Alright, RWBY/Zero is officially complete. This story is now my weekly fic. Expect updates on Saturday or Sunday every weekend.

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

Beta-ed by xenosaiyan

"Alright, just breathe in. Take in the air and all the ethernano in it. Let it flow into your origin and—"

"Uhhhhhh!" Nora moaned, slumping out of her meditation pose. "We've been at this for hours!"

Ruby cringed. Team JNPR were arrayed before her, sitting on the floor with their legs crossed and eyes closed. As promised, she had begun teaching them magic, beginning with the basic process of taking in ethernano. Unfortunately, she'd failed to account for the fact that Remnant's far lower density of the crucial particle would make gathering enough for a spell quite difficult for someone who hadn't mastered taking it in already. For her and the team, the process had become as natural as breathing itself, so getting enough would be more time consuming than on Earthland, but simple enough. For her friends, who were still trying to consistently gather the fuel, it was a more time-consuming process.

"You just have to be patient," Weiss advised. She had also decided to stick around in the dorm room, though for the most stood off to the side with a small summoning glyph circling before her. "No skill comes without practice."

"Is that why you didn't go partying with Yang?" Nora inquired, flopping back onto the floor. "Apparently the Shade kids are throwing a massive one for all the fighters."

"I have no desire to be surrounded by sweaty fools jumping around to music so loud they can't hear."

"Why? You're getting just as sweaty here. I mean you're already taking off your clothes."

"What are you—ah!" Weiss hissed in pain, a tug of her jacket causing the tape stuck to her skin to pinch her. "Ruby, you said you'd warn me if I started stripping!"

"But I thought it would be okay if it was just us—"

"It is a habit I need to quash!" Weiss snapped. "Winter's still sleeping off the hangover she got after 'processing' my little reveal. I don't want something worse to happen if everyone in the world suddenly sees me naked on live tv!"

Ruby sighed. On one hand, she wouldn't want the whole world to see her naked either and Weiss believing they'd have the chance meant she had faith that Yang would win the singles' round. On the other though, wasn't the reason she even had the tape so that she would get fair warning before she started? Ruby was teaching, she couldn't keep watch the entire time. Especially since she was making exactly zero progress helping her friends.

Jaune cracked open his eyes. "Um, Ruby? I don't want to sound ungrateful, but Nora has a point. Did it take you guys this long to get it? Magic, I mean?"

"Well… no," Ruby admitted, scratching the back of her head. "But we had a lot more ethernano to work with. As soon as you guys master that, the rest will come easily. Whatever magic you can use instinctually should trigger soon after."

"But you said there isn't a lot of that ether-stuff on Remnant?" Nora inquired. "And except for Blake, you guys seem fine, especially with that massacre you pulled in the first round."

"We have… special circumstances," Ruby explained. "Our power is just as costly here, but since Weiss and Yang are Slayers, they can easily recoup their ethernano by eating their elements. And my eyes, for whatever reason, have a massive reservoir of the stuff. It's what powered the book in the first place, and I didn't even know about it then. According to the First Master, it's even got enough to power one of the three Grand Fairy Spells."

Nora cocked an eyebrow. "And those are?"

Weiss rolled her eyes and held out three fingers, counting off as she spoke. "Fairy Law: a radiant light that washes over the surrounding area and uses the caster's life force to wipe out all those they view as an enemy. Fairy Sphere: the ultimate defense that uses the bonds between guildmates to remove people from time in the ultimate protection. And last but not least, Fairy Glitter."

"Oh, that one doesn't sound that bad," Jaune noted.

"It is an unwavering and implacable explosion of light that, if properly used, erases its target from existence."

"Hot damn!" Nora cheered, shooting to her feet with a wild grin. "Where can we get our hands on that?"

Ruby reached for her right sleeve. "Well, I mean—"

"If properly used," Weiss repeated, narrowing her eyes at the hammer wielder. "Each of these spells, and those of a similar level such as the Abyss Break, not only require an enormous amount of power, but also intricate understanding and focus. Magic isn't just some hammer you can buy off a lien-store shelf. It's a part of you, an extension of yourself. It grows with you and you have to grow with it if you're to have any hope of mastering it."

Nora scowled. "Well, what if we are a hammer? What then?"

"Are you any old lien-store hammer?"

"Hell no!"

"Then don't act like one," Weiss dismissed, turning away to return to her summoning practice.

Nora's face fell, settling back down to the floor. Ren gave her a soft pat on the leg. "Don't worry. We'll get the hang of it eventually."

"Easy for you to say. You're like, the best meditator ever!" Nora pointed out. "But me and Jaune stink at it. Heck, I'm sure even Pyrrha is having trouble. At least, I think she is. I might have been asleep for that last bit. Pyrrha, how are you doing? Pyrrha?"

"What?" Pyrrha murmured, her emerald eyes shooting open. She glanced about as the others looked at her. "Oh, sorry Nora. What did you say?"

"Woah," Jaune said. "You got really into, didn't you, Pyrrha."

"Well, what do you expect?" Nora grinned. "Pyrrha's the awesomest huntress in Beacon!"

The girl in question blushed, an embarrassed smile on her face. "It's nothing really. It's actually rather similar to some exercises my mother has always had me do, for focusing before a fight. Granted, I don't think she ever intended me to use it for magic, but it was rather simple to shift it."

"I'll say," Ruby nodded. She had expected Ren to be the best of the bunch due to his self-control, but Pyrrha had fallen right into it all. The silver-eyed girl reached out with her senses, feeling the power pooling within her friend. While the others had managed to snatch a few scraps of ethernano, the Invincible Girl had managed to accumulate a sizable batch of magical energy in their hours of work. "You picked this up just as fast as we did back on Earthland."

