Author's note: In this chapter, you will learn how Ironwood really feels about the deal he made with Sirena.
After his first mission, Jaune wanted to relax a little bit before heading back to training, but he had something to take care of first. He met with the rest of the group, including General Ironwood and Sirena, at the training room.
"Sirena, can I ask you something about our mission today?" Jaune asked.
"Of course," Sirena answered and asked, "What is it?"
"That girl, Cucurbita, why is she so important to you?" Jaune asked.
"Because she will save Atlas," Sirena answered.
"How?" Jaune asked.
"She will restore the monarchy, and rule Atlas as its queen," Sirena answered.
"Wait, what?" Weiss asked, "Do you mean to destroy the democracy as a whole?" Almost everyone gasped, except for General Ironwood.
"It is a flawed and inefficient system," Sirena answered, "I tried reforming my kingdom's government into a democracy, and it failed. Decisions took too long, and too many died as a result. A proper monarchy, with a good ruler, is the best option to rule a kingdom."
"Don't worry, everyone," Ruby said, "The royal families forfeited their authority after the war."
"Except Atlas," General Ironwood said, "The king of Atlas simply ruled that the council would be equal in authority, and the king of Vale accepted it. The royal bloodline was thought to have died out, however. I'm surprised to hear there are still living heirs to the throne."
"One, actually," Sirena said, "I saw something on a picture Argent showed me back in Vale. A former Shade student has the same birth mark as the last king of Atlas, on his right shoulder, and after some digging, I realized they were related. Argent convinced him to move to Atlas, he had a daughter, and died four years ago."
"That's bad," Jaune said, "If Atlas returns to a monarchy, we'll have another war at our hands in no time."
"Come on, now you're exaggerating," Nora said.
"Don't worry," Weiss said, "The council just has to change the constitution, and since we already have two council seats here, we just need to convince the other three."
"I won't do it," General Ironwood said.
"What?" Qrow asked and said, "James, listen, if this goes down, then there will be war. You can't just refuse to protect the democracy. It's what's keeping the kingdom together."
"Everyone has the right to vote," General Ironwood said, "And if it comes to it, I won't vote to change the constitution. I support Sirena in this plan entirely. Now everyone, get back to your training." He walked away and Ruby felt a lot of despair from him, as if he was being controlled. She looked at Jaune to see if Sirena had used any semblances on Ironwood, but Jaune shook his head. Later that day, Ruby and her team met with the Ace-Ops to teach them proper teamwork.
~o~
Team RWBY, Penny and the Ace-Ops were sitting around a table and playing cards. Ruby was winning more than usual, due to having copied Clover's semblance, and everyone of Clover's allies benefiting from his semblance due to his brooch.
"How exactly is this supposed to make us stronger?" Elm asked.
"It improves your teamwork," Ruby answered.
"I don't think we need to work better together," Harriet said.
"Yeah, me neither," Ruby said, "I know it."
"Yeah, right," Harriet said, "I'm getting a drink." She got up and wanted to speed away.
"Can you get me something, too?" Vine asked.
"If I have to," Harriet answered and asked, "What do you want?"
"Apple juice," Vine answered, "Organic, and cold." Harriet sighed and rushed off.
"Don't you drink anything else?" Marrow asked.
"Sometimes," Vine answered. Weiss summoned an Arma Gigas and it walked away, shortly before Harriet came back with some refreshments. The Ace-Ops were a bit confused that Weiss didn't ask her teammates if they wanted anything, until the Arma Gigas came back with refreshments for the four of them.
"Thanks," Yang said and opened her soda can.
"Yeah, thanks," Blake said and began drinking her iced tea. Ruby looked up from her chocolate milk package and hummed as thanks.
"It's nothing," Weiss said.
"Okay, you definitely set this up," Harriet said, "There is no way you guys just improvised this."
"What can I say?" Weiss asked and said, "When you're a team, you know each other."
"Anyway, Harriet," Yang said and asked, "Do you still not believe luck exists?"
"Wait, what?" Clover asked angrily, "What did you think my semblance was all this time?"
"Don't know," Harriet answered nonchalantly, "Maybe something like levitation or telekinesis."
"Why would I lie about my semblance?" Clover asked.
