Author's note: Yet another short chapter. Also, there is one moment I'm sure a lot of you will comment on if I don't point this out, so please refer to the notes at the end.
After watching Jinn's vision, and learning the truth about Ozpin, everyone was shocked and stared in disbelief. Ozpin was on his hands and knees, and fighting back tears.
"Salem… can't be killed," Yang said and asked, "You heard her too, right?" Ruby turned to Ozpin.
"I-" Ozpin said, but was cut off by Yang.
"There is so much you hadn't told us!" Yang shouted, "How did you think this was ok?!"
"Professor," Ruby said and asked, "What is your plan to stop Salem?"
"I… don't have one," Ozpin answered. Suddenly, Qrow punched him in the face, sending him flying against a nearby tree trunk.
"I was cursed..." Qrow said, "Noone wanted me… I gave my life to you because you gave me a place in this world… I thought I was finally doing something good!"
"But you are!" Ozpin cried out, trying to defend himself.
"Meeting you… was the worst luck of my life," Qrow said.
"Maybe you're right," Ozpin said and handed control back to Oscar, who held his cheek in pain.
"What happened?" Ruby asked.
"He's… gone," Oscar answered.
"I… think we should just give up," Weiss said. She had walked away from the group a little, and was looking pretty down.
"Wait, what?!" Yang asked, angry at everything at the moment. Unusually, Weiss didn't even flinch when Yang raised her voice.
"I mean, Salem can't die, and if what I've seen in my dream is true, she has already started turning Vale into her new home. And if not even Ozpin can stop her, what can we-" Weiss said, but was cut off when Ruby slapped her across the face with her left hand. She landed in the snow, with Ruby standing over her. She was looking down and shaking, and tears streamed down her face. Everyone looked at Ruby, who had her right hand clenched to a fist, with her knuckles turning white.
"I don't want to hear any of this," Ruby said, looked at her team and said, "From any of you!"
"Ruby..." Yang said, calmed down again and took a hesitant step towards her sister.
"I thought you came to Beacon to make a change," Ruby said, "So what if it's bigger than you expected? Who cares that you have to go beyond what you thought? I won't make you do anything you don't want, but I will make it to Atlas, and I will protect the relic at all costs. And if I come face to face with Salem, I'll tell her exactly what I think of her. I'll say it right into that ugly kindergarten drawing she calls her face. Do you think any of this was an accident? She knew we'd ask Jinn what Ozpin was hiding, and she plans to use this to divide us. She wants us to think that fighting her would be pointless so we join her instead. Not because she likes us, but because she's scared of us. That's why we needed bodyguards on our way to Mistral. She wanted to keep us separated at all costs, because she knows that once we're together, there is nothing she, or anyone else for that matter, can do to stop us. Besides, she's part Grimm, and we all know what I do to those."
"So there is my sis. I was missing you already," Yang said with a smile, and Blake helped Weiss back onto her feet.
"I've seen what she can do," Weiss said, "And if she wants a battle, she'll get a war." Weiss summoned two small Sphinx and a Poltergeist.
"Let's see how her immortality helps her against being frozen solid," Blake said and made a ball of ice blue energy float over her right hand.
"Let's hope her next assassin is actually good," Yang said, "That scorpion guy was insultingly bad."
"Are we ready to go now?" Maria asked, "Or do you want to wait for more Grimm to show up?" Weiss made her summons disappear and Blake cut the flow of energy to the ice sphere, and everyone went to grab some things they might need on the way. Suddenly, Blake's ears twitched and she looked into the forest, where she saw a small group of foxes emerge from the snow. The white-furred animals walked over to Ruby, stopped in front of her and looked up at her.
"Looks like you got some furry friends," Yang said and added, "Luckily not the other kind." Ruby gave the foxes an awkward smile and backed away a little.
"Guys, a little help?" Ruby asked when the foxes followed her and kept getting too close for comfort. Seeing how uncomfortable she was, the foxes gave Ruby a bit more space, but still looked at her expectantly.
"Well, it'll be good to have more eyes and ears looking for Grimm," Blake said, and the foxes hissed as she mentioned the monsters.
"Looks like they don't like them," Ruby said, "That's good. I say we let them tag along, if they want." Qrow looked at the foxes, and a suspicion popped into his head. Everyone went to grab some things from the wreck that they could use, such as ammunition, then went on their way.
