"Welcome! Welcome! Today, we have a very special match for you all! I hope you all have brought your snacks, because today we have Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee of our own Beacon Academy, going up against..."
To think that it had actually progressed this far. Ruby could barely believe it with her own two eyes, but the cheering crowd and the massive tournament arena was no illusion. She was here. She had made it into the second round. It had taken some hefty persuasion on her part in order to convince everyone on her team that Weiss and herself were best suited to advance, but eventually she'd gotten through to them. Kirakishou had been overjoyed when she'd told her, even though she had likely known the moment that Ruby had first spoken to her team.
It had been a difficult process to convince Team RWBY, but her reasoning behind the type match ups was solid. At least in her mind. Ruby needed to progress, as she wanted to advance beyond the first round unlike her mother and prove that she could be a big strong girl. Once she had painstakingly described her plight to her team, they had eventually understood and allowed it. Yang had been most supportive of her choice once Ruby put her mind to it, just as Kirakishou had predicted. Though it still confused her as to why Yang had acted the way she did. However, Ruby wouldn't deny that it felt immensely satisfying to have her sister actually listen to her for once.
For choosing a partner, Ruby had eventually decided upon Weiss Schnee and once again explained her reasoning to her team. Mainly it had been due to the sheer versatility of the Schnee family semblance that Weiss possessed. Each of her glyphs could be used for varying scenarios and this possessed a wide range of uses across different scenarios depending on which team that they had fought against. Combined with the multi-dust rapier Myrtenaster that Weiss typically used as her custom weapon, it was clear that Weiss Schnee possessed a wide range of versatility across wildly differing scenarios. Provided that Ruby was able to correctly relay orders across the battlefield and keep team cohesion to a maximum, together they stood a high chance of gaining the advantage against a great number of foes.
Her continued partnership with Weiss Schnee also played a significant part in Ruby's decision to have the heiress join her on the tournament match-ups. During each and every fight following their initial orientation meeting, Ruby and Weiss had been able to combine their attacks in order to deliver some demonstrating blows against their foes. Thankfully, her training in team-attacks just prior to the fight against Torchwick and his odd little umbrella-wielding assistant had paid off and been the deciding point of that particular impromptu fight. Torchwick's defeat and subsequent defeat during that match had taught Ruby the value of team-attacks.
"...Sun Wukong and Neptune Vasilias of Haven Academy!"
Out of the corner of her eye, Ruby could spot her teammate going ramrod still upon the declaration of which team they would be fighting against. Something about the team shouted out by Professor Port had upset Weiss Schnee, but for the life of her Ruby couldn't figure out what. Sure, they knew the guys, but from what she understood they were on rather positive terms.
The two Mistralian huntsmen-in-training entered through the side entrance, waving up towards the crowd with bright smiles on their faces. Immediately, Ruby could peg the two boys as having likely participated in at least a few spectated fights- they certainly knew how to work the crowd into a frenzy. By oum, she could even see a few students waving flags with Team SSSN's likeness emblazoned on them! Sure, Ruby could spot Blake and Yang waving their own little Team RWBY flags from the spectator row, but still!
It was clear to her that Team SSSN held considerable rapport in certain circles, or at least some degree of popularity among the students of Haven Academy from which they hailed. Ruby would admit to a certain desire welling up within her to defeat the two popular boys and see the shock on the spectator's faces with her own two eyes.
"Hey-hey!" Sun Wukong spoke up as they approached, flashing them a disarming smile that seemed genuinely pleased to see them. "...Ruby and Weiss, right? Good to see you both. Been ages! Hopefully this time is a bit less stressful, huh? Don't want another repeat of that incident on the docks, that's for sure."
"Oh yeah!" Neptune clapped his hands in thought, "I remember you talking about that, Sun. Big whole incident. Drew a bunch of VPD to the scene as well. Ya'know, before they cancelled all the outgoing missions there was one particular mission to assist the VPD. We were going to get badges and everything. That would have been so cool..."
Ruby glanced over to Weiss, who looked like she wanted to be anywhere else but here at the moment.
"Well, I guess some things don't exactly go as planned," Ruby shot back, readying Crescent Rose. Something about Sun Wukong's stupid happy-go-lucky smile was annoying her. Shouldn't he be taking things more seriously? They were in the second round of the Vytal Festive Tournament, for dust's sake!
