Author's note: There might be slightly triggering content in this chapter, so a bit of a warning at the bottom.
Ren was sitting and meditating on a rock near the training area, where Weiss and Blake were helping Oscar get used to using his cane like a sword. Yang, Jaune and Nora were watching, and Ruby was still in the living room, watching over Sirena. Qrow was with the two, even though almost everyone assumed that Sirena probably didn't want him around when she was asleep, given how she usually acted towards him. However, Ruby knew that Sirena was mostly just faking it to throw Salem off. Suddenly, Jaune got a message on his scroll.
"Ren, get up," Jaune said, and Ren jumped up. Both ran into the living room, where they saw Sirena twitching under her blanket and Qrow comforting Ruby, who was sitting on the floor, had her head buried in her hands and tears streaming down her cheeks.
"What is it?" Ren asked after he caught up to Jaune and took in the scene for himself.
"Sirena is having a nightmare," Qrow answered and said, "Ren, you know what to do." Ren knelt down beside Sirena and held his hands towards her, with Jaune standing behind him to amplify his aura. Ren began hiding Sirena's negativity, with Jaune using his semblance to help him. Sirena started to relax again, but Ren felt that it was more difficult than he imagined.
"I can't keep up much longer," Ren said after a minute, "It's like I'm hiding the negativity of an entire village." His and Jaune's auras broke shortly after, and Sirena started twitching and shaking again. Ruby wiped the tears from her face and got back up.
"I'm going in," Ruby said.
"What do you mean?" Qrow asked.
"I'm entering her nightmare and help her deal with it," Ruby answered.
"You can't," Qrow said energically.
"I can," Ruby countered, "I learned how to do it from Jaune."
"I mean it's too dangerous," Qrow said, "Sirena has seen things even I don't want to see. If she has a nightmare, it means whatever is causing it is too much to bear for her. There is no way you'll come out of this unharmed."
"I don't care!" Ruby shouted, calmed down and said, "I have to help her. Sirena would do the same for me. You know that I can't just sit and watch while someone is in trouble. I'm going into that nightmare, and you can move heaven and hell to try and stop me, but it won't work. I'll help her, and that's final." Ruby stopped for a moment, realizing what she had done, and being a bit surprised that she could be so assertive. She looked around and saw Weiss, Blake, Yang, Nora and Oscar standing in the entrance to the living room, and all were as surprised as she was.
"I think you don't need to help her anymore," Nora said and pointed at Sirena, who was now sleeping peacefully. Ruby let out a sigh of relief, then turned to Qrow.
"Sorry for yelling at you," Ruby said, "I don't know what happened there."
"It's fine," Qrow said, "People do strange things in extreme situations, so I know how you feel."
"Thanks," Ruby said.
"It's good to see that Sirena is fine, but Ruby, are you alright?" Yang asked.
"Yeah, don't worry," Ruby answered and said, "I've dealt with that much sorrow before, but normally I blast some Grimm with it. Speaking of which, I think there will be some Grimm closer to the city now."
"Leave them to us," Yang said, and everyone left Ruby, Jaune, Ren and Qrow alone with Sirena. Jaune tried forcibly recharging his aura, but only slightly increased the speed of regeneration. He used his semblance to help Ren's aura recharge faster, then both left to help take care of the Grimm.
~o~
A pack of Beowolves was wandering through the forests surrounding Mistral, drawn in by a sudden surge in sadness. Blake, riding Yang's dragon form, shot them with her weapon as the duo descended. Yang landed and bit an Alpha Beowolf with a single bite. Blake jumped off and Yang transformed back while the Grimm's smoke hid her.
"Alright, note to self, Grimm taste awful," Yang said.
"Well, there is a reason we don't kill them for food," Blake said with a smile, and both got ready to fight off another pack coming towards them.
~o~
Ilia retracted her whip as the Beowolf evaporated, then whirled around and cut another one in half as it got ready to pounce at her. Her seismic sense allowed her to keep track of all the Grimm around her, making it laughably easy to kill them. She jumped up and spun around, shooting lightnings into the nearby bushes and killing the Grimm hiding in them. She landed again and sent out another seismic wave, seeing that there were no more Grimm in the area. She headed back to the camp near Lake Matsu. It was a simple camp site, with waist-high barbed wire fences that had some openings in them so people could enter and leave. Two armed faunus were guarding the entrances, and more skilled fighters, such as Ilia, occasionally went on patrols to make sure there were no Grimm near the camp. She sat down on a rock a little bit away from the others, trying to hone her seismic sense. Suddenly, Talia manifested in front of her.