"It's just practice," the redhead deflected. She turned to her team. "You guys will get it in no time. I can show you my mom's technique if you want, that might speed it up."

"Never mind us!" Nora squealed, hugging her teammate tight. "You're gonna fight Yang in an epic magic deathmatch in the finals!"

"Minus the death," Ren corrected.

"Well yeah, but still! You're going to kick her butt even more than you were already gonna! It'll be awesome!"

"Yeah, when Yang kicks her butt," Ruby countered with a competitive grin.

Nora yanked Pyrrha to her feet. "Do some magic! Come on, come on, it'll be awesome!"

"Oh, I don't think that'd be needed," Pyrrha said. "We've still got to help you guys after all."

"We'll be fine, Pyrrha. Don't worry," Jaune assured her with a friendly smirk. "There'll be plenty of time for us to catch up. You're the one who's going to be fighting in the single's round."

"Are you sure?"

"Yang isn't going to be happy if you don't give her the best fight you can."

Pyrrha chuckled at the joke. She extracted herself from Nora and turned to Ruby. "Alright. I've got the ethernano. What do I do now?"

Ruby grinned. She guided her friend's hands together before her as they both closed their eyes. "Your origin has converted the ethernano into magical energy. Eventually, you'll learn how to shape that into spells, both from others and those you invent. But for now, just let the power flow through your body. Feel it surge and fall, like the waves of the ocean. It's a part of you now. You're a wizard, Pyrrha. This power is yours to do with as you will. So, don't be afraid. Have fun! Be you!"

They might have been standing there for a few seconds, a few minutes, or even an hour, but Ruby barely noticed, time blurring as she reached out with only her mystical senses in the darkness. One instant, everything was black, an endless pit as empty as the Grimm.

But the next, there was a glow. A shining golden glow guided by a river of magic.

Ruby opened her eyes and released her friend's hands. A moment later, a brilliant golden light erupted all around Pyrrha, engulfing her in a mystical halo like a goddess descended from the heavens. A rush of wind surged all around the room, sending everyone's hair blowing in the wind, Weiss even halting her summoning to gawk at the incredible sight.

Of course, then Pyrrha had shot up into the air like a bullet, barely having time to yelp before she smacked face-first into the dorm roof. The Invincible Girl plummeted back to the floor, groaning as she landed flat on her back.

Everyone was over her immediately.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune shouted frantically. "Are you okay?"

"Can you see? Are you blind?" Nora asked. She raised her hand. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Ugh… I'm… okay. I'm okay," Pyrrha moaned, rubbing her head as she sat up. She readjusted her tousled armor to cover her skin, including a hint of a crimson birthmark at the edge of her forearm that was quickly hidden by her bronze bracer. "I've taken harder hits than that before."

Nevertheless, Jaune held her close as he helped her to her feet, a scarlet blush rising in her cheeks.

"Sorry about that," Ruby said. "It'll get easier to control with practice."

"It'll take a lot of practice," Weiss noted, clutching her chin in thought. "That was quite the power you were putting out. Some kind of light magic, maybe? No, that doesn't explain the flight."

"We'll find out soon enough," Jaune said, smiling at his partner. "We'll need something to do after the festival. Finding out your magic as a team will be an awesome exercise."

"Yeah!" Nora cheered. "You'll be smashing through roofs in no time and flying through the air! It'll be sweet!"

Pyrrha smiled at her teammates and Ruby found the act mirrored on her own face. It might have been because she was always on the outside looking in, but Team JNPR always felt so much more stable than Team RWBY. She wouldn't trade her teammates for the world, but they'd certainly had their fair share of drama in the beginning and even in Fairy Tail there'd been plenty of fights. Team JNPR, after Jaune dealt with that thing with Cardin in their first semester, always seemed to be a solid, supportive family, always together, always happy. And that happiness bled out to the rest of them in turn. It was one of the things she'd missed most about the quartet.

Ren came up, handing a scroll to Pyrrha. "Here, this fell out of your pocket."

"Oh, thank you, Ren," Pyrrha said. She snatched the device from her friend, opening it just to make sure all the systems were working. She cocked an eyebrow at the display. "Huh, a message from Professor Ozpin."

"What is it?" Weiss inquired. "Information for the singles?"

"I don't think so," Pyrrha said. "He just wants me to come to his office tomorrow before the tournament. It doesn't say what for."

Ruby shrugged. "It's probably nothing. He probably just wants to wish you good luck for the tournament. Yang too."

It was nice, in a way. As much as Ruby loved helping people as a wizard and a huntress, it was a good feeling to have her biggest worries be teaching her friends, a friendly tournament, and a mystery why the headmaster wanted to speak with Pyrrha. Sure, there was also finding the book, the unknown elementalist, and the mass of magic hovering above the school, but compared to the terror of being trapped in another world, those were minor details. Now, they had all the time in the world to track down what they'd lost, everyone they loved safe and sound.

And in time, they'd find a way back to Earthland and introduce their friends to Fairy Tail.

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"And just like that, the guild will bow before our genius! MUHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Ruby couldn't help but smile at Weiss' cackling, though Wendy seemed a bit disturbed at the white-haired girl's evil laugh. At least Juvia was clapping.

The four girls, and Carla, all sat in the middle of Team RWBY's room in Fairy Hills, graciously rented by Erza until the huntresses had figured out enough magic to safely take on jobs. The apartment was about the same size as their room at Beacon, though lacking in the personal decorations that had made their school abode feel like home (Yang was particular cheesed at the absence of her band posters). Still, they had refused to let despair conquer them and, with a little effort, had rebuilt their bunk beds. Even better, thanks to help from Laki, a Wood Make wizard in the guild, they were even structurally sound this time.

