Yo Peeps, GMG here with another chapter for PR. Long wait, but my laziness aside, this was actually supposed to be released a few days prior, but I got sick... like horrible coughing and pain and stuff. Not an excuse, just why it's a few days later than an already late ass attempt. Either way, LATE. On a side note...

Aside from Bloodstained Chess Board, which is currently sitting at 175,765 views, Phantom Rose has overtaken Ship Shape by a few hundred views and is sitting pretty at 126,796 views. It is my second most viewed story.

That said, it has been the most popular in all other stats, excluding Communities, but that's not a huge ass deal to me. 315 Reviews, 471 Favorites, 677 Follows.

This story is also the only one to have broken 30 Chapters, and with this chapter, the only one to break the 50,000 word count.

I don't normally point out stats and stuff, but with all these milestones, I wanted to give a huge thanks to all of you reading this story and putting up with a lot of the shit I've done. I know that so many people want chapters for Autumn Fallout as well, but this needs to finish first. It's nowhere near done yet, so... with that said.

ONWARDS TO THE CHAPTER!

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY...

Winter Schnee wasn't much a person for crowds. People shoving past one another and one person or another bumping and colliding with others in the throng of disorganized busy bodies. With a grimace, she carefully slipped around another party of raucous people. The things she did for her sister. She didn't like it sure, but she would endure for the short while it would take to get to her seat. It was Weiss' first entry into the Vytal Festival and it was important to the heiress, so it was important to Winter by default.

As she passed some of the entryways into the central area of the Amity Coliseum, she caught glimpses of the large crows settling into the stands ringing the combat platform. The entire structure was honestly the size of a village or a town. Considering the number of people it has to house for the festival, it hardly surprised her, but the scale did leave her in awe.

When she reached her destination, she noticed a familiar cocky grin and stiffened. Qrow Brawnwen, bearing two cups of coffee raised them in a "Don't shoot, Officer" sort-of way. "Cool it, Winter. Not here to fight with you or bicker. With Ruby, Yang, and Weiss having a match today, we both have some important people in there." He held a coffee towards her. "A truce for a day or two wouldn't kill either of us." When he noticed her sceptical look, he chuckled. "There's no booze, Schnee. I'd actually like to remember my niece kicking some ass."

Taking the proffered cup, she nodded. "A truce, then." Following as he turned to walk towards the stands, she smiled. "This doesn't make us friends, though."

"Don't doubt it for a second."

XXXGMGXXX

Team RWBY made their way onto the combat platform, ready to face their opponents for the first round of the Vytal Festval Tournament. To say Ruby was nervous, was putting it lightly. A reassuring squeeze of her hand from Blake caused her to smile. They'd do fine. Of course, her and Blake had also made some headway with her semblance in the last week since they returned from the night they spent with Blake's parents.

She was able to do some small things; mostly pertaining to phasing one of her limbs into an incorporeal state for a short while. She wasn't able to make other thing's do the same, with two exceptions: her Crescent Rose and Blake. She had tried to pass the trait onto Yang for a short while, but with no success, whereas it was rather instinctual with Blake. It was actually easier for any side of her ghostly semblance to work if Blake was in the near area or making contact with Ruby.

The noise from the crowd was a bit ridiculous, though. Even from this distance, with their lower position, the roar of noise was seemed to funnel into the center. Ruby rubbed her temples, trying to force back the oncoming head ache, while Blake seemed even worse off. Hugging the Faunus, she reassured her that it wouldn't be too much longer.

Thankfully, the other team arrived at that moment. Fronting the group was a teen with grey hair and a severe expression on his somewhat tanned features. He wore black pants and a tanktop that was a grey-white at the top and faded into a muted purple at the bottom. This was Brawnz Ni, leader of Team BRNZ.

To Ni's right stood another male with burnt red hair and a blue and black hoodie, with pants similar in color to his hair. This was Nolan Porifirio. Opposite him was the dark-skinned Roy stallion, garbed in a green vest, black undershirt, and comfortable white pants.

Standing awakardly behind the group, covering her ears and wincing, was the familiar, jacket wearing form of May Zedong. Her beanie still covering her one eye, she looked up and blinked in surprise when she saw Team RWBY. She groaned, drawing her team's attention. "Aw, man."

"Something wrong, May?" Brawnz asked.

She shrugged. "Didn't think I'd have to fight some new friends, is all." She smiled, trying to look confident. "Should be fun, yeah?"

Roy huffed. "As long as we win." He winced when Nolan elbowed him.

"Ease up, man. It's not life or death, if we lose."

"No, just humiliation in front of the entire world."

On the other side, Team RWBY was having a chat of their own. Yang of course, taking the time to poke fun at the various names of the other team. Weiss was glaring at her, but the blonde didn't seem to notice. "Maybe we'll get to see what May is mayde of. Roy might be a royal pain. We can attack Nolan from the sides and hope his Porifirio vision isn't great. And with Weiss, we can show them that brains is better than Brawnz."

