.

I'm back! It's a new year and it's time to work, hopefully you've all had a good break yourselves if you've been lucky enough to get one, and welcome back. I want to get right into this one, so I'll wish you all a welcome back if you've been keeping up, and I hope you enjoy.

Sode note, I was tempted to call these Red vs Blue but was worried that might be a little too silly.

Oh well!

...

The silence was oppressive. It clung in the air like a fog, weighing down on them.

Ruby looked up at the four figures in front of her.

Team JNPR.

They were alive then. Ruby didn't know why she was surprised, but for some reason she was.

It might have been from the fact that her friends didn't look all too… friendly.

Having weapons pointed at someone tended to do that. They stood on the high ground, another island hovering above them within leaping distance. Ruby didn't like the position she was in. it was at a disadvantage.

Was she really considering her friends as hostiles?

…yes. She was.

All of that was second though, to one detail in particular.

Each of them looked suspiciously like their Avatars.

Ren wore something definitely Mistrialian, and his hair was longer, with his arms and legs wrapped in some sort of steel mesh. It looked light and dangerous, as if he'd fit himself with weapons all-round.

Nora on the other hand wore a heavy coat. It looked like a bear pelt almost, something straight out of Norse fairy tales. Leather straps bound her arms and fur-lined a heavy hood. It was as if she was a real-life raider.

Jaune was far more armoured, breastplate shining brightly, protecting his throat and chainmail underneath. He'd gotten rid of that crummy armour of his from before and added glistening greaves and gauntlets to the mix. His sword and shield looked different too, adorned in silver trimmings and for sharper He looked like a chevalier.

All of this was… troubling.

But not as much as Pyrrha.

The girl looked straight out of a greek epic, something out of the Iliad. She looked like a warrior, a hero that Ruby had always dreamed of becoming.

But there some something off, something strange about her, as if everything had been mishmashes together.

Pyrrha looked like a… a cross between a hoplite and a Spartan, her bronze armour shining in the light and her spear set over her shield.

There was something different about that too.

Ruby could just pick it out. Some kind of mechashift. What it was, she couldn't tell, but it looked like it could be trouble.

They all did, especially with how confident they looked, even outnumbered like they were. Was this something to do with their Avatar status? Had it done something?

Pyrrha was still in possession with half the maiden powers wasn't she?

Ruby licked her lips.

"Hey guys," she greeted, wincing at how her voice carried uncertainty over the gap. "Funny seeing you guys here. We're having a little trouble with our ride. Mind telling us about that?"

"Well you know what they say," Jaune shrugged breezily. "It's dangerous flying through a dust field, especially gravity dust of all things. It can really screw up a flight."

"…yeah…. Cept' for the lightning of course, that really came out of nowhere. You see this clear sky?"

He raised an eyebrow, flicking up his sword and resting it on his shoulder.

Jaune looked too confident. Way too confident for him to have any right to be.

"Weird that. It's almost like someone was trying to shoot you out of the sky. Must have been a mistake."

Ruby swallowed. "Yeah it-"

"It must be a mistake," he cut her off. "That you're here right now Ruby… it has to be, you, Weiss and Penny must have gotten really lost, because otherwise I can't see a reason for you to be with her."

Cinder's eyes narrowed as Jaune pointed the tip of his sword at her, looking down the blade at her in contempt.

"Jaune," Ruby spoke carefully. "You need to relax a bit here. Things are complicated."

"They look it. I guess we owe you guys an apology. Pyrrha sensed her on the ship, we've known you were coming this way since you made it to Anima, or her anyway… we might have tried something else if we'd known you were with her. Course we have to take that back because you're with her in the first place."

"Jaune," she repeated. "You don't know what's going on."

Weiss snapped suddenly. "Neither do I apparently! What the hel is going on? Where have you four been? What are you doing attacking us?"

"Weiss listen it's-"

"Complicated."

The reaper stilled and her eyes slowly shifted to Pyrrha. That look of hers was a dangerous one. Those green eyes bore into her in a way they never had before.

How much of that was Pyrrha in there? How much had the maiden power changed for her to look at her like that?

"It hasn't." Pyrrha answered, making her jump. "You're thinking about what this power's did to me? Well it hasn't changed my personality, I promise. It did do something though… it gave me memories. It gave me Amber's memories."

She paled.

Oh no.

"I remember things that never happened to me. I remember how Amber had to run most of her life. I remember how alone she felt for so long, and how she was hunted by people all across Vale."

Ruby had a sinking suspicion she knew where this was going.

Her hands glided to her weapon.

The others saw her motion and tensed, on both sides.

Pyrrha continued as if she hadn't. "I know how she lost half her powers. I know that she stole them, she hurt Amber, scarred her. She took half her soul."

