Author's note: This chapter, a lot is going to happen.
On the way back to Atlas, Ruby asked Weiss and Jaune to fuse so she could copy their fusion's semblance, and Maria asked to do it as well. Weiss was very happy to oblige, and had their fusion share both Petal Burst and Preflexes with herself. Sirena also insisted on copying Knightshade's Doppelganger semblance, though Blake and Jaune didn't want to fuse too often, leaving Ruby and Maria without that semblance. Back in Atlas, the group met with General Ironwood in his office.
"And, everything taken care of?" General Ironwood asked.
"Yes, sir," Clover answered, "It was definitely an interesting experience for all."
"Anyway, I have a way to keep the relic safe," Weiss said, "More than just letting Oscar carry it around, that is."
"And how?" General Ironwood asked.
"I fused with Sirena, and our fusion copied Fiona's semblance," Weiss answered, "I then had our fusion share that semblance with me, allowing me to absorb matter. I can absorb the relic, and then Salem won't be able to get it without my help."
"I see," General Ironwood said and looked at Oscar. He unhooked the relic from his belt and handed it to Weiss.
"Here you go," Oscar said.
"Thanks," Weiss said, absorbed the relic and said, "Also, there is something else I want to try."
"And what?" General Ironwood asked.
"A fusion," Weiss answered, "But with four people."
"I must advise against that," Sirena said, "My people's research suggests that, as more people join in a fusion, the difficulty of controlling it increases at a logarithmic rate."
"What?" Ruby asked, and she, as well as many others, tilted their heads in confusion.
"It's like with sound," Weiss answered, "Twenty decibels is ten times as powerful as ten, and thirty is ten times as powerful as twenty. So, a fusion with three people is ten times as difficult to control as a fusion with two people, and a fusion with four people is ten times more difficult to control than that."
"That sounds made up," Ruby said.
"Why would you even want to try that?" Blake asked.
"Because of something Sirena said," Weiss answered, "If the four of us are really most in tune with the four gifts to gods used to create mankind, maybe a fusion of all four of us could create the cargo ships Ruby wanted Ironwood to send to Sirena's people as a sign of his good will."
"It is too risky," Sirena said, "All sorts of things could happen to you."
"I say go for it," General Ironwood said, "And, Sirena, I'd like to talk to you in private as well."
"Of course," Sirena said, "As for your plan, Weiss, I suppose it can't hurt." Everyone but Ruby and Maria was confused by Sirena's sudden support of this idea, but left the office so the two of them could talk in private. Blake tried listening in on their conversation, but General Ironwood asked Sirena to make a high-pitched sound like a dog whistle, and she quickly left.
~o~
Team RWBY, Jaune, Ren, Nora, Penny and Oscar met in an empty conference room to discuss their plans going forward. Ruby noticed that her friends were a bit uncomfortable leaving Qrow out like that, but she couldn't tell them why she didn't want him to know anything.
"So, Weiss," Ruby said and asked, "Are you ready?"
"No," Weiss answered, "But, since I have to, I guess I'll get ready."
"Why are we even doing this?" Penny asked, "Didn't Sirena agree to help Robyn?"
"That was probably a lie," Ruby answered, "Sirena has a semblance that can reverse semblances, so she could make Robyn's semblance say she was telling the truth, when in actuality, she was lying."
"If you want, I could see if that's true," Jaune said, "I just need to know where and when it happened." Suddenly, a realization hit Ruby like a truck.
"It's fine, I guess I made a mistake," Ruby said.
"What do you mean?" Jaune asked.
"It's the way Sirena worded this," Ruby answered, "She told Robyn that she'd get the materials, not from whom. Sirena never planned to give Robyn the materials herself, she always wanted us to do it."
"Alright, I guess we should start training, then," Weiss said and asked, "Anything I need to know before fusing with a shark?"
"You'll probably have to deal with its instincts," Ruby answered.
"Yeah, I figured as much," Weiss said.
"Don't worry, it's pretty easy," Blake said, "Instinctive thinking is much simpler than complex thought, but I'm sure you'll figure it out." They talked a bit more, then went on to prepare for the next step in their plan.