~o~
Ilia swung her whip and cut a Beowolf in half, before creating a stone spike in her left palm and using an aura shockwave to send it flying through three more Grimm. Sirena's warning had come true. Two days prior, Grimm had started migrating towards the city in large numbers. Groups of three to five people, all including one person with their semblance unlocked, were patrolling the city and keeping the Grimm away, with the help of the turrets and Mithala's semblance. Sensing that there were no more Grimm nearby, Ilia stopped for a moment to catch her breath, and thought back to when Sirena had assigned the different groups.
"Alright," Sirena had said, "Everyone who can use their semblance, you're group leaders. Make sure to explain your semblance to your group before heading out, and make sure everyone understands what it can and can't do."
"I don't see how that is supposed to help us," a swallow faunus had said.
"Trust me, it does," Sirena had said and explained, "If you get attacked by a Sphinx and it shoots a fireball at you, for example, and your semblance makes you immune to fire, then there would be no need for others to take the hit for you, because you won't be harmed by it anyway. But if someone doesn't know this, they could try to save you, and only get themselves hurt. In short, this rule is to prevent unnecessary injuries."
"I see," the swallow faunus had said, "Alright." The cry of a Giant Nevermore pulled Ilia back into the present. She looked up and saw three massive avian Grimm head towards the city, accompanied by a swarm of Lancers and Queen Lancers. The Grimm approached the city, but the effects of Mithala's semblance killed them before they got within reach of the turrets. Suddenly, a powerful shockwave rolled over the area. The fighting stopped momentarily, and those who had been at Beacon when it fell ran for cover. Another shockwave. The Grimm grew more ferocious. Ilia could tell the shockwaves came from a nearby mountain.
"Everyone," Sirena said over the communicator earpieces, "Return to the city right now." A third shockwave hit, and the nearby mountain exploded. A Wyvern rose to the sky and headed straight for the city, oozing black liquid that turned into Grimm where it hit the ground. Ilia began running back to the city, but left stone caltrops on the ground that she used Mithala's semblance on to make them harm Grimm. Sirena stood on the wall around Mistral, looking at the Wyvern. The turrets began firing at the approaching lesser Grimm. Sirena burst into a cluster of rose petals and dashed towards the Wyvern. She stopped in front of it, turned Cinder's swords into a bow and fired three ice arrows at the Grimm's right wing. The arrows exploded and tore the wing membrane. Sirena put her swords away and launched two ice chains with hooks into the Grimm. After both hooks anchored themselves in the left side of the Wyvern's neck, Sirena curled herself up into a ball and augmented her semblance with earth-dust. She used an aura shockwave in every direction, turned into a large boulder and swung around the Wyvern, dragging it to the ground.
"Sun, where is Sirena?" Ilia asked over communicator.
"Fighting the Wyvern," Sun answered.
"Alone?!" Ilia asked in shock and said, "We have to help her." She changed her course to where the massive Grimm had crashed. Sun sighed and decided to help Sirena, even though he knew silver-eyed warriors could handle Grimm that big. Sun jumped from one branch to the next, effortlessly maneuvering through the treetops at breakneck speed. He occasionally created a clone or two to deal with Grimm as he jumped over or around the enemies. He used the horns of a Nuckelavee as handrail and stopped, resting his body on his arms, holding his weapon in his tail. Just as the Grimm looked up to him, he shot off its horse head and used the recoil to yank its rider head sideways, breaking its neck. The Grimm evaporated and Sun found himself surrounded by a number of stone caltrops.
"What the…" Sun said when he saw the massive Grimm in front of Sirena. She was standing on a large stone monolith that had apparently been forced into an upright position as the Wyvern crashed. She held her trident in her left hand and looked down on the Grimm, radiating pure dominance. The Wyvern roared in Sirena's face, and while Sun was shaking in his shoes and had to fight the urge to turn and run, Sirena seemed completely unfazed. Sun realized that it was a call to arms, and that more Grimm were coming. Countless Beowolves, Alpha Beowolves, Beringel, Lancers, Queen Lancers, Sphinx and Manticore came to help the Wyvern. Sun saw a victorious grin appear on Sirena's lips for a split second. Grimm filled the crash site, but ignored both Sun and Ilia, and only focused on Sirena. One of the Beringel jumped at her and was about to smash her into the ground. Sirena unleashed a burst of white light, covering the entire area and petrifying every single Grimm in sight. After the light faded, Sun saw that all the Grimm were frozen in motion, before they dropped to the ground and either cracked a little or shattered. Sirena tumbled a little, then fell over forward and off the monolith. Just as Sun wanted to jump over and catch her, a red portal opened underneath her and she fell through. After the portal closed, Sun walked over to meet with Ilia in front of the Wyvern.
