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The Night Before The Match:
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No one spoke. There was really nothing to say.
Red remained at the doorway, leaning his head against his hands and just breathing. Keeping calm. Trying to untangle the complex web of emotions he'd somehow found himself caught in. His teammates all sat around the room, each waiting for their leader to speak first. None were willing to break the silence.
Professor Goodwitch had just delivered a message from team CRDL; they were forfeiting the match tomorrow. If Red accepted the forfeit, then they didn't have to do anything else. It would all be over and done and they could get back to their lives.
And yet… he refused.
Why…?
Less than a few hours ago, Red had been as good as dead. His phobia had triggered again because of Cardina, forcing his body to clamp his throat shut in spite of everything he did to prevent it. Humans could not survive for more than a few minutes without oxygen, even those who were far more physically capable than ordinary people, but Red was not one of those. He'd been suffocating for way too long before Weiss pulled him out of it. He should have died.
And in that time… he came to understand something: He wouldn't escape death for much longer. Everyone had to die someday. And he'd done nothing of worth in his 15 years of life so far.
"When I was dying," Red began to speak without any conscious input from his brain, "…I saw Dad. I'd seen him in my dreams before, normal stuff for me, but this time… he just looked disappointed. Almost ashamed of me."
"Bro…" Yang said quietly.
Red continued without missing a beat, "All my life I've wanted to be one of those heroes in the stories, someone who dives into danger headfirst, consequences be damned, if it meant helping someone who couldn't help themselves… but that's not me. I'm not a hero; I've turned into the damsel."
Weiss opened his mouth, but closed it again a moment later. He averted his eyes.
Red paused as the image came back, burned into the back of his eyelids – Sam Rose, white cloak over his shoulders, deep red hair and silver eyes directed right at him. Eyes filled with an emotion that Red couldn't bear to see: shame. And he deserved it.
Blake cleared his throat and said, "So I guess… you refused the forfeit because… you didn't wanna be known for running away?"
Red nodded, "Yeah… I guess that about sums it up. I mean, they challenged us… can we really call ourselves men if we don't step up and meet them head-on?"
"While I don't give an Ursa's ass about 'manly pride,'" Weiss chimed in next, "I am worried about you. It hasn't even been a day since you almost-"
"I know. But I didn't have time to waste thinking about it," Red answered with a bit more determination than before. "If we don't start figuring this out now, we never will. We have to fight them."
Yang, who had been listening quietly the entire time, clenched his teeth. "Bro… if this is just about getting payback for what they did-"
"What happened was an accident, Yang."
"Not what came before that – she was driving you to the breaking point with her bullying."
"Because I was too much of a wuss to stand up to her! It's still on me!"
"Bro, please don't do this!"
"I've made my decision, Yang… we're fighting tomorrow."
"I CAN'T WATCH YOU DIE AGAIN! ! !"
All conversation died when Yang finally snapped, eyes brimming with tears. He angrily wiped them away and turned his face.
"Then don't."
An eerie calm descended on Red as he looked at his older brother, his partner, and his reclusive teammate. All of them trainee Huntsmen assigned to the team he was meant to lead. To guide to the finish line.
("You don't get to be a failure,
not when you have a team to lead.")
"I'm done running away. I'm done being the damsel. Yang, if you can't watch me die, then stay by my side and make sure it doesn't happen with your own hands." Red put forth his hand, palm down, and looked around once again. "Are you all with me?"
Weiss only hesitated a moment before scoffing, "All this time I thought you were just a dumb kid who got lucky when the cards fell… but now I see. This is the real you. Of course I'm in." He put his hand over Red's and smiled, though he tried to hide it.
Blake scratched his head through his knit cap and sighed, "I happen to be well acquainted with running away, but… maybe you've got the right idea. I'm in." His hand joined the pile a moment later, only flinching a little at the contact with Weiss' hand.
Yang dried his eyes and chuckled, "Heh… if I backed out now, I'd have to surrender my Big Brother™ card. And besides… without me, who'd keep you jokers in line? I'm in it 'til the end." His hand completed the pile as he gave Blake's hand a slight squeeze.
Red shivered as a wave of goosebumps traveled down his arms and along his scalp. For the first time since initiation, they finally felt like a real team. But it was more than that… they almost felt like a family.
"Let's get some rest," said Red. "We've got a big day tomorrow."
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Saturday:
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"Okay, guys… we're not here to win per se, but just to test ourselves. I'll be happy if we all put in our best efforts, but nobody overdo it, got it?"
"Russelle, you and Dove can handle blondie. Skye, you entertain the Prince and the punk. I'll take the kid; if he wants to prove something, then I guess I'll have to oblige."
That was pretty much all the planning done before the fight began in earnest. Red's full and undivided attention was locked onto the face of Cardina Winchester (which was easier now that she was wearing her full armor, the chestplate covering her front). Her shortsword flew in fast, continuous motions to try and get around his defense, and Red was doing everything he could to keep pace. Her technique was still a bit unpolished, but she knew how to handle herself. If they'd been fighting in 2nd or 3rd year, she'd probably have had his head by now.
