When Ruby's eyes opened, she jerked into motion, throwing the covers she'd wrapped herself up in all over her bed. Her new metal tentacle retracted into her arm, fitting snugly under the shell. She flexed her fingers as she wiped the sleep from her eyes, making sure that she still had a full range of motion.
The door opened, and the voices of her teammates started to drift in from the hall. Ruby turned to see Yang striding in first, looking over her shoulder as she said something to Blake. ". . . bet you twenty lien she's-" Before she finished the sentence, she turned as she strode in, smiling when she saw her sister.
"Hey! We were just talking about you. Think Weiss is going to be happy with your study job?"
Ruby glanced at the stack of papers and books that Weiss had left for her before giving Yang a bashful smile and a shrug.
"Probably not. I mean, I tried, but it was so boring!" She said, falling back into her pillow.
Yang chuckled, ruffling Ruby's hair and bending over to look at her arm. "And what about this thing, huh? How'd those studies go?"
Ruby held the arm up, fanning the fingers out before closing it in a tight fist. Inside of its shell, she wriggled the tentacle around slightly, testing how well she could control it. It was far more responsive than it had been earlier that day. In fact, she was fairly certain that she could manage holding it up on its own.
"A lot better."
The others followed Yang in, Blake before Weiss. Blake climbed straight into her bed, sitting on the edge with her legs dangling over the side, while Weiss stood a few feet behind Yang. Ruby saw her eyes roll when she noticed that the papers had barely been touched.
"Honestly Ruby, did you even look at the notes I took?"
Ruby averted her eyes, shrugging mutely as she did so. Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose, sighing heavily before clearing her throat and saying, "Alright, that's fine. We can just start there, and move on." She grabbed the assortment of materials from Ruby's side before sitting down on her own bed, spreading the notes out in a wide arc, and motioning for Ruby to sit next to her. With a groan, Ruby slid down from her bunk. When she hit the ground, Weiss looked back at her.
"I don't know what else you could have done with yourself all day. Did you just lounge around and slee-" Her voice trailed off as she saw the smile slowly spreading across Ruby's face. The two stared at each other for a moment, silent, before Weiss asked, "What's that look for?"
"Well, I was in the cafeteria earlier-"
Weiss cut her off, saying, "For the whole afternoon? I know you love wasting time, but can you stop stalling, so we can get back to work? You really need to get caught up."
"I was only there for ten minutes!" Ruby replied indignantly. "Anyway, I saw a news report about what happened at the arena. I'm not the only one who got hurt. There were lots of other people, and I don't think it's fair that I get special treatment. I just thought, you know, maybe I could do something about it, like make everyone something like this." She held up the arm, watching Weiss's face carefully.
"Ruby, I know you're good with weapons, and have an almost pathological urge to help people, but something like that would cost a small fortune! Not to mention how long it would take! You still have responsibilities yourself, like your school work." She punctuated the end of her sentence by holding up an anatomy paper, already dotted with red circles and highlightings.
"Well, I didn't plan to do it all at once. It'd take time, but I think it'd be a good thing to do." Ruby commented, trying to stay positive.
"Okay, but what about cost? The school only lets you take so much material a month before you have to pay, and you need that for your own personal use."
"Well. . . " Ruby hesitated, scratching the back of her head. "That's why I'm asking you."
She felt the blood rush into her cheeks as she realized what she'd said. Her hands went up defensively, but she couldn't say anything before Weiss started digging into her.
"So you think just because I come from a rich family I'm just going to give you any money you need?" Her eyes flared with anger, taking Ruby aback.
"Chill out, Weiss." Yang called from the desk by the door, "You don't need to get like that, she was just asking if you could help her."
Ruby shot Yang a quick smile before Weiss argued back. "Just because I get an allowance doesn't mean I just have open access to the Schnee corporate funds! Not to mention my card still hasn't been working since the tournament-"
She stopped herself, her gaze shifting out of focus. The two sisters watched as she stood up, and started walking in a small circle in the middle of the room. Her hand was on her chin signaling she was deep in thought. Ruby shot Yang another look, raising an eyebrow. Yang shrugged before looking back at Weiss.
