RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth. While I do have a rooster and teeth, it's apparently not the same in the eye of the law. For reasons.


I blinked blearily as Weiss tussled with the Boarbatusk, my eyes still burning from being so dried out. Her fight didn't really interest me; while a Boarbatusk was a dangerous Grimm and deceivingly intelligent, the tension was off put by the fact that it was in a room filled with Huntsmen and Huntresses. I was also fairly confident in her abilities, having seen team RWBYs initiation recording. Still, the rest of team RWBY was happily cheering her on, although I frowned when the girl was distracted by them. That was dangerous, and something both sides should have been avoiding.

The girls weapon went flying, but Professor Port was still watching, weapon in reach, and I had no doubt he would intervene if things truly got dangerous. He did not seem the type to let students kill themselves in his lecture hall. Still, it was a bit more nerve wracking now, and it didn't help that Ruby kept offering advice, which while helpful, ultimately served to distract Weiss more.

"Stop telling me what to do!" she shouted angrily, and I felt my temper rise as Ruby wilted. I hurriedly pushed it down, Weiss' irritation was understandable. While Ruby was trying to be helpful, she should have noticed that she was taking her partners attention away from the opponent before her. Although honestly, Weiss should have been able to ignore such things to begin with, it was only fair to say that both sides were at fault.

The girl launched herself, rapier first, into the belly of the stunned Boarbatusk, a rather impressive show of planning and athletics as she set up the glyphs into a trap all at once. I watched as the Professor complimented her ability, yet it seemed as if it fell on deaf ears. Usually one would expect relief or joy, defeating ones foe and being praised, yet none was present in the girls face. Her posture was stiff and straight, her shoulders back, and her chin was tilted up with narrowed eyes in prideful disdain. This was not the vision of someone who just won a battle, rather the look of irritation a noble might have upon seeing filth on their shoe. This was Schnee blood.

Her icy blue orbs swept the room, locking on Ruby for just a moment before she turned on her heel and stomped out of the room as class was dismissed. The girls traded looks, and before I could say a word, Ruby was out of her seat in pursuit. I stood to follow, hoping to stop her before she riled up the Schnee heiress any further, but as I walked past, I felt a hand grab onto my jacket.

"Let her handle it." Yang assured me as I frowned at her. Ruby did not perform well socially when under pressure, and there was a very good chance she would simply cause more damage.

"She should let the girl cool down." I reasoned, "With Weiss' temperament, words without thought will be exchanged, and harm Ruby further."

"Sometimes it's the thoughtless words that tell you what's wrong." She said with a sad smile, "Best to let them heat up and strike while the irons hot." I mulled the words over in my head, trying to see the reasoning behind them. She had a point, somewhat. It might be best to let the Schnee girl vent her frustrations and get her true opinion in the air, the tension it'd been causing in the team was destructive. I just wish Ruby didn't have to be the one to take the brunt.

"She'll be fine." Yang reassured me, "Ruby's a team leader now, and she's gotta take that responsibility head on. If you shield her now you'll just be undermining her standing. Let her deal with the situation, and you can help her after." She stood and shot off her trademark grin, "Now c'mon, let's go get dinner, then you can help me with the math homework we got." I sighed at that. Of course.


I was poring over the assigned readings we'd received today, when there was a knock at my door. I sighed and pushed out my chair, the sturdy material able to finally comfortably support my weight, and went to answer it. Ruby stood at my doorway, slightly downcast, but with a fire in her eyes I didn't quite understand. I motioned her in and she followed, taking in the sight of my room.

After dinner I'd finally gotten around to assembling my abode, taking apart the school beds and moving them to storage, and finally setting up my own appropriate furniture. Currently, my bed, desk, and the small kitchen I'd made for myself took up maybe half the room, leaving the other half empty, although the table and chairs I'm planning to get will probably fill up some of it nicely.

"Nice room." Ruby commented with a small smile.