Weiss' eyes flew to Cinder. Then to Ruby and back to Pyrrha. "What?!"

"Ruby's been lying to you Weiss." Pyrrha told her. "She's been lying to all of us. From the very start she's been working for Ozpin and spying on us. Why do you think she was accepted into Beacon two years earlier than the rest of us? With no formal training or even a proper record, why do you think she doesn't have a record? From the very start she's been with Ozpin. She's been keeping things from us this whole time. She still is."

"Ruby?"

The younger girl could hear it, the disbelief in Weiss' voice. She didn't believe what Pyrrha was saying

At least not completely.

But things were clicking together in her head, very slowly, and Ruby not looking back was probably confirming things even more.

She couldn't though. She couldn't take her eyes off them now.

"You're not entirely wrong Pyrrha, but you're not entirely right either, things are a lot more complicated than that."

The champion didn't sneer, but it was a close thing. "Things are always complicated with you aren't they? Every single time people ask a question too close to the truth you come up with the same old excuse; that things are complicated. But do you know the one thing that isn't complicated?"

The redhead aimed her spear at Cinder.

"She worked with the people who brought down Beacon. In front of me I see Roman Torchwick, and a band of criminals, and then I see you three, somewhere you shouldn't be. It's this woman's fault she's dead. That Amber's dead. She took her powers and she died because of it."

She sighed. "I'll ask you once Ruby, because you were Amber's friend. Step. Aside. Now."

Ruby bit her lip. This was really going to happen wasn't it?

Of course it was. She knew it, they knew it. But Ruby couldn't let it happen, not like this. If she could just talk some sense into them, get them to calm down then-

"Are you done?" The reaper stiffened for an instant before she turned to stare at Cinder wit wide eyes. A Cinder that looked bored and no small way irritated.

"What did you say?"

"I said are you done?" The more experienced maiden repeated. "Are you done with all of this? The preaching? The blaming and the crying about how horrible it that your friend told a lie. Are you seriously that childish or are you just dull?"

Cinder smirked at how Pyrrha's eyes hardened. "You talk as if I should feel some kind of crushing remorse for what happened, that I should shed a tear o get on my knees and beg for forgiveness. If that's the case then you're living in a fantasy. What's more you talk as if you have the slightest clue how the maiden powers truly work; Amber is dead, girl, get over it. She was hunted as every maiden has been."

Ruby shifted. "Cinder." She warned.

She was ignored. Cinder was enjoying the look of anger that spread across the champions face. "Honestly, you're more of a disappointment than she was. At least she understood her role and worked with Ozpin for all that was worth. You on the other hand, went into hiding."

"You don't know what you're saying. Don't talk about Amber like you know her."

Cinder scoffed. "Oh but I do. I have half of her soul too, remember? Longer than you have. If you wish to fight me then so be it, but don't use the dead girl's name was a banner to make your revenge feel more important than it is." She shook her head and stepped forward, flames roaring to life in her palms. "Enough of this. I have no interest in fulfilling the fantasies of a child."

…

…

Yang yawned loudly to herself as she walked. Ugh, of course she was tired after staying up last night. After Blake left she'd gone back to her cabin, but hadn't gotten any sleep for some reason.

Whatever that reason was she had no idea, but it was annoying either way.

Fortunately they'd docked that morning and gotten off that damn ship. The Captain had come to say goodbye to Blake and let the rest of them know that he was always willing to give them a ride. Good stuff really, even if Yang didn't really want to admit Blake was helping them like that. Sun and Neptune had been wide awake by the time they'd landed (Ilia looked like she'd been dragged through a bush. Not a morning person, clearly.) and after asking a few people for directions they set out on the road.

Those roads were empty of course. There weren't a lot of people that wanted to try their luck out in the open with how bad things were getting with the Grimm, not to mention the White Fang and things they didn't even know about.

Lots of stuff to worry about, but hey, it meant the road was free.

It wasn't too bad. It meant things were quiet, with only the five of them.

Yang was beginning to feel like it wasn't a nice kind of quiet though.

While she led the way, Sun, Ilia and Nep had got into some kind of conversation about the different places they'd been on Anima, two of them going to school here and one being in a… well say what you wanted about terrorist organisations but the White Fang got around.

Blake though? It was hard not to notice how she hung at the back.

Blake had been in a mood since last night.

Yang shut her eyes.

No. That wasn't fair. Blake had just had something big dropped on her. If she felt like shit after something like that then what was Yang supposed to think about it but feel bad for her?

She didn't know, that was the problem. Blake was cutting herself off right now, either trying to deal with things in her head, or not dealing with it at all. The blonde wasn't sure whether that would be a good thing or not.