It seemed like several minutes before she stopped to gaze out the window. "That could work," she muttered to herself. Turning back to Ruby with a sly smile she nodded, a plot forming in her mind.
"Can you actually do this? Build another one, I mean. If you want help, you'll have to come up with some sort of proof you can do this."
Ruby smiled impishly, drawing the mechanical arm up, turning her palm to the ceiling. "Alright, watch this!" The others gave her questioning looks, but she hardly noticed as she felt the tentacle start to wriggle. It pushed against the port doors, but couldn't quite make any headway.
Giving up on getting it from the inside, she rolled up her sleeve and thumbed the release mechanism. Her teammates exchanged another round of puzzled glances, then looked back as Ruby managed to get the port open. Her tongue poked from between her teeth as she put every ounce of focus she could into controlling the tentacle.
The long, thin tendril slithered its way out, a tight bundle of tools in place of a head, and rings of metal in place of scales. Her eyes followed it as she extended it to the length of her forearm. With a small flick, she tried activating the tools. The manipulators started opening and closing, drills started spinning, and welders sparked into life. Unfortunately, the excitement of the situation had gone to her head, and she'd forgotten one very important quality of a welder. The bright blue light poured from the tip of the tool, partially blinding her. With a yelp, she brought her other arm up to block the glow.
As quickly as she could, she shut the tools down. A thick blue afterimage was burned into her eyes. She tried for several moments to blink it away, then, as her vision started to return, forced a smile.
"Tada?"
Her teammates were still rubbing their eyes and trying to keep from stumbling over. Weiss was the first to speak, yelling, "Ruby, what the-" she bumped into Yang. Her hands came away from her face, and she blinked several times before turning back to Ruby, sighing and making an effort to calm down.
"Sorry." Ruby's voice squeaked as she tried to apologize, reaching out to Weiss to try and help. However much vision she had lost, she was still able to see enough to bat Ruby's hand away.
"Dolt!"
As Yang pulled her hands away from her eyes, she blinked a few times, still squinting slightly. For a moment, she only peered around. Then, as seconds passed, she started to smile to herself. Ruby started to ask if she was alright, but it seemed like she couldn't be better. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine."
Weiss interrupted them, asking, "Ruby, what is that thing?"
She took a step closer, leaning in to examine its tip. Ruby drew the tentacle back several inches, worried that Weiss was getting too close.
"I made it. I don't really know what you'd call it, but I thought it would help me build stuff in the future." She let it slump over into her right hand, gesturing with her left. "See, I've got a bunch of stuff that you would normally only be able to find in a workshop, so when we're out in the field, if we need to repair something, I can do it really fast!"
Weiss continued to stare wordlessly, while Yang stepped closer and Blake climbed down from her bed. "You really made that thing, Ruby?" Yang's voice was a mixture of one part uncertainty and one part pride. Her sister nodded, the smile on her face growing even wider. Yang laughed again, and pulled her sister in for a hug. Ruby put her arms around Yang's waist, fingers digging into her jacket. It took a moment to realize, but the tentacle had also wrapped itself around her sister. It wrapped almost all the way around Yang, and the manipulators at the end grabbed Yang's shirt as well.
Yang pat her head gently before she let go. Ruby stepped back, looking at the tentacle. It did look a little strange, now that she thought about it.
Weiss shook her head, refocusing herself before saying, "You're serious about this, aren't you?"
Ruby nodded quickly, and Weiss turned to look out the window. "Maybe I could work something out with my father." She turned on her heel, looking back at Ruby. "But I'm not sure I can convince him it's a good idea. To him, this will be an investment opportunity, and just like any investment, you'll have to show him that it's worth it. I can show you a few things about marketing, but you'll have to develop some kind of prototype first. Do you think you could make something a little more. . . " she thought for a moment, looking at the tentacle again ". . . normal? An arm or a leg, maybe? Something that a normal person would need."
"Of course! Yeah, I'd love to!" Ruby was practically jumping up and down with excitement.
Weiss eyed her with a strange look before continuing. "Good. You do that, and I'll arrange a meeting with my father. Now, if he says yes, he'll want this to be seen as a charity. That being said, he will also want to be sure his name is tightly associated with it. You'll probably have to do a few interviews, maybe read a few ads, but nothing too bad. If you feel like you can't make it, I'll help coach you."