Weiss punched Yang, not gently either. "Shut up." When she got an insufferable grin in return, she could only really roll her eyes, trying not to return the smile. "You really don't know when to quit, do you."

Yang shrugged. "I take it as a positive thing."

"Only you would."

The sound of the terrain randomizer whirring to life brought all focus to the battle coming. Each team preparing as the two halves of the platform changed into a forest and more... forest? Honestly, Team RWBY wasn't going to complain about the familiarity of the trees, while the students of Shade would have to be more prepared for this situation. Of the four, only May looked remotely okay with it. In fact, she was hopping in place, smiling.

Ruby knew exactly why, a similar bubbly feeling inside her chest. So much cover for either teams' snipers. She looked at Weiss and Yang. "You two think you can handle those three for a bit? Blake and I are gonna work on taking out May."

Yang smirked and cracked her knuckles. "Of course we can, little sis. It's been a little while since the dance, but I'm sure Weiss and I can give them some refresher courses."

"You say that as if you know how to be graceful," Weiss snarked back. "But she is right, we can take them for a while."

The signal came and both teams went into action. May bolted back into the forest, whilst her team charged forward, trying to give her time to find a position. As they closed in on Ruby and Blake, who were closest, Roy brought one of his saws up and took a swing.

Ruby waved, her other hand clasped in Blake's. Then, in a flicker of black and red, the duo was gone. Roy stumbled, not expecting it at all and flinched as a golden fist implanted it's way into his stomach and he heard a click. In the next moment, he heard a whir of sound under him and then a loud bang.

Weiss had to hand it to Ruby, that bit of surprise had just doomed one of the three. With a combination of the force of a round from Ember Celica and one of the Schnee's own glyphs, combined with no way to cancel the momentum, Roy Stallion was summarily launched from the arena and was planted into the field around the platform.

Now, it was a two-on-two. Knowing that she and Yang weren't slouches in close combat, given their choice in weapons, this was a favorable situation. Ember Celica was more threatening then the claws Brawnz bore and if the crackle she heard was what she thought, then Nolan was wielding had to be energized in some way. She had the range, but he had more movement options with the weapon itself. Her glyphs helped somewhat, but she couldn't let him close the gap.

Glancing over to Yang, she curtsied. "Shall we, dear?"

Cocking her gauntlet, Yang grinned. "Let's dance, Princess."

With a glyph placed, Yang launched herself forward towards Brawnz at twice her normal click. She didn't have time to bring her weapons back in front of her and he didn't have time to react. She turned as best she could and hit him with the hardest shoulder check that many in the crowd had ever seen. It hurt like hell for Yang, but from the wheeze she heard from Ni, it was probably worse for him as they tumbled across the ground before he slammed into a tree. As she stumbled to her feet, heat starting to pool in her stomach, she looked at the score board and blinked in surprise. Damn, she hit him that hard? He dropped almost 40 percent in one blow.

She watched him stand up, clutching at his chest. "Now," she started. "Are you gonna be a proper gentleman and ask me to dance, or am I going to have to persuade you?" When he glared, her smile widened. "Good."

With her semblance kicking in, she felt a bit reckless and beckoned him on. He stuck forward, punching her in the gut, but she laughed and kicked him back. "You hit like a girl!"

He grinned as he rolled back onto his feet. "Is that so?" Running at her again, he leapt up and brought an arm down in a slashing motion at her head.

Ember Celica came up, one arm bracing the other as his open palm collided with the metal. Yang gasped at the impact as she was forced to her knees. She heard him land and barely had time to reposition her arms as his free hand swung around, this time resulting in her being sent from her feet and into a tree. Anger building, she pushed off and started swinging at him, enraged.

Brawnz grinned, thinking that anger would cloud her thoughts. Which, for most people would be true. For Yang? She thought clearer when angry. She also hit harder, so... Brawnz was in for a rude awakening when she began to return blows of equal strength to his own. His semblance gave him a physical edge with increased strength he could usually end a battle in a blow or two, but this woman seemed to get stronger as he tried to beat her down.

What kind of monster was Yang Xiao Long? He tried to beat her down, but she was just as nimble as him and with what few hits he landed as they traded blows, she hardly looked phased, but rather seemed to be gaining momentum. He was tiring fast and she showed no signs of stopping. Yang noticed this and pushed even harder. Her semblance wouldn't last for much longer and her aura was burning up fast, something he hadn't noticed.

Stomping the ground, to get the footing, she planted one fist into his guard in an uppercut, pushing everything into it as she clicked the trigger of her weapon, breaking his guard and deleting what remained of his aura. He fell back and thudded onto the ground. Breathing heavily, she stumbled in place before slumping to her knees, the air rushing out of her as the flames of her semblance went out in a whoosh. She looked up and saw both her and his bars were in the red. A double elimination.

