The chapter of October is here... in November. *Sigh*

Apologies for the lateness, real life got hectic. Fortunately though, my weekly series 'RWBY Zero' is on hiatus for the next month, so the actual chapter of November will be on time.

In the menatime, Enjoy!

If you wish to support me, please check out my P a treon for future chapter summaries, story ideas and more: p a Treon.(c om) (backslash) themaster4444

"And a little to the left. Left. I said left, Jaune!"

"Your left or my left?"

"My left! I'm the one saying left!"

"Okay, sorry! I was confused! That good?"

"Perfect! Thank you!"

Ruby grinned as she hammered the red-hot metal, the small individual sheets of steel fusing together with each strike. Jaune, wearing thick blacksmith's gloves just like her, gripped the burning carcass tight, pushing it over the edge of her anvil bit by bit, allowing her to beat the item into the vague shape of a wing.

As awesome as Fairy Tail's facilities had been, Ruby couldn't help but be thankful to be back in Beacon's forge. Earthland may have had magic, but its absence on Remnant had forced the Kingdoms to develop technology to match anything charged by ethernano. Except for that whole 'coming back from the dead' system that Lucy had mentioned, the one Erza's brainwashed boyfriend tried to sacrifice her on. They didn't have anything like that.

Still, advancements in technology had made metallurgy a far easier process on Remnant than the other world. And though Ruby had made do, Erza's skills at forging armor were far weaker than her dexterity at using it. There was a reason she purchased most of her arsenal.

That said, the Queen of the Fairies was far from clueless about the process. She had to check that she wasn't be sold fake gear, after all, her friends' lives might depend on her armaments in the field. She'd taught Ruby about the basics of installing magic functions into armor, something Ruby had taken glee in experimenting with, especially after Kagura had come over from Mermaid Heel to give her a few tips. Unfortunately, enchanting every molecule of the metal was a time-consuming affair, another reason Erza had normally left it to the professionals.

But Ruby had always loved creating weapons, even before she'd pounded out Crescent Rose at Signal. More than a few of her peers had come to her for advice when they were constructing their own partners. The Red Reaper herself had wanted to go into battle wielding every sword, knife, gun, ax, spear, and more under the sun. She'd just lacked any feasible way of carrying them all into battle, and given she mostly relied on speed in combat, weighing herself down was a bad plan.

But now that she had Requip…

She still drooled every time she remembered how awesome being a wizard was.

Most of her new gear were just really good weapons, but she had been working on a special project for a few months before the gang had returned home. And with Beacon's high tech forge, and Jaune to help position the material, she'd be finished the final structuring in no time. All she would need to do was magical imbue the many, many, things she'd want the armor to do into the crimson steel. Still quite the time suck, but with the structure nearly finished, she'd been able to implant the basics, which would give her a nice speed boost.

Of course, making it was a little less fun now that she'd never get to show it off to Erza, Wendy and everyone else. The others may have cheered her up the other night, but the scarlet guildmark under her glove was still a heavy reminder of what she'd given up to come home, the tattoo just above even more so.

She finished beating the metal wing, the scaling bending subtly over the side. She quickly replaced her hammer with a pair of sturdy tongs. Jaune released his grip on the armor, and she dunked her project into a massive tank of water. Steam rushed off the scarlet steel as the metal was rapidly and forcibly cooled, its majestic shape solidifying.

Jaune waved his hand in front of the wave of heat, an uneasy smirk across his face. "Is there supposed to be that much?"

Ruby chuckled. "Considering it's going from 'hot enough to glue your fingers together' to 'will just burn you a bit' in the space of a few seconds? Yes. Yes, there is. Which you'd know, if you let me upgrade your gear, Mr. didn't forge his own weapon."

Jaune thrust up his hands defensively, though the affable grin across his face let her know he wasn't really offended. "Hey, my parents are going to kill me enough when I finally see them again. I'd rather not have 'defacing a family heirloom' added to the list of charges."

"Chicken."

"Crater Face."

"Vomit Boy."

Both team leaders broke out into a round of laughter and the haze over Ruby's mind evaporated.

Yes, she had lost her Fairy Tail friends. But she'd gained back Jaune, Pyrrha, her dad, Uncle Qrow, and the rest of her friends and family on Remnant. A boon that her guildmates had fought tooth and nail to help her regain. She shouldn't dishonor that hard work by moping about what she had lost.

Besides, like Yang had said, even if they couldn't figure out how to get the book to work again, no matter where they were, their friends would be watching over them.

She and Jaune replaced their protective gear in the public storage and strode out into the halls.

The Vytal Festival would be starting in a couple hours, so they needed to handle whatever they needed to before they hopped on a Bullhead for Amity. Thankfully, with Weiss and Pyrrha present, neither Team RWBY nor JNPR had left any crucial matters for the last minute. All that was left to do was to grab a quick lunch before getting ready for action.

"So," Jaune began nervously. "How are you guys settling back in? I can't imagine I was your first choice to ask for forging help."

"Oh, come on Jaune, you were my first friend here. Why wouldn't I call you for help?"

"Because you literally just said a few minutes ago that I had no clue what I'm doing in a forge."

