Bam! There it is. 100 followers. I did all my gushing last chapter, now is where it is justified. Thanks, to each and every one of you.

Let's continue.

There was many things that Ruby was feeling as she watched the floating books and pens fly at her sister from her two opponents.

One thing was definitely there though.

Awe.

Yang charged forwards, always the aggressive attacker, gauntlets deployed. She reached the pair in seconds, knocking aside shield-like tomes and spear-resembling pens alike, closing to within an inch, the pair of arms belonging to Aya swinging upwards to the sky, then-

BAM!

Yang was sent flying backwards, her aura plummeting as she rebounded off a spherical energy field that Aya had seemingly summoned within seconds. Landing on her feet, Yang fired off a series of shots, but all were deflected by the same shield, Aya's aura dropping a little with each hit. Now Vade was on the attack, running at Yang, one of the giant pens in his hand as a blade, two books conjoining on his other arm into a diamond-shaped buckler. Bullets from Yang pitter-pattered off his daughter's protective barrier as he neared her, leaping up into the air-

CLANG!

Ruby held her ears as they stung from the reverberating impact of metal on metal, looking up again to see Yang flying backward, half her aura gone in an instant, from that one strike. This time she fell on her back, and stood back up as Vade changed tack again, crouching and doubling over so that he was on all fours, his daughter on his back making gun shapes with her hands.

Yang looked like she knew what was coming, as she started to run at them again, shooting behind her, determined to get them before Aya did... whatever she was about to do. Her hands glowed a sinister navy, energy crackling around her fingertips as she pointed them right at her sister, her hair sticking out as the energy continued to flow through her.

Just before she could complete her charge, Vade flipped upside down, causing Aya to fire downwards, the black and white blast knocking Yang back again and sending Vade flying backwards, his daughter desperately clinging to his back before he slammed down into the steel ground at the other side of the arena.

Weiss audibly gasped as both combatants rose, and Ruby turned to look at her. She was wearing a shocked expression, and Ruby had to tap Weiss on the shoulder to get her attention.

"Weiss? What's up?" Ruby asked worriedly.

"That girl... Vade's little girl." Weiss said, slowly, as if realizing something. "Ruby, do you remember the time he beat you with an explosion like that?"

"What? Oh, yeah." Ruby replied, watching two figures clash again out of the corner of her eye. "What about it?"

"Ruby, didn't you see it? His daughter." Weiss explained, putting emphasis on the last as she put her hands on Ruby's shoulders. "She's only, what, nine? And she can do something like that already!"

Wait. The attack that Ruby had been trying to figure out, the one that had taken her out in a single blow, the one she'd spent many nights crafting theory after theory on how to beat something as powerful as that, and it hadn't been him this whole time?!

She turned back just in time to see a fiery Yang, semblance fully active, flying at Vade, fury plain in her red eyes. She closed quickly, and Ruby was sure that she'd just be deflected by Aya's barrier again.

Vade did the one thing she didn't expect.

He flinched and turned away, exposing Aya on his back.

The shield, which was revealed to only be facing forwards, slipped as Aya was dislodged.

In slow motion, Yang's fist flew straight past Vade's reflexive block, colliding with the fragile body of Aya, her aura flashing bright white as it broke, and she was blown off Vade's back, flying half the length of the arena, before she landed flat on her back, right next to their part of the stands, motionless, her petite face a visage of pure agony.

She hadn't even screamed.

"Aya!" Vade called out, disappearing and warping to the fallen girl, Yang spinning around to work out where he'd gone.

Ruby stood up in her seat to get a better view.

No.

Was Aya?

"F-f-father?" she called out weakly as she cracked her unnatural eyes open. "I-I, ee!" she squeaked as her father lifted her up, cradling her in his arms, bowing his head. "T-take all m-my power. Make h-h-her pay... f-f-for that." Her body started to glow a bright blue, icy mist flowed around her and her father, before she finally vanished from his arms.

Wait, did she?

"Vade I'm so sorry!" Yang cried out from across the arena. Ruby tore her eyes off Vade to see her sister running towards her opponent, all rage gone from her, clearly stunned by what had just happened. She halted as Vade looked up at her, his own signature glow in his right eye.

And Aya's in his left.

Ruby was transfixed. He looked almost angrier than Yang had ever gotten.

Was that the power of a connection between father and daughter?

"The fight's not over." Vade growled, pointing up at the aura indicators, which showed Aya's at 0, but his still at 100. "You might have felled my daughter, but you still have to deal with me. And I will CRUSH YOU!" he roared the last two words, purple aura replacing his red, forming a transparent barrier around him as he started to hover in place, a black vortex replacing a good few meters of the floor underneath him.

Ruby noticed the aura indicator turn white, and fear for her sister welled up inside her.

She knew what white meant.

Vade had made himself invulnerable somehow!

"Take THIS!" Vade yelled, raising his hand. Two books fluttered beside him and opened upwards, revealing pure black pages, an empty hole in each. Two old-style bombs, fuses and everything, appeared from the void within each book, each the size of a football. With a swing of his hands, both were sent flying at Yang, who quickly dodged out of the way.

