Neo exited the locker room, her guard up. For what, you may ask?

Whoosh

"Congrats!"

For that. Reaper charged at high speeds onto her lover, grabbing her lover and spinning her. "You did great!"

By preparing, Neo was able to avoid getting the wind knocked out of her. She silently giggled and nodded her appreciation. The others caught up as Reaper set Neo down. Neo won, of course. If that was the caliber of the final opponents, I got this in the bag. Monkey boy was harder than that guy. The girls left to get some victory food. Halfway through the campgrounds, Blake checked her scroll. "Hey, does anybody else have a missed call from Detective Black?"

The girls all stopped and looked at Blake curiously. Weiss pulled her scroll out first. "I do actually."

"I did get a call in the stadium." Reaper told them. "But I never saved Black's number."

"Why not?" Weiss asked.

"I didn't think I'd need it." Reaper answered.

By this time, Neo had pulled out her scroll and turned it on, seeing a missed call and a message from 'Det. B.' 'Have someone call when you get this, please.'

"I'll put him on speaker." Weiss announced. She hit the necessary buttons.

"Hello, Weiss?" Detective Black's voice answered after a single ring.

"Detective, you tried to call us? You're on speaker." Weiss informed him.

"Hey." Reaper greeted.

"Hello detective." Blake followed.

"And Neo waves." Reaper informed.

"Good, I have you all. This is important. I don't think it will be problematic while you're still on Beacon grounds, but once break starts…"

The girls were starting to worry now. "Black, what's going on?" Reaper demanded.

"It's Torchwick. He's escaped."

Silence. Deafening silence from the girls.

"Hello?" Black asked after receiving no response.

"How?" Reaper commanded. Torchwick being free was more than enough to plunge her into a red-eye kind of mood. She even started to heat up the air around her.

"A staged prison riot. We don't know how he slipped through the rest of security. The prison's resources had to be allocated to the cell block." Black told them.

"For a riot?" Blake questioned.

"It was a big one. It looked like the whole prison was at war." Black continued. "I know you girls are going to want to investigate, but first thing's first. Calm down, Reaper."

"Don't tell me to calm down!" Reaper shouted, her eyes fluctuating and sparks coming off her hair. While it was nice to have definitive confirmation Reaper kept Yang's fire, Weiss found herself uncomfortably close to ground zero of the coming explosion. "He was supposed to be gone forever!"

"Reaper! You can't do anything just now!" Black shouted just as loud, scratching Weiss's speakers.

The heat died a little, though small heat waves could still be seen coming off her shoulders. Her eyes settled on silver and with a deep breath, she responded calmly. "You won't stop us from investigating."

"I know. So rather than it be illegal, I'm in the middle of working a deal with Ozpin and the Council." Black informed them. "So just please, stay on Beacon grounds and when you go on break, we'll discuss everything else."

Weiss, Blake and Neo all knew what they wanted to do. Thing is, they couldn't stop Reaper if she decided to disagree. Amazingly, and to the comfort of everyone involved, she managed a sharp, "Fine.", before turning on her heel and storming away.

"I'll talk to you when I have news." Black told them.

Neo caught up with Reaper while Weiss ended the call. She tried to catch her by the wrist, but quickly withdrew when she anticipated what would happen next. Weiss and Blake caught up as Reaper put her fist through a brick wall. "God-Damn it!" She shouted, cracking the wall with her fist and the ground around her with a burst of fire.

"Reaper, are you okay?" Weiss asked for Neo, as the cloaked woman had yet to turn around.

"No, she's not. I haven't had to take over in a while." Ember replied. "She was about to ape shit on the school."

"What's wrong?" Blake asked.

'She's not really afraid of Roman, is she?" Neo signed, concern on her face.

"It's not really about Roman himself." Ember explained. "It's about that part of our life. Don't get us wrong, Neo, we're grateful you came out of that, and we wouldn't trade you for the world. Money's nice, too. But just because we got good things out of it, just because we don't regret it, doesn't mean it was a good life."

