"Thanks again for covering for me with Cinder." Ruby looked up to her teammate as they walked down the hall of the stadium to the battlefield, her weapon weighing heavily at her still sore back from her bout with Qrow.
"Yeah, I don't think she completely bought it but she didn't say anything so I guess it doesn't matter." Mercury shrugged.
The could hear the crowd roaring with excitement as the match drew nearer and nearer. The air was electric with anticipation their collective thundering cheers could be felt through the floor. Even Ruby who still felt the fatigue of her earlier battle felt renewed energy and enthusiasm and she couldn't help but grin.
"So, you remember the attack combinations we went over?" She turned to her teammate who seemed much more relaxed.
"I do, but do you really think it's a good idea to be yelling our attack patterns out? Also, who put you in charge?" He raised his eyebrow at her, his hands folded behind his head as they walked.
"I mean, I did kinda kick your butt, and I came up with really cool names for our attacks so the least you could do is humor me!" She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest as she glared at him.
"Fine, whatever. Let's just get this over with, but we aren't using the Ruby Meteor or whatever you called it, got it?" The bright light from the arena shined brightly at the end of the hall, it was almost time.
"We probably won't have to use it." She shrugged as they stepped out from the hallway.
Around them sat more spectators than Ruby could even begin to count! Thousands? Tens of Thousands? She looked around in wonder and just a small amount of fear at the immense number of eyes that fell on her and her teammate. It wasn't like the first round where her whole team was by her side. It was just her and Mercury… and their opponents.
"Ruby and Mercury of Haven vs Coco and Yatsuhashi of Beacon!" The announcer declared as the combatants met in the center of the arena.
Ruby and Mercury faced off against a very large guy with an equally imposing sword, and a smaller girl with a dark brown hair topped with a beret, and held at her side was a black handbag with copper accents.
As the terrain began to shift around them as dictated by the hologram roulette screens on the perimeter of the battlefield the fighters readied themselves. In a fluid motion Ruby pulled her scythe from her back, her red and black cape flowing behind her as it unfurled into its deadly blade.
"That's a cute outfit kid, but the cape is a bit much." Coco lowered her sunglasses at as she gawked at Ruby.
"Um, thanks, I mean, I thought the cape looked kinda cool." Ruby's chest felt tight as she quickly averted her eyes. Please let the fight start so I can let my scythe do the talking!
"Three, two, one… Begin!" The bell sounded and the battle began.
"Quicksilver!" Ruby shouted and in a burst of rose petals she was gone with Mercury following in her wake and they darted towards their opponents!
There was no time, nothing their opponents could do, the sheer speed and ferocity of their opponent's blitzkrieg left them no opportunity to counter. Before they knew it, they were surrounded. Ruby's scythe slashed at Coco, pushing her back while immediately behind her Mercury jumped at Yatsuhashi, both boots landing on his sword before he let out a blast from both his boots and launched into a backflip. The duo from beacon were surrounded in the blink of an eye!
Ruby had thrived on fighting opponents that by all rights should be stronger than her, thanks to Neo's training and the skills her body kept from her old life, she was a monster in combat… on the defensive, relying on surprise and patience to win most fights. Now, in this battle, with her aura at only half capacity, she had to end this quickly. No time to waste!
Her scythe ignited in a conflagration, the intense heat from the fire made the girl before her back up even more, her back pressed against her teammate's who Mercury was keeping at bay with powerful kicks and lithe evasions.
Ruby lashed with powerful, fire augmented slashed, Coco could barely counter the slashes, though Ruby had to admit that little bag packed a hell of a punch! A smug grin formed from her lips as she attacked fast and faster, the butt of her scythe slamming into her side as she tried to block the incoming blade.
"Nope!" Ruby's tone was bubbly and innocent as she kicked Coco's wrist with the back of her heel, intercepting the only means she had to block as Inferno Crescent's burning blade aimed right between Coco and Yatsuhashi!
"Rose Explosion!" The instant Ruby called out Mercury backflipped out of the way of another devastating slash of Yatsuhashi's sword and the instant his feet touched the ground his boots loosed a powerful blast that fractured the ground beneath him, launching him back up.
It all happened in a blur, Ruby's scythe wedged between them, the fire searing their backs, forcing them further apart as Ruby and Mercury both jumped up kicking both their feet out and then…
Fwoooosh!
Ruby's scythe exploded in massive ball of flames that sent the Coco and Yatsuhashi flying right into the powerful kicks of Ruby and Mercury, the air and ground trembled from the sheer force of all the energy put out in opposing directions.
Bang!
Mercury's boots let out another blast point blank against his large opponent's chest as Ruby kicked back as hard as she could against Coco. The force of the kicks sent the two flying back to where they were, the ground scorched beneath the as Ruby sprung back, swinging her scythe behind her and digging the length of the blade into the ground to stop her fall.
I- I underestimated just how much damage I took from Qrow, my aura draining so fast, just that impact alone… and that's not all, my body is really weak too. I have to end this now, I don't have a choice! She gritted her teeth as she pulled her scythe back behind her.
"Mercury! Ruby Meteor, now!"
