Beta-ed by xenosaiyan

"Pendulum Summon?" Jaune blinked, really wishing the world of Duel Monsters hadn't just exploded with possibilities the moment he got to Beacon.

The leader of Team JNPR glanced over at Astral floating next to him, hoping he could give him a rundown on this new summoning method like he had with Fusion. But the ghostly spirit just shrugged. "I am not familiar with this summoning mechanic."

"Okay," Jaune said, turning to his more universally visible friends. "Is this one of those things I should know, but don't?"

"Oh, Jaune," Nora waved. "Pendulum Summoning is… is… Ren, what's Pendulum Summoning?"

Ren shrugged. "I recall hearing the term a few times when we were traveling through the western villages, but I don't know what it was."

"The western villages of Mistral? That makes sense," Yang muttered.

Jaune cocked an eyebrow. "Because?"

"Because the western villages are where a lot of faunus go to in Mistral according to our uncle," Yang replied. "They're not exactly welcome in the big cities."

"An unfortunate truth," Pyrrha sighed. "The Heartland tournaments I took part in didn't tend to accept faunus duelists, though the few that made it in regardless, especially those with Pendulum Summoning, tended to be some of my most capable opponents."

"Okay, but what is Pendulum Summoning? Blake just played those two monsters in her Spell & Trap Zones," Nora queried. "And what does it have to do with the faunus?"

Pyrrha frowned. "During the Great War, faunus units on both sides tended to be seen as… exceptionally expendable. They were under-armed and undersupplied. In an effort to make do with the few cards they had, attempts were made to combine damaged spells and traps with less dust than usually required to make monsters. This resulted in a few oddities, such as Trap Monsters… but also the roots of an entirely new summoning style, one faunus fighters would finetune until it was finally unleashed upon the kingdoms' force decades later during the Faunus Rights Revolution."

"Pendulum monsters can be played like regular monsters, or as continuous spells to 'set the pendulum scales'," Yang explained. "Once a turn, any monster in hand or face-up in the Extra Deck with a level between the scales can be summoned."

"Face-up in the Extra Deck?" Astral murmured.

Pyrrha discreetly nodded to the spirit and then turned back to the rest of the group. "When a Pendulum Monster would be sent to the graveyard from the field, it's instead put face-up in the Extra Deck."

"Woah! That's crazy!" Nora exclaimed, even Ren looking amazed beside her. "Why doesn't everyone use these things?"

"They've tried," Pyrrha revealed. "But while anyone can play Pendulum cards if they can learn to finetune their aura bodies for when they're a monster and when they're a spell, the formulas for making them is a closely guarded secret in most faunus families."

"It's not impossible."

Everyone whirled towards the railing of the stands, Ruby leaning over with a frown while her silver eyes narrowed in focus at the duel, Blake's new monster, Performapal Drummerilla (ATK 1600/DEF 900), taking position beside her Sword Fish and Mufflerlion. "It's rare, but humans can forge Pendulum cards. Professor Goodwitch is proof of that."

The group blinked at the leader of Team RWBY in surprise at her biting tone. Astral floated up next to Jaune. "Ruby does not seem to be enjoying this duel as much as she was before Blake's Pendulum Summon."

No. No, she did not, and Jaune didn't think he'd ever seen Ruby not enjoy a duel, even when she was losing. Heck, he'd seen her eyes sparkling when Blake's pendulum had swung between her scales and her Drummerilla had streaked out like a shooting star. But when the monster had settled on the field, the silver-eyed girl's near irrepressible cheer had finally dimmed, her eyes locked onto one specific part of the arena: her partner.

Indeed, now that Jaune was following her gaze, he saw that Weiss's demeanor had radically changed since the Pendulum Summon had occurred. While before she'd been proud but focused, ready to battle Blake to the best of her abilities… now, she was trembling, her crystal blue eyes wide with disbelief at her teammate.

Jaune gulped. The duel had arisen out of tense circumstances, but he had a creeping feeling that the stakes had just been raised in a way he didn't even realize.

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Pendulum.

Blake used Pendulum.

Blake Belladonna used Pendulum.