Weiss and Blake were faring no better – Cardina knew what she was doing when she instructed Skye Lark to handle them both at the same time. The blue-haired woman leapt about the battlefield with almost inhuman agility, making full use of her Semblance to double jump in midair. The two teammates had yet to perfect their teamwork, so it was less two-on-one and more one-on-one-on-one. She held her own without any noticeable effort.
Yang, who could normally dominate a fight like this, was fully occupied with Russelle Thrush, the brunette tank of team CRDL – her Semblance allowed her to project a powerful version of her Aura shield in front of her, defending either herself or a large area if needed. Sandy-haired Dove Bronzewing stayed close, but otherwise didn't do much. Her Semblance wasn't known yet.
All in all, it was looking like team RWBY would be taking the L today.
And that was fine by him.
Red expected Cardina to be chatty, but the taller girl remained focused on the fight instead. It almost looked like she was expending her Aura on something, but he couldn't tell what. All he knew was that her armor was holding fast and that her sword was doing more damage to Amber Celica than even a Beowolf's claws. A bit odd considering what it was made of.
He also knew that it wasn't that important. Like he said when they started, he wasn't concerned with winning this fight; he just wanted to try. He wanted to know what he was capable of, and simply stepping into the arena was answer enough. Red still had a long way to go, but at least now he could rest with the knowledge that he'd finally found the right path. He finally found his courage.
"Say… just out of curiosity," Cardina grunted after another exchange, "…Are you guys even trying?"
Red shrugged as he reloaded his weapon. "We're here, aren't we?"
"Barely. I know you've got more in you than this, so what gives?"
"…?"
"You're not still scared, are you?"
Red saw her face in that moment and knew, without any doubt, that she meant to harm or malice. This was a genuine question between two trainee Huntsmen. She could tell his heart wasn't in it, not really. Her unexpected, almost brutal honesty was more than a little jarring, and served to shake the very core of his newfound courage.
And suddenly… Red changed his mind. He wanted to win after all.
So he activated Overdrive.
\/\/\/
All at once, the world around him slowed down to a crawl. Colors began to fade as his senses bore the full brunt of his flared Aura, sending more signals into his brain in one instant than most people experience in a full day. His mind raced at superhuman speed. He also felt his Aura begin to rapidly drain away, and he steeled his focus to learn what he needed before it ran out. If he dipped below 25%, he'd be out of the match. If he forgot about it and simply let it run out… well, he just wouldn't let that happen.
He glanced at his readout on the monitor: 89%. Should be enough time.
First he examined Cardina and found to his surprise that her armor and sword was glowing with a dim light that matched her Aura color, a deep, wine red. That explained a lot; Cardina never talked about her abilities out loud, but she was apparently able to infuse metal with her Aura, strengthening it by several times. That also explained why her bronze weapon bit into his gauntlets so deep. Likely even harder than steel right now.
Down to around 81%. Still time.
Next, Russelle. Yang was still holding up alright, but his levels wouldn't last. Russelle was indeed channeling her Aura into a powerful shield, but by focusing it in one area, the rest of her body was vulnerable. He knew instinctively that if she spread her shield around herself, it would be substantially weaker overall. Dove, meanwhile, stayed close because she was playing support – Red could just make out a faint pale yellow Aura transferring from Dove to Russelle, and understood that Dove's Semblance was the ability to transfer her Aura into other people. Normally difficult for even expert Huntsmen, often impossible, without such a specialized power.
67-68%. Better hurry.
Skye was also benefiting from Dove's ability, even from a distance; parts of her body glowed with an azure blue Aura mixed with Dove's pale yellow. Weiss and Blake were running low, but Red could sense no trace of their Aura within Dove, as he first feared. That meant she hadn't been draining anybody to keep her teammates going. Good to know, but it didn't take away from how dangerous Dove could be if she were properly motivated.
High 50s. Almost done.
Red took only a moment to reaffirm what he suspected about his own team, what Dust they held in reserve, and the state of their weapons. He took one more look at CRDL and finally noticed that Yang had scored a lucky hit on Russelle – the front button of her shirt was gone, leaving some cleavage exposed.
It would have to be enough.
55%. Time to go.
/\/\/\
Red released his Aura and gasped at the sudden loss of strength.
Cardina blinked, but didn't take advantage of his inexplicable pause. The gathered crowd started murmuring when they suddenly noticed one of the contestants' Aura quickly dip from 89% to 55% for no apparent reason. Red gave a shout to gather the boys back together, and Cardina did the same for her own team. The fight had only been going for a few minutes, but things were about to change.
Before anyone could ask about his plan, Red snapped, "Blake, get ready to fire Yellowjacket on my mark; Yang has his target. Weiss, I need a Whiteout if you please, and then get ready to use your Right Arm when the smoke clears."
