In Vale there was a unique store called Rooms for Rent and it was not a hotel or an apartment, it was a store that offered rooms that were for everything except living in. What they offered were rooms for everything else, there were kitchens and dining rooms, living rooms and study rooms, meeting rooms and hobby rooms, photoshoot rooms and editing rooms, and anything else a person could reasonably want along with rooms that held nothing at all.

It was in one of the conference rooms where Cinder was meeting with her minions, it was a room without windows and without any surveillance whatsoever. It was a special room that officially did not exist and was only available to those who already knew about its existence and had been vouched for by others. It was a room with a history that would enrage anyone who possessed any kind of decency but not for the activities performed within but rather for the plans that had been formed here in secret.

But out of all the plans and schemes put together in that room, none came close to the one that was being discussed right now; The Fall of Beacon would be an event whose ramifications could not be understated, and whose consequences would reverberate for generations and those were only the parts that the public would know about. The true goals of the Fall and the true consequences would be a secret for the vast majority of Remnant and it would be for their own benefit.

Mercury and Emerald were among the few who knew what was really at stake and whether or not that was a blessing or a curse was hard to know. Both of them had been in terrible situations when Cinder had originally found them, Emerald was a street rat who survived by stealing, and Mercury had just killed his bastard father in self-defense. Both originally joined not because they believed Cinder but rather because they were in a situation where staying was no longer an option, they joined because they wanted to survive and Cinder showed them how.

But her goal was beyond mere survival and that was something that they both soon understood.

They were fighting for a new world, one where an orphan wouldn't find themselves trapped in a downward spiral of criminality purposely designed to generate money for the prison industrial complex. A world where children would reliably be saved from abusive homes run by toxic authority figures and placed in families who would actually love, nurture, and support the children under their care. They were fighting for a better world but to bring that into reality, the old world had to die and that was scary.

But it wasn't scary in the way most people would have considered frightening, neither Mercury nor Emerald was scared of fighting soldiers or even Huntsmen. They weren't scared of becoming some of the most wanted people in the world but yet there was this growing pit inside of their stomachs, one that had been there for a long time and was now becoming impossible to ignore any longer…Cinder wasn't fighting for a better world, she was fighting for herself. That was the conclusion that Mercury and Emerald had arrived at over time and listening to her plan only made them more certain of that.

Cinder was planning on destroying Beacon Academy.

Sure, the Academy was standing in their way but that didn't mean that they had to destroy it. They already learned everything that they needed and the preparations had been made, they just needed a distraction to grab what they wanted and go home. The Academy could then continue to stand and continue to provide protection against the very real monsters of the world for everyone both rich and poor both Faunus and humans and for everyone else in between, destroying the Academy helped No One.

I need to talk to her about this, but how? That was the question on Emerald and Mercury's minds and it was one they needed to approach carefully. Cinder did not handle criticism very well even on a good day and worse was just how stubborn she could be. If they were going to confront her about this then they had to be smart and subtle or this would blow up in their faces.

"Do either of you have questions?" Cinder finally asked.

Mercury and Emerald glanced at each other and somehow knew that they were sharing the same thought: This is our chance. Then together they walked up to the whiteboard that Cinder had been using to illustrate her plans and began to examine it together, it was equal parts interesting and morbid.

Many parts of her plan made perfect sense, for example, the idea to use a Virus to take control of the Altas' precious robots was a stroke of genius along with having the White Fang move in to attack. Granted neither force actually stood a chance of destroying the Academy Fortress, but the destruction wasn't the point. The point was the chaos that would allow Cinder unparalleled freedom to achieve her objectives, and that was what mattered. As far as she and her Mistress were concerned there was no price too high if it meant that they were able to walk away with what they wanted, So all we have to do is convince her that we don't have to pay the full price.

However, there were other parts of the plan that they weren't so sure about such as sending Neo over to Ironwood's ship to free Torchwick and the Lost Boys who would hopefully capture the ship and then aid them in the attack because…? Sure we have a metaphorical gun to their heads but we can't really chase after them if they choose to bolt. But then again the rest of the world will chase them and they will catch them, so maybe Roman doesn't really have a choice but to join us for the ride. There was also something about Cinder appearing live on TV and delivering some kind of evil speech, She even wrote down what she was going to say… why? By the brothers, is Cinder a theater kid? Mercury and Emerald immediately pushed that thought out of their head before it could take them down a path that they wanted nothing to do with, besides, there was another point on the board that demanded their attention since it could be a good starting point.