As each bomb hit the floor, the whole place shook as it exploded in a white-flamed blast. One, two, three, four more were thrown, Yang desperately dodging each one, firing off bursts from her gauntlets, the shells bouncing harmlessly off Vade's seemingly impenetrable aura.

"This is insane." Weiss muttered under her breath, as Vade then stopped, hand going to his chest, his breathing becoming ragged, his shield fading, though the vortex under him continued to swirl dangerously, threateningly, promising pain to any that pondered paddling in it. Yang flew through the air, delivering a solid punch to her suddenly weakened opponent, cutting his aura by about a third.

Vade swiftly recovered and raised his shield again, but Yang's movement's struck a chord with Ruby, who realized what her sis was doing.

"Clever." Ruby said to herself, as the two books opened up, Yang getting ready to dodge more bombs. "Wait until he tires out, then hit him."

Instead of bombs, lightning streamed out, the sparks of energy cascading into ball of energy above Vade's head. He then held a palm out, and motioned downwards.

A wave of force flew from the orb, surging in a tsunami of force at Yang's legs, and she jumped and fired to avoid it.

Another sweep, this time upward, and Yang threw herself to the ground as it soared above her head in a wall far too high to jump.

Left. Yang sidestepped a stream to the right.

Right, then up. Her sister reacted, first moving to the left and crouching to avoid both waves at the same time.

As Vade's shields went down for the second time, Yang reached him and leaped up, connecting with a brutal uppercut that knocked down his aura by another third.

One hit left.

"ENOUGH!" Vade roared, suddenly throwing out a shockwave that blasted Yang back, impossible to dodge, draining her aura to a sliver off red. The two books appeared again, this time circling around their master. The void underneath him vanishing, Vade landed lightly on the ground, before crouching and pointing at Yang, his whole body glowing a deep red.

A ball of energy was growing around his fists, and he pointed them at Yang as they grew brighter and brighter, until finally-

A flash of white light erupted in Ruby's eyes, and she instantly covered her eyes. There was a howling, wind-like sound, as though the very air cried out from the force of Vade's last attack. A yell of pain, although from who Ruby couldn't tell, audible even over the cacophony of metal and air.

When she opened her eyes next, she saw a black scorch mark running from the center of the arena to the wall, where a crater had been opened by what had clearly been a giant laser. Yang was nowhere in sight. Neither was Vade.

"Yang!" Ruby cried out. Oh no. Had she survived that blast? She had to. She HAD TO!

"You... win." Vade groaned. Ruby turned her attention to just below where they were sitting.

Vade was flat on his back, with her sister on top of him. He was pinned by Yang's knee, and a quick glance showed Vade's aura was completely drained, while her sister still had that sliver. Both were panting, hard, and as Yang got off him, Ruby could see sweat glistening on the pair of them. Vade held out his hand.

"That was..." Yang gasped a bit, still gulping down air, "the toughest fight I've ever had."

"Mine too." Vade responded, as Yang helped him up.

"Wait, what? What happened?" Weiss asked, hurriedly, as both turned their gazes towards them.

"Final Ender." Vade replied. "That's the name of the attack I used. If I had hit Yang with it, I would have won."

"A giant laser." Yang explained. "And yeah, judging by the crater, that was your strongest move?"

"Without Aya, yes." Vade confirmed, dusting off his black clothes. "You fought really well, Yang. I never even knew I had a pattern that could be exploited."

"Same. That aura thing you did to make yourself invulnerable was... really scary." Yang replied. Vade held out his hand again to Yang.

"If you can beat me, then you've got no problem winning the tournament." Vade assured, as Yang took the proffered handshake. "I don't think anyone else will be quite as ridiculous as-"

He was cut off by a orb of blue light that appeared without warning before them, making Ruby jump at the flash of blue light.

"Father!" Aya's voice echoed out of it. "I-it's master! Come quick!"

"On it." Vade said, before turning his attention back to them. "See you girls at some point."

With that, he vanished without a trace. Leaving an awkward silence behind them.

"Well, that was a thing." Yang panted.

Vade materialized in the Master's bedroom, immediately rushing to Aya's side.

"Everything healed okay?" he asked, taking a seat next to her and their Master's armoured form, feeling a soothing sensation on his skin, like the air around it was a balm for his burns and bruises.

"The Master's... aura heals... people like us. You... told me that... once." Aya replied, gasping a little for breath. "I was... hurting really bad... couldn't move... then I came back here... and now... I feel... like a new... girl."

Vade was about to reply when he heard it.

The sound in the back of his head.

It made his heart leap and stop at the same time.

'...made ultimate...'

'...love eternal...'

'...death unto...'

'...the last promise...'

'...destruction of the...'

Finally. He gave Aya a wide smile, and she did the same.

"Master's not far from waking up, Aya." he reassured, planing a soft kiss on her forehead.

"Then... the final... word of his... prophecy?" Aya asked.

"Already locked in." Vade responded, staring into the white flames of a torch in the room of the dark library. "People are going to have a bad time."