"A life you keep trying to leave behind you." Blake deduced. She had experience in leaving old lives.

"Mimic was an acceptable hiccup. But this was supposed to be over. We were supposed to be able to move on." Ember frowned. "Makes us seriously consider burying it for good." She concluded cryptically. The implications sent a shiver down Weiss's spine.

Night fell the next day. Neo had won her second finals match, and it was time for the final round. Neo had the choice of resting up or practicing. She chose to rest. The ultimate benefit of making it to the final was she knew who she was facing. And that person was none other than Pyrrha Nikos. Little Neopolitan lounged out on a bench, laying sideways with her head on Reaper's lap while the cloaked girl stroked Neo's hair. From there, Neo could still tell her lover was tense, and twisted around so she was facing up. 'What's wrong?'

Reaper sighed. "I don't know how you can be so calm… if it were me, I'm not sure I could focus on the matches right now. Torchwick is out there, plotting his first moves against us, and we have to wait until break to do anything…"

'Because I know we're going to beat him.' Neo signed, her face confident. 'We've faced way worse than him since we all parted ways. Some ruthless killers, bloodthirsty psychopaths… We'll be fine.'

"I suppose you're right." Reaper conceded, finding her smile. "All right, I'll try. I won't worry about it. Instead, I'll worry about you winning your match!" The buzzer sounded form the stadium. "Speak of the devil… Shall I walk you to your arena?"

Two minutes later, Neo was standing in front of her designated locker inside Amity Colosseum. She reached out for the umbrella, but paused. She may have more experience fighting people over monsters, but Pyrrha was a world renown tournament fighter. This battle was going to be difficult no doubt. Neo needed some kind of upper hand.

Or maybe… I can deprive hers…

Neo looked over her outfit carefully, and began by removing her necklaces.

Pyrrha strode out onto the field a few minutes later, confident. She had seen Neo fight, and had watched her with her whip. She had a plan… a plan that soon fell apart. The entire stadium fell silent, watching Neo stride onto stage. She had no weapon, none of her usual jewelry, and no boots.

"No metal…" Reaper noted.

"Her boots?" Weiss asked.

"The buttons." The scythe master clarified.

"And what about her pants?" Blake wondered next. "Won't they be a problem?"

"Have you seen how low cut they are? No zipper, and the button's plastic."

Neo smirked at Pyrrha's dumbfounded face. The golden fighter wasn't expecting this.

In the stands, Reaper smiled.

Clever girl.

Kick her ass.

The buzzer sounded, and Pyrrha was surprised yet again by Neo's opening move. The normally defensive ex-criminal had begun by rushing her opponent. Pyrrha raised her shield and Neo ran up it, her bare feet vibrating the metal against Pyrrha's arm. The golden fighter looked up and saw nothing, but she felt it. Her aura told her Neo was behind her, and she turned it time to see Neo's elbow strike her cheek. Pyrrha stumbled, and Neo used an open-palm strike on her gut to push her father. This was followed up by a leaping spinning kick.

By now, the shock at the strange turn of events had worn off on the champion. She swung Milo, only to have Neo hand spring over the blade. Without missing a beat, Pyrrha spun and swung Akouo. While on her hands, upside down, Neo's gut was perfectly exposed. The attack had Neo suspended in the air momentarily. It was enough of a moment for Pyrrha to swing Milo back down, hitting Neo a second time. The small woman hit the ground hard and rolled across the arena floor.

Standing, she checked the screen. Pyrrha still had more aura than her, which made sense. Pyrrha still had her weapon. Neo opted out of the added attack power, not trusting her own weapon against the magnetic woman.

Neo smirked. She would just have to hit her more. She ran towards Pyrrha again. This time Pyrrha was ready, and threw her shield. This didn't faze Neo however, who was used to thinking on the fly. She jumped and twisted into the air, and managed to grab the shield as it passed. The small girl's feet planted back on the ground, her momentum spinning her, and she let go of the shield. It flew towards its owner, who herself managed to catch it safely with both hands.

