Author's note: And we're off to Argus. Obviously nothing is going to go wrong, just like in the show.
Qrow threw a letter in the mailbox in the Mistral train station, telling General Ironwood about the recent events in the city, such as the failed space travel experiment with an alternative for dust, or how Leonardo was sadly crushed by a boulder when he tried to save a little girl in the resulting storm. Of course, that was only the official story. In reality, Argent had used lightning-dust to knock the boulder down, killing Leonardo as punishment for betraying Ozpin. When he returned to the group, he saw Blake approaching, with Ilia and Sun watching from afar, and Ruby came rushing as a cluster of rose petals. Blake still had the relic on her belt, and a barely noticeable strand of black hair was tied to the lamp's handle.
"So, what'd I miss?" Qrow asked.
"Those two, Dee and Dudley," Ruby answered, "They were hired to protect the train, but they're not really good at it, so Jaune and Pyrrha are going to help them out tonight." She pointed to two men standing near the staff entrance to the caboose, with one holding a mace and one holding a rifle.
"You know, sometimes the burden of saving the world is overwhelming," Oscar said, "But then people like that come along and make me glad it's our job, and not theirs." Everyone hummed in agreement.
"Anyway, has anyone seen an elderly woman yet?" Qrow asked. He raised his head and looked around, but didn't seem to find who he was looking for.
"No, why?" Ruby asked.
"Remember what Sirena said," Qrow answered, "The Grimm Reaper is an elderly woman who can't use her silver eyes any more. She should be easy to spot. I don't know how she used her silver eyes, but if it really is easier for Ruby, then we should find her as soon as possible."
"Are you sure that's the only reason?" Blake asked with a small smile on her lips.
"Yes, why?" Qrow asked.
"Because your heat beat picks up when you talk about her," Blake answered, "I don't know what it means, but I'm sure it means something." Qrow sighed.
"Let's just board the train," he said, and everyone walked to the Argus Limited, which was bound to leave in about half an hour.
~o~
Russel Thrush and Sky Lark were both flying over Vale in their bird forms. Russel was a red-throated thrush, having a white belly, red throat, light brown back and yellow beak. Sky, on the other hand, was a skylark, sporting white belly feathers and several shades of brown on his back, with a small patch of feathers sticking up from his head. They landed on lamp posts near the harbor and looked around. In the distance, they saw a massive cloud of black smoke continuously rise to the sky where Sophie was slaughtering Grimm.
"She's crazy," Russel tweeted, "It's like they're blades of grass, and she's just mowing the lawn." A lightning bolt shot into the sky, vaporizing two Goliath at once.
"She's mowing the lawn alright," Sky tweeted, "With an Atlesian Airship's heavy cannon."
"Let's focus on our mission for now," Russel tweeted, noticed an itch under his right wing and picked a small insect out of his plumage.
"Yeah," Sky tweeted, "And would you stop eating bugs?"
"Sorry," Russel tweeted. They both flew to different areas of the harbor and transformed back. Most of the bigger Grimm had been drawn to Sophie's rage, but the smaller and medium ones were keeping their distance to her.
"Alright, let's do this," Sky said over his communicator and drew his halberd, Feather's Edge. Niob had helped him modify it slightly, so that its inward curved edge and the pike on the other side of the pole could both be coated in dust.
"Yeah," Russel said and drew his twin daggers, Shortwing. A pack of Beowolves and Alpha Beowolves attacked them. Sky swung his halberd, sending waves of air through the charging Grimm and killing them in a few hits. Russel threw one of his daggers into a Grimm, killing it. He triggered the gravity-dust in his other dagger, attracting the one he had thrown, and caught the weapon as it returned. He used the momentum to spin around and send out a powerful wave of air, killing the remaining enemies around him.
"Alright, I'm done here," Sky said over communicator, "I'm moving on to the target."
"Me too," Russel said. They both headed towards each other, killing any Grimm on the way, until they reached a manhole near the harbor basin. Sky stayed outside, while Russel climbed inside and pulled a hose from his backpack. Russel fed the hose through a nearby drainage gate, letting it slide into the ocean. He then used ice-dust in one of his daggers to freeze the hose to the gate after making sure the end in the sewer was below the end outside. Looking at the hose, and thinking of his mission, Russel swallowed nervously before he began sucking in sea water through the hose. As soon as the crisp salty taste filled his mouth, he spat it into the sewage channel and dropped the hose. Water kept pouring out of the hose and flowing away. As Russel climbed out of the sewer again, his and Sky's scrolls rang, as they had gotten a message from Talia, which she had apparently sent to everyone within reach.
"What do you call a dog who does magic tricks?" The message read, "A labracadabrador." Russel and Sky looked at each other, chuckled a bit, then continued killing the Grimm all around them.
