Heads up I'll be taking a week off in April on advice of my GP to combat headaches and a general unwellness. I'm mentioning it on most fics just because some only read one story, etc. I'll make sure all details are clear in the "next chapter date" section whenever it happens.
Cover Art: Mysterywhiteflame
Chapter 24
"And why are we in a deathmatch with Team RWBY now?"
"It's not a deathmatch, Neon." said Penny. "It is a friendly spar."
Neon looked pointedly to the team of four, who had come into Goodwitch's combat class looking like they were ready for war. They were tense, eyes locked tight, and their hands were clenched into fists. They'd come armed and were moving as a unit.
"You sure about that?"
"The chances of our death are miniscule."
"That's… not as comforting as you probably meant it to be." Flynt groaned and turned to Jaune. "I hope you've got a plan for this, boss. They look like they're out for blood."
"Oh sure. It's my job to have an answer for the thing Penny told us about not five minutes ago. That's fair."
"You're our beloved team leader and strategist," said Neon. "Emphasis on beloved."
He sure felt it. Jaune groaned and wished a hole might open up to swallow him and save him the effort. He wasn't sure how Penny had managed this, or why she'd agreed, but they were here now and he wasn't sure asking her to apologise would do anything. Or if she'd apologise at all. It must have been a follow-up from his argument with them in the morning, so he wasn't even sure if they deserved an apology.
"Jaune." Penny touched his arm and looked deeply into his eyes.
"Yes?"
"We must win. There can be no other result."
"…" No pressure then. Awesome. "I'll do my best. Team huddle." The three of them swept in immediately. While Team RWBY strode about the room and took their seats, ready to fight, the four of them took a more casual circle with their heads down. "Alright," said Jaune. "What do we know about them? Weaknesses?"
"They're arrogant," said Flynt. "Absolutely convinced they cam get by on strength alone. We saw it in the warehouse and you saw it at the docks."
"They do not fight together well," said Penny. "Though their team gets along well, their fight at the docks showed that they fight separate. They are skilled individually but showed no ability to use proper teamwork. Ruby has told me they are working on team attacks but that is not the same."
It wasn't. Anyone could slap two people together and execute a short series of movements, but those were just tricks. Proper teamwork was being capable of doing that all without shouting out a silly code word, and being able to adapt on the fly without words and without planning. He hoped they'd be able to show a little of that because he wasn't about to beat any of them one-on-one.
"We know most of their Semblances and weapons, don't we?" said Neon. "You and Penny saw half of them at the docks, and the Schnee is a known factor. That just leaves the blonde."
"Speed for Ruby, clones for Blake, glyphs for Weiss," reported Penny. "But Ruby's speed might have something more to it as she generates and leaves behind flower petals that have no relevance to speed whatsoever."
Jaune hummed. "Do you know if the thinks faster as well?"
Neon and Flynt looked confused but Penny answered without hesitation. "I do not. If Ruby was thinking on a plane faster than everyone else then I do not see how she would functionally communicate with her team. It would be like slowing your every word down ten times."
"Wanna fill in the class here?" asked Flynt. "Some of us aren't complete nerds."
"It's reaction time, isn't it?" asked Neon.
Jaune nodded. Being able to run really fast sounded like an incredible ability, and it was. Speed could generate power in swings and be used offensively and defensively, making her a monster, but the faster you went the greater the risk you were in. That was why roads had speed limits and aircraft did not, because they had a whole lot more open space to move around in without crashing into anyone. And when you were moving that fast, an impact could become fatal quickly.
"Think of it like a car. The faster you're going, the more space you need between you and the car in front to hit the brakes when they do. We need to cut down on her ability to move around the ring quickly." Jaune glanced at Neon. "What stock do you have on you?"
Neon grinned ferally. "Going big, are we? Good. But if this descends into a stupid set of one-on-ones then I claim the faunus. Got a lesson I want to teach her."
"We're not going to let it turn into that. Here's my idea."
/-/
Yang counted herself as one of the least interested in this fight on her team, though maybe the real prize for that should go to Ruby. Yeah, Jaune talking down to them had sucked and pissed her off, but it wasn't like she couldn't understand he was stating his opinion. It was Blake and Weiss who really took exception, the former because of all her White Fang drama and the latter because she just couldn't stand being talked down to. Yang had just been dragged along for the ride, though team camaraderie demanded she give it her all.
And really, a good fight was just what she needed after having her beloved bike taken away. That, at least, she couldn't blame on a single team for Atlas, because she ought to have known better. Neptune got to share that blame instead, with the rest of it being solely on herself. It wasn't like she didn't know why her dad worried, either. Yang hadn't meant to frighten him like that, and he was always jumpy around their safety after Summer's death.
Weiss was the one who went to inform Miss Goodwitch of their desired fight, and the teacher rolled her eyes when Weiss' back was turned. Yang grinned and didn't comment on it. Miss Goodwitch let people sort their differences out in the ring because it was better they do it here under supervision then in the corridors, but it was obvious she wasn't a fan of the arrangement.
