Author's note: And now, Ruby's friends investigating behind her back because Sirena's moral code forbids her from telling them what's wrong.


Weiss flew through the night in her bird form, following her sprite to the person represented by the rusted funnel in the dream realm. She knew that whatever was going on there could help her find out what was wrong with Ruby, and she was determined to get to the bottom of whatever Ruby's problem was. She angled downwards and aimed for a watchtower on the southern side of a fortified village, flew into the wooden supports and transformed back when no one saw her.

"Hey Persimmon, I think I heard something," a woman said, "Go see what it is."

"Why me?" Persimmon, a man, asked.

"Because you got that new compound bow," the woman answered, "And you still haven't told me where you got it."

"Perun, I already told you, it just appeared," Persimmon said, "But fine, I'll go." Weiss made her sprite disappear and jumped onto the winding stairwell leading up the watchtower.

"No need, I'm a huntress," Weiss said and walked up the tower, "Sorry for scaring you." When Persimmon and Perun saw her, they relaxed again, and Persimmon lowered his bow. Both wore simple clothing, and while Perun had her red hair braided into a ponytail, Persimmon had his black hair short and scraggly.

"Did you hear all that just now?" Persimmon asked, "Anyway, what's your name?"

"I did, yes," Weiss answered, "I'm Weiss Schnee. My friends and I are helping out in Vale at the moment."

"Thank the Gods," Perun said, "We took in as many refugees from the capital as we could house, but they're on edge, so the Grimm are constantly breathing down our necks."

"But, what are you doing here?" Persimmon asked.

"I'm investigating a little issue we were having," Weiss answered, "And that led me here, to you two."

"I'm sorry, but we didn't do anything," Perun said and asked, "Or is it the bow?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Persimmon said, turning to Perun.

"Well something made a huntress come all the way out here," Perun said, "And it sure as hell isn't the nice weather."

"And I keep telling you, this thing just showed up in my living room," Persimmon fired back. Weiss stepped forward, and put her foot down with enough force to hurt her ankle a bit, catching both people's attention.

"It's not the bow," Weiss said and asked, "Do either of you have your semblance unlocked?"

"I have, yes," Persimmon answered, "It makes it so that my arrows create these little flame-like things when they hit an enemy, which then home in on nearby enemies."

"Me too, actually," Perun said, "But it's not that special."

"Whatever it is, I need to know it," Weiss said, "One of my friends may be in trouble because of it."

"It's definitely not that special," Perun said, "It's actually pretty silly, compared to the stuff I see you guys do."

"Listen, I'm tired, and my friend could be in trouble," Weiss said, "Just tell me what your semblance does, and I'll leave."

"No, you listen," Perun said, "I'm telling you, my semblance isn't anything special. It's just a silly little thing, and it definitely can't put anyone way over in the capital in any danger. Especially a huntress."

"Let's put it to the test, then," Weiss said and put her hand on her sword's hilt.

"I don't think we need to escalate this," Persimmon said, "Perun, just tell her. I'm curious, too."

"No no, if our huntress wants to see that I'm right, I'll oblige," Perun said and drew her twin axes, and Weiss drew her sword.

"Let's get somewhere where we have more space," Weiss said, put her free hand on Perun and used Quick Travel to bring them both to an open area outside the village. Perun jumped back, swung both of her axes and charged Weiss, laying into her with a series of strikes. Weiss blocked the flurry of attacks with her sword and jumped back when she had the chance, then charged.

"Guys, stop it!" Persimmon called down from the tower and readied his bow, aiming at a Beowolf. Perun caught Weiss' sword between her two axes, moved the weapon aside and hit Weiss with a headbutt. Weiss stumbled backwards and noticed a Beowolf approaching her, but it was killed by an arrow to the head, and five flame-like objects appeared around the Grimm. Before she knew what was happening, Weiss had to block another hit from Perun, and retaliated with an upward swing.

