Chapter-21

Ruby

"Welcome to my house!" Orchid greeted Tristan, who'd brought in Team RWBY with him to visit Orchid's house.

It had been two days since they came to Cysgod, yet Ruby was feeling…tense. They had just repelled one attack by the shadow servants, who hadn't been that difficult, and had been patrolling the village ever since under Professor Port's guidance, but the calm that had settled in the village ever since then creeped her out more than anything. Professor Port and Ruler didn't show any signs of worry, while Onyx maintained his usual calm composure.

The only other person who was showing worry was Blake. In the days that had passed by, they discussed their discomfort over the situation.

"It's only a matter of time before we encounter the infiltrators, Ruby. They must be waiting for an opportunity if nothing's happening right now."

But right now, Ruby pushed those thoughts aside. Right now, they were just here to relax.

"Mother's currently taking a nap, so please keep down the sounds." Orchid spoke as Weiss looked around at the relatively small house, with its walls having a dull white color and the couches taking up most of the living door. There was a small kitchen and stairs leading upstairs.

"Please, have a seat." Orchid spoke as RWBY sat down on one couch while Tristan sat on another. "I'll go get the drinks." Orchid spoke before walking into the kitchen.

"Left alone to do the household chores. How sad." Tristan commented as Ruby frowned. She'd also discovered that while Tristan was a really nice person, he had this habit of looking at things a bit negatively.

"Tristan's sadness is borderline narcissistic. He does that all the time." Ruby thought of Onyx's words. Though she had to wonder, just what happened to Tristan that he's like this?

"That's rude." Weiss chastised the man, whose closed eyelids looked at her. "As much as I like this village, I really do not like the fact that no one chooses to help poor Orchid. Her father died when she was an infant, and her mother has been unable to find any good means of livelihood to support their financial burdens." Tristan spoke as Orchid came in with glasses of fruit juice.

"Here." She spoke putting down the drinks. Yang went to reach for one before Weiss' hand slapped hers.

"Hey! What was that weak little slap for, Ice queen?" Yang spoke with a little side grin.

Weiss was unamused by Yang's little jab, staring at her with a deadpan.

"Say 'Thank You', Xiao-Long." She spoke.

"Oh no, it's fine…" Orchid tried to speak up but Weiss continued to level her ice-cold stare that made Ruby shudder.

"Alright, Thanks, Orchid." Yang spoke before gulping down her drink in one go.

Weiss rolled her eyes before taking a sip. "So, how do you two know each other?"

"Oh, Sir Knig…"

"Tristan."

"Sorry! Tristan stays here when he's not out on missions. He even plays amazing music on his bow!"

Ruby coughed. "Wait, huh?!" She spoke looking at Tristan, whose expression did not change.

"My weapon Failnaught may be a bow, but it can also be played like a harp."

"So you can shoot bad guys while rocking a tune? Sweet! Maybe you could put a tiny radio on Ember Celica, Rubes!" Yang exclaimed.

Orchid grinned. "I was also surprised when I learnt he could play music with his bow. Why not give them a little taste?"

Tristan smiled before raising Failnaught. "Very well. Perhaps a little tune is in order."

And then he strummed his strings, producing one of the most beautiful sounds Ruby had ever heard in her life. The soft sound of Tristan plucking his strings really created a peaceful and immersive atmosphere and Ruby found herself humming along.

She noticed her teammates were also mesmerized, staring at Tristan in wonder as he continued his happy piece.

The entire tune made Ruby feel like she was a little girl again, playing with Yang in front of their house while her mother watched them smiling.

T̵̢̢̧̛̛̺͉̹̪̥͓̬͇̮͇̬̹͙̠̈̽̑͛͑̏̔͐́͐̈̐͋̈͌̈́̊͆̓͘̚͠͝h̷̲̬̙̞̳̻͓̩͖̫̏̓̓͗̂͒̊̽͌͛̉̋̅͋̄̌͆̕͘ͅe̴͔̥̥̣͉̟̙͔͓̝͓͙̪̭͛̀͂ ̸̨̡̮̬̜̞̬̜̼̲̪̮̯͚̏͆̀͝ͅḭ̸̣͗̃̅̓̽͒ņ̷̨̛̛̘̞̣̗͕̫̲̘̹̯̝̮̬̯̙̪̤̤̈̈́̋̿̃̀̍̒̓̾͒̽́̐̀͛̋̋͒̃̃̀̉̂̚̕͜͝ͅt̵͖͙̞̜͇̣̆̄̀̏͛̂͂̏̋̓̽̽̌͋͛̃̓͆̇͠͝r̴͕̺̬̘̠̜̣͎̩̦̪̹̱͎͍̤͍͎̜̬̰̙͈̟̖͔̩̋́̽̌͌̆͊̿̊̈́̀̓̔̚̚͜͜͝ͅṳ̷̧̧̧̡̡̡̡̭̺̹̩̬͓̞͖͉̠̗̳͍͔̙̝̊̂̑́͗̓̿̒͆̚͘͜d̴̨̧̜̭̻̙͇̟̈́͐͛̆͒̒̑͛̈́̿́͐̏͐̓̎͌̾̚͝͝͠ę̴̡̢͇͇̪̲̝͍͙̫͚̲͍̰̩̹̙̜̠̪̹̞͈̔̾̇͑̅̔͊̅̏̍̾͋̀ͅͅr̴̢̢̨̗̖̥̘͙̲̩̤̤̠̭͎̱͕͓͎̲̩̫͕̳͙͉͖̼̞̩͑͌͑̂̾̉̂͛̈́͋̾̌̉͂̇̒̉͆̋͋̊͌̽̄̽̽͒͒̇̈́̕͘ͅ ̸̧̢͍̝̰͇̖̮͇̠̩̠͎͉̭̬͓̼̬̪̗͙̰̲̮̊̄́̕m̴̨̟̖̹̻̟͂̈́̊͑̈́̏̉͒̍́͊͐̈͆̆̌̈̄̚̚͝͠ư̷̧̢͚͇̜̬̠͔̬̝͉͕͔͙̟͇̗͓͍̪̝̩̯̝̮̫̻̱̈̐́̊͆͋̈͆͑̆̿̈́͛̇͒̉͐̽͒̈́̽̾͌̇̿̒̉͝͝͝s̴̺̮͔̻̣̰̿̏͗͜ț̶̞̆ ̴̢̢̢͈͖̳̟͎͕̪͍̦̪̙̲̙̹̼͉̓̒͌̃͊̋̚̚d̷̢̛̙̗͉̪͇̪̞̪̲̝͎̠́͐͌̂̓̊̓̈̎̚i̵̢͕̟̭͈͚̘̬̠͑̄̿̏̂̿̌͜͠͠ę̶̳͔̱͚͓̻̘̰̮̗̤͈̲̪̣̳̣͖̺̱̬̜̮͚̊͐͊̉̃͆̾̌̚.̷̨̘̞̥̼̞̲̰̦̗͙̰͙̜͎͔̹̻̺̥͉̳͍̘̭̭̹̲̿̅̋̐̀̒͛́͐̐̂̂̔͘͝ͅ.̴̧̡̛̙͒͆̀̍̋̔͛͗͋͐͛̃̌͛̈͋̌̃̃̄̈́͘̚͠.̴̯̗̗͈̥͕̞̼̫̮͈͙̟̯̗̲̙͔͋̿̌̈́̅́̆͑̓͗͆̃̏͌̀͝