~o~
The Ace-Ops and Winter were walking through Atlas Academy, following some rough instructions Ruby had given them and just spending time together. As they were chatting, Marrow's scroll rang and he picked up.
"Hello?" Marrow asked.
"Hello," June said.
"June?" Marrow asked, "What do you want? How did you even get my number?"
"I just wanted to talk," June answered, "And I asked General Ironwood for your number."
"Sorry, but I'm a bit busy right now," Marrow said.
"Come on, I know this really good restaurant down in Mantle," June said, "A friend of mine runs the place, and I can get us reservations in no time." Marrow looked around, and the others nodded.
"How about reservations for seven people?" Marrow asked.
"Done," June answered and asked, "Tonight at nine?" Marrow looked around again, and the others mimed different times, using hand signals to communicate.
"More like seven thirty," Marrow answered once they agreed on a time.
"Alright, done," June said, "I'll send you the address later." She and Marrow both hung up, and Marrow noticed how Harriet was looking at him.
"So, a friend?" Harriet asked, "Or… maybe more?"
"No, we're just acquaintances," Marrow answered, "She fixed my weapon a couple times after combat training with Sirena, and that's it."
"Why didn't you go to Dr. Acacia for that?" Clover asked.
"June is Dr. Acacia," Marrow answered.
"You call her by her first name?" Harriet asked, "Are you sure there is nothing between the two of you?" Marrow groaned and kept walking. A little later, his scroll rang again when June sent him the address, and they all got ready for their evening out.
~o~
In the evening, the Ace-Ops used their copied Flight semblances to get down to Mantle in style, while Winter used a Manticore summon to bring her. They had left their weapons in Atlas, but still wore their official military outfits. One by one, they landed in front of the restaurant, Bearly Edible, which had a much better reputation than its name would imply. The restaurant had a rustic style, looking like a large log cabin or long house.
"There you are," June said as the Ace-Ops walked up to the restaurant, "Let's get inside, our tables are waiting." She wore a more elegant white dress, making the Ace-Ops look somewhat out of place.
"Tables?" Marrow asked, "Not one?"
"No, sorry," June answered sadly, "They only have tables for up to five people, so the two of us will have to sit a bit away." Harriet snickered a little, and they all entered the restaurant. Marrow and June sat at a table of their own, while the others sat at the table next to them. The inside was unusually warm and felt like coming home after a long day in the cold, and a nice scent filled the air. The interior design matched the outer appearance, and there were candles instead of lamps.
"So, what do you think I should get?" Marrow asked, looking over the menu.
"Try the fungal dishes," June answered, "They're all excellent." Marrow looked around and noticed that all the waiters were bear faunus, and suddenly the name made a lot more sense to him.
"Alright," Marrow said, looked at the menu and said, "I guess I'll take the tundra bear steak with mushroom sauce."
"I love that," June said, "By the way, if you want, I can have the chef use special ingredients that aren't usually served to most customers."
"Depends," Marrow said and asked, "What kind of ingredients?"
"A mushroom that will let your tail naturally generate dust," Jaune answered.
"Wait, what?" Marrow asked, "And why would you go through all that trouble for me?"
"I like you," June said and answered, "There is a mushroom that I've eaten a lot of myself, which lets my claws naturally generate incendiary-dust. It's quite the advantage."
"I see," Marrow said, "Sure, let's give it a try." After a few minutes, a waiter came and took everyone's orders, and they quickly got their food. When Marrow tried the steak, it was simply divine and melted on his tongue. The sauce complemented it perfectly, and the mushrooms tasted like heaven.
~o~
The day after they copied the semblances of Sirena's people, Team RWBY, Jaune, Ren and Nora were on a boat Whitley had rented for them. It was equipped with under water speakers, and Ruby had prepared a playlist Blake would start if Weiss lost control of her mermaid form. Sirena had used her copied Mentor semblance to teach Jaune, Ren and Nora how to breathe under water, and how to move like she does.
"Any questions before we begin?" Ruby asked.
"Yes, one," Yang answered and asked, "Why are most of the songs on this playlist by Acres of Blood?"
"Wait, really?" Weiss asked, looked at Ruby and said, "I thought that was to calm me back down."
"It's to calm the shark down," Ruby answered, "And sharks like metal. It reminds them of their struggling prey. I used Penny's semblance to assemble a couple songs that have the right frequencies to calm sharks."