She couldn't help though. She wouldn't. It would just make things even messier. She'd distanced herself from Blake for a reason. She wasn't going to get pulled back into that. She'd done it once and what had she gotten back for it?

Nothing worth her time, that was for sure.

"So," Sun spoke up suddenly. "Where exactly are we going anyway? Any village or town in mind?"

"Not quite." Yang admitted. "We need to find a place where we can meet up with Ruby yeah, but until we can get in contact with her somehow we don't know what part of the continent she's on."

"So what's the plan then?"

"Well I'm thinking about looking for something in particular. It's just a rumour but uh… we'll see how it works out. We're heading north anyway. We might meet them in Shion or maybe Windpath if we can. So long as we can steer clear of Haven we should be fine."

She sighed. "It's gonna take a while to get there though, especially on foot."

"Maybe not." Ilia offered. "I mean, I know a few ways around."

Yang raised an eyebrow back at her. "Oh yeah? What, some kind of secret paths or something?"

The chameleon grinned. "Kind of. The White Fang set up a few roads themselves through the forests and stuff. It's not like they could use the main ones where they could be seen or ambushed, so they're all around the kingdom."

Yang laughed. "Yeah that makes sense. Guess the White Fang knows something about construction then."

"Well yeah," she said. "It's not like the White Fang is a gig that pays. Most people put on the masks because they have a life outside of it. Most get by on what they can outside. Things like construction are easy jobs for Faunus to get into but that's mostly it. People in Mistral aren't really keen on giving out jobs to us."

"Yikes," Sun winced. "Sounds bad out here."

"It's worse it Atlas, but yeah, a lot of humans see the White Fang as a thing all Faunus support, and lump in a lot of people with us. Which would be fine, if they didn't take it out in the ones that can't defend themselves properly."

"Mistral is the main base for the White Fang." Yang mused. "There's some irony there right? If everything was great and happy there's be no need for the White Fang, but since assholes hate the Faunus, they drive those people towards the White Fang, who then make the Faunus look worse and give people more of a reason to distrust the Faunus as a whole. It becomes a cycle."

"That nobody benefits from," Neptune's added. "Pretty sure that the White Fang's gone down the worst possible path with Adam Taurus in charge now right?"

"I think that was clear when I sided with the Grimm."

"The Grimm…" Ilia parroted before wincing. "You know I'm still having trouble processing that."

The brawler hummed. "I don't blame you. It makes sense though the more you think about it. The Grimm are supposed to be mindless but if you even know the most basic things about the Grimm you know that isn't true. Makes me wonder though."

"About what?"

"Why keep it a secret?"

At last, Blake looked up, a frown adorning her features. "What do you mean?"

"Well Ozpin's been fighting the big bad for centuries, or even Millennia. If humanity knew it had a common enemy don't you think they might have joined together to fight? Or at least not been in as much of a mess as they have been in the past."

"Maybe he thought people wouldn't believe him, or maybe he was worried people might join Salem."

"Well from the looks of it they already have. It's not like he couldn't have shown people proof and I mean, he's been in some pretty important positions before in his past lives. Headmaster of Beacon is nothing to scoff at either. It just doesn't make sense."

Sun gave her a look of recognition. "You've been thinking of something haven't you?"

She nodded. "Salem's got the advantage of people not knowing about her. I mean think about it, if people knew, then Ozpin could blame every bad thing that went wrong on her, and she couldn't turn as many people against each other if they knew it was her fault right?"

"Right… that makes sense I guess."

"So why hasn't he tried it then? The more I think about it, the more things Ozpin's done doesn't make sense, especially if he wanted to bring humanity together against Salem right?"

"Like?"

"The Faunus for one."

Blake's eyes narrowed. "What are you talking about?"

Yang rolled her eyes. Of course Blake would look at her accusingly, like it was somehow her fault.

Bitch.

She blinked. Again? Okay… moving on.

"Ozpin was the last king of Vale," she went on if only not to cause a scene. "He was the king that ended the Great War, which makes sense when you think about it in hindsight. I'm pretty sure it said he ended the war the first time he fought on the battlefield himself. He had to have been crazy powerful for something like that."

"How does this have anything to do with the Faunus though?" Blake pressed. "Vale were the ones who ended slavery."

"Vacuo never had slavery." She countered. "It's all nice and proud in the history books, but slavery as a practice was falling out of fashion before it became illegal. The nice ole' king of Vale had something to do with that of course, but only because it was a political move."

"The Faunus rights revolution took place after the Great War. There were no more kings after the Great War."

"You're right, there weren't." Yang agreed. "But the King of Vale still held power until his death, superseding the council."

"I… didn't know that." Blake admitted, actually looking surprised

"It's Vale politics. Not something the rest of the world would actually teach in other kingdoms schools."

