I do not own RWBY

Trying on her gloves the next morning Ruby wasn't at all surprised that both her fathers had ended up cuddled on the floor like puppies. Tai had somehow, not that she was surprised, managed to wrap himself around Qrow in the middle of the night reminding her of a snake. He had a horrible cuddle habit that he'd passed onto Yang although she hadn't been spared either. Looking over at her still sleeping team she checked the time on her scroll once more before sighing in relief. It was five in the morning and she had at least two hours before any of them woke up. As she flexed her hands causing light to reflect off the thin metal plates covering her palms, she hummed in thought.

This early Cardin would most likely be meditating in the training room. She knew that he was happy to sit in a single room and try to clear his mind. At the most however it would only lead to him stewing in his thoughts as he tried to think through his conflicting thoughts. Sensing the emotions of other people had always made it hard for him to realize what his own emotions were. It took an unbelievable amount of control for him to be able to control his emotions while being bombarded by those of other people.

Shrugging on her jacket she slipped from the room without waking them which at this point was far easier than she would have liked. Maybe she should start attacking them in their sleep to make them more aware. Walking down the hall and entering the training room her team always used she blinked when she saw Cardin waiting on her. He'd already started his daily meditation and she was more amused than anything else. He'd never really been good at meditation; his thoughts ran too wild and from the twitching of his eye it wouldn't take long until he gave.

"Still no luck," she asked stopping in front of the boy. His eyes opened and he looked up at her with resigned defeat it had taken years for him to even get to the level where he could sit still for more than an hour.

"No, I doubt meditation is supposed to make you even more stressed than when you started," he told her and took the hand she offered before gently tugging her down. Laying down beside him Ruby giggled at the repeated conversation that they'd had several times. Rolling his eyes at her amusement he asked, "what do you think of the tournament so far?"

"I like the fighting part," she said smirking while he threw his head back and laughed; she'd always been the more violent of the two of them. Although she mostly faught because she wanted to have fun while he did it to solve problems. When he finished laughing, she asked, "how's your team doing? Are they still upset about not being able to compete?"

"No," he said. They had been at first but after he upped their training they'd decided to stop commenting on his choices. Grinning at her without even an ounce of remorse he said, "their just happy I stopped beating them into the ground during training."

"I would be too," she mumbled feeling bad for the three boys. Resting her head on her hands she looked up at the rafters with dark eyes. Soon this tournament would come to an end and the entire world would be thrown into chaos.

"Are you sure about this," he asked noticing the expression on her face. Watching her closely he said, "we're letting hundreds die."

She knew that standing by and doing nothing during the Fall would allow people to die. Even letting the Fall happen was the same as gift wrapping civilians and giving them to the grimm. She felt bad about planning to allow them to die but she also knew this was the best way to get what she wanted; she needed the world in chaos. Those people that died weren't going to be important to her, after all she'd already taken lengths to ensure the survival of those she cared for. Still, she couldn't shake the discomfort at turning her back on them.

"Is that morality in your voice," she asked deciding to joke instead.

"Hardly, but do you actually thing that when it comes down to it you'll be able to stand there and do nothing," he asked sounding mildly amused by the idea of him having morality. Well in the sense of a normal person at least; both their ideas of morality were more than a little jaded.

"I won't be doing nothing, I'll be recruiting," she said before pushing herself up. Patting her pockets for her scroll she frowned when she found it.

"Roman and Neo," he guessed gaining an idle nod in return. She'd talked about the two enough that he knew she wanted them; at this point he was would have questioned if her crush was to blame but the answer to that was obvious.

"Along with a few others."

"My team and I will go to Atlas once Beacon falls, do you have a plan yet," he asked as she placed her scroll on the ground. Bringing up a photo of Adam Taurus from the police reports she turned it on projection mode.

"We both know I'm horrible at plans," she admitted causing him to chuckle.

"Oh I know, I still remember the time you tried to throw a birthday party for me only to realize you'd forgotten what day it was on."