̴̗̣̜̮̂̀͛́̑̊̍̂̄̾̎̊̐̆̿̉̎̑̓͌̏́̓̄̀̋͌͑̾̕͘͜͠

̵̨̨̧͈͉̝͕͔̯̦̖̯̣͕̝̼͔̥̱̫̪̙̗͕̿̂̉̇́̔̃͂́̓̈́͊͌̉͘̕̚͜͜͜͝M̶̨̢̢͎̭̗̫͕͇͖̻̥̫̜̫̞̅̏̐͊͑̈́̌̄̍͆͆͠ų̸̠͍͙̞̩͚̲̰̗̓̃͊́͛͗͌̈͆̑̾̈́̂͌̉̋̈́̒͐̂̈́͛͌̊̎͘s̸̨̖̝̟̲͍̥͕̙̤͎̤̘͓̘͎͓̳͖̜͕̟̠̩͈̼̀͋̄̾͜͝ͅͅẗ̶̢̡̛̗̖̥̘̪̲̹̠̳͔̩̘͚͔̪̲̲̪̤̳̜̯̳̪̘͙́́̐́̉̾͋͒̍̽̈́̈́̋̽̎̀̚̕͘͜͜͝ͅͅ ̸̧̧̨̢̛̰̯̘̬̖͉̟̟̳̯͈̲͉͔̔͋͐̔́̍̌͒̈̈̌̍̄̓͊̊̈́̀̇́̀͘͝͝͝p̸̢̢̤̞̰̜͉͇̯̪̺̫͈̬̥̥̹̫̥̺͕͚̺̪̭̺̝̰͓͔͕̒̈́̐̅̆̓́ͅr̸͚͈̂̋̽̆̂͆̊̍̀̀̀̇̓̂͐̄̕͝͠ò̸̡̮̲̞̯͔͓̬̙̜̠̳̺̫͇̫̘̱͓̯̟̭͉̰̾̏́͐̈́̅͂̆͒͗́͋͌͜t̴̖͈͚̭̼̘̳̻̪̯̘͙̝̿̇͗̐̄̔̏̈͌̽͒͂̕͜͝͝e̶̛̼͚͎͚̝̫͔̠̳̙̻̞̭̯͇̫̊̀̆̂̂̈́͛̓̀͂͑́̔͊͑͊̄͗̊́̍̌̔̿̕̚̕̕͘͝͝ͅç̴̣͙̰̣͖͚͚̣̲͈̬͇̦̖̜̖̥̟͓̬̳̳̺͕̠̀͜͜͠t̸̛̙͙̰̹̤̦͈̪͔̭͙̦̲̳̥̤̠̔͒͆̎̅̀͋́͗͑̈́͛̃̒̒͊̚͝.̵̛̣̫̖͇̐̀͊̀͋͛͗̈́͘̚.̸̡̢̙̮̜̬͍̗͕̯̰͖͇̜̻͓͚̪͎̝͕̱̩̰̊͛̽͂ͅͅ.̶̢͙̜͎̫̝͙͚͙̦̲͖̺̫̳̹͚͖͚͕͖̠̫̮̣̟͉̀̿̒̄̎̀́͒̓̾̉͗̆͛̋̆͂̔̕͜ͅ

Ṃ̴̨̢͔̜̝̙̮̣̹͎͙̤̪̮̣̰͎̦̿̄̄͋̿͂͂̏̃͑̌͂̓̈́̿̈́͒͒̑̐̌̅̚̕̚̕͝ͅU̷̢̬͔̫͎̭̭̞̞̱̱̘̮̎S̵̨̨̢̢̢̛͉͚̻̮̹̜͚̥̺̫̪̠̤͇̪̩͈̙̥̟̟͉̞̣̼̱͔̍̈̄̇̃̆̇̏̈̃͗̇̈́͛̚T̴̢͓͎͓͔̬͕͈͍̼̮̪̹͊̚͜ ̶̦̯͖͌͐̑̔͗́͋͗̊͂̋́̂̅̇̔̄͗́̈͌͂̿̇̿͠P̸̧̨̡̛͈̺̙̱̹̩͈̽̀̿̍̂̋̓̉̊̑͛̐̊̒͗̕͝͝͠͝Ṙ̷̨̢̥͇̠̞͓̼̹͉͎̳̰͙͙͓͇̬̜̮̳̯̱̘̠́̂͂̇͗̾̒͊̀̆͝ͅƠ̸̢͔̐̊́͛̇̾̏͂̎́͐̄̎̄̉̊͐̊̌̄̑͑̒̔̏͊̕̕͝T̸̟̼̤̈́͆̕͘͘͝͝E̶̙̰̜͍̥̯̻͍͉͑͋̎͐̀̆̿́̿̈́͂̾̅͗̊̓͗̓͌̂̀̍͠͝Ç̴̢̜͕̻̻̞̥͚̥̺̭̤͚̭͙͛̉̀̊̃͌̂̐̏̈͆̄͗͑͗̅͌̈́́̈́̓͛̈́̽̅̿̍͠Ţ̷̗̻̝̭͕̺̩͖͙̤͚̤͉͝

Ruby gasped and shook her head as Tristan suddenly stopped his playing to look at Ruby with concern.

"Ruby?" Yang asked. "Are you alright?"

Ruby clutched the side of her head. What just happened? One moment she was happily reminiscing of the past, the next, it felt like a bunch of people were yelling into her ear. She felt a stinging pain in her eyes.

"Ow…my eyes hurt…" She groaned as Tristan nodded to Orchid who hurriedly fetched some water and splashed them on Ruby's eyes.

Ruby blinked rapidly as she stared at Orchid, Tristan and her team.

"What happened?" Yang asked as Ruby furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"Nah, just something went into my eye." Ruby spoke as Yang looked at her eyes closely. "I don't see anything." She spoke. "Maybe some dust that was washed away by the water. Are you okay?"

Ruby nodded, the pain having subsided as Yang relaxed. Weiss, although, still looked at her with concern.

Ruby herself was freaked out by that. First her crazy dreams that seemed to show her the past of dead people, and then people yelling into her ear randomly?

Ruby gulped. I'll have to start visting Dr. Birch's clinic again. Looks like my condition is getting worse…

Tristan kept an eye on Ruby. Although she said that it was nothing but a little irritant in her eye, he did not miss her change in demeanor. She was much more fidgety and nervous, showing signs of someone who'd been badly spooked by something.

"That song was so beautiful." Weiss commented as her face turned wistful. "You really have a lot of musical talent."

Tristan shook his head. "Oh don't put so much flattery, Weiss. It was just a song of nostalgia of simpler times, that's all."

Perhaps simpler times for them. Tristan, well, he didn't really know at what time in his life did he ever enjoy the blessing of simplicity and peace.

The battlefield was filled with the corpses of knights. Some lay with their corpses charred, some ripped apart, and some even had a blank lifeless look in their eyes without any signs of injury.

Among those strewn corpses, a single armored man with red hair looked up at the cold eyes of Morgan staring down at him.

"You still have a choice, Rivalen." She spoke. "You know who you stand against. Yet you fight so that those wretched nobles could sit on their thrones and continue to tear this land apart."

Rivalen went to reach for his sword but with a simple flick of her staff, Morgan set it alight with blue fire, its metal melting from the intense heat.