Ruby lurched forward, throwing her arms around Weiss and squeezing as hard as she could. Her friend gasped as the air was forced from her lungs.
"Thank you!"
Weiss tried to wriggle free from Ruby's grasp, doing her best to push her away while gasping out, "Yang, help me!"
Yang laughed, shaking her head. "I don't know, she gets pretty feisty when she's like this. Did you see some of the saws on that thing? I like my face where it is, thanks."
Weiss stretched a hand out towards her, her face turning a light red.
"Yang!"
When Weiss managed to disentangle herself from Ruby, she insisted that they still go over the notes she'd taken. In spite of every argument she could muster, in the end, Ruby had no choice but to agree. She sat next to Weiss on her bed, writing down her own notes as Weiss explained things, but her mind was elsewhere.
In the margins of her paper, she started to sketch rough designs for her next work. Would it be an arm or a leg? She already had an arm, so it would probably be best to start with that. She could work off its design, and find way to cut down on materials required. It wouldn't have to be as durable or advanced as her own, but she couldn't make them too weak.
After an hour that seemed like it would never end, Weiss closed her notebook, saying, "Well, I've done everything I can do. You're still going to have to read the chapter on your own."
Ruby nodded absentmindedly. She'd never realized how hard fingers were to draw. She managed to get them close enough, but would they really end up shaped like that? She was shooting for efficiency, not perfectly replicating a human hand.
She looked up when she heard Weiss turn away, muttering irritated to herself. Ruby looked to Yang, who shrugged.
Ruby looked back down at her sketch, then jerked to her feet, sending the notebook flying. "Oh crap!"
The others gave her looks of shock and concern, and she nearly yelled, practically pulling her hair out, "I forgot the stuff Tecwyn gave me!"
Yang smirked, but Weiss's jaw almost hit the floor. "You what? He gave you materials? Ruby, that wasn't Atlas Military tech, was it? Do you have any idea how much trouble you could get into just for having something like that? If someone finds it-"
Ruby was already out the door, a flurry of rose petals in her wake. The corridors were empty for the most part, which was good, because she would have barreled through anyone who got in her way without much of a second thought. She had to get that box back.
The dormitory door burst open, and she zipped out, wasting no time in noting the setting sun. If she hurried, she might still be able to catch the Forgemaster. She berated herself as she ran. How could she have been so stupid? She had always cleaned her station in the past.
The forge came into view, and she put a final burst of speed into the sprint, feeling her lungs start to ache. As she drew closer to the door, she dug her heels into the ground, and slid to a halt only a foot away from the door. She took a deep breath, hoping the the doors hadn't been locked yet, and pushed.
They opened, and she caught a glimpse of the Forgemaster putting out one of the larger forges. She looked around the massive room, hoping to see the box she'd received hours before. She tracked down the station she had worked at, but found that it was spotless, nowhere near the state of disarray she had left it in. Tools had been laid out carefully and neatly, a perfect example of an ordered workstation.
Ruby's jaw clenched and she peered around the rest of the room. She couldn't imagine what she would do if someone had stolen it. Losing military technology that may or may not have been secret would definitely be enough to get a student expelled. Her heart felt like it was trying to jump out her throat when she called out, "Hey, I need some help over here!"
The Forgemaster looked over his shoulder, and when he saw Ruby, called back, "Ah, good, you're here. I was going to swing by after I was done, but I guess I don't have to. You left some stuff here. It's over in my office."
He indicated one of the doors as the far end of the room with a nod, and Ruby rushed towards it. She found that it was unlocked, and pulled the door open. A large desk sat in the corner of a cramped room, with barely enough room to maneuver around it. Several filing cabinets were crammed into another corner, with papers and folders almost spilling out onto the floor. On the desk, there were a few sizable stacks of paper, and on the edge, the box that Ruby had received earlier.
On it, there was a small note that read "Ruby" on it. She plucked it off and set it down on the desk as she picked her box up, turning back towards the door. She waved as she strode back towards the exit, shouting, "Thanks!"
