Author's note: I know the last chapter was wild, but I'm almost done introducing the different concepts that play a role in this fic. I'll take it easy for now though, don't worry.
When Yang woke up, she could still feel the demon's powerful presence. Her head was thumping, the room was spinning, his voice was still prominent in her mind, and she knew she would never forget this terrifying force of disease and rot. She slowly got into a sitting position and saw Ruby sleep in her own bed across the dimly lit room, with only the morning light shining through the curtains. When the room stopped spinning, Yang slowly got up, careful not to wake her sister, changed out of her pajamas and into her normal clothes, and left the room. When she opened the door, Yang saw Blake waiting for her.
"Yang, are you alright?" Blake asked in a whisper.
"Yes, kind of," Yang answered.
"Good," Blake said, "Come, the others are waiting." She helped Yang get into the living room, where the others were already waiting, and Yang sat down on the couch.
"Yang, how do you feel?" Qrow asked.
"Hungry, dizzy, and most importantly, pretty scared of Talia", Yang answered.
"I have something for one of your problems," Ren said and went to the kitchen.
"Anyway, why does everything looked so singed?" Yang asked, looking around the room.
"Because, when you and Talia fused into Hel, everything started smoldering. If it weren't for Weiss, this whole place would've burned to the ground," Nora blurted out. Yang looked at her hands.
"Sorry, I guess," she said remorsefully. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and deactivated her semblance again, seeing how it had caused even more trouble for her friends now.
"What was it like?" Jaune asked, catching Yang's attention and said, "When Pyrrha and I fuse, it's a feeling of pure joy and love. What was it like fusing with Talia?"
"We were… stranded," Yang answered, "We were in a barren wasteland burned to nothing but rubble and ash by a war between forces beyond imagination. The smell of death and decay filled the air, the wind whispered songs of misery and pain, and the sun hid behind black clouds of pestilence and rot. She… made a pact with a demon, and got magic in return for sacrificing lives to him. That is how she could give me my ability to turn into a dragon." Everyone was speechless for a moment, until Ren put a plate of soup down in front of Yang.
"I know it would be common to drop the plate in shock," Ren said, "But that would be a waste of soup. So here, eat this. It will help you regain your strength." Nora chuckled a little, and Yang smiled at his unusually funny remark.
"Thanks," Yang said. She started eating the soup, and immediately felt a welcoming warmth fill her body.
"Anyway, how long as I asleep?" Yang asked while eating.
"A week," Qrow answered, "Talia woke up three days ago and left for some business, though."
"An entire week?" Yang asked, shocked that she had been out for so long.
"Yes," Qrow answered, "But Talia left us with some words for you. She said what you did was extremely stupid, to put it mildly, and we all could have died had Ruby not stepped in."
"Sorry," Yang said, "I just.. I didn't know how else to get the information we needed. I just wanted to help."
"It's fine," Qrow said, "We all make mistakes sometimes."
"Yeah, I know," Yang said, "Mistakes are a part of life and all, but that doesn't mean I won't feel bad for almost incinerating my friends." Yang realized that she was even too exhausted to get mad, and just continued eating her soup in silence. After she finished the plate, she asked for seconds, and Ren went to get her more soup.
"It is still perplexing," Ozpin said, after Oscar had given him control again.
"What is?" Yang asked.
"That Talia had access to demons," Ozpin answered, "I spent centuries seeking and destroying every text illustrating how one can contact these entities, as they will inevitably lead to mass murder in pursuit of power. However, one cult always escaped my grasp. I thought it had been eliminated, but it somehow must have persisted through the ages."
"Why don't we get an angel to help us?" Weiss asked, "I mean, if demons exist, then angels must as well, right?"
"They do exist, yes," Ozpin answered, "But it is not as you think."
"They're concepts," Yang said and explained, "They aren't good or evil, they just exist as manifestations of things that are necessary for life. They were just named angels and demons by early humans based on how they saw the concepts these entities represent. Disease is bad, so it's a demon. Healing, its opposite, is good, so it's an angel. But neither is interested in protecting or destroying anything, just like viruses are not interested in killing people. They just exist and do their thing, and that's it. Both would readily give someone power in return for human sacrifice." They heard a noise from the hallway, and Ruby stumbled into the doorway to the living room. Weiss immediately rushed to hug her, almost knocking both of them to the ground.
"Ruby, thank the Gods you're awake," Weiss said, her eyes watering. Ruby returned the hug.
"Weiss, I'm fine," Ruby said, "You act like I died or something." Everyone in the room went silent, Weiss pulled away from Ruby, and both sat down again. Ren got up and went into the kitchen.