Not mentioning of course that Menagerie didn't actually have a properly established educational system or universities. They weren't impoverished, but eighty years was never going to be enough to build a full-on properly functioning civilisation when isolated like they were. Even when they were built on the ruins of an old one, Doc had said it had been an old fortress there for the silver-eyed warriors' thousands of years ago and nothing since… maybe especially because of it. Most were likely homeschooled by parents or teachers in groups if they were lucky. And Blake?

Well if being a part of an activist group since birth took time out of school days, then joining a terrorist organisation at twelve did even worse.

"It was around this time though that the Faunus as a species were 'gifted' Menagerie. Pretty sure we know how well that one worked out."

It was what started the right revolution in the first place after all, and it hadn't really improved their situation even now. Maybe that was just because Ozpin couldn't foresee how other people would act… but she had a feeling it wasn't.

"The king was still in charge when they shipped the Faunus off to another continent. That sort of isolation wasn't something that happened by accident. You know what that means right?"

Ilia nodded even as a frown spread across her face. "This Ozpin guy wanted rid of the Faunus. The king might have died when the rights revolution was over, but even when he'd outlawed slavery he didn't want them in his kingdom."

"Exactly. They 'why' is something I can't figure out though… and it's not the only thing. Some of it's just… weird."

"Seriously?" Sun groaned. "What else could there be?"

"The King was also still in power when Atlas oh-so-graciously offered the CCT to the rest of the world… how much you wanna bet Oz was involved in its design?"

"Would he be though? It was a different kingdom."

"Yeah, but the leaders of the kingdom were replaced by councils, meaning people he could put in power behind the scenes. At least the first time around."

"People who answered to him." Neptune finished. "So he had a hand in how the CCT works."

"Exactly. It always confused me though, even without adding Ozpin into the mix. You've thought about it too right? Why there was such a big flaw in the communications from the very start. I mean, if one of the towers go down then so do the rest right? If a guy like Ozpin knows Salem is working to divide people then why would he left a design flaw like that through."

Blake stared. "You think he wanted it to fail?"

"Not now obviously, but it's the only reason I can think of for something like that existing and not being fixed nearly eighty years later. Again, I don't know why though."

Ilia sighed. "Of sure, bring up all these aching questions but don't give us any answers. That's totally cool right?"

"Heh… sorry about that."

"It's fine." She muttered. "It just means I might actually have to take every conspiracy theory online seriously now."

Yang laughed. "I wouldn't recommend it. Your head might explode if you do. There are some crazy ones out there. And I'm talking about the people as well as the ideas."

"The sad thing is though. I can't even say which ones are completely made up and which ones are not. Next thing I know you'll be telling me aliens' area thing."

"Nothing like that luckily. Seriously though, we already have magic, would aliens be all that crazy to think about?"

"YES! Ugh, now my head hurts."

Yang laughed loudly as the chameleon Faunus groaned.

And then suddenly she froze.

Sun glanced around as the blonde girl sniffed the air.

"What is it? Grimm?"

She shook her head. "No. there's a… a scent. Some sort of trail… and I think it's something I'm looking for."

Yang stepped off the road and pushed through the trees and into the undergrowth.

The came across something quickly.

It looked like there's been a fight. Burned trees and bullet holes, ragged clothes and discarded weapons lay scattered across the ground. Some sort of shootout? An ambush or robbery? No… no this was something else.

The others followed. "What is it?" the asked, standing over Yang as she kneeled down.

"Nothing concrete… but I think it's a clue."

She picked up a plain weapon copper with old blood.

Just what she needed.

"A clue to what exactly?"

"This blood belongs to someone from a certain group that's supposed to be around here, or at least that's what I heard. They're trouble, something a group of people like ourselves should handle.

"Oh yeah? Who?"

Yang grinned.

"The Branwen Tribe."

…

…

"Well? I'm waiting for your answer girl?"

Weiss' eyes flickered back and forth between the two groups.

Everything was crashing down around them.

She thought she had an idea of what was going on at first, but now? Now she was floundering.

"Cinder, stop it!" Ruby snapped, even as her eyes refused to leave team JNPR.

Her leader looked angry, frantic even, which wasn't something Weiss saw often. But then what did she know?

Apparently Ruby had been keeping secrets from them this whole time.

Working for Ozpin? How? Why?

What could Ruby have to offer a headmaster of a Huntsman Academy?

She'd seen it though, hadn't she? Ruby had gone with Ozpin during the Fall of Beacon. She hadn't gotten an explanation then and she didn't have one now. Ruby hadn't told her anything!

If… if Ruby was lying about something like that, about how she was even accepted then what else could she be lying about?

Was Ruby even being truthful about how she acted around her? Or was that old mask she wore at times the real her?

Weiss' head was starting to throb.