"Hey boss, I have a question," Mercury asked, hoping that what he was about to say wouldn't ruin her good mood.

"What is it?"

He quickly looked over to Emerald who gave him a small nod in return, Good, If I got Emerald playing along then maybe we can talk Cinder down."Okay, I get how you want me and Emerald to fake an injury using my prosthetic legs but how necessary is that to the plan?"

Emerald rolled her eyes, "Cold feet? Really, when we're this deep into the end game?"

"No, no nothing like that. It's just, well…," We got the setup, now Cinder just needs to take the bait and we can see just how far she is willing to amend the plan.

Cinder's eyes narrowed, "Mercury, what's wrong?" There was a slight growl in her voice that caught the young man off guard, he had seen her get angry and frustrated plenty of times before but she had never made a sound like that before, even Emerald seemed a little surprised by it.

"I um, well you see…," Okay, we're starting off on a bad foot… huh, that's a pretty funny pun. Maybe I should try to be a comedian in my next life. An odd sense of reserved calm washed over him as he accepted the possibility of his death and joked about it.

Cinder grew tired of waiting, "We are on the verge of greatness so stop wasting my time and get to it!"

"Ruby and Penny already know about my legs!" He held his chin up high and awaited the fiery death that he was sure was coming.

"Really, is that all?" Cinder asked with a level of calm that felt out of place given her attitude earlier.

Mercury hesitated to answer, a part of him believed this was a kind of trick, a test of some sort. But why test me now? Unless she's being genuine? Or is that just part of the test? What's the right answer? Is there a right answer? I- I guess there's only one way to find out.

He closed his eyes and quickly counted down from ten before opening his eyes and answering, "Yes, that is all Ma'am."

"Relax Mercury, it's fine," Cinder said with a small chuckle

"It is?"

She shrugged, "It's not that was essential to the plan, not when we have access to Beacon's entire archive and security footage which gives us a lot of options to rile up the public."

"How did they find out?" Emerald asked for no reason other than pure curiosity.

"Remember how after the Breach Ruby and the rest of her pals started acting weird, like they had learned something nasty?"

Cinder nodded as she began as she got ready to clean the whiteboard, "I remember that, I had asked you to try and figure out what was wrong just in case they had learned something inconvenient."

"Well I found Ruby in the forge and tried to strike up a conversation but she wasn't interested, at least until I asked her if she wanted to help me perform maintenance on my legs and that got her to open up a bit."

"So you played on her interests to keep her around and make her more amicable to your questions, good job Mercury. But, how come you didn't mention this earlier?"

"I'm sorry Ma'am, I didn't want to waste your time with details that didn't seem important."

"I suppose that's fair, after all, I didn't tell you about that part of the plan until now so I suppose that I am the one at fault here… is there anything else you'd like to tell me before I erase all of this?" Cinder said while pointing to the whiteboard.

Emerald raised her hand, "Actually, I do have a few questions about this plan."

"Such as?"

Emerald walked up to the whiteboard and scanned it for a moment until she found a potentially good spot to start, "So one of our objectives is to destroy the CCT, right?"

"That's right, doing so will remove instant communication thus making it nearly impossible for our enemies to put together a good response in any meaningful time."

"That makes sense, but why risk yourself to do this?"

"What are you suggesting?"

Now was the moment of truth and Emerald was ready to take the dive, "You're going to use the Virus to take control of the robots and choose to have them attack indiscriminately? No offense Ma'am but I don't understand why you wouldn't send them to the CCT and have them destroy it for you. Maybe they'll even be able to kill Ozpin while they're there." There is no way we'll ever be able to talk her down from using the army but at least this way will cut down on civilian and student deaths.

Cinder stroked her chin as she pondered over the suggestion, "That is an option but there is a problem; Amber is in the basement, but you would know that if you'd been paying attention."

Emerald and Mercury's eyes widened as they realized their mistake, Shit! Now what?! "S-s-sorry ma'am, Mercury and I are just so excited that we got distracted thinking of all the ways we could approach this!"

Cinder gave them both an odd indecipherable look and then sighed, "I understand, I really do and your idea isn't bad per se. That basement is fortified and deep enough that Amber would be safe even if the tower exploded but I need to be able to get inside, I can't do that if there is a pile of rubble right on top of the door."