~o~
Dove Bronzewing was in his bird form and flew high above Vale, looking for possible survivors who might have set up camp elsewhere. He had a yellow forehead and pink breast feathers, and his wings shimmered in bright red, blue and green. He was also the most heavily built of the team, the additional mass of course being all muscles. He landed on the back of a Giant Nevermore that sat perched on top of a pharmacy, turned back into his human form and decapitated the Grimm with a swift strike of his sword, Hallshott. As the Grimm disappeared underneath him, he dropped to the ground and quickly took out the three Beowolves inside the pharmacy with his sword's gun function. He carried a duffel bag to carry supplies in, and was scanning the front room as he entered.
"Looks like someone was here," Dove thought as he looked around. There were bullet holes in the wall, multiple cabinets were broken open, and several pill bottles and first aid kits were missing. He put his duffel bag on the ground and began filling it with pill bottles, bandages and other medical equipment.
"I still don't get why Talia takes this risk," Dove thought, "Sure, having more armed people around will help, but police officers aren't trained in using their aura, so they'll get injured sooner or later. It would be easier to just recruit huntsmen, or use her magic to enlist the help of bandits or criminals." After he had filled his bag, Dove carved the location of the camp into a wall, left the pharmacy again and wanted to turn back into a bird, when he heard a familiar roar further down the street. A Big Ursa stood a few meters away from him, dropped to all fours and ran towards him. Just as the Grimm reached him, an ice-dust bullet found its way into its mouth, and the Grimm erupted into a large spiked ice ball.
"You're welcome," a deep male voice said behind Dove. He turned around and saw a truly massive raven faunus, wearing heavy black boots, black jeans, and a black shirt under a black trench coat. He had waist-long black hair and cold, ice blue eyes. The man easily rivaled Yatsuhashi in pure mass, and wielded one of the assault rifles Niob had modified to serve as sniper rifles. He also wore a talon-shaped, dark orange gemstone on a silver necklace, and had an obsidian dagger on his side. Dove was sure that this man didn't need a weapon to kill a Big Ursa. He stood there, frozen with fear and respect, and when he blinked, the faunus was gone. Dove looked around, trying to find the man.
"How?" Dove thought, "Someone that big can't just disappear, right?" When he was sure he was alone, Dove turned back into his bird form and flew back to the camp to deliver the medicine.
~o~
Cardin returned from another patrol route with Velvet, which was Talia's idea, and sat down on a bench to eat something. Velvet walked over to him, carrying a tray of food as well, and sat down a little bit away from him, just out of his arm's reach. The two sat for a moment, just eating, with Cardin wondering what she could want from him.
"So, that's why you always take pictures of everyone's weapons," Cardin said.
"Yeah," Velvet explained, "My semblance lets me perfectly mimic other people's movements, so I decided on a weapon that complements that."
"Why?" Cardin asked, and Velvet turned to look at him.
"What do you mean?" Velvet asked.
"Why didn't you fight back?" Cardin asked, "My team was pretty awful to you, and you could've beaten us up at any time, so why didn't you?"
"Because I knew that I'd get picked on," Velvet answered, "I accepted that some people would be mean to me because of what I am, and since you guys are a year below me, it wouldn't have felt right anyway."
"Where did you learn to move like that?" Cardin asked.
"What do you mean?" Velvet asked, tilting her head.
"I saw you fight in the tournament," Cardin answered, "You moved differently then, and you seemed far more aware of your surroundings on our patrols. There has to be something."
"Talia told me," Velvet explained, "She taught me to use my rabbit instincts to get a better understanding of what's around me. It lets me detect potential threats, such as Grimm or hazardous terrain, and it makes me better at avoiding attacks. Also, whenever I use someone else's weapon, I copy their movements."
"So, you got night vision, incredible hearing, and whatnot?" Cardin asked, sounding mostly offended, hurt and upset.
"Yeah," Velvet answered, paused for a moment and asked, "Wait, are you… jealous?"
"Maybe. I mean… I don't know," Cardin answered, "I just came to Beacon to become a huntsman. Someone who could protect people, who the people look up to, you know. I just want people to remember me after I'm gone."
"And what made you think being mean would help?" Velvet asked.
"I don't know," Cardin answered, "I guess I just saw that you were better than me, and that meant you were in my way."
"And Jaune?" Velvet asked, tilting her head a little.
"Well, you know how Pyrrha acted towards him," Cardin answered, "I figured, if she would focus on me, I'd be more famous."
"That sounds like a really bad reason," Velvet said and asked, "But, why do you tell me all this?"
"Well, I saw that video of you fighting this Paladin," Cardin answered.