Around her, the others were tensed for a fight. Pyrrha looked furious.

I can't believe it. I can't believe how someone like you can talk down to me like you have some sort of moral high ground. You murderer."

"Not a moral high ground, girl, a logical one. Amber isn't the first girl to die because of the maidens power, she's not the first one to be hunted. You're acting like I've committed some unforgivable sin in taking the power of someone given a death sentence by obtaining those powers."

Ruby grit her teeth. "Cinder. I. said. Stop it."

"What does it matter?" she drawled. They've already made up their mind to fight us. You won't be able to convince them otherwise."

Pyrrha shook for a moment, before her shoulders suddenly slumped.

"…You're right…" she sighed. "Amber… she died in my arms. She was bleeding, and suffering, and her last words were… were that she didn't want to die… but she did." Pyrrha's left eye flared with fire.

Weiss took a step back as something Writhed within her.

"She died. And I'm going to make sure her death is avenged."

"This is your last chance guys," Nora spoke, finally stepping into the conversation. She shifted, raising her hammer a little higher. "Step away from the bad guys… or we'll treat you as one of em'."

Ruby's eyes narrowed as she lowered herself to the ground.

"No."

Silence.

Jaune sighed disappointedly.

"Okay then… I guess that's that. Sorry about this."

Weiss' eyes widened. "Wait a minute. They weren't actually going to-

Jaune moved.

And everything went to hel. Everybody around her sprang into action as team JUNPR collided with them.

Before Weiss could even register what was going on, Jaune was in front of her.

Of course, she was the only one without a real weapon, and one of the people that Jaune knew. He knew how she fought to at least so degree. It made sense.

What caught her off guard, was the speed at which the blond moved.

Fast. He was too fast!

It was like she'd blinked and missed him and he was suddenly in front of her with his sword raised.

"Weiss!" Ruby cried out, reaching for her scythe even as the heiress backpedalled away.

She knew instantly she wouldn't be able to dodge fully. That was fine. Of course it was. She could still defend.

Weiss raised her hand and clenched around a hilt that hand yet to form and called upon her semblance, summoning a sword in her hand to defend her-

Weiss felt something pull at her chest.

Her sword flickered into existence, but something ground against it. An invisible force pressed down on her lungs as she dragged out her power.

She gasped as the blade appeared at the very last instant and Crocea Mors crashed against it.

Weiss felt every single bone in her body rattle.

The force pushed her down so intently she lost her footing and stumbled, falling to one knee.

She barely got the summoned sword up again in time to block the second strike that sent her down again, and her eyes widened when Jaune carried through with the strike as it sparked off her blade and swept up in an arc towards her face.

She crossed the weapon against her chest desperately and cried out as Jaune's connected and ripped her off her feet and into the air.

The world spun, or she did and the ground sped towards her quickly.

She braced for the impact when a pair of arms caught her.

The heiress blinked as she realised she was pressed against Ruby's chest, the younger girl had caught her.

The look on Ruby's face let her know that even though her arms glowed from the aid of dust, it had been painful for the girl to make that catch.

Her arm was twitching as Weiss got her feet under her again.

Jaune stood not ten feet away from them, sword resting on one arm and watching them carefully.

Weiss' eyes flickered around her. The others had been separated for each of them.

Each member of team JNPR had taken a pair.

Jaune was in front of them. Ren took Neo and Torchwick, Nora was against Emerald and Mercury and Pyrrha was already engaged in deadly combat with Cinder and Penny.

Penny, who was one hundred percent made of metal.

It was a bad matchup all around. It should have been fine, they outnumbered them, and it wasn't like Ruby's companions were weak by any stretch of the imagination.

So why did it feel like they were the ones at a disadvantage?

Ruby rolled her shoulders beside her. "Can you fight?"

Weiss grimaced as she stole a look at her leader's arm. "Can you?"

"Yes. I don't know what Jaune's deal is right now, but I know I'm still faster than him. The problem is whether or not you can't fight him upfront."

"I could when we were at Beacon."

"That was nearly a year ago, and JNPR's been MIA in the wilds that whole time."

"Oh."

"Yeah," Ruby said. "Oh."

And then there was a whir of gears as Ruby's scythe snapped open.

It wasn't Crescent Rose.

The half was long and dark red, metallically glistening up to a two-sided grip and dual triggers underneath.

The scythe's blade looked like it was divided into sections, longer and wider than they had been before, and the last section equipped with a wickedly serrated edge.

The whole thing looked lighter, more balanced but Weiss had a feeling that wasn't enough. The fact was, Ruby couldn't use both of her arms. Even now, as she rested the weapon across her shoulder her right arm hung down limply. Could she even be as capable of blocking a hit as efficiently as she had before?

Was that a trick? Was there something she was missing?

