Author's note: This chapter starts with a portion that takes place halfway through. I originally wrote the first paragraph at the end of the previous chapter, realized it was too long, and decided to move it to this chapter.
Late at night, Ruby was on guard duty again, this time with Sky, Professor Port and Doctor Oobleck as support. The sprouts from Power Root meant that their attacks would deal increased damage, and Sky's Tower Defense covered a lot of ground as well, so Ruby decided to sit down on a bench and reach out to people's sorrow again.
"Impressive, your semblance evolved," Bartholomew said, eyeing one of the sets of towers Sky had summoned.
"Thank you, Doctor," Sky said. As Ruby reached out, she felt a lot of people's pain, grief, guilt and regret, even from all the way in Vacuo. However, one spot caught her attention more than any other. She focused on the blazing spark of hopelessness, and her soul left her body again. With a wisp-like sound, she found herself in a sleeping room full of faunus girls, no older than herself, with one girl in particular practically flowing red with sorrow.
"Well then, let's go," Ruby said to herself and touched the girl's head, entering her dreams. On the way there, she brushed against the girl's upper consciousness to learn her name.
"Who's there?" Sherry asked when Ruby appeared in front of her. The area resembled a beautiful coral reef, except that it lacked the usual sense of buoyancy, and Ruby could breathe just fine.
"I'm a huntress, my name is Ruby Rose," Ruby answered and asked, "What's troubling you?"
"Hi Ruby, I'm Sherry," Sherry said and took a close look at Ruby, "Wait, you have silver eyes. Just like Professor Blue."
"I do, yes," Ruby said, "But I'm not here on her behalf, if that is what you are concerned about."
"Then why did you come here?" Sherry asked.
"I sensed that you needed help, and decided to help," Ruby answered.
"Well, alright then," Sherry said and asked, "How do you imagine you can help me, though?"
"That depends on the problem," Ruby answered.
"It's my semblance," Sherry explained, "I can make cups. Well, one at a time. I can also change its shape, but there's a limit to what exactly qualifies as a cup, so I'm still limited in my options."
"Did you ask Sirena for help already?" Ruby asked.
"Not exactly, no," Sherry answered, "I mean, I kind of did, but she just asked a bunch of questions about cups, and how their shape affects things poured into them, and asked me to think about that some more."
"Did you?" Ruby asked.
"Kind of," Sherry answered, "But I don't see the point in it. It's just cups, after all. They're nothing special."
"They kind of are, though," Ruby said, "Throughout history, there have been legends about cups, chalices, goblets and so on, which were said to grant those that drank from them remarkable powers."
"Yes, but those aren't real," Sherry said and turned away.
"That may be true," Ruby said and asked, "But didn't you say you can make any kind of cup?" Sherry's eyes grew wide with realization, but before she could turn back to thank Ruby, she was gone, having returned to her body without a strong enough source of grief holding her in place.
~o~
Glynda quickly closed the file Raspberry had made on her scroll with Puppeteer, and put her scroll away again. Her face was bright red, and for a moment, she considered asking Yatsuhashi to have her forget what she saw, but remembered that he didn't like using his semblance, and resigned herself to the consequences of her actions.
"Well, that is certainly… something," Glynda said, "I mean, a semblance like this would certainly be useful, if only to… restrain Grimm, but I can see why she didn't want to fuse with me now. You go on ahead, I will… need a moment."
"Alright," Raspberry said and left the small room, and headed back to the main room, where the others were waiting.
"How's she doing?" Qrow asked when the fusion returned alone.
"She's pretty embarrassed," Raspberry answered, "It's probably best not to ask her about it, and wait until she brings it up herself. If she does it at all, that is."
"Do you think I should help?" Yatsuhashi asked and said, "If she wants me to erase her memory, I don't mind."
"Maybe," Raspberry answered, "But I'd still wait until she asks you. Otherwise, it could make things weird if you bring it up."
"Got it," Yatsuhashi said.
"So, what's the plan for the rest of the day?" Cardin asked, and everyone turned to Raspberry. The fusion felt a bit weird under everyone's gazes, though that was mostly Nora's reaction.
"Welcome to my world," Ruby thought.
"I heard something from the police," Jaune said, "Apparently, there is something going on near a shop. I figured the two of us could go on a stakeout, and see what's happening."
"Stakes?" Raspberry thought, "Absolutely not happening."
"You and me?" Cardin asked, "Why?"
"Come on, think of something," Ruby thought.
"Why me?" Nora thought, "This is your world."
"You know, to get along more," Jaune answered, "I mean, we had our differences, so I figured it's time to get past those."
"I think I got it," Ruby thought.
"No, sorry, won't happen," Raspberry said, drawing everyone's attention to herself.