"Usually, I would have killed you by now, but since you are my cousin's husband, I shall give you one last chance. Take my hand, and I shall forgive your past transgressions. It would be a shame if my cousin Blancheflor were widowed just as she is about to deliver her child." She spoke with her hand reaching out.

Rivalen grit his teeth. He promised his dear wife that he would return to see her give birth to their first child. He wanted to see his son so desperately.

"I…" He hesitated.

A dark smirk formed on Morgan's lips. "Come now, Rivalen. Still having doubts? It isn't that hard. You want to see your wife and son. But your life is at my mercy. The only way you walk out of this is if I allow it. And I shall, once you take my hand."

"…"

"Do you really want to give your life to a broken kingdom ruled by cowards? Wouldn't you want to live to be there for your family and serve the heir of your beloved king Uther Pendragon?"

Rivalen looked at Morgan's hand again. For a terrifying moment, he felt like taking it. Morgan was Uther's child and didn't seem like she was lying about sparing him.

But then he thought of all those upon whom Morgan had brought nothing but suffering. All those whose lives she had ruined with her machinations. Beneath that sweet tone, he could see the Malicious spirit that lurked in the woman in front of him.

And so, Rivalen made his choice.

"You are not the heir of Uther Pendragon." He snarled as Morgan's calm façade unravelled to show a bit of anger.

"…What?"

"You heard me. You are not Uther's heir. Uther was a beloved ruler who cared for his people, devoting his life to keep them safe from invaders. I couldn't believe it when I saw that a malicious whore of a witch like you could be related to him. You may be related to him by blood, but you are nothing but a cowardly witch."

Morgan's grip on her staff tightened.

"I swore my loyalty to Uther and his heir, which is not you. Uther's true heir is the young King Arthur who has been tirelessly working to protect his subjects from the wild beasts of legends and the Saxon invaders. I fight not for the nobles, I fight for Britain's future. And that future will be kept safe by Arthur, not you."

Morgan closed her eyes, fuming silently before looking at Rivalen once again.

"Very well. It looks like you'll stand with Arthur like all the others. Then die a fool's death Rivalen. I'm sure Blancheflor will be pleased that her husband was put down like a lowly dog." Morgan spoke as the hand she offered Rivalen pulled away to her side.

"Datgelwch y galon." She spoke as a bundle of red energy faintly resembling a heart appeared. Rivalen felt something constrict in his chest. Morgan was most likely performing her sorcery.

"So this is how I die." Rivalen muttered. In his final moments, he thought of Blancheflor and their unborn child.

"I'm sorry, my so…"

"Malwch."

And Rivalen's heart exploded.

His father's murder by Morgan Le Fay was the beginning of the tragedies he would suffer. Sometimes he wondered if all of his mother's sorrow upon the news of his father's death went into him and give him the same sorrow as well.

He envied Orchid in this regard. She'd lost her father at an early age as well, yet she was…happy. She was blessed with a life of joy, unlike him.

"So, who taught you?" Blake asked.

"Well, I learnt it from a servant of my father's. He was an aristocrat." Tristan replied. "They're all dead now, either natural causes or perished in battle."

"Oh…" Orchid spoke, and not wanting to press further, looked at Ruby. "Hey! I never asked! What's Beacon like?"

And soon, she started asking question after question to Team RWBY who did their best to answer., leaving Tristan to ponder.

Orchid misunderstood what Tristan meant by battle. A bunch of soulless creatures were nothing compared to the fae-blood witch.

She was sympathetic to those whom she believed lost close ones to grimm like she'd lost her father. She was by nature an empathetic girl who dutifully helped others when they needed it. It was something worth commending.

Yet he felt strangely worried that Orchid would be risking her life to fight against monsters that could tear her apart if she made one wrong move.

Perhaps he was getting attached to Orchid. Something about her willingness to help, as well as her compassion, reminded him of another dear person who'd been taken from him by fate's cruelty.

"Iseult, are you there?"

Tristan could see that dusk was falling and their patrol would begin. He looked at the chatting girls. The discussion couldn't have been long, yet Tristan felt tired.

"I must have gotten lazy…" Tristan noted.

"Good luck on your patrol!" Orchid spoke as RWBY smiled at her. Night had fallen and it was time for them to leave.

"Thanks, Orchid." Ruby replied with a smile. It was really fun looking at Orchid's awestruck face as she told her about Beacon. Of course, most of that description was Ruby, with Yang pitching in in some moments while Weiss and Blake mostly stayed silent.

"Alright. You are aware of the positioning. Port and most of Cysgod's huntsman keep watch of the outskirts to ensure the infiltrators aren't trying to escape the village. Ruler is keeping guard at Onyx's house to prevent the infiltrators from coming after him. And that leaves us to go through the village and look for them."

RWBY nodded. "So, should we split up like the rest of the days?" Ruby asked.

Tristan nodded at that. "Yes. We've so far narrowed down their location to around the eastern side of the village."

"But there are many people staying there. Wouldn't they prefer the western side, where there are a lot of abandoned houses and sheds?"

"We've searched them all and there are not there. Besides, there still are a few ones in the eastern side we've not checked yet. You head down this road, I'll head down this one." Tristan spoke as Ruby nodded.

"Cool, Team RWBY, let's start looking!"

Perseus watched Tristan and Team RWBY split up, having watching them since they were in the girl's house while invisible. After looking around to check for any others, he floated in the air and flew towards Tristan's direction, a bunch of birds of different kinds following him.

"Mercury, Emerald. They are heading your way." Perseus spoke into his scroll. "It's just Team RWBY. The servant has split off so I will handle him."

"Got it. We'll take care of the girls." Mercury replied back. "Speaking of which, why the sudden change in plans?"

"The patrols were a lot harsher than we expected. We'll soon be found out earlier than expected, so we can't get the page in this little visit. We'll have to deal with it another way. However, we can still complete our other objective before we leave."

"Yep. Kill Blake."

Perseus nodded. "Remember, do not kill anyone but Blake Belladonna. It'll complicate things for us."

"Oh come on, don't be a pansy." Mercury protested. "What if they put up too much of a fight?"

"Even then, you should be able to overpower them with the number of shadow servants you have. Do not kill the others, just Blake Belladonna."

"Ugh, fine." Mercury spoke before cutting off the call.

Perseus sighed, choosing to walk forward after being able to spot Tristan's silhouette in the distance.

Now, how do I get to him without getting in range of his damned bow? He thought. He had seen just how deadly Tristan's bow was, having an unusual method of firing projectiles that did not have the restrictions other bows had. He could fire arrows in all directions without needing to turn the bow. And those projectiles move too fast for him to dodge. If he engaged Tristan while he had his bow, he would get torn apart before he could get close.

But if he could just squeeze open a tiny window, he should be able to disarm Tristan of his bow.

He nodded to the birds around him which flew towards Tristan, morphing into the abnormal knockers and surrounding him. Perseus, meanwhile, flew to the top of a house and hid behind cover

"An Ambush." Perseus heard Tristan speak as the knockers bared their fangs and pulled out daggers, while one raised its hands as fireballs materialized.

"Ah, I see. You are Knockers, yet you behave and have similar abilities to goblins." He spoke as the abnormal knockers giggled.