There was no time to ask because Jaune was rocketing forward at breakneck speed. Weiss self-preservation kicked in faster this time and she thrust forward, carefully. This whole thing was a disaster, but Jaune was still a friend. If she made a mistake and pushed too hard, hit too fast she could seriously hurt him.

Jaune it seemed, had no such thoughts.

He saw her sword coming and kicked off the ground, spiking the earth as he flew over her and stabbed down at her head. Sparks flew again as she brought up her blade to defend herself and tried her hardest to stop the shaking in her arms.

The blond twisted mid-air and swung down with one leg that crashed into her shoulder and dragged her up.

She stumbled, losing her footing again as Crocea Mors arced down.

Ruby's blade intercepted it before it could connect.

Jaune was thrown back, giving Weiss room to fall back even as he flipped in the air and landed on his feet.

Ruby hadn't stopped moving. She turned on a dime and dashing back in, swinging her scythe in one arm, using her momentum to lift it high enough as she passed Jaune again.

He raised his sword to block and weathered the kickback he received. Right as her scythe hit, Ruby flipped, spinning on her heal and launching forwards in a burst of rose petals.

Again, Jaune lifted his weapon and pushed out with a growl as the curved blade caught it, pulling him along for an instant before he locked his feet and countered with a lunge. The tip of his sword passed by Ruby's face with a hiss of air and the reaper hopped back, twirling her scythe and resting it on her shoulder again.

Weiss swallowed. He could react to her partners' speed then… he'd definitely gotten better. This could be a problem, especially if the others ended up joining in before they could beat him. They needed to deal with him now.

They could face him two-on-one, right?

There was only one way to find out.

Weiss called on her summon again, forcing past that stranger pressure that made her head thump as a knight formed at her back.

Jaune's eyes narrowed at the sight and with a click his shield opened up on his arm.

Weiss wasn't about to give him the opportunity to attack again.

Her glyphs formed under her feet and shot her forward and she stabbed out. Jaune caught it with his own and deflected her summons sword strike from above. She spun, swiping low at his ankles. He back stepped and slashed out at her.

The summon caught in on its guard and kept it there long enough for her to thrust at his chest again.

And again, he stopped it with his shield, ducking down and pushing her arm up.

Ruby was there the next moment, cleaving at his side so fast Weiss almost missed it.

Jaune didn't, and dragged her summons sword down as his own shield.

Ruby hooked around it and manoeuvred herself to his other side as Weiss swiped at his sword arm.

It sparked off his armour and her eyes widened as he let himself drop completely to the ground underneath Ruby's next attack and kicked out, sweeping the heiress feet out from under her and lashing out at her before she could even hit the ground.

She gasped as his boot crunched into her stomach and fired her hit her hard, so hard in fact that it knocked her off the floating island.

She was lucky there was another below to stop her fall.

She groaned all the same as she landed and her aura flared up to protect her.

Up above, she could still hear the sound of steel clashing on steel as Jaune and Ruby fought.

Weiss shook her head in an effort to dispel her dizziness. It was pretty safe to say that Jaune was kicking their asses right now.

Damn it. It felt like her heads was about to explode.

A flash in the corner of her eye caught her attention suddenly, and she turned in time to see Penny crash through an island and into the next. She rolled and hopped to her feet as metal wings sprouted from her back and she flew back up to where Cinder and Pyrrha fought.

It was too fast.

Way, way too fast for Weiss to keep up.

All she could perceive was how dangerous and deadly every attack was, every blow that they traded was one meant to kill.

Cinder was like a whirlwind with her dual blades, deflecting, parrying and lacerating the air with each movement.

Pyrrha was no better, the mistral champion was practically unmovable, her weapon shifting so fast between sword and spear they blended together. And there were sparks – actual electric sparks – running along the metal, and with each flurry of blows she matched with Cinder's those sparks cracked the ground around her.

And both of them had a single eye that blazed like a bonfire.

"Yo princess!" Emeralds voice cut through the violence as she leapt back from Nora's hammer blow that carved through the earth and shook their island. She didn't look at Weiss as she spoke, preferring to lay down a hail of bullets as Mercury came at the hammer wielder from behind.

Nora pushed through it like it wasn't even there, letting out a roar as she smashed down again. "Get your head in the fight already. Red needs your help so help!"

Her head didn't feel like it was going to break into a million pieces.

But she was right. She couldn't be down here when Ruby needed her help.

She grit her teeth as a black glyph spun beneath her feet, humming as it threw her into the air. It launched her up, back onto the higher island and above the fighting duo.

Ruby was on the retreat; dashing side-to-side and defending as best she could as Jaune chased after her.

He hadn't seen her yet.

That was good.

It gave her a chance.

