Amity Colosseum seemed designed to distract every sense at once. Thousands of auras, packed into a small space, pressed down on Aspen, while the people themselves formed indistinguishable tapestries around the arena, shifting and convulsing as they moved. The long rows of seats—benches—weren't particularly comfortable, but Aspen supposed they served their purpose. She found the food to be unappetizing, with the fluffy white 'popcorn' in particular tasting like ash in her mouth—though ash was a good word...
Although they threatened to, none of the stimuli were enough to pull Aspen's attention from the combat in the center once it started. This 'tournament' was not what she was expecting at all. There were hunter-students her age, as Oliver had promised, but they were fighting each other, not Grim. Unless they were Grim? No, that couldn't be right. Laurel said that hunters killed Grim—giant ones, even. These fighters were clearly the same as Aspen and all the other people around her and, despite the fierceness of their battle, were apparently not in it for the kill—there had been plenty of opportunities for that.
Aspen focused in on the skirmish between the girl in black—Blake—and the girl in the purple hoodie—Reese. The latter girl fought with a weapon that Aspen didn't recognize; some type of board that also served as a means of transportation. Even watching carefully, she couldn't rationalize it as a practical weapon. On the other hand, Aspen easily understood Blake's swords. There was a firing weapon built into the handle of one of the blades, but that seemed to only increase its versatility.
Aspen's red eyes followed Reese as she chased after Blake. The blue-haired girl paused for a moment when she saw her opponent standing with her back exposed in an obvious ploy. Aspen was disappointed, then, when Reese moved in to attack. As the board made contact with her, "Blake" disappeared and, in a matter of a few seconds, Reese ran into the cord attached to the black-haired girl's weapons and was subsequently kicked out of the combat area by her opponent. Aspen scowled. How could this girl have possibly become a hunter-student? That was clearly a trap. What advantage would Blake have gotten from standing still and making herself vulnerable? On the large screen with each hunter-student's name, the bar next to Reese's picture had shrunk down to just a red stump.
As Aspen looked around for something else to occupy her attention, her ears pricked up at the words of one of the two men talking over the action: "…eliminated by ringout and Aura level!" Aura... Was that the same thing as what she felt coming off all the other people? There was no real way to tell, though it seemed as if the term referred to something regarding combat—maybe having to do with the bars on the screen? The way she used the word just felt so right, though. It probably didn't matter.
Aspen's eyes settled on a girl in white—her name was... Weiss—waving her arms around. As she moved, strange symbols appeared both in the air and on the ground to various effect. Some propelled their victims while others, like the one she was using right now, trapped them in... ice. What looked like a massive fist burst up from the ground, grabbing two of the other team's fighters before turning into a ball and rolling away. It was a curious ability, and Aspen wondered if it was related to Oliver's light barriers or the after-image Blake had tricked Reese with.
Did everyone have abilities like this? Aspen had seen three examples of it now, all different and all used by hunters or hunter-students. Was this one of the requirements, then? Did you have to have a special ability to be a hunter? Did she have a special ability? She had no idea.
The girl focused back on the ice ball just as it broke apart, shattered by the fourth member of the "Auburn Team." The girl—Arslan—seemed powerful. She'd destroyed the mass with a single punch, and had earlier created a shockwave in much the same way while fighting the yellow one, Yang. Is it Yang? Or Yang Xi— Xia— The pronunciation eluded her. Either way, Aspen wanted to fight the girl—or she would have, had she been allowed to fight.
Just moments after the ice was shattered, the "Ruby Team" began putting some kind of combined attack into action. Weiss waved her arms and an ice wall appeared, which Yang began propelling herself along. Blake threw her weapon to the blonde, connecting them with the cord before propelling herself off the girl Aspen had met earlier, Ruby, toward the three Auburn Team members. The entire attack seemed both spontaneous and planned out, well-executed as a single unit.
Aspen felt her heart begin to beat faster even as the two airborne girls slowed down. The noise and press of the crowd faded to nothing and the image of the combat area sharpened, despite the distance between them. She could see the rose petals from the boost Ruby gave Blake. She could see that Blake and Yang were tethered by a ribbon and not a cord as she had thought. She could see the strands of golden hair flowing behind Yang as Blake launched her forward. Aspen involuntarily drew in a sharp breath as the world came to a halt. Things were different now. She would have liked to fight Arslan. She had wanted to fight Oliver and Laurel.