"What video?" Velvet asked.
"This one," Cardin answered, pulled out his scroll and showed Velvet a video from the night Beacon fell, where she took down an Atlesian Paladin by herself.
"Wait, who recorded that?" Velvet asked, "And... who is singing?"
"I don't know," Cardin answered, "I got it from this weird number a few days after you and the others arrived in Vale to clear out the Grimm." He showed Velvet the number he got the video from, and Glynda looked over their shoulders.
"That's Sirena's number," Glynda said in shock, as a terrifying realization slowly crept into her mind.
"Wait, what?!" Velvet asked, shouting out in surprise. Glynda looked around nervously.
"I can't tell you too much," Glynda whispered, "Sophie's swarm is everywhere, so we can't speak out against Sirena, but I think she had something to do with what happened."
"Are you sure?" Cardin asked.
"How else would she get this footage?" Glynda asked, "I mean, even if she knew what happened, she wouldn't be able to recreate it. At least not so well. And there is no way she, or anyone for that matter, transferred their memory to her scroll, because there are too many different angles. The only logical explanation is that she set up cameras, knowing that this would happen."
"Which means… what exactly?" Cardin asked.
"It means that Sirena is dangerous," Glynda answered, "She has set in motion something over three years ago, which we are still part of, and nothing we do will change anything about it."
"Do you know what she's planning?" Velvet asked.
"No," Glynda answered, "Noone does. That woman is like a mystery wrapped in an enigma, hidden in the deepest darkest corners of the world, shrouded in mystery and superstition. She cloaks herself in deception and lies, and no matter what you do, what you plan, you'll end up playing by her rules. You'll play her game, whether you know it or not. And you'll lose."
~o~
On board of the Argus Limited, Ruby and her friends were putting their things away, getting comfortable while the train started moving. Qrow was exploring the train a little, obviously looking for the Grimm Reaper, though he didn't want to admit it.
"So, why do we trust Sirena on this?" Weiss asked, drawing her teammates' attention to herself.
"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.
"It's just, you heard what she said about Mimi," Weiss answered, "I just find it weird that we accept what she says as the truth, without questioning it. If Mimi is insane, then how do we know the Grimm Reaper is on this train? There is no reason for us to believe what Sirena said, yet here we are."
"Actually, there is a reason," Ruby said, feeling a bit embarrassed by what she was about to tell her friends.
"And what would that reason be?" Weiss asked.
"It's her silver eyes," Ruby answered, "They make it so that people who are scared can't distrust her. It's the same with me and sad people. I inspire hope and compassion in them, and they follow my lead as a result. And, well, it's kind of a passive thing, so I can't really turn it off, either."
"You're… joking, right?" Blake asked, "You've been brainwashing people this entire time?" Ruby shrunk a little, and Weiss looked at Blake with a worried expression.
"I didn't mean to," Ruby answered, almost crying, "I would turn it off if I could, but I can't. It just keeps happening. I didn't tell you because I was afraid you would leave me if you knew about it. I'm sorry, I panicked and Sirena's silver eyes got to me, so I followed her advice." Yang hugged her sister, who had started crying a little.
"It's fine," Yang said. They hugged for a bit, then let go of each other.
"Well, at least you're honest," Blake said, "Don't worry, I'm tired of running away anyway."
"But we'll be keeping an eye on you," Weiss said, "So don't you dare try to abuse this power for your personal gain." She gave Ruby a stern look, which quickly turned into a friendly smile.
"Thanks, everyone," Ruby said, "And don't worry, I'll tell Jaune, Nora and Ren about it later. Not Qrow, though. I don't want him to think less of Sirena than he already does."
"I still think he should know," Yang said.
"In a sense, yes," Ruby said, "But if he knew she could do that, he would get even more suspicious of her, and then they could get in trouble with each other. They both want to make sure I'm safe, but they have different ideas of how to do it. I first want them to sort out their bigger issues. You know, while they're small enough to be solved."
"Alright, but promise that you'll tell him," Yang said.
"Of course," Ruby said.
"Good. So, what do you think Sirena is doing now?" Yang asked.
"Probably giving a speech in Mistral," Ruby answered, "She can use people's uncertainty to make them trust her a bit more than normal, in order to make them worried enough that they follow her blindly. She'll probably rally the entire population to help her protect the city, creating enough fear of a Grimm attack to cause a Grimm attack, making her seem like she predicted it, rather than caused it. And if I were to guess, she'll probably also have Sun and his team help her manipulate the crowd by posing as audience members." The rest of her team was silent for a bit, shocked that Ruby not only could make such a precise prediction, but also seemed so calm about it.