"Hey there," Talia said as she appeared in front of Ilia. Ilia screamed in surprise, fell over backwards and took on all sorts of colors.
"What? How? Who are you?" Ilia asked, took on her normal coloration again and got back up.
"I'm Talia Star, Argent's little sister," Talia answered.
"Really?" Ilia asked and said, "I had imagined you a bit… taller, to be honest."
"Yeah, I get that a lot," Talia said.
"So, why are you here?" Ilia asked.
"To help you, silly," Talia answered with an innocent smile.
"Thanks, but how?" Ilia asked.
"I know a place," Talia answered.
"What kind of place?" Ilia asked.
"A science place, now give me your hand," Talia answered, took Ilia's hand and used her semblance to make both of them possess their auras. They manifested in what looked like an abandoned research facility, with black tiles on the walls, moss and plants coming in through cracks in the wall tiles, and giant glass tubes standing in the scarcely lit room.
"What is this place?" Ilia asked as she looked around.
"An old lab," Talia answered, her ice blue eyes turned yellow and her posture changed.
"Are… you alright?" Ilia asked, noticing the change in Talia's posture and eye color.
"I am," Talia answered and explained, "Now, as for this location, it was originally used by some of our enemies to create an army of undead faunus super soldiers. Officially it was to allow faunus to become stronger than any human could be. The person operating this facility discovered a way to safely induce dust blight in faunus, without side effects, and giving them full control over the dust in their traits."
"Dust blight? What's that?" Ilia asked. She was slightly freaked out because Talia's voice and vocabulary had also changed, as if she was becoming a different person entirely.
"A rather interesting phenomenon," Talia answered, "Essentially, microscopic dust particles react with proteins in a faunus' cells and alter them to make them react like dust. It can also happen in humans, but it is less predictable. In faunus, it only ever affects their trait. Under normal circumstances, it comes with a plethora of side effects, such as cell degeneration and uncontrolled combustion, but this facility infuses the cells with pure dust micro-particles, rendering such issues an impossibility."
"And this will help me how exactly?" Ilia asked.
"Simple," Talia answered, "I can infuse your skin with up to two types of dust. Your skin cells would then act like dust particles, but naturally regenerate, giving you an infinite supply of these two dust types. This new sub-type of dust would result in elements infused with your aura, giving you more control over them after creation. You could also infuse the naturally occurring elements with your aura for more control. And if you pick ice-, fire-, or lightning-dust, your skin would become immune to cold, heat or electricity, respectively."
"So, I could destroy my skin to make stuff?" Ilia asked and said, "That doesn't sound very useful to me."
"There is no need to worry," Talia said, "Your aura would quickly adapt to the new situation, increasing its healing ability to keep your skin intact."
"And what about those undead faunus?" Ilia asked.
"Right, right," Talia said and answered, "You see, this facility was originally used by our enemies. After infusing a faunus' trait with dust, they would pump that faunus full of a substance that mutates Grimm, and drop them in a hole filled with Geist. Those would then possess the dying faunus, mutate, permanently merge with their host and gain all the abilities that host had in life. To the uneducated individual, those faunus would look like White Fang members, due to the Geist's face covering theirs. It was not only a ploy to destroy mankind, but also to further the divide between humans and faunus. But, as you can see, they failed."
"What happened?" Ilia asked.
"Sophie," Talia answered. Ilia remembered all the reports from her acquaintances in Vale, who talked about a spider faunus shooting fire and lightning from her palms, calling lightnings down from the sky to wipe out entire packs of Grimm, or vaporizing thousands of Grimm in an instant.
"They… weren't exaggerating," Ilia said to herself, staring in disbelief.
"They were not," Talia said, "After slaughtering one hundred undead faunus, Sophie spun them into cocoons and brought them home, feeding them to her mushroom. It stored the genetic information of these mutated cells, and now, whenever its cells encounter a normal faunus' trait, they replace that genetic information with the superior one."
"Say what now?" Ilia asked.