Though, if she was being honest, Ruby kind of missed having her bed hanging by ropes.

"Is this normally what people do at sleepovers in your world?" Carla inquired, a skeptical eye locked onto Weiss miniature black ice model of the guild hall, complete with frozen figurines of all the guild members.

"Of course it is, Carla," Juvia said, finally halting her applause for Weiss. "I made lots of dolls back before I had friends, so it only makes sense that we actually play with them now that we're together."

"But are dolls usually used for strategic planning?"

Ruby grinned. "The best ones are. Man, Yang is going to so sorry she missed this."

"It was necessary," Weiss declared. "If she or Blake knew, they'd throw off the entire plan. If she hadn't gone out with Natsu and Happy, we would have had to find some other excuse to get her out for the night."

Ruby rolled her eyes. When she and Weiss had invited Wendy and Juvia over for a sleepover, she'd expected cookies and weapons talk. You know, fun stuff, maybe even working out a design for a float that the huntresses could use in the Fantasia Parade. Instead, Yang had already made plans for a game night with Natsu, Lucy, and Happy, and Blake had gone over to Erza's room for… something. Ruby didn't know the details, but Blake had been looking for some books similar to 'Ninjas of Love' and Levy had only frowned when she'd asked the bookworm about it. Ruby was pretty sure the word 'filth' was used in some capacity.

Of course, right after Levy had turned her away, the Queen of the Fairies had snuck over to Blake all sneaky-like and told her to meet her in her room. The cat faunus' face had gone beet-red, but she'd darted over to Erza's like her life depended on it.

So, the sleepover party was reduced to half Team RWBY, Wendy and Carla, and Weiss' new friend Juvia who'd apparently thrown her off a cliff. Not the best turnout, but it was still plenty of people to come up with an amazing float with. At least, until Weiss had revealed she'd already made a preliminary design and actually wanted everyone's help planning how to win the next Fairy Tail bar brawl.

Unexpected, but at least Weiss was trying to get along with their new friends. In her own Weiss way.

"Um," Wendy muttered. "Are you sure we should intentionally start a fight in the guildhall? Master won't be happy if it gets wrecked."

Weiss waved her off. "Please, there's been more fights in the last week than in our entire time at Beacon. All we're doing is making sure it happens on our terms."

"By tripping Gajeel into Erza's cake?"

"Exactly. His Iron Scales will wear her down more than anyone else. Then, when Levy tries to calm her down, the combination or her sweat and her 'loss of cake' face will terrify the rest of Team Shadow Gear into falling backwards into our table, which we will have just called Mira over to for a drink, putting her into those pawns' path. Then Elfman will step up to 'protect his sister's honor', and by that point Natsu' love a good fight will overcome his fear of Erza, Gray will join in to show that flame brain his place, and all the rest will fall like the good little dominos they are."

The heiress gleefully rubbed her hands together as another round of cackles echoed from her throat, a thundercloud of all things appearing behind her for a moment somehow. A bead of sweat dropped down Wendy and Carla's forehead.

Ruby chuckled at her partner's enthusiasm and Juvia's cheerful clapping. "You know, Wendy does have a point. Is it really a bar brawl if you try to plan it out beforehand?"

Weiss abruptly ceased her laughing and narrowed her eyes. "I am trying to acclimate to our new surroundings, Ruby. But, if I am going to jump into a chaotic mess of drunk and sweaty oafs and join in their foolishness, I am going to win. Especially since all of said oafs are powerful and skilled enough that I would not dream of insulting them but facing them with any less than my best."

"I know," Ruby replied. "But still, I think you're missing the spirit of the thing. It's not a life or death thing. It's for fun, like that food fight we had with Jaune and the others."

"You mean the food fight we only won because you nearly broke every bone in your body overcharging your semblance?" Weiss sniped. "No thank you. I'll take strategy over foolish desperation any day."

"Okay, but I still say you're overthinking this."

"Your concern is noted."

"Well, I think it is a wonderful idea, Weiss," Juvia cheered.

The heiress preened. "Thank you, Juvia. I'm glad someone here understands my genius."

"But…" the water wizard spoke slowly. "I wonder if I might propose a slight addendum?"

"Oh," Weiss raised an eyebrow. "Alright, what is it?"

Juvia picked up the tiny ice figures of Gray and Natsu. "So, right now, my darling Gray will be fighting Natsu, correct?"

"Correct. They're normally rather even, but the lizard-breath will have already taken damage from his bout with Elfman, so Gray should be able to win just in time for us to push him into Erza's path. Then Yang, her semblance supercharged from fighting Cana, Lisanna, and Fried, will come in from behind to take her out. Or at the very least, weaken her enough for Ruby and I to finish the job."

"Yes, yes, that is quite good," Juvia said, constantly nodding her head, before freezing in her tracks. She snagged a crudely made doll with buttons for eyes from her pocket and placed it between the Natsu and Gray figurines. "But, what if instead, I leap in the way of Natsu's last attack, my darling is outraged to find me hurt, defeats Natsu to avenge me, but then discovers I'm okay and the two of us go on to defeat Erza and Yang and then go to get married and—"

The water wizard flicked the Natsu figure away and began smushing her doll and the Gray figurine together, making kissing noises all the while. Ruby chuckled at her guildmate's display while Wendy's face went beet red. Carla just sighed.