"Amazing, right?" Ilia asked and said, "Don't worry, you'll get used to it."
"I… I knew this was possible, kind of, but seeing it is… it's different," Sun said, "I feel like I wasn't supposed to see this."
"Yeah, it's weird at first," Ilia said, "Anyway, there is something else you should probably know about."
"And what?" Sun asked. He still wasn't done processing the fact that Sirena could take out an entire army of Grimm like that, so he wasn't sure if he even wanted to hear the next thing.
"That light… was Sirena's soul," Ilia answered, "And by looking into it, you effectively copied her semblance, in a way."
"Wait, really?" Sun asked and said, "No, you're messing with me. There is no way someone can copy someone else's semblance just like that."
"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not," Ilia said, "In any case, we should probably keep it a secret that Sirena is weakened. And that we have no idea where she is. It would make people worried, and that would lure in even more Grimm. Let's just tell the people that she went to take care of any Grimm that may have gotten away, until she turns up again."
"Alright," Sun said. With a smile, Ilia turned into a red blur and dashed onto the top of the monolith, and Sun realized that that was Ruby's semblance. He looked at his hands, wondering if he could use Sirena's semblance now as well. They went back to the city, told everyone their version of the story, and helped build more turrets. The turrets were distributed along major trade routes, beginning with the railroad leading to Argus. There were some questions over which routes were the most vital, but luckily, Sirena had left a list, in order of urgency, with Sienna and the council.
~o~
Ruby and her friends were walking through the winter woods, with the foxes making sure nothing could sneak up on them. Ruby was leading the group and carrying the relic, Maria sat on Bumblebee, and Yang was pushing her bike. Qrow observed the foxes, and how they act towards Ruby, and realized that his suspicion was correct.
"It's Sophie," Qrow thought, "These foxes are part of her swarm. Sirena definitely used Raven's semblance to locate us, and had Sophie send these foxes here to protect us. But if she went that far, what in the world would she want to protect us from?" Suddenly, Blake stopped and raised her right hand. The group stopped and Blake looked towards the trees.
"What is it?" Yang asked.
"I hear something over there," Blake answered and pointed at a path through the treeline.
"Ruby," Qrow said, "Try sending one of the foxes to investigate."
"Good idea," Ruby said, looked at one of the foxes and said, "You there, go and see what's there. Come back when you know what it is, and don't put yourself in danger." The fox hurried up the path and seemingly disappeared in the snowy environment.
"Since when can you control animals?" Weiss asked.
"I can't," Ruby answered.
"She just has a way with animals," Yang said, "Like that one time we found a snake in our yard, and it hissed at everyone but Ruby."
"It's your silver eyes," Maria said, "At least, I think that's it. From what I've seen, animals can tell we're special, and don't want to harm them, so they trust us." The fox returned and walked up to Ruby.
"And, what's there?" Ruby asked, "One bark for danger, two for shelter, and three for injured people." The fox barked twice, shook his head a little, then barked again one more time.
"What?" Weiss asked.
"Shelter, but something's off," Ruby answered and said, "Let's go." They walked up the path and came to an abandoned farm, with a red metal gate squeaking in the wind. The foxes gathered in front of Ruby and growled at the ground, and Blake hugged herself tightly and shivered a little.
"I agree with them," Blake said, "Something is very wrong here." Weiss summoned five Arma Gigas, roughly the size of a normal person, and a regular-sized Seer. The Arma Gigas scattered and checked the area for trouble, while the Seer reported what they found. The group went to a large building, likely the main house, and Qrow tried to open the door. When he saw that it was locked, he wanted to kick it open, but Weiss stepped forward.
"Please, allow me," Weiss said and created a glyph on either side of the lock. She took a deep breath, focused, and moved the lock's cylinders until it snapped open and she could open the door normally.