Sun looked a little put off at the response, his tail visibly drooping. "Well, guess we'll have to catch up later. Seems like someone is aching for a fight, and the great Sun Wukong always happy to help out a friend. You ready for this, Neptune?"
Ruby scoffed inwardly. She barely even knew the guy and he had the gall to call himself her friend? Why would he even think that? Because he had decided to help out Blake with some incident that he had just so happened to overhear? Somehow, that made him friends with all of Team RWBY? Pathetic. While she didn't have that many friends and her dad had urged her to try and make a bunch when Ruby went to Beacon, she really didn't want this particular guy to ever be her friend. His entire demeanour seem to put her on edge for some reason.
It was odd. Jarring, in a way. She could distinctly remember enjoying talking to Sun Wukong when she'd first met him.
"Just a sec. You know," Neptune spoke up, looking over at Ruby's teammate who downright flinched at his steely gaze. "I was actually considering asking you to the Vytal Festival Dance, Weiss," he casually revealed, drawing a surprised look from the Schnee heiress. "A shame that you went with one of your team mates. We could have had a lot of fun together, you know."
Ruby cringed awkwardly. Hadn't Weiss gone with Blake? They had been dancing quite a lot together and in general having a bunch of fun. From what she remembered seeing of Neptune throughout the night, he'd been chatting with Pyrrha for a solid few hours until Jaune arrived wearing his silly dress, before moving off to try and flirt with some other girls that were visiting from Vacuo. Considering Neptune's behaviour, it was clear that neither Blake nor Weiss would have appreciated Neptune's company during the dance.
"I doubt that," Weiss retorted coldly, drawing a smile from Ruby. Same old ice queen.
Neptune and Sun glanced at each other, before shrugging in apparent mutual confusion and pulling out their weapons. The technical crew overseeing the tournament must have seen that as a signal to begin the countdown for the fight, as Ruby could quickly hear Professor Port's voice booming over the colosseum once again.
It was time for the second round of the Vytal Festival Tournament to begin.
Up above the roaring crowd, hidden within a glass spectator box often reserved for high paying customers, there sat the headmasters of Beacon and Atlas Academy. Both headmasters were eyeing the fight down below with some degree of interest, although it was clear after a simple viewing that their minds were clearly elsewhere.
In the very least, such was the case with James Ironwood. Currently he was reaching the position in life where the entire Vytal Festival Tournament felt entirely irrelevant to the current happenings throughout Vale- to the point where the continuation of the tournament felt like a major security risk.
Considering all of the reports that his military forces had been delivering to his scroll in regards to the current movements of the White Fang in the area- namely no movement whatsoever for the first time in months, it was clear that something had changed. Whether it be due to outside interference or internal struggles in the extremist group- the sudden chance occurring in such close proximity to the Vytal Festival was sending alarm bells ringing through his mind.
Yet, despite his protests, his mutual colleague seemed entirely focused on the tournament.
"An interesting choice that Team RWBY has made for the second round, wouldn't you agree, Ozpin?"
The headmaster of Beacon Academy gave a slow nod, swirling a cup of hot cocoa in his hands. "Hm. Yes. Weiss Schnee for her semblance, no doubt. The ability to bolster and support allies in the battlefield is a useful one, especially when combined with the speed and strength of Ruby Rose when armed with her scythe. They will prove to be a dangerous duo against most foes, perhaps even a few of the upper year teams."
There was a brief silence as the two headmasters were lost in their thoughts, idly surveying the tournament in the meantime. James took the moment to pounce on a question that had been long since weighing on his mind ever since a certain young huntress-in-training last spoke with him.
"Have you heard any more from Ruby, regarding our offer?"
Ozpin gave the man a look regarding his wording. Paranoid old bat. They were inside a private viewing box and there was no doubt in his mind that Ozpin had ensured the room was clear of any listening devices prior to entering, just like him.
"Nothing so far, as I expected. The offer is quite a difficult one to process for a girl her age, no matter how academically gifted or mature she has demonstrated herself to be. I am afraid to say that Miss Rose is just like her mother in that regard, always waiting for the opportune moment..."