"Wha-" Before he could even respond Ruby turned into a red blur coming straight at him. With only a moment's hesitation he fell on his back and pulled his legs in and braced himself as Ruby appeared in front of him.
"This is a bad idea!" Mercury warned, but Ruby didn't seem to hear him as she flipped back, her feet landing on his and her scythe's blade hovering just above the ground only feet away from his head. Ruby narrowed her eyes at her still dazed but slowly recovering opponents as she crouched onto his legs.
"Now!" At once Mercury thrust his legs out as hard as he could, her boots blasting against Ruby's as her scythe let out an explosion of fire.
The air was ripped apart as Ruby launched from Mercury's legs, the earth beneath him shattering from the force of her take off as smoldering rose petals fell around him.
Ruby was now a spinning ball of fire barreling down at her opponents! Yatsuhashi barely had time to jump in the way, his sword held out to catch the impact… but it didn't matter. The instant Ruby hit them a massive fireball exploded out, the shockwave making the whole arena tremble. The force of her impact sent the two second years from Beacon flying out of the ring, all their aura completely drained.
"Ruby!" Mercury swung his legs down and got back up on his feet, his ears were ringing from the explosion and his aura cut in half just from her takeoff from his feet. As he scanned the otherwise vacant battlefield he saw now sign of his partner… until he looked up.
Ruby was falling… fast! Her scythe slid of out her hand and she did nothing to orient her body for the fall, their attack leaving her unconscious and helplessly plummeting to the hard ground below. Mercury ran as fast as he could to where she would fall and held out his arms and once more, braced himself for the impact.
The ground shook as Ruby handed in his arms, her clothes were singed and she was covered in scrapes and debris. Her small body was limp and bangs draped over her shut eyes as he held her.
"Ruby, come on wake up." He could barely suppress the growing dread the filled his chest as he looked down at her, shaking her gently. "Wake up already Ruby… come on, come on!"
"M-Mercury…" She choked before going into a violent coughing fit. Slowly her bleary eyes fluttered open as she looked up at him. "It's hard to breath when you're on fire."
"Yeah, I could have told you that, in fact I did. It's why I said that was a bad idea." He laughed, holding back a sigh of relief as he gently and carefully put her down on her feet while helping her support herself with his arm around her back.
"Please tell me we won at least, it'd be really embarrassing if I knocked myself out for nothing." Shakily she dusted herself off as she looked around the decimated battlefield.
"Yeah, we won. Probably could have done it without blowing yourself up, but still, at least it was a quick match." He grinned.
The crowd which had been stunned into silence finally erupted into almost deafening thunderous applause and cheering.
"And with overwhelming speed and firepower Ruby and Mercury win in a stunning but reckless display of force and move on to the next round!"
"I think I need to nap for the next week." Ruby groaned as she limped to the exit supported by her teammate.
"Uhg I'm so bored!" Thistle exclaimed as she barged into her dorm room Blake looking briefly up from her book before returning to reading. Thistle had expect not to be coming back from watching the latest match so soon... If you could even call it that!
Listlessly she ambled over to her bed and collapsed with a long, heavy sigh as she stared up at the ceiling. Well, like I though, Ruby won, and after her big fight in the courtyard earlier too. Coco and Yatsuhashi didn't stand a chance, but I didn't expect them to end it so fast, they're a formidable team. Ruby will probably be the one moving on to the finals and me and Yang's match will be coming up soon so one of us will probably be fighting Ruby in the end… but who will it be?
I probably shouldn't get so focused on it right now… I hate feeling like this, watching that match made me feel restless and lethargic at the same time. I need a fight to get my head back on. Limply she let her head roll to the side. Their dorm was empty… except for her faunus teammate.
"Hey Blake," Thistle's voice made her look up from her book, her amber eyes narrowed in annoyance.
"Why don't you and I hit the training room for a sparring match?" Thistle smiled eagerly.
"No." Blake said, returning her eyes to her book.
"Oh come on, I'm bored and I need to stay sharp for the doubles round!" Thistle was practically pleading at this point.
"Don't you have a girlfriend you usually spar with?" Blake looked up again, looking even more annoyed.
"Yeah but she's spending time with her sister, they haven't seen each other for a while and I figure they want some alone time together." Thistle put her arms beneath her head, feeling just a little too lazy to grab her pillow.
"That's thoughtful of you, giving them space." Her eyes softened and a barely existent smile formed from her lips as she lowered her book slightly.
"Yeah but now I've got nothing to do!" Thistle shrugged in exasperation. "Well, if you don't want to spar with me do you at least know where Yang is? She should be getting warmed up too since she's fighting with me."
"Nope." Blake said simply, bringing her book back over her face as she leaned against the wall at the head of her bed.
The room was silent, for several minutes neither spoke, and the mounting quiet only made Thistle feel uncomfortable. She fidgeting in her bed, repositioning herself as much as possible without really moving from where she had plopped herself down. The only sound that filled the room aside from the ambient noises that came from outside the room, was the occasional sound of Blake turning a page…
"You know, you're easily one of the hardest people to talk to I've ever known."
"Mh-Hm."