Chapter 10: One Step Closer

Ruby and Jaune stood in awe at the large gate entrance of the one, the only, UA High. Japan's number one high school for heroes.

"It looks so much cooler in person!" Ruby exclaimed.

"Totally!" Jaune agreed excitedly. The pair made their way through the entrance and across the cobble stone path towards the school's front doors. Ruby pauses for a moment and looks back. She could almost imagine seeing Yang and Blake cheering her on from the entrance. But now…

"Ruby?" Jaune said, curiously and worriedly. He has heard of what happened to Yang from Ruby, but the girl didn't say anything about what happened to Blake. There was no news about a missing cat-eared UA student. It could mean they, Blake's parents, don't know yet, which Ruby thought was highly unlikely because she remembered Kali talking to a police officer back at the hospital. Its possible that they are keeping this under wraps until they find Blake. She hopes they do…

Shaking the sad thought away, Ruby resumes her walk. "Look at us," Ruby said. "We are one step closer away from becoming heroes! And look! Another step closer! And another! And another!" Ruby tries to ignore the fact that she just did a pun.

"Easy there, Ruby," Jaune chuckled. "We need to pass first."

"And we will! Bonzai!"

"Bonzai!" Startled by the new, boisterous, female voice, Ruby whips around behind her. She sees two people, both the same age as her and, from the look of their uniforms, went to the same school as her and Jaune. The one who responded to Ruby's exclamation was a girl slightly shorter than her with short orange hair, aqua eyes, and a perpetual blush. Next to her is a slender young man with long black hair with a pink streak in a low ponytail, and pale pink eyes behind a pair of faint pink-tinted glasses.

"…Um…" Ruby said, failing to recognize the two.

"Ruby, this is Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren," Jaune introduced.

"Oh, uh…Hi?" Ruby greeted awkwardly. "I'm Ruby Rose."

"Oh, we know who you are, Rose," Nora grinned brightly. "Jaune told us all a-bout ya!"

"All good things," Ren said and nothing else.

"Oh, good," Ruby said, adding a shy chuckle.

"So, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Nora exclaimed. She takes Ruby the hand and runs off with her.

"W-Wait a minute! Slow down!" Ruby said.

"She's as lively as ever," Jaune mused to Ren. "I knew they'd get along."

"Me too."

As they headed in, they missed a moment behind them where a certain green-haired, freckled faced, plain-looking boy stares in awe at the school.

The four Shingo students head over to the auditorium where the basics of the written part of the entrance exam was being announced by Nezu. By his side is his vice principal, Ozpin.

"Hello and welcome, young, and inspiring students! I'm sure you all are wondering the same thing: Am I a dog, a bear, or a mouse? None of it matters really because I am the principal of this fine school!"

"Awww…he's cuter than what I was told~!" Ruby cooed.

Nora shrugged. "Not as cute as a sloth though." Jaune, who is sitting between the girls, was confused by that and looks at Ren, sitting at Nora's other side, who shrugs.

"Now that introduction is out of the way, I'll keep this brief. Regardless of what course you all are applying for, the first step is the written exam, as with any other school. But fair warning." While he was smiling still and chipper in nature, the aura around Nezu turned dark. "UA's written exam is more mind numbing than those flimsy tests that are nothing compared to my intellectual mind!" He started to laugh maniacally before snapping back to jovial. "Now, with that being said, good luck~!"

Jaune paled. "Okay, I'm more nervous."

"Peeshaw! It's not like we need A's or B's to get into the hero course!" Nora said.

"It wouldn't hurt to have a better grade though," Ren pointed out.

And so, the written exam began. Ruby could honestly say that she was doing well. With science, math, and English, that is. Ruby wanted to feel closer to her mother, so she did pretty well with the English language – along with knowing a little bit of Mandarin Chinese, courtesy of her father – and math and science were a breeze because you'd need basic knowledge of both to create support gears.

As for history and Japanese…that's a different story. She had a hard time remembering dates and important names in history and Japanese…she couldn't help but think about Blake. In an effort to pass, Ruby tries to use her thoughts of Blake to motivate her.

Soon time was up.

"Pencils down, everyone," Ozpin announced from the stage.