Ironwood gave a low, sad chuckle. Summer Rose had been a great many things indeed, of that there was no denying. There were few forces in the world that could cause Ozpin to react in such a manner, but the unbridled hijinks of one Summer Rose and her travels across Remnant were most certainly one of them.
The world had become ever colder following her sudden departure.
Which was all the more reason to investigate the duplicate doll of Summer Rose that Kirakishou had seemingly created as a gift for Summer's own daughter. How was it possible? What did she do in order to create a doll of such a design in such a short amount of time after arriving in Vale? How did she know exactly what Summer Rose looked like, down to the most intimate detail? Even including Ruby simply telling Kirakishou about her mother, Ruby would have been far too young to remember every exact proportion and detail down to the finest part.
How had the doll possessed some of Summer's memories?
Simply put, they needed to ensure that Ruby Rose became a maiden and was brought into the fold before the allure of a girl that could create forgeries of dead loved ones became too much to resist. If Ruby Rose was successfully enlightened into learning about the true threat that Remnant faced, then her partner would undoubtedly follow alongside Ruby. The power to create dolls in the image of fallen comrades was impressive, but the knowledge that said dolls also possessed the memories of their likeness could prove to be a real game changer. For both sides of this hidden war.
"Perhaps we should motivate her," James suggested.
Ozpin shook his head. "Even if we were to consider such an option, it is clear that Miss Rose is attempting to reach the final round in the Vytal Festival Tournament. We would not be able to infuse her aura until afterwards, or else it could potentially sabotage the tournament. The last thing we need is for the maiden powers to suddenly emerge on live television, James. There would be no possible hope of cloaking such a thing. You know how the other members of the conclave would react. It would be chaos."
"Then after the tournament? Before the semester break?"
"Yes. If we hear nothing prior to that from Miss Rose, then I shall personally contact her. You have my word."
James Ironwood nodded in satisfaction. It was likely the best he was going to get. In the very least, he had pushed the headmaster towards the appropriate course of action.
Ruby huffed, greedily sucking down air into her exhausted lungs. Her eyes, weary and dry after constant bursts of her semblance, stared over towards Sun Wukong and Neptune Vasilias- the two trainee huntsman who had been matched up against her in the Vytal Festival Tournament. Oh. And Weiss Schnee, her teammate. She was there too.
Had it not been for the intervention of Ruby's teammate, they would likely still remain fighting in a rather literal uphill battle. Thankfully, the terrain chosen on Team RWBY's side had presented an alternative solution. One that, when coupled with the glyphs of one Schnee Heiress, allowed for a brief intermission between opposing forces.
From what Ruby could see, Weiss had been exhausted following her decisive blow. The Schnee Heiress had previously been using her semblance in a supportive role in a similar vein to how Sun Wukong had been acting- exactly as Ruby had planned from the moment she chose the girl as her partner in the second round. Unfortunately, Ruby had not anticipated the draining effect of the overuse of Weiss's semblance rearing its ugly head so quickly.
Thankfully it had been enough to cause a brief intermission in the fight, both parties having retreated to cover on their respective sides of the field whilst they tried to figure out a way across.
"You good, Weiss?"
They had been completely surrounded by the appearance of a grand dome of dust-infused frost called forth by the Schnee Heiress. Much of the surrounding ice-fields from their side of the field had been used in conjunction with Weiss's glyphs in order to fuel her technique.
"I-… I am fine," Weiss forced out, reloading her revolving dust chamber in the brief intermission granted by mutual exhaustion from both sides. "Perhaps a little surprised to find that these oafs have managed to last for so long. Were it not for the terrain advantage and their sheer gall, who knows how this fight could have played out. I was able to turn the tables for now, but eventually they will try to get past this barrier. Probably in some stupid manner that makes little sense."
Her silver eyes narrowed. That was the problem, wasn't it? While Ruby had been able to successfully keep Weiss in line and set up a number of team attacks throughout the course of the match, both Neptune and Sun had been able to endure their moves despite a complete lack of any real leadership. Both of the Haven students displayed an utter sense of disorganisation yet had still managed to shrug off most of their attacks like it was nothing.
It was maddening.
Whether it be via some asinine half-baked plan using the surrounding terrain or a sudden burst of Sun's cloning semblance created to take the hit in a similar method to Blake Belladonna's own semblance, all of their strikes had been rebuffed with ruthless inefficiency. Ruby was beginning to feel the stress of things getting to her. She could tell that Weiss Schnee was on the same boat as her- the heiress was displaying quite the glare, even through the veil of exhaustion.