"Awesome," Ruby said and asked, "Where did you learn that?"
"Blackbeard's ship," Weiss answered.
"In any case, I guess we can stay the night," Qrow said, and everyone went inside.
"I don't know," Blake said, still uncomfortable, "All my instincts tell me that this place is bad news."
"Don't worry," Maria said, holding up a book, "I found the founder's journals. I'm sure he wrote enough for us to figure out what happened."
"Alright," Blake said. Weiss sent two Arma Gigas to scout out the house, sending one upstairs and one downstairs, while Qrow looked around the area himself. After Oscar ignited the fireplace, Ruby sat down in front of it, and the foxes laid down around her. The rest of her team joined her, and Weiss' Seer hovered next to her. It made a few clicking noises, and Weiss gasped.
"What is it?" Ruby asked, concerned that her friend had discovered something awful.
"There's two dead people in the bedroom upstairs," Weiss answered, "It looks like they just went to sleep… and didn't wake up."
"I told you this place was bad news," Blake said.
"You mean like haunted?" Ruby asked.
"Come on," Blake answered, "Ghosts aren't real."
"You mean everyone told you they weren't," Ruby said.
"Let's go and look around ourselves," Yang said, and nudged Blake a little. Both got up and walked away.
"Be back before dinner," Ruby said, and Yang and Blake stopped for a moment.
"Do we have food?" Yang asked.
"Working on it," Weiss answered and gave her Seer a stern look. Ruby got a text from Qrow.
"Alright," Ruby said, turned to her foxes and said, "You guys, there are some Grimm to the east. Go and take care of them. All of you." The foxes ran out the house and headed east. Qrow, in his bird form, waited for them there, wanting to confirm his suspicions again, but worried he might be right. After the foxes had left the house, Yang and Blake left as well, and walked around the farm a little.
"What was that about?" Weiss asked and said, "I could've sent some of my summons for that as well."
"Yeah, but Qrow wanted them out of earshot," Ruby said, "He thinks they are here under orders of someone named Sophie. He also told Yang about it, and she'll tell Blake. If he is correct, it means we're heading for trouble. Qrow thinks Sirena asked Sophie to send these foxes for our protection, and if she goes that far, there is a very good chance Salem has sent stronger opponents our way."
"How does Sophie control these foxes if she's nowhere near us?" Weiss asked.
"Qrow said it's her semblance," Ruby answered, "It's powerful, but that's all he told me about it. Also, it's possible Sophie was ordered to not let us find out that she's protecting us, so we have to pretend these foxes are just normal foxes who have unlocked their aura and don't like Grimm. Noone can tell what Sophie would do if anyone figured out she was protecting me."
"I see," Weiss said, "I guess I'll see what these foxes can do." She summoned a tiny Queen Lancer, barely the size of a walnut, and had it follow the foxes without being noticed.
~o~
Yang and Blake entered a shed and looked around, both creating a small flame over their left hand to provide light.
"Blake, there is something I need to tell you," Yang said.
"What is it?" Blake asked and turned around to look at Yang.
"Qrow sent me a message just now," Yang answered, "He believes the foxes are somehow controlled by someone he knows fairly well. She is powerful and dangerous, and entirely devoted to serving silver-eyed warriors. Whatever you do, don't mention Salem, the maidens, or the relics near those foxes."
"Well, alright," Blake said and asked, "But, why do you sound so worried?"
"Because those foxes are strong," Yang answered, "I checked my combat assessment program, and unless Ruby helps us against them, they'd obliterate us in an instant."
"But they wouldn't attack us," Blake said, "Not with Ruby around to tell them not to."
"Still, you know how it is," Yang said, "The bigger the threat, the stronger the defenses. And those things could best two maidens. If Sirena really told Sophie to send these foxes to protect us, I don't want to know what from." They looked around a bit more when suddenly, Yang saw Adam in a window and jumped back, ready to fight.
"What is it?" Blake asked, also ready to fight.
"Nothing," Yang answered, sighed and said, "I just thought I saw, well, you know who." Blake put her right hand on Yang's shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile.
"Don't worry," Blake said, "His biggest weapon is fear, and the way he can control you. If you don't let him scare you, he's powerless. And that scares him." Yang returned the smile.
"Thank you," Yang said, and both went back to looking through the shed. Yang found a flatbed, and both agreed that it would likely carry everyone.