Weiss frantically shook her head. No, no, no, she… she didn't know how common Belladonna was as a last name in Vale. Just because Blake had such a surname and used Pendulum did not mean she was the daughter of the White Fang's founders, did not mean she was the Odd-Eyed Bandit–

"When I special summon another monster, Sword Fish's ability activates again!" Blake announced, cutting through Weiss's mental clamor, the fish cutting dozens more air slashes into the heiress's monsters. "Each of your monsters loses six hundred attack and defense points."

The Blue-Eyes dragons (1800 ATK) howled in pain as they were struck, the Phantom Knights of Stained Greaves barely able to hold its sword (800 ATK).

Blake pointed to her Performapal Partnaga floating in a pillar of light next to her. "I switch Sword Fish to attack mode. Then I'll activate my Partnaga's pendulum effect. One monster on my field gains three hundred attack points for every Performapal card I control until the end of the turn. So my Drummerilla gains fifteen hundred attack points!"

Partnaga slapped its tail hand against its coiled body, generating an invigorating rhythm that Drummerilla quickly echoed on the drums that formed its chest, the combination ape and percussion set growing to twice its previous size (ATK 3100).

Weiss took a startled step back from the goofy-looking monster that now would have overpowered her dragons even at their best. "I activate True Light's effect. I set Burst Stream of Destruction from my deck."

"It'll be going back to your hand," Blake said, calmly sliding a spell card into her duel disk between her Classikuriboh and Bubble Barrier. "I activate Performance Hurricane. I can target cards on your field up to the number of Performapals I have and send them back to your hand. Since your True Light protects your Blue-Eyes from being targeted, I'll just have to settle for sending your back row back to your hand."

A colorful cyclone of galeforce winds and music notes flew over Weiss's field, the heiress shielding her face as True Light, Burst Stream of Destruction, and the Phantom Knights' Sword were all added back to the two cards she already had in hand. With its equip card gone, The Phantom Knights of Stained Greaves fell down to… (0 ATK).

Oh, not good.

"Drummerilla, attack Blue-Eyes Alternative Dragon," Blake icily commanded, her contrasting, eclectic monster merrily leaping into action. The one-ape band's cymbals sliced through the legendary dragon, Weiss forced to summon a glyph beneath her feet to keep from being blown back by the shockwave of her monster's demise.

Weiss Schnee: 2700 Life Points

"And there's more," Blake revealed, her Mufflerlion stepping forth to roar. "When my monster destroys yours by battle, Mufflerlion gives mine an extra two hundred attack points and the ability to attack again. Take out Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Drummerilla! Cymbal Smash!"

Drummerilla gave another excited pounding of its chest, glowing with Mufflerlion's flaming aura (ATK 3300) and it leapt on the sole remaining Blue-Eyes and cut it to ribbons. Weiss grit her teeth as she was forced down to one knee by the shockwaves.

Weiss Schnee: 1200 Life Points

"Poor little heiress," Blake mocked. "Daddy's dragons couldn't save you–"

"Blue-Eyes are not my father's dragons!" Weiss venomously, spat, her dignified face suddenly feral and livid.

Blake recoiled for a moment, turning to look at Mufflerlion, the circus animal glancing at its master with a concerned look for the opponent. However, the black-haired girl rapidly shook her head and pointed at The Phantom Knights of Stained Greaves. "Mufflerlion, attack and end this!"

She snapped her fingers at Drummerilla, her voice no longer quiet and controlled as it had been. "I activate Drummerilla's special ability! When my monster battles yours, once per turn, I can increase mine's attack by six hundred until the end of the turn!"

Drummerilla hammered out a stirring solo, returning the favor to Mufflerlion as its fellow swelled in size (ATK 1400). The lion reluctantly charged The Phantom Knights of Stained Greaves, its flaming mane blazing.

"Don't think you'll beat me so easily!" Weiss yelled, pulling a card from her hand and placing it in Myrtenaster's graveyard slot. "I send Dark Honest from hand to my graveyard to activate its effect. When my dark attribute monster battles, I can discard it to make your monster lose attack equal to its current attack points."

A black-plumed angel appeared behind The Phantom Knights of Stained Greaves, flying past Weiss's field and entering Mufflerlion. The beast shivered as it tripped in its charge (0 ATK) and boinked against the spectral armor.