"Well, Sirena keeps most of hers to herself to mess with people," Ruby chimed in.
"See?" Harriet asked and said, "There's your reason."
"As if," Clover said, "You're just jealous."
"Jealous?" Harriet asked and said, "I'm the strongest and fastest on this team, and you all know it."
"Second strongest," Elm said.
"Want to prove that?" Harriet asked.
"Sure," Elm answered, "See you at the training room in five minutes."
"I'll be waiting," Harriet said and sped off.
"Stay," Marrow said, stopping Harriet before she could leave the room, and Elm ran past her.
"What are you doing?" Vine asked. He wanted to use his semblance to disrupt Marrow, but Clover grabbed his wrist and gave him a stern look. When he was sure that Elm was at the training room, Marrow let Harriet go again. Clover, Marrow and Vine followed their teammates, to make sure they didn't seriously hurt each other.
"So, who won?" Penny asked. Ruby gave Blake a quick look, and Blake nodded.
"We did," Ruby answered, "It's all going as I want it. And as they want."
"They don't talk about their issues," Weiss said, "Which is holding them back."
"That's why we invited them to play cards," Blake said, "To make them fight."
"It's a simple trick," Yang said, "In a fight, you really get to know the other person."
"I see," Penny said, "So this was all part of your plan."
"Nope," Ruby said, "I just realized that they needed to talk things out halfway through the game."
"So, whose turn is it?" Blake asked.
"Ruby's," Penny answered, had a hiccup and said, "Sorry, Yang's."
"Wait a second," Ruby said, looked at Penny and asked, "Do you- do you want to talk about your hiccups?"
"Not really," Penny answered.
"Alright," Ruby said. They continued playing, and as most of their previous games, Ruby won, due to her good luck.
~o~
Late at night, Ruby astral projected into General Ironwood's bedroom and entered his dreams. She found herself in a dark valley with waist-high fog covering the ground and making it impossible to see through it. Stone pillars reached into the pitch black clouds above, and a fine rain was falling.
"Hello? Anybody here?" Ruby asked as she walked around the area. After a few minutes of walking through the endless valley, she found a man sitting on the ground, whose head barely poked out through the fog.
"Th- this is a nightmare," General Ironwood stammered, "It's not real. It can't be real. She's tricked me. I know it. She- she is messing with me."
"Hello? General?" Ruby asked. General Ironwood stood up, spun around and grabbed Ruby by the shoulders. He looked like he hadn't slept in days, his hair was messy and his beard wild and unshaven.
"Ruby, thank the Gods you're here," General Ironwood said, "You have to stop her, or she will destroy Atlas."
"What… is going on?" Ruby asked, stepping back, "Why are you like this?"
"It's her," General Ironwood answered, scratched his neck and said, "Sirena. Sh- she is controlling me. I don't know how. She is going to destroy Atlas. I know it. I messed up. I can't say it. I'm not in control. Somehow. It's like I'm cursed. M- my body, it won't listen. No, it doesn't. It's deaf. It doesn't obey me. I'm trapped. You have to help me."
"But… you said her plan was good," Ruby said and asked, "Was that a lie or something?"
"Or something," General Ironwood said, laughed and answered, "It wasn't me. It was her. Somehow, she's controlling me. I'm her puppet, Ruby. She did something to me, and now I can't do what's right. Tell her to stop." Ruby gave it some thought and remembered the deal James had made with Sirena.
"No," Ruby answered sternly, got softer and explained, "Sirena needs you. Her emotions sometimes cloud her judgment, so she needs someone she can trust to tell her when she does the wrong thing. The whole situation with the pact was planned. It was my job to make you ask me to share her pain with you, so that she could make you agree to that pact. She isn't controlling you. Her copied semblance is just making you keep your end of the deal and protect Atlas and its people to the best of your abilities."
"No, no I'm not protecting them," James said, "I- I'm not. I'm letting her destroy Atlas. Monarchy is wrong. It doesn't work. It can't work. You have to stop her."
"I tried being nice," Ruby said, "The pact doesn't care about your opinions or intentions. It only cares about what you can do, and if you can do something to protect people, you do it, even if you think it's the wrong thing to do. That's what you agreed to. All it does is make you whatever is necessary to protect people, even if you don't like it. Now grow up and accept that you were wrong." She left the dream and returned to her team's dorm room, but sat in her bed to cry a little over Ironwood's mental state before returning to her body and going back to sleep.