~o~
Ruby, Weiss, Maria and Oscar were sitting in the house, with Maria skimming through one of the founder's journals. Weiss' Seer made some clicking noises, and Weiss sighed.
"What is it?" Ruby asked.
"One of my Arma Gigas found food," Weiss answered, "Canned food."
"Well, it's better than no food," Ruby said, "Besides, if you put enough salt on anything, it tastes just fine."
"I guess you're right," Weiss said, turned to her Seer and said, "Have them bring enough for dinner today, and breakfast tomorrow."
"Make sure to get enough vegetables," Maria said, and Weiss repeated the instruction to her Seer. She closed the first journal, sighed and picked up the second one, skimming through the pages again.
"What are you looking for?" Oscar asked. He sat on the couch and looked over to the former hero.
"Some of the things Blake said made me curious," Maria answered, "I have a suspicion what happened here, but until I know for sure, I probably shouldn't talk about it too much." The two Arma Gigas from downstairs came back up, holding cans of food in their arms.
"Finally some food," Yang said.
"Canned food," Weiss said.
"I told you, just put some salt on it," Ruby said.
"We found a flatbed in a shed," Blake said, "It should carry everyone. We can hook it up to Bumblebee in the morning, and then we're much faster." The Seer clicked again, and Weiss looked at it with abject horror.
"What's wrong?" Ruby asked, worried about her friend, and Yang and Blake gathered around Weiss as well.
"The foxes," Weiss answered, "They're scary when they get serious. Look." She summoned another Seer, using the Queen Lancer as a relay, and had the two Seers contact each other. She also muted the Seer observing the foxes, so they didn't hear if anyone on their end made a sound.
~o~
On a small clearing, the group of foxes found a pack of Manticores, with some Sphinxes in the area as well. One of the foxes walked up to the Grimm, waving his tail left and right. White after-images of the tail appeared, until the fox seemed to have nine tails. He rose to his hind legs and a humanoid frame out of white energy manifested around him, making him bigger as well.
"This is definitely Sophie's doing," Qrow thought, sitting on a nearby tree in his bird form. The Grimm looked at the fox, not knowing how to react. In a burst of speed, the fox dashed forward, causing an explosion of snow. The fox came to a stop behind the Grimm, and the entire middle of the pack evaporated. Weiss' Seer appeared just as the last bits of the dead Grimm disappeared.
"See?" Weiss asked and said, "I told you they were powerful. That was a single attack." The Grimm turned around, and the rest of the foxes charged at them from behind. The small animals attacked with claws and teeth, and light blue flames erupted from the black bodies where the foxes made contact.
"Incredible," Ruby said. One of the Sphinxes wanted to fly away, but the fox with his white elemental form stretched one of his arms and pulled the Grimm back down. He fired a beam of energy from his other hand, killing the Grimm in one hit.
"If they're protecting us, who or what are they protecting us from?" Yang asked. A Manticore shot a fireball at one of the foxes, but he created a purple barrier in front of himself, deflecting the attack and sending it towards another Grimm.
"Energy redirection, nice," Blake said. One of the foxes rose to his hind legs and slammed his front paws on the ground, sending two dark purple blades of energy to hit another Grimm. A Sphinx pinned one of the foxes to the ground, but he coated his front legs in light purple energy and threw the much larger enemy away like a small toy.
"So many cool semblances," Ruby said after witnessing the massacre.
"Don't even think about it," Weiss said, "You have enough to work with already."
"What do you mean?" Maria asked, looking up from the second journal.
"Ruby can copy semblances," Weiss answered, "And I know her well enough to know that she wants to copy those as well."
"Copying semblances?" Maria asked, "How?" Before anyone could answer, Qrow and the foxes came back and Weiss quickly made the Queen Lancer and second Seer disappear to keep Sophie from realizing they knew about her.
~o~
In the evening, after dinner, Ruby noticed that her friends seemed more tired than usual. She looked around nervously, realizing that the only one not affected was Maria, who was going through the third volume of the founder's journals. She put the book on the table, and the open page showed a drawing of a slender Grimm with skeletal features.
"What… is that?" Ruby asked.