Weiss let her face fall into her palm. "Juvia. Please try to contain yourself. Remember what you promised him."

Juvia suddenly scowled at Weiss, warily eyeing the black ice figurine that represented the heiress. "You just want to keep him for yourself."

"I literally just described how I plan to use him as a sacrifice!" Weiss protested. "You just heard it! I gave him no special treatment! He is just a cog in my brilliant scheme!"

"I wouldn't say 'brilliant'. It still needs a bit of finetuning."

All four girls (and the Exceed) whirled around to the new voice, the ghost of Mavis Vermillion floating in their midst. The spirit of the First Master leaned over the ice model, her brow furrowed as she scratched her chin, a thoughtful hum on her lips.

"First Master!" Weiss stammered. "I wasn't plotting against my… wait. What do you mean it isn't brilliant? I accounted for everyone who gets involved in these brawls."

"But not everyone who doesn't," Mavis noted. She waved her hand and a figurine of ice, bulkier than the rest of the dolls, materialized on the upper floor of the guild. "Laxus doesn't often involve himself in the guild's bonding activities, but ever since he returned, he always makes a point to watch and see how his friends do. You have Yang, a relatively new member, defeating Fried, his best friend, and Cana and Lisanna, who he sees as dear little sisters. He has grown a great deal since he was excommunicated, but he is still Yuri's great-grandson and that means he has his pride. He could allow Yang to defeat any one of those three and brush it off as the way things go, but all of them right after the other? He'd intervene and squash her in an instant."

Weiss' eyes widened, her mouth hanging open.

Wendy tried to shoot her a reassuring smile. "Don't feel bad. The First Master is really good at making plans."

"Exactly!" Mavis preened. "I am the Fairy Tactician! My strategies are never wrong!"

"Except during the Grand Magic Games," Carla noted.

The First Master immediately deflated, awkwardly chuckling as she rubbed the back of her head. "Almost never wrong."

Weiss frantically looked over the ice figures. "There has to be something we can do then! Someone we can throw into Laxus to wear him down enough for Yang to take him!"

"That… may be difficult," Juvia informed her. "Aside from Gildarts and maybe Master, Laxus is easily the strongest wizard in the guild. During the Grand Magic Games, he defeated Jura in a one on one fight."

Ruby raised an eyebrow. "Who's Jura?"

"One of the Ten Wizard Saints."

"The whats?"

"One of the ten strongest wizards on the continent," Wendy explained.

Ruby's eyes widened. "Woah! Seriously?"

Wendy nodded. "There is sometimes a bit of discrepancy, it is just a title assigned by the Magic Council after all, but it also isn't just for show."

Weiss started hyperventilating. "Okay, okay, OKAY! This is… a problem, but we can handle it. Maybe… we throw Elfman into him, provoke Mira—"

"That won't work," Mavis declared. "Mira trusts Elfman to fight his own battles in situations where his life isn't really at risk. And even on the off-chance we could manufacture a reason for her to join the fray, a battle between her and Laxus would inevitably escalate to become a threat to the guildhall itself. Then Makarov will have to get involved and the brawl will end without a victor."

"Then what do we do?!" Weiss said. "If no one can fight him without Makarov getting involved, how do we stop—"

"We could just not fight him," Ruby suggested.

Mavis sent a knowing smirk towards the red hooded girl but everyone else just appeared confused. Ruby picked up an ice figure, painted yellow to represent Yang and moved it away from the three other figurines it was near, pulling one along for the ride.

"Laxus will only get involved if Yang takes out all three of them. So, we just need her to only take down one of them," Ruby explained. "Fried specializes in battlefield control, depending on how much prep time he has, he could either crush her or she'll crush him, so he's our safest bet for a one on one. We can pit Cana and Lisanna against each other, and one of us can take down whichever one wins, or maybe get Blake to join in. She can do her ninja thing and wipe them out without anyone seeing her coming."

"That is… actually quite brilliant," Weiss said. "How come I didn't think of that? It's so simple!"

"You were more focused on defeating your enemy than achieving your objective," Mavis said. "It is nothing to be ashamed of. It is a mindset that everyone falls into once and awhile, though we must strive to avoid it whenever we can. Believing we must destroy our enemies is a dangerous path to fall down."

Weiss cocked an eyebrow. "Isn't the point of any battle to defeat your opponent?"

"To defeat. Not to destroy," Mavis said. "Sometimes, when worst comes to worst, they are the same. But part of Fairy Tail is to do everything we can to prevent such a crisis. After all, today's foe might be tomorrow's friend."

"Like me!" Juvia said, raising her hand. "Though I'm yesterday's enemy and today's friend now. And tomorrow's friend too, also. I'm not planning on hurting anyone in the guild."

"We know, Juvia," Weiss assured her. "You've got nothing to worry about."

"We will fight for Gray!"

Mavis chuckled as Weiss cringed at her friend's angry eyes. "Do fairies have tails or not? Do they even exist? No one knows. It's an eternal mystery, and thus, an eternal adventure. Nothing is sure on the path, unexpected surprises behind every corner. But, the one thing we can choose is the friends we stand beside on that adventure. As long as you're in Fairy Tail, you'll never be alone."

She walked over to Ruby and placed her hands on the huntress' right arm. Ruby didn't expect to feel anything, the master was just a spirit after all, but a shining glow suddenly blazed even from under her black sleeve.

When Mavis stepped away, Ruby rolled up the clothing to see what had changed. Above her Fairy Tail emblem on her wrist, draped across her forearm, was an elongated, arrow-like version of the guild's symbol.

Wendy, Carla, and Juvia's eyes widened, their jaws hanging towards the floor.