She needed to fight this Ruby Team.
(-)
Oliver absently tossed several pieces of popcorn into his mouth, keeping his eyes on the field below him. It had only been six years since his last Tournament, but it seemed as if the students had become exponentially more talented. Then again, it may have just been the way Team RWBY was utterly trouncing Team ABRN. One of the commentators had called this match one of the closest in the four-on-four round, but that wasn't what Oliver was seeing. Two of the students on ABRN seemed able to hold their own, but the other two... One of them had barely been able to get a shot off since the match had begun and the other had let herself get drawn to the edge of the arena and knocked out.
RWBY, on the other hand, fought with a level of teamwork Oliver honestly wouldn't have expected of a first year team. It was impossible to tell at this distance, of course, but it didn't seem like they were having any trouble communicating whatsoever, performing moves without even looking at each other. Trust like that didn't come easy, and it was something even he and Laurel hadn't had in their first year.
Oliver flicked another piece of popcorn into his mouth as the Schnee girl spun around, forming a wall of ice. Taking the cue, Yang began sliding herself along the wall by firing her shot-gauntlets before catching the weapon thrown by Blake. The black-haired girl used the tether to further propel the blonde along the wall and, as she was dragged along, used Ruby as a human springboard to launch herself toward the remaining members of Team ABRN. The stunt looked straight out of one of those action movies that tried to glamorize the life of a Hunter, and Oliver heard Aspen draw in a sharp breath as Blake propelled Yang even faster into their opponents, taking them all out at once. He had to admit, he was impressed too; that was the type of move he wished GLOE could have performed in their first year.
As the crowd cheered for the victorious team, Oliver looked over at Aspen to gauge her reaction. Her eyes were still fixed on the arena, but every muscle in her body was tensed up. "Aspen? You alright?" When the girl didn't respond, he turned his head the other way to make sure Laurel was aware of the situation. Doing so proved to be a mistake, however, as the girl exploded into motion the instant he looked away.
Oliver was barely quick enough to see the girl kick off the bench and leap over the people directly in front of them to drop down to the level below. "Shit!" Oliver and Laurel were both on their feet and over the edge within moments, throwing apologies back at the people they'd stepped over. Somehow, Aspen was already a quarter of the way down the next section of benches, though the people in her way were slowing her down. Gesturing for Laurel to go left, Oliver went right, hoping that by running down the sides of the seats they'd be able to get ahead of the girl and cut her off.
Oliver got to the stairs and began sprinting down. Soon enough, he'd passed Aspen and was at the bottom of the stairs. Rounding back in front of the benches, he placed himself in the girl's way. "Aspen, stop!" Either the girl didn't hear him or, more likely, ignored him, continuing to barrel through the crowd, who were just beginning to realize something was happening. Laurel wasn't close enough to help him stop Aspen, so Oliver prepared to do it himself.
Oliver was not prepared to do it himself. Three benches up from his position, Aspen leapt up again. The people in front of her managed to duck, giving the Hunter a clear view of the girl. Despite his years of experience facing fearsome creatures of darkness, Oliver lost his composure when he saw the girl's eyes. They were alarmingly dilated, her red irises mere slivers surrounding massive black pools of darkness. What the hell is—
The Hunter's thought was interrupted as Aspen's shin cracked against his skull, sending him tumbling backward down into the student section. Oliver snapped back to focus in time to see Aspen land ahead of him and kick off toward the battleground. He struggled to his feet, a wave of nausea hitting him as his Aura worked to heal the damage the girl's kick had done. At least she won't get past the shield… Except the match is over, so... Oliver's vision cleared just in time to see Aspen jump over the wall into the arena, unhindered by the normal protective barrier.
"Shit!" Oliver ran over to the wall, intending to follow the girl down, but a hand grabbed him by the arm and yanked him back just as the shield flashed back up. Laurel steadied him as he caught his breath, and the pair could only watch as Aspen sprinted out toward Team RWBY. "We are so screwed."
(-)
"Team RWBY is victorious!"
"We… did it?" Weiss asked, surprised.