The other three only glanced at each other for a moment before moving, and Yang smiled. Red had done this kind of ordering back during initiation, and they'd won. Looks like it was time to do it again.
Weiss loaded his special Dust cartridge into Maiglockchen and gave a flourish, plunging the blade into the ground and sending a wave of ice along the floor and towards the gathered CRDL. Cardina tried to block it, but this was no simple ice field – it also had a touch of Wind Dust to make it burst into a dense white mist that obscured everyone's vision. The special ingredient, however, was a pinch of Lightning Dust; this combined with the Wind Dust was enough to scramble the senses of anyone caught in the cloud. It was quite a cocktail.
"What the-?"
"Where are they?"
"Stay together, idiots!"
"What's going on…?"
Yang didn't hesitate either, gathering his Aura into his hands and taking the business end of Blake's Crescent Shadow in rifle mode, infusing it with his flame-like energies. Blake chambered a round of Fire Dust, then let Yang and his ridiculous piece of hair aim their shot into the formless white cloud.
Red gave the cry less than a second later, "Shoot!"
Blake pulled the trigger. The shot launched into the cloud, enhanced by the energy of Yang's Aura, and exploded with a violent BANG. The cloud evaporated in an instant as the girls of team CRDL were sent flying, three of them skidding to a stop at the far end of the field, their shields broken.
The fourth one, Cardina herself, came charging right at them now that her senses had recovered. She swung at Red's head with her enhanced blade…
CLANG
…But her sword was stopped by a giant, glowing white gauntlet that had not been there a moment ago. It was attached to Weiss' shoulder, and the white-haired boy was less than pleased at yet another attempt at his leader.
"Not today, bitch!"
The glowing Right Arm rapidly shifted over to his left, and with it came a sword as long as the wings of a Bullhead. Weiss put his whole body into the blow, spiraling around and letting the blade fly to slam into his opponent. Cardina put everything into her armor the moment before it hit, thereby surviving the blow, but she was still sent flying into the pile that included the rest of her teammates. The impact also caused the glowing sword to shatter like it was made of glass, but the job was done.
The buzzer sounded a moment later. Red finally looked up at the monitor and let himself grin.
His Aura had dropped to 54%, but the other three were still over 60%. All of CRDL had dropped below 10%.
Team RWBY had won.
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A few minutes later, both teams made their way off the field to a variety of cheers and congratulations from the onlookers. Cardina stood before Red while holding her ribs (two of which were broken) and grunted, "So you were …holding out on me."
"I guess so, yeah," Red sighed while scratching the back of his head.
Cardina sighed as well, looking at her defeated teammates. "You were lucky, punk."
"Maybe. Or maybe you shouldn't let yourselves gather into such a convenient bundle of bodies."
"…Can I ask… how the flaming crap you… did that?"
"Once you were close together, I knew Weiss had something that could temporarily disorient you all and had him use it. Russelle couldn't know where the next attack would come from, so she spread out her shield to try and cover all of you guys – that made it weak enough that one good shot broke through. After that I knew you and your enhanced armor would still be up and fighting, so I had Weiss be ready to head you off at your last stand."
"But how'd you even hit us? That cloud was… ugh… thick enough to hide us from you, too."
"Yang has a… talent… when it comes to finding one thing in particular."
Cardina blinked, then looked over at her team once again. More specifically, she finally realized that Russelle was holding her shirt closed awkwardly.
"Oh."
"Yeah. That's my bro."
"He should be arrested."
"More often then not, I'd agree with you."
Cardina gave a pained chuckle, then looked back at Red with an unreadable expression. A moment later, her face softened as she put out a hand, "Sorry… about last week. Truce?"
Red only considered for a moment before nodding and accepting the handshake.
"Truce."
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"Headmistress? What are you doing here?"
"I came to watch my favorite pupils trying to brutally kill each other, what else?"
"I take it you're here because of… Mr. Rose?"
"That's one of my reasons, yes. Tell me, Glenn… what do you think of the boy?"
"He is brash and undisciplined, more willing to throw himself into a fight than even his brother. He acts before he thinks, he lets his emotions get in the way, and he… he…"
"…He knows how to find victory, does he not?"
"I… I saw it, but I can't quite wrap my head around it. Just a moment of concentration and he already knew how to pull out a win. Even Jane might find it hard to defeat an intellect like that."
"Let's give our boy a year or two before we pit him against the Commander of the Atlas Military, hmm~?"
"If you say so, Ma'am."
"And what of the rest of them? Do they have a future?"
"If they persist in doing everything they can to antagonize me, then no they do not… but otherwise, I see them all going very, very far in life. Especially Ruby 'Red' Rose."
"Indeed. *sip* Let us hope his passion does not cloud his judgment in the days to come."
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Author's Note: Almost done. Just one more chapter and I'm calling this one a wrap.
=^..^=