Neo didn't think the woman would be caught off guard by her own equipment. Neo expected her to be caught off guard by the small woman herself. Pyrrha didn't know what to expect from the woman since she didn't take her weapon into battle. Neo finished her run to Pyrrha and immediately flipped backward, kicking Pyrrha's own shield into her face.

Punch the gut. She drops the shield. Step back and out of its downward path. Return with an uppercut to her jaw. Spin and kick her gut. Spin again and jump to kick her face. Neo executed the combo perfectly, and it forced Pyrrha to a decision.

If Neo was going to risk hand-to-hand, perhaps she should as well. The ex-criminal was too agile since ditching her weapon to be easily hit by Pyrrha's. Neo was slightly taken aback when her fist hit Pyrrha's waiting hand. The golden fight had dropped Milo to catch it. Pyrrha used this to throw Neo's fist and throw her off balance, and followed up with a combo of her own.

Right fist to her face. Left fist to her gut. Left fist uppercut. Grab her collar. Throw her across the arena.

The combo worked until the throw. Neo's self-made fighting style made her perfectly comfortable flipping through the air. Her feet held firm ground in an instant. She dashed under Pyrrha's still outstretched arm and kneed her in the gut. She grappled and swung around Pyrrha, climbing up the golden fighter and wrapping a leg around her throat. Pyrrha felt it tighten, and thickened her aura to avoid choking. It also ate away at it, and she could see her aura falling on the large screen.

The golden fighter wasn't done, though. She jumped up and fell back, smashing Neo onto the hard ground. The WBRN girl let go and rolled across the ground, and the JNPR girl rolled forward and onto her feet. Neo stood slowly, and then charged and leaped, swinging her leg around. The golden fighter easily caught her by the leg and tossed her once more, with more success.

Neo landed on her feet, but much further away than before. By the time she was standing, Pyrrha was on her once again. Her knee came hard into Neo's face, and knocked the little woman over. The motion of the attack carried Pyrrha into the air, and she brought her foot down on Neo's chest and launched higher into the air. When she came back down, her fist was aimed at Neo's head.

Neo managed to move out of the way just in time, and the attack cracked the arena floor instead. Pyrrha expected the dodge this time, and Neo didn't expect Pyrrha to spring back up and punch her with enough force to launch her several feet. Neo hit the ground and rolled, a little bit more than Pyrrha expected. By the time Neo was on her feet once again, she was standing an inch away from the arena's edge.

Neo looked at the screen. Even though they were both fighting hand-to-hand now, Pyrrha still hit harder. Neo had significantly less aura than her opponent. I won't last another few hits… but maybe… Neo hid a smile, staring down Pyrrha with a cold glare. Tournament rules… just maybe… it's my last chance to win.

Neo hoped she didn't look too prepared already and slumped over, feigning exhaustion. Pyrrha smirked and ran across the arena, approaching Neo at speed. She took the bait. When Pyrrha got to Neo, she threw her punch, and immediately regretted her haste. She was so sure this would be the last strike, she had forgotten all about her opponent's semblance. The Neo she punched shattered, and the actual Neo was coming down from on high at her back.

Pyrrha couldn't even turn her head before surprisingly powerful, petit legs wrapped around her chest and she was swung around. Pyrrha was now facing the center of the arena, her back arched backwards off the edge with Neo hanging off it. All Neo needed to do was use her abs to pull her legs in, and Pyrrha along with them.

BZZZZZZT!

"Ladies and gentleman! Pyrrha Nikos loses by elimination via ring out!"

The crowd was in stunned silence. Pyrrha was a sure bet to win. Neo was hanging off the edge of the stage by one hand, which she barely managed to grasp before going down with Pyrrha. She locked eyes with Reaper from here, who was the first to start clapping, making Neo smile. The crowd slowly started to follow suit. By the time Neo clambered back onto the stage, the entire arena crowd was in an uproar of applause. One clapping she started hearing clearer than the rest took her by surprise. The arena descended back into its original form, bringing Neo level with Pyrrha.

"Congratulations!" Pyrrha shouted. "I haven't had a fight so fun in a long while."