"Most of the time when monsters with the same attack points battle, both are destroyed," Weiss smirked. "But not so when the shared total is zero."

"Then it's a good thing I still have Sword Fish," Blake snarked, snapping her fingers towards her final monster. "Attack!"

Sword Fish dove through Stained Greaves and cut the ghostly armor to ribbons.

Weiss Schnee: 600 Life Points

"I end my turn," Blake declared, her monsters' attack points all returning to normal. "How's it feel to be cut down to size?"

"Is that the game you're playing at? The 'feelings' you want to share with me?" Weiss scoffed, rising back to her feet. "If you'd used your Drumerilla's effect on its first attack, you could have taken out my life points with just the Blue-Eyes attacks, or even before if you'd aimed for my Phantom Knight with it."

Blake snorted. "Please, not everything's about your ego, Schnee. I've seen you use Honest and Dark Honest in class. I could recover more easily if you boosted one of your dragons with the light version than if Drummerilla's points were wiped out by the dark."

"Please, you wanted to humiliate me by wiping out all my monsters when you beat me," Weiss shot back. "This isn't just about the White Fang or some ideological dispute. You've had something against me since the day we met. Something personal."

"Again with the ego. Your family has never done anything to me personally" Blake rolled her eyes, only for the amber orbs to narrow, shrewd and cutting. "I've been lucky in that regard. It's hard to see the White Fang as without a point when one witnesses what your family has done to those it fights for."

"Of course they have a point!"

Blake's face lit up with confusion, the first time Weiss had startled her the entire match. The heiress took a guilty bit of pride at that small victory, though she also caught a chorus of gasps from the stands, so she figured she might as well clarify what she meant until it got twisted into her supporting terrorists.

"Do you think I'm blind? Just putting on makeup in the mirror while my father treats innocent people like dirt?" the heiress challenged. "I've been dragged to every single one of his false 'solidarity' galas, watched him parade dead miners' families in front of the cameras while he smiled as if he didn't let everything get below code in the first place. I've seen the people who've lost fathers, mothers, siblings, have to smile and act grateful to the man who gutted their families if they wanted to get any money to feed whoever they had left. The White Fang is completely right to want my father's head on a pike."

Blake blinked in shock. "Then why–"

"Because the people who were in the General Lagune Center were not my father! And neither were the security guards and clerks and train drivers who he also held galas for the families of," Weiss shouted, putting her fingers atop her deck. "My father. The White Fang. They're all monsters. And I won't stay trapped in some ivory tower while they hurt people! I draw! I activate Graceful Charity! I draw three cards and discard two! I choose True Light and The Phantom Knights' Sword!"

She couldn't afford the turn the pair of them would need to be facedown before they activated. With Blake's field as it was and her life points so low, she needed to break her opponent's board this turn if she wanted to survive. And she had five cards in hand to do that with.

Well, in addition to the ones in her graveyard.

"I banish The Phantom Knights' Sword from my graveyard to activate its effect. Resurrect, My Phantom Knights of Stained Greaves!" Weiss called, her level three spectral armor arising. "Next, because there's a Phantom Knight on my field, I can special summon The Phantom Knights of Silent Boots. And since I'm special summoning another Phantom Knight, I can special summon the Phantom Knights of Stained Greaves that's in my hand, but I'll bring it out as a level four monster."

The two new possessed armors manifested on her field, Weiss's hand dropping to three cards as the level three armors floated away from the artificially level four one.

"Next, I activate Pre-Preparation of Rites, allowing me to add one Ritual Spell and one Ritual Monster that is specifically mentioned on it to my hand. I choose White Dragon Ritual and the Paladin of White Dragon," Weiss stated, only to immediately activate her new spell. "I then activate White Dragon Ritual and tribute my level four Phantom Knight of Stained Greaves to ritual summon Paladin of White Dragon."

The possessed greaves vanished in a circle of shining white light, only to be replaced in a flash of light by an armored knight with a lance atop a baby blue dragon (ATK 1900/DEF 1200).

"You can Ritual Summon too, Weiss!" Nora yelled from the stands. "Why didn't you tell us?! You, me, and Ren can start a Ritual Club!"

"I dabble," Weiss deflected, continuing her turn. "I tribute my Paladin to activate its special ability–"

"Boo!" Nora shouted. "Let the ritual monster stay!"