"I remembered the month," she snapped refusing to admit that her face was turning scarlet at his teasing.

"It was very impressive," he said although the tone suggested that it really wasn't. Especially since the only impressive thing about the party was her accidentally blowing up his cake.

"Your horrible," she hissed as he began laughing at her. Rolling her eyes she ignored the warm feeling from his laughter in favor of punching him in the arm just hard enough to get his attention. Pointing to the image saying, "back to the point. I have put together a basic plan for the Fall. So, when the chaos starts, you're going after Blake if memory serves Adam will be there. Your job is to get her out of there and nothing else. Do not try to fight him."

Adam Taurus the leader of the Vale branch of the White Fang according to Blake was proficient in Iaido and given that the man's weapon was a katana he was willing to believe the cat. The man was supposed to be one of the strongest members of the White Fang. It made the mace wielder want to kill him. To him, the faunus organization was nothing more than a group of murderers with no regard for those that were caught in the crossfire of their attacks. They just didn't care who they harmed in their quest for equality.

He wanted the White Fang to be torn apart bit by bit until they were nothing, but he was mature enough to put the blame where it belonged. Besides his revenge had been fulfilled years ago and he had no desire to destroy her plans simply because he hated faunus. And he did hate the faunus more than anything else in the world. It was just easier to hide his hate now that he was older. There was also the fact that from the expression on her face he was pretty sure she wanted to recruit the faunus.

"Right, and you'll be going after Roman and Neo, along with others," he said with a fond smirk. He doubted that she would ever quit trying to win over dangerous people.

"Yep, your team will be-"

"Covering the evac point I know."

"Cinder during this time will be recovering the Fall Maiden power," she said softly. She still had no idea if allowing the woman to become the Fall Maiden was the best decision, however, she had no desire to get in her way. At this point, there was no telling if she would be strong enough to stop Cinder if they faught. There was a possibility she could defeat Cinder, yet by fighting her she would only cement herself as an enemy. By standing aside and allowing her to become a Maiden, she left the door open for an alliance later on.

"Think you've gotten on her good side," he asked bringing up the issue that they were both worried about. Cinder was a woman who knew full well what she wanted and would do anything to accomplish that goal. They needed her to like Ruby enough to think about an alliance before they brough it up.

"I'll be meeting her team tonight at the fairgrounds near the noodle stand. Be nearby and check their emotions," she ordered causing him to smirk. It was nice when she got feisty enough to give orders instead of catering to the whims of her team.

"Right, now about Team WYVN, they should be on the front lines, depending on how fast you can shut down the robots that could get messy," he warned. Losing any of Weiss's team would be horrible and that was discounting the fact that they were useful. He cared more about the fact that Ruby would blame herself if any of them died.

"Don't worry so much," she said more to assure herself than him. Deciding to move on before she could start doubting herself, she said, "now about the part we're dreading-"

"Ozpin needs to die," he finished as she brought up a photo of the man himself. It was unfortunate but the man held too much influence and would never go along with Ruby's plans. The only option was to kill him opening a power vacuum that they could exploit.

"The other professors will be able to pick up the slack and keep Vale together once he's gone but the Kingdom will still be divided giving me enough time to put together a power base," she said although there was a bit of regret in her voice. Ozpin could make a very powerful ally, but he was too set in his beliefs she saw it every time they talked. He held far too much conviction in his goals to agree to her plans.

"There's also the dragon," he said holding a fair bit of annoyance in his voice as he shook his head mumbling, "We can't forget the fucking dragon."

"Originally Ruby was able to turn it to stone," she whispered having no idea how to actually do that. If it was triggered by the death of Pyrrha then there was no way it would be happening this time. Her team was going to be...well not safe, but definitely not around a dragon.

"How? All we've got is glowy eyes," he asked knowing just as she did that they had no idea how to deal with a dragon much less how to turn one to stone.

