Jet knelt in his and Ruby's tent, surrounded by his aura-flames. The others were packing up their tents, Ruby was probably doing the same.
He held out his hand in front of him, and blood-red flames engulfed it, drowning out the purple fires.
"I shouldn't have let that Reversion take a hold." Jet muttered to himself. The fuzziness of his thoughts was definitely feeling worse than before. The reddening of his flames wasn't a good sign either, as they were growing closer to the colour of Flux's flames.
He summoned his weapons. Doomsayer and Darkening appeared, and he looked at the lance. The spiral patters coiling around it seemed to be tighter around it. Four horn-like blades were now at the tip, pointed forwards. A small, shimmering ruby was now the original tip of the spear, sharpened and shining menacingly. Even the metal looked darker than before, a crimson glow surrounding them, as if tainted.
He was changing, and his weapons with him. Slowly, irrevocably, into a thing more corrupt and deadly than any Grimm. If he didn't find Flux and end her quickly, Jet knew that his mind would be engulfed in darkness. Flux's prediction would come true.
"No. It will not." Jet said to himself. "I WILL find her, and I WILL kill her, as I should have done."
Resolutely, he stepped outside the tent, his backpack and winter gear all on. His arms and legs even felt a little heavier than before. No, stop it. He would not complain here.
"Jet!" Ruby called from behind him. He turned around to see the tent, gone. Wait.
"Did you just pack it up like that?" Jet asked, fixing his eyes on his girlfriend, an incredulous grin on his face.
"I had a bit of help." Ruby replied, and Izzet stepped out from behind him, winking at him.
"Thank you both." Jet said. "Come on, let us proceed."
After hauling herself up the slope, Ruby joined the others, and after getting their bearings, continued their journey towards the Festung der Shatten.
The going was tough. Ruby felt her legs ache from yesterday's ordeals even as today's strain began to take its toll. It was bitterly cold as well, and Ruby found herself wishing she could use her limited powers of the Angels of Darkness. But she knew that if the Grimm were to attack, they would need all her strength.
Fields of powdery snow came and went. Still they trudged on resolutely, Jet leading them. As he did so, Ruby found herself looking more at Jet.
She was worried for him. He'd said that he wasn't going to fall soon, but even so…
"Stop!" Jet called. Ruby, who was barely paying attention, bumped into Yang, who was in front of her. She walked around her sister, to be greeted with the sight of another forest in the distance, and a frozen lake right in front of them, easily the size of an Olympic swimming pool. The sheet of frigid ice covering it reflected the clear blue sky.
"We've been walking for an hour, Jet." she heard Lilac pant. "Many of us are still tired from before."
"Hm." she heard Jet sound in response. She turned to see her lover with his hand on his chin, clearly thinking, his eyes dashing from the lake to the sky to the hills and back. Something was on his mind.
She pushed past Weiss and Lilac to get to him. His eyes were on Izzet, and as she drew his attention, Izzet nodded, crouched and put her hands on the ice. The surface darkened.
"Anybody up for a hot tub?" Jet asked, turning to the rest of the group. Now Ruby was confused. Where would they get a hot tub from?
"Um, Jet?" Ruby said, hearing her sister snigger behind her. "It's snow and ice, right? Where would-"
Jet put a cold finger on her mouth, effectively silencing her. Ruby felt indignant as he removed it. What was she, a three year old?
"Watch and learn what unlimited power can do if you put your mind to it." Jet replied with a grin. He also crouched and put his hands on the ice. His arms glowed red, and sunk through the ice. Ruby realised with a jolt that he was melting it!
Steam was rushing upwards from the cracks Jet was creating. They arced across the surface of the ice, releasing yet more steam. Still Jet remained there, as bubbling started to sound from where his hands were.
The ice was now mostly melted from the heat Jet was applying. Ruby glanced over at Yang, wondering what she, as the fire user of their group, was thinking. Sure enough, jealousy was plain to see in her eyes.
"All done." Jet said. He then waved a hand in a circle above him, and a Warm field was created around the lake, instantly melting the snow around the steaming lake and replacing it with flattened grass, clearly given relief from the harsh snow. He then removed his shirt.
"What are you doing?" Ruby asked apprehensively. Jet didn't reply until he was completely nude, and then, ignoring some of his companions' shrieks at the sight of his body, leaped into the pool, diving under and vanishing from sight, breaking the surface after a solid ten seconds.
"Well, this is lovely." Jet sighed, clearly not embarrassed in the slightest that all of them had seen his bum. "I can barely see you guys through the steam though."
It was true. He was nearly out of sight for the steam. It didn't take long for Ruby to make up her mind, and she too started to strip.
"R-Ruby." Weiss approached her, blushing fiercely. "You're not seriously thinking of joining him?"
"Well, I'm not so sure about you guys." Ruby said, getting down to her undies. "But that's a hot-tub, plus my boyfriend. I'm taking it." She then took a step back until she hit the edge of the makeshift pool. Deliberately, she took another step backwards, and let herself fall into the pool.
The effect was instantaneous. Ruby felt warmth, lovely warmth, flowing through every part of her body. Through her hair, enveloping her body, she felt it everywhere. She powered through the water, seeking Jet's legs, finding them soon after.
She broke the surface of the water, yet the chill air didn't sting her cheek. Shaking her hair free of the water, she found Jet grinning at her.