Neo smiled and nodded.

"Getting rid of all your metal was a good trick. It's why I don't usually advertise my semblance." Pyrrha noted. "Though, perhaps this is a good thing. Maybe now I can start being Pyrrha, huntress, and not Pyrrha, grand champion."

'Just be Pyrrha.' Neo signed. 'No one can ever decide your fate for you.'

"Perhaps you are right." Pyrrha nodded.

The crowed was hushed as professor Ozpin stepped out onto stage. In his hands was a large platinum trophy, freshly embroidered. 41st bi-annual Vytal Festival Tournament Victor: Neopolitan: Team WBRN: Beacon Acedemy. "This is truly more momentous than you know. Just a few months ago, you were a vicious criminal. Now, not only are you turning a new leaf, but you have proven your value as an honorable warrior. I'm am proud to be handing this trophy to not only a student of mine, but a student of mine under my Rehabilitation Program. You set hope, and a shining example, for others in similar situations across the kingdoms. I am honored to present to you the 41st biannual Vytal Festival Tournament Trophy, Miss Neopolitan."

The crowd cheered once again, and the truth hit Neo like a ton of bricks. She used to hide in shadows… now she was literally in the spotlight, being honored by dozens of people. And a great many of them genuinely respected her, believed she deserved this, despite her past. Maybe there's something to this whole Huntress business I haven't been seeing… Maybe Reaper really is on to something. The girl smiled. I'm beyond glad she asked me to stay.

It was time. The festival was over, school was out, and it was time for the students to go home for a few months off. For Reaper and Neo, this technically meant a change-of-custody, but that custody was Reaper's father, so 'home' was still very applicable. The girls of WBRN smiled and waved their goodbyes, knowing it may only be temporary anyways. There were still things to be taken care of in the coming weeks for them, but they deserved their time off.

The door to Ruby's old room opened with a creak. The last time the cloaked woman was in here, she was still Ruby Rose and Yang's funeral was only a few hours past. It felt beyond strange being back for good. She looked at the room and felt like she had to leave. Taiyang noted her closing the door and moving her bags to Yang's old room instead, which was a little sparser as Taiyang finally began to move on. As she and Neo unpacked, Taiyang came to see them.

"You okay, kiddo?" He asked.

"Of course! Why wouldn't I be?" Reaper answered cheerily.

"Well… you passed your old room." Tai explained.

"It wasn't my room. It was Ruby's." Reaper deadpanned.

"Sweetie…"

"Tai!" Reaper raised her voice only slightly. Not enough to be angry, but enough to hammer her point home.

"Anything special you guys want for dinner?" He asked to change the subject, and looked to Neo.

Neo signed something to Reaper, and the scythe master translated, "Mac and Cheese, with hot dogs. If we got it." Reaper heard nothing and turned to see her shocked father. "What?"

"Is she staying in here too?" Taiyang asked.

"Yes. Yes, she is." Reaper told him, seeing where this was going.

"But… what if she tries to-"

"Dad. I know you don't want to hear it, but it's a little too late to save my 'purity'." The scythe master told him.

Taiyang didn't know how to respond to that one, only muttering something about mac and cheese as he walked away.

And so, the break began for our dark lovers. A few good meals, a few days on the town, and few nights that made Taiyang glad he bought soundproofing for his room back when Yang started dating, was all in store for them. Of course, in the back of their minds they knew it wouldn't last. Torchwick was still out there, somewhere. But Reaper wasn't worried anymore, because Neo was right. They could handle the crime lord. And Reaper looked forward to proving it, all over the man's smug little face.

I hope you all enjoyed the Vytal Festival! I know i did a lot of setup this Act, but i did it now so i wouldn't have to do it later. I enjoy setting up and forshadowing well in advanced to avoid the impression that i write and think on the fly. I do have a plan for much of BR's future. If you aren't following my Insta, i recommend it because that is where i'll be making any and all announcements, incuding when Act 3 is ready to be released. Also, for those of you that don't follow my Insta, there is a new story premiering tomorrow! So i'll see you all soon!