"Sophie's swarm feeds on a mushroom," Talia answered, "Basically, weaving reaper spiders have adapted to live in symbiosis with it. They weave hollow webs, allowing the mushroom to grow inside them more easily, and when the mushroom grows around something, it extends mycelia threads inward to consume whatever it is. Normally this is bad for spiders, but not for these ones. They feed the mushroom, and then eat it. The spider webs also help the mushroom reach several plants with which to share nutrients. And when it is eaten by something, some of its cells survive the digestive tract and enter the blood stream. When these cells, which carry copies of the genetic information of anything it has eaten before, encounter a cell whose genetic information is inferior to information the mushroom cell holds, the mushroom cell releases certain enzymes that replace the inferior genetic information with the superior one. As a result, all faunus that eat enough of this mushroom will develop the ability to release a type of dust from their trait, though it is not clear how the specific type is chosen."
"I see," Ilia said and asked, "So, what dust types can you infuse my skin with?"
"Any, really," Talia answered and said, "But taking more than two puts too much of a strain on your body, and I don't think anyone can survive that. Two types is difficult already." Ilia thought about it for a moment.
"Alright," Ilia said, "Hit me with earth- and ice-dust."
"Got it," Talia said, "Now, please fully uncover your trait and step into that chamber over there." She walked over to a computer desk and pointed at a large metal chamber with a sliding glass door. Ilia hesitated at first, but then followed the instructions. Talia closed the door, which obscured the vision from both sides and gave Ilia at least some privacy, yet she still turned green with red dots.
"So, what now?" Ilia asked. Despite only seeing a faunus-shaped blob, Talia could make out the pattern on Ilia's skin, but decided to not let her know that she was fully aware what that meant, so as to not embarrass the other faunus, and continued the procedure normally.
"I would advise you to return to your normal coloration," Talia answered, "I have no idea what would happen otherwise." Ilia took a deep breath, relaxed and returned to her normal coloration. Talia pressed a button, the machine sprung to life and Ilia felt a burning pain erupt in every fiber of her skin.
~o~
When Sirena woke up, she sat up, yawned and immediately scanned her surroundings. Ruby was sitting and sleeping on a nearby armchair, and there was a carafe of water on the table. It had been almost a whole day since she fell asleep, but she still felt a bit shaky. She looked over to Ruby, who also slowly woke up, and created a thin layer of ice under her sleeves to cool off.
"Hello Sirena," Ruby said after waking up and asked, "How do you feel?"
"Hello, Ruby," Sirena said and answered, "Better, thanks to you."
"Really? What did I do?" Ruby asked.
"You reminded me why I should not have to worry about you so much," Sirena answered.
"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.
"When life drags you down, you get back up," Sirena answered, "No matter how bad it seems, you always pick yourself back up, and that inspires others to do the same. That is the mark of a true leader."
"Thanks," Ruby said, "But I'm just doing what feels natural to me."
"Exactly," Sirena said and explained, "Leading others comes to you naturally, so as long as you follow your instincts, you can overcome any obstacle." Suddenly, Blake burst into the living room, looking somewhat upset.
"Okay, who here blew a dog whistle?" Blake asked and her right cat ear flicked angrily as she looked around in the room. She was met with two pairs of confused silver eyes.
"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.
"Someone blew a dog whistle," Blake answered and said, "You can't hear it, but I can, and it hurts."
"I know they hurt, that's why I only ever use them as a last resort," Ruby said.
"Perhaps I can explain this," Sirena said and explained, "My gills allow me to create all manners of sounds, and even mimic voices. During my time at Beacon, Niob noted that I tend to create sounds humans cannot perceive."
"So it was you," Blake said, still upset.
"I sincerely apologize, it was not my intention," Sirena said, "Though, if you want, I can let you copy a semblance I am certain will be useful to you in the future."
"Which one?" Blake asked, giving Sirena an intrigued look.
"As I am sure Ruby has told you, I have absorbed Cinder's soul," Sirena answered, "I can use my silver eyes to fuse with her, resulting in a fusion I am certain will have a powerful semblance."
"What makes you so sure?" Blake asked, and started to calm down again.
"Because I know her semblance," Sirena answered and explained, "Simply put, her semblance forces the enemy to move. Mine discourages the enemy from engaging me directly. They both center around forcing our enemy to conform to our plans, or suffer the consequences. Therefore, a combination of both our semblances would have the same effect, but amplified." Blake gave it some thought.
"Well, alright," Blake said, "I'll go tell Weiss we need to head out." She walked away, looking for Weiss.
~o~
Talia and Ilia manifested in the White Fang camp again, with Ilia wearing a new outfit. She now wore a short black jacket with two tails, a golden zipper, buckle and buttons. Underneath that, she wore a short top exposing her midriff. She also wore maroon jeans pants and black sneakers, as well as a black wristband around her right wrist.