"Don't worry about it, I'll know what to do when it happens," she said with less honesty that a thriving politician.

"Liar," he said with an amused huff.

"True," she admitted.

"Are-"

"This is what I want...no this is what I need. I don't want Beacon to fall, nor do I want Ozpin to die, but we have to do what's best for us. Besides, do you honestly see Ozpin believing me," she said knowing that if she went to Ozpin with what she knew he wouldn't believe her. Worse he might decide that she knew too much and count her among his enemies. No, it was far better that he died now before he could become a problem.

"Don't try to manipulate me," he snapped. Causing her to blink. Going back over her words she frowned realizing that she had just tried to manipulate him.

"Fine," she said with a small nod. He hated it when she tried to sway him during their little talks knowing that the only option was, to tell the truth. Shifting to face him fully she stated, "This is what I want. I spent my first life with nothing and now I want the world. I'm a selfish bitch."

"That's my girl," he praised reaching out to ruffle her hair before she could stop him. Slapping his hand away she scowled at him wondering if it would be better to simply kick him. From the smirk on his face, he knew exactly what she was thinking. Sighing, because kicking him would only cheer him on, she grabbed her scroll and stood slowly. Stretching, she didn't notice him chuckling as she slipped her scroll into her pocket. He couldn't wait to see what kind of show she put on today. Grinning he said, "Good luck with your match today."

"I don't need luck," she stated while rolling her eyes. These matches were nothing but a farce leading up to the chaos to come. She would take full advantage of this time.

"I know."

Later that day standing across from team FNKY in the arena Ruby was grinning; she could clearly see that luck wouldn't be needed at all in this fight. The fact that she already knew their fighting styles was a huge advantage although this did make her wonder if she would be fighting Mercury in the final round instead of Yang; she doubted Cinder would risk her personal approval of Mercury getting the way of the woman's goals. Even as their opponents tried to get under their skin she said nothing instead she studied the two closely. Eyeing the trumpet using boy she wondered how fast his soundwaves could move she also wondered how many instruments he knew how to play. She'd been thinking of learning to play an instrument just to have some musical talent since she couldn't really sing to save her life. As Dr. Oobleck called for the match to start, Ruby burst into rose petals while Blake jumped forward as a distraction.

Slipping behind the older boy she lashed out kicking at his back before he could realize she was behind him. Her personal challenge for this match was not using her weapon. She was going to fight him without her weapons just to see if it was possible to win. Flynt yelped in pain as he was sent skidding across the ground before he managed to roll to a stop. Ruby smirked lowering her leg from when she'd kicked him away before shifting to rest a hand on her hip. It seemed his sound waves were not as fast as she was meaning he'd already lost. As he moved to stand again Ruby raised an eyebrow, but the playful smirk never left her lips. Neon seeing her leaders condition rushed the small reaper hoping to protect her leader.

Ruby watched in amusement as the girl skated toward her; part of her questioned if skates were really a good idea on the battlefield. Neon saw the girl's eyes shift behind her just before she felt something wrap around her waist and pull her back. Ruby returned her attention to the boy who had activated his semblance not that it would help him. Activating her semblance again she almost giggled when he immediately looked behind him in hoping to stop her before she could attack. Instead, she simply stopped in front of him more amused than anything else.

"How many instruments can you play," she asked startling the boy.

Stumbling away from her, the boy's eyes widened when he finally noticed her. Staring at the girl his hand twitched on his weapon as he tried to process her actions. All it led to was him not noticing his teammate until Neon slammed into his back causing him to fall right into the kick Ruby sent at his chest. Blake looked over at her leader and stepped out of range when she saw the girl vanish.

Flynt groaned before looking at his teammate in shock. He hadn't thought Neon would be beaten so easily and it was hard to keep his hand from shaking as he gently laid a hand on her shoulder. The pasted out the girl was the fastest person on his team and although she wasn't the strongest, she wasn't the weakest either. There was no way she should've been beaten so easily. Tensing when he noticed that Ruby had vanished, he turned his attention to her teammate. Glaring at the bow wearing girl he raised his trumpet to his lips and activated his semblance.

