Author's note: Let's see what Niob is up to first.
Niob arrived in Menagerie close after sunset, and saw some of his students flying some laps around the school like he had taught them, to improve their understanding of how the air flowed. He flew an aileron roll, angled downwards and made a front flip to land on the school's landing platform, then jogged a few steps with half open wings to get rid of his momentum and free up the landing area.
"Professor, you're back," Jay said and landed behind him, jogging over to him while freeing up the landing area for the other students, "I think I finally figured out what kind of weapon I want."
"I see," Niob said and asked, "But why don't we head inside, and discuss the matter properly?"
"Sounds good," Jay said, then followed Niob into the school, and both sat down in Niob's weapon workshop. Jay looked around in awe at the various weapons and weapon parts, while Niob brought out graphing paper and drawing utensils.
"So, what did you have in mind?" Niob asked, drawing his student's attention to himself.
"An axe," Jay answered, "Like that one over there, sort of." Niob followed where his student was pointing, and put his graphing paper away again, only to bring out a blueprint for the axe in question, with enough room left for two additional forms.
"Just an axe?" Niob asked.
"No, Professor," Jay answered, "An axe that turns into a shotgun. I want the stock to fold down, and then the axe head pops out and expands."
"How many barrels would you like?" Niob asked as he began graphing out the new form.
"I think one is enough," Jay answered, "I mean, it would have to be viable in the air too, right? So the recoil can't be too strong."
"That is a smart idea, yes," Niob said and asked, "How does this look?" Jay looked at the blueprint in front of him, and his eyes lit up.
"This looks perfect," Jay said and asked, "How fast can you make this?"
"Come meet me tomorrow at noon," Niob said, "I would do it sooner, but I just flew here from Vale, and need some sleep."
"From Vale?" Jay asked, eyes wide in surprise, and said, "Professor, you're incredible. But alright, I'll see you tomorrow." He got up and left for the student dorms, while Niob headed back to the teachers' rooms. His bed was just as he had left it, although he wished that the others had done something about it to make it look clean and welcoming.
~o~
The next morning, after formally informing Argent of his return the previous night, Niob went to his workshop and began working on Jay's weapon. He felt the urge to add a few extra features, but reigned himself in and only did what Jay had asked of him, since he was unsure whether his ideas were really good. A few hours later, Jay came to his workshop.
"Hello Professor," Jay said after knocking on the door and asked, "And, is my weapon ready?"
"Yes, it is," Niob answered, "Come on in." Jay opened the door and stepped inside, and Niob presented the weapon.
"Is… is this it?" Jay asked, took the weapon and said, "Thank you, Professor."
"You're welcome," Niob said and asked, "Now, how about we go and see how well you do with it?"
"Sure," Jay said and held his new weapon to get a proper feel for it, only for Niob to slap him on the wrist, making him let go of the trigger area.
"My apologies," Niob said, "I suppose we must first go over the basics."
"Basics?" Jay asked, "Is holding a weapon really that difficult?"
"Yes, it is," Niob answered, "First, never aim a loaded weapon at something unless you wish to destroy it. Secondly, never put your finger on the trigger of a loaded weapon unless you want to shoot. Thirdly, treat every weapon like it is loaded."
"Alright, got it," Jay said, "Sorry." He grabbed his weapon again, making sure to keep his hands away from where the trigger is.
"Here, use this," Niob said and pressed a button, collapsing the weapon's barrel and making it take up less space, "And also this." He handed Jay a harness with a small magnetic plate on it, and after putting it on, Jay clipped his gun onto it.
"Thank you, Professor," Jay said and twisted his body a bit, while also flexing his wings, to see how the new accessory would impact his range of movement. After a few adjustments, he got comfortable, and the duo headed to the school's shooting range to test the new weapon.
~o~
When Omer entered the school's shooting range to practice her shooting some more, she saw Niob instructing Jay how to use a new weapon, and decided to watch them for a bit. Jay pulled the trigger and blew a chunk off of a target, but Niob had to catch him so he wouldn't lose control of his weapon.
