Made it clear to my family today that I just can't come around as I'm too busy. I'll put some real thought into changing my Saturday slot to Friday as it's becoming a repeating issue and, to be honest, it's not really fair to tell my family I can't visit them weekdays for work and weekends for my work.

Cover Art: GWBrex

Chapter 22

The last time Ozma took control was to save his father from the Grimm and he'd been too worried to really pay attention and feel the experience. He was no less so now, but there was less to be distracted over, giving him the chance to feel Ozma wash over his body as though he'd stepped into a lake on a cold autumn afternoon. His right hand tightened around the hilt of his sword without him willing it to, and his feet slid just a little further apart. His lips parted, a soft breath issuing forth, and a quiet whisper of "Finally."

Panic raced through him, thoughts of how he'd just unleashed Ozma overpowering his mind for an instant. There was no time to fret further as the melee had begun, and Jaune's feet were driving down, launching himself to his left and at the armoured knight wielding a sword and shield like himself. The helm prevented him seeing the man's reaction, but he must have been shocked by the sudden charge because he tried to check his own. The sword came down, clashing off Jaune's shield, held tight against his flank and over his head.

The impact was weighty but only served to assist him in dodging to the right, causing the weapon to slide left. Jaune's own flipped in his grasp, his gloved fingers grasping the blade instead of the hilt. Ozma swung it violently at the back of the man's left knee, first denting into the armour and then yanking it back so that the crossguard caught on the back of his heel and swept it out from under him. Using that both to unbalance the man and to drag his own body around to his back, Ozma smashed his full weight into the knight and sent him toppling forward, at the second trying to chase him down.

As the knight fell, managing to divert his sword so as not to strike his friend, Ozma threw Crocea Mors aside and snatched a hand out to grasp the short mace strapped to the knight's left hip. The loose leather loop attaching it to his belt offered little resistance and the man's own weight as he fell did the rest. Ozma wasted no time backing off or creating distance – he lunged forward, planted one foot on the back of the knight now on all fours and launched himself at the second, shield held forward and winged mace held high.

The first knight expected an easy fight and had been caught completely off-guard. The second hadn't been much better but he'd had a little time to adapt, and whatever he was, he was still a knight. His own shield, a towering hunk of metal as tall as he was, snapped in place angled up to take the fearsome slam of the mace. He grunted, yielded a pace, then thrust forward with the shield to try and throw them off balance.

Ozma was having none of it, however, not even tripping over the felled knight but instead stepping again on his back and even swinging the mace down to strike the side of his helmet. Jaune flinched internally as the metal dented on the side of his head. Goddess, he hoped the man wasn't dead. He only wanted to win the Relic and get out of here alive, not to kill someone!

"He lives."

To hear his own voice answer his question was terrifying. Almost as much as witnessing his own body step off a defeated knight, twirling the mace loosely in his hand to free up his wrist. It was smarting after hitting the shield, the vibrations having travelled all the way back up to his hand and fingers. The remaining knight snarled something under his helm and advanced with his shield up and his sword resting over the top of it, flat on its side with the tip angled toward him. His heavy metal boots and vambraces clanked with every step he took, kicking up small clouds of sand.

Jaune's body stepped left, cutting a slow and steady circular motion to thwart the thrust. They each circled, the knight keeping pace without committing to the attack and Ozma knowing there could be no aggression from him as long as the shield was up. Why, then-? Ah, the other competitors. The moment they traded places, Jaune noticed a sudden anxious haste to the knight, who didn't feel quite so pleased facing him with his back to the rest of the melee. As focused as he was, shield forward, he was completely exposed to anyone else who fancied their chances taking someone out the fight. The knight began pacing left faster, but now Ozma changed directions, stepping right to match the man and bringing them closer again. The message was clear – the knight would have to deal with him if he didn't want to be pushed into the other fighters.