Finally done, Ruby lays her head down as her test paper was taken, looking mentally exhausted.

"Somebody looks like they need a nap, huh?" Nora said.

"What about you? You look okay."

"Eh, I wang it."

"Nora, Mr. Port said if you didn't get a passing grade, then you'll have no dessert for a week," Ren said. Nora pouts and Ruby blinked at the familiar name.

"Mr. Port? The social studies teacher in Shingo?" Ruby asked.

"Yep. He's my caretaker," Nora said.

"Caretaker?" Before Ruby could speak anymore, Ozpin spoke.

"Now that the written portion has been completed, the real test will begin shortly. The person in charge of relaying what you are in for will be—"

"The one and only, Present Mic!" the Voice Hero announced, appearing on stage. Following him is a young woman in her early twenties dressed in dark shades of brown, stiletto boots, black shades, and a black beret. Ozpin only smiled and shook his head as he left. "What's up, UA candidates? Here I am, UA's number one DJ getting ready to tell you young listeners what's what. Can I get a yeeeaaah?"

Present Mic is met with silence.

"Keeping it mellow, huh? Or is it because of the written exam? Don't worry. I know what its like. I'll just skip to the main show, all right? Let's go over how the practical exam is gonna go down. Are you ready?! Yeah!"

He is met with more silence.

Ruby and Jaune were ecstatic to see such a hero at this school.

"It's Present Mic, it's Present Mic!" Ruby said, trying as hard as she could not yell to it out to the heavens.

"I know!" Jaune said.

"You like Present Mic too?" Nora asked.

"Uh, yeah," Ruby said. "Hands Up Radio is one of my favorite stations! I listen to him whenever I work on my inventions!"

"Oh yeah. I remember Jaune telling us about your tinkering."

Jaune turned red. "I-I wasn't making fun of you, I swear!"

Nora glomps the blonde around his shoulders. "Of course not, silly. He was praising the hell out of ya!"

Ruby looks at her childhood coyly. "Oh, really?"

Jaune used his index finger to scratch his cheek, embarrassed. "I…well…um."

"Shhhhhhh!" shushed a girl behind them.

"Sorry!" all four (even though Ren hadn't spoken) apologized. Ruby looks back behind her to see the girl. The girl had long white hair in a right-side ponytail and a thin scar over her left eye. Ruby couldn't help but feel that she had seen her face somewhere, but where? The girl notices Ruby staring at her.

"What are you looking at?" she sneered.

"Nothing!"

Present Mic continued with his speech, completely unaware of what was happening. "– after I drop the mic, you young listeners are to head on over to your specified battle stations. It should be on your exam tickets!"

The Shingo students look down at their tickets. Ren's location will be 'Block F', Nora's will be 'Block B', Jaune's being 'A', and Ruby's 'D.'

"We're all separated?" Ruby realized with dread.

"I guess it makes sense," Jaune frowned.

Nora looked just as disappointed. She notices in front of her a student with oddly shaped elbows with the same letter as Ren. She taps the student on the shoulder.

"Psst, Hey. Wanna switch?"

Ren notices and whispered a scolding, "Nora."

Ruby internally worries as Present Mic continued to speak about how the practical exam would go. Suddenly, all she could hear is her own heartbeat as she grew nervous at the idea of not having her friends to be with her.

"Excuse me! May I interject?" A sharp male voice echoed in the auditorium. Ruby looks to see a blue haired student wearing a tan blazer and glasses.

"Let's see, you're…Examinee No.7111! Go right ahead!" Present Mic said.

"Thank you! According to this handout, there are four faux villain types and yet you have only mentioned three! If this is a misprint on official UA documents, then this a foolish mistake for such a prominent school!"

A female student next to him, wearing what appears to be the female version of his uniform stood up as well. The girl had bright green eyes, short, curled orange hair, freckles, and a pink bow is nestled behind her head.

"Apologies, but I agree!" she said. How can someone sound so cute and serious at the same time? "We are here to become the next generation of heroes. As such, a shameful error like this does not promote this school's exemplary status!"

"So intense," Ruby mused.

The blue haired student suddenly turns to point at someone. "And you with the scraggily hair! You've been muttering. It's distracting. If you're here for leisure, then leave!"