"Hey Omer," Viridi said when he walked up to the shooting stand next to her, and asked, "And, doing some training?"
"Hi, and yes," Omer answered and summoned a pistol that resembled a colt made from red-hot metal, with flaming birds engraved on it.
"New design?" Viridi asked and said, "Me too." He manifested a bow whose arms looked like crashing waves, with foam at the ends. A quiver with arrows manifested on his back.
"Yep," Omer answered, "I figured I could try my hands on some elemental options. So, I'm starting with fire." She fired a shot at the target and hit it squarely in the center, obliterating the target and creating a small ball of fire where she had hit.
"Same here," Viridi said, "But I'm starting with water. Watch this." He readied an arrow and shot at the target, hitting it squarely in the center and creating an explosion of water that violently retracted like a raging whirlpool, pulling in the debris from the broken target.
"You guys are amazing," Sherry said, walking up to the duo with a harpoon gun on her back, "Here, try this." She manifested a cup that looked like it was chiseled from white marble, with golden metal nailed to the base, top, and where the handle connected to the cup.
"Thanks," Omer said and took the cup after Sherry poured some water into it, then took a sip and handed the cup to Viridi.
"Yeah, thanks," Viridi said, took a sip as well, and asked, "So, what's this one do?"
"It makes it so your semblance doesn't cost aura for a minute," Sherry answered and took the cup back, "The downside is that it also blocks any other support semblances from affecting you for an hour."
"A whole hour?" Omer asked and said, "Well, I guess we don't need to worry about that right now, so it's fine. Better make the best of this though, before it wears off." She summoned another pistol, one resembling an archerfish, and went to another target. When she hit it, the target shattered, creating half a dozen slime-like drops that remained in the air around where she had hit. The fireball from before disappeared, and a new target was placed by a robotic arm.
"Agreed, better not let this go to waste," Viridi said and summoned a bow whose arms looked like storm clouds, with a quiver and arrows to match appearing on his back. He shot at the new target and created a small whirlwind on impact, which sucked in the smaller fragments of the target.
"I know, sorry," Sherry said, "But making cups with potent buffs is difficult, so I have to balance them with negative effects." Omer summoned another pistol, a double-barrel revolver made from rocks, and shot a new target, releasing a barrage of jagged shrapnel and practically grinding the target to sawdust. Viridi summoned a bow made from lightning, and hit the target with an arrow that released smaller lightnings in random directions.
"Don't worry, we know," Omer said and let out a sigh as she felt the effect wear off, "I mean, we all have very similar semblances, after all. Maybe keep that one in reserve for my sister, since she needs her semblance to reload, while I can just use mine once and be done."
"Agreed," Viridi said, "Our semblances just need one use each, and then we are good to go for quite a while. But others, like Ochre and Eva, need to use their semblance more often. The block of support abilities really doesn't pay out for us."
"G- got it," Sherry said and made her cup disappear, spilling the last remaining bit of water on the ground, "Anyway, I've got to go now, bye." She turned around and walked away, and Omer and Viridi returned to their target practice, while also testing, comparing and discussing new weapon ideas. A cleaning robot came and cleaned up the water spill, then disappeared back into a hidden door in the wall.
~o~
Walking through the academy, Sherry tried to look at least neutral whenever she encountered other students, and tried her best to avoid people. Somehow, her legs carried her to the teacher's lounge, where she ran into Hinata when she came running out of the room excitedly.
"Sorry," Hinata said, got up, held out her hand to help Sherry up and asked, "Are you okay?" Instead of answering, or taking her hand, Sherry started sobbing, confusing the fox faunus.
"S- sorry," Sherry said through tears, clambered to her feet, turned around and ran away. Hinata looked after her, unsure of what to do, and decided to try and talk to her classmate.
"Hey, wait!" Hinata called out and ran after Sherry, which only motivated her to run faster. They ran through corridors, and up and down staircases, and across the whole outside area, before Sherry finally ran out of breath and stopped by a small boulder.