"See, that wasn't too bad, now was it?" Talia asked. Her eyes had returned to their normal ice blue color, and her posture and voice was normal again as well.
"To be honest, it felt like my skin was being peeled off," Ilia answered, "And I don't even feel a difference."
"Think fast," Talia said and tried to punch Ilia. Ilia tried to block the hit with her left arm, and a small stone plate appeared on it, blocking the hit for her. The stone plate crumbled shortly after, and Ilia saw her skin being cracked, though her aura was already working on healing it.
"That is… incredible," Ilia said.
"I know, right?" Talia asked and said, "Now, try to move that rubble with your mind. Focus on it. It still holds some of your aura in it, just like your skin cells, so you should be able to move them around at will." Ilia picked up one of the larger pieces and focused on it.
"Stone, rise," Ilia commanded, but the stone remained motionless in her hand. Ilia turned blue and green and sighed, disappointed that she couldn't even control a stone she herself created from her own skin.
"Don't worry about it," Talia said, "Noone can do it right away. But I have to go now, bye." She disappeared and Ilia was left to work on her ability alone. Ilia left the camp to work on it in peace and quiet, and told the others that she was going to kill some more Grimm.
~o~
Two summoned Griffons landed somewhere outside of Mistral near a swamp area, carrying Weiss and Blake. The two checked the coordinates, and Sirena walked out from behind a large tree.
"You are late," Sirena said.
"We never agreed on a time, though," Blake pointed out.
"Fair point," Sirena said. A small dark red and black portal opened next to her, and two curved swords fell out of it.
"Are those what I think they are?" Blake asked as Sirena picked up the blades.
"Cinder's swords?" Sirena asked and said, "Yes, they are. Cinder asked that I retrieve them, but seeing how I was preoccupied here, I asked Niob for his assistance."
"Why do you have them?" Weiss asked and said, "I mean, I know you have Cinder's soul, but I don't see how her swords would benefit you. After all, swords are one of the most difficult weapons to master, and the most difficult that is commonly used."
"As I said, Cinder asked that I retrieve them," Sirena answered, "Furthermore, they still hold a lot of her aura, due to past exposure, making it easier for me to fuse with her. Otherwise it would simply drain me too much. Also, as a guardian, I care about those under my protection, no matter who they are."
"I see," Weiss said.
"Now then, if you are ready," Sirena said and closed her eyes. A faint silver spark escaped her eyes, and her dark blue aura light up, becoming more and more solid until it completely concealed her form. An orange line appeared around her neck, looking like someone had ripped something off. Two lines with a cracked appearance extended from it, crossing her face and torso. The two auras merged into a single light purple one, then faded again. The fusion had shoulder-long brown hair with a single black streak above the left eye, and silver eyes. She wore a knee-length, sleeveless sky blue dress, which ended in a red combat skirt with purple tulle. Her arms were covered by black, unattached sleeves that spanned from just below her shoulders to her wrists, and were attached to a golden ring around her middle fingers. She wore black high-heeled shoes and purple stockings, which reached up to just below her combat skirt.
"Hello, you two, I am Mithala," the fusion said, "You may now feel honored to stand in my presence."
"If you say so," Blake said and asked, "Anyway, what about your semblance?" Mithala sighed and looked at Weiss and Blake.
"You are not very wise, are you?" Mithala asked.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Weiss asked, getting somewhat offended.
"You are in the presence of Mithala," Mithala answered, "You should have respect for me, considering I am one of only a few silver-eyed warriors left on the surface."
"Didn't we come here for something different?" Blake asked and said, "Besides, my father is the chieftain of Menagerie, and I'm sure that means something."
"It does," Mithala said, "You are the future ruler of the strongest kingdom in all of Remnant. My apologies for offending you earlier."
"Well, Menagerie isn't technically its own kingdom," Blake said.
"It should be," Mithala said, "But that is a matter best discussed at a later date. Now, onto why we originally came here." Mithala sat down and closed her eyes.
"What are you doing?" Weiss asked, tilting her head in confusion.
"Before I can have you copy my semblance, I must know what it is," Mithala answered.
"You mean you don't know what your semblance is?" Weiss asked. Mithala opened one eye, if only to give Weiss an annoyed look.
"I am literally less than ten minutes old," Mithala answered and asked, "Did you know what your semblance was at that age?" She closed her eye again and sunk into a deep meditative state.