"Thank you." I responded, waving her to the bed as I had removed all the extra chairs for the moment. I refrained from commenting on her room, the haphazardly built bunk beds had me cringing when Yang showed them to me earlier. I also refrained from mentioning that I'd done my room after classes, when I had plenty of time, instead of before classes. Ruby accepted the cup of milk I poured for her from my fridge, although her nose wrinkled. She didn't dislike the beverage, but she'd mentioned in the past that knowing where it came from somewhat ruined it for her.

"Weiss told me I shouldn't have been made leader." she finally blurted out after a moment of awkward silence. I raised a brow but made no other indications, I didn't know enough to judge the situation just yet. "Then Professor Ozpin told me that he didn't make a mistake, and that being a leader is more than just a title. That I have to always be my very best, or no one would follow me." I frowned slightly, but didn't interject. While I felt that there was a bit more to it, this wasn't incorrect either.

"I don't..." she sighed, "I don't really get it. I mean, I get that yeah, I gotta do my best, but I thought that's what I was doing!" she admitted in frustration. "I fought as hard as I could in the forest, I tried my best to help in the class, but Weiss still hates me!" I digested the words as the girl calmed herself. I honestly felt that I wasn't the best person to turn to for this. I wasn't a leader, I could barely lead myself some days.

"Did you really be the best you could be?" I asked softly. Ruby made to interrupt but I held up a hand and she faltered. "You say you tried your best, but was that really your best? Could you not have done better?" I clarified. She wilted at my words, thinking them over. "In the forest, against the Deathstalker, why did you charge it alone?" She looked up, a bit surprised.

"I...I thought I could take it..." she said quietly, "I'd never fought one before, but I wanted to show Weiss that I had what it took to be at Beacon..."

"Did you try your best?" I asked, and she nodded. "Did you perform at your best?" a shake. "Why?"

"I...the armor was too thick, I couldn't hurt it." She fidgeted uncomfortably. I felt bad putting her on the spot, but this was something I'd been meaning to mention and this was as good a chance as any.

"If you knew that before you attacked, do you think you could have done better?" A guilty nod. "Why didn't you know?" Ruby shot me a small glare.

"It was my first time fighting it, I didn't know!" she hissed, slightly upset.

"What can you tell me about the Deathstalker at a glance?" she looked at me suspiciously as I let out a sigh.

"It...has two claws, really strong ones. A stinger, probably venom. It's really big and has a strong exoskeleton, its plates seem too thick to damage with small arms..." she listed off trait after trait.

"If you can tell me this much at just a glance," I interrupted quietly, "Then why didn't you know?" Ruby paused and swallowed heavily.

"I...I wasn't thinking..." she said. I heard the crack in her voice and a pang of guilt shot through me. Perhaps I'd pushed too hard. "I just wanted to prove myself...to show that I belonged...that I could be with you guys..."

"Not thinking made you perform less than your very best?" I asked softly, getting up and sitting next to the girl, wrapping an arm around her. She leaned into my side and sniffled, but kept the tears from flowing. "Then would eliminating that problem make you perform better?" A soft nod. I smiled, although she couldn't see it, and placed my hand on her head. "Then what do you have to do to do better?"

"Think...pay attention...stuff like that?" she asked hopefully, glancing up with questioning eyes.

"You need the knowledge that allows you to perform at your best." I said with a nod. "You need to observe and absorb your situation, to think about the actions at hand. Being your very best is more than simply trying, Ruby. It takes preparation and thought."

"...What should I do?" I tilted my head at that question.

"You are a student, Ruby. A student in a school which trains and educates Hunters." I said with a smile, "The question is not what should you do, but rather what can you do. What can you do to gain knowledge in a school." There was a hint of laughter in my voice and Ruby heard it, shooting me a playful scowl.

"Yeah, okay, I got the hint wise guy." she huffed as she stood with a stretch and headed towards the door. "...Thanks for the help, Laz. I'm really happy you're here for us." I nodded and waved.