"Even more intense! Wait. Scraggily hair and muttering? Is it…?" Ruby rises to see if she could spot the person the glasses-guy was reproaching. "Is it him? Please let it be him!"

"Sit down!" the girl with the white hair scolded harshly. Ruby abruptly sits down.

"Okay, okay. Simmer down, Examinees 7111 and 7110!" Present Mic said. "You are correct! The fourth faux villain is a zero pointer! They are obstacles more than anything and aren't worth it! While it's not impossible to beat 'em, it's better to avoid these things."

Ruby wonders about the reason for the fourth villain. "Then what's the point?"

Ruby and Nora are in the girl's locker rooms changing into their training clothes. Ruby's what she wore for her training, except she is wearing her leggings without the weights. Thanks to her learner's license, she could bring her goggles. Hopefully, they would be of use. She started taking deep breaths to try and calm her nerves. She's so close. So very close to getting into the hero course. Will she be able to pass? Will she be good enough? What if she's not good enough? What if she fails?

Then, her mother's image appeared in her mind. "I can do this…I can do this…" She hears Nora grumbling. The redhead wore pink and white gym clothes.

"Um…Valkyrie? You okay?"

Nora turns to look at her with angry, teary eyes. "Why did they have to separate us?"

"Uh…It makes sense, I think," Ruby said. "It's so that way we don't make team ups and put others at a disadvantage."

"But, Ren and I work better together." Nora suddenly paled before she blushed. "Not together-together, of course!"

Ruby looked at her curiously. What was she implying?

"Hey!" a girl with pink skin, horns, and black sclera spoke to the pair. "You two, come on! They're gonna start at any moment."

"R-Right. Thanks! Come on, Valkyrie!"

"You don't have to call me that! Nora is just fine!"

Ruby blinked. They're already friends? "Oh-okay! Then you can call me Ruby."

"Then let's get a move on, Ruby!"

"Ho-whoa. I'm so nervous…" Izuku muttered, dressed in his spring green tracksuit, clutching his inhaler in both of his shaky hands. "I've used my inhaler twice now and I still feel like my heart's about to burst. I guess I'm still nervous over the exam. Plus having One for All now and well, Kacchan being here." He lays a hand over his chest. "I just need to take deep breaths." He breaths in slowly and releases slowly. He does again two more times. However, "I'm still freaking out!"

"Do you need any help?" a calm voice asked. Izuku looks to sees a stoic guy taller than him with long black hair with a magenta streak in his hair and pink eyes. It was Lie Ren, though he isn't wearing his glasses right now.

"Oh…um, no, it's fine. I'll calm down at some point," Izuku said, deeply hoping that 'at some point' would be in a few minutes.

"I can calm you if you wish," Ren said.

"Is it from your Quirk?"

"Yes."

Izuku ponder on the offer. He didn't want to impose, but he also needed a clear head for the exam.

"Um, sure."

The long-haired young man holds out his hand. Izuku looked at it for a moment before realizing that the other male's Quirk needed to make physical contact. So, he holds out his own hand and put it into the waiting hand. Their fingers clasp down, almost as if they were giving each other a handshake. A pale pink energy emits from Ren's hand and flowed over Izuku's body. Izuku could feel his nerves calming down and his heart beating at an even pace. He noticed that his color, from his skin and to his clothes even, saturated temporarily.

The two let go and the pink energy fade away and Izuku's coloration returns.

"That's an amazing Quirk! I feel a lot better now. Thank you."

A small smile formed on the other boy's usually stoic face. "I'm glad to hear that."

[Lie Ren! His Quirk: Tranquility! His Quirk has a calming effect on himself and others. Soothing~]

"We better hurry, so we won't be late," Ren said.

"Oh! Right!"

Ruby fidgeting amongst the many strange faces at Battle Station D. "I can do this…I can do this…even though that you are all alone…you can do this!" she said to herself as she tries to calm her shaking hands. She slaps herself in the face. "Okay! Gotta get myself pumped for this! You are one step closer, Ruby! You can do this!" She marches over to the crowd, overflowing with confidence. "You'll do fine, Ruby," she thought to herself. She turns around and walks backwards briskly. "You'll do fine as long as you keep a cool head." She winds up colliding into a student and suddenly an explosion occurred. Students backed up away from the outburst. Ruby coughed. "What was that?"