It was as if Sun's team was designed to utterly piss her off.
The chosen terrain had also negatively impacted their effectiveness on the battlefield while simultaneously bolstering Sun and Neptune's rudimentary fighting style. Ruby and Weiss found themselves fighting a rather literal uphill battle, fighting from the ice fields of their side to advance into Team SSSN's mountainous terrain. It was a horrid match up, one which offered ample opportunity for Sun and Mercury to bunker down and fire potshots down the mountain, while leaving Ruby and Weiss to defend themselves in harsh terrain.
Were Ruby and Weiss to be facing any kind of unified team, such as any of the Atlesian Teams, they would have likely been able to concoct some sort of counter strategy using their mutual semblances to turn the tide with relative ease.
However, Sun and Neptune were, in a single word- disorganised. Their disorganisation meant that at most times the two trainee huntsmen were nowhere near each other and often planning their own attacks irrespective of what the other was planning- it had made delivering any kind of devastating blow to be difficult, as the two seemed utterly determined to stomp on any sense of team cohesion and tactical know-how with all the force of an angered bull faunus in a severely overpriced dust store.
How do you plan for chaos? How do you structure a disorganised system?
To think that Ruby had even bothered to try things differently after getting chewed out by her team over the last fight, with those morons in Team ABRN. Now, when she actually fought as a team, it had led to this mess.
No. Don't think like that. Ruby reminded herself. I was right to decide to actually team up instead of doing things solo. On and off the battlefield, they're a lot less nosy when I'm actually sharing details and participating alongside them. Even if I don't really like it that much. At least it stops them from digging a little too deep about my private life…
The last thing that Ruby wanted to occur after all the work she's been putting in recently if for something to happen with her team and Kirakishou. Coupled with the studying, the Vytal Festival Tournament, Summer Rose and whatever bullcrap Ironwood wanted to do with the Fall Maiden, if she also had to continue dealing with her team throwing some hissy then fit she was going to lose her damn mind.
In a way, this fight against Sun and Neptune was rather therapeutic. It was nice to finally be able to let off some steam. To fight a representation of all of her recent struggles.
"...Have you got my back, Weiss?"
The response was immediate. Ruby wanted to get away from that smile. From those ice-blue eyes. She wanted to escape and forget everything about the Schnee heiress.
But she couldn't. Not now. Not in the middle of the fight, when she needed somebody by her side.
"Always."
It had been the response she had needed. She just wished that it had come from the mouth of a certain rose-eyed blonde doll. Had things gone differently, it would have been Kirakishou fighting beside her- and against a completely different set of opponents. Ones far more dangerous than a couple of random trainee huntsmen capitalising on sheer dumb luck.
Briefly shaking her head free of the invading thoughts, of which had been increasing rather noticeably in appearance, Ruby prepared for battle. The auras of the participating members of both Team RWBY and Team SSSN were running quite low at the moment- it would soon be the deciding moment of the battle.
Well, minus Ruby. Her aura was actually doing rather well. But, it would not last.
Neptune was a significant threat. His weapon, the guandao-trident-gun combination that probably had a sucky name, held within it a great deal of versatility on the battlefield. Through the use of both the trident and guandao forms, Neptune was able to keep both Ruby's and Weiss's weapons out of range, while providing covering fire for when Sun decided to throw his stupid clones into the mix.
Considering their utter lack of communication and failure to remain even the slightest bit organised on the battlefield, it was a wonder that Sun and Neptune could even manage that. But, it had proved to be a deadly enough combination for the two boys to at least have learnt to abuse it at any given opportunity. Provided of course that both of them happened to realise what was even happening. But still. Just thinking of their horrid team composition was beginning to annoy Ruby. She needed to act.
Plus she could only assume that Neptune and Sun had also probably worked out some stupid-ass plan during their little intermission. Knowing her luck in this match so far, it would be exactly enough to cause some trouble and foil the plan currently forming in Ruby's mind.
"Have you got enough aura for one more thing, Weiss?"
"...Huh. Not exactly how I expected the match to go. But… I guess I'll roll with it."