"True," Ruby confessed as the two arrived in the cafeteria, taking their place at the end of the short line. "Weiss is triple checking with Miss. Goodwitch that we didn't miss any surprise registration forms for the tournament. Yang is calling dad and making sure he's not freaking out about not hearing from us. And Blake is in the library looking for info on the book. But you are my friend. And remember, for me, it's been six months since I last saw you. I really did just want to hang out."

"Oh." Jaune cringed. "I guess that does make sense."

"Just a bit." Ruby smiled. Wendy was certainly amazing to be around, but Ruby had to be a bit careful how she teased her, lest it come off as mean and Carla give her an earful. There were no such worries with Jaune, who, at least with her, could give as good as he got. The pair were two different flavors of amazing friends, one a soft breeze to cool you off and the other a solid (ish) wall to help keep you sharp.

Speaking of flavors, was it strange to say she'd missed artificial flavors? Back on Earthland, magic had made making things all natural a lot cheaper, so there weren't any fancy chemicals in food. But darn it! None of the real stuff had tasted as good as the fake stuff!

Except for the strawberries. She didn't know where Erza had gotten those, but they were to die for. Or you know, figure out a way to cross dimensions for.

The pair of team leaders threw their artificially processed cafeteria food onto their recyclable trays and grabbed a table near the window.

"So," Ruby started, tossing a grape into her mouth. "What have you guys been doing the last few days?"

"Other than looking for you? Not much," Jaune shrugged. "Miss Goodwitch held an assembly for all the competing teams, gave a fair play speech, don't attack your opponent after the match, basically don't be a jerk on live television. You know, common sense."

"You made sure Nora listened, right?"

"I made Ren do it. He's better at it."

"Hooray for delegating."

"Leader power," Jaune faked cheered. He stuffed a bite of a BLT into his mouth. "After that, we had a team meeting and I made sure we were clear on midbattle signals. Team attacks and stuff like that."

Ruby smirked. "Are you still using Flower Power for Ren and Nora's?"

"His emblem is a flower and Nora hits things really hard. I don't see how it could possibly be confusing."

"On its own, it's great," Ruby conceded. She raised a finger. "But, you're also using that weird name mixing thing for you and Pyrrha's."

"What's wrong with Arkos?"

"Nothing," Ruby assured him. "But together they're going be confusing. Fighting style metaphors or name fusions, Jaune. You've got to keep your name themes consistent."

Jaune cocked an eyebrow. "So, what? I should call Flower Power… I don't know. Renora? That'll never catch on."

"Alright," Ruby smirked. She folded her arms behind her head and leaned back. "I'm just saying, Team RWBY never mixes up Freezerburn, Ice Flower, Checkmate, or Ladybu— Aaahhh!"

The red hooded huntress went too far back and plummeted out of her seat, her cloak flopping over her head.

Jaune chuckled. "Oh yeah. Teach me, o tactical mastermind."

Ruby flipped her cloak out of her face, a pearly white grin shining as bright as her silver eyes.

"Well, not even the best of us are perfect," she giggled, clamoring back to her seat. Her face lit up with a memory. "Our first night on Earthland, we actually thought it'd be a good idea to go after Tartaros ourselves. Ha! We barely knew how to take in ethernano, and we thought we were going to take on the king of all dark guilds."

Jaune didn't join in on her laughter. In fact, his smile disappeared, and his expression became rather pensive. He placed his sandwich down on his plate.

Ruby frowned. "Jaune? Hey, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. It's nothing." He shook his head. "Just… magic works here, right? In this world?"

Ruby cautiously nodded. "Yeah. I wouldn't have been able to requip if it didn't."

"So, that means, in theory, if one were to be taught how to… do magic, they could…"

Ruby smirked, her eyebrow rising in a distinctly Yang way. "Jaune Arc, are you asking me to teach you magic?"

The blonde huntsman cringed. "It's not why you think."

"You don't want to learn it because it's awesome?"

"Okay, it's part of why you think," Jaune confessed. He nervously rubbed the back of his head. "Look, I don't know if you know, but ever since that incident in Forever Fall last semester, the one with Cardin, Pyrrha has been giving me… extra combat training."

"I know."

"What?"

"Nora followed you guys to the roof and then told everyone."

Jaune scowled. "If there wasn't a tournament going on, I'd have Ren dock her pancakes."

"Ha! Nice try. He's not brave enough to let you delegate that one."

"True." Jaune sighed. "Anyway, Pyrrha actually offered to train me before that happened. But I turned her down."

Ruby had to blink to make sure she'd heard him right. "You turned down training from Pyrrha? As in, 'the only person not a fully trained huntsman or that ice cream girl who can kick Yang's butt' Pyrrha? Why? Jaune, I don't want to be mean or anything, but at the beginning of the year you kind of… well…"

"Sucked."

"…Yeah."

"I know," he agreed. "Heck, I knew back then. I knew I wasn't up to snuff, but I had this stupid idea in my head that being a huntsman wouldn't be real unless I did it on my own."

"Yeah, that is pretty silly," Ruby concurred. "I mean, they literally put us into teams."

"I was a dumbass and a jerk," Jaune continued. "But then, the thing with Cardin and my talk with you happened and I realized… well, that I'm not allowed to do that. I'm not allowed to stay weak because of some stupid pride. If my team is going to rely on me, then I have to take every chance I can to get strong enough to support them."