"That's my line, brat!" a gruff voice growled, pushing her off him. Ruby looks up to see a guy with spiky pale blonde hair and angry red eyes. It made her think about Pomeranians for some reason. And he seemed familiar.

"Um, sorr-"

"Just stay the hell away from me!" the guy shouted, sparks flying from his hands.

"Gah! Sorry! I am so, so sorry!" Ruby exclaimed as she backed up away from the angry, living bomb. "I won't do it again. I promise!" She unfortunately bumps into another student.

"What are you doing?" the other student, the white-haired girl from earlier, exclaimed. She has a rapier sword attached to her hip.

"Sorry! I'm sorry!" Ruby apologized frantically.

"Sorry? Do you realize the damage you could have caused?!"

"Um…uh—"

"What do you think would've happened if I fell and broke my wrist or twisted my ankle? I wouldn't be able to do the exam, that's what!"

"Um—um…"

The blonde scoffed. "If that's all it takes to bring you down, then you shouldn't be here, Snowflake."

The girl turned her glare away from Ruby and towards the blonde. "Excuse me? Do you know who you're talking to?"

"Does it look like a I give a crap, Princess?"

"Heiress. Heiress to the Schnee Support Company as a matter of fact."

Whispers and murmurs among the crowd at the mention of the family. That's when Ruby realized why the girl looked familiar. She felt so stupid that she smacked her own forehead.

"Oh, duh! That's why you look familiar! You're Weiss Schnee of the Schnee family! Your family hosted a support gear seminar last year! I was so lucky to go there with Kuo Kuana Enterprise!" Ruby's mentioning of Blake's family's company nearly made her sad again, but she tries to push it in the back burner. "The Schnee family has a long history of providing support gear for heroes!" While Ruby isn't great with history in general, she has a better memory for things support gear related. That includes support companies. "The Schnee Support Company has a deep history, dating back to when the Age of Heroes was at it's infancy. In fact, the previous CEO, Nicholas Schnee, was a hero himself."

"Uh, yeah. I know that. It is my family after all," Weiss said in a patronizing tone. Ruby winced at the tone. It kind of hurt her feelings a little.

Bakugo clicked his tongue. "Big deal."

Weiss huffed. "Bigger than a sludge victim."

An angry twitch of an eye had Bakugo glare at the heiress. "Big talk coming from the heiress of a company who makes back-alley deals on the side." A dangerous silence fell with tension so thick you could cut it with a knife.

Ruby was also aware of this rumor. While the SSC had a reputable history, it wasn't until the current CEO, Jacques Schnee, when these rumors started to spread. Malfunctioning support gear, questionable business partners, fraternizing with villains and criminals, the list goes on. They were just rumors due to lack of evidence, but it was enough for some people to be suspicious of the once trustworthy corporation.

And Weiss clearly didn't like the accusations from Bakugo.

"Excuse me?" she growled as she advanced to him.

Bakugo stared her down. "Bring it, Princess."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hang on for a sec!" A young man with spiky red hair and equally sharp looking teeth runs over and gets between the two. "Let's cool our jets here. We're here to be heroes, so let bygones be bygones. 'Kay?" Bakugo and Weiss continue to glare daggers at each other.

"Save that energy for the battle, kids!" a loud female voice said. Everyone looks up to see the young woman who was with Present Mic earlier in the auditorium, speaking through a megaphone. "Which starts NOW!"

With little hesitation, the candidates made a run for the battlefield. To get a head of the game, Ruby, after a quick charge, dashed forward, making fair distance between herself and the others, much to their surprise.

"What the—" Bakugo exclaimed.

"When did—" Weiss questioned.

"Whoa! That's fast!" the redhead said.

"I didn't get a chance to test out my Quirk's new capabilities," Ruby thought as she ran, her goggles now over her eyes. She comes across a Two-Pointer. "Well, now's a good time to check them out!" She gives another quick charge of her Quirk to leap at the Two-Pointer before hitting its head with a flying drop kick. "A split-second charge is enough to grant me twice the distance of my former distance before my Quirk cancels, giving me a distance of ten meters with my speed near 13 m/s!" She leaps in a backwards flip off the robot as it crumbled to the ground. "In conjunction with my increased speed and stamina, the impact from the velocity is enough to leave considerable damage." She lands on her feet.