Smirking Ruby didn't hesitate to appear behind him the second he did so. The gasp that left his lips when she slammed her palm into his back causing him to stumble forward as she reapeared in front of him. Kicking Flynt in the chest she caught his trumpet as he fell back struggling to breathe. As Dr. Oobleck called the match she grinned; her ability to fight without a weapon was improving. Mercury winced he knew how hard the girl could kick and while not as damaging as his own attacks it still hurt a lot. He watched as she helped up her opponent and wondered what it would be like to have her stop holding back and actually fight. War was going to come to Beacon, he had to wonder what she would do when it did.

"Sorry about that," Ruby said offering Flynt his weapon. He shook his head with a grin as he took it.

"Don't be it was a good fight," he said causing her to twitch. She'd managed to beat him without using her weapon. Seeing him narrow his eyes then frown she resisted the urge to tease him as he said, "although I wish your teammate hadn't used Neon as a distraction."

Tilting her head, she gave a false apology saying, "sorry about that, Blake was acting under my orders so it's actually my fault."

Flynt's eyes narrowed as he spotted the obvious lie although he didn't know if it was the apology itself or simply her taking the blame. Deciding to let it be he walked over to Neon and picked her up slinging the girl over his shoulder. Mentally he reminded himself to have her eat more during mealtimes; she weighed far less than she should have.

"Don't worry about it," he said before carrying Neon from the arena. Looking over at Blake who was fidgeting anxiously Ruby raised an eyebrow and waited it didn't take long for Blake to twitch guiltily.

"My instincts didn't like her," Blake said finally and Ruby giggled before leading her teammate from the stage. Her teammate had just decided to go all out against another cat faunus simply because she didn't like her. In the audience, Tai looked over at Qrow with a small frown. During the fight, he'd been comparing Ruby's fighting style to his friends and what he found worried him.

"She has your anger," he said softly and Qrow smirked before shaking his head.

"Nope, that's all her mother," he protested as he remembered Summer's overwhelming rage. His amazing leader was bright and happy until someone threatened what belonged to her. Seeing the doubtful expression on Tai's face, he said, "remember that time you got hurt during a training mission and she went psycho on those poor little bandits."

Tai blushed at being reminded of his small failure in the field; back then he hadn't been nearly as willing to fight human opponents as the rest of his team was. Now he was far more willing to kill then he used to be. He was the strongest in physical power of their old team making him one of the most dangerous bounty hunters to ever become a Huntsman. Pouting the blonde said, "I hate to think how bad she'll be once she starts dating."

"I pity her partners," he stated. He might be her father, but he knew that she would make her own choices; she was an amazing huntress. That didn't mean however that he wasn't going to terrify whoever she chose to love.

"So, what are you going to do about the tribe," Tai asked knowing it was only a matter of time until Qrow had to tell Ruby about their family history. Qrow took out his flask and unscrewed it as he realized that soon Ruby would have to sit down and have a real conversation with her aunt.

"Nothing, Raven has a few more years until Ruby comes of age, so I don't have to worry about it right now," he said taking a long drink. The longer Raven didn't know about Ruby's relation to them the better.

"True, she's going to be angry when she finds out," Tai cautioned and declined the flask when Qrow offered it. They both knew the complicated relationship Qrow had with his sister; it wasn't a lie to say that Tai was the one she actually talked to without snapping at. Given that they'd been married for years it wasn't that shocking.

"Which one," Qrow asked but Tai didn't answer he was too busy watching Yang and Weiss's match. Qrow let the subject drop and turned to watch the fight. Raven would be enraged that he'd kept Ruby a secret and his daughter would be angry that he hadn't told her she had a chance to lead a tribe of bandits.