"First Master," Carla muttered. "Is that—"

"Fairy Glitter," Mavis confirmed, a wide grin plastered on her face.

Ruby cocked an eyebrow. "Um, cool. Thanks, First Master. But, what's 'Fairy Glitter'?"

"It's one of the Three Grand Fairy Spells," Wendy quickly whispered in her ear. "It's one of the most powerful magics in the world."

Ruby's silver eyes widened in pale moons. "Woah!"

Mavis nodded. "It takes a lot of magical energy to power, but if you can figure out how to funnel the full power of your eyes, you should have more than enough. Of course, even then you'll need to work on the casting. It took Cana months to get it good enough to use it at the Grand Magic Games and she's still working on being able to use it without my help."

"And you're just giving this to Ruby... why?" Weiss inquired. "She's only fifteen."

Mavis shrugged. "I was thirteen when I first used Law. Granted, that wasn't the best decision, but I think she can handle it. I have faith that you all will find your way back to your world someday, and I want to make sure you'll never forget us."

"Oh," Weiss said. "Well, I guess that's understandable enough—"

"Plus, this way you can use it to vaporize all those Grimm things!" Mavis cheered, sparkles shining in her eyes. "They'll be all ready to destroy humanity and then you'll blast them, and it'll all go 'BOOM!'"

"Yeah! That'll be so cool!" Ruby cheered, her own eyes sparkling as she examined her new tattoo of power. "Oh man, Yang is going to be so jealous she missed this!"

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"What are you doing in my house!?"

Yang groaned, rubbing her hand down her now red cheek. Seriously, if she hadn't thrown up her aura at the last second, she'd probably be bruising. Lucy may have been one of the less physically inclined members of Fairy Tail, but hot damn she had one hell of a kick.

The Celestial Spirit Mage was currently looming over Yang, Natsu, and Happy, having discovered them waiting in her living room when she'd gotten out of the bathroom, wrapped in only a towel.

Yang looked to her magic instructor. "You said she knew we were coming."

"She did," Natsu protested. "She said to come over for game night."

"I said tell me when you want to come over for game night," Lucy reminded him. "Not to sneak into my house like a bunch of crooks."

"Oh yeah."

"I still think we were right to sneak in," Happy said. "It was Yang's first time. It's pretty much a tradition at this point."

Lucy sighed. "I really wish I could argue with that."

"So, are we still doing game night?" Yang asked.

"Sure. Just let me get something on."

Yang honestly wouldn't have minded if she and Natsu had gone down to Lucy's level instead of her going up to theirs, but it wasn't long before the other blond had disappeared back into the bathroom and come out in an oversized pink t-shirt and baggy light blue pajama bottoms. Soon enough they were all splayed on the floor around a short coffee table, a deck of cards and a few game boxes set to the side.

"And now the most important thing," Natsu declared. He pulled a lunch box out of his bag and smacked it on the table. He removed the lid to reveal stacks of chicken legs within. "Snacks!"

"Aw yeah!" Yang grinned with a fist bump.

Happy growled. "Natsu…"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm getting it," the fire wizard assured his partner, swiftly pulling out a smaller box as well as one of those Bunsen burners Yang had used (or rather had Blake or Weiss use for her) in Oobleck's science class.

Natsu opened the smaller box and Happy cheered at the salmon within. The salmon-haired wizard chuckled at his partner's antics. Then he pulled out a green lacrima and plugged a cord from the Bunsen burner into it, a rush of flames suddenly bursting from the device.

Yang's eyes widened. "What the heck is that for? You grilling?"

"Better." Natsu snagged one of the chicken legs and held it within the fire. Within a few seconds, the meat erupted into flames, quickly being stuffed into the Fire Dragon Slayer's mouth. "Brings out the flavor and replenishing magic power."

Yang looked to Lucy. "And you're okay with this?"

Lucy shrugged. "If anything catches fire, he eats it before it can do any real damage."

"True enough." Yang leaned back and dealt everyone a hand of cards. Apparently, Go Fish was a constant in every universe. "So how does that work, the whole 'eating your element' thing? Should I stock up on ice cubes for Weiss, or can she make her own lunch?"

"Eat her own ice? Ew, that's disgusting," Natsu scowled, swallowing her chicken leg in one go. "That'd be like me eating my own fire. Though since Gray's teaching her, she'll probably try anyway. Got any nines?"

"Go fish," Lucy told him, before turning to Yang. "For the most part, it's pretty simple. They can eat their element as long as they didn't make it. And for other types, they also can't eat a God Slayer's version of the same type."

"Hey!" Natsu protested. "I've eaten God Slayer flames before."

"Only because you completely emptied your origin to make room," Happy pointed out. "And even then, you would have been dead if Wendy hadn't been around to heal you right after."

Lucy shook her head. "I swear, for someone who doesn't like strategizing, you pull the craziest moves in fights."

"I think you mean the awesomest," Yang grinned. She and Natsu fist-bumped and she grabbed one of the chicken legs, scarfing down a chunk. "Got any threes?"

"Go fish," Happy said, taking a huge bite out of his own treat. "Mmm… fish."

"Any jacks?" Lucy asked. "And how are you guys coming along, by the way? Weiss has been the talk of the guild for the last few days obviously, and you're certainly coming along, but how are Ruby and Blake?"

"Go fish," Yang replied. "Pretty good. Blake's got it the hardest of all of us. She's constantly worried she'll mess up and hurt Loke during training and that's on top of whatever Mira's doing that she's always mumbling about."

"The pillows," Happy murmured fearfully.