"Two points already!" Ruby smiled.

A loud rumble occurred as a building near her collapsed and a Three-Pointer appeared. It spots Ruby and raises its arm to attack. Ruby manages to dodge in a burst of petals before she ran towards it. The robot then released a volley of missiles at her, but she was able to dodge in three bursts before landing behind the robot in a crouching position. "I can also do at least five bursts. Before training, only one burst was enough to wear me out. Five bursts in and I don't feel fatigued." The Three-Pointer starts to attack the other candidates with it's missiles. Ruby stands up straight. "I don't know my limit yet, so I need to be mindful of how many bursts I can do."

"There has to be another way to fight these things," she muttered. That's when she noticed a protrusion on the backside of the robot's box-like mounted missile launcher. Ruby uses to her goggles' zoom feature to get a closer look. "Is that…?"

Meanwhile, the group of candidates were having some difficulty fighting the Three-Pointer because of the barrage of missiles.

One missile was about to hit a student, an androgynous looking candidate with blue-gray hair in a long tailbone length ponytail wrapped in white bandage-like fabric, and yellow eyes. They were saved by the spiky red-hair young man from earlier shielding them with harden skin.

"Looks like we're in trouble!" the spiky redhead exclaimed. Just as they were planning on running, the Three-Pointer suddenly deactivated.

"What just happened?" the blue haired one asked. The red head notices Ruby climbing off the robot.

"Hey, that's—"

"Is everyone okay?" Ruby asked as she lifted up her goggles.

"Uh, just some minor scraps, but otherwise we're good!" the redhead said. "What did you do?"

"There was a button on the robot," Ruby answered. "It's safe to assume that the other robots have one too."

"I get it," the androgynous candidate said, rubbing their chin. "It's a way for people with non-combative Quirks to have a chance to earn points."

"That's super helpful! Thank you so much!" an excited female voice said from behind Ruby.

Ruby turns to give the girl a thumbs up. "Happy to—" She didn't see anyone behind her. "—help?" Who said that?

"Thanks for that! I'm gonna go around and tell other people! Good luck!" the redhead said before running off.

"If it were me, I'd keep this information to myself," the androgynous person mused, with crossed arms and smile. They turn to Ruby. "But thanks." With a wave of their hand, they were gone. An invisibility Quirk?

Ruby smiled to herself, happy that she was able to help in some way. Another loud commotion grabs her attention, and she sees a few One-Pointers. With a grin, Ruby dashes forward in another burst to attack it at the wheel with another flying drop kick. The machine falls on it's side and its red lights dimmed out, signaling its defeat.

"And that makes 6!" Ruby exclaimed as she ran to look for more robots.

Qrow sighed as he leaned back in his chair with his flask in hand.

"Wow. Haven't seen that flask in a while," Midnight mused.

"Huh? Oh, yeah," Qrow said before taking a sip. It has been a while since he had a drink, but with what happened to Yang, he needed to calm his nerves.

"Just make sure not to drink to much," Vlad King advised. "We don't need you plastered during the remainder of the examination."

"I know. Knowing that Ruby is there is enough motivation to keep me sober," Qrow said. Many hero course teachers are aware of Qrow's nieces, mainly because one was attending UA's hero course and loves to talk about her little sister.

"Remember, Branwen. You're not allowed to give points to your niece," Glynda said.

"Yeah, yeah."

"Speaking of nieces, how is Ms. Xiao Long faring?" Cementoss asked. "If you don't mind me asking."

"When we heard the news from the Doc, we were concerned," Snipe said.

Qrow wasn't surprised that they knew. It's likely that Nezu was informed by Doc or the police and relayed the message to the other hero teachers.

"The doctors wanted to keep her for one more night. But, she'll be back home tomorrow morning. I wanna say she's doin' good, but…" Qrow trailed off. From the way she looked on photos and FaceTime moments, she looks like she's doing well, but Qrow could see it. As an underground hero, he could tell when someone is faking. Having over twenty years of heroism under his belt, he knows when someone is faking an emotion or body language. He learned that, when it came to fake emotions, there is a symmetrical difference between the right and left. For example, an uneven smile is a cue of being fake. Other cues include how they appear and disappeared in a jerky manner, held too long than necessary, or is over exaggerated.