Later that evening completely, mostly, unaware that her father was keeping secrets, Ruby walked through the festival grounds a wide grin on her face. It'd been a few hours since their fight and she still felt hyper. The amount of cotton candy Blake had allowed her to eat didn't help much either given that she'd simply gotten more the moment her kitten looked away. She'd just managed to ditch her teammates so she could drift around undisturbed. In a few moments, she would conveniently run into Cinder's group with Cardin in range to read their emotions. Spotting the indigo eyed teen making small talk with his teammates she made a mental note to copy his action and take her team out for dinner. All such thoughts dove out the window when she finally spotted Cinder's team.

Emerald had just picked up her chopsticks to eat when Mercury began to chuckle; not the good kind of chuckling either but the evil I know something you don't kind. Following his gaze, she saw Ruby literally skipping around without a care in the world. Ignoring the rush of discomfort, she felt at seeing someone so happy she turned her attention to him asking, "what's so funny?"

"This is what she's like after getting cotton candy," he explained grinning although the expression was more wicked than happy. Watching the younger girl closely he spotted the exact moment her eyes landed on them since they filled with mischief that matched his own. Bracing himself silently he said, "I just find it amusing that her team is afraid of her on a sugar high yet none of them bothered to stop her from having it. Also, she's coming in this direction."

Spinning around Emerald paled, she didn't like dealing with happy people and now there was a happy person on a sugar high. There might've also been a bit of jealousy from how attached both her lovers seemed to be to this girl, but she would never admit that fact. Bypassing Emerald, who was very thankful to go unnoticed, completely Ruby launched herself at Mercury who laughed. Instinctively he caught the girl but wasn't expecting the force from her tackle. Emerald watched them fall and burst out laughing much to Cinder's amusement.

Straightening Neo frowned but quickly hid the expression. She didn't like Cinder or her pets, but Ruby was clearly plotting something. At least she hoped the girl was plotting something, if not then she was vaguely sure the girl would simply be joining Cinder's harem. If that happened, then she and Roman would never be able to escape. Seeing the dagger attached to her thigh, she had to wonder if Nic had told the girl about their deal. From the wink, the small huntress sent in her direction it was possible that he had.

"Ruby, I know I'm irresistible, but can you let go," he said causing the girl to raise an eyebrow. Considering his words, she felt a smirk drift across her lips before she patted him on the cheek as if she was consoling him. If only she was two years older, and if her dads weren't at this school just waiting for a chance to turn into protective pests. Mercury was attractive, so was every person on his team. Bursting into petals she appeared a foot away offering him a hand.

"Hello Miss Rose," Cinder said. Watching as Ruby pulled Mercury up easily she noticed the girl glance at Emerald before turning a warm smile in her direction.

"You should just call me Ruby everyone else does," she told her while Emerald watched curiously. Cinder narrowed her eyes wondering what the girl's plan was. Why would she keep approaching them? And why did it feel so right to have the girl around? Every time the younger girl was around, she just felt warm. It wasn't a stretch to compare Ruby to the sun although she did wonder if the girl even knew what she was doing.

"Well, then Ruby, would you like to join us for lunch," Cinder asked.

Honestly, she would kill to have Cinder say her name in that tone for the rest of her life. Stomping down the heat rising in her cheeks, she nodded in response to the woman's offer. She did not need a new crush right now especially since Cinder was supposed to be evil. But evil looked so good too. The memory of the woman dressed in her black catsuit came to mind before she could stop it. Gods what was wrong with her? Cinder was a villain, a hot one, but still a villain. She really needed better priorities. Looking away from the woman before she could say something stupid, she caught sight of Cardin choking from his own laughter. She was completely doomed, wasn't she?

Yay chapter 33 progress. What did you guys think of this chapter? I'm listening to the v7 soundtrack as I publish this. So far I have to say that Hero has been my favorite.

A new chapter of Death Gods' boredom will be out in the next few days.

the next chapter will have Ruby's reaction to Pyrrha getting chosen as the new maiden.

stay safe and have a good day

-Shyla