Natsu shuddered. "We spied on Mira training Elfman and Lisanna when we were all younger. It was awful."

Yang cocked an eyebrow. "Right. Well, at least Ruby's happy training with Erza. Not sure if she'll ever have to eat silver or spirit energy or something for her eyes, but she's loving finally being able to bring every weapon into a fight. Her training seems to be going… great."

Lucy's brow furrowed. "I take it there's something more to this."

"Is everything okay?" Natsu asked concernedly. "Is Erza beating her into the ground? Don't worry, she's usually pretty good at knowing when to stop—actually…"

"No, that's not it. Ruby loves training with Erza, just like I love training with you guys. But, still, it's just training."

Lucy frowned. "Yang, I know you guys want to go home, but you've only been training for a few weeks."

"I know, I know, we're not ready for Tartaros yet," Yang said, taking another bite out of her chicken. "But still, we're just sitting here. Don't get me wrong, the guild is awesome, but we're in a whole other world. And we're just standing still when we could be out exploring it, kicking butt, fighting monsters, saving dudes and damsels in distress!"

Now that the shock of possibly never seeing Remnant again had worn off and her team was making steady progress on a way to get home, Yang had begun to realize exactly what kind of gold mine she and her friends had stumbled into. She was a thrill seeker in a world where magic and dragons and demons were real. She had the chance to have crazier adventures than she ever could have imagined back at Beacon, traveling across a continent she knew nothing about. And thanks to the guild, she could even help people and make a little cash along the way. Erza and Master Makarov were being more than generous housing them, but they'd need to start pulling their weight eventually. They couldn't just enjoy the bar fights, the parades, and the beauty pageants and not give anything back.

"Yang, I'm not exactly sure what you think of when you hear the word 'wizard' in your world," Lucy cringed. "But most of the guild's jobs aren't that glamorous."

"You fought time-traveling dragons a month ago."

"Yes, but stuff like that isn't what we do every day." The Celestial Spirit Wizard looked away, frowning. "And thank goodness for that. Most of the time we just clear a village of bandits, or chase off a monster, or wait tables at a restaurant."

"What?"

"But when stuff like the Eclipse Gate or Tenrou Island happen… not everyone comes out alright," Lucy's hands clenched into fists. "Sometimes… sometimes we lose things along the way, and there's nothing we can do about it."

Natsu placed a comforting hand on Lucy's shoulder.

Yang's face fell. The Fairy Tail gang was usually so wacky and cheery, offhandedly mentioning trips to other dimensions and fights with dragons, that she never really contemplated exactly how harrowing such experiences must have been. Hell, Earthland, in general, provided such an atmosphere of contentment, of peace. After all, back home, even on the sunniest day, there was always the underlying knowledge that a stray crime or riot could ignite a swarm of negativity to draw in a horde of Grimm. Huntsmen and the entertainment industry did all they could to keep that fact off the people's mind, but Beacon students were taught to always keep the reality of the world in mind. Being in a dimension where that reality didn't exist, where she really could relax without worry, had led her to forget that not all of life's perils came from soulless beasts. She didn't know who Lucy had lost, or who she'd watched lose everything, but she understood the girl was worried she'd pick a fight she wouldn't walk away from. It was touching really, that her new friend was so concerned for her.

But Yang had never desired a peaceful life. Even before her quest for Raven, even before Summer's death, she'd wanted to be a huntress. The world was full of wonders and dangers, and she didn't want to miss a single one. She and her friends would face them weapons blazing and emerge all the cooler for it. And anything life tried to throw at them, Yang would make sure they'd come out fine, just like she was sure they'd ensure for her. Together, they would conquer every challenge with smiles on their faces, the ultimate huntresses.

Happy came over and patted her on the knee. "Don't worry, Yang. If you really want to go out on some jobs, we can help you find some easy stuff."

"No, screw that!" Natsu shouted. When everyone looked to him, the Fire Dragon Slayer grinned. "You want to do jobs? Then we're going to do the awesomest jobs there are!"

Yang's eyes widened. "Seriously?"

"Natsu," Lucy said. "She's still training. She's not ready for Tartaros."

"Of course she isn't," Natsu replied. "But she's not going to know how far she's come if all she does is train. Even the guildhall brawls aren't a substitute for a real fight."

"A fight where she might die?"

"I'm a huntress," Yang declared. "Even before I got here, I knew I was going to live dangerously. If you've got a bunch of monsters or bandits lined up, I'm raring to go."

"That's what I'm talking about!" Natsu cheered, swiping a chicken leg through the Bunsen burner and gulping down the flames. "Right after the parade, we'll track down a job we can really sink our teeth into."

"Aye, sir!" Happy cheered. "Oh, by the way, Natsu, do you have any nines?"

"What? Were you just waiting for the chance to do that?"

"Of course. You were sounding really cool. You need me to make sure you don't get a big head."

"Why you little—"

"See, just like that."

Yang and Lucy both broke out into chuckles at the partners' bickering. The blondes may have differed in the levels of danger they wanted to face, but both could find plenty of entertainment in their friends. Whether fighting for their lives or playing a game of cards, nothing was better than having people by your side.

"Honestly, when we find a way home, you guys should come to visit," Yang said, absentmindedly swinging her chicken leg about over the table before bringing it to her mouth for a bite. "Seeing you guys massacre a pack of Grimm would be pretty freaking—"

Lucy's eyes widened. "Yang, drop the chicken!"

Huh?

The huntress' mouth was already closing around the chicken leg when her brain finally registered the other blonde's words, the taste of the bite flooding down her throat. But, instead of the thick, juicy meat she had felt when she had previously chomped on the leg, she instead felt a sweet, faintly warm liquid surge down her gullet, like half-melted ice cream.