Ruby smiled proudly. "We're not allowed to fail."

"Exactly!" Jaune exclaimed. "Pyrrha has been an absolutely amazing teacher. In less than a year, she's turned me from… well, me, into something half resembling one of your guys. With her help, I think I might be able to really hold my own by the time we get out of Beacon. But, if the Breach proved anything, it's that the Grimm aren't going to wait that long. I need to get stronger now. I'm not looking for a shortcut, but if magic can help—"

"Stop," Ruby held up her hand, a wide grin on her face. "Of course I'll help. I'd love to teach you."

Jaune let out a long sigh of relief. "Thank you, Ruby."

"Hey, what are friends for?"

"Teaching us as well?"

Both Ruby and Jaune whirled down the table. Standing with trays piled high with food were a sheepish Pyrrha, an exasperated Ren, and Nora with a grin entirely too large even for her plastered across her face.

"What?" Nora asked boldly, plopping her treasure trove of pizza down beside the two leaders. "Did you think we were gonna not wanna learn magic?"

Jaune's eyes widened. "Ho… how much of that did you guys here?"

"Everything after Ruby fell off her chair," Ren answered simply.

Pyrrha blushed. "I'm glad you've found me such a good teacher."

Jaune sighed and smacked his head into his half-eaten BLT.

Ruby narrowed her eyes at the still grinning Nora. "You do realize that even if I teach you guys how to absorb ethernano tonight, there's no way you can catch up to our level before the tournament's over?"

"Maybe," Nora teased. "Maybe not. You guys aren't the only prodigies in this school. But if you're too chicken…"

Even Ruby could tell she was being baited. After learning to take in ethernano, magic was mostly about figuring out your specialty and expanding that to your preference, a process that, while time-consuming to perfect, was simple to begin. There was no reason to give Team JNPR a leg up in the tournament when she could just wait a few days and teach them then.

But… the whole thing was going to be kind of boring if they steamrolled everyone with magic.

"Training starts tonight."

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Tonight was the night.

Tonight, they were going to find this Tartaros guild and use Plan 7 on them. Also known as 'throw Yang at them until they give up'.

Before they could do that though, they needed to sneak out of Fairy Hills. A task that had proved far easier said than done.

The guild's girls' dormitory was hardly a fortress but, for some reason, their plans kept failing before they could start. Throwing a rope out the window like Ruby and Yang (mostly Yang) had done whether they'd wanted to sneak off to Vale after bedtime? The line had gone up in a shower of purple flames before they could even start climbing down. Using Blake's expert White Fang training to try to crawl through the air vents? They were clogged with freaking swords! Eventually, they'd finally had to give into Weiss' plan, one that spoke of nonexistent experience sneaking out of a house.

Which was how they found themselves in the building's living room preparing to literally walk out the front door.

"See. There is no need to overcomplicate matters." Weiss declared smugly. "The door is right there. It's unlocked. There is no reason to come up with elaborate schemes."

"To be fair, we tried climbing down a window and crawling through air vents," Blake recounted. "I wouldn't exactly call either of those 'elaborate'."

"Yeah, Ice Queen. We didn't even get to the chicken or the shadow puppets," Yang shot back.

Weiss raised an eyebrow. "Shadow puppets? You must be joking."

"No, that was actually one of our better schemes," Ruby declared. "Yang would light up her hair and I'd use the flames to make shadow puppets to fake out dad."

"You know how to make shadow puppets!" Wendy exclaimed excitedly. "That's amazing!"

"Aw, it's nothing really. I could never really get the bird down well enough to fool Uncle Qrow—"

All of Team RWBY suddenly froze. The huntresses' eyes widened and locked onto the blue haired girl that had appeared in their midst.

"Wendy!" Ruby chirped, only to get immediately shushed by Weiss. She continued in a soft whisper. "Wendy, what are you doing here? You should be in bed."

"Oh, I was." The Sky Dragon Slayer assured them. "But then Erza woke me up because she needed Carla for something. She said I could stay down here until they were done, even though it's after lights out."

"What could that scary woman need a cat for?" Yang asked absentmindedly.

"For this."

Their heads all whipped around to living room area of the lobby, with multiple chairs, a television-like lacrima, and a fluffy couch. One of said chairs, a new black leather seat on a swivel, slowly turned to reveal its occupant: a scowling Erza Scarlet, clothed in a long black nightgown, stroking the head of a disgruntled white cat.

"Is this really what you needed me for?" Carla growled.

"Of course. Dramatically revealing yourself on a chair is always made more intimidating when holding a white cat," Erza declared bombastically. "It is a true actor of the theatre that understands the unison of their props!"

"I am not a prop!"

"Um, Ms. Erza," Ruby stuttered. Whether Carla had been a factor or not, that chair reveal had been really scary. The rest of her team was even hiding their faces in their hands, Weiss even repeatedly smacking her forehead to get the terrifying sight out of her memory. "Does this mean we're caught?"

Erza let Carla return to Wendy, standing from her chair. Her gaze over the huntresses was firm but understanding. "You are. I've been head girl for a long time. I can sight a curfew breaker from a mile away. Though, I'll admit, you came here far sooner than I thought you would. I anticipated you to at least try the sewers before you went for the front door. I'll have to let Juvia know she can come out."