Ruby looked around uncertainly, holding Crescent Rose close. Did we do it? She looked over to her sister for affirmation, and Yang gave her a thumbs up. We did it. We did it! "WE DID IIIIIIIT!" she squealed, leaping up into the air. We actually won! I can't beli—
"Hold on, what's this?" Professor Port's voice boomed over the speakers, interrupting Ruby's celebration. "It appears as though someone has jumped into the arena and is now running toward Team RWBY!"
"So they have!" Prof—Doctor Oobleck, as he insisted on being called, chimed in. "She does not appear to be armed, nor does she appear to be a student. Perhaps an over-zealous fan?"
Ruby looked around in confusion, trying to see who the Professors were talking about. Who would jump into the arena? Only one of her questions was answered as she saw a familiar figure running across the volcanic side. "Aspen?"
"Isn't that the girl you were talking to before the match?" Weiss asked, taking a step forward.
"Y-yeah," Ruby stammered as the black-haired girl skidded to a stop. "Aspen, what are you doing here? This isn't about Zwei, is it? ' Cause I thought you were cool with-eeeyah!" Ruby yelped as she saw the girl's eyes; they were huge! She took a step back. "Weiss, why are her eyes so big?" she asked nervously.
"I... I don't know."
What? How could Weiss not know? Weiss knew everything! Ruby looked to Yang and Blake for an answer, but they just looked back at her, just as confused. Okay, Ruby. You got this. You've faced Grimm, and bad guys, and Weiss... You can do this! Now what exactly do I do?
Even as Ruby tried to psych herself up, she saw Aspen's eyes shrink back down. They weren't quite as small as she remembered them from before, but they were at least a little less scary. "Uh, Aspen?"
"I'm here to fight you," the tall girl said matter-of-factly. Seriously, how was she so tall? She had to be as tall as Pyrrha, and Pyrrha wore heels!
"That isn't how the tournament works," Blake explained, stepping in for Ruby who was admittedly a little intimidated by the girl.
Aspen turned her head to look at the faunus. "I don't care." As she spoke, she rolled her wrist, making a horrible cracking noise that Ruby didn't think she ever wanted to hear again.
"Well, I say if she wants to fight, we fight," Yang said as she bounced in a semi-ready combat state. "Let's see what she can do."
"Yang, no!" Weiss shouted, drawing the blonde's attention. "We can't just flaunt the system because some girl wants to— Look out!"
The warning came too late, and the entirety of Team RWBY only got a glimpse of the strange girl as her fist made contact with Yang's face. The blow sent the blonde flying, despite Aspen not using any visible weapon. Ruby stood frozen in shock as she looked at the girl she thought could have been a friend. Was this her fault? Should she have done something different? Had Zwei picked up on something she hadn't seen?
"Ruby!" Weiss's voice snapped the girl back to reality just in time to avoid another punch from Aspen. Tapping into her Semblance, Ruby dashed to the side, letting the strike sweep harmlessly through a cloud of rose petals. As she recovered from her miss, Aspen reached up to her chest and grabbed the zipper on her hoodie. With a single, smooth motion, she pulled it down, revealing a shirt with a stylized Beowolf mask on it.
Ruby began to panic again on seeing the symbol. Was Aspen a member of the White Fang? Was she some kind of badass super-assassin sent to kill them in revenge for stopping their plans with the train? Was she—Ruby jumped as Weiss's hand rested on her shoulder. Despite the initial surprise it caused, the young leader found it reassuring.
Doctor Oobleck's voice echoed over the loudspeaker. "Not to worry, everyone. I'm certain security will have this situation under control in no time."
"Indeed," Professor Port agreed, before slyly adding, "but I suspect Team RWBY would have no trouble subduing a single opponent."
Right, yeah. We've got this! "Weiss! Where's Blake?"
"She went to make sure Yang was alright."
Ruby nodded. "Okay, then our first objective is to keep Aspen distracted until they get back!"
"We're here," Blake said calmly as she jogged up on Ruby's right, Yang stomping across the ice just behind her.
"Alright! First objective complete!" Ruby cheered, trying to maintain her confidence. "Next objective is to—"
"Next objective is for me to kick that girl's butt!" Yang interrupted, her eyes flashing crimson—the same color as Aspen's. With a shout, she fired Ember Celica to give herself a boost forward.
