Ruby Rose was not having the best day. She'd found out her sister Yang had been framed for shooting a man in the leg. Well, Yang actually had shot him in the leg, but that wasn't her fault. By the same evil conspiracy they'd been dealing with for the last few months. The match had been a disaster: Penny was dead, and Pyrrha looked like a thug. People had lost faith in Ozpin, Beacon, and the Hunters in general. A full-on Grimm invasion had begun, with a massive Nevermore pecking on the barrier around the coliseum.

But the worst part of all was Mercury Black, watching the whole thing with the most shit-eating grin imaginable. He wasn't even trying to attack her, anymore. He wasn't trying to get away. He wasn't even saying anything, just looming over her with that disgusting look on his face.

Ruby didn't even stop to think about it. With tears still in her eyes and a roar tearing out of her throat, she activated her Semblance and launched herself at Mercury. Her fist collided with his face with all the strength she had.

Unfortunately, that wasn't enough to even bother Mercury. She could swear that his smile had somehow gotten even more obnoxious. She retreated a few steps back and tried to remember how to fight barehanded. Make fists, hold them in front of you, and…

If Ruby was still alive tomorrow, she was going to ask Yang for lessons.

"Heh, you don't have any idea what you're doing, do you?" A glare seemed like the best response. "Here, let me show you some proper technique."

"Proper technique" in this case meant flying into the wall next to him.

"Mr. Black, it's good to see you're feeling better." Ruby glanced behind her and saw the new arrival from the service corridor: Glynda Goodwitch.

"Professor Goodwitch!" Okay, stay calm. She just needed to carefully pick out the right words to explain the tangled web of lies she had discovered. "He did it!"

Smooth as ever. She chose to forgo any further attempt at words at tried to gesture at what had gone wrong due to Mercury and his cohorts. Since that was everything they could see out of the tunnel, it was not a very informative gesture.

"Yes, well, we can discuss your findings after this current matter is resolved."

"Okay, so… How do we do that?"

"I believe that I may have a solution." Said the second abrupt arrival of the night.

"Ozpin!" Ruby watched as the headmaster came through the door.

"Sir, do you really think-"

"This situation hasn't grown so bad, Glynda, that I can't get it under control." He punctuated this statement by taking a long drink from his ever-present mug.

"Um, hey? Professor? Or Headmaster? This really isn't the time to be drinking coffee."

"I agree, Ms. Rose." And another drink.

"Soooooooooooooo-"

"Ms. Rose," Ozpin said, placing his now-empty cup on the ground and leaning his cane against the wall. "I never drink coffee."

He quietly walked past Ruby, around Glynda and Mercury, and stood at the opening facing the Coliseum.

Now that Ruby's fear had started to subside, she began to grow curious. If Ozpin was the head of one of the major academies, he had to be a very powerful huntsman in his own right. She wasn't entirely sure what the selection process was, but it probably started with the applicants being thrown into a massive steel cage together.

Ozpin raised his hands into the air, finger spread. For a moment, nothing seemed to happen. It took Ruby some time to notice it: a loud, low rumble like distant thunder. It was slowly getting louder. Slowly, Ozpin's steady stance broke down. He began to sway, and his hands started to shake. The air was growing warmer. A tremor went through the Coliseum, shaking the giant Nevermore pecking at the barrier.

Ozpin let out a wet, wretched cough. His arms shook, straining to stay up. Glynda turned, starting to reach out to him. Mercury, freed from Glynda's power, took a moment to smirk. It was a moment too much: Glynda once again threw him into the wall. Ozpin wobbled. The energy in the air held steady, then ebbed as he started to pitch forward-

Only to find something pushing him back up.

"Ozpin!" It was Ruby, holding his arms as well as she could and doing her best to prop him back up. "You can't stop! You have to do- well, I don't know what this actually is, but it looks really important, so keep it up!" She thought she saw him mouth the word "Thanks", but she wasn't sure. The energy of the air began to climb once again, finally hitting a crescendo. The rumble turned from a distant noise to a clear, distinct, almost music sound before slowly fading out. It was accompanied a brilliant flash of light. Ruby founds herself releasing Ozpin.

She looked to him, once her vision finally cleared. He had the strength to push himself into a sitting position, at least, but his arms were shaking so much he probably couldn't hold it for long. Despite the blood running freely from his mouth, he was still smiling. "There we go…" he said weakly.

Ruby let out a breath, being ready to relax. Her feeling of relief was quickly cut short when she heard the Nevermore pecking on the barrier again.

"It's… it's… What did all of that light do?"

Ozpin pointed at something in her hand. It was at that moment that Ruby realized she was currently holding a plain white mug full of –

"Hot chocolate?" Ruby glanced around. Glynda had another mug, and was currently drinking from it. Mercury had a mug, but was unable to drink any.

"A little for everyone… I've never had to do so many before…" Ozpin wheezed.

"Well, that was really… nice of you. But I don't think it's going to help with the Grimm."

"Just drink some." Given the shape Ozpin was in, his lack of patience shouldn't have been a surprise.

Ruby took a sip of her hot chocolate, doing mental calculations as to how long it would take her to kill the Nevermore with an empty mug.

She took another sip. Then another. And another. She began to notice that all the running and screaming had quieted down. She took another sip, and oddly enough, felt herself starting to smile.

Ozpin grinned. "It's hard to feel bad when you're drinking hot chocolate, isn't it?"

SCENE

Cinder Fall was not having the best day. It had started out so well, her plan seemingly going off with a hitch. Then it had just fallen apart. The Grimm, already on the way to mounting a massive attack against the Kingdom of Vale, had simply given up and left. She had attempted to call her minions to find out what was going on, but hadn't gotten an answer from either one. She had ended up leaving very colorful messages for bot of them. And finally, she had no idea where the mug in her other hand had come from.

Author's note: I always worry that stories like these just aren't as funny on the page as they are in my head. Still, it's always important to finish a project you start.