~o~
Back in Vale, Talia set up the first of her generators, and hooked it up to the city's power grid. The generators were roughly waist-high black boxes with cogs on one short side, the two opposing long sides and the top and bottom. They had stilts on the bottom to keep the cog freely moving, and holes in the top where the stilts could fit into, allowing the generators to easily be stacked indefinitely. Talia put the first generator under the end of the conveyor belt, where a vertical roll made sure that everything fell off the belt. Like all rolls, this one had its two ends shaped like sloped cogs, allowing the team to add windmills should the need arise. It also allowed Talia to add her generators. The cog at the end of the generator immediately began turning, and Talia used an extension cable to connect the generator to the nearest transformer. Mark walked up to the conveyor belt and dropped two Atlesian Knights on it, sending them to Mountain Glenn.
"Hello, Mark," Talia said and asked, "How's the mound coming along?"
"It is doing fine," Mark answered, "The additional materials from the tunnels to the wall have helped expedite the process, and the additional exhaust tunnels are helping to increase air flow."
"That's good to hear," Talia said. She took the second of her six generators from the anti-gravity transport pad and hooked it up to the first one. As she pushed the second generator to the left side of the first one, the magnets inside both generators reacted and the cog from the second generator sprung out once the side cog on the first one was in position. Talia took the cable from the first generator and plugged it into the socket of the second generator. Talia grabbed the third generator and pushed it to the second. The cog sprung out and Talia connected the generators again. She then grabbed the third generator, and put it down on top of the first one. Magnets inside the stilts arranged the bottom cog of the third generator, allowing it to connect without any issues. The remaining two generators were also stacked on top of the first three, and all were connected with each other. Talia realized that Mark had left some time while she was working, and decided to rest for a bit. Just as she sat down on the stair she had created, Cardin walked up to her.
"Hey, Talia," Cardin said and asked, "What are you doing here?"
"Oh, hey Cardin," Talia said and answered, "Just relaxing a bit after work."
"Alright then," Cardin said, looked around and asked, "But, what's all this?"
"The generators I told you about," Talia answered, "They provide energy to the city. Thanks to you, Glynda fixes the transformers for me. Each transformer has an internal battery, and when it receives electricity, it stores all of it until its battery is half full, at which point it will let half the electricity flow to nearby transformers, who will repeat the process."
"That's pretty impressive," Cardin said.
"Thanks," Talia said, "Sirena said we'd need something like this a few years ago."
"She did?" Cardin asked, visibly surprised that Sirena had that much foresight.
"Yep," Talia answered, "Though, noone would've thought that something like this would happen. Sirena just said we'd need to prepare to handle situations where electricity wasn't readily available, so I came up with a plan to store as much of it as possible."
~o~
A few minutes after sinking into her meditative state, Mithala opened her eyes again and slowly got back up, though her legs had fallen asleep and were a bit shaky. Weiss and Blake were a bit unsure how to handle the situation, since they didn't expect the fusion of two people like Cinder and Sirena to look so awkward just standing up.
"And, did you figure it out?" Blake asked.
"I did, yes," Mithala answered and said, "I have decided to name it Deathzone. It allows me to make any object harm any species that comes too close to it, and it even lets me decide how much the target species' life force is weakened each second it is within the area of effect."
"That sounds incredibly useful," Blake said.
"It is," Mithala said, "It forces the enemy to refrain from attacking, and if they decide to still approach my people, it will slowly kill them. Now then, if you are ready, I would begin."
"Sure," Blake said. Mithala closed her eyes and focused on all the fear in those around them. She sensed a familiar figure approach, but decided she could use this to her advantage and just continued attracting Grimm. As soon as a large pack of Beowolves, Alpha Beowolves and Beringel arrived, and Ilia jumped out of the treetops, Mithala unleashed a burst of white light. The Grimm turned to stone, Weiss, Blake and Ilia looked directly into the light, and Ilia failed her landing due to the light. After the light faded, Ilia got back up, noticed Mithala and her skin dots turned pink.
"Hello Ilia," Weiss said and asked, "What brings you here?" Ilia noticed Weiss and Blake staring at her, and quickly made her skin dots turn back to normal.
"You know, the usual," Ilia answered and asked, "But what about you guys? And who is your friend?"
"I am Mithala," Mithala answered, "I am a fusion of Cinder Fall and Sirena Blue."
"I see," Ilia said, "Well, I better go now. The Grimm here are all dead, and the camp doesn't protect itself, so, you know." Ilia turned to leave and was about to use her whip to pull herself back into the treetops.
"Ilia, wait," Mithala said, and Ilia stopped and turned around.