Mercury and Emerald relaxed a little, Cinder's tone had been nice and even like that of a teacher calmly explaining something to her student rather than someone who was losing their patience. They still had a chance but they would have to be more careful lest she began to suspect the worst of them.

Mercury then suggested, "What if we had them focus on killing Ozpin first along with his friends, and then they can destroy the tower when they're done?"

Emerald then added, "And we can have the Lost Boys join in as well! Sure those tin cans and idiots won't win but they will slow them down long enough so that you can grab the Maiden powers, destroy the CCT, and do anything else you want without having to run into anyone that could put up a fight!"

Cinder walked up to the whiteboard and quickly erased a portion before taking a marker and writing that suggestion down, "Okay, that sounds viable. However, I think we should leave James Ironwood off of that kill list."

Emerald and Mercury were confused by that suggestion but at the same time they were happy, this meant that Cinder was going along with them and now they just had to keep it up. "Why Ironwood?" Mercury asked to keep the ball rolling.

Cinder chuckled, it was a dark chuckle, the kind a person only makes when they find sick humor in something truly terrible. "It's because of the aftermath, think about it for a second. Atlas drones suddenly attack the school, targeting the staff while ignoring and even protecting an Atlas officer of Atlas, what does that look like to you?"

Mercury thought it over for a second and then the answer hit him like a wrecking ball, "It looks like… oh shit, oh shit! This could cause a war!"

"That's right!" Cinder answered with a hellish laugh. "It lines up so beautifully! The head general of Atlas arrives with a portion of his army just in time to save the city from what would have been the worst terrorist attack in over a century. Then with that wave of new support, he is able to bring even more of his army here and then steal the job of providing security for the Vytal Festival right out of Ozpin's hands! And then during the climax of an event meant to symbolize the alliance and the end of war… Atlas kicks start the second Great War!"

Mercury and Emerald were frozen in fear of what they had just heard and in regret as they were the ones who had pushed Cinder in this direction. This was so much worse than her original plan and they were responsible! I need to fix this, but how? Where do I even start? And what if I somehow make it even wor- no, I mustn't think like that. I can fix this, WE can fix this.

"The other kingdoms aren't just going to believe that Atlas would seriously try to start a war against them all! That would be suicide! Not to mention that Atlas would deny everything and cooperate to prove that it wasn't at fault! There will be no war." Emerald nearly shouted out of desperation, she didn't really believe that there was no chance for war but she needed Cinder to believe that.

Cinder shrugged, "That still works out for us since the process would take a long time to complete and serve as a massive distraction. This is a good plan and this was your idea,-" her eyes narrowed, "-so why are you two suddenly against it?"

A drop of sweat crawled down Mercury's face, "W-we just want to make sure that this plan is the best that it can be, ya know? We just don't want things to blow up right at the finish line."

Emerald was quick to join in, "Exactly! We've already been screwed over once by Qrow and now we're trying again in his backyard, we need to be careful or we're getting screwed over again and there won't be another chance."

"T-that's right, only a fool goes in guns blazing. The best plan is one where your opponent doesn't even realize that there is a plan until it's too late. So let's really think about what we're doing here before we commit!"

Cinder sighed, "You are both starting to test my patience."

Mercury and Emerald stiffened up as they watched in growing fear as Cinder began to strut towards them while dragging her finger along a nearby wall and leaving scorch marks behind. "We just had some concerns, that's it!" Emerald said trying her best to remain calm while a growing part of her wanted to bolt for the door.

"And I just have some concerns of my own," Cinder replied with a voice that was too sweet to be sincere, it had a singsong quality to it that made it feel almost mocking. "I've been watching you both very closely ever since we got here."

"You have?" Mercury asked as more sweat dripped down his and Emerald's faces, She's been raising the temperature this whole time.

"Indeed, I have and I have to say that I'm disappointed."

"But we've completed every single task you ever gave us!" Emerald protested as she backed right into the wall behind her.

"And you've done well, both of you have. It's why I never said anything about you two getting attached to the people here… until now."

"What were we supposed to do? We had to get friendly with these people to blend in and gather information!" Mercury briefly thought about attacking Cinder and then running for the door, It's no good, she'll see it coming and my Aura won't survive very long in a firestorm.

Cinder withdrew her hand from the wall and rubbed the ash between her fingers before lighting a small flame and reveling at how both Mercury and Emerald flinched when she did. "How should I have you prove your loyalty… oh, I know! I want you two to-!"