In the photos and Facetime, Yang's smile looks strained, and she'd try to keep her right side out of view.

"I hope that this won't deter her from becoming a hero," Nezu said. "She has the makings of greatness."

Qrow looks up at the screen, focusing on a footage of Ruby. "All we can do is hope," Qrow said.

Toshinori overheard the conversation silently. Hope…such a fragile concept.

From the corner of his eye, he spots a ceramic teacup held out to him. At first, he thought it was Nezu, but looks to see instead of a furry creature, but a sweet smiling face with vivid green eyes and long red hair.

"Young Nikos," he identified. He takes the teacup. "Thank you. I'm sorry that I had saddled you with some work back at Might Productions."

"It was no trouble at all, Mr. Yagi," Pyrrha smiled sincerely, holding a tray with another cup. "You had to put your focus on getting ready to teach at UA." The young sidekick then leaned close to whisper to Toshinori, "And for you to train your successor."

Toshinori gives her a lopsided smile. "Thank you, again, Young Nikos."

Pyrrha's smile slowly went away when she saw Toshinori's frown. She had overheard what had happened to Yang. They were in the same class when in their first year and, while she didn't hang out with her, she knew what kind of person Yang was just from her actions. "Mr. Yagi? May I say something?"

Toshinori looked at her curiously. "Go ahead," he said.

"I may haven't known Xiao Long much during my first year, but I think she'll be back, stronger than over," Pyrrha said. "After all, you did."

A smile returned to Toshinori's face. "You may be right."

"What of Blake Belladonna? Has there been any sign of her?" Cementoss asked Nezu.

"Unfortunately, no," Nezu replied as Pyrrha handed him the teacup. "But, the HPSC was able to have heroes and the police throughout Musutafu, as well as the surrounding cities, to be on a look out for a young woman with a shadow Quirk."

"Why isn't this information released to the public?" Snipe asked. "Having more people to look for Belladonna might be beneficial."

"That was a decision made by the HPSC." Qrow rolled his eyes at that. "They don't want the general public to know that a UA student ran away because of a villain. They're afraid that the school will lose credibility."

"Who cares about credibility when a child is missing, and her parents are worried for her safety?" Midnight asked. "Not to mention that a mad man is on the loose and possibly targeting her."

"Perhaps the HPSC doesn't want the criminal to know that Belladonna has ran off and hunt her down," Glynda said sagely. Her usually stoic demeanor is betrayed by her concern. "It's…maddening that there is nothing we can do now."

"Believe me when I say I share your frustration," Nezu said. "I too want to find the location of Ms. Belladonna. There was a program that I've been trying to convince the HPSC to enact for a while for the safety of our students, but they have been dismissive. Why is beyond me."

"'Why' indeed," Qrow thought. He can honestly say that he is not a big fan of many of the HPSC's decisions and he knows a handful of heroes who feel the same.

Something familiarly green catches his eye. He looks to a different video feed to see a very familiar, plain-looking boy with a mess of green hair on top of his head.

"It's that kid," Qrow muttered. As he was near the underground hero, Ozpin could hear what he said.

"Do you know him, Branwen?" Ozpin asked with a cryptic smile.

"Yeah. He's the kid Ruby befriended last year," Qrow said.

"Oh? The Quirkless young man?" Ozpin smiled. Qrow looks at him curiously. In all the years he knew the man, Qrow knows how cryptic Ozpin can be at times. Perhaps its due to years of working with Nezu…which is a very disturbing thought when you get right down to it.

"Yeah…Why the hell is that kid doing this after I told him the risks?" Qrow wondered.

"Maybe he's dedicated," Ozpin surmised.

Qrow looked unamused. "Yeah, I'm gonna call Recovery Girl," he said before taking another drink from his flask.

"Keep this in mind, Branwen," Nezu smiled. "It is dark one inch ahead of you."

"Huh?"

"Is that him, Mr. Yagi?" Pyrrha asked when she returned to Toshinori's side. "The one you passed the torch to?"

"Yes… it is him."