"Yes?" Ilia asked.
"There is something I wish to tell you," Mithala answered, "Something I am certain Ruby would let you know as well, especially if she knew how much you cared about the camp and the faunus there."
"Really? What is it?" Ilia asked.
"The light you just saw was my soul," Mithala answered, "Simply put, when I use my silver eyes, I unleash my soul. If another person looks into it, my soul collides with theirs, and both souls leave a mark on one another. That mark is like a mold that you can pour aura into. Doing so results in you using my semblance, Deathzone." Ilia stood there for a moment, not sure what she should make of this information.
"Wait, so you're telling me that I can use your semblance now?" Ilia asked.
"Exactly," Mithala answered.
"Why are you telling me this?" Ilia asked, tilting her head a little. She wasn't sure if the fusion was planning anything, but she was determined to find out.
"As I said already, I am certain Ruby would tell you as well," Mithala answered, "My semblance is somewhat similar to yours, actually. However, instead of attracting the target species, it destroys it. Deathzone is the semblance of a ruler who won't allow any to threaten her loyal subjects. Use it on an object, and let that object be the weapon of your unyielding protection. Smite your enemies by turning the very air they breathe against them. As long as you are still breathing, no harm shall come to your followers."
"Thanks," Ilia said, "But I still don't quite believe this. I mean, it does sound a bit made up."
"Indeed it does," Mithala said, "But see this." She held up her right hand and created a white glyph above it.
"I thought I told you not to copy my semblance," Weiss said.
"You told Sirena and Ruby," Mithala said, "I am a different individual. As is Lux." Ilia looked at the glyph for a bit, trying to figure out if Weiss was somehow helping Mithala fake this to trick her. However, she couldn't even find a reason why they would lie about something like this in the first place, and decided to accept this new crazy thing, just like she had accepted the crazy things before it.
"Speaking of whom, how do I use their semblance?" Ilia asked. Mithala made the glyph disappear again.
"For that, you will have to ask Lux yourself," Mithala answered. She reverted back to just being Sirena, leaving Ilia a bit confused.
"Hold on, if Mithala is a fusion, where is the other half?" Ilia asked.
"That is another power of the silver eyes," Sirena answered, "Our light is indistinguishable from the light leading to the afterlife, so lost souls cling to it when they encounter it. In simpler terms, I have absorbed Cinder's soul and can now use my silver eyes to fuse with her whenever I so desire." Sirena drew her scepter and made a blade of ice appear from its tip. She swung the blade through the air and created a dark red and black portal, gesturing Weiss, Blake and Ilia to walk through.
~o~
Yang was in her dragon form, with Ruby sitting in the saddle on her back, and tried to follow Weiss and Blake to their meeting point with Sirena. After almost half an hour, however, she realized that they had been chasing decoys created by Blake, grumbled and turned around. She landed behind the house, Ruby got off and headed inside, while Yang transformed back and brought her bike to the garage.
"No luck?" Qrow asked after both Ruby and Yang sat down in the living room and let out a defeated sigh.
"No," Yang answered.
"Sorry," Qrow said.
"It's not your fault," Yang said, "Blake is a former spy for the White Fang, she knows how to get around without being noticed, or lose followers. And with Argent's training, she'd probably hear me even when I'm just gliding."
"True," Blake said, suddenly standing behind Yang. Yang let out a surprised scream, whirled around and fell off the couch.
"Blake, when did you get back?" Yang asked as she got back up. Weiss, Ilia and Sirena also appeared from behind the couch, though it was apparent that Weiss wasn't used to coming out of hiding so casually.
"While you were bringing Bumblebee to her garage," Blake answered, and everyone sat down on a couch or armchair.
"So, Ilia, what brings you here?" Ruby asked.
"Sirena told me something," Ilia answered, "Or rather, her fusion with Cinder."
"What is it?" Ruby asked.
"She told me about copying semblances," Ilia answered.
"You did?" Ruby asked, looking at Sirena. She wasn't mad, just surprised, and maybe a little bit happy.
"Mithala did," Sirena answered, "She believed that you would do so as well, and I agree."
"She was right," Ruby said, turned to Ilia and asked, "But, why did you come here?"
"Well, I copied Lux' semblance as well," Ilia answered, "And I wanted to know how to use it." Ruby and Jaune looked at each other for a moment, then Ruby turned back to Ilia.
"It'll be easier to explain if Lux does it," Ruby said. She and Jaune both got up, hugged each other and fused into Lux.