"Why not?" Jaune asked, "Do you need Cardin's or my help with something?"
"Something along those lines, yes," Raspberry answered, "I still need to find out what my semblance is, and since I've decided to take no shortcuts this time, I need to put myself in tense situations and hope that my semblance activates normally."
"Can't say I understand it, but alright," Qrow said and asked, "Got anything we should do to pass the time?"
"Actually, yes," Raspberry answered, "Grimm won't be much of a challenge to me, so you can go and take care of those, while I deal with the other monsters our enemies have started sending after us recently."
"Alright, got it," Qrow said and got off from his chair, and the others followed suit.
"One more thing, though," Raspberry said, and everyone stopped to look at her, "I'd like Sky, Professor Port and Doctor Oobleck to stay and get some rest, so they can help Ruby with guard duty tonight. Or me, if I haven't found my semblance by then." The three guys looked at each other, then sat back down.
"Well, alright," Bartholomew said, "We'll trust you."
"Thanks, but please also take the time to think for yourselves," Raspberry said, "Neither Ruby nor I have all the answers, after all. The best we can do is provide some pointers and advice."
"Got it," Sky said, "Still, I'll sit today out, and come with you tonight." Raspberry looked over to the two teachers, who nodded in agreement. The rest of the group quickly went on their own patrols, in their own groups, and Raspberry used Puppeteer to update their scrolls' maps with the locations of Grimm, so they could more easily find their targets. Once everyone else was gone, Raspberry went to track down what the police had found.
~o~
Raspberry wandered through Vale's commercial district, after getting the information she needed from the police, and headed to the store where they had spotted signs of strange activity. As she approached the store, she noticed several cuts in the concrete and drew her weapon. She heard motion in a nearby alley and spun around.
"Who's there?" Raspberry asked, and Diamond walked out from behind a garbage container, holding her gun in her right hand and raising both hands.
"It's just me," Diamond answered, "The others don't want to come here, so I volunteered."
"I see," Raspberry said, "I'm Raspberry, by the way. The fusion of Ruby and Nora."
"Got it, nice to meet you," Diamond said, relaxed again and asked, "Are you here to see what's going on?"
"Pretty much, yeah," Raspberry answered and asked, "What do you know about this?"
"Apparently, there are monsters," Diamond answered, "We don't know exactly what they are, but according to reports, they have exposed skeletons."
"Great, one of those again," Raspberry said and explained, "One of our enemies has a semblance that makes creatures into monsters like that. They're ridiculously tough, and not to be taken lightly." She created a Healing Circle and summoned half a dozen smaller versions of herself, which wielded simple hand cannons.
"Well, at least you know how to beat them," Diamond said. The minions moved out in teams of two, and as soon as one team opened fire, the others rushed to help them.
"Got them," Raspberry said, "Let's go." She and Diamond hurried to join the minions, and saw a large raccoon-like monster with external ribcage, and skeletal arms and legs that ended in black fur boots and gloves. Its skeletal tail ended in a short curved blade, with a fur tuft below the blade, and its rugged-looking head rested atop a long, skeletal neck.
"Well, this looks troublesome," Diamond said, switched to her heavy handgun and opened fire. One duo of minions fired at the monster, then moved away to recharge while another duo fired at it, drawing its attention. Raspberry rushed in as soon as she saw an opening, and delivered a series of powerful strikes with her halberd, then hooked the weapon into the monster's ribs and fired the hand cannon. The recoil shook the monster and covered the area in a cloud of smoke, and almost broke off one of the ribs.
"Keep going!" Raspberry called out and dashed away from the monster. She extended her right hand and fired a Venom Net at the monster, before firing another powerful shot. The monster grabbed a chunk of concrete and threw it at Diamond, who got back up as if nothing happened.
"I'm fine," Diamond said and kept firing at the monster. Suddenly, a swarm of dark red Scavengers came out of the sewers and joined the fight, on the side of the monster. Raspberry dashed onto a nearby rooftop and created five fire-dust Glyphs, and began launching fireballs into the monster horde. Each hit killed several monsters and triggered Fire Power, enhancing Diamond or the minions' attacks.
"This isn't good," Raspberry thought, realizing there seemed to be no end to the smaller monsters, and the main one was regenerating, "I need to do something, and fast." She held out her right hand, as if led by her intuition, and summoned a small, spiked orb of electricity, which began circling Diamond. The orb fired bolts of electricity at the smaller monsters, stunning them for a bit and dealing a little damage.
"Thanks," Diamond called over and focused on the main threat, now that the smaller monsters would be dealt with automatically if they got too close.