"What do you want?" Sherry asked, wiping her tears and sniffling a little.
"I just want to talk," Hinata said, sat down on the boulder, motioned for Sherry to sit beside her, and asked, "What's wrong?" Sherry sat down on the boulder.
"Did you ever try to help, but end up making a mistake?" Sherry asked, paused and added, "Let's say in general, including in video games."
"Well, yes," Hinata answered, "When I started playing online with others, I made a druid, because they have some nice group buffs, and I figured helping others would be great. But I initially ended up making things really awkward for everyone. Like that one time in Crystal Soul III, when my party and I got swarmed by Beowolves, and I cast a thorn buff on everyone."
"Is that bad?" Sherry asked, starting to calm down when she heard Hinata go on about her games.
"Normally, no," Hinata answered, "It's a useful buff that harms enemies whenever they deal melee damage to you, so it allows you to basically ignore Beowolves due to their low damage. However, we were fighting a boss, and the Beowolves filled the entity limit in the area, preventing the boss from summoning minions. So when the Beowolves died, the boss summoned its minions, and we got annihilated."
"And then?" Sherry asked.
"Then we got together, talked about what happened, and I learned to be more careful," Hinata answered, "As a support, I have to not only keep in mind what I can do, but also be aware of the situation and my party members, so I don't waste my mana doing things that don't benefit the party. Some buffs also have side effects, like increasing aggro on the target, which I need to keep in mind as well."
"I- I see, thanks," Sherry said, calmed down completely and asked, "Can you help me learn that sort of thing, so I can use my semblance more effectively?"
"Of course," Hinata answered and said, "But I need more information, otherwise my advice may not be what you need."
"Alright, and thanks," Sherry said and explained, "I made a new cup, and whoever drinks from it can use their semblance without needing aura. The effect lasts for a minute, but it also blocks other support abilities for an hour." Taking in all the information, Hinata thought for a bit.
"Well, in my more or less professional opinion, it sounds pretty good," Hinata said, "It can definitely turn the tides in a battle when combined with a powerful semblance. However, it's also a gamble. In video games, this sort of buff is usually reserved for mages or DPS, since they need to use a lot of skills to deal damage, so removing mana cost works pretty well for them. However, any class with skills that last very long won't benefit from it as much, so you might want to avoid using it on those."
"Meaning what now?" Sherry asked, and Hinata blinked a few times.
"Oh, right, sorry," Hinata said and answered, "Basically, people like Fihr, Taimi, Ravi, and others wouldn't benefit from it as much, since they only need to use their semblance once. On the other hand, Ochre or Eva could benefit from it much more, since the buff would allow them to make tons of ammunition, and possibly end the fight."
"Oh, yeah, I think I get it," Sherry said and asked, "And what about Fidda, or Jay?"
"Their semblances are on a time limit," Hinata answered, "So, if there is a reason to use them a lot, for example protecting civilians, it might be worth the risk of not being able to do that again later."
"Thanks," Sherry said, and smiled a bit.
"You're welcome," Hinata said and returned the smile, then gasped and said, "I completely forgot!"
"What is it?" Sherry asked, thinking it's something bad.
"I wanted to ask Professor Bolt for help with my weapon," Hinata answered, "Sorry, I'll have to go." She jumped up and ran back to the school, and Sherry followed her to tell her where she last saw Niob. After some searching, the duo found him taking a break in the cafeteria, so they waited until he was done before approaching him.
~o~
When Ruby woke up, her head was spinning, and she felt the cold, cruel darkness of the Grimm bearing down on her. She raised her left arm to protect her eyes from the sunlight until they adjusted to it, then sat up and looked around. She was in the train station, in her bed, and she knew that she had been asleep for a full day, due to relying on Sleepless to stay awake. She grabbed Crescent Rose and burst into rose petals, appearing between three Bomber Deer and Russel, just outside the train station.