Ruby didn't bother telling her sister to stop, and instead turned to her black-haired teammate. "Blake!" The faunus nodded and followed after the blonde. Ruby shifted back to look at her own partner. "Weiss, we're providing covering fire!" Even as the leader planted Crescent Rose's scythe blade into the ice, several glyphs appeared in front of the rifle, waiting to amplify the girl's shots.
Ruby took her time lining up her shot, wanting to hit Aspen's leg just before Yang got to her. The instant she fired, however, the lone girl pulled her leg back. The maneuver left her unable to move, though, and unable to dodge Yang's punch. At least, that's what Ruby thought. As Yang threw a powerful downward punch at her, Aspen pivoted on her planted foot, bending back slightly to avoid the strike before bringing her raised knee toward the blonde's stomach. Yang saw it coming and used her overextended arm to bat the leg away, following the counter up with an Ember Celica-amplified punch. The shot went wild as Aspen, still on one foot, maneuvered her raised leg around Yang's arm to kick up at her head. The blonde was knocked several feet through the air, but managed to reorient herself by the tone she touched down again. Now free for another shot, Ruby aimed directly at Aspen this time, hoping to take advantage of her compromised center of balance. Once again, however, it missed as the black-haired girl seemed to know it was coming and dropped into a sideways roll.
Blake took the opportunity to join the fight, leaping into the air and whipping Gambol Shroud in an arc to cleave through the ground where Aspen should have been. The girl moved even faster than Blake, though, doing a backward handspring into a crouch to narrowly avoid the incoming blade. Not giving her any time to recover, the faunus lashed out with her sword, using her Semblance to help drive her foe back. To her credit, Aspen managed to avoid taking any direct hits, though Ruby saw her hoodie's left shoulder split open at the seam as Blake tagged out with Yang. In that moment, the young leader felt a chill run down her spine that had nothing to do with the icy surface she was kneeling on. If her hair had been blonde, Ruby thought Aspen would have looked exactly like Yang when someone messed with her hair.
As it was, the two girls seemed equally angry as they clashed, with Yang's rage only growing as Aspen roughly deflected and countered every strike, even while avoiding Blake's occasional attacks from behind. Catching the inside of a punch with her forearm, the strange girl reached up with both hands to grab the blonde by the back of her head to bring it crashing down into her knee. Letting go of her, she spun around and kicked Yang in the side to send her rolling away. Blake immediately moved in to fill the void, but Ruby could hear that her sister wasn't out of the fight yet. "Knock it off and LET ME HIT YOU!" The instant Blake left Aspen open to attack again, Yang dove in with a yell and a powerful swing...
...which Aspen caught. It wasn't like before where Ruby had seen the leader of ABRN match Yang's punch with one of her own. No, what Aspen had done was stop the blonde's fist dead in its tracks with the palm of her hand. Yang reached over with her other hand to try and pry the girl's grip loose, but Aspen's other hand shot up to grab her around the neck. Ruby could only watch in horror as her sister was picked cleanly up off her feet and slammed into the ground, the solid construction of the central platform shattering under the force of the impact. The world seemed to grow darker as Aspen dropped to her knees, straddled the blonde and... and... Ruby was paralyzed with fear as the girl's fist went down and down and down. Yang's Semblance flared out from the small crater, causing Aspen to flinch, but it was only a moment later that she began to punch again and again. Why wasn't she stopping?! Yang's Aura was in the red!
Ultimately, it took Blake's intervention to spare the blonde from any further attack. Leaping over the aggressor, the faunus caught Aspen's arm with Gambol Shroud's ribbon and used it to forcibly pull her away. Ruby managed to pull herself together enough to shoot at the rolling girl, but she was shaking so much that the shot completely missed its mark. As Aspen got to her feet, the scythe-wielder took a breath and fired again. This time, the shot breezed over her target's shoulder, blowing past her long black-hair. Aspen didn't even flinch. Instead, she further wrapped the ribbon around her hand and pulled back, dragging Blake toward her. The faunus took it in stride and closed the distance herself, giving her just enough freedom to use both of her blades without her opponent being able to use the ribbon against her. Aspen was once again forced back as Blake pressed her attack. The faunus actually managed to land several kicks on the mysterious girl, but she didn't seem to care at all.