"Hey, sis," Yang said and asked, "Slept well?"
"Sort of," Ruby answered and asked, "How long as I out?"
"About a week," Qrow answered, "Yang just woke up, too."
"Here you go," Ren said and put a bowl of soup in front of Ruby, "This will help you get your strength back." Ruby slowly began eating, and felt her strength return.
"So, I was out for a week?" Ruby asked, looked at Weiss and said, "That explains the warm welcome."
"That, and something else..." Nora said, suspiciously tactful.
"What do you mean?" Ruby asked, looking around the room. Aside from Yang, they all looked like they were hiding something from her.
"Well, after you tried fusing with Hel, you were… in a bad situation," Weiss answered.
"What happened?" Ruby asked.
"Please don't freak out," Qrow said, "But you died." A suffocating silence covered the room, as both Ruby and Yang had to take in this information, and Yang froze in motion.
"And… then?" Ruby asked, "How did you bring me back?"
"I used my semblance," Jaune answered, "Pyrrha helped me grab your soul as it was leaving this world, and I used my semblance to reattach it to your body. If you notice anything strange, let me know right away, in case I made a mistake."
"Sure," Ruby said, more cheerful than anyone would expect, and asked, "So, does that mean I'm a revenant now?" Everyone chuckled for a bit, until Qrow suddenly stopped, drawing everyone's attention to himself.
"I just realized something," Qrow said.
"What is it?" Ruby asked, noticing Qrow's slightly shocked expression.
"Yang and Talia's fusion, Hel," Qrow answered, "She is named after an old spelling of the word hell. And from what Yang has told us, it's not even a stretch to say that you technically went to the underworld and lived to tell the tale. I only know one other person to achieve that, though in her case it's more literal. According to her, she was so angry at the Grimm that the guardian of hell didn't dare stand in her way, and just let her back out."
"Who is it?" Ruby asked.
"It's probably best if you don't know," Qrow answered, "She is definitely not the kind of person any of you would want to be around. Heck, she's too amoral for Argent's team to be around for long."
"Anyway, Yang," Weiss said and asked, "Why did you force a fusion with Talia in the first place?"
"To get some info out of her," Yang answered.
"What kind of info?" Qrow asked.
"The real identities of the remaining two maidens," Yang answered, "Also, how we can get the relic of knowledge."
"Remind me again, why are the maidens important?" Nora asked.
"Each relic is hidden under one of the academies," Qrow answered, "They're sealed inside vaults, which can only be opened by one of the maidens. For the relic of knowledge, we need the spring maiden."
"Not any more," Yang said and explained, "Talia used her semblance to possess the vault door under Haven and made it open up without the maiden. It took her over a year of analysis, trial and error, and practice, sure, but she pulled it off. She then took the relic, digitized it, and stored it on a server that requires over a dozen different computers across Remnant to function. With the CCTS gone, the server, and therefore the relic, is no longer accessible by normal means." The entire room went quiet again, since noone knew how they should feel about Talia cracking open a vault door with her semblance.
"Why can't we just leave the relic on that server?" Nora asked.
"Because there is one way to reach it," Yang answered, "And only Salem can get to it now. Talia has hundreds of small devices scattered across Remnant, which are all aura-locked to her and connected by a device in Raven's camp, which uses her semblance to establish a connection between all devices aura-locked to people she has bonded with. If, no, when Salem gets her hands on that device, she can send a Poltergeist to possess it, and then have the Seer in her castle materialize the relic."
"What's a Poltergeist?" Nora asked.
"A stronger version of the Geist," Weiss answered and said, "They look like this." She summoned a Poltergeist in front of Nora, and everyone looked at her.
"Alright, that settles it," Ruby said, "Weiss, you go to Raven's camp and get us that relic."
"Not saying I don't want to," Weiss said, "But it takes a lot of aura to maintain a Poltergeist that has possessed big objects, or many small ones."
"Don't worry, I can help," Jaune said.
"And I'll come along for protection," Ruby said, "If Raven tries anything, I'll have Sirena deal with her."
"Yeah, no," Qrow said, looked at Ruby and Yang and said, "You two still haven't fully recovered yet, and I won't let you go anywhere before you're back at full strength. Especially not a bandit camp."
"But I feel fine," Ruby said.
"Don't care," Qrow said, "I won't tell Tai why you didn't make it back home." He gave the two of them a stern look they had never seen from him before.
"Actually, now that I think of it, I'm feeling kind of tired," Ruby said.
"Yeah, me too," Yang said. After eating more of Ren's soup, the two sisters went to bed to get some more rest.