"Hold up," Yang said and asked, "Are you saying that sharks like metal because it sounds like dying fish? That's the most metal thing I've ever heard."
"I still don't like metal," Weiss said, "It's too aggressive for my taste."
"Many metal bands actually aren't as aggressive as they sound," Blake said, "They just focus on topics other music genres can't easily discuss properly, such as social injustices." Everyone looked at Blake, who had poked her head out of the captain's cabin. She went back to keeping the boat in position.
"So, if there are no more questions," Ruby said, "Let's get into the water." She jumped overboard and used Aura Amp to fuse with the shark's soul. Yang, Jaune, Nora and Ren jumped into the water, with the icy waves embracing their skin and immediately beginning to chip away at their aura. Weiss created a large Safezone around the ship so that the others could let their aura recharge as necessary, then jumped into the water herself. Under water, Yang immediately activated her semblance, absorbing kinetic energy from the water currents and releasing it again, giving off heat. She saw Ruby's mermaid form dive into the ocean, and Jaune, Ren and Nora were clearly very intimidated by it.
"Is that… Ruby?" Jaune asked.
"I… am… Ryn," Ryn answered. She swam around a bit so her friends could get a good look at her.
"It's like… every part of her body was made to kill," Nora said.
"Well, she is part Ruby," Yang said.
"I'm glad we're all accepting the fact that we can talk under water," Ren said. A few seconds later, another mermaid fell into the ocean. She was four meters long, had dark red skin and white to ash gray hair that flowed in the water, almost piercingly clear ice blue eyes with slit pupils, a dorsal fin slightly below her shoulders and another one by her waist, thicker bone spikes along her spine than Ryn, spikes on her forearms, and a roughly fifty centimeter long sword with serrated edges protruding from her forehead.
"Wait… Weiss?" Yang asked.
"D- Do- Donna," Donna said hesitantly, as if she was just learning to speak. She suddenly whirled around and swam away at breakneck sped.
"Ryn follow, friends stay," Ryn said and followed Donna, and within three seconds, Ryn's aura disappeared from Yang's augmented vision.
~o~
Donna rushed through the Atlesian waters, not sure what to do, or think of the beings she just saw. A part of her wanted to eat the group she had just fled from, but another part was against it for some reason.
"Food," her shark instincts told her, "Food good."
"No, friends, family," Weiss countered, "Not food."
"Family bad. Take my food," her shark instincts said, "Friends weak, hold back." As she swam through the water, she sensed another being come up to her, thanks to her electroreception. Before she could react, she felt razor-sharp teeth press against her back and underside. She struggled to get free and turned her head, only to see the creature that had attacked the Atlesian Paladin a few weeks prior. She tried to hit the sea dragon with her sword. It blocked the blow with its thagomizer. The serrated edge cut through the scales, and the sea dragon cried in pain. Donna broke free and swam away, but was overcome with bloodlust when she smelled the creature's highly acidic blood. She charged directly at the sea dragon. The sea dragon swam towards her. It rolled forward and faked an attack with its thagomizer. Driven by instinct, Donna dodged the attack. The sea dragon turned its neck, bringing its head in front of Donna's, and spat its acid at Donna. The acid was blocked by a glyph, and launched back at the sea dragon.
"Friends strong," Weiss said, "Many friends good." The sea dragon attacked again, trying to hit Donna with its thagomizer, but Donna blocked the attack and struck with her sword. She cut through the sea dragon's scales and cut off its head.
~o~
When Ryn finally caught up to her friend, the water smelled oddly alcoholic, with a bit of bile mixed in. Like Qrow after a night out alone. Donna looked somewhat dazed, but cleared her head when she saw Ryn.
"Donna, friend?" Ryn asked.
"Donna friend," Donna answered and asked, "Your name?"
"Ryn," Ryn answered and said, "Mission."
"Ryn, friend?" Donna asked.
