I'm glad people are looking forward to this chapter. Hopefully it ends up being a good one.

Chapter 56: Frost in the Tempest

Bastion, Citadel Grounds, Training Arena

"Greetings, people of Remnant," Janus said, hands clasped in front of him on the desk in the makeshift announcer's booth. "With the attack on Beacon over and repair work on the school and Vale underway, the Vytal Festival tournament has been cancelled. However, it has been decided that, since you were all expecting a spectacular battle, we would give you one!" A cheer went over the crowd as Loki hummed next to the Imperator, putting his feet up on the desk. Down in the arena, Winter nervously adjusted her grip on her blade while glancing across the arena at Aurelius. The Blue Rose had stabbed the tip of his blade into the ground and was tapping his fingers against the grip. "In this exhibition match, we will be having Winter Schnee from Atlas fighting against Aurelius Rose!"

Aurelius let out a sigh and grabbed his sword, getting into a fighting stance without any flair, holding the longsword one-handed. "Good luck, Winter," he said with a subtle nod.

Winter nodded back. "And good luck to you as well," she said. "Although I fear I may need it more than you…" She glanced over his form quickly, trying desperately to come up with a strategy that might work and cursing her lack of a ranged weapon. "The only way I can win is to engage him in close quarters, but that means going through the Rose Storm and the Tempest…" Winter took a deep breath before taking her own stance.

In the stands, Ruby looked at Weiss nervously. "Do you really think she'll be able to win this?" Ruby asked, scratching the back of her neck.

Weiss tapped her fingers on her knees. "I'm confident she'll be able to put up a decent fight. She might not win, but I think it'll be an interesting battle." Ruby looked at her mate before humming, turning back to the arena.

Before the match started, the arena shook as trees sprouted from the ground, hills rose, and a river was carved through the land. Winter blinked in surprise before refocusing on the man in front of her. "Now then, let the match begin!" Janus declared before Winter stabbed her blade into the ground, summoning a pack of Beowolfs. The Grimm charged at the Blue Rose while Winter dashed to the side, hoping that her summons would buy her time to score a hit.

Aurelius hummed and watched the pack charge him, stabbing the lead Grimm in the head before decapitating the one behind it, moving through them quickly. Winter cursed silently before charging at him from behind. The Blue Rose's ear twitched before he spun around, blocking the slash at his neck and pushing the woman away. She quickly regained her balance and deflected a thrust from her opponent before jumping over him, deploying her second blade. The moment she hit the ground, she swung both blades diagonally, forcing Aurelius to block. She pushed against the sword for a moment before jumping away, letting Aurelius charge at her. Winter ducked under the wide horizontal slash before thrusting at his stomach, causing him to sidestep. Before Winter could recover, Aurelius brought his blade down in an overhead swing, causing her to pale.

She quickly jumped out of the way, watching as Aurelius' sword struck the ground. A blast of energy was released, destroying the ground in a three-foot wide path stretching ten feet. Winter swallowed nervously as she glanced back at her opponent. "Of course he's back at his full strength now…" she thought to herself before she blocked a sword strike with one of her blades, wincing as she thrust forward with the other. Aurelius jumped back quickly, giving the woman a chance to surge forward, delivering a strike to his shoulder. She grinned slightly as he staggered back from the hit, a small smile on his face. She paled as he swung his sword, moving fast enough that she barely ducked under it. The next few moments were spent with Winter on the defensive, trying desperately to dodge, deflect, or block a series of quick strikes from the Blue Rose before she let out a frustrated growl. "Perhaps I'll have to resort to using it…" she thought quietly.

Aurelius watched as she jumped back before charging, making a horizontal slash at her chest. The sword struck… and Aurelius watched in shock as the woman shattered into ice particles, continuing his stride a few steps before she reformed behind him, forcing him to block a slash from behind. In the announcer's booth, Loki recoiled in shock, falling over with a bang. "Well… that was an unexpected development…" Janus said before glancing at Loki. "Loki, get off the floor… There's a reason we tell you not to put your feet up on everything." Loki got up with a grumble, twirling a knife in his hand.

