Yang walked down through the student stands, passing numerous attending students from various academies as she looked around for Weiss and Blake. Her two teammates had unfortunately teamed up and mutually decided that she was to be grabbing the snacks for this round. At first, she hadn't minded particularly much. After all, it was just the opening round, right? Nothing to worry about. There would be a load of introduction and general fanfare before the fight began. Right?

Turns out, not only was there practically no fanfare whatsoever, her baby sister was participating in the first match! Oum, what even were the chances of that? She was a failure of a big sister to not be there for Ruby in the start. Especially with how things were going at the moment, she needed to be there for Ruby as much as she possibly could. Hopefully, she could at least provide some moral support for whatever was left of the match.

"Yang! We're over here!" Blake's voice called out, the disguised faunus waving at her. She raised a brow. From what she could see, her other teammates seemed awfully comfortable with one another. Weiss was even smiling! It was a strange thing to see. Perhaps the Vytal Festival was bringing out the best in the Schnee Heiress? Regardless, it was a nice sight to see. Weiss had a beautiful smile, one that was rarely seen these days.

She walked over, dodging a few spectators that were in the way of her destination, before plopping down on a seat next to Blake. Not that she had anything against sitting next to Weiss, but she typically found Blake easier to get along with. Plus, a lot of their team attacks were really strong.

"Here's the snacks. And thanks soooo much for forgetting to tell me that you both had all your stuff ordered. I had to wait in the line-up for no reason, you know. That's valuable time out of my life that I won't get back," she grumbled good-naturedly, handing over their offered food.

Weiss had pre-ordered some kind of complicated sushi dish that had been delivered by courier straight to Yang, while Blake had ordered a little noodle box. Also delivered by courier. The same courier, with the Schnee Dust Company logo emblazoned on the box.

Judging by the tiny unrepentant smiles on the faces of her two teammates, neither Blake or Weiss cared that much about her wasted time. Though, perhaps it was done as an excuse just for the two girls to spend some time together. She wouldn't put it past them at this point. Can't really put a sock on the door when you're in the middle of a Colosseum attended by tens of thousands of spectators.

"Kind of surprised though, Blake. Didn't think I'd ever see you buying something from the SDC."

Blake smirked at her, "Still haven't, technically speaking. Weiss here lost a bet the last time we hung out. It was either this or treating me to a fine dinner. Guess which one she chose. Sourpuss."

Weiss huffed, cheeks flushing. "I'll have you know that I would never have taken that bet had I been aware of-"

"So you're saying that you only went against me because you thought you'd win?" Blake teased, the smile on her face keying in Yang to the fact that she was just messing around.

"N-No! Of course not! It's not like that!" Weiss denied heatedly, her cheeks flushing vibrantly.

Yang giggled, "Sounds like denial to me, Blake!~" she jibbed, earning a delightful laugh from the disguised faunus. It was nice to hear that laugh, after all the stress that had been weighing on Blake. Following the appearance of the White Fang and Blake's reveal of her prior history with the extremist group, Yang had been worried over how Blake would be feeling.

Thankfully it would seem that Blake had picked up a new hobby in relentlessly teasing their snooty white-haired heiress. A hobby that Yang could definitely get behind.

Weiss sighed good-naturedly, forgoing any rebuttals in favour of opening her food and politely greeting her. "Regardless of... all that... we're glad that you've arrived, Yang. The match has only just started."

"How's it going so far? Did I miss anything important?" Yang asked, turning to look at the large screen displaying the fight. From what she could see, both Ruby and her opponent had only suffered a few hits to their aura, both still well and truly in the green. Though that wasn't saying much for Ruby. Recently, it seemed like her big sister had more than enough aura to spare.

Which, suffice to say, was more than a little worrying. But, in the state that Ruby was in, it was just another issue to add to the pile. One that, at the moment, was far less important compared to the budding romance between her baby sister and some half-crazed blonde girl and the potential blood sport that some weird body-snatching serial killer was trying to force them to participate in.

"Oh, by the way, Yang. Take a look at Ruby's opponent. Do you anyone familiar?"

Yang glanced down at the battle. Ginger hair. Green dress. Floating swords. That was about all she could see. From the large screen displaying the aura levels, she could identify the girl as Penny Polendina.

"Wait, Penny? The girl that we met back when we were taking Kira to Beacon Academy?" Yang blinked, momentarily surprised. She'd forgotten the girl even existed about five minutes after meeting her, in thanks to having to deal with Kirakishou's own special brand of madness and the whole spiel with Weiss and Blake at the time. "Sheesh. Small world, huh?"