~o~
Cardin and his team were walking through the forests near one of the entrances to Mountain Glenn, making sure no Grimm attacked them, when they heard grumbling behind a bush. It didn't sound like an animal, so Cardin gave his team a small nod, swung his mace and sent a red energy wave into the bush. It hit something, and a large dog-like creature came running out of the undergrowth. It had dark red skin, sickly yellow claws and teeth, and tufts of ruffled fur all over its body, giving it a disease-ridden appearance. The beast stopped in front of them, and its four sickly green eyes burned themselves into the boys' souls. A dark yellow liquid dripped from a wound on the beast's shoulder and corrupted the plants it came into contact with, turning them into ankle-high vile monsters. As the beast rose to its hind legs, exposing its underside, a ball of lime green energy hit it in the back and it faded out of existence. The four boys saw Talia walk out of the bushes behind where the beast had stood, and she used her tail like a whip to destroy the corrupted plants.
"Well, looks like the cat's out the bag," Talia said and asked, "This stays between us, alright?" Cardin and his team nodded, still shaking.
"Wha- what was that?" Cardin asked.
"A pesthound demon," Talia answered, "They're like the Beowolves of the demon world, so I like to summon them as messengers. They were originally used to rampage through villages and tear through enemy armies, but that's no longer necessary."
"D- demons?" Cardin asked, "Like in magic and stuff?"
"Exactly," Talia answered, "I kind of sacrificed some souls to a powerful arch-demon and got some powers out of it, which are pretty similar to magic. Not the kind Sirena's people use, or what the gods gave mankind back in the day, but close enough to call it magic. I can change, alter, transmute and corrupt whatever I want, and summon the various demons to do my bidding. If you want, I can let you travel freely, without being burdened by your human bodies."
"Like ghosts?" Cardin asked, getting too terrified to even show any signs of fear.
"No, silly," Talia answered with a smile, "Like birds."
"Birds?" Cardin asked.
"Yep," Talia answered, "It's perfect. You're named after birds, so even if more than two others knew I could do this, noone would ever think I'd give these abilities to you of all people."
"Turning into birds..." Cardin said, thinking out loud, "I mean, it would probably help getting around and stuff, but I don't think it'd be too useful."
"Remember, Grimm don't attack animals, unless they're provoked," Talia said, "So you'd be perfectly safe from Grimm attacks while in bird form. And noone notices some bird sitting around either, so you could spy on just about anyone at any time."
"Let's say I agree," Cardin said and asked, "What would be the catch?"
"You would have to run some small errands for me," Talia answered, "Nothing big, though. And between errands, you could use your powers however you wanted." Cardin and his team gave each other questioning looks, and one by one nodded in approval.
"Alright," Cardin said, "We'll do it."
~o~
Sirena and Niob were walking through the subway tunnel leading to Vale, making sure there were no Grimm left to attack them later on. Niob had his guns ready to fire, and Sirena had her trident in her left hand.
"I must admit, it is quite vexing how you can afford to leave your kingdom for so long," Niob said.
"I left a regent in place," Sirena explained, "We know each other quite well, and I have left her with a list of things she is to accomplish in my absence. I trust that she makes decisions in my best interests. Last I checked, this was the case." A Big Ursa charged at them, and Sirena dashed forward to face it. The Grimm rose to its hind legs and brought its right paw down on Sirena. Sirena blocked the strike with her trident and activated her semblance, poisoning the Grimm. The Big Ursa fell over backwards and disappeared completely before it hit the ground.
"Impressive as always," Niob said and asked, "But, why did you not use your silver eyes?"
"There are drawbacks," Sirena answered, "For one, using them exhausts me, and I am still recovering from last time, mostly due to using them three times in rapid succession."
"Anything else?" Niob asked.
"Emotional instability," Sirena answered and explained, "Were I to use my silver eyes too often without fully recovering first, I would eventually begin orchestrating dangerous situations to save others from, for example."
"I see," Niob said and asked, "Now, what was going on with you and Talia before we left for our mission? Argent and I could clearly sense your auras being heavily altered before fading and being replaced by a new one."
"Fusion," Sirena answered, "After I taught my people about aura, a few students of alchemy developed a theory according to which two beings, whose souls have been trained to manifest as a protective aura, can merge into one. It is accomplished through physical contact between two parties, who also have to focus on one another. A deep understanding of the other is also beneficial, though not necessary, and during an argument, two individuals cannot fuse."
"Interesting," Niob said, "Anyway, let's head back."
"Alright," Sirena said, and the two faunus headed back to Mountain Glenn.