Well, hopefully Blake and Weiss would be able to get this out their system once they beat this team. Yang wasn't overly arrogant, or she didn't think she was, but Team JCKP didn't look all that. Penny seemed nice enough but kind of dim, and their team leader had a sharp tongue but little else going for him other than his uniform. And I thought he looked good-looking too. Shame about the attitude problem.
"What's the plan, sis?"
Ruby opened her mouth but Weiss beat her to it.
"We don't need a plan. We go in, we isolate them, and we beat them. That's it."
Yang rolled her eyes. "Wow sis. You developed a bitchy voice all of a sudden."
Her joke at least earned a giggle from Ruby, even if Weiss didn't appreciate it. Blake? Well, Blake hadn't really been all there since the incident at the docks. If it wasn't locking herself away in the library to research the White Fang, it was trying to find moments to sneak off into Vale to look for them, or complaining about how no one else was.
The whole point of them helping her was to put this to bed but it hadn't really done that. They'd dedicated a night to searching, even getting Blake into one of their meetings, but the success had gone right to Blake's head and convinced her they were on the right track. Yang wished she could go back in time and tell herself not to even bother. And to make sure Neptune wore a freaking helmet.
"Our first bout of the afternoon will be Team RWBY of Beacon versus Team JCKP of Atlas." Miss Goodwitch waited for the eight of them to take to the larger ring used for group fights. The one-on-one arena really wasn't big enough for this. "I expect both teams to be professional here," warned the teacher. "I will step in if necessary. The bout ends when all members of one team's aura has reached the red, or they are disqualified by ring out or surrender, or whenever I call it! Am I understood?"
The four members of Team JCKP saluted and, in unison, barked "Yes ma'am!"
Yang rolled her eyes. The members of Team RWBY muttered or nodded their own agreement in a more casual and disorderly fashion. Ugh, thought Yang, Imagine having to go to some military academy and have to salute and talk like that all the time. And wear the same uniforms. Blergh.
They hadn't really settled on a plan on who was going to go after whom, but Yang figured she'd pick whoever was left over, or intervene if more than one went for her sister. Penny was probably the biggest threat, but Weiss had assured them she could handle her easily. Maybe she'd make a play for their team leader, then. Stop him being able to give out orders or swing the balance.
Miss Goodwitch's hand came down.
As did all four of the hands of Team JCKP, launching a cannister each into the centre of the ring that belched out the foulest smelling smoke Yang had ever had the misfortune to experience. It was thick and musty, and it wasn't even the same colour. Two were brown, one was red, and the last spat out yellow mustard-coloured smoke, the cannisters spinning like tops on the ground and belching it in circles until they, and much of the ring, were well and truly covered. Yang lost sight of Ruby in the smoke, and then Weiss and Blake as well.
It was cute and would stop Ruby being able to shoot them at range but Yang squinted her eyes and prepared herself for an attack, confident she could see them coming and win out even like this. Seconds ticked by. Five of them, then ten, until she heard an angry cry from Weiss further in the smoke and realised that no one was coming for her at all.
They were ganging up on the others! Crap!
Yang dashed into the smoke in pursuit of Weiss and followed the sounds of her cursing – it wasn't hard. She quickly came out in time to see Penny pushing her back. So much for those claims. It probably didn't help much that she was being double-teamed by Jaune, who kept racing at her with his shield up, all but running her down like a truck. Weiss growled and flipped over him artfully, but he just skidded and raced back, all the while Penny launched blades and went around to flank her.
"Not so fast!" shouted Yang, diving in between Jaune and Weiss. She heard her teammate mutter "about time" under her breath. Yang stepped in with her punch, tracked Jaune as he ducked behind his shield, and threw a powerful straight into the thing. "Yahh!"
The shield flew away.
And Jaune ran under her outstretched arm, past her shoulder, and right back at Weiss.
He'd abandoned her shield and let her have it and ditched her the second she threw herself into her attack. Already committed, and with him past her shoulder, there was no time to react as he raced by, unhooked a stubby, short gun and opened fire on Weiss.
"YANG!" howled Weiss. "DO SOMETHING!"
She was damn well trying! Yang growled and raced after Jaune, catching up with him as he drove Weiss back under a hail of SMG fire. All her rapier skills didn't do much against that many bullets, leaving her aura to tank. When Weiss tried to summon a barrier of ice as a shield, Penny struck it like a comet and smashed it to pieces.
Yang caught him quickly however and caught him by his jacket. This time, she was ready for when he shucked it off and kept fighting Weiss, tossing it aside and darting in front of him to strike a quick one-two into his stomach and unleash Ember Celica. The blast sent him skidding back away from Weiss, now caught fully facing her.
"Nice try, buster, but I'm not going to let you-"
Jaune turned and ran into the smoke.
"Oi! Oi! I was talking to you!"
