(Garnet POV)

Take a deep breath and clear your head. Push everything to the outskirts of your consciousness and barricade it. Focus on that barrier, building it with stone slabs and mortar. No imperfection or crack can remain otherwise it will crumble and loose a torrent of intrusive thought. In that now empty space, that barren mental scape, conjure a ball of frost. Be attentive to the size and shape; restrain it to that desired form. If you let it grow beyond your confines the ice will consume all in its path. Now focus, focus, focus. You control it, not the other way around. Now, slowly, channel it. Lead it as if conducting music. Maintain the confines, don't—dust. The wall's breaking. Smoke's billowing out. Blue flames slithering between the cracks, licking at my confines and burning like ice on naked flesh. A great heave of smoke, rough and violent as coughing fit, and everything shatters into blue pyres as a scream rocks my mind.

"Guess you still couldn't cut it…"

My eyes flew open as I flooded my body with natural aura, chasing away the ice. A few withered rose petals dissolved on the red comforter of my bed, vanishing from existence as if they'd never been.

"Meditation still not helping?"

My eyes flicked up to Ren who was tying his bowtie in front of the mirror on the wall, seeming intently focused on the task.

"Why don't you tell me," I grumbled bitterly, falling back onto my bed to fix my best death glare on the ceiling, likely rumpling the crimson shirt Velvet had helped me to pick out. Stupid secondary aura.

The older boy continued to stare at his reflection, tugging lightly on the right loop of the tie to even out the magenta piece of cloth. The guy cleaned up nice. His suit was the standard black jacket and pants with white seams, but it suited him (no pun intended). It would have been weird to see him in something flashy and bright. Besides, Nora had that aspect covered, given the frilly magenta "burn your eyes from looking at it" dress she had paraded around the room before gasping about the time and zooming into the bathroom with an equally pink towel. "It could have gone better," he admitted blandly, still playing with his tie. "I could feel your aura respond, but it happened too violently. Everything burst into flames again?"

My eyes darted toward Ren's back, meeting his piercing stare in the reflection of the mirror. My teammate released a soft breath of air, the helplessness leeching into my gaze acting as the only affirmation he needed. "Please stop this."

The ceiling suddenly demanded my attention. Had it always been cream colored? I could have sworn it was white. "Ren, please. I just need your help for a bit longer. If you could just help me out with your semblance for a few more days—"

"You can feel it, can't you?" The magenta eyed boy demanded, his tone startlingly harsh. I could only continue to stare upward, biting down on my bottom lip. The taste of iron filled my mouth.

Aura is the manifestation of a person's soul. While it's less commonly known, aura consists of two parts. The first piece is emotional energy, sometimes referred to as "qi" or "chi". This energy is born directly from the soul and some believe it to be the source of all life. However, that hypothesis is more abstract than scientific, making it difficult to prove. With practice that emotional energy can directed outward in the form of physical energy, the aura hunters utilize on a daily basis. Spikes in emotional stimuli disrupt the flow of chi, making it difficult to use one's aura. Ren's semblance gives him the unique ability to sense chi, which was precisely why I asked him to help with my aura.

After I first got my second aura to react to me I'd felt it pulling at one part of me, the shadow of my soul prompted by the memories that had been locked away when my parents died. Memories of the love they gave and their untimely demise. Every time I tried to channel the energy, it would provoke that aspect of me. It felt as if it was beckoning While I couldn't sense what Ren could, the nightmare made it blatantly obvious something was wrong. Nightmare, as in singular and recurring. So far I'd had it three times. Thanks to it I hadn't been sleeping very much, which, at the very least, Velvet had noticed during our trip into Vale.

"This is beyond my ability," Ren reasoned, his voice sounding much closer than before. "You need to consult someone."

"Ren, if I do that they'll never let me figure this out." Dust I sounded pathetic.

"And if you don't, who knows what'll happen to you!" Ren burst, raising his voice for the first time I could remember and releasing what very well could have been a weeks of unspoken frustration. It was unnerving, hearing his reserved tenor morph into something gruff and unrecognizable. "You are the first person, possibly ever, to possess two auras," he ground out, demanding that I meet his eyes. "There is no way to know what effect it will have on you. Not seeing a professional is Cardin-level stupid."

