dreams," Weiss answered, "Think of it like an endless expanse, comprised of some kind of… well, I guess I can just call it a desert. Except that, you know, it's not sand. And in this expanse is everyone's sleep."
"I… don't think I understand that," Jaune said, "Sorry."
"It's fine, really," Weiss said, "Let me try again. Imagine your dreams as words on a page, in a book. That book is in a library, which is in a city. Except that the city wasn't built in the past, but is still being built, in another, secret, place. And I went to that place."
"Now I'm even more confused," Jaune said and asked, "Can't you just show me?"
"I'm not sure if that's a good idea," Weiss answered, "It's easy to get there for me, since I made a pact with an arch-angel, but there's no telling what would happen to you."
"I see," Jaune said and asked, "Any other ideas how you can explain it?"
"Well, like I said, you can imagine it as a desert," Weiss answered, "It feels wrong calling it that, but on the surface, it should work. In this landscape, there are these giant things, which represent people. They collect the material from the ground, and weave it into dreams, both good and bad."
"Yeah, I think I can picture it now," Jaune said and asked, "And what about Ruby?"
"The string of her dreams was irregular," Weiss answered, "And, I don't know, it just felt really wrong to me. I was so shocked, for some reason, that I got back early."
"That sounds bad," Jaune said, "Then again, irregular dreams are fairly common, so it probably isn't too bad."
"Still, I'm going back and see if there's anything I can do," Weiss said, "You tell the others, and try to find out what that could mean."
"Alright, but be safe," Jaune said, got up from his chair and left the room. Weiss lit the candles again and focused, before diving into the dream realm again.
~o~
Weiss appeared next to the funnel representing Ruby, conjured her sprite again and looked around the area, with the little creature helping her out to the best of its abilities. When she looked around in the air, she noticed that the strings were predominantly white, with the ones containing more black being farther away, but only in one direction.
"Let's see if we can find clues elsewhere," Weiss said, and her sprite flew over to her, following her to another funnel. After she walked for some time, Weiss came across a funnel that seemed even more concerning than Ruby's, since there was no string at all, and it had even started to rust. Weiss gasped again, and just as before, returned to the waking world from the shock. She looked around and saw that the candles had burned down almost completely, and decided to stop for the day.
Author's note: Surprise, I haven't forgotten about the White Fang thing.
Ruby "random supernatural benefactor" Rose. The snow is mostly because she used the heat in the room for her alchemy, so the water suspended in the air cooled down a lot.
Weiss tries to explain eldritch stuff to people. Problem is, she can't really understand it herself once she leaves the realm of dreams.