It was no surprise then when the knight stepped into him and thrashed his shield forward. Ozma drew his back so as not to take the brunt of it, then leaned away from the sudden stab. His chainmail might have saved his life, but it might not have so close. Jaune felt a stab of fear, but with Ozma in control he was nothing more than a passenger in his own body, only able to watch as Ozma turned and stepped back into the knight, so he was back to the man's breastplate. He hooked his right elbow over the extended arm to pin it to his chest, locked the mace lengthways over his wrist and began to pull it downward. The motion placed undue pressure on the knight's elbow to bend the wrong way, and the man grunted and tried to drive a metal knee into them. So close, and so heavy, it did little more than grind against the back of his leg painfully.

The man's tower shield fell to the sand with a heavy sound and a cloud of dust, and his now free arm wrapped under their chin, tightening to choke the life out of them. It was a battle of wills to see who would give first, and with the man's armour working to protect his elbow from breaking, there was little doubt who would come out on top. Ozma had kept hold of their shield, however. Suddenly letting go of the wrist, he took the shield in both hands and slammed it back over their shoulder, using the metal ringing the edge of it to strike the man in his faceplate. He staggered back, the grip on Jaune's neck loosening. That didn't stop Ozma driving the shield back again and a third time, angling it just so that the hardened edge struck the man in the same spot over and over.

Staggering back, the knight's helmet was dented against his face, crumpled in and also askew. The way he slammed his gauntlets to his helmet and tried to adjust it off suggested the eyeholes were no longer aligned properly and his vision obscured. Ozma threw their shield away, gripped the one-handed mace in two hands and swung it with all their strength into the man's left thigh. The devastating ring of metal did not disguise the dry crack of bone, and Jaune whimpered for the knight's sake. He was too busy screaming and holding onto his leg after all.

That's too much! I didn't want this-

"A knight does not surrender easily." his voice replied coldly. "Anything less would have achieved nothing." Ozma stooped to collect his shield and Crocea Mors again, sheathing the latter and continuing to use the knight's mace. They took in the battlefield – which was already littered with bodies here and there. A grand melee it certainly was. Jaune caught sight of Qrow and Adam fighting together in one corner against three men, then Taiyang giving ground further along the ring against two.

Help him!

Ozma grunted and began jogging that way. He steered them to avoid other fights, even as those locked in melee paused and backed off, holding their own little ceasefires to make sure they weren't about to be ganged up on. Only when Jaune was by, skirting them by generous margins, did they go back to fighting. Taiyang must have seen him coming because he suddenly charged the two, swinging with reckless abandon to keep them distracted. He took a blow to his head, another to his ribs, but his mail turned away the worst of it. Not so the mercenary Ozma stabbed the head of his mace into the kidneys of. Unlike the knights, only brigandine protected this one, and the man gasped as though he'd been stabbed in the lungs, dropping his halberd in shock. Ozma drove the bottom of his shield into the backs of the man's shins, then stepped on the back of his knees to force him to them.

"Yield!" the man gargled out. "I yield!"

The mace that had been swung stopped inches from the man's left ear, inches from perhaps splattering his brain across the sand. The mercenary gasped and fell to all fours, retching and gasping for breath. The second, having seen his ally fall, chose to run, either looking for other allies or hoping he could avoid fighting until enough were defeated. Before Jaune could reach Taiyang, young boys in bright green cloth came rushing out to cart the defeated man away, essentially risking their lives to keep the arena clean and uncluttered. Jaune did not envy them their task.

Taiyang paused to draw breath and recover as the boys came and went. His eyes peered out from past his helm, looking Jaune up and down and then peering back the way he'd come, to where two knights were being slowly dragged out the ring by several boys. He was not fool enough not to be able to figure out what happened, nor fool enough to believe Jaune could have managed it.

"Jaune…" Taiyang said warily. "Is that…?"

"You know well who it is you speak to." Ozma replied.

"Fuck me." Taiyang whispered, shaking his head and taking a nervous step back. "What are you-? I can't believe you'd-"

"We are in agreement, mine host and I. This shall last only until the end of this melee. Fear not, child of the tribes." There was an odd lilt to the way it was said that hinted of amusement. "Your goddess will not realise."

"That's not what I meant. We will be having words about this, Jaune." Taiyang pulled away and started moving toward Qrow and Adam. "Can I even trust you to have my back?"

"If I should betray you now, how then will mine host ever trust another deal I offer?"