"-to special summon from my deck, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" Weiss announced, placing the symbol of her family on her duel disk in defense mode as the dragon blossomed onto her field (ATK 3000/DEF 2500).

"Far be it from me to agree with Nora," Blake remarked. "But I have to admit, all that fanfare just for another Blue-Eyes is kind of a letdown."

"They're the symbol of my family. The dragons my grandfather made famous when he built our legacy. They're a part of me," Weiss pridefully declared. "But they're not all of me. I use my two level three Phantom Knights to build the Overlay Network! Xyz Summon! The Phantom Knights of Break Sword!"

The two ghostly armors morphed into nodes of purple light before spinning into a golden galaxy and exploding. Rising from the light was an armored horse mounted by a rider of blue flame filling out hollowed armor (ATK 2000/DEF 1000).

Ironically, if this duel had happened back when Weiss had first met Blake, she would have concurred with her teammate if the other girl had accused her of blackening herself with her father's influence when she brought out Break Sword. Her father had been the one to 'teach' her how to Xyz Summon. But after her duel with Ruby, she was done holding herself back (she was honestly surprised her partner didn't cheer out congratulations like Nora for finally unleashing her full strength).

She'd been arguing with herself in the mirror for so long, trying to make sense of her rage for both her father and his enemies. If Blake wanted to stare in that mirror too, she'd fight the same foe.

"I activate The Phantom Knights of Break Sword's effect!" Weiss called. "I pick one card on each of our fields and destroy them! I choose Break Sword and your Bubble Barrier!"

The ghostly knight swung its saber and the blade was lit up in blue fire. The cleaver shattered into two massive hunks, one snapping through Break Sword's phantasmal body and the other flying across the field and obliterating Blake's spell card. The shielding wall of bubbles that had permeated the field since the start of the duel all popped in a great cacophony.

"When The Phantom Knights of Break Sword is destroyed, I can summon two Phantom Knights of equal level from my graveyard and increase their levels by one. so I call upon both my Phantom Knights of Stained Greaves as level four monsters," Weiss revealed, two familiar sets of possessed armor reappearing before her as she placed a spell card from her hand into her duel disk. "Then with your protection gone, I activate Burst Stream of Destruction!"

"Your Alternative Dragon's special ability?" Blake queried, lightning growing the defense mode Blue-Eyes's maw. "As a spell card?"

"Yes. Except instead of destroying one of your monsters in exchange for my Blue-Eyes White Dragon not attacking this turn, this spell card destroys all your monsters."

Blake's amber eyes widened in alarm, but by then it was too late. Weiss's dragon's wings flapped and the ultimate creature of destruction unleashed a thunderous wall of cracking fury. In a blinding flash, Performapal Drummerilla, Mufflerlion, and Sword Fish were blown to smithereens.

"You'll be able to summon back one of your Pendulum monsters from your Extra Deck next turn," Weiss observed, only to dramatically point at her teammate with all her fury. "But you'll be taking quite a bit of damage first! I overlay my two level four Phantom Knights of Stained Greaves!"

Once more, her monsters morphed into purple nodes and dove into the golden spiral galaxy that shined beneath them. But no mere shadowy horse and rider emerged when the summoning matrix did its work. No, as Weiss spoke her summoning chant, focusing her aura to keep the material monsters' forms mercurial as they moved through the Overlay Network, the shadows of the duel arena seemed to bend towards the creature she called upon.

The first monster she'd ever forged.

"From the black darkness hidden behind the mirror, bare the fangs of rebellion against the stupidity that would make you guilty of its crimes! Xyz Summon!" Weiss howled. "Rank 4! Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!"

The Overlay Network erupted with power and her 'unsightly beast' as her father would, shrieked onto the field.

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Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon was as rapturously beautiful as Ruby remembered it being from the Emerald Forest. A deep purple hide. Dark wings with empty spaces between each section humming with a tempest's heat. A pair of jet black talons flanking its jaws that even at rest crackling electricity. Seeing it side by side with Blue-Eyes White Dragon, it was even easier to see the similarities the two lightning-breathing dragons shared once one looked past their opposing color palettes. After all, even if the darker, scrawnier dragon looked like a monster more appropriate for Blake than Weiss, it greeted the legendary beast of the Schnee Family with a friendly, if jostling, shriek, a call that its more famous counterpart seemed to laughingly roll its eyes at, almost like an indulgent older sibling.