"Important lesson for huntsmen," Weiss called over to Persimmon, "Sometimes, people don't realize they should stop fighting. In those cases, you need to focus on killing any Grimm they attract." Another Beowolf approached, and one of the flames homed in on it, exploding on contact and killing it. Weiss made a backflip onto a Glyph, staying out of Perun's reach, and summoned a Seer and Queen Lancer.

"See, I told you I was no match for you," Perun said and dodged a barrage of bone spikes. When more Grimm attacked, Persimmon took them out with his bow and his semblance. Just when Weiss contemplated stopping the fight, Perun sent a double aura arc and knocked her off her Glyph, then charged again. Weiss flipped out of the way and created another Glyph, then jumped towards Perun and landed a devastating blow that broke her aura.

"Looks like you were right," Weiss said and turned around to question Perun about her semblance, only to find the woman unconscious.

"Now look what you've done," Persimmon said and killed another Beowolf.

"I'm sorry, I have no idea why she passed out like that," Weiss said, "I just wanted to talk. Don't worry though, I've got this." She called her Seer down to her, summoned two more Queen Lancers, and had all three fight off the pack of Beowolves. She set up a Healing Circle and Safezone around the two of them and switched to Spectral Assault, quickly taking out the entire pack.

"What do you think is wrong with her?" Persimmon asked after all the Grimm were dead, and he came down to talk to Weiss without having to shout.

"I really don't know," Weiss answered, "I mean, it's one thing if she had been hit seriously, but I only aimed to break her aura so she would give up and tell me what her semblance does. But at least now I know that she's related to what's wrong with my friend."

"Why's that?" Persimmon asked.

"When my friend's aura broke, she fell asleep too," Weiss answered, "She's been asleep for five hours by the time I decided to investigate, which is weird because she had just woken up a few hours prior."

"But, how can her semblance put your friend at risk?" Persimmon asked, and Weiss let out an exhausted sigh. She created an earth-dust Glyph and made it manifest a rudimentary chair, and sat down.

"Semblances can be replicated," Weiss answered, "I mean, look around. These two circles, for example, are two separate semblances. Those white orbs, too. My friend has a shortcut to learning how to use other people's semblances, so it's very likely she's been using Perun's semblance, and is now dealing with the consequences."

"Well, I can't say I've ever heard that before," Persimmon said, "But it does make sense, in some way."

"Yeah, it's hard to believe at first," Weiss said, "But it's true."

"And that's why you wanted to know Perun's semblance?" Persimmon asked.

"Exactly," Weiss answered, "If I knew what it was, it could help me figure out what's happening with my friend. And then, I could help her."

"I see," Persimmon said, "Anyway, I'll have to go get someone to bring Perun to her house, before she gets sick out here. And then I need someone to cover her guard shift. We'll have to figure something out about this."

"You don't have reserves?" Weiss asked.

"We don't have enough people, no," Persimmon answered.

"I see, sorry," Weiss said, "But, if you don't mind, I could help."

"That would be great," Persimmon said, "But… we can't exactly pay you."

"Just consider it an apology for messing up," Weiss said, "After all, you're in this mess because of me."

"Thanks," Persimmon said, "I'll go get someone to take her home, you make sure no Grimm get close to the village." He walked away, and Weiss sent out her Queen Lancers to scan the surrounding areas for Grimm. They periodically fired a short barrage of bone spikes into the ground, and Weiss used her Seer to set up an ice-dust Landmine around each spike. A few minutes after Persimmon left, he came back with another woman, who picked up Perun and carried her away. When a pack of Beowolves approached, they triggered a Landmine, creating an ice spike that fired icy blue energy blasts at them and killed the pack, but almost completely disappeared in the process.

~o~

When Ruby woke up, she saw that it was early morning already, and looked around. Blake and Yang sat on chairs beside her bed, while Weiss was in her own bed, and still asleep. Before she could even stretch properly, Yang hugged her, and she just hugged her back while Blake sat awkwardly on the side.

"You're awake," Yang said, then let go and asked, "What happened? Why didn't you wake up sooner? Are you hurt?"