The walk back to her dorm was quiet enough, she saw only a few other students on the way. A few gave her odd looks, and Ruby guessed that they had seen her sprinting to the forge. She bowed her head, continuing on her way and hoping they would stop staring.
Back at the dorm, she waved her scroll in front of the door, opening the lock and walking back in. She almost dropped the box when she realized that Weiss was standing only a foot away, directly in front of her, arms crossed and an expectant look on her face. Ruby fumbled with the box for a moment, trying not to let it drop.
"Oh, Weiss! Hi! What are you. . ." her voice trailed off, and she tilted her head slightly, asking, "Were you standing there the whole time I was gone?"
Yang snorted with laughter from her bunk, prompting Weiss's jaw to clench, and a slight tinge of red to come to her cheeks. "That's not the point. What you did was irresponsible!" Ruby opened her mouth to respond, but Weiss held up a hand. "I know you're excited, but you can't let this stuff get to your head. You're still a Huntress-in-training, you should act like it."
Ruby looked down at the floor, nodding. It had been stupid, she knew, but how could she not get caught up in the moment? She plodded over to her bed, placing the box on the sheets before reaching up to pull herself onto the mattress. Before she could do so, Weiss continued to speak.
"Also, I had a chat with my father's secretary. She said the soonest opening he has in his schedule is in a week, almost right after class. Do you think you could have a prototype ready by then?"
Ruby nodded excitedly. "Of course! I mean, probably. How impressive does this thing need to be, again?"
Weiss sighed, saying, "Just do the best you can. If you can show that it works, which I assume you could use your tentacle thing to do, then you should have all the backing you need."
Her mind turned back to the designs she'd started, they weren't anything particularly amazing, but they would show that she could make a human arm. She faced back to her bed, climbing up and setting the box on her lap. There was more than enough for an arm there, if she was careful about how she used it.
She wrapped her arms around the box. How could she have lost it? She couldn't even imagine how terribly the meeting with Weiss's father would go if she showed up with an incomplete model. Her arms tightened around the box. It wouldn't happen again. She wouldn't make any more stupid mistakes like that.
"You're going to class tomorrow, right Ruby?"
Yang spoke from her sprawled out position on her bed, looking up at Ruby with half-open eyes.
Ruby thought for a moment. She did want to stay and work on the prototype, of course, but Weiss had been right when she'd said Ruby was also a huntress in training. She had duties, obligations, not all of her time could be free. She would still have plenty of time to work on it, she was sure. At least, if she focused hard.
With a slight hesitation, she nodded.
Yang smiled back, saying, "Good, we're doing more sparring in Goodwitch's class. I've been kind of curious about how you'll do with that new arm."
She looked down at her arm, and felt the tentacle inside move around. She had been curious about that herself. It felt better than her real arm ever had, but would it pass a trial by fire? Tecwyn had said that it was made with combat in mind, but she didn't know exactly what to expect.
"So am I. Do you think I can use this in a fight?"
After a little effort and concentration she managed to get the tentacle to open the port on its own, before falling limp as she relaxed her body. Giving herself a breath she returned her focus to her tentacle, and manipulated it to coil around her arm, letting a few of the tools started to move lazily around. Yang propped herself up on her elbow, smiling thoughtfully.
"Maybe. I think it depends who you're fighting." She shrugged. "I'm sure you'll find a way to do it."
Ruby rolled over, looking at the body of the attachment. She hadn't thought about it, but a limb like this could add a new dimension to her combat. She yawned, stretching across her bed. Maybe she had a few other needs to tend to first. Her body felt heavy as she dragged her way off of the bed towards the bathroom.
Bedtime preparations went quickly. While showering, she checked to see in any water seeped into the arm's internal workings while the panel was closed. None did, and she didn't think that it would impact its functioning even it it could.
When she brushed her teeth, she tried holding the brush with her tentacle. The manipulators on the end could hold it with no problem. The grip wasn't her main problem, though, it was getting it to move back and forth while keeping contact with her teeth. Each stroke of the brush became easier, her degree of control only improved. At the same time, though, she could feel the twinge of a headache starting to set in. The tools on her new appendage made her somewhat nervous being so close to her face, and she made a special note to move the plasma torch so it wasn't pointed directly at her eye. They were a part of her, though, and the nervousness quickly faded. The dexterity required to brush without jamming the toothbrush into her gums was easy to muster with a little bit of concentration, despite the budding headache. Looking into the mirror when it was finally done, she found herself smiling giddily into the mirror as she thought about all the other uses it could have.