Ducking beneath Gambol Shroud's sheathe, Aspen thrust one of her fists into Blake's wrist, breaking her hold on the weapon. She followed up by lashing out at the faunus with her free hand, but Blake used her Semblance to leap back and put herself out of reach. At least, that's what Ruby had expected to happen. Instead, Aspen punched through the shadow clone and grabbed onto Blake's wrist, as if she had expected the move. In the blink of an eye, the lone fighter had wrapped the ribbon around its owner's neck. The faunus girl clawed at her ribbon for several seconds before Ruby realized what was happening.
Aspen was choking Blake! "Weiss!" The heiress sped forward, propelled by a line of glyphs, before leaping up. As she spun over the two black-haired girls, she swiped downward with Myrtenaster, slicing through the ribbon and freeing Blake. As the girl fell, Ruby rushed over to check on her. She wasn't moving. Fighting her panic, Ruby quickly unwound the remains of the ribbon from Blake's neck before putting her hand in front of her teammate's nose. She was still breathing, but she was unconscious. Even if she hadn't been, her Aura was in the red. It was all up to her and Weiss now.
Standing up, the young leader looked to where her partner was engaging their opponent. Aspen had taken Gambol Shroud from Blake and was charging Weiss, using the weapon to deflect the fireballs the heiress was launching at her. A large glyph appeared beneath Aspen's feet as Weiss knelt down, but the black-haired girl didn't stop moving. Leaping into the air, she threw Blake's sword into the ground and, still holding onto the ribbon, pulled herself back down. She hit the ground with her fist, cracking the stone where she hit. The impact also caused Weiss's glyph to fail and implode, sending out a shockwave that sent the white-haired girl flying. Even Ruby had to brace herself against the force.
As she looked back up, she saw Aspen picking up Myrtenaster in her off-hand. Finding the balance of the sword, the black-haired girl spun it and plunged it into the ground. Somehow, she'd managed to figure out how Gambol Shroud worked, shifting it into its pistol-slash-kama form before pulling her arm back and throwing the bladed weapon. Ruby found herself unable to warn Weiss, who only just saw the threat as she rose back to her feet. Weakly crossing her arms in front of herself, the heiress could do nothing to avoid the weapon and was knocked back down as it hit her dead on. Pulling Myrtenaster out of the ground, Aspen began walking toward Weiss, whose Aura was now in the red as well.
No, no, no! How did this happen? Why is Aspen doing this? She's not just trying to beat us, she's… she's trying to kill us! And I'm too scared to stop her! I've fought Grimm and bad guys and saved the city, so why do I keep freezing? I'm supposed to be a Huntress and a leader. I'm supposed to protect people, including my team. Yang. Blake. Weiss. They're counting on me. I have to do this!
"Hey!" Ruby shouted, getting Aspen's attention. She cycled Crescent Rose to make her point. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" Wow, that sounds a lot better in the movies. I'm nowhere near as tall as she is! Still, the taunt had served its purpose, and the black-haired girl was now facing her. "Alright," Ruby whispered to herself. "Here we go. You can do this." With a yell, she charged forward, pulling her scythe along behind her. Aspen took off as well, leading with her stolen sword.
The two met with the worst sound Ruby had ever heard, far worse than the simple cracking of a wrist.
(-)
Laurel wouldn't admit it, but she was panicking inside. Aspen had sent things to shit in the blink of an eye, and there wasn't anything she or Oliver could do to avoid the blowback. Like it or not, they were responsible for the damn girl, and everything she was doing right now was going to reflect back on them.
There had been a moment in which Laurel thought that maybe, just maybe, they could get out of this with just a slap on the wrist as Aspen talked with Team RWBY, but then she sucker-punched the blonde. Things had only devolved from there as one of the Professors handling the announcements practically encouraged the fight, and the five teens seemed all too happy to oblige. Remarkably—though not unsurprisingly—Aspen held her own against the combined efforts of the four fighters, barely taking any hits at all.
The tone of the fight dramatically shifted, however, when Aspen caught Yang's fist. The move reminded Laurel of her own fight with the girl, when she'd caught Timekeeper as it had weighed nothing. The tension escalated as Aspen's free hand shot up to grab Yang around the neck and picked her up off the ground. She gave the blonde a few moments to struggle before slamming her downward. The instant before she hit the ground, though, the shield around the arena went black.