"Sorry, I guess I was just exhausted," Ruby answered and asked, "How long did I sleep?"

"Since yesterday," Yang answered, "A full twenty-four hours, give or take. We had Sirena take charge and tell us what to do, and things worked out so far, so you don't need to worry about catching up or anything."

"That's good," Ruby said, "But… I kinda promised someone to do something, and Sirena can't do it, so I'll have to handle it today. But there is also the issue of Sirena leaving, so we're on a really tight schedule now."

"What did you promise to do?" Yang asked and said, "Maybe we can help you."

"No, I don't think you can," Ruby said, "It's alchemy, and without silver eyes, you can't even learn it."

"You've been doing alchemy? When?" Yang asked, "And what did you do, exactly?"

"Does it have to do with that black powder Velvet told me about the other day?" Blake asked.

"Black powder?" Yang asked.

"I've been trying to reduce our dependency on dust," Ruby answered, "So, I developed a powder that, in theory, should be able to propel bullets and such more efficiently than fire-dust currently does. I did already perform a few tests with it in an open form, and it works well enough, so it should work in bullets, too. But the problem is that I'm the only one who can make it, at least for now, meaning that it's not as reliable an alternative as I'd like it to be."

"Can you show us?" Yang asked and said, "I'd really love to see this myself, if it really is better than dust."

"Me too," Blake said.

"Sure thing," Ruby answered, "Just let me get something to eat first, and then we'll meet outside." Yang and Blake left the train station, and Ruby got out of bed, got dressed and had breakfast, sending a Messenger Bird to Robyn in the meantime.

~o~

After Ruby fell asleep and the group had to abandon their attack on Beacon to clear out the Grimm, everyone gathered back in the train station, safe for those who had been given different assignments, or were given the day off for the next day's attack.

"Great, and now what?" Qrow asked in a defeated tone.

"We will just have to make the best with what we have," Sirena answered, "Luckily, that includes me."

"Do you know how we could help Ruby?" Yang asked.

"No, but I do know what might be wrong with her," Sirena answered, "However, since no lives are in danger, I sadly cannot tell you."

"Well, the 'lives in danger' part can be arranged," Yang said and clenched her prosthetic fist.

"Ruby is fine, and she will wake up in about twenty-four hours," Sirena said calmly, yet sternly, "I would think carefully about what you want to tell her when that happens." Yang relaxed again and let out a sigh.

"Sorry, I'm just… a bit on edge," Yang said.

"Believe me, I understand all too well," Sirena said, "For now though, we should focus on making sure that Ruby has as little to worry about as possible when she wakes up."

"Any ideas how we do that?" Glynda asked.

"Aren't you in charge?" Cardin asked.

"I would love to say that, yes," Glynda answered, "However, these past few weeks have made me realize that I can't predict Ruby's priorities, which means that it is difficult to say for certain what she will be worried about when she wakes up. This pattern of unpredictable priorities is something I know all too well from Sirena, though, so I believe that she has a better idea of what Ruby would want."

"I'm kind of curious, though," Khione said and asked, "Sirena, how does your sensing fear work, exactly?"

"Right, that's a bit weird," Cardin said and asked, "You said you understood that Yang was on edge, but what does that mean?"

"It means that, when others are scared, I share in that fear," Sirena answered, "Your fears, worries and concerns become my own, in a sense, and motivate me to act. And while most would flee from what scares them, it is in my nature to fight back against threats. The more scared I am, the stronger and more determined I fight against it."

"Oh, I see," Cardin said, "That is… something."

"That actually explains quite a lot," Qrow said.

"Great, alright, fine, good talk," Yang said, turned to Sirena and asked, "Now, what do we do to make sure Ruby doesn't go off the rails as soon as she wakes up, and takes it slow for a bit?"

"We kill Grimm," Sirena answered, "But we also need to ensure that the people are safe. Ren, come here."

"Sure, what is it?" Ren asked and walked over to Sirena.