~o~
A few days later, Ruby, Penny, Qrow, Sirena and Clover were accompanying a material transport to the launch site of Amity Tower. Ruby was almost getting her hopes up that Clover's semblance would mean they wouldn't get stopped, since all of them now had it, and she had twice the effects, when the truck stopped. Robyn and Fiona blocked the way, and Ruby, Qrow, Sirena and Clover left the truck.
"Robyn. Well, if it isn't Mantle's home-town hero," Clover said and asked, "Is there any reason why you're blocking an official military transport?"
"Clover, I'm so glad you're here," Robyn said and asked, "Perhaps you can help me understand why this transport, that's supposed to bring materials to repair the outer wall, is on its way to the middle of nowhere. Are you lost?"
"No, we're not," Ruby answered and stepped forward, "And you're right, this doesn't look like a regular check-up either."
"Ruby, what are you-" Clover said, but was cut off by Ruby.
"Stay," Ruby said and pointed at Clover, locking him in place.
"Ruby, what are you doing?" Qrow asked in shock.
"What I think is right," Ruby answered, turned to Robyn and said, "Robyn, if you got my text, you know I'm on your side. Please, let us through."
"Your text?" Robyn asked, thought about it for a moment and asked, "The one with the androids?"
"Yes, that one," Ruby answered, "Now, please tell those two back there to back away, and let us through. We'll help you with the wall when we can."
"That saved probably over a hundred people by now, girl," Robyn said approvingly and smiled at Ruby.
"See?" Ruby asked and said, "I help people, no matter who or where. That's who I am. You can use your semblance if you don't believe me, but it's true. If someone is attacked by Grimm, I'll be there to save them."
"That's nice and all," Robyn said and asked, "But, how do you expect to help with the wall if you bring materials away from Mantle?" Ruby gave Sirena a small nod, and Sirena stepped forward. Robyn and Fiona got defensive at first, and aimed their weapons at her, but then Sirena raised her hands and the two lowered their weapons again. Ruby let Clover go again, since her shoulder was starting to hurt from pointing backwards at that angle.
"Robyn Hill, hello," Sirena said and asked, "What is your favorite fairy tale?"
"What does that have to do with anything?" Robyn asked.
"I'm just curious," Sirena answered and said, "Personally, I feel a strange connection to the legends of warriors with unparalleled powers. Warriors so powerful, even the Grimm feared them. For these warriors could strike down any Grimm with a single look... from their silver eyes."
"Yeah, right," Robyn said and asked, "So, what does that have to do with the wall again?"
"Just letting you know," Sirena answered, "Now, onto the wall."
"Yeah, how do you expect to help?" Robyn asked.
"I am already helping," Sirena answered, "I made the General agree to let us do the thing with the androids. I'll admit, I didn't know that Ruby knew of your group, but I had planned to let the information reach you within a few days after that."
"But that won't last forever," Ruby said, "And the longer we argue here, the longer we don't fix the wall, the more people will get hurt once the effect wears off in a few weeks."
"Then give me those materials," Robyn said, getting agitated.
"Or I could give you more than you know what to do with," Sirena said.
"How do you plan to do that?" Robyn asked.
"I have my means," Sirena answered, "You can use your semblance to see if I'm lying, but I'm not." She held her right hand out, and Robyn took it with hers and coated both their hands in a purple aura.
"Now, again," Robyn said and asked, "Can you really guarantee that we'll get the materials we need to repair the wall? Also, about the silver eyes, is it true?"
"Yes, both of it," Sirena answered, "All you need to do is bring Fiona to a certain location at a certain time. I have already arranged for everything else to be taken care off once that is done." The purple aura turned green and Robyn and Fiona let the transport through. For the rest of the trip, Ruby thought about Sirena's possible semblances, and came to a shocking conclusion.
~o~
Robyn watched a Sabyr explode after she sunk one of her explosive crossbow bolts into its chest and switched her weapon back into travel mode. Just as she was about to leave the area, Ruby came flying in on a pink winged unicorn.
"Hello Robyn," Ruby said, landed and jumped off her mount.