The sound of our breathing was the only noise in the room for a few brief moments. Of course he was right; it was Ren. I took a shaky breath as I collected my thoughts. "I'll try to talk to someone."

Ren's lips twitched upward weakly. "That's all I ask. Consider it payment for keeping my mouth shut." There's the Ren I know and love.

"What're you whispering about?" Nora demanded as she emerged from the bathroom, a towel wrapped high around her chest. "I know! It's about our secret dance!" She exclaimed, bouncing slightly. Thankfully the towel decided to stay in place. Would've been really awkward if it hadn't. Well, Nora probably wouldn't have cared much, but it would've been weird for me.

"We weren't whispering," I corrected, refusing to turn toward the exuberant girl. "And, um…shouldn't you…" Nora looked to her childhood friend, head cocked thirty degrees to the right and her eyebrow raised quizzically.

"Clothes," Ren supplied helpfully.

Nora released a quick "oops" before rushing back into the shared bathroom, disappearing in a pink blur. Only moments later, before there had even been time for the heat to leave my cheeks, the door swung open. Once again, there stood Nora, this time with her hair dry, limited make-up applied, stud earrings decorating her ears, and pink dress snuggly fitted on her body. The entire process had taken less than five seconds.

Why can't my sisters do that? They wouldn't have had to kick me out of the bathroom every time they wanted to go out. I could have actually taken warm showers. Stupid sisters needing forty minutes to take a stupid shower.

'X-raaaaaaaaay and Vaaaaavvvvv!' My scroll's text tone filled the room, putting a doofy smile on my face. I made a mental note to once thank Jaune again for introducing me to the greatest cartoon on Remnant as my scroll expanded to reveal a brief message.

"Is my dashing knight ready for the soirée?"

My fingers flew over the screen, punching out a hurried response as I rushed to grab the tux jacket and bowtie I had left hanging on the closet door.

"Of course. When am I ever not ready?"

The only response was an unimpressed looking emoticon.

Right. Kinda screwed the pooch on that shopping trip, I thought, shoving my arms into the sleeves of my jacket and stuffing the bowtie into the pocket. I could deal with it later. For the moment I rushed out the door, calling out a quick "bye" to my two teammates.

Velvet's dorm room was barely two minutes away with the help of my semblance. A sharp knock on the door and Velvet appeared.

She looked absolutely stunning. Her hair cascaded freely down her back, falling over her shoulders and landing on the eye catching lace neckline of her light purple dress. Was there a name for that color? Did it even matter? It looked godly on her cream skin, her bare arms and leg peeking from a slit in the side of the fabric making it difficult to know where to look. It didn't look like she was wearing makeup, but she didn't need it. It would have only acted as a detractor.

And best of all, she was all mine for the night.

"Garnet, could you please not gawk quite so much." Velvet's cheeks had a pink tint as she crossed her arms across her chest.

Fifteen years of being Yang's younger brother were about to finally pay off. "Can you blame me? You look gorgeous." The blush deepened.

"Who are you and where is my boyfriend?"

"I know how to talk pretty to lady."

"Do you know how to tie a bowtie?"

"…did I mention the talking pretty part?"

Velvet rolled her eyes and held out her hand. "Give it here." She took the piece of red cloth and flipped my collar up, staring intently at the tie as her hands moved through the motions. "There," she announced taking a step back. "Now that you're presentable," she grinned at my sour expression, "shall we?"

"Thought you'd never ask," I quipped, extending my arm and grinning in satisfaction as she laced her elbow with mine.

She moved to close the door behind her. "Velvet, do you have the rub-"

The rabbit faunus froze, turning in the direction of the deep voice. "Hmm? What was that, Yatsuhashi? I didn't quite hear you." Any sweeter and her voice could've given someone diabetes.

The disembodied voice cleared his throat. "Rubbing alcohol. In case someone gets...cut on a glass?"

second years are an odd bunch.

"Uh-huh," Velvet deadpanned, shutting the door with a little more force than may have been necessary. A slight tug on my arm and we were on our way.