~o~
Back at Mountain Glenn, Sirena saw that Sophie's swarm had begun digging a gigantic tunnel to the southern side of the mountain range. Thousands of arson termites worked tirelessly to bite through stone and bring the materials to the mound. Spider faunus began walking out of the larger tunnel, weaving webs everywhere. Close to the entrance of the new tunnel, there was a portion leading upwards to the surface level of Mountain Glenn, which was also being covered in spider webs. Sirena walked up to Sophie, who helped weave webs through the underground city.
"Hello, Sophie," Sirena said and asked, "What are you doing here?"
"Your Highness, welcome," Sophie said and answered, "My swarm has arrived. Well, most of them. The spider faunus, at least. We weave our web here. We help clear out the big crevice and use it to feed our mushroom. We will expand our territory to the forests in the north, using this as our new home."
"Fine," Sirena said, "Just don't cause any trouble. Don't kill anyone working here, don't force them to join your swarm, and don't use the petrified Grimm for your mounds."
"Understood, your Highness," Sophie said. Three spider faunus used their aura to stick to the walls of the big crevice in the middle, walked down to the ground and spun rocks into cocoons, before dragging them back up. Weaving reapers, roughly hand-sized spiders with a purple body and misty white hairs all over their bodies, came crawling out of the tunnel to the south and began weaving smaller webs around the underground city. Sophie walked away, using her aura to stick to the walls of the crater, and spun more webs. Other spider faunus took the organic materials, such as wooden beams, from their assigned pile and spun them into small cocoons near the entrance to the artificial tunnel.
"Why are they doing this?" Glynda asked, looking at the spider faunus putting wooden beams in cocoons.
"For the mushroom," Sirena answered, "Her swarm feeds off of a mushroom that her spiders have formed a symbiotic relationship with. It grows inside their webs, which are hollow on the inside, and feeds on whatever they trap in cocoons. This also allows the mushroom to reach other plants, which it forms a symbiotic relationship with as well to trade nutrients, and helps it grow. And when it is grown, the spiders eat it."
"Alright then," Glynda said and walked away to help bring rock piles out of the central crevice.
~o~
After breakfast, Ruby and her friends sat down in the living room and Yang sent a message to Raven, asking for a portal to her camp. After some back and forth, and heavily implied threats of violence, a red portal opened in the room. Weiss, Jaune and Ruby walked through and found themselves in Raven's camp, standing behind her tent.
"So, this thing painted a target on my back?" Raven asked, pointing at the device Talia had built.
"That, and the fact that you're not a Grimm," Ruby answered and said, "We need to work together to stop Salem."
"You sound just like your mother," Raven said with a chuckle. Ruby sensed a flicker of sorrow in Raven.
"I guess I'll get started, then," Weiss said and walked up to the device. She summoned a Seer and a Poltergeist, and Jaune began amplifying her aura.
"Can I talk to you for a moment?" Ruby asked, looking at Raven, and said, "It's about Sirena."
"Alright, but keep it short," Raven answered and both disappeared into her tent. Weiss' summon took control of the first few gadgets, and a small toy robot in Atlas began moving. It folded its right hand down and inserted the previously concealed plug into a socket, taking control of the military's computers. A small rock in Menagerie unfolded into a small robotic bird and flew to a news station, hijacking its antenna and connecting to all devices on the island. A small robotic scorpion crawled up Leonardo's desk and secreted a gray ooze made of nanobots from its tail, which formed into another scorpion, and both took control of the academy's central computer. All over Remnant, toys, everyday objects or small robots came to life and connected themselves to the nearest relay tower. Weiss and Jaune both felt the strain on their aura, and Jaune had to focus to increase the speed at which his aura regenerated to keep up with how fast Weiss was using up hers. After a few minutes, Weiss felt that her Poltergeist had possessed all there was to possess, and her aura was drained at a consistent speed.
~o~
Inside Raven's tent, the bandit leader was sitting at a table, with Ruby sitting opposite of her. Ruby looked around, scanning the interior with a mix of wonder and caution.
"You have it pretty nice here," Ruby said, "Well, nicer than what I thought bandits would live like, since you can't exactly go to the hardware store and buy new stuff."
"We manage," Raven said and asked, "Now what did you want to talk about?"
"My mother," Ruby answered and asked, "What happened?" Ruby sensed another flicker of sorrow flare up in Raven, this time more intense.
"Like I care," Raven answered and said, "Qrow and I just came to Beacon to learn how to kill huntsmen. They were our only problem when raiding villages. And he abandoned us."
"I can tell that you care," Ruby said, "I can sense your sorrow whenever I mention my mother. So please, just tell me what happened." Ruby sensed Raven's sorrow flare up, even stronger and longer than before.