"Ryn friend," Ryn answered, suddenly looked around and said, "Friends, danger. Grimm. Fast." Both mermaids swam back to the boat as fast as they could, and spotted the boat rather quickly. Ryn dug her claws and teeth into a Sea Feilong that was about to bite Yang. Donna closed her eyes and relied on her electroreception to navigate, impaling one Razorfin after the other on her sword. Yang used her maiden powers to blast the Grimm with fire, while Jaune, Ren and Nora fought in close range. A Sea Feilong was about to tackle Jaune, but Donna stabbed it with her sword and cut its head off.
"Jaune friend. Donna protect friend," Donna said. Blake released some barrels with bio-degradable dye in them, which she had used Deathzone on in order to make them harm Grimm on contact. A purple taint filled the ocean, and any Grimm that came into contact with it died shortly after.
"Donna, mission, now," Ryn said after the Grimm were killed.
"Yes," Donna said, swam to one of the ship wrecks and put her left hand on it. A yellow energy wave rolled over it, and the ship with almost all its contents dissolved into yellow mist, before disappearing into a hole in Donna's left hand.
"Where crew?" Ryn asked, looking at Donna.
"No crew," Donna answered, "Not ship, not absorbed."
"Ryn… think," Ryn said, thought about it a bit, then said, "Sophie save people. Sirena plan."
"Sirena, plan?" Donna asked.
"Save Mantle," Ryn answered, "Sirena break Amity, make Grimm go Atlas. General send ship. Ship sink. Sophie save crew. Sirena lie, not lie. Robyn trust Sirena. We save Mantle. We look good. People follow us. Not follow Salem."
"Sirena plan, all this?" Donna asked.
"Yes," Ryn answered and said, "Words later. Now mission." The duo swam around, with Donna absorbing ships and Ryn keeping her safe from the Grimm, and returned to the boat once Donna couldn't absorb any more stuff.
~o~
Sirena entered a warehouse the Happy Huntresses were using as their base of operations, and two of them pointed their weapons at her and gave her sour looks.
"So that must be the world-famous Atlesian Hospitality, cold and hostile," Sirena said.
"You've got a lot of nerve showing your face here," Robyn said and asked, "Where are the materials you wanted to deliver?"
"Please, can we talk like two reasonable adults?" Sirena asked. Robyn sighed and gestured her guards to leave them alone.
"You know what? Forget the materials," Robyn said, "That girl with the red hood visited me in my dreams, I can't believe I just said that, and told me that you somehow have multiple semblances. And one of them lets you mess with other people's semblances. She and her team will help Mantle now, so you can forget about our deal."
"You met with my acquaintance, correct?" Sirena asked and said, "Then you should receive the materials by sunset."
"About your acquaintance," Robyn said and asked, "How come I've never heard of her? I mean, she can make portals wherever, and turn Grimm to stone no problem. You'd think someone like that would be more famous."
"It's… difficult to explain," Sirena answered.
"Don't worry, I'll know if you're telling the truth," Robyn said, "That is, unless you mess with my semblance."
"About that," Sirena said, "If I messed with your semblance, you'd know it."
"Alright," Robyn said and asked, "So, why have I never heard of that acquaintance of yours? And why did she look like some hybrid between you and that Schnee girl?"
"Because, honestly, she is," Sirena answered, "Aurora is a fusion of Weiss and I."
"Fusion?" Robyn asked.
"Two people merging into one," Sirena answered, "In an ideal case, they become one new person, with a single mind and soul that is a perfect unity of the people involved in it, and greater than the sum of its parts."
"I don't need my semblance to know that you're lying," Robyn said, "Two people merging into one? That's complete nonsense. No way that's a thing."
"It's true," Sirena said, "I have a couple semblances, which together allow me to make any fusion I am a part of share any of her abilities with one other person. A while ago I also shared those two semblances with Weiss, so now she can do the same. She made Aurora share Fiona's semblance with her, and right now, she is collecting large quantities of materials for you."
"Can you prove this whole fusion thing?" Robyn asked and said, "Because if not, you can just leave and we'll find someone who really wants to help Mantle."
"We could fuse," Sirena said, "That way, you can see exactly what I am talking about, and that it is real." She held her right hand towards Robyn, who hesitantly took it. Sirena initiated the fusion, and Robyn was pulled in before she even knew what was happening.
~o~
Team RWBY, Jaune, Ren and Nora met with Robyn in the tundra a bit outside of Mantle, but still close enough to see the city. Weiss was holding her left hand, which was cramping due to absorbing too much matter at once.