~o~
Sirena stood in front of Haven Academy, having a podium built for her, with a representative of every media source in the kingdom being invited to her statement regarding the failed attack on Haven, the failed assault on the White Fang, the increase in Grimm activity, and other related issues. Sun and his team were in the audience as well, having been given clear instructions on what to do, and when. A woman raised her hand, and Sirena called on her. Everything was going perfectly according to plan.
"Yes, hello, I'm from the Mistral News Network," the woman said and asked, "When can we start?"
"We are still missing someone," Sirena answered. Just as she said that, a teenage boy came running onto the plaza, pulling a handcart behind himself, which held a computer, a generator, and recording equipment.
"Why did we have to wait for this guy?" the woman from the Mistral News Network asked.
"Because I wanted to make sure every news provider got their information from the source," Sirena answered.
"I'm ready," the teenager said, earning some annoyed looks from the other reporters for speaking out of turn. Sirena prepared to use Leonardo's semblance to amplify her voice, at least in the minds of the people. She wouldn't speak any louder, but they would hear her clearly, no matter what other sounds there were.
"Well then," Sirena said, cleared her throat and said, "Citizens of Mistral. My name is Sirena Blue. I am a huntress from Vale, and in the three years prior to the fall of Beacon, I have investigated an anarchist group trying to destroy the kingdoms as we know them. They use Grimm to attack cities, and leave us with noone to blame but ourselves, because they operate from the shadows and manipulate events behind the scenes. I have fought several of their higher-ranking agents in the past, and I know that they are a force to be reckoned with. However, they will not step out of the shadows, and they will not attack any of us, now that they know that we would know the true culprit." The crowd started to panic. Just as planned.
"What do we do?" a woman asked.
"We have to fight back," a man said.
"I don't want to die."
"What is the council planning to do about it?"
"Everyone, stay calm," Sirena said, "I have a plan. I knew they would try to destroy Beacon, and I tried to prevent it, but I failed. I'm deeply sorry for what happened. However, I have made a decision. I decided that this tragedy would not repeat itself. But to do that, I will need your help. We all need to work together to protect this world. I have plans to build turrets around the city walls, to keep any Grimm out and turn this city into an impenetrable fortress."
"Hold on," Sun said on queue and asked, "You said earlier that this anarchist group uses Grimm. Are you saying that they can control them?"
"Yes, that is exactly what I'm saying," Sirena answered, and the crowd started to mumble in confusion.
"How?" Sun asked.
"I'm glad you asked," Sirena answered, "Watch." She pulled the cloth off a cage next to her, revealing a Beowolf. The crowd gasped. Sirena kicked the cage and it fell over backwards, revealing that it had been standing on its open side. Sirena glared at the Grimm, and it slowly backed into the cage, cowering in fear. The crowd fell dead silent.
"H- how?" a woman asked.
"Fear," Sirena answered, "The Grimm don't want to die, but they know they're stronger than the average human. If you make them realize they can't win against you, they'll do what you want. And there is something you should know about me. There are legends of warriors who can instill fear in the Grimm. These warriors are said to be able to strike down any Grimm with a single look from our silver eyes." Sirena pulled out her scroll and made a video appear on the screen that slowly rose behind her, showing her with a pack of Goliath. In the video, she looked a lot younger, at least four years, and was missing her black sleeves. She had a shorter stature, but wasn't much smaller in other areas. Sirena started the video, and the Grimm slowly approached her. She then unleashed a burst of light, petrifying the massive Grimm. Sirena turned around, walked to her scroll, picked it up and ended the recording. The crowd was silent at first, then Sun and his team began applauding slowly, and the rest of the crowd soon followed, until everyone cheered for Sirena.
"Hold on," Sun thought, "Are those the Goliath we saw on the way here?" Sirena waited for the crowd to calm down again, then she continued talking.
"You all have probably heard of me before," Sirena said, "The shark of Sanus. It is a title I earned through my determination and decisive action against all who threaten those under my protection. My allies and I will protect this city from the Grimm, and as long as one of us remains, none of them will ever last. The Grimm look for any chance to bring down Mistral's walls. But no matter what they send at us, we will never let them fall." The crowd was now fully under Sirena's control. She let them cheer again, and after it all had died down, Neptune raised his hand to ask a question.
"So, what can we do to help?" Neptune asked.
"I'm glad you asked," Sirena answered, "Tomorrow at eight in the morning, I will be going over basic combat training with all who are willing, here at Haven Academy. Anyone who can fight is welcome to lend a helping hand. Anyone else, who wants to help but doesn't want to fight, can come to the SDC warehouse at noon, where we will be constructing turret guns to place on the wall and keep Grimm outside that way. I have already enlisted the help of both the police and the White Fang, who want to atone for the actions of one of their former members, Adam Taurus." Sienna Khan and the chief of police walked up to the stage from behind, standing left and right of Sirena. The chief of police was a middle-aged woman wearing the standard outfit, but with three medals for service to the kingdom, bravery and continuing a fight even after being severely injured.