"Hey," Robyn said and asked, "What brings you here?"
"I need to tell you something," Ruby answered, "About Sirena. You better sit down for this one." Ruby bent a street lamp into a bench, and both sat down.
"So, what is it?" Robyn asked.
"It's possible she tricked your semblance," Ruby answered and explained, "When silver-eyed warriors like me use our powers, we unleash our souls as a burst of light, which can turn Grimm to stone. If someone looks into that light, our souls collide with theirs. We copy their semblance, and they copy ours."
"That sounds pretty nice," Robyn said.
"It is," Ruby said, "But I know that Sirena has a semblance that can reverse other semblances, and I'm afraid she used it to lie to you without you knowing. Carry through with the plan, but be on your guard. I'll send reinforcements as well. But my team and I will get you those materials."
"Thanks," Robyn said.
"You're welcome," Ruby said, "But now, wake up." Robyn suddenly found herself in her bed, with her scroll ringing.
"A dream?" Robyn thought, "Pretty weird one." She checked her scroll and saw that she got a message from Ruby, and opened the message.
"It's true," the message read. Robyn got another message, this time from an unknown number, which only included a location, time and date, and that it was from Sirena.
~o~
A few days later, Team RWBY, Jaune, Ren, Nora, Qrow, Maria, Penny and the Ace-Ops were on their way into the tundra to kill some Grimm, but mostly to copy some semblances from Sirena's people, as well as Maria.
"We're there," Ruby said, piloting the Manta with Penny's semblance, and landed near a pack of Megoliath, while Ren masked the whole group so they could land safely. As soon as they touched down, Maria unleashed her silver eyes, copying everyone's semblance except for Weiss, Yang and Qrow.
"It felt so good doing that again," Maria exclaimed happily. They got back into the Manta and headed off to another pack of Grimm. On the way, Harriet repeatedly tried slapping the other Ace-Ops at super speed, but they were warned by Maria's semblance and could just dodge with Ruby's.
~o~
After the group landed by a pack of Sabyr, still hidden through Ren's semblance, the Manta exploded once everyone got off. The group turned to where the attack had come from and got ready for a fight. Among the Grimm, they saw the scenery shatter like glass, and Neo, Mercury and Hazel appeared. Hazel had two prosthetic arms, which could each hold three dust vials and were painted to match his clothing, and Mercury's eyes were dark blue.
"Wait, what?" Ruby asked.
"Let's see how well you fight when your opponent has a semblance," Mercury said, and was in Yang's face in the blink of an eye. Without stopping to move, he kicked her in the chin, but only hit thin air as Blake made a clone of Yang to let her dodge. He made a backflip and charged again. Hazel made spikes pop out of his knuckles and attacked the group, while Neo used her semblance to hide and land stealth attacks. Hazel charged at Ren, trying to break his aura so his semblance would wear off and the Grimm would help them. The Ace-Ops took care of the Grimm, who were completely unaware of their presence. Ren jumped away from Hazel, but was hit by Mercury and launched aside, and his aura broke.
"Ren!" Nora called out. The Grimm noticed the group and attacked, and Nora ran over to keep Ren safe from them.
"Penny, I have an idea," Ruby said and took Penny's hand. The two of them hugged and fused into one. Their fusion had silver eyes and dark orange hair, which was a bit shorter than Penny's, with an orange bow on the head, which had a black and red rose pattern on it. She also wore black boots with red laces, a red, black and green combat skirt, and a white long-sleeved shirt under a black corset, as well as black elbow gloves. The fusion had a large light gray metal belt around her waist, with a single light green line running across its middle. Her weapon was a staff with a leaf-like blade on either end. She walked over to Ren and used her silver eyes, petrifying the Grimm in that area. A gust of wind kicked up some light snow, and all but Weiss closed their eyes against it, with Weiss forcing her eyes to stay open. The fusion then created a circle of light green energy, which seemed to waft away from the ground around her, and Ren's aura began regenerating faster.
"There you go," the fusion said, "By the way, call me Firefly." Firefly jumped over to Mercury, and he began attacking her with a series of kicks that got faster and more powerful the more he kept moving. Mercury jumped back and switched to ranged combat, shooting homing bullets at Firefly. Using her staff, Firefly blocked most of the bullets, and danced around the rest. After a couple dozen shots, Mercury had to reload, giving Firefly time to unfold her belt. Everyone watched in awe as the metal belt unfolded to reveal two more arms, which ended in medium-sized black scimitars with a light green edge.