"I told her not to go!" Raven cried out, calmed down a bit and said, "She… she didn't listen. I have a rule. I only save someone once. I had already saved her before, and she knew I wouldn't step in again. She went anyway. She went, despite knowing that she wouldn't come back. I watched over her. I thought about making an exception, just once. But when I finally made that decision, it was too late." Raven looked away, and Ruby felt her sorrow stronger than ever before. Raven started shaking a little, as if she was holding back tears. Ruby felt a bit bad for making Raven go through this, but she knew Raven had to face her regrets eventually.
"It's fine," Ruby said, and Raven froze for a moment.
"W- what?" Raven asked, looked back at Ruby and asked, "How can you say that? I left your mother to die!"
"I know that," Ruby said, "But I know that you're hurting, and that means you regret what you did. I couldn't hate someone for something they already hate themselves for. I just wish you would have visited from time to time. If only for Yang's sake."
"I tried," Raven said, "I really tried, but whenever I thought about you, it felt like she was judging me. You look exactly like her, you act just like her, and you almost sound like her, too."
"She wouldn't have judged you," Ruby said, "She would've wanted you to be part of the family. All she ever wanted was for people to be happy and safe. So, if you want to help us out, we'll be more than happy to have you on our side. Tribe and all."
"I… I don't know what to say," Raven said, still emotional.
"Most people say thanks, or you can count on me, or something like that," Ruby said with a gentle smile. Raven started to calm down again and wiped a single tear off her cheek.
"You even have that smile," Raven said, calmed down again and asked, "Now, what about Sirena?"
"I know she's dangerous," Ruby answered, "But I also know that she cares more about me than anyone else on the surface. If you would help me out when I got in trouble, she would have no reason to hurt you, and might actually help you out, since you'd both be on the same side."
"So, you want me to use my semblance to bond with you?" Raven asked.
"Yes," Ruby answered, "And ignore that one save per person rule." Raven contemplated the idea for a moment, weighing the upsides and downsides against each other.
"Alright," Raven said, "But don't throw yourself into dangerous situations without reason."
~o~
When Raven and Ruby left Raven's tent again, they saw Weiss sitting in front of the Seer, with both her and Jaune looking incredibly tense. Neither seemed to have noticed the two leaving.
"Weiss, are you alright?" Ruby asked.
"I think I just restored the CCTS," Weiss answered, mostly speaking through her clenched teeth. The Seer's tentacles wrapped around an invisible object, and a light blue and golden lamp slowly manifested underneath it. After a few minutes, the relic was fully materialized, and Weiss let out an exhausted sigh. The Seer disappeared, and both Weiss' and Jaune's auras broke.
"This is the relic?" Raven asked and picked up the lamp.
"I hope it is," Weiss answered.
"Now, Raven, I think it'd be best if you got that thing away from here," Ruby said and held out her right hand. Raven gave her the relic and opened a portal to take them to Qrow.
~o~
Ruby, Weiss and Jaune stepped out of the portal and found themselves in the living room of their house. Qrow and Oscar were already waiting for them, while Blake, Yang, Ren and Nora were somewhere else. After about a minute, everyone was gathered in the living room.
"So, you got the relic?" Qrow asked.
"Yep," Ruby answered, and said, "Also, I got Raven to use her semblance to bond with me." Everyone gasped, though they were not really upset with her, just surprised.
"Why?" Yang asked.
"Because we need to fight together," Ruby answered, "Also, I have some suspicions about Sirena that I'd like to test, and something tells me I can reach her dreams by using Raven's semblance as a conduit."
"Hold on a second," Oscar said, "Ozpin wants to talk to you." He closed his eyes and let Ozpin take control again.
"Hello, everyone," Ozpin said, looked at Ruby and said, "While you can certainly enter Sirena's dreams, there are several deeper layers of the mind, which I am sure will be more helpful in discerning Sirena's plans, or whatever it is you want to learn about her. Normally, she would assign you a mentor for your silver eyes, in this case herself, who would teach you this, but since she is currently unavailable, and has made me an honorary member of her kingdom, I believe it is within my authorization to step in as her proxy in this situation."
"Actually," Jaune said, "Niob wanted me to learn to enter my soul core, which is the deepest layer of the mind."
"So, if we fused, we could learn together, right?" Ruby asked.
"Yes," Ozpin answered, "Also, silver-eyed warriors have less trouble reaching their soul core, as that is where the light comes from. Just use your powers, and follow the light as it recedes into the depths of your soul."
"Then it's settled," Ruby said, "Jaune and I will fuse and learn to enter our soul cores."