The majority of the walk toward the ballroom was filled with comfortable silence, our arms brushing easily against each other. "I've been waiting for this all day," Velvet said, breaking the quietude.

"Me too," I admitted, rolling my shoulders.

"I thought you didn't care for parties."

"I don't." There's the setup. "But I do care for you." And he sticks the landing!

Velvet whistled, leaning further into my side. "And there's another point. Someone's really laying it on thick tonight." We maintained our relaxed pace as we left the dorm and along the stone pathway toward the ballroom, the brisk night air biting at my face as we approached the set of tall double doors that marked our destination. "Ready to see if your dancing is half as good as your flattery?" She teased lightly.

The noise I made was somewhere between a cat getting its tail stepped on and a child playing the violin for the first time.

Velvet raised her eyebrows, clearly amused. "That sounds like a 'yes' if I've ever heard one." With that she led me inside.

Immediately upon entering, a bright light blinded me, causing me to start in alarm. When the spots finally cleared from my vision I was greeted by Yang standing behind a podium holding up her scroll and beaming in my direction. She was wearing her favorite "formal" dress, a sleeveless white gown that reached slightly below her knees and flared out slightly with ruffles. It was just her style, aggressive and flirtatious. The type of thing Dad definitely hadn't approved of. Actually, he had tried to take it out of my older sister's suitcases before we left for Beacon, but she apparently snuck it back in without him noticing.

"Look at my cute little brother!" She gushed, fully in embarrassing older sister mode.

"Finally all grown up with a beautiful girl at his side!"

"Yang, please."

She cheerfully ignored my groan. "Have fun!"

Velvet returned her cheerful smile, tightening her grip on my arm. "Thank you, Yang. We certainly will." With that she began dutifully marching toward the dance floor, dragging me behind her through the crowd as a string ensemble played a classical style melody in the background.

I followed Velvet, attempting to radiate a degree of confidence I had seen in some of my older classmates, but when we reached the wooden surface I had to give myself a little pep talk.

Ok Garnet, get your head out of your ass and try to remember how this whole "dancing" thing works. Someone has to lead, right? I think that's what Yang used to say. Do I have to or does Velvet do that? Please don't let it be me. I have no idea—oh wait, Velvet's pulling me this way. I guess I'll just follow her.

Step in time, avoid stepping on your dates toes, sway with the beat. Maybe sway a little less; that guy didn't look happy that I bumped into him. Thank dust I grew up with sisters.

My eyes wandered around the hall as Velvet lead me around the dance floor, actively keeping her toes safely out of my reach after one little misstep on my part. The room was a constantly morphing collage, filled wall to wall by different hues and styles of dresses weaving in and out of each other in a dizzying array. Music from the small ensemble of musicians and jovial chatter filled the air with a gentle buzz, easing the attendants into the light tone of the evening. At one point I even saw the visiting headmaster, General Ironwood, whisk a reluctant looking Professor Goodwitch away for a dance.

Had to hand it to Weiss, she really knew how to throw a party.

It was only when the rabbit faunus finally got tired of dragging me around, though she put it more tactfully, that she gentled pulled my hand from its comfortable position on her waist and guided me toward a line of chairs against the far wall. She sat down heavily, sighing in content as she rubbed her right foot, probably trying to chase away any lingering soreness from my misplaced foot. I took the seat next to her, attempting to casually survey the room for my sisters and teammates.

"Could this actually turn out to be a peaceful evening at Beacon Academy," Velvet joked, stretching her foot out of her high-heeled shoe.

"The night's still young," I bantered in return. "There's plenty of time for something to blow up."

Something over by the drinks table caught Velv's gaze. "Ruby looks like she wouldn't mind an explosion right about now."

If I know my sister, she's…yup, standing by the punch bowl looking like a beowolf stole her last cookie. "At least she's talking to Jaune." Or she had been up until said blonde stalked off trailing confusedly after a distressed looking redhead toward the second floor of the ballroom.

Was that Pyrrha? Seriously, what was going on between those two?