"Oh, and Ruby?" I called out as she opened the door. She turned and gave me a questioning look. "Perhaps it would be best to refrain from distracting your partner when she's in a battle next time. That is generally a bad thing."


Yang winced as we watched the catastrophe that was Jaune fighting. I could hardly blame her, the boy was awful. No semblance of swordsmanship, poor footwork, and his shield may as well have been an over-sized accessory. His opponent was impressive, certainly, the boy with the daggers had quick reflexes and a nimble body, but there should not have been such a difference in power.

Jaune took a flashy drop kick to the shield, and the protective barrier was knocked to the side as two daggers descended on his shoulders. His opponent, Russel if I wasn't mistaken, seemed to hold back from a truly damaging blow, instead choosing to carve through Jaune's Aura and bring him to the red before slamming a boot into the Arc boys chest. Jaune flew back and landed on his back with a groan as the buzzer rang out.

"The match is over." Professor Goodwitch's voice called out. "Mr. Arc's Aura has fallen into the red." The opaque dome that seemed to have encompassed the two fighters faltered, and I knew that they could see us again. Russel leaned over to Jaune and offered him a hand, which he took. A surprising amount of sportsmanship from a boy who dresses like a street thug, but looks could be deceiving. I still did not approve of his teams activities though, behaving like common schoolyard bullies. We are at a Hunter school, soldiers being trained to fight and expected to lay down our lives in service to our kingdom. They probably do not fully understand this yet, but still, it rubbed me the wrong way.

"Would anyone else like to have a match?" Professor Goodwitch asked, her eyes looking over the crowd of students. There were some murmurs as people looked around, each one hesitant. Not unexpected, this was the first day we've had the Practical Combat class and no one was quite sure of the others abilities. Yang however, was practically bouncing in her seat as she shot me a look. She wanted to fight. I wasn't entirely sure how I felt about making a spectacle of myself on the first day, but if she wanted to fight...I gave her a subtle nod of permission.

"I'll go." A confident voice called out from the back, interrupting Yang before her hand shot into the air. She turned around and gave the owner of the voice an annoyed glare, and I let out a small sigh of relief. The boy walked by, his body bulky and adorned in silver-gray armor, a large mace resting on his shoulder. Cardin Winchester, leader of team CRDL, and partner to the boy who'd just beaten Jaune.

He stood in the arena, a confident look on his face as he looked over his prospective opponents. His eyes locked with mine and after a moment, he smirked. I blinked, confused, and looked to Yang when she let out a huff of disappointment. Apparently, she didn't think Cardin would be worth fighting. When I looked back, Cardin's smirk was even wider.

"Mr. Winchester, very well." Professor Goodwitch nodded in approval before turning back to the class. "Would anyone like to challenge Cardin in the ring?" I looked over to the people I knew, teams RWBY and JNPR. Each either looked unsure or bored, with the exception of Nora who appeared...happy. In general. She would probably accept the challenge. Sure enough, her arm began to raise when Cardin spoke out again.

"I want to fight him." He said, finger pointed in my direction, "The big guy." I blinked. He wanted to fight me? That was a bit unexpected, I usually looked intimidating to people. I looked over to Yang, whose mouth was open in blank protest. Or so I thought until a wide grin broke out on her face.

"Mr. Ulfheon?" Professor Goodwitch called out, "Do you accept Cardin's challenge?" A fist hit my shoulder, and I looked over to Yang giving me a giddy smile. She nodded quickly, confirming that yes, I should in fact accept Cardin's challenge. Oh well.

"Yes." I said simply with a nod and stood from my seat. The crowd stilled and Winchester's smirk faltered for just a moment as I hefted Hamrammer onto my back. I guess he thought it was smaller. Yang looked as if she was about to burst into laughter and the rest of team RWBY seemed moderately interested, except for Ruby, who was bouncing in excitement.

"Go Laz!" she cheered. I walked down and vaulted over the wall, just as Cardin did, landing with a heavy thud, before drawing to my full height. The boy paled a bit as he looked up at me, and seemed far less confident than before. Was he going to back out? That would be preferable.