"It saddens me that you foolish creatures think you can bring down a servant. Very well." Tristan spoke before plucking his bow's strings, as vacuum arrows blew holes into the heads of the knockers about to shoot their fireballs at Tristan. The knockers rushed at Tristan, intending to stab him, while Tristan stood in place, calmly plucking his strings as the knockers were torn apart around him.

People started looking out of their windows at the battle.

"DO NOT COME OUT UNTIL I SAY SO!" Tristan yelled as the people closed their windows. Perseus, meanwhile, pulled out some bombs capable of dispensing a modified version of Greek fire given to him by the carrier.

"Use them when you believe is the right time."

He had one opportunity to do this. As a bunch of knockers jumped at Tristan, Perseus threw the bombs.

Tristan shot down the knockers before noticing the bombs. Tristan immediately ran back as the bombs exploded, throwing Tristan off-balance and sending him tumbling, Failnaught falling out of his hands and skidding away from him.

Now! Perseus thought before flying towards Tristan at full speed, Harpe raised to deliver the kill. But just as Harpe was about to pierce Tristan's armor and impale him through the heart, another sword batted it away. Perseus' eyes widened as he adjusted his trajectory to avoid getting cut in half by the counter. He landed in front of failnaught and noticed Tristan with a typical European longsword in his hands.

Oh, he can use a sword too… Perseus thought. Despite him be

"Σκατά." He cursed. Because of one obvious fact, he'd lost the element of surprise and now was facing someone who was better trained in combat than him.

But still, all he had to do was get one good hit and Harpe's adamantine blade would be able to shear through Tristan's armor and kill him.

"So, you are Perseus, slayer of the Gorgon Medusa." Tristan noted. "Then I should be a bit careful."

Even in this tense situation, Perseus couldn't help but ask, "Why? You were a member of the Round Table. I'm just a simple boy raised by a fisherman. Surely I wouldn't be that much of a problem?"

Tristan kept his expression neutral as Perseus sighed.

"No more talk, then." He spoke. "Alright. Let's do this." He spoke as the two charged each other.

Perseus first went for a stab which Tristan parried and countered with a slash to Perseus' neck. Perseus ducked under the swing and went for a slash at Tristan's abdomen which the knight dodged by jumping back. Perseus then swung at Tristan's sword in an attempt to break its blade with Harpe's superior durability, that Tristan again kept his blade away from.

He isn't being too aggressive… Perseus noted. It was a bit strange, but that didn't mean he was going to take risks and increase his aggression. He kept his distance from Tristan's blade, striking with thrusts he learnt from watching the soldiers of Seriphos fight whenever he found a chance and retreating before Tristan countered.

This continued until Perseus slipped up and swung with too little force. Even with his eyes closed, Perseus swore he noticed Tristan's eye glint as he grabbed the central part of his blade and blocked Harpe's blow without shattering, pushing it away before Tristan swung the sword to hit Perseus in the temple with its hilt.

Perseus stumbled back, stunned from the blow as Tristan got out of his half-swording to cut Perseus' head off.

Perseus fell down, narrowly avoiding the blow and crawling back before flying away from Tristan. He quickly got over the pain of Tristan's blow, but it was clear fighting Tristan in close quarters wasn't working too well.

Alright then, then let's fight dirty… Perseus spoke before flying at extreme speeds past Tristan. The knight raised his hand to block out most of the wind from Perseus' dash before turning around and noticing Perseus was not there.

Tristan then heard fluttering of wings behind him and quickly ducked as Harpe tore through the air above his head. Tristan tried to attack but this time Perseus was more prepared and was able to dodge his swings with ease, keeping the pressure.

Keep him tense and lure him… Perseus thought as he continued to speed past Tristan, trying to get him, as the knight continued to shuffled towards a single direction. Soon, he grabbed a pigeon sitting on a house and released it near Tristan. Even though the pigeon's fluttering did not sound like the wings on his sandals, it startled Tristan who swung at the pigeon and cut it down.

Taking advantage, Perseus lashed out with a kick which send Tristan tumbling again.

There, he's… Perseus noticed Tristan getting up and looking in the same direction he was shuffling to.

Perseus' eyebrows furrowed. What is he…? His eyes widened as he noticed Failnaught just some feet in front of Tristan. Tristan was trying to get to his bow this entire time.

"Γαμώ!" He cursed before flying towards Tristan before he could reach Failnaught.

Come on! Perseus thought before swinging Harpe at Tristan. But all he saw was Tristan grab Failnaught and a melody in the air before something sank into his shoulder.

"Gah!" Perseus exclaimed in pain as the arrow pinned him to a wall. From what he felt, it was a flesh wound, but before he could get off, he saw Tristan standing in front of him with Failnaught in his hand.

"You made a good effort, enough that you would have been able to kill me in that last moment, yet you sadly failed to notice too late that I was going for my bow. Such a sad ending for a great hero like yourself." Tristan spoke. "But before I kill you, who is the Caster who is sending these shadow servants?"

"The Caster…" Perseus spoke before an idea formed in his head. "What if I told you it's not a caster?"

Tristan tilted his head. "They were able to perform magecraft and carried no weapons. You say they are not a Caster?

Perseus thought back to the other servant that had accompanied him to Cysgod.

Gosh I hate that bitch… He thought. "No." He spoke.

Now... He thought before putting a hand on his chest.

"Ανεμος…" He spoke before a gust of wind blew Tristan back. The carrier had made some adjustments to his armor and had a mystic code embedded into it in order to perform One-line spells of elemental magecraft. Just a little precaution in case he had no other option.

He noticed a bunch of guards run up.

Well, that's the end of my little excursion… Perseus thought before flying off. He'd failed in killing Tristan, so now that meant he would be handed by the other servant. Now, he just had to go help Mercury and Emerald, if they have not succeeded already.

"No sign here." Blake spoke coming out of the shed. 15 minutes had passed since they split up from Tristan to look for the infiltrators. So far, they'd found nothing.

Ruby slumped. "Not here as well." She spoke as Team RWBY went to the next house. It was a rather large building with a courtyard in the front.

"This reminds me of one of those spooky haunted houses dad talks about." Yang spoke as Ruby nodded. "I don't like those." She spoke in a small voice as Weiss turned to her.

"Oh, for…Ruby, are you seriously afraid of these sorts of things?!" Weiss spoke.

"I don't know, Weiss! What if something spooky happens?!" Ruby babbled out in panic as Weiss rolled her eyes.

"You charge headfirst at ursas that most others would think twice about and you're afraid of some fantastical spirits?"

"They're not fantastical. Look at the shadow servants!"

"…Just go in, Ruby." Weiss spoke grabbing Ruby by the hood.

"Wait, Weiss! Don't do this!" Ruby begged as Weiss pushed the door open

"Come on!" She spoke pushing the rusty door open.

"Ooh, this place has a rustic look, I dig it." Yang spoke with a grin as Weiss looked at her. "Will you ever stop cracking puns at random moments?" She asked receiving a smirk in return.

"Come on, girls." She spoke as they began walking to the front door. Ruby noticed a bunch of birds staring at her. They looked normal, but the fact that they were all staring at her, and her team was unnerving.

Those are some weird birds… Ruby thought as she and Weiss walked forward. But then, she noticed a thin piece of string that was about to get pulled by Weiss' foot.

Ruby had seen enough movies to know where this was going.