"Hello again," Lux said, "Now, the first thing to know about my semblance, Guardian's Gambit, is that it is exclusively to combat Grimm. Each minion it creates takes a tenth of your aura, so be careful. The minions roam the area where they were created, but do not interfere with local wildlife. They will, however, attack any Grimm on sight, completely disregarding their own safety."
"I see," Ilia said and asked, "But how do I use it?"
"Think of nature," Lux answered, "It is beautiful, yet delicate, and it needs your help to fight back against the Grimm. My semblance allows me to imbue nature with the strength to fight back against the Grimm, and in return, nature protects me and my allies from harm. It is a give and take, in a way. I help nature, nature helps me."
"Thanks," Ilia said, "Now, I better get back. The others are probably waiting for me already."
"Alright, see you later," Lux said, and Ilia left the house again after they all had bid their farewells. After the door closed, Lux split up again.
"I think we should make replicas of the relic," Ruby said, "That way, we can each take one, and when Salem sends one of her stupid goons to take it, they won't know which one is the real one."
"Great idea, Ruby," Nora said.
"Thanks," Ruby said, looked around and asked, "Alright, who knows how to make life-like replicas of the relic?"
~o~
Ilia left the airship and looked around on the camp site. Several faunus brought crates of fire-goo to the airship, while others went around patrolling the area. Her seismic sense told her where those faunus were, and it also let her know where the Grimm were. She sensed a handful Beowolves approaching the camp, with no patrols in between them, and went to the barbed wire fences. She grabbed the fence, holding it between the barbs, and focused on killing any Grimm that came too close. She closed her eyes, focused on what Mithala had told her, and let her aura flow into the barbed wire. She set the radius to twenty meters, and had it inflict as much damage as a regular hand grenade, letting her extend the duration to a whole month.
"Grimm!" one of the guards shouted and started shooting at the monsters. The other three guards also started shooting the Grimm, and a few other armed faunus came running to help them. Ilia let go of the wire and jumped over the fence. Several Grimm had already been killed, but some were still alive. She slashed one with her whip, cutting off its right arm and causing it to land on the barbed wire. Instead of struggling like usual, the Beowolf died immediately and turned into a cloud of black smoke. The remaining Grimm all died shortly after as well, slowly being killed by the semblance's effects.
"I'll see if there are any more out there," Ilia said and headed into the forest. She knew the nearest pack would need a day to reach them, and based on the pack's movements, the Grimm had no intention of attacking them. She had other plans. When she was far enough away from the camp, Ilia focused on what Lux had told her, and allowed a large chunk of her aura to flow into the environment. After about a minute, she felt a strong energy rise within her. She let the energy flow through her whip, in its rapier form, and a single lime green lightning zapped across the forest floor. She followed it to the best of her abilities, and found it hit a large branch. The branch was coated in light green energy, and other twigs, sticks and branches levitated towards it, forming a wolf-like creature. Ilia checked her aura on her scroll, and saw that she was down to 9 percent.
"Too bad," Ilia said, looking at the wolf, "I wanted to give you a little friend. Sorry, maybe tomorrow." She returned to the camp and headed for the canteen to get something to eat.
~o~
Ruby looked around among her friends, hoping that someone could help them make life-like replicas of the relic. Oscar looked a bit concerned, closed his eyes and let Ozpin take control. Ozpin cleared his throat and got everyone's attention.
"As good as your plan is, I am afraid it will not work," Ozpin said.
"Why not?" Ruby asked.
"Because the relics attract Grimm," Ozpin answered, "It is faint, but undeniable. And when Salem sends someone to take the relic, she will undoubtedly send Grimm along with that person to help locate it, should we try to hide it."
"Then, what can we do?" Ruby asked.
"We just have to be careful," Ozpin answered. Ruby noticed that Sirena was sitting somewhat slumped.
"Hey, Sirena, are you alright?" Ruby asked.
"Yes," Sirena answered, "Fusing with Cinder has just taken its toll on me. But you must leave soon. Here is a countdown. When it hits zero, take the next train to Argus." She sent a file to Qrow's scroll.
"Why at that time?" Qrow asked, looking at the scroll.
"Because someone important will be on that train," Sirena answered, "Someone who can help Ruby."
"Who?" Qrow asked. He started to get suspicious of Sirena's intentions, thinking she was trying to cause more trouble for them all.
"The Grimm Reaper," Sirena answered, and Qrow's eyes widened in shock.