"You will fight until one of you surrenders, one of your Auras reach the red, or when I tell you to stop. Failure to stop when I say so will result in very serious repercussions. And do try to avoid anything too damaging." Professor Goodwitch explained sternly. She stepped out of the ring when we both nodded and the dome blackened and shut out the rest of the world. "Very well, begin!"

I slid the Eyes of Ber over my face and watched as Cardin entered a fighting stance, mace held before him as he began slowly circling me. My brow furrowed in confusion as he moved. While this may work somewhat in a melee, Hamrammers first and foremost designation was that of a cannon. Did he not know this? Or did he have a plan...

Eventually, I got tired of waiting and charged up a blast, letting it loose at the other boy. He cursed and raised his mace to block the attack with the handle, but the plasma molded around his grip and slammed into his armor. He let out a curse as it pushed him back and dropped his mace, most likely unprepared for the heat, shaking and brushing away at the burns. I arched an eyebrow at that. I'd undercharged the blast to keep it non-lethal, and I'm very glad that I did. Without a proper gauge on how much Aura the boy has, a full blast could have torn through him like paper. There was also the possibility that he came into this fight overconfident and unprepared. Either way, I'd have to play it safe.

I lowered the charge of my next shot even more, and thankfully this time he jumped out of the way, letting the beam burn into the ground as he recovered with a roar. He charged forward, mace swinging, and I brought Hamrammer up to block. His weapon clashed into mine, and there was a surprising amount of force behind it. I let the weight deflect to the side and slammed the butt of my cannon into his nose, forcing him back with a grunt.

An Aura blast had him stumbling back another step before I charged in, Hamrammer shifted to its melee form. He leaned back, narrowly missing the stake as it blasted towards his chin in an uppercut, only to catch a fist in the form of a back hand as I used its momentum to swing me around. Another blast had Hamrammer slamming down on his shoulder.

It was almost entertaining to see his legs give out under the unexpected weight, but I didn't want to take the time to gloat. Instead, I buried my knee into his kneeling face, sending him sprawling onto his back with a grunt, raised my weapon above my head, and sent it rocketing down into his chest piece.

The blunt stake, specifically designed to crack open thick armor, let out a loud clang as it made contact with the cuirass, and for a moment I was worried that I'd gotten over-zealous when I felt the metal give. I pulled Hamrammer away and leaped back to give the boy some space, somewhat concerned at the large dent in his chest armor, but let out a sigh of relief as he rolled onto his feet. He was seething mad, but his armor could be repaired and it seemed to do little other than cause him discomfort.

As we reengaged, I couldn't help but let my mind wander, something undeniably dangerous. But this was a very poor match up for the Cardin, who focused on heavy hits and high vitality much like myself. I couldn't even hear the slightest murmurs from my Whispers, which was odd considering this was technically a fight. They'd calmed down much over the years, rarely presenting themselves in the harsh way they did as a child, but they still had a very real effect whenever I perceived a threat.

I saw the mace swinging up from below, and my foot lashed out instinctively, my greaves catching the weighted head before it gained any momentum and slamming it to the floor. I bashed the reinforced underside of Hamrammer into his nose and he stumbled back with a curse, and I swore he complained about me hitting his nose again as an Aura propelled strike to the chin launched him into the air.

My hand lashed out and wrapped around his ankle before he gained any real distance, and I brought him crashing down to the earth on the other side, shattering the ground and forcing the breathe from his lungs. I gripped his foot and dragged him back a step to bring him into range, and sent Hamrammer into his armored back with another loud clang.

I hesitated as I felt the metal give again, but this proved to be a mistake as Cardin took my lapse of attention to kick his foot out of my grasp and roll over with his mace wildly swinging. The mace caught me in my side before bursting into a fiery explosion, and I grunted as the flames licked at my shields.