He wasn't even pretending this wasn't a trick. Jaune would have growled had he control of his lungs. Of course he'd never trust Ozma again if he took advantage of this, but to just come out and admit that-? Did he not care even a little for what it meant? Probably not. He must have known it was only matter of time anyway until he had full control. The worst part was that as much as he wished he could have told Ozma he'd never be trusting him with this again anyway, they both knew he'd need this same power to have any chance in the one on one rounds.

There was no point allowing it now only to take it away and lose out there. They were so close to the Relic that he might as well go all the way.

/-/

"Whoah! Look at him go!"

Yang was gripping the wooden railing and leaning so far over she might have fallen in if not for Raven gripping her collar in one hand. With the final melee being held within Vale, they were only allowed in because Raven and Yang were competing, and Ruby as an `attendant` to her sister. Essentially, she was the one to care for her armour, equipment and health. A squire had Yang been a knight. Even then they were left to the standing grounds, given no seats or benches like the merchants, citizens and nobles of Vale.

"He's vicious as fuck!" Yang had to shout to be heard over the wild cheering and screaming of the audience. "He was never this good against me – was he holding back!?"

"It certainly seems that way." Raven said. "That, or he emulates a cornered rat. He's made it in time to help Taiyang." There was a note of relief and also annoyance there. "Twenty years ago, Taiyang would have been able to handle them both alone. That man has let himself go."

"Yeah. Yeah. Make your excuses, mom. You're not getting any younger either."

"Watch your tone, brat."

"And another one!" Yang roared as Jaune and Taiyang leapt at the backs of the foes assailing Qrow. They moved swiftly and viciously, but their styles were different. Taiyang brute forced his way through with shield and axe, whereas Jaune danced among them sweeping legs out from under people and disabling with clean, crushing strikes of his stolen mace. Where Taiyang hacked until his foes were beaten, Jaune rarely had to strike twice. "Hell yeah! They're kicking ass. I can't believe Jaune of all people is this capable."

That's because he wasn't. Ruby gnawed on her knuckles as she watched the fight, certain by this point that it was not Jaune down there fighting. He was too quick, too purposeful and fighting on a level almost beyond Taiyang and Qrow. There was just no way for him to have gotten that much better in such a short amount of time – and she'd been there to cheer him on during his spars with Yang, so she knew it for a fact.

Please don't let him have taken over completely, she begged. If he had, if that was the Dark Lord, she didn't know what she would do. Telling the Chosen would only make things worse, especially with the Goddess right there. Ruby spared a look for the woman on her wooden throne, but the Eternity Queen was hardly paying attention to the grand melee. That was a good thing given how much of a risk Jaune was taking. And it better still be you in there, Jaune. I'll know if the Dark Lord is trying to fake it...

At least she hoped she would.

/-/

Out of the grand melee, only he, Qrow and Taiyang had made it from the Branwen tribe. The others had been cheated in much the same way he had, spread out across the arena and quickly forced out by far better equipped people backed by wealthy patrons unafraid to bend the rules. Adam had survived too, but as the only man from the White Fang to do so. As the women stepped out for their one-on-one rounds, the men were granted their chance to rest, and it was in a small, circular tent provided by the city that he did so, clenching and unclenching his hand over and over just to reassure himself he was in control.

"I was as good as my word," the Dark Lord said. "No longer than the melee, no less, and I used not a drop of aura or magic to embolden us."

"You had me fight like someone far better than I am. That's suspicious as all hell."

"A cornered and desperate man can often find untold strength. After months of being humiliated by the silver-eyed maiden's sister, you found new technique."

It took Jaune a second to figure that one out. "What did you call Ruby?"

"A moniker. Think not of it."

"Silver eyes. Why not call her by name?"

"Names and faces are blurred and muddied to one who has lived as long as I."

The tent flap was whipped open suddenly and Ozma retreated into the depths of his mind with a tired sigh. Jaune was instead welcomed – or threatened – by the faces of Ruby and Taiyang, neither of whom looked happy. Taiyang stepped in first, subtly shielding his daughter with his body.

"Whom are we addressing?" he asked.

"Me." Jaune said, trusting they would know. "He backed off as soon as the melee was over as per our agreement."

Taiyang relaxed enough to let Ruby by but not to let the matter go entirely. "The fact you had an agreement at all is what concerns me. Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?"

"Do you?" Jaune fired back.

"No. No one does – which is what makes your decision so risky. What if he took control forever? What if that was the end of it and your mind was consumed? What if he flung your sword at the Eternity Queen to try and take her out?"

The first two didn't seem likely given he'd been under Ozma's control before but the last did worry him. He hadn't even thought about that. He'd mostly been concerned the Goddess might recognise Ozma, but he hadn't considered that Ozma might take the chance to get at her. Shit. He was lucky the Dark Lord hadn't.

"Now you see why I was so worried." Taiyang said. "If he'd gone after her then it would have been chaos. Imagine a fight between us and every Chosen in Vale. Those sands would have been drenched with blood."

"But he didn't-"

"He could have!" Taiyang hissed. "And you didn't think of it." He took a seat and Ruby did the same nervously. "What's done is done – I'm not going to harp on that. What I'm going to say is that he has his own agenda, and that agenda won't necessarily be in line with yours. Be careful what freedoms you allow him because last I checked you didn't want to wage war on the Goddess, and last I checked he does. Every single Dark Lord ends up doing just that. And I guarantee you now, they wouldn't all have been gung-ho about it."

The Dark Lord would have made them. Manipulated them. Taiyang was right no matter what he would have said otherwise. "You're right. I'm sorry. I was panicked and the crier cheated and split us apart."

"I – we – noticed." Taiyang said. "Qrow cornered me after to share his concern." He sighed and ran a hand through his coarse blonde hair. "That kind of shit is unavoidable. It'd be our words against the nobles and the organisers, and whatever freedoms we're allowed to compete her with won't hold up if we cause issues.

"It won't happen again in the single rounds, right?"

"I wouldn't be so hopeful."

"It's not that." Jaune said. "How can they even cheat there?"

"They can rig it so we fight each other so that their people have a chance to go further." He hadn't thought of that. "I wouldn't worry about it. We were always underdogs here – you more than anyone. At this point, everyone will be betraying everyone else." They were interrupted by a loud cheer from outside. "I have to go." He stood. "I promised I'd watch Yang fight and I'm not about to let her down."

Ruby didn't leave with him and whatever Taiyang thought, he apparently trusted him enough to leave his daughter alone with him. Once the tent flap had swished shut, Ruby asked, "What did it feel like?"

He knew exactly what she meant. "Like swimming in an ice-cold lake and losing control of your body as it grows numb. I could think and see, but I couldn't act."

"Was it scary?"

"I was afraid of being caught but no, not in the fight. He… He's strong. Strong enough to even make me a threat." He winced and flexed his left arm. "Though my muscles are paying the price for it now. I feel awful."

Ruby stood and walked behind him before taking to her knees again. Her small hands pushed down on his left shoulder, surprising him for a moment, and then drawing a grunt halfway between pain and pleasure as she drove her fingers right down into the muscles of his left shoulder.

"R-Ruby?"

"I saw a lot of the other competitors getting massages," she said. "They were working on arms and shoulders especially."

"I-I think that's a different kind of massage."

Her hand swatted his head. "Not that kind. And I'm serious. Some of the knights are being worked over by multiple people – men as well as woman. They're loosening muscles to help them recover faster."

Now that made more sense, enough for Jaune to let go and enjoy the feel of her fingers digging into his flesh. It wasn't a soft or warm rub by any means – Ruby was vicious – but his sore muscles needed it so badly that it ended up feeling good anyway. I guess the knights are using squires to knead their muscles. It does make sense. If mine seize up in the next fight, I'll be in trouble.

"It was a little scary for me, you know." Ruby said.

"Hm?"

"Seeing you out there. I was scared at first because of those two knights cornering you, but that wasn't nearly as frightening as when he took over. It was so obvious to me. I've seen how you train and fight. I thought you were lost. I thought he'd taken control and you were… dead…"

"I'm sorry."

"You're not dead so it's okay." Ruby picked his left arm up and made him hold it out, then started squeezing on his bicep, working and squeezing her fingers into his muscles and using his grunts to judge whether it hurt or felt good. "Are you going to do it again?"

"I don't know."

"You'll not win the single rounds if you don't. It might look more suspicious if you're suddenly unable to fight." She paused and then said, "Unless you want to claim you pulled a muscle and forfeit early."

"I can't. I want the Relic and the prize money."

"Hmm. It'd be good for helping on our journey."

Their journey, plural. In a way it didn't matter if he or Taiyang won because they'd have the coin for use either way. The only difference was whether the Relic and its questions. With one sworn to Adam Taurus, his victory would leave the tribe one to sell, whereas Taiyang or Qrow winning would mean two for Raven. Would she turn on him if he won? It didn't seem likely given how little chance they had anyway. If the nobles were cheating this much, she ought to count her fortune if she got even a single question off of it.

Ruby moved onto his other shoulder and began working again, drawing his jerkin back so she could apply her hands to his skin. The added friction made his body heat up, soothing the little aches and pains. "Take your top off."

"That's not decent."

"Jaune, we've spent all winter in a tribe. People have been bathing in the river. I've seen a lot more than this." She yanked and worked his top off and true to her word didn't look overly concerned with his naked chest and back. Given how muscular most of the men in the Branwen tribe were, and how little they cared for human decency, he expected she'd seen better. "There." Her hands returned and this time had a much easier access to his muscles. "You need to be at your best to have any chance."

"I'm only going to have a chance if I rely on him again."

"Hmm." He'd already said that, and Ruby didn't bother commenting on it.

"I'm just… what Taiyang said about his motives. He's right. The Dark Lord wouldn't help me fight just because he likes me or so that I can win. He has to have his own angle, right? There must be something he wants. The question is what."

"The Relic would be the obvious thing."

"Hmm."

It was his turn to hum, eyes closing as Ruby worked on his right hand. It ached badly from swinging the mace – and the weapon had been taken from him and returned to the knight at the end. The sensation of Ruby pushing her fingers into the palm of his hand and stretching his own digits apart was… well, it would have been painful at any other time, but the pain felt a marked relief here.

The Relic was the most obvious thing Ozma might want, but he wasn't convinced. The item was said to only answer any question rooted in the past or present, and the Dark Lord knew that. What was the use of past knowledge to someone who had lived through it all? What was the use of present knowledge to someone who didn't have anyone loyal to him in the present? Unless there was some magical item of Goddess-slaying hidden away that he needed, there wasn't much use for it. It couldn't be used to ask for a way to kill the Eternity Queen, nor to find out where people he might recruit would be, and anything else felt like a waste of a question.

"I'm not convinced. I think it's something else."

"Maybe he just wants you away from Vale," Ruby offered. "I mean, the Chosen are here along with his immortal enemy. That's not exactly a good place for him to be if he wants to convince you to lead an army like the previous Dark Lords."

That sounded more like it, and enough so that he nodded along with her. "You might have a point. So, he wants to help me win so I can leave faster and get away from her. I guess me going somewhere where the Eternity Queen can't reach would be good for him as well. It'd mean more time to build an army or whatever it is he usually does. Any of that around here will have the Chosen coming crashing down on our head." He let out a pleased sigh as Ruby tugged on each finger gently. "What do you think, Ruby? Should I let him take control again in the next rounds?"

"You could try for the first one. See what he does. Make it a deal," she suggested. "Or better yet, ask him what he wants. Maybe he's reasonable."

"Him? The Dark Lord?"

"Well, maybe he's reasonable for now," she amended. "Since he obviously can't take control without your permission yet or he would have. If he wants to make deals and trade control… isn't that better than making him take it…?"

Better to negotiate with his enemy instead of having his body taken by force. It might come to that in time, but for now, maybe she had a point. As she said, he wouldn't stand a chance in the finals without Ozma's power.

"Ozma…" Jaune said. Ruby tensed behind him but didn't interrupt. "I would like to make a deal."

A dark presence swelled up inside him.

"I'm listening…"

Ah, a chance to write without interruption. I guess I'm just a bit of a hermit like that.

Next Chapter: 3rd July

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