~o~
Mark Stein walked up to the conveyor belt, carrying two Atlesian Knights. He dropped the androids on the belt, sending them to Mountain Glenn. His sister was already waiting for the materials, and had used her semblance to create a pipe along the railroad tracks. She formed a spiral inside the pipe to move any liquid or semi-liquid to Mountain Glenn. The pipe had holes on both sides, allowing for fire hoses to be attached to it. On the Vale side, it also had four pumps, with the cylinders being in different positions for every pump. The first pump's cylinder was all the way down, the second was halfway up, the third was all the way up, and the last one was halfway down. The pumps would be powered using a crank shaft and the movement of the windmills, and their chambers were never obstructed, allowing liquids to flow through unhindered.
~o~
A few minutes after Ruby had told her team what she suspected Sirena to plan on doing, Ruby returned from telling Jaune, Ren, Nora and Oscar what the silver eyes can do.
"I'm back," Ruby said.
"You don't sound too happy," Yang said and asked, "How'd it go?"
"They were mostly upset I didn't tell them sooner," Ruby answered, "But it's fine now."
"Alright then," Yang said, pulled out her scroll and asked, "Who is up for a little match?"
"Sorry," Blake said, pulled a fairy tale book from her bag and said, "But I have to read up on some things."
"I still need to learn about the semblances I've copied," Ruby said, "So you can count me out for the day." Yang looked at Weiss.
"Well, I would, but this senseless button-mashing isn't my style," Weiss said.
"It's not senseless button-mashing," Yang said, "You have to predict your opponent's move and counter it, but also be aware that they expect your counter and are ready to counter it, so you have to counter your opponent's counter."
"So, you just hit the buttons and hope you win?" Weiss asked.
"Not really," Yang answered, "But if you think that's a good strategy, then you're welcome to try. Unless you're afraid you'll lose." Yang gave Weiss a cheeky smile, Weiss huffed and pulled out her scroll.
"As if," Weiss said, "Let's go." They started a popular fighting game, and Yang let Weiss get used to the controls for a bit before repeatedly massaging her character's face into the pavement.
~o~
In her soul core, Ruby looked around to find the emblems of people whose semblance she had copied. After walking a bit, Emerald walked up to her, smiling from ear to ear and looking incredibly proud of herself.
"Ruby, there you are," Emerald said, "I finally know what my favorite color is."
"That's great," Ruby said and asked, "What is it?"
"It's green," Emerald said happily, "Also, I got this weird feeling ever since I figured it out. I just want to tell everyone I know that I found my favorite color."
"Sounds like you're proud of yourself," Ruby said.
"What do you mean?" Emerald asked, tilting her head slightly.
"It means you've done something good and you know it," Ruby answered, "You did something difficult for you, and you realize it was difficult, but you still did it."
"I guess that's it," Emerald said, "It feels amazing."
"It sure does," Ruby said.
"Anyway, why are you here?" Emerald asked.
"Mostly to see how you were doing," Ruby answered, "But I also wanted to see how I can use all the other semblances I've copied, and what they do, in case I need them."
"I see," Emerald said, "I can show you where they are. Follow me." She walked ahead and Ruby followed her. They reached a tree with Cinder's emblem engraved in it, and Ruby hesitantly touched it.
"Now you are exactly where I want you," the voice said. Ruby realized that the voice sounded far more triumphant than she remembered Cinder to be. She was a bit saddened by the fact that some people could lose sight of what their semblances were really about, but moved on to Ren's emblem.
"Mind and body are one," Ren's voice said, and Ruby kept going. At least he was still in touch with what his semblance was about.
"This kitty has more than nine lives," Blake's voice said, and Ruby realized that it was unlike the Blake she knew. It was childish, playful even, and a bit boastful. This hit her more than Cinder's emblem, because she felt like she just learned about a side of Blake that her friend didn't even know about, or had forgotten during her time with the old White Fang. Also, Blake hated to be called kitty, no matter who called her that. The only exception was Yang, for some reason.
"This is how I feel, and now you feel this way too," Ilia's voice said. It sounded less like the shy, closed-off woman Ruby knew, and more like a prankster. From what Ruby had felt, Ilia should be more open about her emotions as well. She immediately felt the need to use this semblance to make people fight over worthless garbage, but the feeling disappeared shortly after she had touched the emblem. Then Ruby came to an emblem she wasn't sure she wanted to touch. Her hand hovered in front of it for a moment, but then she pulled it back and turned around.