Blake and Weiss looked at each other for a moment, furrowing their brows in an odd display of synchronicity. It vaguely reminded her of the movements that a couple of girls back in Patch would do. They were twins, regarded for their uncanny ability to finish each other's sentences.

Thankfully, Weiss and Blake weren't doing that. Or else poor Yang would probably lose her damn mind. Twin-speak was the worst.

"...It's a bit more than that, Yang. Penny is more than just an acquaintance," Blake began hesitantly. "Penny was with Ruby when she was at the docks. With the… fanged people," the faunus whispered her final words, glancing around at the nearby spectators seated around them in the hopes that they hadn't overheard. "From what she told me when we were waiting for the VPD to finishing their interrogations of everyone else, Penny was standing right next to Ruby when Summer Rose first appeared."

Huh. She was? Yang hadn't even noticed. Though, admittedly she was a little late to the whole party with the White Fang. The arrival of the Summer Rose doll, along with the VPD investigation, had complicated matters further. If Penny had been there, she'd most certainly not been paying attention.

"That's not all," Weiss began before Yang could voice her surprise, "she also appeared during my outing with Ruby when we journeyed to the Cross Continental Transmit Tower. Soon after Ruby spotted Kirakishou walking around, Penny also appeared. While I went into the transmit tower, they all went off on their own. Though I'm not entirely certain as to what transpired afterwards. Ruby didn't speak a word about it."

"...So, Penny knows Kira. Huh," Yang muttered thoughtfully. She hadn't even known that the crazy amber-eyed girl even talked to anyone outside of Ruby. Let alone some random trainee huntress from Atlas Academy. Speaking of… "How was my little sister acting just before the match started?"

"Anxious. Nervous. When they announced her opponent she looked… scared. Surprised, even. It was all over her face. There was this odd thoughtfulness that appeared for a second, before she brushed off Penny's advances and marched over to her side of the stage. Why do you ask?"

"She suspects Kirakishou's involvement," Weiss supplied, shutting up Yang before she had a chance to respond. All she could do was gape at the heiress in surprise. "Don't give me that look. We had had the same thought."

"We?"

"Blake and I," Weiss gestured over to her partner, who was nodding with a small flush present on her face. "In this instance, however, we are not entirely certain as to the length of Kirakishou's involvement. Ruby's reaction to Penny's announcement was genuine, thus eliminating the possibility that she was informed beforehand. However, it is rather unsettling that one of the few girls other than Ruby to interact with Kirakishou ends up being Ruby's first opponent. Odder still, that none other than Ruby Rose was chosen to kick off the final round in the first place."

Yang stilled, looking at the heiress in alarm.

"You think Kirakishou's manipulating the selection process? I thought it was supposed to be random- decided on-site, right before the match."

"It is," Blake chuckled bitterly, "thus, it should be impossible to affect."

"However, considering all of the other impossible things that Kirakishou has done with her semblance, would this really be that much of a stretch to consider?" Weiss added, voice low.

Ruby swung her scythe low, using the recoil generated by a high impact dust round to propel her weapon forward in a dangerous sweep. Her opponent reacted swiftly, leaping up into the air courtesy of a sudden jet of dust propelled by her floating swords. Ruby blinked in surprise at the movement, she'd forgotten that Penny's swords were also guns.

Then again, the last -and only-she had witnessed the girl's weapons had been during the White Fang incursion at the docks. Her mother's sudden appearance had stolen the spotlight away from Penny at the time.

As it rightfully should have. Why would she have cared about Penny Polendina over Summer Rose? Still… No. It didn't matter. Summer Rose had taken priority. Even if her time with her Mother had been unfortunately limited, before Laplace had arrived and ruined everything.

She attempted to punish Penny's high altitude leap with a quick recoil-empowered slash of her Crescent Rose, only for a sword to quickly interrupt her swinging movement before she could generate enough momentum.

Penny landed with grace, smiling at her indulgently. "You're really good, Ruby. I like that about you. I would also like it if we could spar in the future. After the tournament is done, perhaps?"

Inwardly, Ruby doubted that would happen. After the Vytal Festival Tournament was finished, she was planning on fighting for Kirakishou's freedom. If she were to succeed, there was a good chance that most of her free time would be spent hanging out with the doll. Having Kirakishou and Penny interact any more wouldn't be something she'd want to have to deal with.