"Don't worry, I got this," Weiss said and created a healing circle around Ren to allow Firefly to use her semblance to protect herself. She created another safe zone around herself, and Mercury began shooting homing bullets at her. As soon as they entered the semblance's area of effect, Firefly knew where they were going and blocked most bullets, dancing around the rest. Hazel punched Jaune with his right fist. Jaune blocked the hit with his shield, using Sirena's semblance to reflect the damage onto Hazel. Hazel hit Jaune's shield with his left fist, creating an opening to send Jaune flying backward with an electric uppercut. Qrow rushed in to take down Hazel, but a pack of Sabyr attacked the group, joining the Grimm that were already present. Mercury hit Firefly with two swift kicks to the head and kicked her in the chest, sending her flying backward and breaking her aura. Ruby and Penny split up again, and Vine jumped over to Ren, Nora and Weiss. He grabbed both Penny and Ruby with his semblance and pulled them towards himself so their auras would regenerate faster. Ruby's friends gathered around her to keep her safe from Hazel, Mercury, Neo and the Grimm. Suddenly, Mercury passed out and a red portal opened next to Ruby. Sirena stepped out of the portal, pulled out the angel's tear she had tossed towards Ruby in Argus and unleashed her silver eyes, using her trident to reflect the sunlight and trigger Nora's sun sneeze reflex. Weiss, Yang and Qrow closed their eyes, and everyone but those four, and Mercury, looked into the light. Four guards, who wore padded armor that looked like it was made from rags, and Oda followed Sirena out of the portal.
"Hazel Rainart," Sirena said, "I give you and your allies this one chance to retreat peacefully. It would be in your best interests to take it, otherwise my men and I will attack." Hazel picked up Mercury, and he and Neo walked away into the tundra. Sirena helped Ruby back up and used Jaune's semblance to recharge her aura.
"Hello Sirena," Ruby said and asked, "Are those the people you mentioned?"
"Yes, they are," Sirena answered, turned to her people and said, "Everyone, this is Ruby Rose. She will be in charge until I have fully recovered. Until then, Weiss, Yang, Nora and Qrow will keep me company."
"Wait, what?" Ruby asked, "What do you mean I'm in charge?"
"I need to recover my strength," Sirena answered, "But I know that you will be a good leader for my people. And if you ever need help, we can always communicate telepathically."
"Well, alright," Ruby said. Weiss created an ice shelter for herself, Sirena, Yang, Nora and Qrow, while the rest of the group went to find and kill some Grimm.
~o~
After walking a little bit, and everyone copying Ruby's semblance, Ruby had everyone explain their semblances to the others, and Ruby and her friends learned that Sirena's men had Flight, Homing, Tentacles, Quick Fight and Summoning, which called all nearby animals to attack the user's enemy, but at the risk of the animals attacking others afterwards, as the user had no actual control over the animals.
"I have been wondering since we got here," Bermet said and asked, "What is this?" He picked up a handful of snow and looked at the white fluffy flakes.
"It's snow," Ruby answered.
"Bekke, look," Bermet said, "It turns into water."
"That's not all snow is good for," Harriet said and threw a snowball at Bermet. The guards all gave Harriet angry looks, and Ruby stepped between them.
"Calm down, it's fine," Ruby said, "She didn't mean to hurt you or anything."
"But she threw a projectile at me," Bermet said, "And… I kind of want to hurt her now. I'm pretty confused."
"Just throw one back at her," Ruby said, "Here, that's how it's done." She showed the guards how to make snowballs. Bermet made one, coated it in light purple energy and threw it at Harriet, who dodged the ball.
"Missed me," Harriet said, but was then hit in the back of the head.
"I never miss," Bermet said.
"I can't wait to use that semblance myself," Elm said, "It looks super useful when combined with a rocket launcher."
"It is," Bermet said, "Back home, I am often assigned to operate heavy stationary artillery, because my projectiles are inescapable."