"You're welcome," Raspberry said and summoned another half dozen minions. She gave all of her minions their own sphere with her Electrical Fuzz semblance, then continued fighting the main monster in close combat, while occasionally firing her cannon. Every once in a while, she had to reapply Electrical Fuzz in order to keep the advantage. After several devastating hits, and breaking the enemy's bone armor in multiple places, she decided to change her approach.
"What are you doing?" Diamond asked when she saw Raspberry put her weapon away. Raspberry activated Venomhand, coating her hands in spheres of lime green energy, and dashed towards the monster, then began choking it. Lime green cracks formed in the bone as the monster tried to grab her and pry her off, while the minions and Diamond kept firing at its body, arms and legs. The monster ran into a concrete wall to try and force her to let go, but she persisted, and when the wall came down, the monster was crushed under the rubble.
"I… think I got it," Raspberry said as she got up, and let the raccoon scurry away into the streets. As a parting gift, Raspberry gave it its own Electrical Fuzz, then shared the semblance with Ruby, causing her aura to break.
"Are you alright?" Diamond asked and ran over to Ruby and Nora.
"No, we're not," Ruby answered, "Help us get to the Healing Circle our fusion set up earlier." Ruby and Nora got up and Diamond looked at the small monsters, who seemed to understand the situation and tried to attack the group. The fusion's minions continued fighting off the monsters, but their low attack speed meant that, once Electrical Fuzz wore off, they would be overwhelmed. Ruby and Nora made their way through the destroyed building, while Diamond and the minions did their best to slow them down.
"Watch out!" Diamond called out when well over a dozen monsters threw their javelins at the duo. Before the attack connected, however, a red portal opened between the javelins and their targets, and a swarm of hexagonal insects made from light orange energy came out of it, which quickly assembled into a solid wall hovering in the air. The javelins bounced off the wall, and the portal closed again, causing the insects to disappear as well.
"What… was that?" Nora asked.
"Probably Raven," Ruby answered, "Let's hurry." She walked over to a broken window, and Nora followed her. Once they reached the Healing Circle, and their auras began regenerating faster, Diamond and the minions gathered to protect them until their auras regenerated enough for them to continue fighting.
~o~
In the evening, everyone gathered back at the train station, and after dinner, Ruby, Sky, Peter and Bartholomew got ready for guard duty. Weiss and Ren renewed their Landmines, and then also went to bed. As the night progressed, the group talked a bit to pass the time, and killed some Grimm that managed to get past the Landmines.
"Can you guys hold the fort for a while?" Ruby asked.
"Sure, but why?" Bartholomew asked.
"I want to check something," Ruby answered, "But don't worry, I'll make it quick." She sat down on a bench and let her head hang.
"Impressive, your semblance evolved," Bartholomew said, eyeing the two turrets Sky had just summoned.
"Thank you, Doctor," Sky said, "It wouldn't have been possible without Ruby, though. She was the one who helped me realize that my Tower Defense isn't meant for actual combat, but to secure a way out for my allies, if they ever needed to retreat."
"Yes, she is remarkable," Bartholomew said, "I can see why Ozpin chose her to be team leader."
"If you don't mind me asking, what was he like?" Sky asked, "Ozpin, I mean." The two teachers looked at each other, then at Sky.
"Well, he was… difficult to put into words," Peter answered, "You knew he was keeping secrets, maybe things you'd like to know, but if you spent enough time working with him, you'd get the sense that he knows when to tell someone something, and when not."
"Of course, not everyone liked that about him," Bartholomew continued, "There are some people who felt like they were owed information, and insisted he tell them, but whenever he caved in, he was proven right in one way or another."
"What kind of information?" Sky asked, a bit perplexed to hear that about the school's former headmaster.
"A lot of things, really," Bartholomew answered. Sky wanted to ask another question, but Ruby woke up and drew the three guys' attention to herself.
"Hey guys," Ruby said and asked, "What did I miss?"
"Not much," Sky answered, "No Grimm, or other enemies, got here while you were gone."
"Got it," Ruby said, got up again and drew Crescent Rose.
"So, what's the plan now?" Sky asked.
"Just standard guard duty," Ruby answered, "There are some Grimm coming our way, so we need to deal with them."
"Got it," Sky said and tightened his grip on Feather's Edge. A pack of Boarbatusk came onto a road and spotted the group. The pack's leader, a bigger one with serrated tusks, charged immediately. As it rolled along the road at high speed, it carved up the pavement and flung chunks of it towards the group.
"Wait, what?" Bartholomew asked as the Grimm rolled past where the Landmines were, without triggering them. Sky's turrets opened fire, but mostly just hit the flying debris. Sky activated Hydra and fired at the Grimm, while Ruby tried to engage it in melee combat. She slashed at the massive Grimm, but to no avail, and it rolled past her. The Elder Boarbatusk came to a stop and immediately swung its head, hitting Bartholomew with its large tusks and sending him into a nearby wall.