"Thanks, Emerald," Ruby said and asked, "Is there anything I can do for you?"
"You're welcome," Emerald said and answered, "Well, if it's not too much to ask, I'd like you to get my weapons. Cinder dropped my body off the bridge to the vault under Haven after she killed me, and my weapons are still there, but I'd really like you to have them. It would be as if I had them, and I can teach you to use them, if you want."
"Sure," Ruby said, "I'll just go to Sirena's soul core and ask her to send them to me via portal."
"Thanks," Emerald said.
~o~
The morning after her speech, Sirena met with dozens of people in the courtyard in front of Haven Academy. Many of the volunteers were less reputable huntsmen, who Salem had overlooked since they would be less likely to actually help the kingdom, or engage with the law-abiding citizens at all. Sirena also saw police officers, as well as young teenagers who wanted to get some combat experience before enrolling at Haven the next year. Sun and his team were standing beside her, ready to help.
"I see that many have chosen to fight," Sirena said, "However, those of you who can not generate an aura will have to fight at a distance, for your own safety. Don't worry, I have prepared more than enough sniper rifles and explosive ammunition for all of you to help keep this city safe. First, we will test your accuracy over various distances, so we can assess where you are best. We will also train you in close quarters combat, so you can defend yourself should a Grimm come too close. Of course, we will have people tasked with making sure that this doesn't happen, and there will be defenses on the walls as well."
~o~
After losing another game against Yang, Weiss was fed up with fighting games. She secretly liked the intellectual aspect, but hated that she was losing against Yang over and over, and how Yang taunted her because of this all the time. Ruby was still meditating, and Blake was reading fairy tale books and listening to music over special headphones for faunus with four ears. Weiss demanded one final rematch, and after losing again, Weiss made the tiny Seer next to her grow, much to Yang's surprise. The Seer clicked a few times, and Weiss turned to face Yang.
"Yang Xiao Long, you have been cheating this entire time," Weiss said.
"What do you mean?" Yang asked.
"You are using your arm's connection to your scroll to play," Weiss answered.
"I'm just using my abilities," Yang said.
"Well then, two can play that game," Weiss said. She made the two tiny Griffons sitting on Blake's head and Yang's bed disappear, summoned a Poltergeist and had it possess her scroll. Using the Seer as conduit, she transferred her soul into the game and took direct control of her character, a female ninja in a white outfit wielding a katana with a blade whip function. The character model changed into a different version of Weiss, with her hair tied to a bun, white full-body clothing and a mask over her mouth and nose.
"Wait, what?" Yang asked.
"I'm just using my abilities," Weiss answered.
"Alright, if you're sure of this," Yang said.
"Yes, I am sure," Weiss said. The next round started and Weiss dashed towards her opponent, a massive mountain of a man with four arms. Weiss landed a few hits, but her opponent grabbed her arms with his upper arms, then repeatedly hit her torso with his lower arms. He headbutted her backwards and hit the ground, causing stone spikes to shoot up underneath Weiss just as she flew past that part of the arena. Weiss lost the match as well, and Yang looked at her friend.
"Looks like I win again," Yang said and nudged Weiss' shoulder. Weiss swayed a bit to the side, then came back and fell over sideways, leaning against Yang.
"Oh Gods, what do I do?" Yang thought, "Weiss' soul is trapped in the game. This is bad. This is very bad. What do I do? How do I tell Ruby?" Yang got up and started pacing around the cart, and as she passed Weiss again, Weiss suddenly grabbed her ankle. Yang jumped in shock, and Weiss got up, chuckling a little.
"Got you," Weiss said. Yang knelt down and hugged her.
"Don't scare me like that again," Yang said, trying to sound angry, but every other emotion was stronger.
"Well, if you stop mocking me for being bad at the game," Weiss said. Yang blinked in confusion and pulled away from Weiss.
"Wait, what?" Yang asked, "You think I was making fun of you?"
"What else was that all about?" Weiss asked.
"Right, sorry," Yang said, "You see, when Ruby and I play games and get serious, we trash talk all the time. It's kinda part of the experience for us."
"Hold on, you talk to Ruby like that?" Weiss asked and said, "But you two get along so well."
"Exactly," Yang said, "We know it's all part of the game, so we don't take it too seriously. But I guess I got caught up in old habits, and forgot that you're new to all this. Sorry."
"It's fine," Weiss said, "Just try to not get too into it with me."
"Alright," Yang said.
~o~
Yatsuhashi carried five fire hoses to the conveyor belt and put them on it one by one, sending them to Mountain Glenn. A similarly bulky human member of Sophie's swarm, Barro, also brought five hoses. The man was dressed like an average mechanic, wielding a large wrench as a weapon. He had short black hair, a stubble beard and orange eyes.