~o~
Sirena was overseeing the construction of a conveyor belt system to and from Vale, which would be powered by vertical windmills positioned along the tunnel. Cardin and Yatsuhashi pushed a repurposed train cart into the tunnel, which had support beams and rolls for the conveyor belt loaded onto it. She had talked to Argent, who was still in Mistral, and arranged for the belt to be manufactured using non-slip table cloths. One member of Sophie's swarm, a spider faunus named Marble Stein, walked up to the railroad where the conveyor belt was supposed to be created, and put down some pieces of metal. Using the fire-dust in her spinnerets, she heated the metal, and used her semblance to bend the pieces together. A few other faunus brought more metal for her, and she kept force-welding them together. She wore heavy black boots, black jeans, and a black shirt under a black tailcoat with silver accents, had green eyes and wore her black hair in a shoulder-long ponytail.
"What are you doing there?" Sirena asked, and Marble froze in motion.
"Your Highness, my apologies," Marble said and explained, "I was instructed to begin creation of the pipe and pump system we will use to extract organic waste from Vale to feed our mushroom."
"Alright," Sirena said, "But leave enough for the windmills. Once we get the belt moving, you can bring materials from Vale here and finish the pipe."
"Of course, your Highness," Marble said and asked, "What are the windmills supposed to look like?"
"Like this," Sirena answered and showed Marble a picture of the windmills' metal parts on her scroll, including the dimensions as well.
"I can make this, if you wish," Marble said.
"Please do," Sirena said, "But please keep the metal where I assigned it to be located. That makes it easier for us to organize this operation."
"Very well, your Highness," Marble said, "My apologies, your Highness." She bent the metal to make it stretch to the metal pile, got up and walked over to the pile before she bent the metal to gather at the pile. Placing her right hand on the clump of metal, she made several tendrils grab pieces of metal from the scrap pile and shot flames from her left hand to heat it up. Using brute force, she combined the two pieces of metal into one and repeated the process. Whenever she gathered enough material, she made another piece for the windmills pop off the large clump of metal.
~o~
Ruby looked around the living room. Everyone was staring at the relic, which was just hovering above the table and slowly spinning counter clockwise. Nora leaned forward with a sheepish grin and gave it a small push in the opposite direction, making it spin clockwise instead.
"So, who gets to keep it?" Ruby asked.
"That would be me," Ozpin answered.
"Why can't I keep it?" Nora asked.
"Because this is a serious matter," Ozpin answered, "If its powers fall into the wrong hands, it would be catastrophic."
"Speaking of which," Jaune said and asked, "What does it do?"
"It can answer any question," Ozpin answered, "However, it can only answer three questions each century, and only about the past or present. Furthermore, all three have already been used up before it was sealed away."
"And what does Oscar think?" Blake asked. Everyone looked at Ozpin, who sighed and let Oscar take control again.
"Thanks, Blake," Oscar said, "I think you should keep it, actually. I mean, you can hear better than the rest of us, so if anyone tried to sneak up on you, you'd hear them coming. And your semblance helps you get out of tight spots, and survive things others couldn't. Plus, you're a maiden, so there's not much anyone can do if you get serious anyway."
"Agreed," Ruby said, and everyone else nodded or hummed in agreement. Oscar let Ozpin take control again.
"Defeated by the democratic process," Ozpin said remorsefully, "Perhaps I should stop creating things that can be used against me later on."
"I'll be sure to keep the relic safe," Blake said, "But, if you want, you can try to take the relic from me for the next twenty-four hours. Whoever has it after that time is up gets to keep it."
"Very well," Ozpin said, "But be warned that I have centuries of experience."
"Of course," Blake said. After some more discussions, and plans for tomorrow, everyone went to bed.
~o~
Later that night, when everyone else was asleep, Ozpin was sneaking through the house and making his way to the bedroom of Team RWBY. He put his feet down with the outside first, and slowly rolled them off to make as little noise as possible.
"I don't know how I should feel about this," Oscar said in his head, "I think I'm a bit too young to sneak into a girl's bedroom."
"We will be fine," Ozpin whispered. He reached the room, opened the door enough for his cane to fit through, and held it at the bottom. He picked up the relic with the handle. The weight caused the cane to collapse and brought the relic to him.
"That was a lot easier than I thought," Oscar said in Ozpin's head.
"I happen to have been a rather successful thief in a past life," Ozpin whispered. He turned around and bumped into Blake.
"And I happen to have impeccable hearing," Blake said, took the relic, closed the door and faded away. Ozpin accepted defeat and returned to his room.
~o~
The next morning, during breakfast, Oscar looked a bit distracted, hearing Ozpin's rambling in his head. He decided to pass control to Ozpin, so that the others could hear his complaints about a kid's cartoon as well.