After a moment, she shook herself back to reality. She wasn't going to sleep at all if she kept getting herself worked up.
Her pajamas on, she made her way back to her bed. The others bade her goodnight, and as soon as her head hit the pillow, she was out like a light.
It felt like only a moment later that her alarm was buzzing next to her ear. The sounds of the others moving around the room made her open her eyes just a crack, and she saw that they were already in the process of getting ready for the day. Ruby rolled over, closing her eyes again, but groaned as she felt a hand shaking her shoulder and heard Yang saying, "Come on Ruby, time to get up!"
She tried to shrug the hand off, but her sister only shook harder.
"Come on. Let's see that arm in action!"
It took Ruby a moment to process what Yang had said, but when she did, her eyes shot open. Yang was right, she would get the chance to try out her new arm in combat.
She bolted up, flailing in an attempt to get the covers off, asking, "What time is it? Am I late?"
Yang shook her head as she turned away, walking back to her bed and taking a seat. "No, not quite yet. You should probably hurry up, though. Goodwitch was talking about how well she expected everyone to do in these fights, and I don't think being late is going to do you any favors with her grading."
She was done getting dressed in a flash, and stuffed her supplies in her backpack. It was probably the fastest she had ever gotten herself ready for the day. When she finished, she bounced eagerly on the balls of her feet as she stood by the door.
The others were slow compared to her as they shuffled towards the door, and she couldn't help but be slightly annoyed at their sluggishness. When they were finally out the door, Ruby made to follow, but felt something hold her back. She stopped, her foot hovering over the threshold, and turned. Had she forgotten something? It certainly felt like it. She was about to turn back and go through the room again, when, from ahead, Yang called, "Ruby, come on!"
With a sigh, Ruby jogged after her comrades, closing the door behind her. Whatever it was, it would have to wait. All she could do was hope that it wasn't anything too important and try to focus on her classes. Her mind shifted to what Professor Goodwitch's class would be like, and she found herself settling into the familiar questions she found herself asking before every class of hers. Who was it she would find herself up against? Duels were always an interesting experience. She knew the fighting styles of most of her classmates, but they also knew hers.
It would come down to skill, she was sure. More often than not, someone had a trick up their sleeve, or some natural advantage that set them apart from the others. Pyrrha's semblance was an especially good example of this. She'd often win whole bouts without taking a single blow. Ruby wasn't nearly that good, but she did her best. She always made sure that she was a difficult target to hit, at the very least, though against a few people, that normally restricted her to shooting from long range.
The group had a hurried breakfast before running off to Professor Goodwitch's room. Just as they arrived, the bells of the schools rang out across the grounds, and they quickly made their way to their seats. The amphitheater was cold, like it always seemed to be, and the professor stood in the center of it, eyeing the students as they all turned their attention to her. Ruby ducked down behind the other students as she and the others tried to get to their seats without the teacher noticing. No more than a second after she crouched, however, the sharp voice rang out, seeming to echo off of the round ceiling.
"Ah, Miss Rose, I see you're back. Do you intend to be participating today? If you think you need more time before you resume your regular activities, I would be happy to give you that time."
She straightened back up, and shook her head quickly.
"No, I think I'm ready today."
Professor Goodwitch nodded, and pushed her glasses up as she glanced down at her scroll. "Good, because I believe you are next in the que. How do you feel about a bout with mister Winchester?"
Ruby glanced over at the boy. He was splayed across his seat, leaning back to talk to one of his friends. He didn't even seem aware that his name had been mentioned. Cardin had nearly a foot on Ruby, height-wise, his broad muscular shoulders easily putting him two or three weight classes above her, maybe even more. His movements were slow and clunky, fighting him was like watching a train wreck in slow motion, if he ever got a hit on you, you were done for, but his attacks were telegraphed to a point that even someone like Jaune could see them coming. She looked down at her new arm, wondering how it compared to Cardin's meat-arms.
She looked back to the teacher and nodded. "Sure, I'm all for it!"