Ruby wished she could enjoy its awesome presence to the fullest. But when she'd seen Weiss's reaction to Blake's Pendulum Summon, when she'd realized herself who a Pendulum-user with the last name Belladonna likely was, she found her excitement over the duel's awesome back and forth significantly diminished by the idea that her whole 'have her teammates express their feelings through dueling' plan might have stumbled upon a dangerous terrorist.

And that was before she was suddenly hit with a wave of nausea that forced her to catch herself on the stands' railing.

"Ugh, not again," Yang moaned, the blonde hunting duelist clutching her forehead as she stumbled forward, Pyrrha and Nora reacting fast to catch her. "This is… annoyingly familiar."

"This happened to you before?" Pyrrha asked worriedly.

"Back in the Emerald Forest during Initiation," Yang replied.

"Makes sense. I startled Weiss into summoning it back then," Ruby groaned, rubbing her temples. "I didn't get a migraine back then though."

"Blake did," Yang revealed, the Team JNPR girls helping her to a seat. "She solid on her feet now?"

"Um, kinda? She's wobbling a bit, but holding onto her deck for balance, and it's… glowing?" Jaune informed her, only to lean his head to the side as if listening to an unseen person, only for his eyes to widen. "How powerful is it?"

Nora raised an eyebrow. "How powerful is what?"

"Oh," Jaune stuttered. "Well, uh–"

"That dragon," Ren cut in, his pink eyes shifting from Jaune to Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon. "The stadium's barriers are operating at full capacity, but it's somehow still able to affect Ruby and Yang. Right?"

"Uh… yeah," Jaune replied, staring at his pink-eyed teammate in surprise. "That's it."

"Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon! Attack her directly!" Weiss's voice rang out, focusing all the spectators back on the duel. The heiress's dark dragon threw back its head and lit up its fangs with lightning.

"Classikuriboh! Defend!" Blake shouted, clenching tighter around her deck as her forehead scrunched in pain. "Destroy yourself!"

Classkuriboh growled in affirmation, zipping out of the Pendulum Zone pillar and singing a shrill and operatic high note. The close approximation of Ruby's view of classical music warded Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon back right before the adorable puffball exploded.

The entire crowd blinked in shock.

"Was… was it supposed to do that?" Jaune asked.

"When I'm attacked directly while Performapal Classikuriboh is in my Pendulum Zone, it can destroy itself," Blake explained. "And when it's destroyed by its own effect, the battle phase ends."

"Huh. I guess it was," Nora shrugged.

Weiss scowled. "I banish The Phantom Knights of Silent Boots from my graveyard to add The Phantom Knights' Fog Blade to my hand. Then I set two cards facedown and end my turn."

The last two cards in the heiress's hand flashed facedown, her opponent's field having been shattered, but her life points still untouched despite the two mighty dragons facing her down.

"All that and she still hasn't lost a single life point," Nora remarked. "You might have some competition for that whole 'Invincible Girl' thing, Pyrrha."

"Maybe," the Mistral Champion replied, her emerald eyes narrowed and far more unsure than her words.

"I draw! I activate Pot of Greed!" Blake announced, pulling two cards from her deck. The black-haired duelest glanced at the new pair for a moment, her bow twitching as she shoved one of them into Gambol Shroud. "Then I activate Pendulum Halt! Since I have three face-up Pendulum Monsters with different names in my Extra Deck, I can draw two cards. But I will no longer be able to add cards from my deck to my hand for the remainder of the turn."

"Then those three cards will decide it," Ren noted.

Yang nodded, still clutching her forehead. "She needs a Pendulum card to rebuild her scales and something to get her Drummerilla past that Fog Blade. Easier said than done even with three new ones."

Watching Blake complete her new hand, Ruby wasn't completely sure that her sister's analysis was on the money. After all, Jaune had been right about the black-haired girl's deck glowing when Weiss had summoned her Dark Rebellion.

And the only card that was still shining had just been added to her hand.