"And don't even get me started on the depiction of levitation," Ozpin said, "It is far more complicated than they make it seem. Also, full-body transformation is much more taxing, even if it just affects the user, and not all six of them." Ozpin stopped his little rant when he realized that everyone was looking at him, and he heard Oscar giggle in his head.
"That's what you get for making me stay up so late," Oscar said in his head, "Have fun with my tired body, but be sure not to break anything."
"Well, you two seem to be getting along," Ruby said with a smile. Ozpin grabbed a cup of coffee, and everyone could practically see Oscar's objections to drinking the beverage.
~o~
Ilia was helping another faunus bring a crate of fire-goo to an aircraft, when a pack of Beowolves attacked the camp. She and the other combat-ready faunus rushed to fight them off, but were shocked when a Sea Feilong rose from the nearby lake. Hazel, who had been given two prosthetic arms, walked up to the lake and fixated the Grimm with his gaze.
"Leave this place alone, and I'll come back with you," Hazel said. The Sea Feilong seemed to consider it for a moment, then roared, signaling the other Grimm to surrender. It lowered its head, and Hazel stepped onto its jaws, using its two beard-like tendrils like reigns to hold onto the Grimm. The faunus watched in awe as the Sea Feilong spread its wings, flew away and disappeared behind the treeline, Hazel commanding it like one would a horse.
"What was that?" Ilia thought as she watched the man who had tamed a Grimm fly off on its head. While the other faunus slowly returned to their jobs, Ilia decided she had to pay a friend a visit and tell her what happened.
~o~
Ruby and her friends were sitting in the living room and about to leave, when someone knocked on the door. Ozpin quickly gave Oscar control again, and Oscar collapsed his cane and hid it behind his back.
"Don't worry, I got it," Blake said and went to open the door.
"Hi Blake," Ilia said.
"Hi Ilia," Blake said, "Please, come in." Blake stepped aside and let Ilia enter. Ilia gave Ruby a strange look, and her skin turned a darker shade. Blake closed the door again, sat down on the couch, and Ilia sat down next to her.
"Is it about Hazel?" Ruby asked, looking at Ilia.
"The guy who got washed up at Lake Matsu?" Ilia asked.
"Yep," Ruby answered.
"Yes, it is," Ilia answered.
"I knew it," Ruby said, "Anyway, just so you know, I didn't do that to him. Argent did."
"That makes a lot more sense," Ilia said, and her skin returned to its normal color.
"So, what brings you here?" Blake asked.
"Right, about that," Ilia said, "I know you probably won't believe me, but I saw Hazel tame a Sea Feilong and fly away on its head. As in, he talked to it, and it listened to him."
"Believe me, we've seen some weird stuff," Ruby said, "That's nothing."
"What about him?" Ilia asked, looking at Oscar.
"Me?" Oscar asked, "What do you mean?"
"Before I came in, I could sense your posture change," Ilia answered, "In fact, your entire point of balance shifted. I've been picking up on this kind of thing a lot since I learned to sense vibrations in the ground, and I know that even when two people perform the same tasks, their point of balance is slightly different."
"Are… you sure?" Oscar asked.
"Yes," Ilia answered, "And I know you have Professor Ozpin's cane as well. I heard rumors about an anarchist group trying to destroy the kingdoms, with Beacon being their first target. Ruby defeated one of their members, and now she is their new main target. Then, Hazel and Tyrian try to take over the White Fang, and Hazel gets severely injured. They then planned to attack Haven, but failed, and now you're planning to leave the city. You guys know something, and I plan on finding out what it is." Everyone gave each other confused looks, and finally looked at Oscar. Oscar sighed.
"Blake, get the book," Oscar said, giving Blake a knowing look.
"Alright," Blake said and left the room. Oscar looked at Ilia.
"What I'm about to tell you must never leave this room," Oscar said.
"A- alright," Ilia said, suddenly a bit unsure if she really should have pressed for answers. Blake came back, sat down and handed Ilia a book.
"Here," Blake said, and Ilia looked at the cover.
"The man with two souls?" Ilia asked, "Why?" She looked around the room, and the realization hit her. Oscar handed control back to Ozpin.
"Greetings, I am professor Ozpin," Ozpin said, startling Ilia and causing her skin, hair, eyes and skin spots to turn a bright mismatch of colors. She took a few deep breaths to calm down again, slowly returning to her normal colors.
"Wait, hold on," Ilia said and asked, "So, you're immortal?"