"WEISS!" She screamed as Weiss' foot pulled on the string and she tackled her friend away from an explosion that separated them from Blake and Yang.

Ruby's ears were ringing as she helped Weiss up. "There was a trap." She spoke. They had landed up right in front of the house's door. Just then, the birds began fluttering down and shapeshifted into small humanoid creatures with sharp fangs holding daggers.

"What the…?!" Yang exclaimed as she recoiled in disgust. Ruby then noticed someone coming up behind Blake with their leg raised to kick at her. She raised Crescent Rose and fired, forcing Blake to dodge as the person dodged the bullet, giving RWBY a good look of their face. They were a young man with grey hair wearing a grey jacket and black trousers running to his feet.

"Ah, shit…guess old man was right about me needing some practice in stealth." The man mused. "Ah, that doesn't matter. I can still do this." He spoke before some shadow servants jumped in.

"Yang!" Ruby exclaimed as she prepared to go help her sister when she felt something wrap around her arm.

"Huh?" She spoke noticing a green sickle before she felt someone yank her in.

"RUBY!" She heard Yang yell before getting pulled into the darkness of the house.

"You handle them!" Weiss called out to Yang. "I'll help Ruby!" She spoke before entering the house, leaving Yang and Blake to fight the grey-haired guy, a bunch of shadow servants and those weird little creatures.

"What's the plan, partner?" Yang asked as Blake narrowed her eyes. "We're surrounded, get us out."

Yang smirked as the shadow servants charged. She blasted ember celica's fire dust rounds at a bunch of those small creatures and a shadow servant, the explosions obliterating them as the girls made a run for it out of the circle.

"This is Blake Belladonna! We found the infiltrators! We need support!" She yelled as Yang continued to fire burn dust rounds to hold off the creatures. One of them snuck through the gras and jumped at her, only for Blake to shoot it dead.

"I got you, partner." Blake spoke with a smile. "Cool, why not count me in into your little party?" A third voice spoke as Yang barely blocked a kick from the grey guy, sending her tumbling while the remaining shadow servants charged at Blake.

"Well, you look like one of those huntsmen from my old man's stories." The grey guy spoke. "Think his name was Taiyang Xiao-Long." He spoke as Yang's eyes widened. "How do you know my dad?" She spoke as the grey guy smirked before spreading his arms. "Well, you've got to beat the answer out of me. That is, if I don't put you to sleep first." He spoke as Yang narrowed her eyes and raised her fists.

The grey guy chuckled as a bunch of shadow servants came up. "Nah, don't come here. Take care of the kitty while I deal with little miss Sunshine over here." He spoke as the shadow servants nodded before heading towards Blake.

A bead of sweat went down Yang's forehead. I need to take him down before the shadow servants overpower Blake… She thought before charging at the grey guy.

Alright, do what ruler taught you… She thought before feinting a punch before batting the grey guy's leg away and headbutting him. The grey guy stumbled back as Yang drove a fist into his stomach and sending him onto his back.

Yang gave him a cocky smirk and a wink. "You're not that strong compared to what you looked like earlier."

The grey guy laughed. "Heh, don't think you've got me just from a little feint, blondie. I forgot to do my warm-up." He spoke. "So I'll get it done here." He spoke before suddenly charging at Yang at speeds greater than that of a shadow servant, nailing her in the stomach. Yang spat out spittle as the grey guy's foot hit her harder than a normal foot should have. The guy didn't wait for her to recover and lashed out with a series of kicks, one getting Yang in the head before she could start blocking the kicks.

Shit! This guy's a lot faster than the shadow servants… She thought. He wasn't as fast as Professor Saber, Lancer and Ruler, but he was pretty damn fast.

Thankfully, she'd grown up with the speed demon that is Ruby Rose. If she was in her senses, she could keep up with enemies a bit faster than her.

She went for a sweep kick that the grey guy jumped over before firing ember celic to knock him back. Yang grinned as she charged forward, swinging at the grey guy who grabbed her arm and flipped her over before kicking her gut to send her crashing through the outer walls.

Yang got up with a groan. That kick hurt, but she'd taken worse hits from Professor Saber and his own monstrous strength.

"Okay, Yang, note to self. Grey dude has hands." She told herself before charging back in. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Blake was dodging and flipping around the shadow servants who had reduced in number while the small creatures were all dead, either cut down, shot or blown up by Blake's fire dust clones.

Yang focused back to her own fight, as the grey guy came in with a series of kicks that she blocked, until she was able to grab his leg and pull him close.

"Here's a little something of my own!" She yelled before punching him down to the ground. She went for another punch but grey guy rolled away and flipped back up.

Now, Yang had gotten a hang of his moves. Grapple with arms, disorient with kicks. So keep her distance then.

Yang fired up her semblance as all the energy she'd taken from getting hit by the guy poured through her muscles.

"Ooh, pretty lit." Grey dude spoke. "Reminds me of old man's tale of getting his ass kicked by Xiao-Long."

"So, you want to tell me how do you know my dad?"

"Well, he was a part of Team STRQ, the same team that got my old man into a locker of an Atlesian prison and go crazy. Every day I could see the same scar he had over where his left eye used to be after your dad cut it out. So, I guess old feuds carry over to the next generation." He spoke. "Now, we both can see that kitty's doing well. So I'll up the difficulty this time." He spoke gesturing Yang to come at him

Yang charged with a yell as grey guy crouched before his leg shot up at an impossible angle and hit Yang in the jaw. Yang stumbled back before hearing Blake cry out in pain as one of the shadow servants scored a hit on her.

Yang grit her teeth and began firing ember celica at the grey guy, who ran around her to dodge the explosions with his body tilted so much to the side that he was almost touching the ground.

How the…? Yang thought before grey guy twisted and a loud shot sounded, a grey dust round hitting Yang's own round in an explosion creating a lot of smoke.

"Is your semblance like extreme leg day!" Yang spoke as she began dodging dust rounds being shot within the smoke.

"I don't have a semblance, blondie." He spoke before suddenly emerging out of the smoke and hitting Yang in the stomach. Yang swung at him but he seemingly melted into the smoke and her punch did nothing.

"No…semblance?" Yang spoke in confusion. Then how was he doing those crazy tricks with his legs or shooting dust rounds from them?!

"Nah, I don't need a semblance to take down my targets. Semblances are more of my old man's schtick considering he could steal them from his victims. Made him a pain in the ass to kill. But even then, I'm not going to be like him. I'm my own man, so I'll pretty fine without a semblance." He spoke as Yang's energy slowly faded.

"Oh, looks like you've run out of steam. Good. I've toyed with you enough, so I'll finish it here." Yang only saw a grey blur before she found herself pinned to the ground as the smoke cleared to reveal Blake pinned as well.

"No, no!" Yang yelled as she tried to break free, only for grey guy to hold her down with an even firmer grip. "Semblance burn your energy~" He spoke. "You won't be able to shake me off for some time." He spoke before looking at a shadow servant with a spear. "Alright, get this done with. This has gone for long enough." He ordered as the shadow servant nodded. But before they could act, a loud shot sounded as the shadow servant fell dead, with Professor Port standing there with a fierce expression on his face.

"Professor Port!" Yang exclaimed as Port pointed his weapon at grey guy. "Mercury Black. Step away from my student."

The grey guy, now named Mercury, chuckled before releasing Yang and walking back. "Ah, shit. You and your buddy were a lot tougher than we expected. So, I guess this means a trip to jail for me?" He asked.