"Bart!" Peter called out and glared at the Grimm. His Blowhard's muzzle tightened and extended, shifting it into a battle axe form. The top halves of both axe blades collapsed and the stock of his gun unfolded, turning the weapon into an executioner's axe.
"Consider me scared," Sky said, staring at the weapon in awe. A shot from Crescent Rose pulled him back to the present and he helped Ruby take down the regular Boarbatusk. Peter swung his weapon and carved a scar into the Grimm's bone armor, but took a substantial hit in turn, even though it didn't send him flying as far as Bartholomew.
"This is nothing," Peter said and got back up. Ruby and Sky had trouble fighting the Boarbatusk in melee combat, due to the ground being carved up, but the Grimm seemed to have almost no problem. Ruby thought to use her silver eyes, but copying either teacher's semblance could make her prone to letting her allies get hurt, so she decided against it. She used Shadow Clone to dodge another rolling charge, and Sky killed the Boarbatusk that had tried to attack her.
"Ruby, what do we do?" Sky asked. Before Ruby could answer, a red portal opened next to her, and a man walked out. He was brown shoes, dark red pants with multi-colored patches all over them, and a black shirt. His black hair was styled back, and he had light purple eyes.
"Who are you?" Ruby asked.
"Diomede, and I'm here to help," Diomede answered. He drew his short sword and charged the Elder Boarbatusk, but the Grimm turned around and flung him into a wall, breaking his aura on impact. Just as Ruby wanted to unleash her silver eyes, she saw that Diomede smiled. When his aura broke, the small particles flared up and created dozens of tiny orbs around him. The orbs homed in on the Grimm, exploding on impact and dealing serious damage. Before the Grimm could recover from the attack, both Bartholomew and Peter got back into the fight, with their semblances having activated as well.
"Now this is a surprise," Peter said and charged the Elder Boarbatusk. He sunk his axe into its head, and an aura arc cut it in half. Bartholomew charged the regular Boarbatusk, and took out most of the pack, with Ruby and Sky doing the rest.
"Are you alright?" Ruby asked and rushed over to Diomede after the fight, "What was that?" She put Crescent Rose away and helped him sit down on a nearby bench.
"My semblance, Aftermath," Diomede answered, "If an enemy causes my aura to break, they take damage as well."
"That sounds pretty risky," Ruby said and asked, "What if your allies can't save you in time?"
"Then they'll at least have it easier," Diomede answered, "But don't worry, Raven makes sure to keep me safe. She also told me I'll be fine this time, even though I didn't expect this."
"Raven? As in Branwen?" Bartholomew asked.
"That's the one, yeah," Diomede answered.
"So, she just told you to come here and get your butt kicked?" Sky asked, "Why did you trust her?"
"Because she's always there for us, too," Diomede answered, "It hasn't been long, so I can see why you'd dislike her, but she's much nicer now, and actually looks out for those she cares about. She even told me I could get a second semblance here, to offset Aftermath's weakness."
"Yeah, I think that can be arranged," Ruby said, "But we'll have to wait until tomorrow, since the people we'd need for that are asleep. I'd suggest you go back to your camp, and come back tomorrow."
"Alright," Diomede said and got up, "But we don't really have a camp any more. We moved into Kuroyuri, and have made some progress rebuilding it."
"I see," Ruby said, "Well, in any case, see you tomorrow." Diomede went back through the portal, and it closed behind him. The rest of the night, the group stayed vigilant, but no more Grimm appeared. Over time, Sky and the teachers got sleepy, while Ruby just got bored and decided to walk around the area a little.
Author's note: Glynda now has all of Mahou Shoujo ni Akogarete (Gushing Over Magical Girls) on her scroll, up to Chapter 48.5. She doesn't understand what's happening exactly, since it's all in English, but the images speak for themselves. The fact that she's bright red with shame, and even considered asking Yatsuhashi for a memory wipe, should tell you a bit about the nature of that manga.
If you can be normal about NSFW content, I highly recommend reading it. The characters are actually pretty great. But maybe the anime will be out by the time I upload this chapter, so you should check that first.
Raspberry can break the 4th wall, and knows who Jaune and Cardin are based on, as well as those people's relation to one another. And stakes. I almost wanted to make a monster that can breathe fire or something.
The semblance that protected Ruby and Nora actually has a range limit of roughly 5 meters, but thanks to Raven's portal, that doesn't matter as much.
Diomede is named after the Diomeidae family of birds, which includes albatross, which are considered bad luck to harm, or something to that effect.