Nora slugged Jaune in the arm at his remark, drawing an embarrassingly feminine squeak from the leader of Team JNPR that had Pyrrha Nikos stifling an amused chuckle at his expense.
"It is the logical progression of the fight, unfortunately," Ren stated, pausing briefly to send a look at Nora that had the ginger-haired girl pouting. "While Team SSSN is able to fight comfortably and with relative safety on the mountains, the ice fields on Team RWBY's side possess little natural cover. Weiss was smart to utilise her glyphs to create a natural cover, to make use of a terrain that had only hindered them previously."
"...But in doing so they've trapped themselves. All they can do now is plan for whatever happens next."
Pyrrha giggled, drawing her Team member's attention. "Well, what other options do you believe they have available, Jaune? From what I have seen, these particular opponents are vastly different than those that Ruby and Weiss have fought here in Beacon. They must adapt in order to overcome this threat."
"I-I dunno," Jaune muttered, flustered at the sudden attention sent his way. "Just. Something more exciting, you know? Sure, SSSN has a lot of cover to launch attacks with relative safety, but they're clearly just reacting, ya'know? All Team RWBY needs to do is force SSSN to fight on their terms- in a way that they can't react fast enough. Somehow."
Pyrrha's eyes gleamed, a smile on her face. "Yes. You're exactly right Jaune. Sometimes if you find yourself failing against an enemy, all you need to do is turn their own advantage against them- force them into making a grave mistake. Fight fire with fire, in a sense. And I do suspect that is exactly what Ruby and Weiss are planning right this very second."
After all, it's exactly what she would have done.
Now is the time. I must be strong. I must go on.
Circular tensile cracks appeared in the ice dome that Weiss had created using her semblance. It was strong- not easily broken by even high impact dust rounds. But it was still just ice. Nothing too bad, even with the interwoven dust. Given enough time, it could be broken.
Her Rozen Maiden contract ring gleaned brilliantly against her finger, but Ruby paid the small accessory no mind. She was ready. She could not allow herself to be distracted.
Weiss had conjured a time dilation glyph underneath Ruby, allowing the young trainee huntress to prepare. Of the two Beacon initiates, Ruby possessed far more aura in reserve compared to her Atlas-born partner, thus she was the right one for the job. Currently, she was pushing as much aura into her semblance as possible- ramming up against the ice dome and continuing to push forward.
Were it not for Weiss' aura reserves running near-empty, she wouldn't have needed to do this in the first place.
Essentially, she was using her own semblance as an improvised ice drill. The sheer revolutions alone would have torn her to shreds, if her aura hadn't taken the brunt of the impact and protected her from harm. The possibility of it occurring was still there, if said aura happened to run out mid-way through.
It would be such a horrible way to go. Dying here on this stupid battlefield over some pointless competition against a couple of idiots with guns and no plan whatsoever. Ruby thought glumly. Why did we have to fight Sun and Neptune? They're the antithesis to everything that I've worked towards. Just delaying the inevitable…
Why can't they just fall over and surrender?
Ruby had initially felt some degree of excitement towards the Vytal Festival Tournament and the idea of advancing to the finals. She would have outshone even her mother Summer Rose, with the possibility of even winning the entire tournament brimming fresh in her mind. However, her agitation had begun to flourish something fierce ever since dealing with Bolin Hori and Team ABRN back in the first round.
Her team, Team RWBY, was only a first year team brimming in the midst of a great many teams from all around the globe. They were constantly belittled by the upper years and suffered a severe disadvantage from simple lack of experience. Thus, she had trained as much as her tiny little body would allow it. She had worked to foster relations with her team even after all of the pain she had gone through dealing with their views on her own private relationship.
Just to have all of her hard work thrown out the window because fucking Sun Wukong and Neptune Vasilas had lucked out with superior terrain and sheer dumb luck. Now she was forced to deal come up with some crazy plan of her own with a teammate who would probably just ridicule her about it later- whilst also claiming that she wasn't ridiculing her.
Oum. What a mess.
"It's cracking!" Weiss shouted out, her voice barely recognisable against the distortions generated by Ruby's semblance. "Not too long now! Be ready!"
Chunks of ice tore outwards, larger and larger pieces displaced by the speed of her semblance. It was creating a significant amount of noise- when coupled with the cheering of the crowd it was enough to assume that both Sun and Neptune were alerted to their sudden action. That and the massive jumbo screen highlighting the surroundings, visible even though the thick walls of Weiss's ice dome.