"Juvia?" Weiss inquired. "That blue-haired water girl?"

"Erza promised her one of Gray's socks if she helped," a new voice informed them. Mira stepped in from the main entrance, cutting off any of hope of Team RWBY making a break for it. She flashed the huntresses a dainty smile. "I just thought it'd be fun."

"Lovely," Blake groaned. She whirled on Erza. "Look, we're grateful that you're willing to shelter us, but we can't stay here. Now that we have a lead, we don't have any time to lose."

"Yeah, we've got to track down those crossed hammer guys," Ruby insisted.

"Tartaros," Erza corrected. Her bombast was gone, replaced by a cold, harsh seriousness. "Seven years ago, they were considered the second most powerful dark guild in the kingdom. Since then, they have thrived in the power vacuum created by the defeat of Grimoire Heart, the one force considered to be their superior."

"So?" Yang asked. "They're hot stuff. Big deal."

"Very big deal," Wendy pleaded with them. "Grimoire Heart attacked Fairy Tail's strongest on our most sacred site, an island that granted us immortality and boosted our magic power, and even then, they nearly wiped us out. If Tartaros has grown even stronger than them, you won't stand a chance."

Ruby smiled at the blue-haired girl. "Don't worry, Wendy. We've taken on some pretty bad people back on Remnant and… well… it wasn't perfect, but we won in the end. We can totally handle these Tartaros guys."

Wendy didn't look reassured. Even Mira had a worried frown on her face.

Erza crossed her arms, her glare unabated from the huntresses. "You four have barely learned how to take in ethernano, much less strengthen yourselves with it. You'll only have your aura and your weapons."

"That's what we've always had," Weiss declared. "And as Ruby said, it hasn't been perfect, but we've done well enough so far."

"Well enough won't cut in. Not against a Baram Alliance guild," Erza countered. "You have no idea what you're walking into."

"With all due respect Ms. Erza, you have no idea what we can do," Blake replied.

Ruby nodded. They'd clobbered hordes of Grimm. They'd demolished an Atlesian Paladin, one of the most powerful weapons in the world. They'd taken down Roman Torchwick and contained the onslaught of the Breach. No matter the odds, they always came through.

Erza hummed, a hand rising to rub her chin. "That is true. Despite what we have told each other, none of us have seen the others in combat."

"Precisely," Weiss said. "So, please, trust that we know what we're doing."

"You are members of Fairy Tail now. I have full faith in you." A hungry grin painted across Erza's face. "However, I still think it would be best to have… a demonstration."

All of Team RWBY gulped under the Titania's gaze, her piercing brown eyes harder and more withering than any blade.

Ruby stepped forward. "What exactly do you have in mind?"

Erza turned to Mira, who smiled back in turn. "Natsu?"

"He did want a rematch."

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"There you are," Weiss screeched as Ruby dashed down the hall of Amity Coliseum. "Where have you been? The match is about to start."

"Sorry." Her team leader replied. "I was double checking something at the armory. How was I supposed to know we'd be fighting so soon?"

Weiss sighed, but Ruby did have a point. The matches for the Vytal Festival were randomized, so she had no way of knowing they would be called up for the first battle. Still, they'd all been ready to go just in case. She, Blake, and Yang had been waiting in the entrance tunnel for nearly five minutes, the hum of the crowd quieting every second. Any longer and they would have been disqualified for holding up the tournament.

"It's fine," the heiress waved off. She suddenly stood up straighter than ever. "I can't believe this is happening!"

Blake cocked an eyebrow. "That we're fighting in the tournament or that we made it in time after spending six months in another dimension?"

"Both!" Weiss cheered.

She wasn't normally so exuberant over something that ultimately didn't matter in their huntress careers, but she just couldn't help herself. After Winter had left for Atlas Academy, all she'd heard was that her sister would come crawling back soon enough, that such a delicate and pampered girl would never be able to make it as a huntress. Even, if she'd wanted her big sibling to come home and resume her role as a buffer against father… well, being father, the whispers had hurt, knowing that they were all doomed to be eternally imprisoned in Jacques Schnee's false shadow.

And then Winter had won her first Vytal Festival and the whispers went silent. She had proved that, Schnee or not, pampered or not, she had what it took to stand with the best of the best from all across Remnant. To stand on her own. To make her own legacy.

More than anything, Weiss wanted that. To prove to the world that she was not bound to the mockery her father had made of her family. To prove that her name was hers.

"Eeeee!"

The rest of her team looked at her in horror.

"Weiss, you're squeeing," Ruby noted. "Are you feeling okay? Did Juvia poison you before we left?"

"What?" Weiss gasped, shocked out of her trance. "No, you dolt. Juvia would never poison me."

Yang rolled her eyes. "Yeah, beat you to a pulp, toss you off a cliff, or throw you in the middle of one of Natsu and Gray's grudge matches, sure, but poison? No, never."

Weiss crossed her arms and pouted. "She only threw me off a cliff once. And she did pull me back up."

"Well, you didn't get thrown off that cliff for nothing, Weiss!" Ruby cheered. "Because Team RWBY is about to become the first every team of wizard huntresses to steamroll a Vytal Festival!"

"Yeah!" Yang pumped her fist. Blake merely shook her head in resignation.