Of course, when she looked down at Lucy's shout, she saw the flames rushing from the meat into her mouth.

"Ah!" Yang shrieked, dropping the chicken immediately. She must have accidentally passed it through the burner while she was distracted by Natsu and Happy. "I'm on fire! I'm on fire—wait. I'm not on fire."

"No, you're not," Natsu said, both him and Happy staring at her with wide eyes.

"Why am I not on fire?"

Slowly, a grin began to creep onto the Salamander's face. "Well, well, well. No wonder I couldn't eat that pink fire of yours right. Looks like Weiss isn't the only natural slayer on your team."

"What?!"

Yang's mind whirled, but she had to admit, it did make sense. Even during their big brawl when her team had only learned how to absorb ethernano, she hadn't actually felt as much heat from the flames as she probably should have, only really feeling the scorching force when he'd summoned lightning. And ever since, when Lucy had stepped carefully among the burnt ruins of their training ground, Yang hadn't even noticed when she'd walked through the dying flames.

Still…

"It's… not Dragon Slayer flames," she said. "But it's not black like Weiss' ice. Would a Fire God Slayer have pink flames?"

Natsu shook his head. "I've met a Flame God Slayer before. His fire was black."

"Maybe she's a Fire Spirit Slayer," Happy proposed. "Her eyes might burst into flames at any second!"

"Oh, you mean like my carpet!" Lucy roared.

Yang, Natsu, and Happy all looked down, Lucy's carpet quickly catching fire from Yang's dropped flaming chicken leg. The Celestial Spirit Wizard had leapt onto her in a panic.

"Don't just sit there! Eat it before it burns the entire place down!"

"Sure. Yang, get to it. This'll be good training."

"No training! My house is burning down! My landlady will kill me!"

Yang spared only a moment to be confused before she grinned and leapt onto the fire, the flames instinctively flying into her mouth and down to her origin. She could figure out what kind of slayer she was later. But until then, eating fire was pretty freaking cool.

RWBYRWBYRWBYRWBYFTFTFTFT

Mercury smirked as he strode away from the cloud of dust, making a big show of wiping off the debris from the wind dust barrage he'd just hammered Xiao-Long with off his shoulders. Had to give the crowd some excuse for why he wasn't whirling around and following up on his ace move for the win.

The crowd of Amity Coliseum roared to fill the seeming lull in the fight, the masses thoroughly entered at their future 'protectors' skill. That was the entire point of the Vytal Festival really, a publicity stunt. A display of peace, a reminder of the kingdoms' friendship? Please. It was meant to lull the people of the world into a false sense of security, make them feel safe that these brave upcoming huntsmen and huntresses would be on the frontlines fighting the Grimm so they wouldn't have to. And they didn't have to feel guilty about training children to fight their battles for them, since if they had time to have a tournament of all things between themselves, then the Grimm couldn't have been that big a problem. Nothing to worry about, nothing to get frightened about. Nothing to be negative about. Honestly, as most of the kingdoms' ploys went, it was actually pretty clever. Cinder even had a note of admiration in her voice when she was explaining it to him and Emerald.

Mercury found it laughable. Just because you put on a big show to make the world seem a little less scary didn't make the monsters that were really there go away. It just meant you had to buck up and get strong enough to kill them before they killed you. His dad had thrown him to his first Beowolf when he was ten, and he'd only escaped that encounter thanks to his semblance. And when dear old Marcus had ripped his soul apart to keep him from using that as 'a crutch', he'd learned to be vicious to survive. His father may have been a drunk asshole, but his beatings had forced him to become stronger, smarter, more ruthless in the world to survive it. And thrive, as the old man had learned when Mercury had taken the mechanical legs he'd oh so generously provided and beaten him to death with them.

Joining up with Cinder had just been the thing to do after that. He was a fighter, a killer, an assassin. It was what he'd been raised to do, trained to do. And he was good at it. It was the only thing he was good at.

Of course, Cinder preferred to act as her own hammer when the need arose. Emerald was perfectly capable of being their little terrorist team's lockpick. So he, surprisingly enough, found himself most often in the role of scalpel, investigating Nikos' capabilities and driving Team CFVY onto the defensive. Not too difficult when his 'education' had put him a league above all the other fighters. With the exception of Nikos, who admirably lived up to her reputation with both strength and smarts surprisingly, and that Penny girl, who was a literal living weapon, he wasn't threatened by the academies' rosters.

Xiao-Long wasn't any different. He could appreciate any girl who loved a good scrap, but the blondie wasn't nearly as good as she thought she was. Her form was solid enough, but her fighting style was painfully exploitable. Rush in, hit as hard and fast as possible, get hit in return, count on semblance for the win, get really angry along the way if someone touched the hair or used any juvenile taunts. If Cinder hadn't ordered him to make it look good and then throw the fight, he would have taken extreme pleasure in showing her exactly where she stood in the world.

Oh well. He'd just have to satisfy himself with framing her for assault.

Though, admittedly, she'd done much better than he'd expected her to. She was faster than she'd been at the Breach, stronger too if he had to guess. She had been throughout the tournament. She hadn't activated her semblance or used any dust, but he could have sworn there were flames ghosting over her fists at various points in the fight, before they'd disappeared into thin air. Cinder had mentioned that whatever Team RWBY had gone through thanks to her boss' book would have made them more powerful, but he'd nearly had to go all out at several points in the fight to keep the upper hand.