A swiftly approaching figure caught my eyes, dragging my attention away from my wayward teammates. The figure's studded leather bag and cocoa-colored barrette starkly contrasted the formal attire of the other partygoers, instantly putting me on alert. Why was the person staring right at Velv—oh dust. Why tonight? Was it too much to ask for one measly night of fun with my girlfriend?

Velvet straightened in her seat, recognizing the approaching female. She shut her eyes and took a deep breath, allowing the air to fill her lungs for a few brief moments. "How urgent?" She demanded somberly as Coco reached her.

"Urgent enough that I'm here right now ruining your evening."

Dust.

The rabbit faunus swore under her breath. "What are we dealing with?"

"There's a possible wall breach in sector three." Coco barely spared me a glance when she said, "Sorry tiger, but I'm going to have to steal your date away from you."

Velvet turned to me with an apologetic expression, but I spoke before she had the chance to. "Duty calls, right?" I shrugged attempting to look less downtrodden than I felt. "At least you got to dance." I grinned for levity. "And I got to step on your toes." Leaned in closer to the girl, I did my best to wrap her in an embrace despite the awkward position of sitting side by side. "Just, try to be safe."

Velvet hastily reciprocated the show of affection before disentangling herself and shooting to her feet with a level of grace some could only dream of. She might've said something akin to "I will", but it faded among the din of the crowd. By the time my brain even processed what my ears had heard, the two older girls were several meters away, Velvet's lavender gown billowing elegantly behind her.

A feeble smile remained plastered on my face until the two girls disappeared and around a corner, then it melted away. Every fiber of my being wanted to chase after them, to help in whatever way I could. A wall breach was no laughing matter, and depending on where it happened it could spell a lot of Grimm in a very concentrated area. Rationally, I knew Velvet would be fine. While I'd never seen CFVY in action, they were referred to as the strongest team in their year. There were rumors that Coco alone could send an Alpha Beowolf running with a swiftkick to the nads. If there was something that could take that girl down, I didn't want to be in the same area code as it.

But a small voice in the back of my brain was playing a game of "what if".

What if Velvet gets separated from her team? What if she gets hurt? What if she doesn't come back from this mission?

Stop, stop, stop! Making up theoretical situations for worst case scenarios wasn't going to accomplish anything. They were only going to give me gray hairs. I needed something to keep me busy. Just find someone you know and strike up a conversation. That should be a good enough distraction.

Both Jaune and Pyrrha had disappeared to the second floor a little while ago, neither one looking particularly happy, so they were out. Ruby was…talking to Professor Ozpin? I'd have to get that story later, but for the moment interrupting them seemed like a poor decision.

Maybe Sun? That hope was quickly dashed when I spotted the monkey faunus pulling out his best moves beside Blake. Guess Sun convinced her to join him for the night. Good for him. I had no desire to be a third wheel on their date, so I moved on with my search.

Ren and Nora? Nope, same issue as with Sun and Blake.

Are Jaune and Pyrrha back? The Invincible Girl had indeed made her way back to the party, though she still didn't look particularly chatty at the moment. Grimm and huntresses are rather similar in a sense; poking them when they're provoked is generally a very bad idea. Going off that ideology, I turned my efforts elsewhere.

My last possible source of easy conversation was Jaune, and though Pyrrha was now present in the main hall, the leader of team JGNPR was yet to be seen.

Scratch that. He had just been seen by the entire room, if the outbreak of hysterical laughter was any indication. The desire to un-see him was stronger than the arms he was showing off in that white dress. Yes, a dress, as in the article of clothing almost no man would be caught dead in. Even worse, it was a white sleeveless dress that barely reached his knees, with a purple ribbon tied around the too slim waist and an accompanying pair of black mid-top converse sneakers. It was a sight that would truly require years of counseling.

The room quieted as he strode confidently toward our red-haired teammate, who politely held a hand over her mouth as disbelieving eyes roamed the boy standing before her. Jaune put his arms out to the side, sheepishly presenting himself. "Eh…a promise is a promise."

just what exactly had he promised?