But Weiss… Weiss lowered her eyes.

"Actually Ruby, I was wondering," she slowly began. "Maybe we could… not use our magic."

The entirety of her team raised their eyebrows at her.

"Huh?" Ruby muttered.

"What brought this on?" Blake inquired. "Last night you were all set to bulldoze the competition."

"Yes, and then you pointed out the serious flaw in my logic," Weiss confessed. "While we trained hard for this power, the other students haven't exactly had the same opportunity. While it wouldn't be cheating, it would be somewhat… dishonorable. And I want to win this tournament without any regrets."

Blake smiled proudly at the heiress. "That's admirable, Weiss. I'm in."

"You're also the only one of us that isn't fully charged," Yang reminded her partner. The blonde reluctantly shrugged. "Still, I'll go for it. Seems a shame not to let the world see the full awesomeness of Yang Xiao-Long, but I'm alright with holding back. Unless, you know, someone really presses me, in which case I'm flash frying them."

Weiss sighed. "At least try to hold out until the singles round."

"No promises."

"Hehehe…" Ruby nervously chuckled. When Weiss glared at her, she nervously rubbed the back of her head. "Weiss, I think it's great that you're trying to be fair and all and I'm totally for it… but, we may need to rescind that if we get matched against Team JNPR."

Blake cocked an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Because Nora will go on a rampage if she thinks we're patronizing her."

Weiss barely had time to sigh, though she could see the logic in her partner's point. Team JNPR were the only ones aware of their mystical abilities and while they would not begrudge the girls if the other teams couldn't push them hard enough to require their magic, they knew they could. Putting aside Jaune's combat capabilities, he was one of the few tacticians that had demonstrated the talent to match his pieces with Ruby. And when two of those pieces were the Invincible Girl and a hammer wielder that consumed far too much sugar, it was a toss up which of their teams would win with standard huntsmen training. RWBY's magic, however, would easily tip the balance. Thus, their sister team, especially Nora and Pyrrha, would take it as an insult if they held back in the face of victory.

Fortunately, a quick glance at the arena's viewscreen revealed that their current opponents were just some Shade team called ABRN. Perhaps they would prove to a dark horse capable of taking Team RWBY to their limits but if they weren't, there was no need to get all worked up. The team quickly strode out to the center of the stadium, the crowd roaring upon their arrival. The location wheels began to spin to decide the fight's setting.

"I have no issue keeping the pancake monster in check," Weiss relented, drawing Myrtenaster. "Who knows? Pyrrha might even be able to outmaneuver us regardless."

"Ha! Like we 'outmaneuvered' Natsu?" Yang laughed. "Don't get me wrong, Pyrrha's awesome. But when there's nowhere to dodge, there's nowhere to dodge. And I'm going to bring the heat!"

She emphasized her final declaration with a vigorous double cock of Ember Celica. Something that would have been a lot more intimidating if the shotgun chambers hadn't sounded with a clearly empty hiss.

Everyone's eyes instantly widened. Weiss' gaze darted down to her sword's revolving chamber, where the telltale rainbow of dust was conspicuously absent. A panicked glance at Blake confirmed that she was similarly freaking out over an inspection of Gambol Shroud.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me," Ruby moaned, Crescent Rose leaned over her shoulders. "Did you guys forget to reload?"

"We ran out of dust months ago and then we just… you know… didn't use it," Yang tried to answer. "When did you do it?"

"What do you think I was doing in the armory?!"

Normally, Weiss would be torn between praising Ruby for her thoughtful remembrance and kicking herself for her lack thereof. In this case, there was a bit more to it than a usual slip of a mind though. After their limited dust supply had run out in Earthland, they had focused almost exclusively on their magic and mixing that with their semblances whenever they could. Amongst the chaos of their return to Remnant, they simply hadn't thought of their new supply. A mistake that would make it difficult to triumph over Team ABRN as conventional huntresses.

"Ready?" Professor Port's voice thundered across the coliseum. "Three. Two. One."

"Ruby?"

"Yup, honor starts next round."

"Go!"

"FREEZERBURN!" Ruby commanded instantly, letting loose a flurry of shots to keep ABRN at distance.

At the same time, Weiss kneeled and slammed her palms into the ground, a cascade of pitch-black ice erupting to coat the floor of the arena. Yang leapt into the air and crashed down to the new glacial surface with a fist of brilliant pink flames. When the demonic heat of hell's finest brimstone met the purest frost of the divine, a cloud of pure darkness surged across the field, blinding the team from Vacuo.

Team RWBY, on the other hand, had magic, part of which was sensing the location and strength of other magic and similar energies. Such as say, aura.

Suffice to say, the match was over before the steam had cleared. True, the audience hadn't gotten much of a show, but hey, they got a chance to see just how efficient huntsmen were and, unknowingly, just how powerful magic could be.

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"Erza, why are you doing this?" Lucy questioned.

The entirety of Fairy Tail's strongest team, plus Mira, stood atop the walls of Magnolia Canyon, the area where the guild traditionally held their yearly race. Now, under a blanket of stars, it played host to a more brutish contest.