Still, a quick glance at the jumbo screen showed Yang's aura at exactly sixteen percent. Just one more punch, one more bullet, and she'd drop into the red and he'd win, moving onto the next round of the festival, as if it mattered. Cinder said to throw the fight though, and he wasn't arguing with the boss lady. He'd let Xiao-Long use her super-charged temper tantrum to break his aura wide open without even a hint of fighting back.

He felt the heat before anything else. He whirled around to see flames bursting out from the dust cloud, a side effect of blondie's hair lighting on fire whenever she used her semblance. All according to plan… wait.

Why was the fire pink? And why did the air suddenly feel twenty degrees hotter and a hundred times drier, like the arena had suddenly become a desert.

"Fire Devil's Rage!"

Mercury's eyes went wide as a rush of pink flames suddenly erupted from the smog, hurtling towards him like a barreling freight train. His surprise lasted barely a moment before his instincts kicked in, his body automatically firing a pair of dust rounds from his boots and using the momentum to hurl him headlong into the flames.

Just like when he'd done the same thing against Amber's stream of flames, he curled into a ball, turning his body into a living bullet and shooting through the blaze, his aura the only thing keeping him from being charred to ash. But unlike against the Fall Maiden, where he'd cut through the barrage like a hot knife to deliver a heavy kick to the girl's face, now he found himself stalled. Amber's barrage had been untrained and unfocused, just like her powers, a hasty defense thrown up to shield her from an attack she was too inexperienced to handle as effectively as she should have. Yang's fire was an attack, a hammering assault meant to wipe him out, her flames pressing in from all around him harder than the maiden's ever did, the difference in their heat like comparing the furnaces of hell to an everyday campfire.

In the end, it proved far too much. Mercury was sent flying backward, his body soaring over and out of the arena. He plummeted down a full story before he was stopped, his fall arrested and cushioned by energy barriers specially made to prevent serious damage from a ring out. Through his blurry vision, his head still fuzzy from the heat, he noted that such was how he lost the match, his aura meter dropped to be about even with Xiao-Long's, but still above the red. But to get him down to that point from where he was with just one attack…

"Yang Xiao-Long of Beacon wins!" Professor Port cheered over the loudspeaker, the crowd going wild for the winner, blondie no doubt doing a victory dance as the arena slowly descended back to ground level. "What a way to kick off the finals!"

Mercury scowled as he wobbled back to his feet, his legs creaking with protest, more than a bit scorched by the blaze. Just as against Amber, his pants had been completely burnt off, exposing his prosthetics to the world.

Emerald, or rather an illusion of her created by her semblance, flashed into being right next to him. "Cinder says the plan's off. You're exposed and in sight. Just keep your cover and we'll deal with this later."

Mercury didn't bother replying before the illusion dissipated. Just because he could see the hallucination didn't mean Emerald could hear what he said to it.

He wasn't entirely surprised that Cinder had called off the plan. The frameup would have called for Xiao-Long to attack his leg, apparently breaking it, shocking the crowd at her apparent barbarity, but still leaving him available to hijack the broadcast feed for Cinder when they made their big move. With the masses aware of his mechanical legs, it would only make them confused why the bloodthirsty berserker had attacked his false limbs instead of his real ones. Not exactly the negativity that would attract more Grimm to the city.

But really, he was pretty sure the boss lady had called the frameup off for the same reason he currently couldn't stop his arm from shaking as he walked up to meet Yang as the arena finished its descent. Whatever Team RWBY had gone through thanks to that book, it hadn't just made them a bit stronger and faster. It had given them, or at least blondie, power the likes of which Mercury had only seen from Amber and Cinder herself; magic. With such new information in hand, it wasn't a bad tactical move to keep the four huntresses… unprovoked. Less of a chance of them possibly wrecking everything if they still thought throwing Torchwick in prison solved all the world's problems.

Still, Mercury didn't like this. His father had ripped his semblance from him, torn his soul asunder to satisfy his own sadistic urges. Now, he was crippled in far more than just his legs. But he hadn't let that stop him. He trained harder than anyone else could have dreamed, worked himself to the bone until he could take revenge and kill Marcus. And he kept up that training, to make sure he would never be powerless again, semblance or not.

And Xiao-Long, someone who relied on her semblance, someone he knew he could crush even with it, had just beaten him. Sure, he hadn't been going all out for the rest of the battle, but clearly, she hadn't either. Because she had magic. The same power he'd been practically powerless against when he'd fought Amber had been handed to Yang. And once again, he couldn't do anything against it.

He plastered a false smile onto his face and walked over to his victorious opponent, holding out a friendly hand for the cameras.

Yang turned towards him and eagerly shook it. "Thanks for the great fight, handsome. Didn't think anyone but Pyrrha would be able to make me go that far." Her eyes danced over his legs and widened. "Woah! You're..."

"Devilishly handsome?" he cut in before she could get to the pity party. "Why, thank you. I aim to please."

"Well, yeah, no denying that. But you're…"

"A fighter. One you beat, fair and square," he said, even as the admission tasted like acid on his tongue. "Nothing less and nothing more."

Yang held his gaze for a moment before nodding and breaking out into a smile. "I'll be surprised if anyone gives me half as good a fight."

Mercury kept up his smile as their hands finally separated, her skin's unnatural warmth still burning on his own.

He couldn't leave Cinder's little gang. Even if he thought the aspiring Fall Maiden would accept resignations without fiery death, he didn't know what else he could do. But since he was staying, he was sure to encounter more magic users in the future. And if he didn't do something, he'd be as powerless against them as he was against Amber and Yang. As he'd been against his father.

He wouldn't be powerless. He wouldn't be weak. He wouldn't be broken.

Never again.

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