Part of her desperately wished that Weiss had simply dispelled the ice dome using her own damn semblance, but she knew that it wasn't possible. If anything, it was a miracle that the Schnee Heiress was still in the competition after such frivolous use of her aura.
Now!
She shot off in a flare of her semblance, the ice-wind scraping harshly against her face as Ruby found herself propelled forward in a bolt of force.
She was a monster.
A horrid thing to think about when referring to a comrade in arms, but for the life of him Sun Wukong could not come up with any other appropriate way to describe this girl.
There was something about her. Ruby Rose- the little girl that led Blake's team. The girl who, somehow, appeared to possess the aura of an entire team on her own. Sun could easily see that the demeanour of little Ruby Rose, along with her aura, had changed drastically ever since Sun first met her on the docks after assisting Blake with the White Fang.
Initially he had pegged her as a simple happy-go-lucky team leader that tried her best and would probably overthink a hundred different scenarios every day in her quest to prove herself to her team. It was a pretty common type. A fire that burns on both ends of the candle. He'd taken a single glance at her worry-stricken features and too-wide eyes as she fussed over Blake at the epilogue of the White Fang invasion and seen that Ruby Rose was an emotional little girl with a heart of gold.
But something had changed.
He'd expected banter. She seemed the type. But instead Sun had found himself met with a cold callousness typically reserved for the more Atlesian Specialists found over in the military. There had been excitement and rampant curiosity present on her face at first- the typical anxieties of a child looking forward to a battle, but a single moment of speech had seen the smile wiped off her face in favour of a hardened leer.
She despised him. Was put off by his very presence. It had gotten worse throughout the match as Ruby had grown increasingly frustrated with the outcome of the battle. Sure, the girl hadn't spoken a single word to him during the battle itself, but the expressions were as clear as day on her face. What exactly had changed to cause this? Sun sure as hell didn't know.
Blake had been kind of similar, come to think of it. After the incident with the White Fang where Blake had reluctantly opened her heart up to him, Sun had assumed the two would at least talk about it some time. But after fighting an oum-damned master criminal roughly one night after touching down in Vale, Sun hadn't heard a peep from the dark-haired faunus.
There had been times when he'd spotted her, a bright smile on her face as she chatted with the Schnee Heiress that Blake had previously spent most of Sun's night ranting about before. The sudden change was as disheartening as it was downright wacked. Didn't she hate how the Schnee were doing things? The whole faunus-labour thing? While admittedly Sun wasn't at all familiar with the current political setting, having no real interest in it, he did know that Weiss Schnee was the current heiress to the Schnee dust company. Word on the street was that the SDC was also currently brokering some kind of deal with the Atlesian Military, too.
Even after the two girls had settled things on the dock, there had to be some animosity still present between Blake and Weiss, right? But after the VPD arrived and Sun had parted ways, it was clear that somehow the two girls had settled their differences entirely and developed a close friendship. Or possibly even more than that. They had seemed rather close.
The last time that Sun Wukong had seen of Blake Belladonna had been when the girl was eating at one of those expensive new-age sushi bars in downtown Vale. He'd been walking past the store when he had spotted Blake having a meal with Weiss early in the evening. When he had gotten close, Blake had quickly sent him a scowl that screamed leave me alone. Sun, being the gentlemen that he is, wisely had taken the request to heart and booked it out of there before the heiress was alerted to his presence.
His subsequent message sent via scroll had been read, but she'd never messaged him back a response.
Sun just didn't understand.
What had happened to turn the small group of first-year students against him?
Plus, if the little interaction with Neptune and Weiss right at the start of the match was taken into account, it was clear there was some animosity between his partner and the current Schnee heiress as well. Perhaps that had something to do with it? Neptune took a shot and it backfired and ruined his reputation? To the point where all of Team RWBY was against him now?
If so, that was pretty damn shallow.
Regardless of what the reason was for their sudden turn, it was clear that the girls wanted nothing to do with him here. So, with a heavy heart, Sun threw himself back into the fight. If these girls wanted to just remain work acquaintances, then so be it. There were plenty of other fish in the sea.
...The betrayal still stung rather painfully, though.