Laurel felt her stomach freeze. The shield only went black if something seriously bad had happened that those running the tournament felt the spectators shouldn't see. Likely, the teens inside didn't even realize their match no longer had anyone viewing it. "No, no, NO!" Oliver shouted, slamming his fists against the black surface. Even as the Professors apologized for the disturbance, the man looked to his partner. "We need to get in there." Laurel nodded in agreement.
The pair sprinted as best they could around the edges of the student ring of seating, dodging around anyone who got in their way as they turned down the student entrance. Brushing through the crowds of people in line for concessions, Laurel followed Oliver to the nearest student ready-room. The door marked "Students and Authorized Personnel Only" failed to deter them as they burst through it. Passing rows of lockers, the two rushed to the arena entrance.
The doors were already open, but were blocked off by several guards. As the Hunters approached, one of the men turned and stopped them. "Civilians aren't allowed in here."
Laurel already had her identification out. "We're Hunters."
The guard didn't falter. "That still doesn't give you authorization to be he—"
"Look," Oliver interrupted, pointing out to the arena, "that girl that jumped into the arena is with us."
The man gave them a skeptical look. "You're her guardians?"
"Uh, something like that." Oliver quickly dismissed the question. "Why did the shield get blacked out? Did something happen?"
"You mean besides your girl storming the field and attacking a team of first-years?" Neither Hunter acknowledged the rhetorical question, and the guard shrugged. "I couldn't say. When They started fighting, we were told to stand by and black out the arena if need be."
"Why would you stand—"
"Oh, God…" The words barely escaped Laurel's lips, but they caused the two men to look out toward the arena. Only a few points around the edges of the arena let them see into the center, but that was all it took. Laurel knew things were going to be bad when Aspen leapt into the arena, but this was far worse than she could have imagined.
(-)
Aspen had lost control of herself, and she knew it. She'd realized it when Ruby began talking to her, and though she'd managed to rein herself in a little, she couldn't stop herself from fighting, and when Blake had cut her hoodie, she was pushed back over the edge.
Names and faces had been replaced by auras, each one with a distinct feel. The first one had felt like embers on a beach; her anger had burned Aspen, causing her to lash out even more. The one after that had felt similar to the material of her hoodie, but her annoyance had made the soft texture irritating. The next one felt like shattered glass put back together by a child. That girl's frustrations had dug into her skin, and Aspen had wanted nothing more than to take each piece of the girl's aura and grind it into dust.
"Hey! Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" Then there was the crushed petals. The one she'd met before, the one whose fear had been driving into the very center of Aspen's being since the fight had begun. Hers was the only aura left that Aspen could feel, but the fear was weaker, no longer driving Aspen crazy.
The black-haired girl turned to face her opponent, the glass-girl's sword in her hand. It was lighter than she would have liked and seemed to be made for stabbing over slashing, but it would do. Petals lifted her scythe, yelled, and started running toward her. Aspen did the same, keeping her weapon in front of her. As they ran toward each other, she felt something build inside her. This was it; she just had to beat one more person, and she'd have proven to everyone that she could be a huntress.
Aspen heard a strange sound as some force brought her to a dead halt. She hadn't heard it before… or had she? No, she definitely hadn't. It had been... the sound of metal on… on… She looked down to where she'd heard it, and everything made sense. A wide piece of metal protruded near-vertically from her abdomen, connected to a long shaft, and then up to a horrified-looking girl.
Ruby had impaled her.
Aspen's legs gave out beneath her, having lost all their feeling. She was vaguely aware of Ruby's screaming as blood stained her shirt. Her blood. She was dying. As she hit the ground, the scythe blade twisted painfully in her gut as its owner tried to keep it steady, and one thought passed through Aspen's mind: I need to get this out of me.
Shakily, the girl reached up and wrapped her hands around the back of the blade. Ruby said something incomprehensible, but Aspen could tell she was resisting her efforts. Focusing on the weapon, she pushed up with as much strength as she could. Breathing was getting difficult, and blood was starting to fill her throat. This needed to come out now!
With a single upward push, Aspen wrenched the metal free, causing pain to flood her senses. Her stomach felt like it was getting heavier, and her breaths were even more labored. She opened her eyes in time to see Ruby pulled away by someone she didn't recognize, replaced by Oliver and Laurel. They were both saying something, but the girl couldn't hear the words.