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Performapal Skullcrobat Joker, Performapal Odd-Eyes Minitaurus, and… it. Her ace. The card that was for some reason flashing a faint glow just as it had back in the Emerald Forest. The card that was more than ever pleading in her mind to let it dance onto the battlefield. The card that would leave no doubt about her identity if she played it.

She shouldn't play it. Beating Weiss and her fancy family dragons would be therapeutic, but it wasn't worth giving away her identity.

"I rebuild my Pendulum Scales with my already active Scale 3 Performapal Partnaga and my Scale 8 Performapal Skullcrobat Joker."

She had already given away too much as it was. Going by their reactions to her use of Pendulum, she suspected Weiss, Ruby, and Pyrrha had already suspected her.

"Rise from shadows, my monsters. Carve an arc upon the world and reclaim our destiny. Pendulum Summon!"

It wasn't worth the risk.

"I summon Performapal Drummerilla from my Extra Deck, and from my hand, Performapal Minitaurus…"

So why was her hand reaching for its card?!

"... Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"

"No," Ruby squeaked from the stands, and the heartbreaking sound nearly broke through whatever strange force was clouding Blake's mind and tinging her vision red.

Weiss didn't look nearly so timid when Blake's monster crashed down from the pendulum's arc. Though her stiffed lip actually seemed a bit heartbroken as Drummerilla (ATK 1600/DEF 800) zipped into the Extra Monster Zone while Minitaurus (ATK 1200/DEF 1600) took a knee in defense position behind it.

Then came her ace. Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, with a body of red, horns and spines of ivory, and a strange blue orb buried in its chest, gave a cry of joy as it emerged onto a duel field for the first time in months (ATK 2500/DEF 2000). The dragon with dual-colored eyes of green and scarlet exuberantly danced in front of Blake… until it saw Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon.

Both great beasts snarled, their eyes suddenly blazing like suns at the sight of each other.

"AH!" Weiss screeched, clutching her head in pain. It seemed whatever nausea had struck Blake now and back at the Emerald Forest was finally affecting her, Ruby and Yang letting out renewed howls from the stands. But only the Schnee heiress's eyes suddenly lit up with an unnatural black glow, her face suddenly marred with fury as her voice took on an echoing timbre. "Unite… Unite…"

Blake probably would have been more creeped out by her opponent suddenly acting more Grimm than human, but she soon found herself without what little ability to think she'd retained since Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon took the field.

Her vision turned completely, blindingly red. When her mouth next opened, she spoke words not her own with a reverberation that matched her opponent's.

"Unite… Unite… Unite and ascend!"

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Ozpin had been enjoying a nice cup of evening hot chocolate when Timaeus had suddenly lit up like a firework, his legendary dragon alerting him to a sudden surge of magic. Of creation and destruction magic, that of the Brother Gods. In quantities that should not have existed since their deaths, save in the cards he'd hidden away long ago.

"Glynda," the headmaster spoke urgently into his scroll. "I need you to check on the vault, make sure it's still sealed. Amber's assailant stole her dragon, so it's possible that they'll try to use it and one of the other maidens to open it and get the God Card. I have something else I need to investigate."

He quickly stowed the scroll away, grabbed Timaeus, his deck, and his Long Memory duel disk, and made his way out of his office, his legendary dragon directing him to the magic surge.

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"... Neo proved indispensable in getting the cards and runners from the Atlas convoy, but the White Fang estimate at least a few months before they're able to figure out how to work them. Meanwhile, Mercury has officially arrived at Beacon and begun looking for the maiden… ma'am?"

Cinder Fall, perhaps the most dangerous woman in Vale, and, in her own eyes at least, certainly the best duelist, found her attention drawn away from Emerald's studious report and to her deck box, a soft white glow emanating from a certain card within. Given that said monster had been silent since she'd taken it from its original owner along with half the Fall Maiden's magic, the sudden emphatic warning about some strange magic at Beacon was enough to get the golden-eyed vixen to pull the beast out.

"What are you yapping about, Hermos?" the elegant woman inquired.

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Far away from Beacon, beyond an ocean and across a continent of dark soil and a blood-red sky, an elegant woman with skin like ash smiled as she stood before a lake of black inky mud, Grimm howled into the air in dread of the knowledge she gained as her magic crackled over the surface.

Meanwhile, a very specific card in her deck glowed a soft, encouraging white.