Team RWBY panted hard as they faced down Natsu, a few scant soot marks peppering their skin from where they just weren't fast enough to dodge the flames. Their weapons were still held out strong before them, but every now and then they would sag. In contrast, the Salamander was grinning like a madman, vibrant flames alight around his fists and the only noticeable wound being a deep purple bruise across his cheek, a consequence of trying to consume the flames spawned by Yang's hair and catching some of the mane itself in his mouth. Suffice to say, that had been the only moment when Erza had wondered if the huntresses from another world would actually be able to claim victory.

Alas, the moment had passed and her prediction was back on track shortly after.

"These girls are in our care, Lucy," the Titania declared. "The moment they took on our guildmark, they became our family, members of Fairy Tail. And we cannot let our family go after the most powerful dark guild in the kingdom without any idea what they'd be getting into."

"Uh, yeah, I get that part," Lucy sighed, a bead of sweat dropping from her brow. "I was asking why you had to wake the rest of us up to watch. You guys break into my house so much I barely get enough beauty sleep as it is. It takes downtime to maintain this figure."

"Or you could just stop gaining weight."

"Shut up, you stupid cat."

Gray pensively observed the battle below. "Honestly, they're doing better than I thought they would. These days, Natsu can put most people out with one punch."

"This aura of theirs is impressive," Mira noted. "Most mages learn how to use magic to boost their physical capabilities, but it isn't usually to this great an extent. I'd say these four could win in a fight with a good chunk of the people from the Grand Magic Games, Yang especially. She could probably go one on one with Elfman."

Gray nodded. "Maybe beat him too."

"What?" Mira stuttered. "No, she couldn't. Sure, she'd probably give him a good fight but my little brother would pull through in the end."

"With that trick of hers, what did they call it, a semblance? With whatever that is, she'd probably be able to take him."

Mira froze in an alabaster pleasant smile. Then she turned away and instantly started crying. Gray jumped up and tried to comfort her, Wendy and Carla right behind him.

"Man, Gray is such a jerk, isn't he?" Happy remarked. "Talking about Elfman like that right in front of Mira."

"That doesn't mean he's wrong," Lucy pointed out, walking forward to be even with Erza. Down below, Ruby shouted something about a ladybug and she and Blake sprang forward, dodging a Fire Dragon's Roar to flank Natsu on both sides. "They are stronger than we'd thought they'd be with no magic. Me, Elfman, even Wendy, they could probably beat all of us."

Natsu thrust out his hands and caught each of the huntresses' weapons in his grip, his experience from dueling Erza allowing him to halt the flats between his fingers before the blades could reach his palms. A trail of flames surged out from his arms and he whipped both girls around in a vicious spiral.

"Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!"

Ruby and Blake went flying back into the walls of the canyon, the rockface splintering upon their impact.

Natus grinned, the sparks of his assault flying behind him, lighting the Fire Dragon Slayer with a demonic glow. Despite that, his smile was nothing less than jubilant. "Alright! You guys are great! I don't know why you want to leave so soon. You'd love it at the guild."

Yang and Weiss heaved at the taunt, their eyes scanning their downed teammates. Ruby and Blake were staggering back to their feet, but their aura was flickering around their bodies, clearly strained from the impact.

The pair of gold and white nodded to each other. Yang blasted her gauntlets behind her and shot towards Natsu, the Fire Dragon Slayer eagerly meeting her with blazing fists. The two collided in a furious brawl, the flame wizard easily forcing the huntress back, but not without taking a few good licks himself.

Weiss in the meantime dashed to Ruby and helped her leader to her feet.

"Perhaps," Erza conceded to Lucy's point. "But there is more to a battle than mere physical strength. Elfman could probably beat Fried or Evergreen in an arm-wrestling match but both of them have trounced him in the past. While Team RWBY may have the physical capabilities to stand up to some wizards, they lack the raw destructive power that many magics provide. And when facing someone like Natsu, one who both has superior physical conditioning and that power, they simply cannot win."

Indeed, at that very moment, Natsu howled and blasted Yang back several yards. The huntress stumbled a few steps but managed to wrench herself back to her feet, panting hard over her raised fists.

"Come on," Natsu called. "Don't tell me that's it. I'm still fired up!"

Like a spark to a pile of tinder, Yang's exhaustion evaporated. She grinned like a mad woman at the Salamander, flames rising all around him. "Fired up, eh? Alright then, pinky, let's see just how much you can really handle."

"Ooo, they're flirting! She's really trying to take your place, Lucy."

"Happy, I am too sleep deprived for this."

Yang rushed forward, dodging and weaving as Natsu unleashed a furious barrage of fireballs, smoke billowing up from the roasted stone. Finally, the huntress leapt into the air above, her hair blazing gold and her eyes a shining crimson.

Natsu smacked his hands before his mouth and took in a massive gulp of air.

"Fire Dragon Roar!"

A torrent of flames rushed out of his mouth, the stream blazing straight for Yang, ready to knock her out of the sky.

Surprisingly, she came down herself first.

Yang rocketed back to the ground, the roar of fire rushing over her head. The huntress grinned, yanking her gauntleted fist from the black glyph spiraling at her feet.

Erza glanced over to Weiss, who kneeled with her rapier planted in the ground.

"Impressive," the knight muttered.

Yang did not waste her teammate's opening. With Natsu's attention still on her previous position, she pulled her fist back and slammed into the wizard's gut with a scream and a thunderous haymaker.