Goodwitch nodded again, then looked to Cardin, clearing her throat. "Mister Winchester."
Cardin jerked to face her, cutting of in the middle of a sentence with one of his friends. "What's that? What's going on?"
"Miss Rose will be your sparring partner for today. Please collect your gear as quickly as you can." Glynda stated, irritated as she moved to the edge of the arena.
Ruby couldn't help but scowl at the boy as he picked himself up and started towards the armory. Ruby followed, remembering the last time they'd fought. His strength was in sheer force, and not much else. She could tell that he was still riding high from his last victory over her. She rolled her eyes as she remembered the duel. One lucky shot; a single, incredibly train-like hit, had been enough to bring her aura into critical condition. He was highly ranked in the class, of course. Not many students could stand up to his unusually direct style.
That one mistake had opened her up to weeks of Weiss's nagging, of course. Her form was sloppy, she wasn't paying enough attention, Weiss always found something to point out. She wasn't wrong, of course, but she could at least be a little less mean about it.
Maybe she could make her want to criticize Cardin like that. If the idiot thought he could catch her off guard again, he was wrong. A smirk spread across her face as she tailed behind him on the way to the locker room through the door. She racked her mind, thinking of the ways she could beat him. Should it be quick and embarrassing? Or slow, so she could make him feel as stupid as she had? It was a tough decision.
After collecting Crescent Rose from her locker she stood by the entrance, waiting for her opponent. He already had his armor on, and his flanged mace was leaning on the wall next to him. He had a comb in his hand, carefully styling his hair. Ruby rolled her eyes. Normally people did their hair after a battle, not before. Her mind wandered to the how he had gotten into Beacon in the first place. The train of thought stopped there, when Ruby pushed it out of her mind. Just because he was a jerk didn't mean he was any less deserving of being there then she or Yang were. He took the tests, just like everyone else.
That's what she told herself, at least. If he got expelled, she certainly wasn't going to lose any sleep over it. Her mind lingered on the thought of Cardin being expelled from Beacon, before drifting to how he had been treating Velvet and Jaune at the start of the year. He had gotten better, but that didn't make him any more likable.
"Alright pipsqueak, let's get this over with. There was a girl checking me out in the stands, and I don't want to keep her waiting." A cocky smile was smeared across his face as he stepped past her into the arena. Ruby shook her head, taking a few deep breaths before hefting Crescent Rose up and following behind him.
Everything surrounding the arena was plunged into darkness as the lights dimmed, and miss Goodwitch stepped off to the side.
"Take your positions, please."
Cardin strolled forwards nonchalantly, squinting up into the stands as he went. A few silhouettes waved, and he smiled back before turning to face Ruby. He brought his mace to his shoulder and gave her a sarcastic grin.
Crescent Rose unfurled in Ruby's hands, cold metal finding a comfortable resting spot in her fingers. She was taken off guard for a moment by how the weapon felt. Her left hand, farther from the blade, normally bore most of the weight of the scythe's head. Its weight wasn't gone, but now it felt like it was so much more manageable.
She gave the scythe a few experimental movements, and smiled to herself as she noticed how easily she could control it. Her moment of satisfaction was cut short by the large overhead screen popping into life, aura monitors displayed for the whole class to see.
Ruby turned her focus to her opponent, who was now staring back at her, roughly twenty paces away. Both made themselves ready, Ruby sliding her feet apart and priming Crescent Rose, while Cardin adjusted the position of his mace on his shoulder. They waited for the Professor's word to start the match. As soon as it started, Ruby planned to send a dust-filled bullet right between his eyes. Both bodies coiled like springs, waiting for the single signal that would set them against each other.
Professor Goodwitch's stern voice broke through the silence like a cymbal.
"Begin!"
Cardin launched forward, and Ruby knelt down, bringing Crescent Rose to bear. She didn't take more than an instant to aim, and she felt Crescent Rose kick against her shoulder as it spat a bullet towards Cardin's face. He reacted just quickly enough to bring the hilt of his weapon between his face and the projectile. Ruby saw his eyes widen in surprise, before a cocky grin slid across his face, and he continued forward.