"I'll teach you how to find the best places for ambushes," Sirena answered, "Use it to set up Landmines in the agricultural district. Take enough dust with you, and trust in what your ambush sense tells you." Sirena put her right hand on his left shoulder and used Mentor to teach him how to use an aura-based ambush sense. After a short moment, Ren blinked and looked around, now much more aware of where and how he could effectively ambush his enemies.

"Alright, thanks," Ren said and asked, "Nora, can you help me?"

"Sure," Nora answered and followed Ren outside, while Ren contacted the military to request a delivery of a mixed crate of dust, minus lightning-dust, since Nora could just use Electric Terrain for that.

"What about the rest of us?" Blake asked.

"You worry about regrowing your ear fur," Sirena answered, "Sky, you set up turrets near the transformers closest to the train station, and augment them with ice-dust. Amanita, Khione, the three of us are going to help the military. The rest stay here, and if Velvet detects any approaching threats, have her assign people to intercept." Sky took a dozen or so of the ice-dust crystals Ilia had made and left the train station, and Amanita, Khione and Sirena left to meet up with the military and joined up with Amihan's group.

~o~

Ren and Nora wandered through Vale's agricultural district, sticking to the areas that were already mostly cleaned of the filth. While Ren checked the area for potential ambush spots, Nora carried a small crate of dust, with a handlebar similar to a briefcase.

"Here is a good spot," Ren said, "Earth."

"You got it," Nora said and set down the crate. She opened the lid and lifted it up, unfolding three stages of storage trays, each holding multiple vials of powdered dust. She pulled out one tray, holding several vials of an earthen brown powder, and handed Ren an earth-dust vial.

"Thanks," Ren said, took the vial and knelt down, then touched the ground and made a circle out of strange, orange-brown lines appear for half a second. He stood up again and handed the vial back to Nora.

"And another one done," Nora said, took the vial back and put it in the crate again, then closed the crate, and both continued walking through the streets.

"Another good spot," Ren said and asked, "Do you have any spark-dust?"

"Nope," Nora answered cheerfully, "But I've got something else." She walked away a bit, put the crate down and drew her hammer, then slammed her hammer's handle on the ground, covering the entire area in dark green sparks.

"What is this?" Ren asked.

"I guess I kind of evolved Electric Terrain," Nora answered, "So now, I can either do the normal one, or this one."

"I see," Ren said, "Good job." He knelt down and placed another Landmine, but decided to put down multiple, since he didn't have to worry about using dust now. When he was done, Nora put her hammer away again, picked up the crate, and both continued walking through the agricultural district to look for more suitable spots.

~o~

Sirena, Amanita and Khione made their way through Vale's upper class district, going further than the military had ever gone before, safe for that one time Penny cleared an entire sector in one day. Amihan was the only one who was brave enough to come along, and Khione had given him a Frost Shell for protection.

"So, what do you think waits for us?" Amihan asked, his assault rifle in hand and loaded with air-dust bullets. Suddenly, a Baviaan jumped off a nearby rooftop and held onto Khione's horns, knocking her to the ground, and began to kick her in the face.

"This," Sirena answered, "Watch out." She shot a stream of water from her trident, knocking the Grimm off Khione, and the entire pack of Grimm jumped at the group. Amihan opened fire and Amanita threw her throwing knives, setting up a net of Strings to harm the Grimm as they came. Sirena helped Khione back up and activated Retaliation, then blocked any and all attacks from the Grimm while Khione shot her ice-dust bolts at any Grimm that got stuck in Amanita's Strings.

"There are too many!" Amihan called out, and a Baviaan attacked him from behind, only to hit the Frost Shell.

"Not for me. Watch out," Sirena said, and unleashed the light of her silver eyes, petrifying the Grimm and copying Strings, Cutting Wind, and Frozen Savior in the process, while Amanita, Amihan and Khione copied Retaliation. When the light faded, and the trio accompanying Sirena looked around, Sirena sat down on a nearby curb and entered her soul core to learn how to use these semblances.