Especially considering just how bubbly the ginger-haired girl was. The last person she'd seen being that bubbly was, well, herself. And she most certainly did not want Kirakishou hanging out with anyone that was even slightly similar to Ruby. Who knew what would happen?

The last thing she wanted was for Penny to fall in love with Kirakishou. Considering how easily Kirakishou had been able to convince Penny to trust her, just over a few words, it was a possibility that she could not ignore. Not to mention that both Kirakishou and Penny were both outsiders, the two could bond about... travel or something.

She would not allow some ginger-haired girl from Atlas to steal away her doll, whether she be the niece of some stupid military general or not.

Choosing not to respond to Penny's words, she twirled her scythe around before stabbing it into the ground, using the position to fire off a few potshots- not at Penny, but at her swords.

The issue with her opponent was not one that she had faced before in battle, but one she had witnessed from the sidelines as an ally. Using information that Ruby had gained from fighting against the White Fang alongside Penny felt wrong on a conceptual level, but it was all that she had. Even if her mother had taken the spotlight during the fight, Ruby was a weapons buff first and foremost. While she may not have taken much notice of the girl controlling the swords, she had noticed the swords themselves.

Penny's swords likely relied upon what she could assume was either a magnetism, polarity, or telekinetic semblance of some sort in order for Penny to achieve her unique fighting style. It was her best bet, considering that she could see no control mechanism nor any other method that could have been used.

In this scenario, she hoped that it wasn't a semblance that utilised magnetism. It would be, by far, the worst possible technique to go against on her lonesome.

Considering what she had studied in previous classes, magnetically accelerated weapons could become dangerous for a number of different reasons. First and foremost being their sheer speed in controlled environments. Magnetically accelerated objects could be propelled at speeds rivalling dust fire, without any use of the substance whatsoever. When combined with a suitable cutting edge and the proper application of force, it could slice through damn near anything, as Penny had demonstrated against the White Fang time and time again during the fight.

Thus, they were dangerous weapons. It was a solid strategy to target them as soon as possible, so as to cripple and potentially shatter Penny's will to continue fighting. Perhaps then Ruby wouldn't have to fight a girl while also fighting the guilt festering in her gut.

A sudden upwards diagonal slash interrupted her thoughts, Ruby jerking backwards in order to avoid the blow. Right into Penny's follow up strike, a short laser barrage impacting harshly against her aura.

"85%?" Penny's astonished voice rang in her ears, "Wow! You have a really strong aura, Ruby. My lasers are typically capable of eradicating most low-level Grimm! That's really impressive!"

She hated how happy that girl was around her. As if this was some kiddy play-date or something. She hated the smile that threatened to overtake her lips at the sound, as if she was happy just to see Penny having fun. Why did she feel that way? Penny was nothing to her. Just some no-name girl that she had bumped into a couple of times, who just so happened to be vaguely connected to a few events happening around her.

"That's the last hit you'll get on me, Penny."

Penny's eye lit up in excitement. "Oh? You're surrendering?"

"What- No! That's not what I meant! Ugh," she shook her head, feeling an unusual pang of sympathy for Weiss Schnee of all people. Was this how it was like to have to deal with people constantly annoying her? If so, she was going to have to endeavour to be a lot more open with the heiress. She didn't realise just how annoying it was to be misinterpreted, whether it be deliberately or not.

"Awww. A shame," Penny pouted adorably, looking much like a certain blonde doll she knew. It was a horrid thought, but a true one nonetheless. "But, at least it gives us more time to fight! Get ready, Ruby!"

From high atop the spectator stands, Emerald narrowed her eyes, focusing on Ruby's aura. Weaving her semblance from this distance would be difficult, especially considering the girl's seemingly monumental aura capacity, but it was still within the realm of possibility.

It would just take time. But she would not allow herself to disappoint her mistress.

"Wow. Looks like Rubes is a lot stronger than I thought... She just shrugged off that blast like it was nothing. How could she even do that?"

From the corner of her eye, Weiss could see the look on Yang's face. It was particularly perturbing. The face of a bigger sister that had long ago convinced herself that her little sister was a delicate little girl to be protected at all costs, only to now have her views challenged by the very same little sister.

She could relate. It had taken a not-inconsiderable amount of time in order to convince Willow and Jacques, her parents, that she too was a capable warrior just like her big sister. But that time spent convincing her parents had paled in comparison to the time spent showing Winter that she was more than just her younger sister. That she also held that same fire in her belly, that dedication to upholding her family name in spite of everything that Jacques had done over the years.