Cardin jumped to his feet and brought his mace over his head with a shout, and I could see the red gem hidden inside its core glow brightly as I brought Hamrammer up to shield the blow. Sure enough, despite catching the weapon below its head from what appeared to be an over eager swing, a line of fire stitched across my face and down my back, continuing to the floor behind me before they erupted.

My Aura took the brunt of the blow, but the heat leaked past my defenses and seared the skin along my back, leaving an angry red line. I lashed out with a kick, catching him in the abdomen and sending him flying back as I felt my Aura drain into the attack. The pain kindled the fire I thought lost in this fight, and Hamrammers blunted tip bloomed open to reveal the protected cannon as I charged up a shot.

The shot went wide, and I grit my teeth. Firing the cannon from Hamrammers melee form was difficult, the odd angle in which the weapon was mounted on my arm made aiming hard. I'd have to stop his movements and get closer. I brought my weapon into the proper position, and channeled Aura out the back from the secondary barrel, launching myself with the recoil.

Cardin slammed his mace into the floor, and I watched the line of fire appear on the floor again, warning me of the incoming attack a split second before it happened. I ignored it, unable to dodge it even if I didn't, and the explosions did little to slow me down, the bright lights and loud noises merely irritating me further. Another burst had me rocketing towards him at a speed I could never hope to achieve by my own body, and my open hand caught him by his head, lifting him off his feet as I carried him to the darkened dome walls and slammed him into them, pinning him in place.

I felt my Aura drain from the maneuver, having put a hefty chunk into it, but ignored the loss. I had plenty and could always get more. With Cardin still disoriented from being rammed into the wall, I lifted him by the collar and pinned him with one hand. A feral grin spread across my face, probably the most emotion I'd shown in this fight, and I placed the open barrel of my plasma cannon above his gut. At this range I wouldn't miss, no matter what form Hamrammer was in.

His eyes widened in a fascinating show of fear as the matrix channeled my Aura into the eight crystals with an ominous hum, the prism lens lighting up as power flowed behind it. My head tilted to the side as his mouth opened, probably in protest, but it was interrupted when I squeezed the trigger and allowed the plasma to slam into his unguarded body. I'd kept the charge low, no need to kill the boy, and the majority of it dissipated against his Aura, so I charged up and fired again and again.

A pained shout brought my attention to his torso, where his armor softly glowed, the heat from the plasma undoubtedly making it beyond uncomfortable. An impatient huff escaped me as I tossed him aside, where he rolled on the floor for a moment. A foot to the chest kept him from rising as I pushed him back down.

I leveled the cannon with his head as I charged up a shot, interest lost. I was bored of this fight, tip toeing around limits to keep the foe safe. Even in tournaments I hadn't felt this restricted, as it was understood that you risked dangers when prize fighting. Perhaps bringing Hamrammer into the ring had been too much against a first year. I had to stop using Yang as the standard for ability in this school.

He opened his mouth again but I blasted him with a weak beam of plasma, the force pushing his head back and slamming it against the ground. I wasn't very worried, the shot had been very weak and wouldn't even push past his Aura. Chances are he took more damage from hitting his head. Sure enough, his hands went up and gripped the back of his cranium as he swore.

The buzzer rang out even as I charged up a coup de grĂ¢ce, the sound startling me and I discharged the beam into the floor. I blinked confusedly as colors flashed and a world was brought to life around me. While there were a few cheers, primarily from Ruby and Yang (and some from Nora), the majority of the classroom was silent.

"Lapis, would you please let Mr. Winchester up." Professor Goodwitch sighed. I blinked and looked down at my foot, where Cardin Winchester was struggling with the limb.

"Get off of me!" He snarled angrily, and I instantly complied, removing the boot from his chest and straightening up. He shot too his feet and gave me a scowl, gathering his weapon and stalking out of the arena, nursing a bump on the back of his head. His armor was dented on both sides and would likely need to be taken to the Forge for repairs.