"Please leave May out of it!" Mercury suddenly shouted. "Please, I'll do whatever you ask but, leave her out of it." He suddenly felt Emerald grab his hand and give it a reassuring squeeze that he returned, Thank you Emerald, and sorry for all the times I've egged you on. I should have been a better friend.

Cinder raised her hand, the fire within it suddenly flared up, and then just as suddenly, it disappeared. "I know just what I'm going to do to you both." She took another step towards them and showed that in her hand were now two obsidian rings. "Put them on."

Emerald and Mercury hesitated but without any other real option, they had no choice but to take the rings though they didn't put them on right away. Instead, they took a moment to examine them and Cinder said nothing as they did so; The rings were perfectly smooth, and warm, and when they looked closely enough they could almost swear that there was light emanating from within.

"What are these things?" Emerald asked.

"Rings created from the portion of the Maiden powers that we were able to take, they're not perfect but they will insure your loyalty."

"How?"

Cinder smiled, "The magic in those rings is connected to me, if you decide to betray me then I'll know." She then held up her other hand revealing a third obsidian ring already on her finger, "This is the master ring, think of it as a detonator."

"A d-detonator!?" Emerald paled as she took another look at the ring resting on her palm.

Meanwhile, Mercury had a hollow feeling of resignation as he silently put on the ring, I have so many regrets but the least I can do is deny this bitch the pleasure of watching me squirm. He took a deep breath and put on his bravest face, "So how does this work? I can't imagine that these are actually bombs, that would be too noisy. Not to mention that our Aura's might be able to take the hit if you don't time it right."

"Thank you for volunteering Mercury," Cinder said as the ring on her finger suddenly glowed with a violent fiery light that was reflected in Mercury's ring.

"H-HarrGh," Mercury felt the ring on his finger grow hot, hotter than anything else he had ever experienced except for Cinder's own flames. "ARRrrRgh!" He tried his best to force his mouth shut in an attempt to not show any weakness but the pain was reverberating throughout his body and soon he found himself on the floor screaming.

Emerald leaped to his aid and tried to pull the ring off of his finger but couldn't, tiny barbs had emerged from the ring and made it impossible to remove it without hurting him further. Realizing that it was futile, she turned to Cinder to beg, "Please stop this! You've proved your point!"

"I agree." The glow vanished from Cinder's ring and as it did the ring Mercury's finger returned to normal allowing Emerald to pull it off of him. "Now go and check your Aura."

The pair waited a bit to calm down before pulling out their scrolls and checking, Mercury had lost about an eighth of his Aura. He then did some mental math and realized that it would have painfully chewed through his Aura in under two minutes. Two minutes of me screaming and trying to force that thing off of me and when it does burn through… An ugly image ran through his head, I'll be lucky if I only lose a hand.

Even Emerald hadn't been able to avoid damage, it wasn't much but she hadn't been wearing the ring. But what if I had? Mercury has more Aura than me… what if Cinder had been holding back just to prove a point.

"Now that you both fully understand your positions, put on the rings." A fireball appeared in Cinder's right hand and in her left was now an obsidian dagger, "Or is this the end of our collaboration?"

"And then what?" Mercury asked as he gathered up every last bit of defiance he still had. "People will notice that we're missing."

"You're right, which is why I won't kill you."

"Then what are you going to do?" Emerald asked rather confused but grateful.

"First I'll force you to swallow the rings and then we'll go to the forest to train, you'll both be… severely injured by a powerful Grimm and I'll carry on in the tournament without you. Then when the attack is underway and I get what I came for, I'll kill you both... Or things can go back to the way they were before."

"They can?" There was a bit of trembling in Emerald's voice as a small part of her dared to hope while the rest believed that it was a cruel trick.

Cinder fought to hold back a smirk, "Of course, they can and they will because I will know that I can trust you both. But if you try to take the rings off or lie to me by either working against me or using an illusion to make it look like you put on the rings… Well, I don't think I need to explain what will happen next."

Faced with no other option the pair put on the rings but did so reluctantly, "There we did as you asked, now what?" Mercury asked.

"Now we get back to work. I don't know why you two tried to change the plan twice but you still came up with some good ideas and I'd like to iron them out. Consider it a show of good faith from me to you that I hope you'll return," Cinder then walked back to the table and sat down before making a motion with her hands toward the other chairs to indicate that she wanted them to sit down too.