To this day, she still believed that Winter thought of her as the bratty little sister archetype, instead of a skilled huntress in training worthy of fighting to defend the world and uphold her honour.

"You know, it was the same with Sun as well," Blake supplied thoughtfully. The faunus, or perhaps her words in the very least, were able to draw Weiss's gaze away from the fight. "I distinctly remember overhearing Sun speaking to his teammates about Ruby's aura. He described Ruby as having enough aura for four people."

Weiss slid her gaze over to Yang, who seemed confused.

"I take it that's not normal for Ruby."

The brawler grimaced. "Nah. It really isn't. I mean, Rubes has always had a bit more aura than most of the other kids in her class, but it was nothing noteworthy. Not like that. But it would explain her final move in that fight, at least. If she knew her aura would last the fall, then there wasn't much to worry about."

"Excluding the pain of falling down rocky terrain," Weiss sarcastically muttered, shaking her head. Why in the world her buffoon of a team leader had even thought that was the best course of action was forever lost to the young Schnee heiress. It was perhaps one of the more controversial moves that she had seen in the duelling community, more akin to a gambit instead of an actual solid strategy.

"She did the same in the qualifying rounds, the team versus team matches," Blake spoke up. "I'm sure we all remember. She went up against... Bolin, I believe?" She glanced over at Weiss for a moment and the heiress nodded curtly. "Yes, well, in that fight she was able to shrug off the pain of a pinpoint dust shot and continue moving forward. It was reckless, yes, but if she knew that it wouldn't do any permanent damage..."

"Could her aura have increased somehow?" Yang idly threw out, curious. "Enough for her to notice the change?"

Naturally, Weiss took this as her cue to speak up and inform her teammate. She didn't hold it against Yang for not being entirely certain, as auric development was a more esoteric field of research that most rarely took the time to properly study. Were it not for her own research into her semblance, particularly in regards to her summoning or lack thereof, Weiss may have been in the same proverbial boat as Ruby's sister.

"While there are certain changes that occur in aura during a developmental phase, such as puberty, aura itself will only grow following constant use. That is to say, a great many battles in which one was constantly pushed to the brink and forced to endure. Such horrific scenarios are nowadays limited to veteran hunters and huntresses. Or those of a certain fighting style bordering on suicidal. Nothing the likes of simple trainees could ever hope to approach."

Yang nodded and muttered a noise of understanding, slowly digesting the information in her own way. Blake, however, remained silent. They had spoken about a great many things in their time together and much of what Weiss had revealed had already been previously discussed. Admittedly, their reason for discussion at the time had been far lighter in intention, something to mutually bond over that did not relate to strange dreams or spiralling team leaders.

She decided to continue her explanation, lest she find the blonde brawler reaching the wrong conclusion about her thoughts. "Other than that and certain medical devices primarily found in Atlas, the only other known method of potentially affecting an aura to such a degree would be a semblance. Specifically, one that primarily targeted the aura of another."

"...A semblance that targets another's aura…" Yang mumbled, lost in thought.

Blades clashed in a twin display of strength, sparks shooting off from their blows. Ruby huffed in air, panting heavily as she pushed her body forward, past the point of exhaustion. Meanwhile, her opponent continued to remain frustratingly placid in the face of their continued battle. If there was anything that she could give to Penny, it was that the diminutive ginger-haired girl held considerable stamina.

Her frilled blouse and pinafore dress remained perfectly exquisite, the girl's aura proving more than sufficient enough to easily deflect the few choice shots that had slipped past Penny's floating array of swords. Whatever they were called. Meanwhile, Ruby's dress was littered with cuts and scrapes, torn in several areas. It had been a conscious decision on her part to devote more aura towards powering her semblance rather than protecting a measly dress. While she could do without the pain in the background, at this point in her training it was a simple exercise to ignore.

Besides, it was all she could do in order to endure as long as Penny. While it was clear that Ruby herself held more aura than her current opponent, judging by the effect that her few successful shots had caused to Penny, the Atlesian-born niece of General Ironwood held far more skill in landing actual strikes than Ruby herself. If this continued for long, Ruby would find her aura eventually depleted.

Her original plan to target Penny's swords had been met with relative success, as a few choice blades now held considerable damage- to the point where Penny had seemingly detached the blades from her semblance and left them to litter the floor in favour of continuing their battle using her other operational swords. However, Penny had quickly devised a counter to her plan and had relied upon superior mobility to avoid Ruby's shots altogether.