"The Apathy," Maria answered, "They're not particularly strong, or ferocious, but they drain your very will to live. Bartleby, the founder of the settlement, tried hiding two of them under the settlement to keep negative emotions lower, so he could cut back on costs by not having to pay huntsmen for protection. As you can see, it worked. Noone was sad, or angry, or anything, really."
"Well, I guess we know what we have to do now," Ruby said.
"Get some sleep and then get out of here?" Yang asked, half laying on the table.
"What? No," Ruby answered, "We have to get rid of those things."
"Maybe tomorrow," Blake said, half asleep. Ruby stood up and slammed her hands on the table, sending her chair flying.
"No!" Ruby yelled, took a deep breath and said, "You know what? Fine. I actually thought we were a team, but if you don't want to, I won't make you follow me. Weiss, there is work for you in Atlas. I can drop you off if you want. Blake, your parents miss you. If you really don't want to be a huntress any more, go see them. You won't change the world, but you'll make theirs better. And Yang, thanks for having my back until now, but if you're not up for it, it's fine."
"Ruby…" Qrow said. Ruby walked away, the foxes following her, and stopped in the door, but didn't turn around.
"I'm not mad at any of you," Ruby said, "Just... disappointed." Before anyone could say anything, she left the kitchen and headed to the basement.
~o~
Sirena woke up and found herself lying in Raven's tent. Her time-keeping semblance told her that she had been asleep for almost two days, and she could sense a bit of fear from the people of Mistral. Raven walked into the tent.
"Good, you're awake," Raven said, "I'd like my bed back tonight. I had to sleep in one of my men's tents, and it was awful."
"You brought me here?" Sirena asked, "Why?"
"To protect the people," Raven answered, "If they knew you were weakened, they'd be scared, and that would attract more Grimm."
"Thank you," Sirena said, "Also, I believe your men would appreciate a leader who is more in touch with them. As far as I am concerned, you are taking a step in the right direction."
"I just did that because you'd want that," Raven said, "And because I know how moody you can get when you don't get the best of the best."
"So, what's for dinner?" Sirena asked.
"The leftovers from yesterday for my men," Raven answered, "Fresh beef stew for us." One of her bandits, a woman named Vernal, entered the tent, holding two bowls of stew. Sirena left the tent and sat down by the bandits, and most of the men and some women turned to admire her feminine form.
"And, what's for dinner?" Sirena asked.
"Some pork chops from yesterday," a bandit answered. Raven walked up to Sirena.
"What are you doing?" Raven asked and said, "We can have fresh beef stew in my tent."
"I know," Sirena said, "But there is no need to prepare new food while there is still food available."
"Is that how you rule your people back home?" Raven asked.
"Yes, it is," Sirena answered, gave her a serious look and asked, "Why, do you see a problem with that?" Raven took a shaky step back.
"Actually, no," Raven answered, turned to her bandits and said, "If you're still hungry after the pork chops, there's beef stew. Feel free to help yourselves." The bandits looked at her happily, but didn't quite cheer for her. Raven sat down next to Sirena and gestured Vernal to bring the pot of stew next to the fireplace with the pork chops.
Author's note: Yep, Ruby hit Weiss, and yelled at her team. But there is a reason. Notice how I specifically pointed out that Weiss didn't flinch when Yang yelled at her? Yeah, normally she flinches when people raise their voice, even if it's not directed at her. Ruby knew that Weiss wasn't really paying attention to her surroundings, and was sinking in despair, so she needed to do something. Basically a hard reset on the situation. She had to do the one thing noone would expect of her. That way, everyone had to analyze the situation, which allowed them to come to their senses. She didn't like having to do that, but it was necessary to keep them safe, so she did it anyway.
The different semblances of those foxes are mostly based on spells from Huntik: Secrets and Seekers. Except the first one. That's just some generic power thing.
Raven asking Sirena if she ruled her people like that as well was her attempt at exploiting what writers call "What you are in the dark." Basically, it's a literary construct often used with loner characters, to see if they still act the same if there are no witnesses or no way to connect them to their actions. For example, if a character who presents himself as heartless and unfeeling sees a puppy in a dark alleyway. They could just ignore it, and noone would know. But we all know that they keep it. That's what Raven was trying to do. Noone in Soraklia can judge Sirena, so she could treat her people any way she wanted and they'd have to follow. Raven thought that Sirena was just putting up a facade, and wanted to expose her. It backfired.