"They're coming! Watch out!" Sun tried to yell out to his teammate Neptune, but his warning came far too late.
Ruby had already struck, tearing through the wall of the ice dome that Weiss Schnee had conjured with all the force of a woman possessed while red rose petals trailed in her wake, staining the fields a horrid red. She was fast, ripping her way up the mountain in an almost breakneck pace. Far faster than she had been previously.
The blue-haired Neptune let out a shriek of alarm, jumping in surprise and firing off several electric bolts from his weapon, shots that were outright shrugged off by the red-clad reaper as she dispassionately ignored the strikes ripping against her aura in favour of landing a harsh sideways cleave that sent Neptune flying into a nearby rock formation.
"Neptune!" Sun cried out, jumping towards Ruby and collapsing his twin weapons into their singular bō staff form. It would be his only shot at preventing the scythe-wielding Beacon student from continuing her attack on Neptune before he had a chance to recover. While her overly-large sniper-scythe was a devastating weapon, its sheer weight had made it a requirement for the smaller girl to move in certain patterns to be able to land proper movements. Against Sun's smaller and lighter staff, he had the advantage in speed.
It was when Ruby turned to face him, that a sliver of discomfort wormed its way into his gut. He had interacted with the girl all of a few times, and even he knew that a smile of that kind was not fitting on such a face. That warm, delighted smile seeming just a tad too wide appeared at first glance to be one of innocent enjoyment in a battle, but the look in her eyes sang for blood.
She was enjoying herself. And she didn't want it to stop.
In a movement that should have been impossible given her current position recovering from her slash against Neptune, Ruby somehow re-positioned her scythe to deflect his own lunge.
There was no way. Even with the bolstering effects of aura -which should be running near empty with all the damage she sustained- moving a weapon of such weight should have taken far longer. How did she-
"Do you like it?" Ruby chirped in an odd sing-song tune, bashing her weapon forwards against his own and sending Sun staggering backwards. "Time dilation is such a wonderful thing!~ Admittedly, I had to sacrifice what was left of Weiss's aura in order to power this one final glyph, but I must say it was worth it!~ Oooh, I'm going to enjoy this!"
The telltale sound of Neptune's weapon firing rang through his ears and in an instant the red-clad reaper jumped backwards, narrowly avoiding the strike and landing gracefully on a position higher atop the mountain. The same mountain that Sun and Neptune had been using for cover during the entire fight.
He took a moment to glance up at the large screen affixed atop one of the colosseum walls, which highlighted the aura levels of all competitors. Sure enough, Weiss Schnee had been eliminated via aura exhaustion, while her teammate and leader Ruby Rose sat at roughly fifty percent. Even after abusing her semblance to carve through a dust-infused ice barrier and shrugging off their weapons-fire she was still so high. It was insane. How could a person possess so much aura and still be able to move?!
Look at what I'm saying. Sun chided himself. This is a girl who would sacrifice her team mate to gain an edge in battle and gloat about it. A girl like that having a huge aura is just one of life's mysteries, I guess.
It would seem that I was wrong about Team RWBY after all. They would fit in well with everyone back home.
Sun dug his weapon into the ground to brace himself, narrowly avoiding a sharp fall backwards that the girl no-doubt would have abused to give herself an opening. He gritted his teeth in frustration. If that was how Ruby Rose wanted to play, then fine. Whilst she may possess an unusually strong aura, it was all just a matter of whittling it down.
"Take a break, Neptune. You don't have to push yourself. I've got this. I'm not going to sacrifice you to gain an edge."
The tell tale sound of the elimination buzzer sounding through the colosseum showed that Neptune had heard his words, the jumbo screen above flashing white to indicate his team mate forfeiting. It was for the best- against an enemy that was both faster than Neptune and reckless enough to drill straight through the wall of her own ally, he had no way of knowing if he'd be able to prevent Neptune from getting seriously injured.
Ruby peered down at him from her position higher up on the mountain, twirling her scythe in place and adjusting her stance to focus entirely on Sun himself. She seemed rather surprised with his action. "Huh. Smart thing you did there," Ruby gave a smile. It wasn't particularly friendly. "In his condition he wouldn't have lasted long against me. Not really. His weapon is pretty useful, but now that we're fighting on equal terms he's lost any advantage he had with this stupid terrain."