It was a solid plan that had surprised Ruby to a fair degree. How was she supposed to know that Penny could use the exhaust generated by her swords to propel herself forward?! She had thought the only purpose of the dust-charged blades and their firing function was to combine into a singular laser strike, but apparently her information had been severely out of date.

She should have known that the niece of a military general and a competitor in the Vytal Festival Tournament skilled enough to make it this far, would have more than a few tricks held under her sleeves. However, she hadn't anticipated a trick that eerily contrasted Ruby's own recoil-based directed movement with Crescent Rose. While Penny seemingly didn't have a semblance to back up the momentum itself, what with her possible polarity/magnetism/telekinesis semblance directing her floating array of swords, what Penny did have was enough training to know when to launch herself at the precise right time to avoid Ruby's shots.

Honestly, it was rather impressive all things considered. Had the girl not been of significant interest to her beloved doll, Ruby would have enjoyed talking shop with Penny Polendina. However, considering all of the odd parallels she was picking up between herself and the ginger-haired girl, the idea of having Penny around Kirakishou rubbed her the wrong way. She trusted her doll immensely, of course, but if Penny was even slightly like Ruby then she could develop feelings for Kirakishou and-

She would never allow such a thing to occur.

The doll was hers and hers alone.

"Are you okay, friend Ruby? I am registering increasing levels of frustration on your facial features! If you would like, we can-"

"Shut up!"

With a cry of annoyance, she burst forward with her semblance, reappearing directly in front of the surprised ginger-haired girl with her scythe angled in a direct downward cleave. The sheer speed generated by her semblance was enough to both surprise Penny and send several of her swords flying off. She thrust downwards, hoping to cleave through the girl's aura once and for all.

Before the blow could land, one of Penny's swords intercepted the blow- discharging Ruby's downward momentum and bringing her to a tense standstill.

Ruby pushed downwards, firing off a shot from Crescent Rose to push the scythe blade downwards, before pressing as much strength into the blade as she could. She could see several of Penny's swords lunging towards her in the distance, a look of visible strain on the ginger-haired girl's freckled face.

A tense cracking sound was heard, before the blade that Penny had been using to defend against Ruby snapped in half. Finally, her Crescent Rose thrust downwards, cleaving downwards and grazing harshly against the girl's aura. A cry of alarm tore out of Penny, startling Ruby for just long enough for Ruby to take a moment to realise that she had been sent backwards by a considerable degree of strength.

She impacted the ground harshly, crashing hard against the concrete flooring and cracking several tiles against her aura. Fickle red lines encircled her, the tell-tale sign of a sizeable portion of her own aura being used to lessen the impact of the blow. Ruby glanced upwards at the screen, visibly registering the fact that over a third of her aura was all that remained.

Glancing down, she could spot Penny in the distance. The girl was standing, seemingly confused at the sudden turn of events. It was almost funny in a way. She looked so shocked. So saddened. Just like how Ruby had been when it had been revealed that Penny was to be her opponent. As if the girl couldn't understand the reality occurring around her.

"Y-You… You just don't stop, do you?" Ruby muttered lowly, pushing herself to her feet. "Part of me wants to be impressed. You're so strong, Penny. The only other person I know that's this strong is Kirakishou. It's odd."

Penny frowned, wringing her hands nervously. "Why did you get mad at me? I only wanted to make sure that you were okay. I don't understand."

"Nobody understands!" Ruby yelled out, snarling. "They just keep pushing and prodding. They keep poking their noses into places where they don't belong! I barely know you, Penny! I bumped into you a few times! I shouldn't… we shouldn't…" she trailed off, angrily wiping away the tears that were threatening to block her vision. "I shouldn't like you. I shouldn't care about this stupid fight. You're an interesting girl, yes. Kirakishou likes you, yes. You're helpful and you're friendly and I don't like it! I can't stand it! Why are you always so damn nice to me?!"

Penny cocked her head. Just like how Kirakishou always did. "...Because you were nice to me."

She twitched violently as the words registered. Why did this hurt? She- Why…

"...I'm sorry, Penny."

This was the only way that things could be. She liked Penny, she really did. If it weren't for her connection to Kirakishou then Ruby could see herself enjoying spending time with Penny. Perhaps even falling for her in a similar way to how she had for Kirakishou. There was that spark, that particular fire, that drew her gaze. Made her feel things that she shouldn't be feeling.