Heat swelled in her forearm suddenly as red crystals grew from her skin. Fire Dust built up along her arm and as she hit her arc and began to fall again she threw out a hand.

A wave of fire washed over the island. Jaune noticed it at the last moment and leapt back, bringing up his shield in time to negate the burns. Weiss landed beside her partner as she caught her breath.

"Thanks," Ruby said. "But what as that? You didn't have any dust on you. How are you using it like that?"

"Don't worried about it." She answered, right arm again as the fire Dust fell away and ice took its place. It wasn't perfect, but she could use it as a makeshift shield if her offhand wasn't going to be doing anything else. "I can hold him for a few seconds at a time. Use those to some good hits in."

"That's what I've been trying to do." The reaper grumbled. "It's not really working all too well. You'll need to do more than slow him down."

Weiss' head felt like it was burning up. Her ears were filled with crackling.

Like static.

She had to ignore it right now.

"Leave that bit to me."

"Alright then." Ruby nodded. "Let's try that out."

Jaune raised an eyebrow. "You really think I'm going to let you? I can still hear everything you're saying from over here."

"Doesn't matter if you know what's coming or not." Ruby shot back, bending her legs. "It only matters whether or not you're good enough to stop us."

"And you don't think I am?"

"We'll just have to see now won't we?"

A spear of ice passed by where Jaune's head was the very next instant. Weiss wasn't about to wait for them to finish talking, and Ruby knew it.

Jaune did too, and instead of stumbling like she'd wanted he rolled, kicking off the ground and throwing himself towards them.

Weiss swiped out with the hand covered in Dust and sent out a barrage of icicles and swept across the ground. The blond was forced to dodge them lest they stab into his shins

Ruby took the chance it gave her and sped to the side, circling around and chopping like a woodsman at his back.

And the two of them engaged in a melee.

It was easy to see that Ruby couldn't fight like she had before.

The fact was that physically she was weaker, wither that be because of her injury, or a lack of the right kind of training, but it meant she couldn't use her scythe the way she used to.

She didn't use the recoil to boost her momentum in the same way, she didn't spin her weapon to defend or use her haft to bock.

Her old style was gone.

She made up for it with her new one.

Arms, legs, shoulders, hips; everything and anything Ruby could use she did. The scythe didn't so much swing as it rolled over her own body. She twisted and turned, never properly holding her weapon and instead using her joints to wield it the way she wanted.

If she needed to attack from above, she used her shoulder and elbow. If it was from the side she used her hips and thighs.

She had an entirely different way of moving. Her footwork was impeccable, like she was dancing, but every instant she did was marked by a blast of rose petals that sped her up to a pace Weiss knew she couldn't match on her own. All of this she did with one hand down.

It was just enough to keep up with Jaune.

How had they both gotten this good?

How had she been left so far behind?

Weiss grit her teeth as her head screamed at her and with a snarl she dashed into the fight.

She threw out a flurry of thrusts that pelted against Jaune's shield

He grunted under this new sudden force and pushed back against it. Weiss summon appeared beside her and brought down its sword with a heavy strike that cracked the ground.

Again, Jaune caught it with his shield and dragged it down in time to glance off Weiss' next attack.

It was right where she wanted it, and as fast as she could she reached out and closed her right hand around the edge of the shield. Ice burst out of her hand and over the shield.

Jaune's face twisted as hat ice swathed over his fingers. It forced his hand to the shield yes, but it also stiffened his arm, enough so that he couldn't move it in time to stop Weiss kicking out.

Her heel crunched against his knee.

It didn't bring him down, he pushed through that, but he couldn't push through Ruby's scythe as it hooked around the back of that same knee.

Ruby pulled one of her triggers and Jaune barked out in pain as the scythe yanked it out from under him and his aura flared up to stop the steel from cutting deeper.

Ruby dug her blade into the ground and threw herself over it, smashing her heel into his face and knocking him over.

He rolled up just in time to a block of ice in the chest that sent him flying.

The moment of triumph didn't last long, and Jaune stole something right out of Pyrrha's repertoire, and used his own shield to launch himself straight at them

He slammed into both of them like a bullhead. It might have been fair to say he clotheslined them, if not for the fact he then wrapped his arms around them as he flew past them, dragging them along with him.

Right over the edge.

Weiss cried out as she was thrown out over the open air and cried out louder as she plummeted down. The wind screamed past her as her hair whipped around her.

She was falling.

Falling faster and faster.

There were no islands beneath her. Just the open water.

Except at this height, at this speed it might as well have been concrete.

She needed a landing strategy.

Quickly.

The wind stung her eyes as she reached out and summoned a black glyph beneath her. She tore through it like paper.

It slowed her down for less than a second before she was falling again, picking up speed again.

She summoned another, and she tore through it just as fast.