She shifted her aim slightly, pivoting her upper body as carefully as she could, before firing again. Cardin brought his mace to block his head, but he hadn't noticed the change she had made. The bullet struck him in the right shoulder, his weapon arm. The shot made contact, but glanced off the curvature of his pauldrons. His arm dropped back a bit, but didn't show any sign of actually weakening.
The distance between them was closing rapidly, and Ruby felt the urge to widen it. She stayed right where she was, though. One more shot, at least.
With another sharp thud, she fired again. The bullet whizzed through the air, striking Cardin in the abdomen. No plate armor guarded that spot, but he only flinched in response. Ruby's eyes flicked up towards the screen as she got back to her feet. She'd barely knocked anything off of his aura, and not slowed him in the least. Her eyes went wide as Cardin brought his mace over his head, coming within striking distance. Ruby pushed off the ground as hard as she could, throwing herself backwards as the mace came down towards her. The floor where she had been standing shattered under the force of the blow.
As Ruby landed, she saw an opportunity. Cardin's arm was stretched out, keeping a hold on his mace. Even if he tried not to show it, Ruby could see him struggling to lift it again. It wasn't much, but it was something.
Her Semblance flashed into life for a moment as she dashed forward, closing the gap between them almost instantly. Rose petals hung in the air behind her as she made an upward diagonal swipe with her scythe. The blade slammed into his armpit, knocking him off balance, but his grip on the mace remained firm.
Cardin swung the mace in a wide, uncontrolled sweep across his side. Ruby saw it coming, leaping back again, but she wasn't fast enough. One of the flanged tips caught her in the foot, and when she came to the ground, she stumbled back. Cardin saw his advantage, and took the opportunity to right himself before charging her again.
Thinking as quickly as she could, Ruby stuck one foot out behind her, braced, and fired from the hip in Cardin's general direction. The shot went wide, hitting one of the walls in the darkness past the edges of the stage. It had the right effect, though, and Ruby brought Crescent Rose up to meet the incoming blow. Metal met metal as Cardin delivered another crushing blow from above.
Ruby's eyes shut tightly as she expected her arms to crumple, and the rest of her body to be smashed against the cold floor. She could feel the weight of the mace pressing down, the force that Cardin used to force it down was nearly unbearable.
Nearly, but not quite.
Her eyes opened slightly, just enough to confirm her suspicions. They were proved correct; she was still standing. She looked back to the mace, and found Cardin glaring at her, teeth barred, both hands on the handle of his weapon, pushing with more and more fury.
It was more than she could take. Her legs buckled, and she fell to one knee. Still, she kept her arms raised, Crescent Rose her only line of defense.
Her arms being forced to bend further and further, she made a quick examination of her options. There was no way to break the struggle and escape the blow. At least, not directly. She noted that the mace was pushing against the middle of her scythe's handle, close to the ammunition clip. The clip stuck out, towards Cardin. She couldn't see any other option.
She pulled the trigger, and threw her whole body along with the force of the recoil. The clip caught against one of the mace's tips, pulling the heavier weapon to the side. Ruby twisted her entire upper body as she forced the mace to the ground, twisting in Cardin's hand as it went. She pulled Crescent Rose off the mace, and turned her focus back to Cardin.
It seemed that her escape had taken him by surprise. He was hesitating, but only for a moment. She was too close to use her scythe effectively, and backing up would give him a chance to recover. It was more aggressive than she would normally conduct herself, but she didn't have much choice.
She dropped her shoulder, and tried to slam herself into her opponent. It was too close to use her semblance again, and Cardin was a much greater physical presence. She hit his breastplate and bounced off, swallowing a hard lump in her throat as Cardin straightened up, completely unaffected by her attempt to knock him over.
His mace came swinging around again, and Ruby could see a certain glint in his eyes. It was the same glint he'd had the last time they'd fought, and he had knocked her out of the fight with one blow. A slight glow started to emanate from the blunt instrument, and Ruby could feel the air around it starting to pulse with an excited energy. She tried backing up, but she couldn't get more than a single step before an impact became unavoidable. She did the only thing she could: listen to the natural instincts of her body.
The strike was a horizontal swing, coming towards her left side. Her left arm came up, letting go of Crescent Rose and bracing as best she could.
