Team RWBY faces off against team ABRN.

Ruby grinned as a bullet brushed past her hair, narrowly avoiding her face. Logically, she knew that her aura would have protected her regardless, but there was no getting rid of the adrenaline rush. She considered going after the shooter, Nadir, but thought better of it when she spotted Weiss creeping up behind him.

Charging forward towards the nearest opponent, she swung her scythe, intending to sweep Bolin off his feet. He avoided the attack though, using his staff to leap behind her. She managed to dodge his return strike, but only by speeding left, leaving petals in her wake.

As she readjusted her grip on Crescent Rose, she took a moment to observe the battlefield. Half ice, half fire, the arena was split in two by the contrast. She could see that Yang was struggling to find a grip on the ice, and Blake was getting pushed back by Reese's hoverboard.

She knew that she wouldn't be able to take down Bolin on her own, but Weiss could, especially with plenty of ice already available.

Instead, Ruby raced away faster than Bolin could follow, finding the highest ice spire and placing herself on top of it. She swung her scythe down, lodging it deep in the ice. Laying herself flat, she began to take aim.

This was one of the things she hated most about not being able to talk, she had to resort to putting all her faith in her teammates, which wasn't a bad thing, she trusted them, but she didn't want to be forced to do so. She'd much rather be able to shout out commands midbattle, rather than crafting plans in her head and hoping her teammates would telepathically pick up on it.

Still, as she shot at Auburn, distracting the girl long enough for Yang to stabilize herself, she had to thank Weiss for her forethought.

Before the tournament matches had even begun, Weiss had compiled a list of all teams entering the tournament. Weiss came to Ruby first, saying that they should try and make plans for fighting against every team, using what the internet had on the other teams to their advantage. Ruby had agreed with Weiss' point that they wouldn't have the time or the ability to make a plan, then somehow alert everyone on the team of what exactly the plan was.

One of their main plans for team ABRN had been to let Ruby snipe from above while Weiss immobilized the team, using Blake and Yang's help to round up all their opponents in one area.

Of course, even as each member of team RWBY recalled the pre-formulated plan, it didn't work out exactly according to the script. Auburn freed the two of her teammates that Weiss had managed to freeze before anyone could stop her. Reese was gaining the upper hand on Blake, using to fire dust to her advantage.

Still Ruby decided to keep her position, shooting at Reese to try and give Blake a break. It worked, more or less, as Blake scrambled behind the nearest block of ice. Ruby couldn't focus on Blake anymore though, noting how Bolin and Nadir were starting to get precariously close to actually overwhelming Weiss. Taking careful but quick aim, she managed to get the bullet to graze both their aura's in one shot.

The buzzer sounded, Reese had been eliminated. Internally, Ruby gave a little cheer, because once the numbers were unevenly split, her team had the advantage. Blake was now racing to attack Auburn from behind, letting Yang score a powerful punch straight to Auburn's jaw.

Weiss flung both Nadir and Bolin over to where Auburn lay, trying to regain her footing.

Ruby felt her chest swell with pride and joy as Blake and Yang moved seamlessly together, using Weiss' ice to propel Yang even faster towards the downed team.

It was a complete knockout, the rest of team ABRN being flung outside the arena. Ruby raced down to where the rest of her team gathered in the center of the arena.

She felt a small twinge of disappointment that she wasn't of more use, but it was quickly smothered by joy, because they actually did it. They were going to the doubles round.

Grinning from ear to ear, she signed excitedly at Weiss, mostly ranting about their victory, and she got a small smirk in return. Blake had a soft smile on her face as well, and Yang's toothy grin was big enough to rival Ruby's.

As the four of them left, the crowds applause bidding them farewell. Ruby was content to listen to Yang's excited cheers about how awesome they had all been.

Still, as she shot a quick glance at Weiss' relaxed smile, words burned in her chest, begging for a way out. Ruby was sure that she wouldn't have let them escape even if she could; they crossed a line she had been desperately trying to keep standing for the past few months, the line between purely friendship and something... something else, something that Ruby didn't want to tread into just yet.

You were amazing. You've always been amazing.