"That would be enough," Barro said, "Now we need to provide more metal."
"Alright," Yatsuhashi said.
"Die!" Sophie screamed, shooting a bright yellow silk string at a Goliath, hitting it behind the ear. The electricity paralyzed the Grimm. Sophie ran underneath its neck and swung around it. After wrapping the silk around the Grimm's massive neck, she swung it like a whip. A powerful electric shock surged through the whip, creating an arc bow and cutting right through the Goliath's neck with the sound of thunder.
"I got more steel," a spider faunus said, dropping two steel beams on the pile next to Marble.
"Thanks," Marble said and began heating up the steel beams. A few more spider faunus were busy carrying steel from different places to the pile.
"You can run, but you'll never escape!" Sophie screamed, chasing after a pack of Boarbatusk. She caught up to them in the parking lot of a large mall and killed them with powerful lightnings from her palms. Just as she calmed down, she heard the sound of steel grating on stone. She looked to where the sound was coming from and saw a wolf-like Grimm resembling a Beowolf, but walking on all fours. The Fenrir had an external rib cage, a bone mask and an external spine. It charged at Sophie. Sophie hit it with an electric uppercut, sending it through the twentieth floor of the nearby mall. She jumped onto the wall and used her aura to cling to the concrete. As soon as she jumped into the hole, the almost two meter tall Fenrir bit her right arm from behind. Sophie lit her arm on fire and kicked the Grimm through several aisles of toys. Sophie sent a mental message to her daughter to teleport into the food section and get the canned food to the camp.
"A true friend never leaves a friend behind," an electronic toy unicorn said after falling off the destroyed shelf. Sophie dashed forward, grabbed the toy and jammed its hard plastic horn into the Grimm's eye. The Fenrir howled, and Sophie fixated the toy with an electric web. As soon as the electricity overcharged the toy's battery, it exploded and cracked the Fenrir's bone mask. The Fenrir stumbled around, now blind in one eye. Sophie picked up several more toys, jammed them into the Grimm's fur, fixated them, and kicked the Fenrir against a pillar. The toys exploded, destroying the pillar. Sophie jumped up to the Fenrir and punched it through the floor. The duo tumbled into the sports section. Sophie punched the Fenrir through a wall. A dumbbell with fifty kilogram on each end rolled over to her. The Fenrir got back up, smoke emanating from its body. The Grimm ran towards Sophie. Just as it jumped at her, Sophie kicked the dumbbell up and grabbed it with both hands. She caught the Fenrir's jaws on the metal between her hands, turned the dumbbell and threw the Fenrir on the floor, shattering its hip with one side. Sophie snapped the dumbbell in half and used both sides as hammers.
"Just! Die! Already!" Sophie screamed as she repeatedly hit the Fenrir in the head with the heavy weights. The floor cracked, then gave away under the second hit. When the Fenrir evaporated, Sophie looked around and saw that she was in the underground parking lot. She attached strings to her improvised weapons and dropped them. Numerous Grimm approached her from all sides. Sophie began swinging the weights around with reckless abandon.
~o~
At night, Jaune and Pyrrha astral projected into Dee and Dudley's cabin, and entered their dreams. Jaune found Dee relaxing on the beach, with a group of women in bikinis admiring him, including Team RWBY and Nora. He huffed and turned the beach paradise into a barren wasteland full of Beowolves. Pyrrha found Dudley in a luxurious mansion, sitting in a massive leather armchair with various women, including Team RWBY and Nora, in maid outfits serving him wine and grapes. She focused and turned the environment into the backyard of a classic Mistral building, with a shooting range and fake Beowolves as targets at various distances.
"What the hell?" Dee asked.
"What's going on?" Dudley asked.
"Your training begins now," Jaune and Pyrrha both answered. A dozen Beowolves charged at Jaune, who drew his sword and disposed of them in one continuous swing. He then turned to look at Dee. Pyrrha drew her rifle and shot the heads off of the different Beowolves, taking out one with each shot. She stepped back and looked at Dudley.
"Your turn," Jaune and Pyrrha both said. A few more Beowolves appeared and charged at Dee, who struggled to keep them at bay after some time. The targets returned to normal and Dudley tried to shoot them down, but got less accurate the further they were away. Jaune made the Beowolves disappear and Pyrrha called off the training, and both told their trainee how to improve.
"You have to focus," Jaune said.
"Take a deep breath," Pyrrha said.
"Sense the aura around you," Jaune said.
"See the enemies before your inner eye," Pyrrha said.
"My inner eye?" Dee and Dudley asked.