As Mercury stood up with Emerald's help he saw words appear in the air in front of him, a message only he could see that Emerald created with her Semblance, it read; I still want to try and avoid causing pointless death. Will you help me?

In the back of his head, Mercury could hear a voice that sounded like his father warning him against this course of action. It told him to learn his place in the hierarchy and just do his job, to become a knife that others wielded, and that the best way to survive was to become a knife so sharp that no one would ever think to throw it away. It was messed up advice but there was no denying that his dad had a point and at this moment the way to salvation was clear as the sunlight breaking through a cloudy sky, Mercury knew what he had to do… However, he hated his old man and if life was going to give him another chance to spit on that bastard's legacy then that was an opportunity he was always going to take.

The second round of the Vytal tournament was almost identical to the first round with the exception being that these fights were 2v2 unlike the 4v4 of the previous round. For the audience, this difference meant less chaos and far more focus on the individual fighters, it gave them a chance to really appreciate what was going on in front of them. However, for the participants, this change represented a unique challenge as they had to be the ones to decide which two members of their team would advance and that was a choice that would be kept secret until their match.

There were many factors that went into this decision and individual strength and skill were just one factor and not even the most important one to consider. What mattered here most of all was synergy, the pair that represented their team could not merely be strong on their own. They had to be able to support each other in a way that melded into a coherent strategy that was powerful, flexible, and resilient. Anything less would create a weakness that anyone with half a brain would be able to pick out and exploit, and everyone who made it this far was more than capable of that much.

But there was also another incredibly important factor to consider; The finals were 1v1 and the participants were chosen from the pair that won their fight in this round. This meant that this was a decision that would affect the rest of the tournament.

For some teams this was an easy decision, for example, Team RWBY knew right away that Yang was going to be their pick for the Singles and Weiss was going to be her partner for the Doubles. This was a powerful combination that brought Weiss' crowd control and Yang's raw combat prowess together in a terrifying force that could utterly dominate any foe unfortunate enough to stand in their way. However, RWBY was the exception that proves the rule, for the vast majority of teams, the answer wasn't so obvious and many were currently taking their brains and making arguments for what they hoped would be the ideal combination.

Team JNPR was among the many, sure they had Pyrrha Nikos and she was the obvious choice for the Singles but they weren't there yet. They were in the Doubles and they now needed to choose who was going to be her partner and that was a choice that was proving to be a bit trickier than they first thought. And right now they were in their dorm room brainstorming on who to send, they had been brainstorming for the past 63 hours…

"I got something!" Jaune nearly jumped into the air as he was struck with an epiphany on who to send. "Pyrrha should… go, by herself!"

"W-what?" Everyone else asked in tired unison.

"You heard me!" He nearly shouted as his bloodshot eyes twitched and his mind began to wander off into nonsense. "She'll just go, by herself! Just think about the message that it will send to the other teams when she makes it through the Doubles by herself!"

"But that's against the rules," Ren pointed out as he blinked in and out of consciousness.

"RULES!? Bah! Rules are for weaklings, rules are for slaves who can only obey. But we are strong! We make our own rules!" Jaune got up and started to stumble around the room as he continued ranting like a lunatic, "Come let's raise the sails and set sail to dreamland and fluffy cl *Yawn*…ouds." He started to sleepwalk toward the bathroom.

Nora shook her head before grabbing a taser and shocking herself to stay awake, "Damn that stings! Well, it looks like Jaune is out of commission, any ideas Pyrrha?"

There was no response.

"Pyrrha?"

Nora looked over to her teammate and she saw that her fellow ginger had somehow managed to fall asleep when no one was watching, "Oh no! You're not getting out of this so easily!" She then grabbed Pyrrha by the shoulder and gave her a pinch on the cheek.

Pyrrha woke up with a bolt and shouted something so rapidly that words blended together into one, "Rockpaperscissors!

Nora blinked twice as her groggy mind tried to comprehend what she had just heard, Brothers, I'm way too sleepy to think… "Could you, could you repeat that?"

"I- I'm sorry, I don't know what you'r-," *Yawn*, "-e talking about." Pyrrha began to stretch out her arms as she attempted to recall the past couple of hours but drew a foggy blank, "I had a weird dream about a rock paper scissors contest… It was nice."