Natsu's eyes widened, a gurgle escaping his throat. He rocketed back and bounced across the dirt, landing in a cloud of smoke.

"Natsu!" Lucy and Happy both yelled.

Yang's hair settled down and her eyes returned to normal. She sagged to one knee, but her smile spoke for itself. Weiss rushed over to help Blake get up while Ruby dashed to her sister in a cloud of rose petals.

"Alright, Yang," the red hooded girl complimented. "We did it! Sure it was a bit harder than we'd thought, but—"

"Natsu!" Erza shouted, the huntresses' heads whirling to her. "Show them everything."

Team RWBY's eyes all widened with shock, their gazes immediately locking onto the smoky haze. Sure enough, Natsu emerged from the cloud soon after, one hand pressed to his gut.

"How?" Yang whispered. "I hit with everything I had. And everything he'd given me. How did he get back up?"

"Man, that was a nice one," he muttered admirably, wincing a bit as he did so. "You guys are great."

"Natsu!" Erza called again. "Playtime is over. Show them everything you've got."

"Everything? But this is so much fun—"

"EVERYTHING!"

"Yes, mam!" Natsu screeched, his hand rising for a quick salute. After that, he planted his feet into a solid stance, splintering the ground with his steps. All around his body, magic power surged, flames rising in a blazing aura.

"Go, now!" Ruby ordered her team. All four girls charged, weapons ready to strike.

They never made it.

It was said that The King of the Fire Dragons could unleash flames hotter than the sun, infernos strong enough to crumble mountains and melt continents. If the ocean had dared to touch his blaze, the world would have found itself encased in a void of steam and salt, the vapor never to be liquid again. Natsu aspired to his father's heights, dreamt of rising to the call of legend. But even if he still had a long way to go, he did possess one thing that even Igneel had never wielded.

The Thunder.

"LIGHTNING FLAME DRAGON MODE!"

All at once, the Salamander's power tripled, the infernal tempest erupting in a cloak of brilliant light that illuminated the night sky like a miniature sun. Vicious bolts wrapped around his indomitable flames like a second coat of scales, riving as their power was forced to match the tumultuous blaze. Natsu's hair was thrust straight into the sky, his eyes glowing a violent orange and slit like a true dragon.

Team RWBY froze in their tracks. For several moments, all they could do was stand there, feel the heat and absorb the thunder, the sparks crackling furiously against the cool night air. Perhaps the huntresses had faced monsters and toppled kingpins, but for the first time, they beheld the full might of a Fairy Tail Wizard.

One by one, without Natsu throwing a single blow, they dropped to their knees. First Weiss, then Blake, and a trembling Ruby. Finally, after nearly half a minute of defiant staring, Yang joined her teammates, her wide, shivering eyes locked on the dirt beneath them.

"We… we…" Ruby whimpered. "We accept defeat."

Natsu extinguished his power, the sudden lack of flames and lighting sizzling the air. He grimaced and looked over the huntresses with a sympathetic gaze. "Sorry. I had to learn it too."

Lucy and Happy both mimicked his empathy, their lower lips bitten in pity.

Internally, Erza did the same, but outwardly she remained stoic, leaping down to the canyon floor. This was somewhat harsh, but Master had taught her this lesson the same way long ago and Gildarts had said he did the same with Natsu during the S-class trial, one of the few teachings the reckless warrior had ever taken to heart. Team RWBY needed to learn it as well.

"You did well." She complimented the girls, coming to stand beside Ruby's kneeled form. "Natsu is one of the strongest wizards in the guild. He is most certainly an outlier of the opponents that you will face in this world. But Tartaros exists in that same outlier. Their elites, the Nine Demon Gates, are all said to be on Natsu's level at the very least, and that's discounting their guildmaster. If you went after them as you are now, you would die."

"We can't wait." Ruby whimpered, tears dripping from her silver eyes. "They're our only lead. Our only chance at getting home. If we wait… who knows if whatever brought us here will still be there."

"You won't ever get home if you die here," Erza stated solemnly. She knelt beside Ruby and raised the girl's head, her broken eyes coming to stare into the Titania's own. "There is no shame in fear. It let's us know where we are weak, where we need to improve. Where others can help us improve. You've already learned how to take in ethernano, but there is so much more to magic than just that. So much more you can learn, that we can teach you. You may not be in your world, but you are not alone."

Ruby's face crumpled, a deluge rushing down her cheeks. "Why? Why are you helping us? You don't even know us. We fell out of the sky and you just… you just—"

Erza smiled at the poor child. She took the huntress' wrists in her grip and lifted the back of her hand into sight, the girl's crimson guildmark shining proudly. She rolled up her left sleeve and revealed her own sapphire emblem. "There is no reason not to help someone in need. But the moment you all accepted these marks, we became family, always and forever. We will help you become as strong as you can possibly be. We will help you track down Tartaros. And we will find a way for you to return home. Because you are all Fairy Tail Wizards."

Ruby sniffled, her sleeve rising to wipe the tears from her face. "Thank you."

All around, Weiss, Blake, and Yang managed to smile at the pair, stuffing their own cries in the wake of their leader's comforting. Natsu beamed at the quartet. Lucy and Happy descended to join them, the rest of the party not far behind, though Gray had somehow lost his clothes.