Ruby breathed heavily as the One-Pointer collapsed. "And that…makes 16. That's not enough. I need more points!" She looks around for anymore robots to destroy, only to see what can be described as a robot massacre. Various green metal pieces of varying sizes littered the battlefield. "I don't know how much time is left. And, from the way it seems, ten bursts maybe my safe limit."

The ground beneath her started to shake and her heart stopped as a large shadow loomed over. She turns around and lifts up her goggles to see the gigantic visage of the Zero-Pointer. "Uh oh…" She starts to back away and run in the opposite direction as the Zero-Pointer advance forward and the other candidates fled. "Zero-Pointers aren't worth anything. They are not meant to be fought! I gotta get somewhere else to get more points." A scream reached her ears and Ruby turns her head to see a few candidates struggling to get away.

Without a second thought, Ruby turned on her heel and burst towards the other candidates. She grabs one and bursts away to take them to safety. She returns to grab two and take them to safety. At this point, she was growing more winded. "And that…makes fourteen…bursts…" she panted. Sweat drips from her brow and her hands are on her knees as she tries to catch her breath. "I don't think…I can do…another…" With her head low, she didn't see a white petal. But what she does hear is someone struggling.

"Come on…move!" Ruby raises her head to see the ginger with a bow on her head. The same one who agreed with the intense, glasses-wearing student from earlier. It looks like her pant leg got snagged by a pipe in cement and now she's trying to free herself. For a split moment, maybe because of the bow, Ruby saw Blake. It only lasted for a second as the ginger's bright green eyes stare up at the Zero-Pointer coming closer.

Ruby charges herself once again, this time a little longer than the other times. "Don't fail on me. I just need one more burst. Just one more. I need to go beyond…Plus…Ultra!" She bursts forward towards the ginger, who saw a red swirl of petals coming at her. She had little time react as Ruby grabbed her and pulled her off the pipe, causing a rip in her pant leg.

Then, Ruby's vision blurred, and her Quirk clocks out. She and the ginger crash down on the pavement. The ginger rolled away from her red savior and when she was able to stop herself, she lifts the upper half of her body and looks over at the exhausted Ruby Rose.

"Yep…fifteen is my limit," Ruby groaned. The ginger gasped when the Zero-Pointer drew closer and lifts up its metal fist to strike her down. "Uh oh." Four, thread like wire emerged from the ginger's nails, snagging onto Ruby and pulled her away from the oncoming attack and into the ginger's waiting arms.

"Are you okay?" the ginger asked Ruby worriedly as she ran with Ruby in her arms.

"I will after I rest for a bit," Ruby said. "Thank you…um…"

The ginger smiled. "It's Penny."

"…Thanks, Penny."

"Two minutes left, folks!"

Izuku's heart sank as he watched in horror as the Zero-Pointer laid waste in it's wake. "What am I gonna do?" He tries to crawl away. "I need to get away and earn points!"

"Ow!" His heart stopped when he heard the voice. He looks to see the girl who had stopped his fall. She was trapped underneath some debris. If she doesn't move, she'll be crushed!

It was a stupid idea. A beyond stupid idea. He had no time to test out One for All or his limits. But…Izuku can't sit idly by when someone is in danger. That isn't what All Might would do. That isn't what the number one hero would do!

Izuku barely felt the bones in his legs cracking and snapping as he leaps into the air towards the Zero Pointer. He hardly winced as he charged One for All into his arm, breaking his bones as he did.

He didn't care that he was breaking his body. He didn't care that he would have no time to get any villain points. All he cared was to help someone with a powerful—

"SMASH!"

Izuku's fist connected with the robot's face, caving in the metal and mechanical parts went flying as the behemoth fell backwards. Everyone on the ground at the area stared in astonishment at the display of power. Even Jaune was there, awestruck.

"Whoa…"

As for the teachers…

The flask falls from Qrow's slacken grip. The man barely reacted with the canister hit the ground and some rum leaked out. He was in so much shock, his jaw dropping, and eyes widen in disbelief. Toshinori smirked at the sight.

"Expect the unexpected."

My brain hurt from trying to put some science to Ruby's Quirk. And we get to see Penny! One more chapter (plus epilogue) to go for this arc!