"Ruby's in the house!" Yang exclaimed as Port looked at the house before turning to the guards. "Do not let him out of your sight." He spoke before heading in.

While Yang and Blake were fighting Mercury and the shadow servants:

As she was dragged in, Ruby found herself in a large living room in darkness.

"Weiss?" She called out, only to hear soft giggles in return. She looked around, but saw not even the faintest of outlines.

"Mercury's an idiot." She heard someone speak in an exasperated voice.

"Who's there?!" She spoke as the other person sighed. "Just me, and a bunch of creepy creatures. You're going to be here while Mercury finishes his part of the job outside, red."

Ruby's jaw clenched and she went to go for the door, only to notice a wall.

"What?" She spoke. She swore she just got dragged from this direction. She turned and saw the same wall.

Ruby turned around in panic but kept seeing the same wall.

"As I said," Something wrapped around her feet and tripped her up. She then noticed the same creatures which had transformed from birds surround her as she noticed a green haired girl sitting at the bottom of the stairs. "You're going to stay here. Don't worry, I'm under orders not to hurt you, Red."

"Who're you?" Ruby asked as the girl shrugged. "A nobody. Until I was no longer made one by Cinder." She spoke as Ruby furrowed her eyebrows.

"Who's…" She heard the creatures scream as a bunch of ice spikes flew over her head to hit the creatures and killing some of them.

The girl was startled by the attack and vanished as Weiss came in. Ruby freed herself from the chain through her semblance as she heard creatures scream but not see anything. She swung crescent rose in a circle, feeling it cut through some of the creatures. Weiss, meanwhile, formed a wall of ice to ward off the creatures, who were somehow invisible. Some of them managed to get a few hits as Ruby felt knives scrape against her aura.

Ruby moved away from her spot with her semblance to take a breather. Those creatures were clearly invisible, although she could see them just moments before.

But how…? Ruby thought before thinking of the green-haired girl. "A semblance, maybe?" She muttered before the screaming stopped and all was quiet. Ruby quickly dashed to Weiss and stood back-to-back as they looked around in the house.

"Weiss, I think the girl's got an illusory semblance." Ruby spoke as Weiss nodded. "Okay, Ruby. Now how do we counter it?" She asked exasperated.

"You just had to complicate things, didn't you? We already have to leave the page behind at the old goat's house, and now even this is getting difficult?" The two girls heard the green-haired girl speak again. "Alright then, I just have to knock you out cold while Mercury finishes off Blake Belladonna outside."

Ruby's eyes widened. They were going to kill Blake? But why did they…

Ruby thought back to Operation night raid and the nepotain shootout. Everytime they had thwarted the white fang was because Blake knew a lot about them. Could it be…?

"Is it because she used to be in the white fang?" Ruby asked as the girl sighed. "Oh, great. You are actually smart. I thought you were a reckless little girl with no idea of what the world is like."

Ruby frowned. Sure, she was a bit hyperactive and playful, but she wasn't stupid to think that the world is some simple place where only good stuff happened. If that had been the case, then her mother would be still alive.

So would be Tulip and her family… Ruby thought glumly.

"Well, now you know." She spoke in a slightly serious tone that made Weiss look at her in concern. "Blake's called in the guards by now. They're coming."

The girl scoffed. "And she would be dead before they arrive. Mercury may be a bit loose in the screws, but he is a trained assassin. He'll have gotten past the blonde and killed Blake by now."

Ruby grinned. "Don't count on that. Yang's tougher than you think." She spoke before leaning back.

"Weiss, can you make snow?" She asked as Weiss nodded. "Good, wait for my command."

"We'll see about that." The girl replied to Ruby's earlier statement. "Now…"

"Weiss! Snowstorm!" Ruby yelled as Weiss created a bunch of glyphs and a frosty wind blew through, covering the creatures and the girl in snow, and revealing themselves to them.

"What the…?!" The girl exclaimed before Ruby charged forward, crescent rose cutting a bunch of those creatures in half as they set about making short work of the creatures.

"Did you really just imitate some boorish action film where the characters call out their moves?!" Weiss yelled.

"Yea…Wait, how do you know that?!" Ruby asked as Weiss was silent, her face turning red.

"…"

"Weiss?"

"Focus on the fight!" Weiss snapped as Ruby shrugged. Soon, all the creatures were done and dusted. Leaving only the girl.

Ruby charged at her, spinning crescent rose that the girl struggled to block with her sickles. Ruby noticed that the girl wasn't really much good of a fighter, getting pushed back by Ruby's onslaught. She tried to throw her chain at Ruby, but she let it entangle around Crescent Rose's staff, pulling it to let the girl stumble forward and land a spinning kick to her face. She desperately swung with her other sickle, but Ruby dodged calmly with ease.

Phew, this is easy… She thought before kicking the girl down and pointing Crescent Rose at her.

"Submit." Ruby spoke before looking at Weiss…

Only to notice a familiar face as Ruby's face lost all color.

"Ruby?" A small girl wearing an orange dress spoke. "Is that you?"

No… Ruby thought.

"It's not possible…" Ruby spoke as he stumbled forward. "Tulip?" She spoke as her voice turned heavy. "B-But…you shouldn't be here…"

Tulip's face broken into a grin. "Whaddya mean I shouldn't be here? I'm here to see you, silly Rose!"

Ruby's eyes almost bulged out as a flash of images invaded her mind.