"You three got in the way of my breakfast," Ruby said and extended her weapon into its scythe form, "You know you will pay for that, right?" She rushed the Grimm and delivered a heavy slash, decapitating one of them in one strike and placing her weapon against another one's neck. She pulled the trigger, killing one Grimm with a head shot and decapitating the other, then collapsed her weapon again.
"So… how are you?" Russel asked when Ruby walked past him, a bit stunned after watching her effortlessly dispatch those Grimm.
"Hungry," Ruby answered without stopping, and headed back into the train station. When Glynda saw Ruby walk into the train station and sit down in the eating area, she brought her something to eat, then left her to her own. After a while, Weiss came down, visibly groggy.
"The arch-angel of dreams hates you," Weiss said, sat down and took some of the food.
"Poor guy," Ruby said in an indifferent tone, then continued eating.
"I don't think you understand the gravity of the situation," Weiss said.
"I do," Ruby answered, "I just don't care."
"Care about what?" Jaune asked when he entered, then sat down and grabbed something to eat as well.
"Angels," Ruby answered, "Back when I fused with Hel, I met the arch-demon of pestilence. He looked scary, but wasn't an issue to deal with, and I've only gotten stronger since then."
"But even so, dreams are more powerful than healing," Weiss said, "And besides, just because he didn't do anything, doesn't mean he couldn't have."
"What's this about, anyway?" Jaune asked.
"When we fused, we didn't sleep," Weiss answered, "And since I'm a warlock to the arch-angel of dreams, he's now upset with Ruby, because she kept me from hit domain for so long. This means that he might not protect Ruby from nightmares."
"I'll be sure to keep that in mind," Ruby said casually, "Anyway, Jaune, I need your help with something."
"Sure, what is it?" Jaune asked, and Ruby pulled out her scroll to explain her latest plan to help reclaim Beacon from the Grimm, while the trio continued eating their fill. However, when she opened her scroll, she saw that Sky's semblance had evolved, and decided to change her plan a little. Weiss kept watching them, fearing for Ruby's safety due to the arch-angel's wrath.
~o~
When Tyrian woke up, still feeling the anesthetic's effects, he looked around and needed a minute to remember where he was. Arthur walked into the room to see how he was doing, and rushed over when he saw the scorpion faunus sit up.
"It looks like the surgery was a success," Arthur said, "Although I must admit, I did have my concerns whether or not I could do it. People are a little different from machines, after all." Tyrian shook his head and activated his aura, and his poison resistance began to remove the lingering anesthetic from his system.
"Thanks, doc," Tyrian said and inspected his new prosthetic hand. It was mostly black, with white armor plating on the back of the palm and the fingers, giving it a Grimm-like appearance. One by one, he extended and retracted the claws in each finger, and released a drop of poison from each.
"You're welcome," Arthur said, "However, I could not restore your aura coverage in the area. That is entirely outside my field of expertise. Still, it should be durable enough to survive in a fight."
"Got it," Tyrian said and looked at his hand some more. As he focused on the back of the hand, a red mist manifested around his hand, and slowly drifted behind as he moved it around.
"Well, that is certainly an unexpected development," Arthur said, "I have no idea how this happened, but this is really fascinating."
"Me neither," Tyrian said and asked, "Didn't you say you couldn't fix my aura?"
"Yes," Arthur answered, "I don't know what is happening here, either. But while I don't know what exactly is happening, I would really like to research it some more."
"I'll let you know what I find out," Tyrian said and got up from the improvised hospital bed. He walked out of what used to be a room where the tournament's participants could prepare for their next battles, and had Amity teleport him into Vale so he could use his newfound ability, while also stirring up some conflict.
Author's note: And here we have another reason why I decided to write two separate fanfics, as mentioned in the notes for chapter 150; in short, I used to just write these chapters, usually finishing one every other day.
While this allowed me to relax even if I missed a day or two, it also caused me to misjudge the time frame in which you would receive these chapters, which is why some things have been taking so long to pay off until now, and why the villains had so few appearances.
I'm really hoping it gets better now.