With Weiss, she rolled her eyes in annoyance as she heard Oobleck's voice announce the elimination of Brawnz and, moments after, Yang from the match. Of course the blonde would over do it. Her own match was laughably easy. Nolan hadn't the speed to keep up with her, nor could he outmatch her range. His semblance wasn't of much help either and he was steadily being pushed lower and lower into his reserves. Finishing him off with a parry, she disarmed him and depleted his aura with a thrust into his shoulder.

Taking a relaxing breath, she turned her attention to the trees. There were rustles and the sound of gunfire rapidly peeling to and fro among the canopy.

If it was madly paced to her, it was even more frantic for those involved. Blake and Ruby were chasing after May, the sniper proving incredibly elusive. She, like Ruby, seemed to possess a semblance for speed, though most of her movement had to do with quick burst of movement as she leapt from branch to branch, whereas Ruby was just quick in a general sense of movement.

She was only keeping pace with the two due to using Gambol Shroud's ribbon to swing herself after them. They hadn't managed to catch her yet, but they'd also maintained closeness enough to prevent her from taking shots. If she slowed at all, just to turn and shoot, they'd be upon May in an instant.

Suddenly, ahead of them, a large wall of ice sprouted up, bisecting the forest. Oobleck's voice rang out, announcing Weiss' drop from the match. It helped, though. With nowhere to run, May had no choice but to fight.

The sniper hit the ground and rolled into standing position. As Ruby and Blake launched down after her, she shifted her grip on her rifle, spinning it similar to a staff, using it to knock aside Crescent Rose and block a swing from Blake. Stepping back, she let the rifle spin further before tightening her grasp, hands settling into a position long enough for her to fire a shot at the Faunus.

Too her surprise, it passed right through. Ruby leap frogged over Blake, swinging her scythe down as she came. May used her rifle to shrug the strike off to the side. Kicking Ruby back, she scrambled to the right as Blake followed with another swing of Gambol Shroud. Crouching, she went for a sweep, causing Blake to jump back. Bringing her rifle up, she took another shot, grimacing as Crescent Rose flew into the path, deflecting the round and wheeling towards her. Readjusting her grip on her rifle, May pressed the butt of the gun, a hiss emitting as a pistol disengaged. The grip wasn't exactly comfortable, given that it normally rested against the shoulder, but it was necessary to use at times.

Her rifle hissed further as she leaped back, shifting about and becoming a shape more friendly for wielding in one hand. Mostly, any stabilizing materials that were used to withstand the sniper's recoil were shed and the magazine was swapped for something more appropriate to the lighter frame.

Ruby was an exception to a widely known stereotype, in which snipers were horrible at close range. Her weapon was a massive ass scythe too, so it was a bit more believable that she could handle melee situations. May, wielding two guns, was holding her and Blake back better than either Yang or Weiss could.

She was fast, with sharp eyes... eye and her reaction time was scary. As she and Blake assaulted the sniper, it became apparent; Blake was losing this fight. Even with all the mix ups and feints that her phantoms could pull, May saw through them and was outpacing the Faunus. Only Ruby was keeping up and keeping Blake from being too heavily punished for any openings.

"Blake, step back." Ruby yelled. May's eyes narrowed as the Faunus backed off and Ruby slammed a new clip into her weapon, a low hum stirring in the air. Petals began to peel off of Ruby's cloak, shifting from white into blood red.

May reassembled her rifle, shifting into a defensive stance as a manic grin settle onto Ruby's face. The girl flickered for a second and May thought it was her speed semblance kicking in. It was, sort of. Ruby flickered again before disappearing.

A blur of motion swirled around May and she, even with one of the sharpest visions in all of Remnant, couldn't keep track of the other speedster. Not completely, anyways.

Blake watched in awe as both girls clashed. When Ruby had finally struck, May had blocked, only for Crescent Rose to pass through and force the other girl to retreat a step. May looked down at her weapon, the surface unmarred. Didn't the scythe cut through? Apparently not, which meant... "Two semblances," she whispered.

She brought her rifle behind her, not even looking as she heard metal clang. Dropping her rifle, she kicked off the ground, shoving into the locked weapons, throwing Ruby off balance and making her lose grip on the scythe.

Both girls went tumbling and rolled into upright positions. They both knew they were useless without their weapon, but neither cared. Blake moved to help, but both girl's slammed a fist into the other's face and both fell, Oobleck's voice announcing yet another double elimination. Shaking her head in amusement, she stalked over to Ruby and knelt beside her, ruffling the girl's hair affectionately.

They had won.

End...

I do hope you enjoyed this chapter. This was longer than I thought it'd be. Anything over 2k words tends to surprise me. All I really have for this end note is to check out the Discord chat if you haven't, review if you want, and all that good stuff. PM me any questions and, I guess... Adieu!

brawnz- claws

nolan- electric baton

roy- circular saws that can be shot