Still, his sudden nakedness put his dark blue guildmark on full display, emboldened like a deep sea across his bare chest. It was the same mark that they all bore, a mark that bound them, that declared to the world, to all worlds, that they were family. That they were Fairy Tail.

For all that Team RWBY had been defeated that night, they would never again doubt that they had a home on both worlds.

RWBYRWBYRWBYRWBYFTFTFTFT

Ozpin was more than a little disgruntled.

James' going over his head to take over the Vytel Festival's security was the issue that had been at the forefront of his mind, the Council Chairman's not so subtle threats to relieve him of his position after the event a mere pinprick. He was sure his old friend had not meant for such repercussions to come from his actions. Impulsive and overeager he may have been, Ironwood was still his friend. The general's heart was in the right place, seeking only to protect the innocents of every kingdom from the threat they knew nothing of. Ozpin only feared that his more basic approach would merely provide more openings for the Queen's agents.

More than anything, that was what terrified Ozpin. Amber was safe in the vault, fading but alive, but who knew for how long. He was sure that Ms. Nikos would make a more than capable replacement, but every second his troubled conscious delayed him in begging for her help was another second the spies among them could discover the Fall Maiden's location. And after that, it was only a matter of time before the assailant arrived, half of her victim's immense magic in tow.

Attacking a maiden out in the open. His foe hadn't been so bold in decades, not since she saw to the disappearance of Summer Rose. She was preparing for something, something that would spark a major offensive. But what?

The headmaster sighed and leaned back into his chair. He took a sip of coffee from his prized mug and flipped on the festival at his desk's viewscreen.

No matter the Queen of the Grimm's plans, he couldn't forget that she was not unopposed. For all that individuals had betrayed him again and again, for that the species fell into the same sins over and over, humanity had yet to completely fail him. For an eon they had stood fast against the corrupting darkness, and with any luck he would help them stand an eon more. The plague that had taken so much from him and the world would not claim victory.

And the ones who would stop it were the huntsmen and huntresses who battled before him now, amazing the people of Remnant with the skills of their protectors, assuring them they could sleep soundly in their beds without fear. They would hold back the Grimm and the worse things the enemy conjured. She and her Gates would not win.

"And in record time, Team RWBY wins! My word, I don't think I've ever seen a takedown so precise!"

"That's because you didn't see it. Team RWBY cleverly utilized a smokescreen to blind their opponents, and by consequence the audience. Still, their mastery of such a strategy, while not as thrilling to watch, easily earns them a spot in the next round."

Ozpin smiled as he heard Peter and Bart's booming voices echo over the sound system, the confusion of the crowd soon turning into a jubilant roar. The fact that it was that team that earned their applause only made it even sweeter, assuring him that Mr. Arc's worries for their curious absence for the past few days were as unnecessary as he'd prayed.

Weiss Schnee, heiress of the Schnee Dust Company. Proud, but with an iron will to improve herself and those around her. If she took the reins of her family's business and name, Ozpin had no doubt it would return to the same prestige and benevolence that it had blessed the world with during Nicholas' tenure.

Blake Belladonna, daughter of Ghira Belladonna, founder of the White Fang and Chieftain of Menagerie. Ozpin knew exactly who she was the moment he saw her, but he had met her parents several times at political functions. Anyone without such experience would simply dismiss her as just another faunus, assuming they got a look at what was under her bow. But she was far from just another face among the crowd, for she had had the strength to realize the faults of the path she had chosen and was now putting everything she had towards obtaining true peace. With her team by her side, especially Ms. Schnee, the headmaster had little doubt that she would make great strides in that effort.

Yang Xiao-Long, one of the most talented fighters Ozpin had seen since her parents. Strong, willful, and fiercely loyal to her friends, the Little Sun Dragon would do everything in her power to ensure that her family was protected, ensuring that the others would face as little obstacles as possible.

And finally, Ruby Rose, the Silver-Eyed Warrior. Ozpin had made a grave error putting all the hope he had on her mother, not for any fault of Summer's but too much of a burden could break anyone. Still, despite himself, the ancient wizard would not help but wonder if Ruby Rose would be the one to finally end it, to save humanity from the evil that had haunted them for so long. She was a simple soul, determined to help everyone she could and that attracted others, others who might not normally have been so philanthropically inclined, to her banner. He firmly believed that she could be the one to finally unite the disparate lights of mankind to vanquish the darkness.

Separately, each of the girls was a marvel, a titan in the making on canvas of the world. But together, they might just do the impossible. At least, that was what he hoped.

He had to hope. After them, after they meet her, it would be the beginning of the end. But until that time, Ozpin knew that they would be… safe?

The headmaster's eyes widened as the smoke cleared from the arena. He rubbed his eyes to make sure his coffee hadn't gotten to him and stared at the viewscreen once more.

They were still there.

He paused the footage and enhanced the image, desperately hoping to be wrong.

He wasn't.

On the back of each girl's hands, was the emblem of Fairy Tail.

Which meant if the Queen found out, she would come for them all.

Yeah, Natsu gets to show the girls the difference between an anime character that's over halfway through their series and four who are just starting out. Fun times.

A huge thank you to my patrons: Gregg Tracton, Keith Traction and Cool guy.

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

Go Forth and Conquer!