"Rock paper scissors?" Something clicked in Nora's head, "Rock Paper Scissors!? That's it! That's the answer to our problem!" Newfound energy began to fill her body as the end of their conundrum came into view. "We'll just leave it to chance!"

"Chance? Is that really a good idea?" asked Pyrrha as she started to remember why she was in her dorm and what the conversation had been about, "What about um…synergy or strategy?"

Nora shrugged and then shocked herself again with the taser, "We all have practice fighting with you so it will be fine. Now help me wake these guys up so we can all go to sleep."

Pyrrha nodded and stood up, her legs were still asleep and unsteady so she took a few slow and careful steps to get the blood flowing before she made her way over to the bathroom. Once inside she was able to quickly find him in the shower… with his spine bent so far backward that he could grab his ankles.

A not-so-small part of Pyrrha was alarmed by this sight and nearly caused her to scream. However, the more sensible part of her psyche reasoned that this was just her imagination. I must still be asleep. I better wake myself up first before trying to wake him up. She walked over to the sink, turned on the faucet, and splashed her face with some water before looking back at Jaune. To her relief, he was no longer contorting his back and was instead merely leaning against the wall. "Thank the brothers I was only hallucinating."

Soon afterward she was helping him out of the bathroom and leading him over to the center of the bedroom where Nora was waiting on the floor along with Ren. "Alright, sit him down over there and we'll settle this," Nora said while pointing to a spot next to Ren.

"W-what's going on?" Jaune asked as he was placed on the ground.

"Rock Paper Scissors," Ren groggily answered.

"Oh… then I choose scissors," Jaune then fell back asleep and no amount of prodding was able to wake him up this time.

For a moment Ren just stared at Jaune but then he suddenly stood up and began walking toward his own bed.

"Where are you going? Pyrrha asked. "We still need to figure out who's going to be my partner!"

"I pick scissors," Ren answered before crawling into his bed and pulling the blanket over his head.

Nora smiled and looked at Pyrrha, "I guess I pick rock."

"It's finally over," Pyrrha then walked over to her bed as Nora went to hers. "Any idea when the doubles begin?"

Nora clumsily grabbed her scroll and glanced at the screen, "In 10 hours from now… Fuck."

"Well the teams are random so maybe we won't have to fight?"

"Or we could be the first match of the day."

"Fuck."

"Welcome one and all to the fight that you've been waiting for all day!" Professor Port's voice boomed through the speakers and rose over the cheering masses.

Doctor Oobleck nodded along, took a drink of coffee, and then added, "Indeed you are correct! Pyrrha Nikos has unsurprisingly drawn the biggest crowds during this event and for good reasons! As the four-time champion of the highly competitive junior league back in Mistral, she has quite the reputation to live up to and so far she has."

"Now now my dear friend, we can't act like this is all about her when she also has such a fantastic team standing alongside her!"

"I won't argue with you there, Team JNPR is certainly an eclectic cast of characters who have proven their skill. Lie Ren is basically a gun-wielding ninja, his partner Nora Valkyrie is a wrecking ball on legs, and Jaune Arc is a pirate carrying so many tricks in his coat that even I'd hesitate to fight him!"

"And speaking of JNPR, here they come and it looks like the participants are Pyrrha and Nora… wait, what are they wearing?" Port asked no one and everyone at the same time.

Oobleck pulled out a pair of binoculars and took a closer look, "I- I do believe that they are in their pajamas!?"

"Did they oversleep?" Port wondered out loud, "Or is this some kind of intimidation tactic?"

"Well, their opponents seem more confused than intimidated."

"Ah! So this a tactical maneuver to confound their foes! Brilliant!"

"I'm not sure that's what's happening…," Oobleck said to no one at all as Port was no longer listening and neither was the audience who were now chanting Pyrrha's name over and over again. Such was the power of her reputation, she could slip on a banana peel and people would convince themselves that it was just a small part of a clever ploy.

The truth of course wasn't quite as exciting, Pyrrha and Nora did their best to wake up in time to get ready for their match. However, their desire to sleep had proven too powerful and despite their best attempts, they had woken up quite late, too late to change into their combat outfits, or do their hair and make-up, and too late to have proper breakfast. As a result, the two of them were hungry, tired, and in a bad mood that was about to get so much worse.