"Yes, old friend. After all these eons, the pieces are suddenly emerging faster than I'd thought. We must acquire one capable of creating the card of the king to merge them soon," the woman muttered, though incapable of keeping the pinprick of a smile from her ashen lips. "Unite as one… and ascend to godhood. To be shackled by the king."

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"Gaaaaaahhhhhh!" Ruby screamed, the red-hooded girl clutching her head in agony as she collapsed to the floor.

"Ruby!" Jaune shouted, diving to his knees to prop up his fellow team leader, trying to comfort her as she writhed in pain. He glanced over to the seats to spot Pyrrha doing the same with Yang, the Invincible Girl never looking more powerful as she held her friend as she screamed. "What's happening to them?!"

"I don't know!" Pyrrha yelled. She glanced up at Astral, Jaune's eyes following as they both prayed that his ghostly partner had some idea what was happening.

"Magic is being channeled into them through an incomplete circuit," Astral detachedly informed them, observing the agonized girls like a scientist watching an experiment play out.

"What does that mean?" Jaune demanded.

"It means she doesn't know what's happening to them, Jaune!" Nora yelled, thinking he was responding to Pyrrha, not noticing where her teammates' gazes were pointed while her own was panickedly focused on Yang.

"It means that their incomplete cards cannot properly channel the magic those other dragons are forcing through them," Astral explained. "While Weiss and Blake are receiving a balanced dose of creation and destruction magic, Ruby and Yang are receiving destruction magic. From what I can gather, you humans were born of both creation and destruction so any imbalance is… unhealthy."

"Really? I thought 'destruction magic' would be completely healthy," Jaune hissed under his breath, careful that Nora and Ren didn't hear him. "How do we fix it?"

"You would need to balance out the destruction magic with a magic of the other side of the spectrum. It need not be its direct opposite in creation magic. Light magic or order magic will also suffice."

Jaune's face grew tomato red in distress and worry. He didn't know magic was real five minutes ago. Where was he supposed to get more of it? "I don't suppose you have any–"

A dragon's roar, different from Odd-Eyes and Dark Rebellion's, interrupted Jaune's plea, his drawn to a bright crimson glow suddenly emanating from below. His eyes shot down to the writhing Ruby, a strange red claw mark shining from his best friend's forearm.

"Hmm," Astral hummed. "It seems outside assistance will not be necessary. Such will be a sufficient amount of light magic to restore her balance."

"Uh, you guys can see Ruby's arm glowing too, right?" Nora inquired. "It's shaped like a dragon claw?"

"Ugh… did anyone get the number of that… bullhead…" Ruby moaned, her hands falling from her face as her pained screaming ceased. Only for her eyes to widen in shock at the blazing crimson mark on her arm. "... oh. Oh. OH! Signer mark!"

Jaune cocked his head to the side in confusion and relief. "Sign what–"

"Signer mark!" Ruby squealed, snatching her Black Rose Dragon card, sharing the mark's red glow, from her deck. Her semblance blasted her out of Jaune's arms and shot her over to Yang, the silver-eyed girl gripping her sister's arm. "Yang! Yang! Signer mark! I've got a signer mark like mom and dad!"

"Like mom and…" Jaune muttered, numbly blinking. "Ruby, do you know what's going on–"

Once more, he was interrupted by his fellow team leader's apparently mystical mark, this time the claw etching deciding to suddenly glow even brighter, surrounding Ruby and Yang in a translucent sphere of red energy. Fortunately, it seemed to spread whatever magic was 'balancing' the younger sister to the older one.

"Grah… son of a Sangan's rear end, what was that?" Yang spat, her screaming stopped as her pain seemed to subside. Only for her violet eyes to widen as she spotted the glowing tattoo on her sister's arm. "Woah, Ruby! Signer mark!"

"I know, right!?" Ruby said, holding up her Black Rose Dragon. "I guess she's more like mom and dad's dragons than we thought."

"Yes, yes, this is wonderful," Nora cut in. "But as much as it'd be great to have you guys explain what the heck you're talking about–"

"I activate Partnaga's effect to boost my Drumerilla's attack points!"

"-we've still got that to deal with!"