But she could also see the possibility of Penny falling for Kirakishou. Her beloved doll was a vibrant flame, a beauty that matched no others. Not even Weiss Schnee. Not even the invincible girl herself. Not even any of the other pretty girls that Ruby had seen during her life. She was beautiful.

And there would always be those that would seek to take such beauty away from Ruby. To steal away her doll. Like Laplace-no-ma. Penny may not have been attempting it in the same violent manner as that thing, but eventually given enough time there was the chance that Penny would develop feelings for Kirakishou. And that Kirakishou would develop the same. She had seen how they had acted during that time at the coffee shop. Kirakishou had been able to learn a hidden fact about Penny. Much like how she somehow learnt about Ruby's mom. They had bonded over it. Kirakishou, the girl who spoke to pretty much nobody except for Ruby, had been able to convince Penny to open up about her relation to General Ironwood.

The signs were all there.

She rushed forwards, her semblance flaring brilliantly and leaving red rose petals in her wake. Ruby knew what she had to do. It had worked just before and Penny hadn't had the chance to adapt to it yet and realise her plan.

Up in the stands, Emerald narrowed her eyes.

Aura flooded her body as her semblance roared to life.

Now was the time to strike.

"...Something is different. Rubes is acting strange. Stranger than normal."

It was an erroneous sentence, to be perceived as 'stranger than normal' but Weiss Schnee could see that in this instance it was a fitting descriptive for their wayward team leader. There was no denying that Ruby had behaved in a vastly different manner compared to her previous fights throughout the Vytal Festival Tournament.

She seemed pent up. Frustrated. Confused and sad. The more romantic side of Weiss wanted to think of it as a girl trying to reconcile her feelings, but the thought was shoved aside as quickly as it arrived. It was clear that she had been spending too much time with Blake to think in such a manner. No, it had to be something else.

But what?

"She seems rather upset that Penny is being nice to her, of all things," Blake observed thoughtfully, glancing her way. It was clear that Blake had noticed her interest in Yang's proclamation and voiced her own thoughts. She smiled thankfully at the faunus. It was nice to have a friend that could understand her.

How strange, that she would find herself enjoying the company of the daughter of Ghira Belladonna, the original High Leader of the White Fang, to such a high degree? Life was quite funny, in certain ways.

But she wouldn't change it for the world.

"But why is Ruby acting like that? It's clear that she's conflicted about fighting Penny for whatever reason," Yang followed on, lips pressed into a frown. "I know my baby sister and it's incredibly obvious when she's uncomfortable with something."

"Considering our hypothesis regarding Kirakishou manipulating the selection process, the real question is why Kirakishou would force Ruby to fight against Penny in the first place," Weiss directed the conversation back to the girl that had been seemingly behind most of their recent ailments as of late. "If Penny and Ruby are friends, why force them to fight?"

"Psh. Who knows? Maybe she gets some sick satisfaction from it," Yang groused, eyes flaring red.

"I doubt that," Blake spoke up, shooting Weiss a look. "Remember what Weiss and I told you about what Kirakishou said to us that night? She does everything for Ruby. Everything. Up to and including resurrecting Summer. If we can follow this mindset, we can follow her motivation for creating this fight."

But how did they all go together? How did Ruby benefit from fighting a friend?

... Fighting a friend...

"Oh no."

Weiss felt the world slow to a halt as the true reason for all of this dawned on her.

This wasn't just needless cruelty, or some twisted reasoning that didn't make sense.

This was preparation. Simple and true.

Kirakishou was preparing Ruby to fight her friends.

Them. Blake, her sister Yang and even Weiss herself. The more she thought about it, the more it made sense to her.

Penny was a strange opponent. Of that, there was no denying. Her movements seemed odd to her eyes. No matter how hard Ruby tried to discern the underlying motive, she could spot no rhyme or reason as to why Penny moved the way she did.

If you possessed a semblance which enabled you to control swords, why choose to visibly direct them in such a blatant manner? Wouldn't it be more effective to camouflage your movements or, at the very least, disguise the actions and capitalise on any potential errors from her opponent? As a student of Atlas Academy and General Ironwood's niece, Penny should know then, was Penny acting the way she did?

Was she giving Ruby a handicap?!

...It would make sense. Considering how I- how SHE feels about me. She doesn't want to hurt me.

But… I think I want to hurt her…

Ruby smiled softly at the thought. It was a quaint feeling, really. The urge to defend a part of herself- to protect the one she loves from a potential invader. It rallied with her original calling to become a huntress in the first place. She had always wanted to protect the people, those too weak to fight back, from harm.