"Nice idea, huh?" Jet asked, pushing away slightly and allowing his flames, which must have ignited while Ruby was under, to vanish.
"Yeah, it is." Ruby replied. They swam away from their teammates, allowing themselves to become hidden in the steam. Jet went under, and Ruby followed, interlocking their hands as they powered their way through the water, emerging at the opposite edge, both short of breath.
Jet leant against the side with a chuckle, extending his wings. They were sodden and soaked in the water, and he flapped them experimentally as he floated there. Seeing Ruby watching him, he sunk under the surface, and then he was gone.
At least, only for a moment.
Her lover came rushing up from the bottom, right behind her! Not allowing Ruby any chance to react, Jet slipped his arms easily under Ruby's submerged arms and started to tickle her. Ruby jolted as she started to laugh uncontrollably, struggling to get out of his grip.
"Jet, GAHAH stop it! HAHA stop!" Ruby gasped in-between bouts of laughter. Jet heeded her not, instead nipping her ear with his teeth, making it quite clear to Ruby that, while playful, this was a challenge from him. Well, she would deliver.
Using every bit of strength she could, Ruby twisted out of Jet's hold and swam away, gasping as she recovered, watching Jet, who raised his eyebrows at her, as if impressed, before he sunk under the surface again, a menacing look in his eyes.
Ruby watched as he vanished under the water, grinning, keeping as much of the surface around her in view, waiting to bop Jet one on the head when he emerged. At the same time, she kept her mind focussed behind her, just in case he popped up behind her. Her playful boyfriend would have it coming to him.
Sure enough, Jet swiftly emerged behind her again. Ruby spun around quickly and splashed him straight in the face. Jet recoiled, and Ruby gave him a wink as she got some distance between her and him. He grinned as well, before diving under this time. Ruby got ready to get him again.
A splash from behind her, and Ruby wheeled around, only to see… IZZET?! The telepath gave a small wave, she too just as bare as her leader, before pointing behind her. Ruby felt herself being grabbed by Jet again, and struggled once again to get out of his grip, though he managed to tickle her again, sending her body into spasm as she freed herself.
Swimming back from her two opponents, Jet once again sunk, preparing to attack, whereas Izzet splashed water in her direction. Ruby guarded her eyes, knowing that Izzet was trying to distract her. She splashed back, hard, before watching for where Jet was while Izzet wiped her eyes.
She felt Jet moving around behind her, and reached down, intending to pull him up and out of the water. Her hand grasped something feminine, and as she lifted, she found Lilac instead, clad in a purple and pink striped bikini!
"Gotcha." she said with a grin, and wrapped her arms around Ruby, holding her in place. Ruby tried to break out, but her grip was much stronger than Jet's. As they fought. Jet emerged in front of her, with a laugh.
"Our name is Legion, and we will bring you down, Ruby Rose!" Jet announced. This clearly meant war.
Ruby kicked out against Lilac, breaking her hold, and activated her semblance, swimming as fast as she could back towards her own team and away from those three fiends.
She found her team relaxing where she'd left them, Weiss with some kind of swimsuit, Blake in a similar style of bikini to Lilac and Yang taking her approach.
"Help me Yang!" Ruby called, swimming over to her sister and wrapping herself around her sister.
"What's wrong?" Blake asked as all three of them looked at her with concern.
"Team LIJN's attacking us!" Ruby exclaimed. "They've been splashing me and tickling me! At first it was just Jet, but now they're all ganging up on me!"
"Oh are they?" Yang asked with a grin, looking with Ruby out to the steam, where three figures were swimming towards them. "Looks like they need a good dunking. We can't let them do that to our little Ruby, right?"
"Yeah." Blake replied with a grin.
"I'll sit out." Weiss replied. "It won't be fair otherwise!" she retorted shrilly at Yang's look.
"Have it your way." Yang replied. "Okay then." she said, taking charge, as she Ruby and Blake assembled ready for them. "Ruby, do you know how they attack?"
"Jet goes under the water and comes up behind you." Ruby replied. "Izzet distracts you. Lilac… I'm not too sure, but she can go under as well."
"Let's get them then." Blake said, with a growl. As she said it, Jet and his team emerged from the steam. Jet and Lilac were grinning playfully, Izzet instead having a small smile on her face, that almost looked sinister.
"Izzet. Lilac." Ruby heard him call to his teammates. "Let's give them something only LIJN can give. Complete Annihilation."
"YEAH!" Lilac yelled out, and both she and Izzet raised their fists.
'Prepare yourselves.' Izzet's telepathy reached her.
The three spread out, before Jet immediately sunk under the surface of the water. Lilac did as well, but Izzet instead raised a closed fist in the air, which was glowing blue, before she slammed it into the water and then pointed at their direction.
Ruby felt the water around them swirl, before water splashed up all around them. Ruby was blinded by the attack and fell back, wiping her eyes. Blake immediately started rushing over to where Izzet was, but she tripped and went under when Lilac pulled her legs from underneath. Yang immediately went to rescue Blake while Ruby kept an eye out for Jet.
"Surprise!" Jet called as he shot out of the water behind her, grabbed her and began to tickle her for the third time.
"Yang… HAHAHA… help me!" Ruby gasped as she convulsed in Jet's grip.