"Thank you for the demonstration Mr. Ulfheon, Mr. Winchester. You may take your seats." Professor Goodwitch's voice rang out dryly. I sighed and shifted Hamrammer back into its ranged form, mounting it on my back as I walked out of the ring and up the stairs. Whispers and stares followed me and I could feel them pricking at my temper. It wasn't even a good fight. I gained more stress than I relieved in that whole debacle.

"That was awesome!" Ruby whispered happily and I gave a shrug as I sat down. She'd seen me fight before, and against more impressive foes than that, but the perpetually cheerful girl seemed to think any fight was awesome.

"That was something, all right." I heard Weiss murmur. I glanced over at the white haired girl, and noticed her clenched hands. Something about that fight had rubbed her the wrong way, but I couldn't find myself caring at the moment.

"Are you pouting?" I heard Yang pipe up incredulously. I glanced at her from the corner of my eye at her disbelieving face and shook my head. "Oh my god, you totally are pouting!" A grin formed as she snickered.

"It was a boring fight." I finally admitted, and felt my face redden slightly as she giggled at me. "It was frustrating."

"Only you could utterly destroy someone and pout." she laughed. I slouched in my seat, and she patted my head, immediately putting me at ease. "Don't worry big guy, you just got a bad match. Next time you and me are goin' a round." I perked up at that, fighting Yang was much more fun.

"It's hard to believe he's so docile after seeing him act so overpoweringly." I heard Blake whisper to Yang through the haze. Yangs fingers were performing magic on my nerves and it didn't take long for her to coax my head onto the desk for easier access. My eyes were glazed and half open, a content sigh rumbling from my chest as I focused on the fingers in my hair.

"What, Laz? He's a big puppy when he's not going on about that Ulfheon stuff." I heard her reply, not even bothering to correct her about the 'Ulfheon stuff'. "I wasn't kidding about it being a bad match though, Cardin picked literally the worst possible opponent. It's why it was so funny. He wanted to act all dominant and tough so he picked the biggest guy in the class, but Laz is a juggernaut. His size isn't just for show, y'know? You can't just butt heads with him, you'll just end up on your ass with a headache. Like Cardin." Blake laughed at that.

"I think you're putting him to sleep." she said after a moment. I could hear weapons clashing somewhere, probably the next match. Normally I'd at least pretend to care, this was a class after all, but Blake was telling the truth, my eyes were barely open at this point and Yang was intent on playing with my hair today for some reason. Her nails scratched the base of my neck and suddenly I couldn't care less about the class. "Wow..." Blake murmured from...somewhere.

"I've got magic hands." I didn't even need to see to know she had a wicked grin on her face. Was probably waggling her eyebrows too. I wonder if Blake blushed.


A/N: Okay, rewrites up, thank god. I don't know what happened to me with the original version of this, it went haywire somehow. But this version is much closer to what I envisioned, and hit all the main points I needed it to, something the final fight in the first version sorely missed. I blame the air. Cardin isn't a weak opponent, he's shown that off not only against his fight with Jaune, but also in his fight with Pyrrha. The reason he lost so badly was just as Yang said, his tank and spank style of fighting is just horrible against Laz, who's practically unstoppable in that type of situation due to his superior base abilities and ridiculous amounts of Aura. Any one of his teammates would have probably put up a better fight, with the exception of perhaps Sky Lark. If Russel plays smart he might even be able to win...eventually. A bit of a heart to heart with Ruby, which brings to focus a bit more about what it means to perform at your best, something Ozpin kind of skimmed over. From beginning to end, I've always felt that Ruby has put in 100% effort, but that doesn't automatically mean she was performing at her best. Effort isn't enough to bring out the most in a person, despite what the cat posters might say. It takes planning and knowledge along with the will to overcome obstacles. If you can't go through the wall, go around it. Or else you'll just beat your head bloody against it. Anyways, read, review, enjoy!

Yang has magic hands, and it isn't unusual for her to use this method to get things out of Laz. At some point she might even use it to get things out of our resident kitty cat. She's ridiculously good at scratchies.