She did it again and again and again as she tumbled down and down and down as the lake got closer and closer and closer.

Her head felt like it was about to splinter.

She needed more. More power to stop her fall. For ways to slow it.

She reached out, one more time, and felt her body burn as she summoned a back glyph.

And another and another and another, as many as she could

Dozens, maybe even a hundred all in a line below her.

And in the next instant she met them.

Each felt like she was smashing through a window, each on hurt as she passed through it.

Each one slowed her down just that little bit more. She just needed enough so that the stop wouldn't be fatal. Just enough for that!

Dust splintered through her skin, white and blue, wind and ice she pushed it through her body as hard as she could.

The wind pushed her up, or at least, slowed her down further as she crashed through another glyph as the ice shot down and spread out over the water.

It froze it solid. That could have made it worse. If she made a mistake the ice would be worse than the water.

But she needed something to cushion it, or lessen the impact.

Like a slope.

A jagged rock of ice rose from the lack and smoothed into a slop beneath her. Right she just had to-

Weiss' thoughts were cut off with a gasp.

She was already there.

Her stomach slammed into the slop as she skid down, rolling and tumbling down it painfully. She bounced off the ice and back onto her back as she landed again.

There was silence.

Before she coughed in pain.

Weiss groaned, clutching her stomach and curling up.

She'd landed painfully, badly, and she wasn't sure how much aura she had left from the fall.

It hurt. It hurt all over.

The only thing that hurt worse was her head.

"Weiss!" came a cry from Ruby.

The Heiress opened her eyes to see her leader stumbling towards her, soaking wet.

She must have fallen into the water, but she'd managed to slow herself down enough at least. She was shaking on the ice Weis had made, that ice that was spreading further and further. Right. She needed to stop that. Her right arm as completely covered in it, like a second skin almost.

It was so cold.

Ruby was next to her suddenly, hands hovering over her shoulders. "Are you alright? Can you stand?"

"I-I'm fine." She coughed. "Just help me up."

She did so, the white-haired girl's legs were shaking even as she managed to get her feet under her. She looked around. "Where's-"

Crack!

Her question was answered before she could finish it as a sword burst out of the ice and fractured. A hand was next and Jaune broke the surface with a strangled gasp. He dragged himself up onto the ice and struggled desperately for air, coughing and spluttering as he did.

The worst part, was that it didn't look like his aura had taken all that much of a hit.

"You know, at first I was just annoyed," he groaned as he stumbled to his feet. "But now, I'm pissed."

"You're the one who threw us off the side." Ruby growled.

"Yeah, and it wouldn't have happened at all if you had just backed off." He snapped angrily, already his sword was in hand and his shield was up, the ice had broken away in the fall. "Don't blame me for your mistake."

Ruby clenched her teeth and raised her scythe one more time.

Weiss looked at her worriedly. It was clear she was hurt from the fall, and exhausted from the fight.

She was no… she was no… better…

Weiss felt herself sway.

She… was dizzy.

Jaune moved. "Let's finish this already!"

He sped across the ice towards them, Ruby readied to meet him and-

Weiss fell to the ground.

There was a noise as Jaune's boots crunched on the ice and he came to a stop.

"What the-"

"Weiss?" Ruby turned. "Weiss what's going on?"

She got no answer from the Heiress.

All Weis could do was shake as she pressed her head against the ice.

It hurt. God it hurt so much.

"What going on? What's happening to her?" Jaune asked, their fight seemingly forgotten. There was a look of confusion, or worry on his face. He didn't know what to do.

Neither did her partner.

"I-I don't know. Weiss talk to me, what's happening?"

It hurt. It hurt like nothing she'd felt yet.

There was only one thing that even came close to this pain. Even that didn't measure.

The feeling of Dust tearing apart her body was nothing like this!

It hurt. It hurt!

It was her head. It felt- felt like it was going to explode.

Rip.

Tear.

Break.

Splinter.

It felt like something was trying to claw its way out of her skull.

Trying to crush her eyes and incinerate her eardrums.

Her mind felt fragile.

Like glass.

It felt like it was cracking, breaking.

And then it did.

'Dann bin ich dran.'

Weiss shattered into a million pieces.

...

Uh-oh... looks like Weiss is running into some technical issues or... something. With what's happening between everybody else, now might not be the best time. Yang, on the other hand, looks she's got things under control for now... sort of, eh, we'll have to wait and see.

On a work note, this was basically a chapter long fight scene. Don't know how that worked out honestly, I had to cut the chapter in half because it was getting so long, so it's not over yet. Guess it's up to you whether it kept you engaged or not.

Either way things are going to gear up next chapter, or, they already have, but we're not done yet though. Until then though, we just have to wonder what's going on with Weiss.