Ruby winced up in the stands. "So, Winter has one of those rare semblances that works just enough like the Elemental and Transformative aspects of the Rose Storm to let her deal with fighting someone like Aurelius," she said, getting a nod from her mate. "If her control's good enough, this could actually be an interesting fight…"

The Blue Rose smiled before he spun around her in a burst of speed, quickly delivering a slash to her back before she could respond. Winter lost balance slightly before dodging out of the way of another slash, an arc of air flying past her and cutting a gouge into the hill. She swallowed nervously and made a dash towards the woods, the wolf faunus on her heels. She quickly summoned an Ursa, jumping into a tree to hide as Aurelius dodged out of the way of a claw. The woman stayed as still as possible as Aurelius glanced around, letting out a hum before his cloak shimmered. Winter paled and jumped clear, her gut feeling being the only thing that saved her as his cloak exploded outward, the rose petals moving fast enough to turn the trees to mulch.

Winter watched the swirling vortex of destruction nervously, observing as a nearby rock was slowly reduced to gravel. "So… this is what it looks like when the Rose Storm is strengthened by the Tempest… anything solid inside would be torn apart, but maybe if I-" Winter was drawn out of her musing as Aurelius flew at her, leaving the vortex behind to deliver a quick slash before the Tempest started to reform around him. She took a breath and charged forward, partially converting her body as the petals flew through her. Aurelius looked on in surprise as Winter pushed through, cuts forming on her whenever she failed to keep the perfect balance needed to escape injury. When she reached Aurelius, she quickly delivered a slash across his face before delivering another strike to his stomach, putting every ounce of strength she had into the swing.

Outside the maelstrom, all anyone else saw was Aurelius get flung out before the petals froze in midair, moving around in confusion before being pulled back towards him. His cloak reformed as he stood up, running his hand along the bloody cut on his cheek. He grinned as he turned to face the woman, the expression infectious. "I-I actually hit him?!" Winter thought happily.

"Well, that's new…" he muttered, just loud enough for Winter to hear. "I've taken hits in that before, but never from someone outside my family, and I've never been knocked out of the Tempest before. I'm impressed." She blushed at the praise before Aurelius burst forward, a quick stab aimed at her chest before she parried, slashing across his chest. He exploded into a cloud of petals, reforming behind her to attempt a slash at her legs. He frowned as she repeated his own action, shattering into snow. The two continued blinking around the arena, a cyclone of petals and ice crystals, each trying to get the upper hand until Aurelius glanced at Winter, a look of realization on his face. "There isn't a Speed aspect to her semblance… it's completely transitionary and transformative with a Frost aspect… which means it has a weakness." He smiled and charged forward, making a quick swing at the woman to force her to break apart before punching into the cloud of ice, creating a Wind-powered blast that forced the crystals to slam into the far wall, reforming a dazed Winter.

"W-what just…" she thought to herself before she noticed Aurelius speeding towards her. She let out a gasp and went to defend herself, only for the Blue Rose to stab his sword into the wall, pinning one of her wrists between the blade and cross guard while holding the other to the side. His free hand was on the wall next to her head, his face just inches away from her own. They stopped, panting for a moment from the fight before Aurelius leaned in, whispering in her ear.

"I can't remember the last time I had a battle this intense, Winter," he said. The warm breath on her ear and the way Aurelius said her name caused the woman's breath to hitch. "you're an excellent fighter and an amazing woman." Winter went wide-eyed, weapons dropping from her hands as she blushed.

Janus hummed up in the booth. "It appears we have a victor. The winner of this match is Aurelius Rose!" he declared as the crowd started cheering.

Aurelius stepped back, pulling his sword out of the wall and turning to walk away when Winter tackled him to the ground. He blinked in surprise. "Winter, what's gotten into-" His protests were silenced when the woman leaned forward, capturing his lips in a heated kiss. He slowly wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him.

Loki started laughing in the announcer's box. "I'm not sure, Janus, it looks like Winter's the real winner here! Sorry folks, we can't show you Round Two!" he said between giggles.