"So, why did we meet all the way out here?" Robyn asked.
"Because I don't think these fit inside your hideout," Ruby answered and gave Weiss a small nod. Weiss put her left hand in the air, and yellow dust came flying out, slowly forming a giant battleship.
"What the-" Robyn said and asked, "What is that?"
"An Atlesian command ship," Ruby answered, "Fully equipped with five rows of one hundred heavy cannons on each side, as well as a thousand machine guns. Grimm sensors with two kilometer range, perimeter defense system, and torpedo slots included. Unless you're a lighthouse, this thing just turns your lights out. We didn't know how much materials you needed, so we just picked up three of those."
"I- thanks," Robyn said, "One would've been more than enough. But, thanks."
"You're welcome," Ruby said, "I'm just sorry it took me so long to figure out Sirena's plan."
"What do you mean?" Jaune asked. Weiss continued letting the other two warships out of her personalized pocket dimension.
"Sirena planned for us to get these materials all along," Ruby answered, "At first I thought she wanted to help Mantle, then I thought we had to do this ourselves. But now I realize that she had planned this the whole time. She sabotaged Amity to make Ironwood send ships to Vale, made her people drive Grimm into Atlesian waters to sink the ships, had Sophie's swarm evacuate the crew members, and then made sure we'd be able to get all these materials."
"Are you saying she played us like a fiddle?" Robyn asked.
"How did she even know it'd work?" Jaune asked.
"I saw something weird the other day," Blake said, "She was about to get angry, but something happened that calmed her down instantly. Or rather, she seemed to calm down. She was still just as angry, but she acted much calmer."
"I'll go spend some time with her, then," Jaune said, "If this is another one of her semblances, I'll keep an eye on when she uses it, and what happens."
"One thing still surprises me, though," Nora said and asked, "Why did you trust us enough to come here without backup?"
"Sirena and I fused," Robyn answered, "I still can't believe it, but it's true. And she shared our fusion's semblance, Traitor's Bane, with me. It warns me when someone plans to betray me, and lets me either spy on them, or harm them from afar. If anyone tries to stab me in the back, all I have to do is think about choking them, and they'll regret their mistake."
"I can't believe Sirena tricked us like that," Yang said angrily and asked, "How are you okay with that, Ruby?" Ruby turned sorrowful and a bit somber.
"She wants to help Atlas," Ruby answered, "It's just that her pain over losing so many of her people makes it hard to actually do something for this kingdom. It represents a lot of pain for her, and being here isn't exactly good for her. So, she sets things in motion, to give herself a sense of being in control, which makes her feel superior to Atlas, and eases the pain a little." The group fell silent, after the initial surprise that Ruby could read Sirena so well had faded, and Weiss produced a few more crates of dust before they headed back to Atlas.
~o~
Weiss walked through Atlas, looking for a girl named Zohar. General Ironwood had given her the girl's name and address, or at least the last one he knew. She knocked on the door of the large house and waited for someone to open. After a few seconds, a deer faunus butler opened.
"Hello," Weiss said and asked, "Is Zohar Birch here?"
"Yes, she is," the butler answered and asked, "Do you know her?"
"I know of her, yes," Weiss answered.
"How so?" The butler asked.
"Through an old classmate of hers," Weiss answered, "Ilia Amitola." Hearing the name, Zohar came rushing towards the door. She had black hair and orange eyes, and wore light blue combat boots with white soles, white camouflage pants with a matching hooded pullover, and an assault rifle on her back.
"You know Ilia?" Zohar asked excitedly, paused and asked, "But… how? She'd hate you. What do you want?" When she spoke, Weiss saw that Zohar had two fake teeth, which were made from solid gold.
"Can I come in?" Weiss asked.
"Sure," Zohar answered, and let Weiss inside. They sat down on a large white leather couch in the living room, and Zohar had her butler bring them something to drink.
"So, you're one of Ilia's old classmates?" Weiss asked, "Want to tell me what happened?"
"She was always a bit… different," Zohar answered, "I knew that she was from Mantle, so the high society probably freaked her out at first. None of us minded it very much. We… were friends, really. We trusted each other with everything. Or so I thought. I always had a sense when I overstepped someone's boundaries, so I quickly stopped making jokes about faunus when she was around. We were really close. Then, the incident happened. A mine collapsed, countless faunus died, and all of a sudden, as we're watching the news, she turns blue. Noone knew what was happening, we panicked, and then she just started to attack us. I just wanted to know why she did this. But, she was gone. The next time I saw her, it was on a wanted poster after she had been seen attacking various facilities around town."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Weiss said, "But, she told me to find you, and to tell you something."
"What is it?" Zohar asked.
"She said she was sorry," Weiss answered, "I haven't been able to get in contact with her since, so that's all I can tell you. Sorry."
"No, it's fine," Zohar said, "I know what she meant. At least, I'm sure I do. Anyway, come here, I want to show you something." She got up and gestured Weiss to follow her, and went into another room. When Weiss looked around in the room, she saw countless origami pieces, including Boarbatusk, Beowolves, and all kinds of other things. There was also a box mounted to a wall, which was covered by a red cloth.
"What's behind that cloth?" Weiss asked.
"It's a present from Ilia," Zohar answered and said, "After my father died, I was devastated. I got angry at the world, and at the other huntsmen for not keeping him safe. I was about to go down a very dark path, one from which there is no return. Ilia made this for me, and every time I look at it, I remember what it feels like to love someone." She opened the silken curtain, and Weiss saw a flat origami chameleon behind a glass window. Weiss felt a calm and gentle warmth wash over her, and she felt like she could just stay and look at the figure forever. It was pure bliss. After a minute, the curtain closed again, and Weiss mostly felt like herself again.
"That was… beautiful," Weiss said.
"I know," Zohar said, "I had to install a mechanism to close the curtain again, because any human looking at the chameleon falls into this kind of soothing trance. I just don't know why."
"It could be her semblance," Weiss said.
"Her semblance?" Zohar asked.
"Yes," Weiss answered, "She can use it on an object, and choose a species, and when she does it, every member of that species feels an emotion of her choice whenever they look at the object. It also works over longer ranges, and with other emotions, but if I had to guess, I'd say that this was when she unlocked her semblance."
"That doesn't sound a lot like her," Zohar said, "Then again, a lot of the things she did that day didn't seem like something she'd do. She was never very open about her feelings, for example."
"But just because her skin changes color based on her feelings," Weiss said, "Red is anger, green is happiness."
"And blue… is sorrow," Zohar said.
"But she's changed a lot," Weiss said, "She is more open about her emotions now, and actively works to help people."
"Really?" Zohar asked.
"Yes," Weiss answered, "Last time I talked to her, she was in Mistral and doing something big. I didn't get a lot of details, but if you want, I can install a program on your scroll that'll let you two communicate."
"Thank you," Zohar said and pulled out her scroll and gave it to Weiss. Weiss transferred the program Ilia had sent her onto it, and gave Zohar Ilia's number.
"Here you go," Weiss said, handed the scroll back and said, "But I have to go now, I've got important huntress business to take care of."
"Alright, bye," Zohar said, "And thanks again."
"You're welcome," Weiss said and left the house again. She walked around a corner and turned into a snow owl. It took her a few attempts, but she eventually got the hang of it, and after getting used to the new body and the better vision, she took off and flew towards Atlas Academy to meet up with her friends.
Author's note: Remember how Ilia asked Weiss to check in on one of her old friends? I almost didn't, which is why this happens so late.
But I did remember that Weiss copied Qrow's ability to turn into a bird. It's just not the same bird.
Sirena doesn't exactly like Ruby revealing her complicated emotions to people like that, but since it's mostly people she trusts, it's fine. Also, Traitor's Bane only works on people who have worked to earn the user's trust, with the intention of doing so, and have succeeded in doing so. So, since Ironwood doesn't work to earn people's trust, but rather expects it as a perk of his rank, it doesn't work on him.
Am I doing this romance sub-plot between Marrow and June right? I have the love interest fall for the guy out of nowhere, Ruby instructing the Ace-Ops to socialize more means Marrow has a reason to talk to her, his husky instincts also make him more sociable, and I even added a contrived reason to separate the two from the rest of the group. I feel like I'm doing a good job at this.