"So this is the supposed Invincible girl? Hmph, I wasn't expecting such a slovenly slob. Veronica, are you sure that this is Pyrrha Nikos?" Asked a young woman dressed in an expensive-looking blue hoop skirt and blouse that perfectly complimented her long perfectly curled blond hair and make-up, propped up next to her was a large gold metal crate with motorized wheels built into it for easier transportation.

"Yes my lady, that is indeed Pyrrha Nikos and I believe the woman next to her is Nora Valkyrie but there isn't much information on her or her partner Lie Ren. It's likely that they are from some backwater settlement and spent a bit of time roughing it out in the wilds. As for their team leader… his file is up to date." Answered Veronica who was a slightly older woman with shoulder-length dark purple hair and a maid outfit, behind her was a second crate that looked exactly like the first except that it was silver colored.

"Hmmmph," Valerie glanced at Nora's muscles with disdain. "Well you're clearly a barbaric brute so maybe that's why you chose to become a simple Huntress, swinging that hammer is probably the only skill you have in life. I do declare, Huntsmen are truly a wretched thing to behold."

Her comment riled up the crowd and in response, Port and Oobleck said something but Nora and Pyrrha didn't hear any of it. They were just too tired to care about the crowd or about Port Oobleck's shenanigans, they didn't even look when a hologram of a Roulette appeared and started to spin to decide the battlefields.

However they did hear what Valerie had said and Nora was quick to ask, "Aren't you studying to be a Huntress?"

The girl crossed her arms and looked away, "I don't speak to vagrants! If you want an explanation then you can ask Veronica."

Nora and Pyrrha shot a glare at the rich bitch before looking toward Veronica who gave both a dismissive roll of the eyes as though the mere thought of talking with them was a burden. "You have the honor of standing before Countess Valerie Cerulean, Heiress of Cerulean Arms and more importantly is that she is the scion of a noble lineage dating back to the pre-Great War era of Mantle! So please try to keep your social position in mind when speaking to her." The maid then paused and looked at them both expectantly as though they were supposed to be impressed rather than offended.

"So?" Pyrrha asked with all the patience she could muster for these two, it wasn't much. Fortunately for her, the Roulette stopped and the Arena started rumbling which meant that the environments were going to slide into place soon and the fight would start afterward.

Veronica shook her head, "Do you have any idea what an honor it is for someone like you to even stand before Miss Cerulean?"

Nora was quick to answer, "Why should we care? Pyrrha is world-famous and we're friends with Weiss Schnee, The Dust Heiress, what's so special about her?"

Veronica had a snarl on her face and took a step towards Nora but Valerie placed a hand on the maid's shoulder and held her back. "I'll handle this," the heiress said as she walked past her maid.

"My lady, you don't have to-"

"I want to." Valerie looked right at Nora before reaching into her pocket and pulling out her scroll. "I won't deny that my family has unfairly been living in the shadows of… unworthy individuals. But this tournament will change that, once they see my inventions you Huntsmen will be seen as obsolete! You all will be on your knees begging me for employment just like how it should be! Just like how it was in the days of old!"

"Are… you talking about feudalism?" Pyrrha asked briefly, wondering if she was hallucinating again.

"Yes! I am!"

"So you're an insane monarchist," Nora bluntly stated.

"I'm Not Insane! It's this world that has gone mad!" Valerie all but screamed into the sky just like a lunatic might. "Some backwater nobody like you rubbing elbows with your betters and calling yourselves friends like you were equals, that is an affront to the natural hierarchy! Even worse is how your team is being led by some blasted cripple of an Arc with a fascination for actual criminals! And another thing…"

Nora ignored Valerie and mumbled to herself as she switched Magnhild to grenade launcher mode, "Of course, you're also an ableist, it's never one thing with you assholes. She's probably a racist too."

Pyrrha shook her head, "I'm going to shut her up."

Soon the normal arena floor panels were pulled down by mechanical arms into the depths of the stadium as new ones took their place, a forest appeared behind Nora and Pyrrha while a burnt field with a house on fire rose up behind Valerie and Veronica. Once again it seemed that Port and Oobleck had a lot to say about these battlefields but once again their words were nothing more than static in Nora and Pyrrha's ears, they were just too tired, their opponents were really pushing their buttons and any second now the fight would start.

"And now behold the true power of blue-blooded nobility!" Valerie declared before pressing a button on her scroll and putting it away. As soon as she did both crates opened up and metal flew out of them and towards both the heiress and her maid. Soon both women were covered by the metal which had formed two suits of armor that were identical in every way except color, Valerie had a gold suit and Veronica's was silver.