All six of the spectating hunting duelists dashed to the stands' railing, even more rapturously entranced by the duel's action. Ruby was careful to stay by Yang to make sure her crimson energy bubble could keep shielding them both from whatever was affecting them.

Weiss and Blake didn't have any such protection, though Astral's assessment seemed to hold true as neither seemed to be in pain anymore. However, since their eye slots were currently filled by blazing miniature suns, black for Weiss and red for Blake, and they were practically frothing at the mouth as their dragons roared at each other, it wasn't much comfort to their watching friends even as Performapal Drummerilla's attack points climbed (ATK 2800).

"I activate my trap card. Phantom Knights' Fog Blade!" Weiss shouted, her voice overlaid with an unnatural timbre. "Your monkey can no longer be attacked, but it can't attack either, and it loses its special abilities."

"Ha! You fell for my trap! I don't need Drummerilla's power to beat you, but you just wasted your best defense! Minitaurus reduces the attack points of any monster my Pendulum monster attacks by one hundred for each Performapal and Odd-Eyes card on my field," Blake gloated, waving her arms more like a savage beast than the calm, controlled duelist she'd been before. "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon! Attack Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon and end this!"

Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon eagerly stamped its feet, its sheer force actually denting the duel arena's floor. The same floor that was specially made to handle whatever duel monsters fought in it and hadn't even been scratched when Cardin's Battleguard General had smashed its club into it.

"End this?" Jaune nervously stammered. "But even with Minitaurus's effect, Weiss'll still have a hundred life points left."

"No," Ruby said, clenching her teeth with terror. "She won't."

"Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon deals double damage whenever it battles an opponent's monster," Pyrrha revealed.

Astral cocked an eyebrow. "How do you know that? You haven't recognized her Pendulum monsters all duel."

Pyrrha frowned. "The abilities of the Odd-Eyed Bandit's ace have been well-documented by the police."

The police? The Odd-Eyed Bandit?! Wasn't that some White Fang train robber–

"Spiral Flame Strike!" Blake screamed.

Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon threw back its head and then rapidly lunged forward, a tornado of furious scarlet fire erupting from its jaws. Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon reared back its own head and countered with a stream of violet lightning from its mandibles. The twin breath attacks collided in the middle of the area, sparks, flames, and hurricane-force winds pulsing out from the point of impact.

Jaune's eyes widened as that same backdraft ripped Blake's bow from her head, revealing a pair of black, furry, cat ears.

"No! Guys, stop this! You're gonna hurt each other!" Ruby yelled, desperate tears gleaming in her eyes to the point the silver orbs almost seemed to glow. Having suggested the duel in the first place, she must have been feeling enormously guilty for the horrifying turn it had taken. "Stop!"

"I'll get to the arena console," Ren called, rushing through the stands. "Maybe we can get in there and pull them out–"

"I said STOOOOPPPPP!"

This time, there was no 'seemed to' about it. Ruby's eyes glowed, far more than even Weiss and Blake's below. In the time it took Astral's face to light up with utter terror, the spirit fleeing back into the key around Jaune's neck, the entire stadium was bathed in a flood of shining light.

The spectators, the duelists, and even the clashing dragons were consumed in a blinding silver sun.

You know... I had a plan for this chapter going into it. The dragons clash, Weiss and Blake get a splash of each other's memories from synchronizing, Weiss's last trap card saves her and she proceeds to win but Blake's bow gets knocked off by the attack and she runs away like canon. Then this FREAKING STORY decides that such is not enough for one chapter and that so much more can be planted, including the crucial concept of an imbalance of magic being very unhealthy for people. Always figured I was more architect than gardener as a writer, but this story is determined to prove me wrong on that count.

Honestly though, the only downside I have for this is a 'No Result' coming so soon after Jaune vs. Cardin (though Weiss and Blake will be discussing how the match would have gone without interruption later, akin to Jaden revealing to Alexis that he was about to win his first duel with Chazz). It sets up some fun and unique character interactions going into the Volume 1 finale and even sets up a breather chapter with Yang next chapter that I'll be using to establish a key dynamic for her in this story.

Remember to check out and add to this story's TVTROPES PAGE! I check my stories' pages often and I always enjoy it when they grow. :)

Thank you for Reading! I hope you enjoy what comes next!

Go Forth and Conquer!