Two girls playing…

Howling…

Children screaming

…

Ḁ̵̘͉̖̍͐̀͂̋̅̂̌̾̅͋͊͌̓͒̿̕͝ṇ̵̡̧̨̧̙̭̙͍̝̼̥̮̮̘͉͍̖̩̟̯̠͇͖̘͚̦̩͚͓̄̋̅̀̎̽͊̅̄͗̕͝ͅō̷̧̧͙̝̖̯̯̣̜̱͇͎͎͚̥̩͖̩͎̩͙̆̋͘͝͝ͅt̴̨̢͈̻͉͇͕̥͉̗̥̬̻͙̘̟̥͖̿̀̊͜ḥ̴̨̲͓͎͖̩̲̭̖̯̭̱̳̞͙͉̳͈̹͓͙̯̜͈̫͍͇̈́̽̆̔̕e̶̯̖̫̪̹̰̝̤̻̹̤̥̺͙̻̍͜ͅͅr̶̨̡̪̺̯̝͚͎̤͙͕̲͈̲̰̺̼̖̻̲͎͈̬͍̳̟̾̽̿͆͆͒͑̏̓̐͐͆̊́̀̌̍̊͊̊͒̽͒͘͠ͅ ̶̢͇͕̝̤̝̜̻̗̜̥͇̥̟̙͙͙͈͖͈̻͕̙͎̠̩̪͛̓̄̓̔̂̀̀̈́̄̆̇̄́̓̈́̅͛͊͜o̵͚̒̐̀̽̓̾̉̃͐͝͠ņ̴̨̨̢̘̭̻͍͇͕̤̪̼̒̒̈́͆̀͋̈̓̈́̈̽̈́̊̈́͊̈̈́͘͠ȩ̶̪͔͍͈̰͇̹̫̩͇̗͙̞͉̥̗͇͖̐̈́̈̌̓͐͒̏͒̃̓͌̌̕͘͘͘͜ͅ ̵͇̖̞͖̞̩̗̖̗̤̪̞͔̪͙̤͇̠̠̳̩͌͆̉͋̌͐̓́̈́̈͒̓̑͌̉̑͛̅͒̑́̐͋̏̚̚͜͜͜͜͝͠l̵̡̢̫̼̺̩̩̟̳̖̟̺͔͎̪͚̗̞̥͕̯̀̏̇̈́́̒̍̋̽͒̍̑̓̕ͅǫ̵̢̢̨̟͇̦̖̭̮̟̱̦̟̗͚͓̱̮̝̮͐̏̀̏̀̈͊͜͜͜͝ͅs̴̡̡͕̳̣̖͉̳̙̖̹̼̝͍̩̬͙̗̮̮̪̠͍͊́̽̓̊͆̃͊̈́̽̀̐͐̉̊̌̕ͅţ̵̡̢̟̭̠̬̯͉̩̳͈̖̩͂͌̈́̉͒͝ ̶̡̢̣͓̤͙̫̜͔̳̖͌̋ͅt̴̛̳͍̽̓̋̈́̔͛̅̀͊̊̃͛̿̈̇́͒̆̓̔̐̋̄̔͌̋̆́̚͘ȏ̵̢̳͖͉̳̈̐̀̈͆͆̆͒̾͐̈́̑̿̃͊̚ͅ ̶̛̻̣̥̪̼͔̲͍̱́̐̉̑͛̿̅̆͆̿̃̋̈́̀̌͒̂͋͑̔́͑̈́̋̔̚͝͝ţ̴̮̜͎͉̓̋̂̀͗̍̂̓̑̊͐̀̚̚͝͝h̴̡̨͉̖̗̝͉̖͉̺̤̲̱̘̹̣́̽͂̊̌̏̽̍̔͒͛͒̕̚͘͝ȇ̸̛͉͕͎̮̭̞̠̤̘͓̦̩̫̝̳̰͎̥̼̀̽̏̒̊̂̒͐̑͆̒̅̅̾̌̉̽̉̐̈̅̌͒̍̇̔̕ ̴̢̛͍̱̰̬̦̩̗͓͚̺̗̰̻̪̞͉̝̯̖̯̈́̒̅̃̀̓͒́̊̒̐͒̀̎̌̏̄̇̚g̶̗̤̩̪͎̙̟͊̋̋̎̀͒͗̽̅͆̋͂̆̆͒̔͛͘͝r̴̡̨̛͕͖̬͙̲̮̼͙̗̺̤̓̍̔͋̈́͋́̀̌̒̄͐̋̈́̂̈̓͑̒̓̈̓͋̿̊͆̍͌̚͜͠ͅi̴̹̟͇͎̯̺̼̯̰͒͒̏̓͋͛̋͆̀̏͌̊̔͛̐̂͒͆̂́͋͒̾͒́͘͘͝͠͝͝m̴̛̙̞̪̬̗̻̱̼͌͊͂̍̅̇͛͐͗͆́̀͒̈́͑̃̆̀͂͌̌̕͝m̴͓͑̚

Ruby fell to her knees as the girl walked forward. "Ruby? Are you okay?"

Ruby felt tears come out of her eyes. "T-Tulip…come back…" She whimpered before feeling a hand on her shoulder.

She looked up to see Weiss looking down at her. "Ruby?!"

Ruby hugged Weiss. "W-Weiss, where's Tulip?!" She yelled. Weiss blinked in confusion.

"Who's Tulip? You looked like you saw a ghost and stumble away from the girl. I've encased her in ice. But there's no one else…Ruby?"

Ruby continued to stare, terror running through her. Tulip wasn't here? But she saw her! Unless…

"Illusory semblance." Ruby spoke before her fist clenched and she stood up. She walked over to where the girl was frozen. "Thaw her." She spoke in a quiet voice laced with anger.

"Ruby…"

"DO IT!"

Weiss sent flames which melted the ice and the green-haired girl gasped before screaming as Crescent Rose slashed at her aura.

"Ruby?" Weiss spoke but Ruby didn't listen.

She used Tulip…

Another slash.

She used Tulip…

The girl's aura shattered.

S̷̢̧̢̧̡̨͙̩̖̤̦̞̺͚͓̞̩̹͉̊̆̋̾̌̈͐̊̉̓̾̅̓̎̄͋̐̂̔́͋͋̌̈̍̌͘͘͝͝͠ͅḩ̷̧̨̞̺̤̦͇͙̰̘̤̜͕̩͈̤̫͚̞͇̯̫̘͍̯͙̗̼̓̒͌͂̋̽̕ę̷̧̢̨̧̨̡͕̱̦̦̰͇͉̝̲̟̫͚͔̯̅͒̋̃ ̷̹̌ư̴̧̨̧̤͇̠̝͉͚̲̫̝̫͒̓̏̎̃̀̄̎̑̾͜͜͜͝ͅs̴̞̺̹͕͇̫͎͊͊̈́̇͆͌̀̈́́̾́͊̔́̔̌̿͒̽̈̿̾̚̕͝ȇ̵̢̛̜͈̲̦̼̪̳͈̼̼̫̫͙̳̟͚̪̘̥̰̇̊̄͂̀́̓̋͊̃̑̂̀̾̈́̈́̑͊͊̏̽͑̚͝͠͝͝ͅͅd̵̛̛͕͕̙̥̹̝̃̎̌̾̐̊̃̆́̃̇̽͛͂͂͗̾̏͘͘ ̷̧͉̰͕̣͉̹̙̦̪̦̰̮̯̯͕͍͓͔̳̘̫̗̹̯̗̺̫̍̅́̆̎͜͝͝ͅT̵̢͕̠̟̦͍̩̗̬̗̱̻̘̗̯̖̳͕̞̗̠͎̄̑̍͛͑͗͐̏̌̌̊̕͘̚͝ͅú̶͇̥͎͕͕̜̩̰͇͔̙̱̠̖̘̙͎̺͉̟͓͍̯̦̱̺̝̟̬͛̔͜͝l̵̨̨̺̩̬̥̘͈̠͍͔̮̼̦͙̙̟̤̖͓͍̼͔͎̞̻̪̲̳̊͊͌͛͆͂̆̎̚͝i̶͇̳̗͉̫̠͎̞̬͓̓̇͒̇͜p̶̢̡̛͚͕̬͙̤̣̳̼̼͉̮̱̘̹̖͌̀́̐͛̿̈́̍

"

RUBY!" Weiss yelled pushing Ruby back as the girl scrambled back and ran away. Ruby blinked as she noticed Weiss staring at her in shock.

"What was that just now?!" She snapped as Ruby blinked. "What was what?" She spoke.

"You were going to cut her in half!"

Ruby's eyes widened. "W-What?" She spoke. Did she almost murder someone?

"Ruby. We're getting you checked by a doctor after this." Weiss spoke before noticing that the girl was gone.

"I almost killed someone…" Ruby spoke as Weiss put a hand to her shoulder. "Ruby, calm down. You didn't kill her, did you?"

"…No."

"Then we're fine. Don't be so distressed." Weiss spoke gently as Ruby inhaled and exhaled.

That was close… She thought as Professor Port burst in. He checked his surroundings before noticing the two girls.