It was hardly any protection, but it was all she could do. The strike impacted, and she was sent flying. Crescent Rose slipped out of her hand, clattering to the ground as she sailed towards the walls of the arena. Her shoulder caught the smooth floor, and she started to tumble wildly, feeling every impact keenly.
Still, she didn't feel as depleted as she thought she would. She put an arm out and desperately clawed at the ground, trying to stop her crash. Ruby felt her fingers dig into the floor, and she slid to a halt.
Cardin stared at her, stunned. It was probably the first time someone had endured more than one of whatever he just did. Ruby glanced up at the screen above them. About half her aura was gone, but considering the circumstances, she felt great. She looked down at her left arm, flexing to see if it had taken any damage. To the best of her ability, she couldn't feel anything wrong with it.
A small smile spread across her face, and she looked back at Cardin. Crescent Rose was now by his feet, but she wasn't sure if she needed it. Metal muscles moved at her command, balling her fingers into a tight fist. Maybe she didn't need Crescent Rose to win. She was no expert in hand-to-hand combat, but maybe it would take Cardin enough by surprise that she could at least get her scythe back.
Cardin was starting to come towards her again, advancing with an air of caution. Ruby's eyes darted across his body, looking for any opening in his guard. She knew that he would be able to stop her if she came from the front, but he didn't guard his back. Getting behind him would be difficult, but if she used her Semblance again, she would have a much better chance.
She waited. Cardin seemed to think he had her cornered, and really, he wasn't too far off. He was quick to get close enough that he could take a swing at her if she tried getting past.
Ruby could feel her heart pounding in her chest. A few beads of sweat trickled down the side of her forehead. She'd taken one of his heavier blows, but she wasn't sure she could take another. Trying to take Cardin down with her bare hands likely wasn't the smartest of plans, anyways. She just needed to get Crescent Rose back.
Her legs bent as she readied herself to try it. Cardin stepped closer, bringing his mace back for a swing, and Ruby took her shot. She bolted forwards just as he started to bring his mace forwards. Rose petals filled the air behind her as she ducked down and felt the mace pass over her head. She tried not to think about the narrow margin she'd escaped the blow by, and shot her arm out at his back foot.
Her fingers wrapped around his ankle, and she pulled as hard as she could without breaking pace. His stance gave way, but only enough that she could feel his foot start to slide before she was too far away and it jolted out of her hand.
She turned her head forward again, eyes locking almost instantly on Crescent Rose. She made a beeline for the weapon, snatching it up as she passed, and making a wide turn to run by Cardin again. It transformed into its war-scythe form, the blade folding back to form a straighter, more elegant head.
As she brought herself around, she spied Cardin. His legs were spread apart, and his mace was on the ground next to him. Ruby had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing as she realized that he was doing the splits.
Building up all the force she could, she charged him, putting all her weight into one swing. She could feel metal muscle pulling taut, and brought Crescent Rose into his side.
Cardin was thrown across the arena, slamming into the opposite wall where his eyes fluttered for a moment before he went limp. Ruby looked up at the board, and smiled when she saw that his bar had been almost completely depleted.
Professor Goodwithch's voice came from somewhere off to her side, but Ruby could hardly hear it over the rush of her own blood pounding through her veins.
"-Bout! Well fought, Miss Rose. I'm very impressed. You and mister Winchester may go pack your things. Now, who can tell me. . ."
Ruby turned away, smiling. That was probably the nicest thing the Professor had ever said to her. Once back in the locker room, Ruby found herself staring at a mirror.
The new arm was more useful in a fight than she'd thought it would be. She couldn't help but wonder how she would have done with even just a little bit more modification. Now that she had some experience, new possibilities bloomed in her mind. New attachments, new techniques, new everything.
She held up her other arm. It ached from the strain she'd put it under during the fight. Durability-wise, the cybernetic arm definitely had the advantage.
She looked back up at the mirror. She was still smiling, but something still didn't feel right. She was missing something. She felt hollow.
She turned, thinking. Maybe she would figure it out later. For now, she wanted to hear what Glynda had said.
Author's Note:
As always, reviews and feedback are appreciated.
OH, and cover art! Thanks Morgan!