"Yes," Jaune and Pyrrha answered.
"Sense the ambient aura around you," Jaune said.
"It is the residual aura of all who have come before you," Pyrrha explained.
"It is everywhere, but Grimm disturb it," Jaune explained.
"If you can sense these disturbances, you can see without seeing," Pyrrha said. Dee closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to sense the aura around him. Dudley focused on the world around him.
"Sit down," Jaune said and walked up behind Dee. He put a blindfold on him and drew a wooden sword.
"Come with me," Pyrrha said and led Dudley into a parkour straight out of a physically taxing game show, where every part of the course was moving.
"You will block my strike," Jaune said.
"When we're done, you'll do this blind," Pyrrha said.
"Alright," Dee said.
"I can't wait," Dudley said. Jaune brought his wooden sword down and hit Dee on the head. Dudley ran into the course, jumped over a hurdle and took a sandbag to the face.
"Again," Jaune said.
"Let's try this once more," Pyrrha said. The training continued for the whole eight hours of the night, which felt like eight weeks in the dream, and both huntsmen improved a lot due to the intense and specialized training and the deeper connection to their aura.
~o~
Team CFVY was walking through the streets of Vale, looking for more materials to send to Mountain Glenn, when Velvet's rabbit ears suddenly perked up and she jumped onto a car.
"Velvet, what's wrong?" Coco asked. Velvet jumped onto another car, then another, and disappeared around a corner. Coco, Fox and Yatsuhashi followed her as best as they could. They eventually caught up to her in front of a mall, with the humans of the team being a little bit out of breath.
"Something is going on in there," Velvet said, getting ready to fight. The others followed suit, when the mall suddenly began to collapse. As the dust cloud settled, a Big Ursa rose to its hind legs behind the group. Before they could fully turn around, Sophie rushed past them and jammed a propane bottle down the Grimm's mouth. She kicked the monster backwards and shot a red-hot web into its mouth. The silk melted the bottle and ignited the gas, causing a massive explosion. Sophie let out a vicious roar and held back the shockwave of the explosion.
"What was that?" Coco asked, staring in disbelief.
"I can project my aura outwards," Sophie answered coldly, "It is useful for when Grimm want to use your weapons against you."
"Do you have fire-dust in your palms?" Velvet asked.
"My spinnerets generate it naturally," Sophie answered, "It's useful. I also have lightning-dust." Sophie started walking away. A Giant Nevermore swooped down, trying to hit her from behind. Sophie whirled around and shot a lightning bolt through its torso. Coco's and Velvet's hairs stood up straight in all directions due to the electric charge. They brought their hairs back down and all four followed Sophie.
"Why did you destroy that mall?" Velvet asked.
"There were Grimm in there," Sophie answered, "My prime directive is to eliminate all of them. Keeping the city intact is just an additional parameter."
"What about the materials in there?" Velvet asked.
"Already at the camp," Sophie answered.
"How?" Coco asked.
"I had a member of my swarm bring them there while I fought," Sophie answered.
"Why did I have to bring those fire hoses to the conveyor belt?" Yatsuhashi asked.
"To help my swarm," Sophie answered.
"With what?" Yatsuhashi asked. Sophie thought for a moment, having a member of her swarm ask Sirena how she should respond.
"My swarm feeds on a mushroom," Sophie answered, "We will pump sewage out of the city and into the large crevice in Mountain Glenn, which will then feed the mushroom. It will have many benefits for many people."
Author's note: The Fenrir belongs to xQuiche on DeviantArt. It's a pretty brutal and dangerous Grimm, and I really hope the fact that Sophie needed multiple hits, and had to bludgeon it through round about 20 floors of a mall before it died, gets that across.
Originally the idea was for Weiss to win against Yang, and then be able to summon the video game character, but I figured that that would be too much. I'm kind of trying to keep Weiss in a position where she can do a lot, but not use brute force to get things done.
The footage is actually from the show. When Sirena fused with Talia for the first time, their fusion watched all four volumes. After copying Talia's semblance, Sirena used it to possess her scroll and transferred her memory to it, at least in part. It's not really part of any plan, but she can use it to support her claim to being a skilled tactician, since Glynda is now convinced that Sirena predicted this would happen.
Parts of Sirena's speech are from the songs Free Will Sacrifice and Guardians of Asgard by Amon Amarth. I had to switch some words from the second song to make it work, though. Also, Guardians of Asgard is one of the songs I listen to when I write about Sirena.
The raven faunus is a character from a book I'm writing, called Goliath. In the book, he's a griffon, and part raven. The necklace is an artifact containing the soul of a phoenix, which gives its wearer incredible magical abilities. He doesn't know how to use it though, so it just looks nice.