"Ms. Rose…"

"I'm fine. We fought off the other one but couldn't get her." Ruby spoke as Port nodded. "I see. Even if you failed to capture them, it is commendable you were able to take them down. You all certainly have the caliber to be fine huntresses." He spoke as Ruby looked down blushing.

"Thank you, Professor." She spoke meekly.

"Now come on, let's go out of here." Port spoke as they stepped out of the house. Ruby was engulfed in a hug by Yang who began her mother bear procedure all over her.

"Yang, get me off your breast." Ruby spoke with her face pressed into Yang's chest. Yang smiled and let her go as Blake came up.

"Blake…are you alright?" Ruby asked as Blake nodded. "Yeah, they almost got me. Mercury escaped, though."

Port frowned. "How did that happen?"

"Blame that on Perseus." They heard a voice as they noticed Tristan come up with his hair slightly unruly and some singes on his armor. "He ambushed me, but I fought him off. Leaving me alone, he went and escape with the other two before I could arrive."

"I see. Where did they go?"

"Out of town. It seems they've abandoned the infiltration mission." Tristan replied.

Port nodded. "Well! This has been fun! It would be a great story to tell back at Beacon!"

Team RWBY scrunched their faces as they realized that their professor was going to deliver another boring story.

Weiss sighed. "Well, at least you're fine and good." She spoke looking at Blake. "But be a bit more careful." She spoke as she noticed Blake, Ruby and Yang staring at her.

"Is the Ice queen getting nicer?" Yang asked with a grin as Weiss rolled her eyes. "At this point, I'd be blind if I said that Blake was still working for the White Fang. Don't be so surprised."

Ruby grinned before wrapping Weiss and Blake in a hug. "D'aw, I'm so happy for you!"

"Get off me, Rose!" Weiss snapped shaking her leader off.

Port chuckled at the scene. "Ah, to see young camaraderie…By the way, did you get any information?"

Ruby turned to her professor. "Yeah, they said something about a 'page'?" She spoke as Professor Port froze.

"A page…?" He spoke before slamming his fist against his other hand. "That's it!" He spoke as Team RWBY stared at him.

"I know what they're after!" Port exclaimed. "To Onyx's house, now!" He yelled before running off, Tristan and Team RWBY behind him as they ran to Onyx's house.

Warning: This AN is a TLDR. There's not going to be anything but normal explanations about chapter stuff. You can choose to skip it if you want. I have explained some of the issues you guys might point out (Mercury and Emerald's power levels being one). If you haven't read the AN, then I'll just stick with the 'Response to Reviews' routine for the explanations.

A/N: And here we go, this was quite the chapter! I couldn't upload it on Friday because I had to rewrite this chapter 2 times. The Original was supposed to start with a Team RWBY patrol straight away before I remembered Orchid exists and decided to write a little interaction between her, Tristan and RWBY. Then, in the second version, which was Team RWBY talking to Orchid and then going for a patrol, I felt like it was lacking in a lot of stuff so I deleted the chapter again. After that, the third, which is the version you have read, is the result of me slowly unraveling Ruby's character as well as Tristan's backstory. Plus, I've gotten a lot more confident in writing fight scenes since the Team RWBY and JNPR vs Trolls fight so expect the chapters involving major fight scenes to be a lot longer than my usual word count.

Now, moving on, Ruby is...as you can see, a bit edgier compared to her canon counterpart. That's primarily because I wanted to write Ruby to be more than just an hyperactive girl. And as you can see, I gave her a traumatic incident, which will be explored in a later chapter.

Coming to Tristan, I chose Gottfried Von Strassburg's German adaptation of Tristan and Iseult in an aabb rhyme scheme poem written in the early 1200s. The reason was that it checked out with a lot of details in Tristan's TYPE-MOON profile such as his parents being Rivalen and Blancheflor instead of Meliodas and Elizabeth and the the description of his death. There, Strassburg writes that Tristan's father Rivalen dies fighting against Morgan, but clarifies that the Morgan who kills Rivalen is not Morgan Le Fay but a Breton duke named Morgan as well. But, to take creative liberties and set up an interesting character interaction, I have Morgan Le Fay kill Rivalen.

Next, Tristan vs Perseus. longbowchris50's review really lit a lightbulb in my mind in how I would do this fight. Tristan does counter Perseus a lot at present. If he has his eyes closed most of the time yet manages to hit his shots, then it can be assumed Perseus' helmet will be useless. Failnaught, according to the wiki, and hit its target no matter how fast. So Perseus' sandals also fail in this regard. The only thing that isn't countered is Harpe, which can pretty much cut through Tristan like he's made of paper if enough force is applied. Along with that, Perseus never really had proper training. He was just raised by a fisherman and lived a simple life until Polydectes told him to go get Medusa's head. Tristan, on the other hand, was a fully trained knight at a young age and was known for being a beast at swordsmanship. In fact, he's a lot better known for being a swordsman comparable to Lancelot then a crazy skilled archer as he's shown in the Nasuverse. So Tristan would obviously have more combat skill and experience than Perseus. But of course, Perseus' brain remains his no.1 asset that gives him the even ground against enemies stronger than him.

As for Team RWBY vs Emerald and Mercury, let me get this out of the way. Mercury's not on the level of a servant. Don't get that idea just because Yang thinks he's quicker than the shadow servants, who are so nerfed by the whole 'Different Planet' thing that they can get their ass kicked by huntsmen. Just read Chapter-1 and you can see that I've not made him strong enough to take on servants. He's also not nerfed, Mercury was holding back a little because he had orders to kill Blake, not Yang. But he wasn't expecting Yang to skilled enough to hold him off as long as she did nor for Blake to last a long time against a bunch of shadow servants. I mean, training under a servant for a month can bring about some improvement. As of now, Team RWBY can definitely take on senior teams, otherwise I would have had Mercury curbstomp Yang instead of struggling against her.

Emerald, well, her vs Ruby was how I imagined their canon battle should have gone in Volume-5. In terms of skill, Ruby, especially one who has received extra training to perform better against servants, wouldn't have much difficulty against Emerald if she's not using her semblance. Heck, even the canon Ruby should have given Emerald a lot more trouble in Volume-5 and forced her to use her semblance to even the playing field.

Lastly, the glitched text. That would be a spoiler, so I'll say nothing on this regard.

I've already started writing the next chapter as I upload this one to cover up for missing out on Friday and Saturday, so expect another chapter to come by today in my time (Which would most likely mean morning in the USA) or by Monday.

Hope you guys enjoyed and constructive criticism is appreciated!

Translations:

Datgelwch y galon - Reveal the Heart (Welsh)

Malwch - Crush (Welsh)

Σκατά - Shit (Greek)

Γαμώ - Fuck (Greek)

Response to Reviews:

lonbowchris50: Well, now that I think about it, you're right. Thanks for giving me the idea for how to write Tristan vs Perseus in this chapter.

D.N. Works: As I wrote that note, I was thinking 'Just imagine if the man himself dropped a review'. And you did! I mean, I was pretty sure you have seen this story but I wasn't expecting a review from you. Once again, thank you for your amazing stories, and good luck for your future plans!

Maglad: I mean, we both know Cu's going to die. But he's not going out without a bang. And brace yourself, buddy, because the female antagonist of this arc is coming soon. I wonder if your reaction will be 'See! He says he's not a gynophobe but then goes and pulls this shit!'. But anyways, I'm actually interested in seeing what you say next.