Veronica then walked forward until she was in front of her lady, "Behold the Silver Knight!" She then held out her hands and from out of the crate that held her armor, flew out a Dust-infused sword and shield that she caught and held up high. "My life for my Lady!"

Valerie then took a step back and just like with Veronica, more things flew out of her crate. But this time the extra parts attached themselves to her armor and soon a small pair of wings were on her back and on her ankles while a wrist-mounted gun was attached to her right arm. "Behold the Golden Countess! So tell me, peasants, do you regret your ignorance now?"

Pyrrha had enough, "Do you ever shut up?"

The buzzer went off, and the crowd cheered as Veronica charged forward while Valerie took to the air and pointed her weapon at Pyrrha, "You should be grateful that I chose to speak with you at all!" She then fired a blast of hot plasma from her weapon and hit Veronica in the back. "What?! But I wasn't aiming fo-!"

"How many times do we have to go through this, Brat!?" Veronica said with pure caustic venom dripping in her voice as she turned to face her lady. "Every single time we're supposed to do something-"

"P-please Mistress! I swear that it wasn't my intention to annoy you. I'm a good girl, just watch!" Valerie raised her gun again and pointed it at Pyrrha but just like before, she switched targets at the last moment and shot Veronica a second time. "THAT WASN'T ME I SWEAR!"

Veronica screamed with rage and threw her shield at Valerie striking her right in the chest and knocking her out of the air. Veronica then began stomping towards Valerie when suddenly her armor locked up and kept her from moving, "What? What's going on? What did you do Valerie? You know what happens when you make things harder for me."

"It's not me! My armor is also locked up! It must be them, they did something!"

Phyrra chuckled darkly, "About time you figured it out. Nora, can yo-"

"I'm way ahead of you," Nora answered before pulling out one of her grenades and expertly removing the lighting Dust contained within before rubbing it on herself.

"Veronica! Explain what's happening, now!" Valerie said, trying her best to hide her panic.

"I'm not sure! There was nothing in the files about this!"

"It's my Sembalace," Pyrrha answered coldly. "You don't know about it because my old coach went to great lengths to teach me how to fight in a way that wouldn't give it away, that kind of info is valuable."

"But what is it?!" The Heiress cried as she struggled in vain against her own armor.

"Why would I ever tell you that? Just telling you that it was my Semblance is already too much, what kind of idiot would explain how it works?! Besides, I'm not the one you should be scared of."

"That would be me," Nora said as she was fully charged and walking menacingly forward with Magnhild in its hammer mode. "My Sembalace isn't a secret, so I don't need to explain what's about to happen to you." Electricity was arcing from her body and jumping into her hammer as she walked toward her hapless victims

"W-w-wait, wait, wait, wait!" Valerie went into full panic mode as she watched Nora come closer. "I'll pay you! How much do you want? I-I'll even let you and your team have your way with me and Veronica!"

Veronica rolled her eyes, "Of course, sex would be your second offer, you damn slut! If you want to offer up your body then keep me out of it!"

Nora paused, "If you hate her so much then why do you work for her?"

"Because of the Money and status, I'll achieve when I make her brother into my submissive pet husband."

Valerie was outraged, "YOU WHORE! AM I NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU!?"

Under normal circumstances, Nora and Pyrrha would have been happy to listen to this… fascinating argument that sounded like something straight out of a novella. However they were both very sleepy and hungry, and this match was the only thing standing between them and a nice meal and a warm bed. So without any words, Pyrrha used her Semblance to force the pair closer together as Nora winded up for a killer swing that connected and ended the match.

*BOOOOOOOM!*

Author's Notes: I know last that chapter I said that we were going to be kicking off the end… that really was the plan but as I wrote the scene with Cinder and her minions, things got interesting. Originally it was supposed to be a rather comedic moment where Mercury would reveal that Ruby already knows about his legs and then they would try to make a new plan. But I couldn't get the joke to work, it just didn't feel natural, and as I rewrote it the mood of the scene evolved. Eventually, I decided that I had spent too much time fighting a pointless battle and went with the new scene which resulted in what we have now, I think it was the right choice.

As for Valerie and Veronica, they were fun but they probably won't be making any future appearances in this story. But maybe in future stories… maybe…

P.S.

The first draft of this chapter was nearly 9k words in length.