Pyrrha broke down laughing. "Jaune, you didn't have to—"

"Hey, an Arc never goes back on his word," Jaune declared with a sweep of his arm, coming to rest out toward Pyrrha. "Now do you want to stand there and laugh at me," a familiar pop song began to play, "or do you wanna dance?"

Pyrrha reached out and grasped Jaune's upturned hand, the most earnest and ecstatic smile breaking out on her features. "I would love to dance." With that she was whisked away to the center of the dance floor.

"Ren!" Nora cried. "This! Is! Happening!" With each work she struck a different pose before freezing and staring at her silent companion.

"Wait, what is happening?" There was not even time for him to put down his glass of punch before Nora grabbed his arm and began dragging him toward the center of the ballroom.

Guess I'm getting something to do after all, I mused, sprinting to catch up to my friends. We got into position as the song began to pick up. We formed a check shape, Jaune at the center, Ren and Nora at each end, and Pyrrha and I filling in the spaces. The hours of "team training" Nora had demanded were about to pay off, despite doubts the rest of us had held.

"Are you ready?" Nora whispered excitedly with a huge grin.

"Define ready," I whispered back.

"Perfect!"

One, two three.

But baby, it's time to make up your mind~

Kick, step right, slide, cross step, look at Nora for the next part.

I think that tonight is when our stars align~

Right. Turn, arm flail, body roll, spin, face backwards, arms out, and raise 'em. Hold it…and there's the signal from Nora.

The whole choreographed dance couldn't have taken more than a few seconds—Nora had timed it around fourteen seconds when we practiced—but holy crap was it exhausting. Who knew people would cheer so loud from a dance Nora whipped up? And who knew it would liven up the night so much? The energy in the room was electric.

Our little entourage disbanded after our not so impromptu performance. Nora and Ren drifted off to dance together, Nora somehow convincing Ren to join her in some disco-esque dancing. Jaune and Pyrrha did almost the same thing (minus the disco), but remained in the center of the sizeable group that had gathered. Neither seemed too concerned with being the center of attention.

My siblings, who I had noticed on the upper floor before Shine started playing, had made their way to the concessions table and I moved to join them.

"Well, well, Sparky," Yang grabbed me as I approached, putting me in a playful headlock. "And I thought I was the party person in the family."

"You are," I assured her, grunting as I attempted to push her arm away from my neck. "Which one of us used to sneak into bars despite being underage?"

"And would lie to dad about going to 'study' at friends' houses?" Ruby added.

Yang raised her arms in line with her shoulders, offering me a chance to escape. "Guilty as charged." She craned her neck to look over the crowd. "Can I meet up with you guys a little later?" She asked, still scanning the crowd. "I have some business to attend to."

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Go have fun with your friends." Yank winked and began to push her way into the crowd.

Suck it up and do it. "Yang?" My older sister turned back toward me with a quizzical expression. "Um…it's nothing major, but…can I talk to you later?"

Yang stood still for a moment, as if processing what I had said. She nodded slowly. "Of course." She took a few steps back toward me and reached out to ruffle my hair. "I'm always here if you need someone to bitch to."

"Cool," I breathed, as my sister disappeared into the crowd. I turned to my twin nervously. Would she be annoyed I turned to Yang instead of her? Had I made her worry about me? Slowly, I raised my eyes to meet her gaze. Her brow wasn't creased in worry, nor was it lowered in anger. In fact, she look happy, almost relieved.

"Want to get outta here?" She offered. "I need to take these stupid foot prisons off." My twin glared at her black high-heels with a look of pure contempt.

A sigh made its way out of my lungs. "Surprised you made it this long."

"Hey!" Ruby nudged me with her shoulder, causing me to stumble slightly on our way out the large double doors. The outside air was freezing compared to inside the air inside ballroom, but the calm and quiet were welcome improvements. "Yang worked really hard to set this whole thing up. I wasn't going to leave after five minutes."

"But you wanted to."

"Yeah. Anyway, where did Velvet—" Ruby suddenly cut off, scrutinizing a shadowy mass that was hurriedly traversing the rooftops of the Crest and Palamount buildings, its outline just visible in the pale moonlight. "That's not normal, right?" Ruby took a few steps in the direction the figure had been heading.