Janus let out a long-suffering sigh, not bothering to look at the Prefect next to him. "I hate you so much right now, Loki…" he said before the feed cut out.

Ruby blinked, looking at the two laying in the arena when Weiss spoke up. "Finally, and here I thought she'd never do anything… Gods, that was annoying."

The wolf faunus turned to look at her mate. "You knew she felt that way about Aurelius? Why didn't you say anything?"

Weiss let out a sigh. "What was I supposed to say? That my sister, an Atlesian Specialist, wanted to get into Aurelius' pants? Why would anyone take that seriously considering I was losing my mind when she said something about her feelings?"

Ruby wrapped the fox in a hug. "I'd believe you, angel," she said with a smile.

Weiss rolled her eyes, a smile on her face. "Of course you would, dolt," she said before giving her mate a quick peck on the lips. "Thanks for saying that, though."

Ruby grinned. "Any time. How about we go get something to eat now, alright?" Weiss nodded and the two quickly stood up, heading out of the arena.

Citadel Tower, Aurelius' Office with Aurelius and Winter

Aurelius let out a sigh as Winter paced around the desk, face still red from embarrassment and hands trembling in anxiety. Almost immediately after the match, Ironwood had requested to speak with the two of them, which to her couldn't be a good thing right now. "Winter…" Aurelius' voice was different than the woman had heard prior, causing her to stop. "You should worry so much before we're aware if there's even a reason to be concerned. Stress doesn't suit you."

Winter blinked and took a breath, trying to calm down. Aurelius quickly got up and made a pot of tea, pouring the woman a cup. Winter took the cup with a grateful smile, taking a sip to help calm her nerves. "Thank you," she muttered quietly before the screen flickered to life, causing her to nervously set the cup down.

Ironwood's face appeared on the screen. "Aurelius, Schnee," he said in greeting, causing Winter to snap to attention while Aurelius gave a nod.

"I assume that there's a reason for this interruption? I was considering getting dinner and enjoying some pleasant company," the Blue Rose grumbled out, causing Winter to blush slightly.

Ironwood let out a sigh. "I wanted to inform you that, as a result of pressure from a number of influential individuals, the Atlesian Council has started to have issues with the continued deployment of military equipment and personnel to assist Vale and Sanctuary," he said, causing Winter to go wide-eyed.

"General, we can't just-"

"Winter, I know how you feel about this. I'm certain that the entire world is aware of your opinion now," Winter flinched. "However, that's not why I've contacted you. The Council has requested the withdrawal of all Atlesian forces to Atlas. The requirement to keep open communications and have someone there in the event a quick decision is needed on Atlas' behalf has resulted in a permanent liaison officer being assigned to Bastion in exchange for you sending someone to represent Sanctuary's interests in Atlas… While I'm certain many people, including Jacques, would protest my choice, I feel that Winter Schnee will be transitioning to the role of the official Atlesian representative to Sanctuary." The woman had to suppress her smile at the news while General Ironwood continued speaking. "The only requirement is that you send someone to Atlas to ensure there's someone to represent Sanctuary as well as to offset the fact that Specialist Schnee will not be able to serve a combat role under Atlesian command after this."

Aurelius hummed. "I'll start looking at who I can send that would be willing and get back to you in a few days," he said as Winter picked up her tea cup, taking a sip. The conversation continued for a while before Ironwood ended the call, after which Aurelius glanced at the woman. "So, Liasion Officer now? I'm not sure if that's a promotion, a lateral shift, or a demotion…"

Winter smiled, putting her cup down. "I'd like to think of it as a promotion, honestly. One I feel I will greatly enjoy."

This was a fairly fun chapter to write.

For anyone who doesn't understand how this could be such a close fight, it's important to remember that Winter's secondary semblance was never brought up before now and it's been stated a few times that certain semblances allow people to survive in the Tempest-enhanced Rose Storm, something rare enough that most Roses don't expect to encounter it from outsiders.

I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter.