AN: It had been too long, but, behold: an update!

The next day – Weiss's matchday – came within the blink of an eye. They were all enjoying their breakfast – or she, Pyrrha and Jaune were enjoying it. Weiss, on the other hand, was showcasing a series of nervous ticks Ruby hadn't seen from her before and found very interesting to observe: one thing was that, while they were sitting at the table and enjoying their breakfast, Weiss's left leg was bouncing up and down at an unnatural speed. Usually, Weiss was sitting unnaturally still with an unnaturally perfect posture. Another thing was Weiss checking her scroll for messages or notifications every minute when it didn't even vibrate. It had to be messages or notifications because Weiss was wearing a very classy watch on her left wrist, so she never looked up the time on her scroll. The last thing – and the most shocking one – was Weiss chewing on the tips of her ponytail. Ruby was half of a mind to tell her, but Weiss would be so embarrassed...she just couldn't bring herself to do it.

"So...when's your sister gonna arrive?" Ruby asked in as casual a tone as she could manage while watching her perfectly mannered friend poke her food with her fork distractedly as she was chewing on her hair.

"Huh?" Weiss looked up from her plate, strands of hair sticking to her lips and tongue. She blushed an impressive shade of red. "What in the world is wrong with me?" she muttered while pulling hair from her mouth. After clearing her throat, she answered the question as if nothing out of the norm had just happened. "It should be any moment. She said she'd come early to spend a bit of time with me and to get to know you before my arena battle."

"Oh. Okay." Now Ruby felt nervous. "What's she like?"

Perking up at the question, Weiss was now positively glowing with a radiant smile. "Winter is the reason why I'm a Pokémon trainer. The rest of my family is…" She appeared to struggle with herself, gnawing on her lower lip, before finally sighing. "Well, I suppose I can tell you a bit about my family. They're...they're either not there or they only care about Pokémon and trainers as far as they can get profit off of them, be it through manufacturing Pokéballs, academy-standard scrolls, et cetera." Weiss paused for a moment. "Winter...she was always different. Where my family doesn't care about Pokémon as sentient creatures, partners, friends, family – as beings we share this world with – she saw all of the above and more in them." Weiss smiled. "She would've been the heiress of the company, but instead, she joined Atlas Academy through a scholarship because our father wouldn't pay, graduated, went on her journey for a year and joined the Atlesian Police Department a year later."

"Did she pay for your tuition?" Ruby asked. "'Cause I don't think that your dad paid for yours when he didn't pay for your sis's."

"Actually, my father paid," Weiss said. "Probably in the hopes that I'd get it 'out of my system'." She even did the whole air-quotes-with-fingers-thing. "He disowned me after I graduated and left for Vale. Winter said that it was the proudest day of her life."

"That is very sweet," Pyrrha said and Ruby had to agree.

"Yeah. Your dad sounds kinda douchey – no offence – but your sister sounds kinda cool." Ruby cocked her head to the side. "No clue why my uncle doesn't seem to like her."

"Probably because my sister is a person who holds herself and those around her to the highest of standards, whereas your uncle appears to be unable to meet even the lowest."

"Hey!"

"What?" Weiss looked genuinely surprised by her offended expression. "I've seen it in the news! He's always somewhere galavanting with women and even got suspended for a week because he was DUI!"

"Well...yeah, he did that, but he's getting better – the drinking part, I mean." Ruby sighed, her shoulders slumping a bit. "He's seen some bad stuff on his job and sometimes it just gets to him."

"Makes sense," Jaune said. "I mean, Police Departments handle crimes against humans and Pokémon, right?" Ruby and Weiss nodded. "So...seeing stuff day in, day out and for however long your uncle's done that...it can't leave people unaffected."

Weiss rolled her eyes. "I suppose that's fair. He should at least see a therapist then."

"He does," Ruby insisted. "That's why he's getting better."

"Good for him, then." Weiss then looked at her watch, sighing, tapping nervously on the wooden table with her fingernails.

"Are you nervous because of your sister?" Pyrrha asked kindly.

"Of course not."

Ruby snorted, receiving a glare from Weiss in return, but what could she have done? That was super fake and not even Weiss herself would believe that 'of course not'.

Then, Weiss looked towards the cafeteria entrance and gasped. "Winter!" She quickly got up and ran towards a stern-looking, young woman with quite striking features: piercing blue eyes, as perfect a ponytail as she had ever seen, dressed in dark blue business pants complimented by a white button-down shirt, a blue tie and a white jacket.

The stern look disappeared quickly, however, and got replaced by a soft smile as soon as Weiss hugged her.

An admittedly heartwarming moment later, Weiss retracted herself from her sister and led her to their table. "These are my friends! Phyrra Nikos, Jaune Arc – he got his first badge yesterday – and Ruby Rose."

"Greetings," Winter said politely with a slight nod. "I thank you all for taking an interest in my sister. And I hope Weiss was not overly exuberant because of your relation to Summer Rose, Miss Rose."

"Winter!"

Ruby chuckled, her cheeks flushing a bit. "Aw, shucks, just Ruby is fine. And Weiss told you about that? It's okay, it's kinda funny to see her fangirl over something or someone –" "Ruby!" "– even if it's my mum."

The barest hint of a smile stole its way onto Winter's face, but as quickly as it appeared, as quickly it disappeared again. "Very well. If you will excuse us, I would like to spend some time alone with Weiss. It was a pleasure."

"Likewise," Pyrrha said, ever the nice and polite person.

Jaune gave a quick wave. "See ya later, Weiss."

"Good luck later," Ruby said.

Weiss smiled with a wave and then she left the cafeteria with Winter, all the while chatting excitedly.

The arena appeared to be even fuller than yesterday and Ruby had a feeling that it had to do with the Schnee in Weiss Schnee. She wondered if Weiss had experience with an audience like this.

Once they found their seats, Ruby scanned the arena for Winter Schnee and was pretty sure that she spotted her on one of the seats for fancy people and special guests. She supposed that the Schnee name still held a lot of weight, even when the bearer was disgraced and disowned.

Weiss was standing on her side of the arena, all wired up with the mic, looking as calm and cool as she ever did. Ruby wasn't sure how much of it was real and how much of it was a mask. If she didn't know any better, she'd think that her sister's presence made Weiss nervous, or even more nervous than she probably already was.

Terra Cotta-Arc, on the other hand, appeared as relaxed as ever, despite yesterday's loss.

"Is the Challenger ready?" the same referee as yesterday asked.

"Yes," Weiss answered, her voice clear.

"She doesn't sound nervous at all, does she?" Jaune wondered. "When I was down there, my heart was racing like crazy."

"I believe that she is just very good at hiding her nervousness," Pyrrha mused. "She may also be used to performing in front of others in some capacity, but, regardless this is still a huge moment for her as it has been for you, as it will be for Ruby tomorrow and me the day after."

Ruby hummed in agreement. That sounded plausible. She'd have to ask later, but, for now, it was time to concentrate on the match. The rules had been laid out, the first Pokémon had been called and the clear, hard-light barriers had been erected.

Weiss had opted to start with Sandshrew while Terra decided to go with Geodude again.

"Begin!"

"Sand Attack, Rusty!"

"Rusty?" Ruby wondered out loud while watching Sandshrew – or Rusty, she supposed – drag his claws through the dirt and hit Geodude right in his face, blinding the rock Pokémon effectively.

Terra growled in annoyance and her angry, muttered "this crap again" could be heard through her mic.

Geodude was shaking himself, his eyes squeezed shut as he frantically wiped as much dirt from his face as he could while Sandshrew used Harden.

"Keep repeating, Rusty! Sand Attack and Harden!"

And Rusty did just that. Every time Tiny prepared to attack, he would blind him with another Sand Attack and then follow up with another Harden in the precious seconds he bought for himself. Geodude just did not get into the battle at all. Rusty was also a lot quicker on his stubby legs than one would think.

"Alright, I'm taking over, Tiny," Terra said. "Rock Polish."

"Rollout, Rusty!"

In the blink of an eye, Weiss's Sandshrew jumped high, curled up in the air and began to roll through the arena at high speeds as soon as he was on the ground again, billowing dust behind him.

Terra Cotta-Arc's smirk made Ruby's stomach drop a bit.

"Bide."

Ruby winced upon hearing that word. "Uh-oh."

She, Jaune and Pyrrha watched with dread as Rusty raced in wide arcs around the battleground, closing in on Tiny with each round. The attack itself wouldn't do all that much damage to Terra's rock-type, even with consecutive hits, but Sandshrew's hide was hardened multiple times, amplifying the force of the impacts considerably.

"Maybe Weiss is following Jaune's example and betting on weakening Geodude enough before using her Shellder?" Pyrrha offered, hope tinging her voice.

"Well, I hope her Harden-Rollout-combo works then," Ruby muttered, her eyes on Rusty landing a nasty hit on Geodude, making the rock-type wince.

Weiss's Sandshrew did not stop, however, and kept on rolling, following up with another, faster and harder hit, the ominous red glow of a charging Bide attack surrounding Geodude. Then, another hit landed on Tiny and it did, indeed, look worse for wear. If wearing her Pokémon's first opponent down had indeed been Weiss's plan, then she appeared to have been successful, Ruby had to admit.

Rusty finally slowed down and uncurled, his body heaving with heavy breaths. That second of rest was a second too long, however. Geodude opened his mouth and a beam of bright light shot out, engulfing Rusty in it. Dust and dirt were immediately covering the arena, blocking any and all vision. Ruby was on the edge of her seat and slowly, too slowly was the dust settling before they could finally see and she exhaled in disappointment.

Rusty was on the ground, unconscious. The Bide had been too much.

"Sandshrew is unable to continue. Geodude wins!"

The arena erupted in cheers, a lot louder than yesterday. Ruby couldn't say whether it was because of the larger number of spectators in the arena or whether it was because the Schnee Pokéball Company was unpopular. She hoped that it was the former. The research she had done on Weiss's family's company had been a rather dreary affair, however, as illuminating as it had been in the end.

Weiss, after having called back Rusty with a fond and determined smile, called out her Shellder now. "It's up to you, Pearl!"

As nervous as she was, Ruby couldn't help the snicker escaping her at how out of place Shellder looked on the battleground.

"It appears she has named her Pokémon in private at some point yesterday or this morning," Pyrrha noted with a small smile.

"Begin!"

"Rock Throw!"

"Ice Shard and follow up with Water Gun!"

Pearl immediately shot chunks of ice at the tired-looking Geodude, who blocked the attack with little strain but the jet of water hitting him did a lot of damage, hurling him through the air. Pearl followed with another Ice Shard, having yet to move from his spot in the arena.

"Rock Throw, Tiny, come on!"

"Don't give him the chance, Pearl!"

And Pearl fired another jet of water and that finally proved too much for Geodude.

"Geodude is unable to continue," the referee announced. "Shellder wins!"

Ruby broke out in cheers and, thankfully, as yesterday, so did another group of fans of underdogs and rookie Pokémon Trainers.

Terra sighed when calling Geodude back into his Pokéball. "Good job, Tiny. You are getting better and better." The gym leader then looked at Weiss with a smirk. "You know what comes next, don't you, rookie? Your little clam will have a difficult time, type-advantage notwithstanding. My dear brother-in-law's Poliwag could at least kind of keep up with Pebbles."

"I appreciate your worries, but you should not underestimate any of my Pokémon, Ma'am," Weiss said politely, causing Ruby to snicker again.

"We will see. Up to you now, Pebbles! Dig!"

"Withdraw, Pearl!"

"Not again!" Ruby moaned. "This sucked yesterday already!"

"What did?" Jaune asked curiously.

"You know –" Ruby wildly indicated the battleground with her hands. "Onix using dig and this whole waiting for –"

With a roar, the huge rock-type burst from the ground, catapulting Pearl into the air. Thankfully, Weiss's Pokémon had had enough time to increase his defence, the already powerful shell now even harder.

Shellder was spinning wildly in the air and suddenly used Water Gun, spraying almost the entirety of the arena with droplets of water in the process. Onix couldn't suppress his grinding rumbles making his discomfort obvious.

"Great work, Pearl!" Weiss praised her Pokémon after he landed rather hard on the ground but the shell proved enough to protect him. "Ice Shard!"

"Dig again!" Terra called out, but Pebbles wasn't fast enough, the attack still hit him on his flank before he disappeared below ground again.

"Withdraw again, then you know what to do! Just as we talked about yesterday!" Weiss added, even while Pearl was hardening his shell, making Terra frown.

Then, Pearl used his tongue to lift himself off the ground a bit before firing a jet of water right below himself, catapulting himself into the air and not a moment too soon. Onix burst, once again, through the ground with a mighty roar but, this time, he got sprayed with a Water Gun straight into the face and even in his wide-open maw. A deep, gurgling groan of pain filled the arena as Onix thrashed around, trying to dodge the water while half of his body was still in the ground.

"Pebbles! Dragon Breath!"

After landing again rather hard, Shellder quickly used his tongue to turn around and face Onix, who moved rather sluggishly when raising his head for his last-ditch attack, but another Water Gun in the face sealed the deal for Weiss. With a low wail, Pebbles's last reserves of energy had left him and he fainted, billowing dust after his head hit the ground with a heavy and ground-shaking thud.

"Onix is unable to continue. The winner is Shellder and Weiss Schnee!"

And then, Ruby, Jaune and Pyrrha exploded while a stunned Weiss received her very first badge on the battleground below.

It was time for another celebratory feast, but this time, it was Weiss's sister's treat. They were all sitting around a table in the Pokémon Center's cafeteria. Winter couldn't stay any longer, unfortunately, but she took the time to say farewell at least. It was a bit of a shame because Ruby would have liked to get to know her better, ask how she and Uncle Qrow knew each other and maybe dig for embarrassing stories about Weiss while at it.

"If we keep this up, we will all rival a Snorlax's size very soon," Weiss complained while looking at a Mistrali fry between her fingers with regrettable desire. A sigh escaped her before she took a small bite.

"You know, this is just fast food," Ruby said after swallowing her mouthful of her double-cheeseburger with slices of crispy bacon. "Just stuff your face."

Weiss scoffed at her. "Just because I indulge in this grease-fest doesn't mean that I have to become an animal in the process."

"You were an animal during your battle, though!" Jaune looked at them with expectant grins but that quickly wilted away after receiving very unimpressed looks from the three of them. "Sorry, I won't do that again," he muttered with the appropriate shame.

"If it's any consolation, my sister would have been proud of you." Ruby chuckled at the thought of Yang and her terrible jokes and puns. "Aw man, now I miss her." She sighed before turning towards Weiss. "Jaune's right though, you and your Pokémon were absolutely amazing. How did you come up with that idea for Shell– I mean, Pearl? I mean, it's kinda obvious in hindsight, I guess, but still!"

Chuckling, Weiss gave a gentle shrug. "I just had to think of a way to deal with Pearl's lack of movement on land, especially against Dig from a monster of a Pokémon like Onix is. You've seen the first one. Without Withdraw, that could have very well been an instant knockout."

"Yeah. Ugh, I doubt Terra is going to continue to rely on Dig and fast knockouts after it failed twice the way it did against you and Jaune," Ruby complained.

Weiss looked somewhat sheepish, at least. "I suppose I am somewhat sorry."

Ruby huffed, then continued to stuff her face with her burger while trying to think of ways Terra Cotta-Arc could change things up against her.