At the time, Ruby had meant to protect innocents from the grimm. In a way, protecting her innocent doll from the likes of Penny Polendina was kind of similar, really. Penny was a threat. Both to Kirakishou and to Ruby herself. A threat that had no idea that it was a threat. What an odd little situation that Ruby had found herself in. No wonder her little blonde doll had been so interested in this fight.

Curiously, Kirakishou had only mentioned that she would be fighting an old friend during the Vytal Festival Tournament's final round. Friend. Singular, not plural. Did that imply that Ruby's other remaining opponents would be outsiders, or that Penny would be her only opponent? Did she believe that Ruby would lose?

No. Perish the thought. Kirakishou believed in her. Trusted her. Loved her. It was Kirakishou that had resurrected Summer Rose of her own free will, despite knowing all of the attention that the action would generate. Her beloved Rozen Maiden had entrusted Ruby with her heart, her soul, her rosa mystica, her contract.

She would protect her pure, innocent doll from the world. Even if doing so meant that she had to fight against Penny Polendina. This would NOT be her final fight. She would be winning this thing! She would-

All of a sudden, Penny came rushing forwards at a breakneck pace, boosted by her floating array of swords. Although, curiously, she could spot several of the swords embedded in the ground further off in the distance. What was the cause of that, she wondered?

No! I need to focus!

Quickly pulling up her scythe in a standard blocking pattern in order to defend against several of Penny's swords, Ruby found herself unprepared for a sudden leg sweep courtesy of the Atlesian student, Penny's apparent sheer strength more than enough to trip her up. The sudden loss of balance was more than enough to cause Ruby to lose her strength in the block, breaking her guard and allowing Penny's slash to send her crashing into the floor.

/she (K]new what t-do-o do do do. She had to m-move f-forward-ever-forward-forward-forward…

Penny's floating combat array floated ominously behind the Atlesian Girl. Oum. There were hundreds of swords. Thousands, maybe. Many more than she had ever seen before-

But… how did- That doesn't make any sense- There's no way she could-

Thorns.

THORNS.

THORNSTHORNSTHORNS.

-they were everywhere. She could see them, the deadly swords shining brightly in the artificial light of the Colosseum. Penny raised a single hand...

I need to get away. Before she cleaves down… My aura, even considering how strong it's been recently, it probably won't survive a direct attack right now. I'll drop too low and be eliminated from the match. I… I can't… I can't let that happen. I have to win. I... have to… move FORWARD!

With a flare of her semblance, Ruby pushed herself forwards with all of the aura she could muster, a vibrant display of red rose petals trailing in her wake. She burst past her opponent, ripping away from Penny with all the force of a woman possessed. In that momentary instance of adrenaline-fuelled energy, she could feel her mind noticing certain key elements about her opponent that did not exactly add up.

-A gasp.

-Movement from Penny's limbs that should not have been affected by Ruby's trajectory.

-Silence.

-One horrid, horrid sound.

-A stuttering dread in her stomach as Ruby Rose immediately realised a single encompassing fact.

Penny Polendina did not possess some sort of polarity semblance. No. She controlled her swords, yes, but using cables. Cables that were attached to her.

Cables that, in thanks to the sudden bout of momentum generated by Ruby flying directly next to her at breakneck speeds in the opposite direction, had wrapped around the ginger-haired girl from Atlas.

In an instant, her opponent had been torn to ribbons. Only then, did Ruby realise exactly why she had felt odd around Penny Polendina. Why the girl had reminded her so much of Kirakishou in a way that she, at the time, hadn't exactly understood.

Much like her beloved Rozen Maiden, Penny Polendina also possessed an artificial body.

A gasp rang through the crowd. A unified sound of awful surprise resonating with the tens of thousands of souls witnessing the event first-hand. Penny's swords clattered to the ground.

"...P-Penny?"

Ruby Rose fell to the ground, eyes wide in horror, unable to comprehend what had happened. She stared down at her hands.

"This… is not a tragedy," A synthesised female voice began to play over the Colosseum-wide speakers. A black queen chess piece appeared over the jumbotron display screen, contestants and viewers alike quickly realising that the broadcast was occurring over all of their devices.

"This… was not an accident."

She stilled at the voice, a cold dread clawing its way into her throat.

"This is what happens when you hand over your trust, your safety, your children… to men who claim to be our guardians… but are, in reality, nothing more than men."

"Our Academy's headmasters wield more power than most armies, and one was audacious enough to control both."