"No," I agreed darkly. Someone sneaking around the rooftops in the dark while everyone—including the faculty—is occupied? Definitely seems shady. "You want to follow 'em?" I asked, looking back at my sister and nudging her gently to get her attention.

"Huh?" Ruby returned my stare as the figure ducked out of sight. "I'm going to follow them. Garnet, you should go get Professor Ozpin or Goodwitch." She anxiously returned her gaze to the rooftops. "Whatever's going on, I don't have a good feeling about it."

Following suit, I turned back to the empty rooftops as my mind raced. "Ruby, going alone is stupid," I reasoned. "We should stick to—" my eyes flicked to my sister, or where she had been. In her place was empty space. "—gether," I finished with a forlorn huff.

Ruby was already running as fast as her high-heels would allow her. I might as well be talking to myself, I thought, hurrying to catch up to my twin.

(Insert Line) (Ruby POV)

The CTT? Why would that person want to come here?

There was no doubt that the cylindrical communications tower was an important facility, it was always locked up and guarded at night tonight. Even if someone managed to get past the guards, they wouldn't be able to do anything if he didn't have a scroll with the proper identification to operate the elevator.

My eyes scanned the entrance of the tower, searching for any sign that something was amiss. At a glance, everything seemed in place. But wait…what was that by the bush to the left of the stairs?

Is that… My breathing sped up as a tight knot began to form in the pit of my stomach. It's a pair of feet. Just sticking out into the open. Oh god that's a body. Is...is he dead? I felt like I was going to be sick.

"You find anything Ruby?" Garnet asked, keeping his voice low. I pointed and his eyes followed the path of my finger. "Oh. Oh crap."

Lying motionless, practically hidden behind a bush, was a guard.

This was bad. This was very, very bad. Whoever had done this was skilled enough to sneak into Beacon undetected and take down an armed guard.

Calm down Ruby. You can handle this. You even have Garnet with you. Just send your locker here so you have Crescent Rose and take down the bad guy. Simple. I took a shaky breath as I pulled my scroll out of a pocket on my dress and hit the launch button for my locker. Not even five seconds later, the rocket propelled locker hurtled out of the air and imbedded itself in the ground in front of me with the deafening sound of metal snapping and bending. After a moment of fighting to pry open the locker door, Crescent Rose was comfortably cradled in my shaking hands. Taking another breath to calm myself, I turned to my brother, expecting to see locker 358 embedded in the concrete and his weapons in his hands.

"Red Raven and Gale Force aren't in my locker," he breathed, paling in realization before cursing loudly. "They're on my bed."

"Go get one of the teachers."

"No way!" Garnet protested. "You're not going in there alone!" Slowly, he walked up to the downed guard, inspecting the equipment attached to his uniform.

"You don't have a weapon!"

"I'll improvise." He grabbed what looked like an extendable staff from the guard's belt, quietly apologizing to the unconscious man.

"Fine," I conceded. "Just try to stay behind me." I began cautiously making my way into the building, Crescent Rose held out in front of me in its sniper form.

"Aye, aye, captain," Garnet muttered from behind me, his soft footsteps barely audible as he followed close at my heels.

The scene in the interior of the CTT was in no way reassuring. Upon stepping within the threshold of the building I was met with four more incapacitated guards. The sight of more bodies and the accompanying thoughts of the intruder sent a shiver up my spine. Carefully stepping over the bodies, we reached the elevator and pressed the call button. The metal door opened and we stepped in, Garnet taking out his scroll and holding it up to the scanner on the wall. The machinery overhead began to whirr as we started to ascend.

The usual short ride was agony. Every muscle in my body was tensed and ready for whatever was waiting for us. Neither Garnet nor I spoke. We only stared at the gleaming metal doors, waiting for them to open with grim anticipation. Finally that moment came, and I took a step forward, wobbling slightly in my stupid high-heels.

How does Weiss fight in these? I thought absently while I scanned the room. The multiple communication terminals glowed pale green, filling the room with light. Seeing no obvious sign to cause distress, I ventured deeper into the room, Crescent Rose at the ready and Garnet covering my back.