"Try me," Harriet said and ran off at super speed. Bermet threw a snowball in the air, and it homed in on Harriet. Harriet came back a few seconds later, looking somewhat disappointed and having snow all over her face.
~o~
Qrow, Yang and Nora were playing a virtual card game on their scrolls while Sirena recovered and Weiss went into her soul core. After about an hour, they both woke up again. Before anyone could react, Sirena pulled Weiss into a hug with her left arm and opened a portal with an ice blade from her right sleeve. She initiated the fusion with Weiss and jumped through the portal, which closed behind her. Weiss knew what she had to do. Ruby had explained it in detail several times, just to be sure. On the other side of the portal, Aurora found herself on a crossing with Cucurbita and the Happy Huntresses, and dozens of rats fighting Grimm. Aurora unleashed her silver eyes, turning the Grimm to stone and copying everyone's semblance. Weiss made Aurora share Fiona's semblance with her, and Sirena made Aurora share the Friendshield semblance of one of the rats with Weiss, and May's Invisibility Field with herself.
~o~
After copying the last of the guards' semblances, the group went looking for a warm place to stay until they could get back to Atlas. Just as they were about to get going after turning the last pack of Beowolves to stone, Blake heard large leathery wings come towards them and turned her head to see what it was. Using her maiden powers, she created a gust of wind to kick up some snow so the Ace-Ops wouldn't see Yang and Qrow in their dragon and bird forms, respectively. They landed, Nora got off of Yang's back, and Yang and Qrow transformed back, and walked over to the rest of the group once the snow had settled again.
"Yang, Nora, Qrow," Ruby said and asked, "Where are Weiss and Sirena?" A dark red portal opened next to Ruby, and Sirena and Weiss stepped out, with Weiss rubbing her eyes and massaging the sides of her head.
"My apologies," Sirena said, "We had something to take care of. Anyway, I suppose it is time for my guards to return home." She created a portal for her men and they left without any complaints.
"Weiss, what's wrong?" Ruby asked.
"We fused, and our fusion used her silver eyes," Weiss answered and asked, "Does it hurt you guys this much whenever you do that?"
"Not really," Ruby answered, and looked at Maria.
"Don't look at me," Maria said, "If I had known half of the stuff I learned since I met you, I would've saved Remnant back in my day."
"So, we got nothing?" Jaune asked.
"I might have an explanation," Sirena answered and explained, "During my time at Beacon, Argent told me of an old belief that his father knew of. Essentially, it builds on the story of the two gods, and says that every person's soul is comprised of the four gifts used to create mankind. Creation, destruction, knowledge and choice. Each soul is made up of different amounts of each gift, with the one most present being considered the gift that person is most attuned to."
"And now again, but understandable," Harriet said.
"Different people have a strong connection to different gifts," Sirena answered, "For example, silver-eyed warriors have a strong connection to the gift of creation, which is why we can use these powers without ill effects. Through my observations, I have come to the conclusion that Weiss is most attuned to the gift of knowledge, Blake is most in touch with choice, and Yang, ironically, is most connected with the gift of destruction. But I suppose we should head back now. Your auras are dropping dangerously low. I will get you a transport, Weiss can keep you safe in the meantime." Using Harriet's semblance, Sirena ran back to Atlas, and Weiss created both a Safezone and Healing Circle to boost everyone's aura regeneration, and to keep them warm until they were picked up.
Author's note: Mercury's semblance makes him stronger and faster the more he keeps moving.
Homing works based on sight, without range restrictions. Basically, as long as there is a clear line between the projectile and the intended target, the projectile will hit. It also doesn't slow down. Running uphill won't do much, aside from making the projectile pick up speed on the way back down. It's based on the spell Targetfind from Huntik: Secrets and Seekers, and like the spell, can be tricked with illusions. Neo and May could easily evade projectiles that way, for example.
Summoning is based on the Kanohi Zatth from Bionicle, and works basically the same. Any nearby animal is called to attack the user's current enemy, but can act independently afterwards.
Flight is basically the Kanohi Kadin from Bionicle. The user can fly at will, at high speeds, even from a standing start. It's also prone to activate on its own when the user is in free fall for too long, safely stopping them before they hit the ground.
And yes, if Maria had known about copying semblances in her days, we'd have a lot more silver-eyed warriors now.