"In a sense, yes," Ozpin answered and said, "However, as Oscar already stated, this is a matter of utmost importance and secrecy. Noone outside this room knows of this, safe for Argent's team and some others, and I would prefer if it stays that way."
"Don't worry, I can keep a secret," Ilia said.
"Such as?" Ozpin asked, turned more serious and said, "You must understand, in order for me to trust that you can keep my secret, I must know that the other secrets you keep are equally valuable." Ruby, Yang, Jaune and Nora gave Ozpin confused looks, and Weiss, Blake, Ren and Qrow gave them more serious looks to let them know not to say anything. Ilia sensed the tension in the air and swallowed nervously.
"I'm sorry," Ilia said, "But I can't tell you."
"That is exactly what I wanted to hear," Ozpin said.
"So, it was a test?" Ilia asked, "Why?"
"I was a headmaster once," Ozpin answered, smiled at her and said, "Old habits die hard."
"Well, alright," Ilia said, "Anyway, I'll be on my way now."
"Hold on," Qrow said and asked, "How did you know we were planning to leave the city?"
"The White Fang has eyes everywhere," Ilia answered, "Especially in the lower areas. So, either you're a fan of brochures and traveling supplies, or you plan on leaving the city."
"It is true," Ozpin said, "We do have to get to Atlas as fast as possible."
"Well, after some training," Ruby said. Both she and Blake sensed Ilia's sorrow, though Ruby didn't know it was because Blake was leaving.
"Don't worry," Blake said, looking at Ilia, "I have to leave, yes, but I won't forget you. And, I think the White Fang could use a new leader."
"T- thanks," Ilia said, her skin dots turning slightly pink.
"Someone's embarrassed," Yang said teasingly.
"You'd be too if your emotions were broadcast like that," Blake said.
"Anyway, I better leave now, I've got some stuff to do," Ilia said. She got up and hurried out the door.
"Alright, bye," Blake said, just before the door closed.
~o~
Fearing a particularly heavy downpour in the next few days, Sirena contacted Talia on her scroll and told her to come to her. Talia manifested in front of Sirena and both put their scrolls away.
"So, what do you need help with?" Talia asked.
"We need to fuse," Sirena answered, "I don't want heavy rain to ruin our plans, so we have to get the water out of the clouds where we want it."
"Alright," Talia said and took Sirena's hand. Sirena pulled her into a hug and both fused into Mimi.
"It feels good being back. I'm sure you've all missed me, too," Mimi said, looking at a spot in the air only she could perceive. She used her semblance to draw the water out of the clouds, making it fall directly into the holes in the subway tunnel's ceiling. The water slowly filled the tunnel, gathering at the Vale end due to the tunnel being slightly sloped. After a few minutes, the rain clouds were gone and Mimi split up again. The water was now visible from the Mountain Glenn side.
"Thanks, Talia," Sirena said, "Now, onto the next step." She drew her trident and walked into the tunnel. As soon as she was knee-deep in the water, she jumped forward and swam away at an incredible speed. When she reached the end, she stopped, hovering in the water, and aimed her trident at the ground. Sirena shot a stream of fire from her trident, heating up a layer of stone, which cooled again rapidly and practically exploded off the ground. Using this technique, Sirena dug a tunnel underneath Mountain Glenn, heading towards the east side of the mountain range. She planned to come out near Blackport, where the White Fang would bring materials for recapturing Vale. Sirena had to stay close to the stone, but she was used to the heat, and the heat slowly chipped away at the ground, creating a smooth and stable tunnel, even though she had to move her trident around to get the width and height she needed.
Author's note: I actually spent a lot of time trying to figure out what exact kind of undead Ruby would be. Ruby kind of strikes me as the kind of girl to know that sort of thing.
Raven gets her redemption arc, courtesy of Ruby. And Yang now knows that she is the spring maiden.
Weiss did, in fact, temporarily restore the CCTS by connecting Talia's gadgets with nearby relay towers and having her Poltergeist possess them all to connect to other devices. So, for a few minutes, global communication was possible again, thanks to Talia's device taking advantage of Raven's semblance, and Weiss and Jaune helping to spread the influence and using a Seer to connect everything.
Ruby learns something about Summer. I've decided to keep it vague, in case we find out what happened, but that ship sailed in V7, when the show introduced the one thing I couldn't twist to make stuff work.
Yang's rushed decisions got Ruby killed. If it weren't for Jaune and Pyrrha saving Ruby, Yang would come to hate her semblance so much that she would literally reject it, and get a new one. Basically the same thing that was happening to those women in the asylum a few chapters back, except it's actually less of a problem for people who already have their semblance unlocked, since they can identify the root of the problem more easily and can begin to heal faster.