"Well, whatever you say," Sun nonchalantly shrugged off her comments, having heard worse smack talk back in Haven Academy. In all honesty he just wanted this fight to be over so he could get the hell away from this girl. He didn't like the look in her eyes. The look that showed she would had relished the opportunity to deplete Neptune's aura herself. "But I think now's not the time for talking, wouldn't you agree?"
The silver-eyed girl sent a wolfish grin his way, leaning down and resting a hand on the floor, her other hand tightly gripping her scythe. He tensed. Sun had seen that particular move during Team RWBY's previous match against Team ABRN. Even when the guy that Ruby had been fighting, Bolin what's-his-name, had anticipated the attack happening, he'd still been eventually overwhelmed. Sun would have to be cautious to prevent the same from happening to him.
"I agree."
Within an instant she was upon him, hacking and slashing her scythe like a woman possessed. In a way, Sun supposed, she was. Considering the effect that Weiss Schnee's time dilation semblance was having on the young team leader. But Sun Wukong was no mere first year hunter-in-training. Her strikes, while fast, were easily anticipated and blocked.
Ruby held within her a sizeable amount of strength for one so young and wry, to the point where he theorised that the time dilation semblance may be having a secondary effect, but it was nothing that he hadn't handled before in past matches. He would need to steadily chip away at her aura, piece by piece.
Twisting his staff, he redirected one of Ruby's swipes downwards before shifting his weapon into its nunchaku-shotgun form. As the Beacon trainee was pulling her weapon up out of the ground, Sun was able to fire off a quick few shots that impacted harshly against her aura.
What Sun didn't expect, however, was for Ruby Rose to discard her sniper-scythe entirely- instead barrelling forward and tackling him with all the semblance-empowered speed she could muster in a confined area. Which, as Sun quickly realised, was most certainly enough force to send the two students tumbling down the mountain.
No! The mountain! It'll-
His head impacted harshly against one of the rocks and Sun Wukong soon found himself thrust into a sudden darkness.
Ruby moved to leave the arena with an eager skip to her step, looking forward to telling Kirakishou how everything had transpired- even if she was borderline certain that the doll had witnessed the entire event using her Rozen Maiden power. A surprisingly large portion of her enjoyed the experience of explaining an event to the doll verbally, rather than relying on a nebulous power that Ruby didn't understand.
Though perhaps such a desire stemmed from her enjoyment in how the doll reacted to her actions. That pleased, satisfied look. The pride. Oh, Ruby just couldn't get enough!
Plus, it would give her an excuse to hang out with the doll for a while, hopefully one that her team would understand without prying too much. They were all friends now, right? There wasn't much that any of her teammates could do without seeming overbearing and causing an argument that they clearly wanted to avoid. So, she had relative free reign to spend as much time with Kirakishou as she wanted before the final round of the Vytal Festival Tournament began.
Up in the air, Ruby could spot some gaudy-looking airship flying right over the colosseum -which she was certain was a restricted airspace- but she paid the ship no mind, focusing instead on the elation she was feeling over advancing to the finals.
While Ruby wasn't sure just how many matches were left in the second round, as she hadn't been paying that much attention to the fight, she was certain that she had a little time to gather some information and hopefully prepare for the next fight. Hopefully her final opponent wouldn't take too long to defeat. She was getting tired of dealing with idiots that seemed to take pleasure in riling her up with their stupid morals.
Thus, Ruby left the arena with a smile present on her face, a small trickle of warmth enveloping her ring-clad finger. An odd tingling sensation in the back of her mind made Ruby think that she was forgetting something, but it probably wasn't too important in favour of meeting up with the doll she loved.
In the increasing distance, Weiss was promptly escorted off the stage by a medical crew.
A/N:
Done! The second round of the Vytal Festival Tournament is finally complete. I hope you all enjoyed the match. Sun and Neptune are rather interesting characters and I loved their team fight in RWBY. Choosing them for the pair-match was an exercise and a half, but I feel it came off well.
Anywho, please feel free to let me know what you all thought. The Vytal Festival is an odd slice for the RWBY show, narratively speaking, as it presents a rather organised set of battles in comparison to the more chaotic nature of previous episodes, but it has its moments.
Thank you all for supporting this story. It has been a fun little journey so far! Until next time!