When we reached the front desk, a figure rose. The intruder, obviously a woman, wore a mask. Ebony hair fell over her right shoulder and a tight suit of the same color snuggly hugged her figure. Cautiously, I eyed the dust canisters on the belt on her waist.

"Excuse me," I said, attempting to keep my voice level and calm. "You know, it's not a masquerade party. So why don't you take off that—"

The intruder moved, her hand flicking down to her belt. In one fluid movement, she swung a dust canister around her body, sending forth a volley of projectiles.

Eyes widening in alarm, I twirled my weapon. The sound of glass shattering rang out as the dust made contact with my weapon. In the blink of an eye my weapon was aimed back at the woman and I pulled the trigger, returning her volley. The woman's outfit began to glow and she raised her hand, disintegrating my bullets on contact.

Dust woven into her clothes?

"Ruby, this isn't working," Garnet urged behind me, his voice strained. "Change it up."

Crescent Rose whipped behind me and I fired, launching myself at the woman. She deftly jumped out of range as my weapon slammed into the floor. Her outfit glowed red and two glass arrows were barreling toward me.

Frantically, I swung Crescent Rose causing the arrows met with my weapon. The resulting impact caused me to stumble backward. Stupid heels! Quickly, I straightened back into a ready stance and faced my opponent just in time to see an arrow about to make contact with my forehead.

It was too close. No time to avoid. No time to time block.

Time crawled by. My heart was beating out of my chest, each beat counting down the second of my life. A pit of pure terror formed in my stomach. There was nothing I could do but watch and wait.

"No!" A scream of pure desperation raged from behind me. A wall of black rose petals blinked into existence in front of me, taking the the arrow's impact.

It happened so fast my brain hardly had time to register it all. I stood frozen behind that wall, holding onto my weapon for dear life with trembling knees. I heard the elevator door open, and my heart rate increased more. Don't let there be more than one.

"General Ironwood," Garnet said in a tremulous voice.

The wall of roses dissipated and I fell to the ground, my knees buckling under my weight. The woman had disappeared but I was too shaken to really process that. All my brain could handle was that I was alive, there was no arrow protruding from my head. I wrapped my arms around myself, suddenly nauseous at just how close that had been.

"Ruby." Garnet's voice, cracking and raw, was right next to my ear. "Ruby, you're ok. You're ok." It wasn't a question, but a relieved declaration.

I wrapped my arms tightly around him, as if he were anchoring me to earth. "I'm ok," I repeated, my throat constricting. "I'm ok."


AN: Hey-o! I finally managed to post something. Originally, I intended to finish Volume 2 with this chapter, but my editor and I agreed it would have been trying to stuff too much material into one chapter. Anyway, who saw episodes 1 and 2 of Volume 3? Holy crap they were incredible. Neath Oum did an incredible job as Ren, Yuri Lowenthal as Mercury is godly, the fight scenes were top notch (as always), JNPR was given so much personality in their scenes, the hand drawn frames were gorgeous, Nora's semblance is awesome, SSSN's fight was hilarious, and Mr. Gavin Free as Scarlet is brilliant. All in all, I need more.

The plan right now for this story is to finish Volume 2 in the next chapter and transition to what I call the "pre-volume 3 break". Essentially, it will be a non-episode based chapter to allow Volume three to get a little more ahead of me. After that, we'll dive right into the RWBY goodness that is volume 3.

Now the reviews.

Juniper Laurel: I'm glad to hear you're enjoying the story! I hope this chapter upheld the same attention to detail you mentioned.

Firefodmc10: Thank you for reading my story, though I'm not sure I can work in AH or Funhuas. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Shadow-Shinobi666: Thank you for the praise, and I'm glad you're liking the story.

Leto Okami: Thanks for giving this story a try. There are a few reasons I didn't kill Cardin back in chapter 8. One, that would have been too divergent from RWBY's canon. Two, I didn't know if Cardin would show up again and be important. Anyway, I'm glad you seem to be enjoying the story.

That's it for the time being. Read, Rate, and Review. Rinse and Repeat.

-Ventusblade