Was the voice talking about General Ironwood? Ruby could only assume as such. There weren't any other kingdoms that had united their huntsman academy and military into a single force.

"They cling to this power in the name of peace… and yet, what do we have here? One nation's attempt at a synthetic army, mercilessly torn apart by another star pupil, an under-aged little girl thrust into a war she had no idea even EXISTED."

Her. They were talking about her battle with Penny. What war, though? She highly doubted that the voice meant the Alice Game, considering their mention of the headmasters and their allusion towards the Atlesian doctrine. But what else could she mean? The fight with Penny? This wasn't about some hidden war. It was just a battle, a tournament…

"What need would Atlas have for a soldier disguised as an innocent little girl? I don't think the grimm can tell the difference. Can you?"

So. It was about Atlas.

"And what, I ask you, is Ozpin teaching his students? You have all seen how his star pupil, his prodigy, has acted during this farce they call a tournament. Ruthless. Mercilessly crushing all in her path. Huntsmen and Huntresses are supposed to be compassionate. Trusting. They should carry themselves with honour and mercy. Would it surprise any of you to know she was as innocent as the driven snow before arriving in Beacon? Now… look at her. Forced to destroy. Forced to become this."

"Is this the face of a girl who knew she was fighting a machine? No. She was deceived."

All eyes were on her. Tens of thousands of spectators, along with countless viewers watching the broadcast. She couldn't spot her teammates. Though, she could only imagine their faces.

"She was deceived into believing this soldier was a friend. An innocent. Until those in their positions of power forced her into attacking this synthetic girl. Why, do you ask, why would our leaders do such a thing?"

"Perhaps, this was Ozpin's message to the tyrannical dictator that has occupied an unsuspecting kingdom with armed forces, with hidden spies and soldiers disguised as our children. How fitting, for him, to force a child of his own kingdom into sending his message."

"As someone who hails from Mistral, I can assure you that the situation over there is… equally undesirable. However…"

"Our kingdoms are at the brink of war. Yet we, the citizens, are left in the dark! We are cold! We are stagnating! We are forced to huddle together to survive… but, let me ask you this…"

"When the first shots are fired, who do you think you can trust?"

Cinder smirked to herself from her position in the spectator stands, pleasantly surprised at how entertaining she had found it to be from witnessing the effects of her speech first-hand as opposed to merely watching a video feed from Mountain Glenn. While the supposed first draft of her plan had dictated reading out of speech over a scroll, it was far more beneficial to simply play a recording while present in Amity Colosseum.

There was a beautiful silence hanging over the crowd. One that she knew would be broken soon enough by the automated grimm threat identification broadcast as the creatures of grimm were stirred into a frenzy by the massive influx of negative emotion. Why, she could almost feel it in her very veins, that surge of fear- of the shattered faith of thousands of souls and their mounting panic.

Now, she had just one more problem to deal with. A problem by the name of Kirakishou. The girl's little paramour was dealt with, now it was time for the blonde herself.

"Mercury, it's time. Blow it."

That was it. Mercury would blow the device hidden in Kirakishou's room, just as the world came crashing down for the rest of Beacon Academy and Vale. It had seemed so perfectly fitting at the time. A spiteful, revenge-fuelled method of eliminating both Kirakishou and Ruby Rose once and for all. To destroy the girl who knew too much and her freakish scythe-wielding psycho lover.

She was finally done with them.

No more.

THE END.

...

...

Growling, she moved a hand to her earpiece. Of all of the times...

"…Mercury. Blow it. Detonate the-"

A cold hand clasped her wrist, forcefully pulling it away from her earpiece. Whirling around in fury with blazing amber eyes, she came face to face with the student that had been unfortunately seated beside her.

Something was wrong. Everybody was frozen. Their faces were unmoving. The gaudy Schnee company bullhead floating above the Colosseum in the sky was utterly still. Everybody was frozen in time.

Everybody except for Cinder Fall and this mystery girl.

It was only when the girl spoke in a voice that Cinder knew belonged to another, did she realise that something had gone terribly, horribly wrong.

"Did you really think it would be that easy?"

A/N:

We're finally here. Finally. I conceived of the following chapters over twenty chapters ago and have been agonizingly working to reach a point where I could make this story happen. Now, begins the grand scene. The moment where everything changes.

I couldn't have reached this point without the support you all have given me throughout the writing of this story. Thank you all, once again. I do so hope you all enjoy the future developments, though I guess there's only one way to find out, huh? Until then!