~o~

Ruby led Blake and Yang to a large area in the industrial district, which she had repurposed into her personal testing grounds. She walked up to an improvised shooting range, and her two friends looked around, impressed and confused to see the area in such clear disrepair, with bullet holes everywhere, and shattered pottery littering the ground.

"Ruby, what is all this?" Yang asked.

"I use baked clay disks to test these bullets," Ruby answered and picked up a handgun, "Look." She loaded a normal bullet and fired at a row of twenty clay disks, punching through three and cracking the fourth.

"I see," Blake said.

"That was the normal bullet, which uses fire-dust," Ruby explained, "And now, my new powder." She loaded another bullet and pulled the trigger. A large puff of smoke burst from the muzzle, accompanied by a deafening sound, and when Yang and Blake looked at the disks, ten were gone.

"That was… loud," Yang said and looked over to Blake, who shook her head to stop her ears from ringing.

"Sorry, I forgot to mention that," Ruby said, "But yeah, this powder is more potent than dust, so it's louder, and also packs a bigger punch. The first time I tried this, the recoil slapped the gun right out of my hands." She pointed behind herself, and Yang and Blake saw a dent in the steel sheet wall behind her, with some scrap metal on the ground, which they quickly realized were the remains of a gun.

"Wow, that must be one hell of a recoil," Yang said and looked at her hands, thinking about how much energy she could build up with her semblance if she switched to shells with this powder.

"It is, yeah," Ruby said, "I honestly don't think someone without aura could safely use weapons that shoot this kind of bullets."

"Yeah, who knows what would happen," Blake said.

"I guess it's best not to try this," Ruby said, "Anyway, I've modified some things to work with this powder. Come, I'll show you." She put the gun back on the table, which was more a wooden board resting on two steel barrels than an actual table, and led her friends into a small shed filled with bombs, mines and other explosives she had built.

~o~

A winged Beringel that Lich had summoned pulled a smoke machine out of the wall in a club in Vale, and the entire pack left the building again once they had what they came for. The Grimm flew back to their creator, and handed the smoke machines to the fusion.

"Great work," Lich said, and then split up again, making the summons disappear. The duo opened five of the smoke machines and took out the vials of steam-dust, and replaced them with vials of Tyrian's poisonous steam-dust.

"Letting them reclaim the SDC facility, and then using it ourselves," Tyrian said with an unusually warm smile, "You keep impressing me."

"All thanks to you," Tock said, returning the smile, "Without that tail of yours, none of this would work." The duo finished modifying the smoke machines, and restocking the lightning-dust, then set them up near a large cave entrance, where they felt air flowing into the tunnels.

"Are you two done yet?" Mercury asked, and Tyrian groaned. Tock quickly grew some bushes with the plant-dust in her scales and made them hide the smoke machines, and Mercury attached the device Arthur had developed to remote-control the machines.

"Yes, we are," Tyrian answered, "Now get us to the next spot." Amity became visible above the three of them and fired its teleportation beam at them, bringing them all into the main body, along with fifty smoke machines and the unused steam-dust vials. Amity became invisible again and moved towards another large cave entrance, and along the way, the trio replaced the remaining steam-dust with the poisonous variant, refueled the batteries and attached the remote-control devices.


Author's note: Weiss does an investigate.

Also, Ruby had no idea how she should explain all her actions to her friends, so she just distracted them with gunpowder.

Notice how Sirena didn't even tell Yang that her approach wouldn't work, but rather that Ruby would be upset about it? That's because Sirena knows that Yang could technically manhandle the answers out of her.

Gunpowder is also much stronger than dust. The obvious problem is that guns aren't built to withstand the shock, so the user's aura takes a dip with every shot, to stop the gun from deforming or breaking.

And sure, we know that people can safely fire guns, but I find it funny to have characters be unaware of that, and think of the worst. Kind of a "better safe than sorry" situation, really.

Lich is also busy.