The weight in Aspen's stomach suddenly tightened painfully, causing her back to arch as she let out a silent scream. Olover spoke more voiceless words as he looked down to her abdomen. The worry on both his and Laurel's faces was mixed with shock and confusion as they both stood up and away from the girl.
The pain continued for what felt like an eternity, worming through the entirety of Aspen's lower torso. Slowly, however, it began to fade. Breathing came easier, and the feeling returned to her legs in a stinging cascade. Sound began filling her ears once again, but she still couldn't make out any of the voices around her. Rolling over onto her hands and knees, Aspen began to vomit, spitting up blood and bile. She felt a hand rest on her back, moving in circles as she continued to retch.
When she finally stopped heaving, Aspen leaned back, sitting up on her knees. Oliver and Laurel were on either side of her, with several other unfamiliar men in matching outfits standing around. They all wore the same… perturbed look on their faces, and the Ruby Team was nowhere to be seen. One of the men leaned forward and whispered into Oliver's ear. "I'm sorry, we need to take her into custody. You too."
The hunter nodded. "Aspen," he said, squeezing her shoulder, "I don't—I don't know exactly what's going on, but you need to go with these men. Do whatever they say, oh-kay?"
There was that word again: oh-kay. Aspen still didn't know what it meant, but the way Oliver was looking at her made her feel… guilty. She couldn't place why, but it was making her feel like she needed to agree with him. "I wi—" Her answer was interrupted as she broke into a coughing fit. Gobs of blood and mucus flew up into her mouth, and she was forced to spit them out before she could speak again. "I will."
Oliver nodded and stood up, his hand falling away as the man who'd spoken to him stepped forward. Reaching down, he hooked his hand under her armpit and gently lifted her up. Aspen complied with the action and shakily rose to her feet. As she found her balance, she looked down at her abdomen.
Fortunately, it didn't look as though Ruby's scythe had damaged her hoodie, though her shirt had a long slash through it, and both garments were soaked through with blood. With her free hand, Aspen lifted the bottom of her shirt up to get a clear look at her stomach. There was a thick, fibrous line where the blade had pierced her, and, as she touched it, she could tell it went all the way through her body. The man who'd lifted her up tugged on her arm, and she let her shirt drop back down as he led her out of the arena.
"Wait." The two stopped as Laurel stepped forward. With a brief moment of reluctance, she lifted her poncho off and dropped it over Aspen's shoulder's, covering the bloody mess of her clothes. "There." The guard nodded and continued to lead Aspen away. The girl looked down at the yellow-lined poncho as she walked.
She hated yellow.
I was actually planning on holding this chapter off until next week, but, obviously, that's not what I did. I'm wanting to break away from the whole "publish-this-the-week-after-my-other-story" schedule to see if that will let me post more often, but I actually finished Chapter 6 earlier than I expected, so I'm going ahead and posting this one.
I'm really happy with the way this chapter turned out, especially considering that 1) it has the most perspectives (four) of anything I've ever written, and 2) I've never written from the perspective of anyone who wasn't one of my own characters. Because I was essentially writing a single scene from four different points of view, there was bound to be some overlap. I tried to minimize that as much as possible so you wouldn't be reading the same thing two or three times, or, at the very least, make it different enough that it doesn't feel like the same thing again. Aside from the overlap, I was a little worried about writing for Ruby at first, but I think I managed to capture her voice (without going out-of-character) and make it distinct from the others.
Once again, writing for Aspen is my favorite part of writing this story, especially in the last "scene." Building on her ability to feel the texture of people's aura, I wanted to give the rest of RWBY textures that made sense but wasn't the obvious choice (e.g. I could have made Weiss's feel like ice, but sloppily reassembled glass is much more interesting and telling of her personality). Then you have Aspen getting in over her head and being stabbed straight through with Crescent Rose. Besides being a darkly fun moment to write, it also marks the first time I've intentionally and irreparably broken from canon. Needless to say, there will be consequences.
That does it for me this week. As always, I would love to get feedback on this chapter and, if you like the story so far, I would encourage you to follow the story. I'll do my best not to disappoint. Adieu!