"What? How?" Qrow asked, trying to figure out how Sirena found her.
"I have my methods," Sirena answered, "She can help Ruby use her silver eyes more efficiently, with less exhaustion."
"Okay, but how did you know she would be on that train?" Qrow asked.
"One of my semblances," Sirena answered, "It lets me know how long it is until a certain event takes place. Of course, I have to know that the event will take place, but that is the only limitation of this semblance."
"How did you copy so many semblances?" Weiss asked.
"With these," Sirena answered and pulled a cyan pearl from one of her pockets. Weiss, Blake and Qrow looked at it in awe, the others were left mostly confused.
"What's this?" Ruby asked.
"An Angel's Tear," Weiss answered, "They are incredibly valuable gemstones that are rumored to be magical. They are made from an unknown material, don't appear in nature at all, and most importantly, register on aura monitors. There supposedly used to be close to five thousand, but the ship transporting them sank over eight centuries ago, and only three were ever recovered. Those three are currently kept in the natural historical museum in Atlas."
"There also is a green one in Vale," Sirena said, "And nine different ones in my pockets. The rest are in my personal treasure chamber back home. You can hold this one, if you like." She handed Weiss the pearl, and Weiss slowly took it, being overly cautious not to damage it. She looked at the small gemstone, a perfect surface of unnatural beauty and purity. It felt soft, somehow, yet she couldn't deform it by squeezing it. It was an otherworldly sight, seeing her reflection in the perfectly round surface of this gemstone.
"That still doesn't explain where you got your semblances," Nora said, pulling Weiss out of her trance.
"It does," Sirena said, "After graduating from Beacon, I had my mages study these supposed gems. They found out that they are the crystallized souls of people." Hearing this, Weiss screamed and jumped in disgust, throwing the pearl across the room.
"Finder's keeper's!" Nora exclaimed and dashed behind a couch where she had seen the pearl land.
"Fine by me," Sirena said and held up her right hand, with the pearl sitting between her middle- and ring finger.
"How?" Nora asked.
"Another semblance," Sirena answered, "It lets me mark an object and then keep track of it, or teleport it to me, no matter where it is."
"Hold on," Weiss said and asked, "Are you saying you've been walking around with literal billions of Lien in your pockets this entire time?"
"Yes," Sirena answered.
"Why?" Weiss asked.
"They're mine, I can take them wherever I want," Sirena answered.
"Aren't you afraid someone could try to steal them from you?" Qrow asked.
"You're very welcome to try," Sirena answered.
"What else can you do?" Ruby asked.
"It would take too long to go over all of this," Sirena answered, "Besides, I should get some rest now." She let herself fall backwards into the couch, let her head hang and promptly fell asleep.
"Another semblance," Jaune said, everyone looked at him and he said, "I sensed her aura. She definitely has a semblance that puts people to sleep."
"Alright," Qrow said, "Get ready, we got a train to catch in two days."
"What about Sirena?" Ruby asked.
"I can ask Ilia to look after her," Weiss answered and pulled out her scroll. She called her friend and discussed the issue with her, while the rest of the group got ready to leave the city.
Trigger warning: Genetic modification and implied nudity (I'm a guy with an active imagination and it didn't do anything for me, so take that as you will, but just in case).
Author's note: This chapter actually has the end of my V5 segment in it. In the original version, the chapter, and my version of V5, ended after Ruby asked her friends who could make a replica of the relic.
Sirena can put people into a deep slumber for up to 24 hours, or a 1 hour sleep they can't wake up from before the time runs out. It's a pretty useful semblance when you have a big day tomorrow and need to catch some sleep. Or, you know, when there are other reasons why it may be useful to have such an ability.
Mithala is named after a boss in the game Aquaria. In the game, he used to be the god-emperor of the main character's species, until his priests betrayed him, chained him in his own temple and drained his power, feeding him his own children to keep him alive. Eventually, he stopped shedding tears as he fed. The hunger had consumed him.
It's a fun game.
The fusion is definitely a piece of work. She has Sirena's pride and Cinder's arrogance and entitlement, for one. Combined with a semblance that can kill everything in the fusion's surroundings if used correctly, and a battle axe for a weapon, she is definitely no easy person to deal with.
Like I said, in this fanfiction, Cinder has a different semblance, since I misinterpreted her abilities and didn't have any canon sources for her semblance when I started writing this.
Jaune can sense people's aura well enough to know when they're using a semblance now, and can even tell different semblances apart if they're different enough. Next step: Emulating semblances.