Asshole! Yang swore and raced after him, eyes clenched tight to see through the thick and still awful-smelling smoke. The rings were inside so there was no wind to disperse any of it, leaving it hanging over the area like one of Zwei's infamous farts. His white coat flapped in the smoke and she followed that, aware she was being led away from Weiss but at least trusting Weiss could handle herself now it was a fair fight – like she'd claimed she could. Besides, if she let him go now then he might double up on Ruby or Blake.
No sooner did she think that then did a flash of red make itself visible to the side. Ruby yelped and hopped back at what she perceived as an attack out the smoke by Jaune, but he ran by. "Grab him!" yelled Yang, but it was too late. Ruby had already made distance. Her sister was always better with a run up and out of a fight, so she could make her attack from distance and zip in and out before her opponent could react. Ruby couldn't do any of that in this smoke and was fighting cautiously because of it.
"Yang!" shouted Ruby, racing over. "I'm sorry – I panicked."
"It's fine." Yang gripped Ruby's shoulders and paused to catch her breath. "Who are you fighting?"
"No one. I backed off when the smoke came and no one has even come near me."
No one-?
"Crap! Blake!"
Yang dropped her sister and raced on, now catching fresh gunfire and muzzle flashes ahead, and Blake's pained cry as she came under attack by three people at once. Blake was good, very good, but even she couldn't handle that kind of pressure. Yang came crashing into their fight like a goliath, but not before a buzzer rang out.
"Blake Belladonna has been eliminated due to low aura!" shouted Miss Goodwitch. "Please remove yourself from the arena."
Blake looked furious. Absolutely murderously livid. Teeth bared, she reached for her weapon but, to Yang's relief, did as she was told and limped off into the smoke. Three whole members of Team JCKP were facing her down now, or her and Ruby, and Flynt and Neon didn't look winded. If anything, it was only Jaune panting, but then he'd been on the run from her. That didn't stop him whispering some instructions to the two of them. Neon skated into the smoke and vanished, while Flynt turned to face them and stood beside his team leader.
They're going to two-on-one Weiss while they hold us here, thought Yang. Spotting their strategy wasn't hard not that she'd seen it in action. Blake hadn't stood a chance. Damn it. I told Weiss we should have had a plan. She glanced at Ruby, but her sister looked completely lost. To be fair, she'd been lost in the smoke since the first second and hadn't yet caught on. There wasn't much leading their leader could do.
"Ruby, go catch up with Weiss and help her out. I'll hold these two off."
Jaune laughed. "Flynt. Go stop that happening. I'll hold this one off."
Yang swore.
"Ha. Sure man. Try not to die." The man in the suit raced after Ruby, and though Yang charged in to try and stop him, she was soon struck by six rounds from Jaune's SMG. They didn't break her aura but she was instinctively forced to throw her hands up to cover her face and eyes in a boxer's stance, which let Flynt run by without being grappled.
Fine. Then the best way out of this was to take him down and then go help the others.
Yang charged at Jaune with her eyes flaming red, and her gauntlets screaming buckshot.
/-/
Ruby couldn't help but feel this was all her fault.
Yeah, Weiss and Blake had been the biggest problems, but she was the team leader and she hadn't thought up a plan coming into this. It wouldn't have much mattered if Weiss had deferred to her, because Ruby had nothing to offer other than "fight them" and it was obvious Team JCKP's leader had taken his duty much more seriously. They'd come into this with a plan, and the lack of one from Team RWBY was showing.
The worst part was that Ruby was sure they could win if they'd gotten the one-on-one fights they wanted. Ruby was convinced they could beat each member of their opposing team in individual skill and with their Semblances, but all of that was so much sand in the wind because that wasn't what they were getting.
Ahead of her, Weiss cried out in pain and anger.
"Weiss, I'm coming-"
"Weiss Schnee has been eliminated due to low aura," shouted Miss Goodwitch.
Ruby skidded to a stop in front of Neon, Penny, and a violently shaking Weiss, who was slumped on one knee with her rapier touching the floor and her hair pulled out of its ponytail. Her shoulders were rising and falling, and she clutched her right arm with her left to keep it steady.
"Uh…" Ruby glanced between Weiss, Neon and Penny, then heard footsteps behind her. Flynt strolled up but stopped about six feet away from her, only a faint outline in the smoke, but clearly there and watching her. "Crud."
"Jaune Arc has been eliminated due to ring out!"
"Ha!" snarled Weiss. "That's one-"
Yeah, thanks Weiss. Way to speed them up. Ruby dove aside but that didn't stop her being clipped by the music – and that was something she never thought she'd say. The rainbow jazz sent her spinning, and that momentum was brought to a punishing halt when Neon skated by with her left arm held out, clotheslining Ruby off her feet. Her aura flexed to protect her, but for someone who relied on her semblance the lack of contact between her feet and the ground was a big problem – and one Penny took advantage of immediately, catching Ruby, spinning, and then launching her up into the air without her scythe.
Without Crescent Rose to correct her flight path with, all Ruby could do was sail up and out the smoke, spinning herself around so she'd land on her feet, and skid down on her knees among the audience. Miss Goodwitch really didn't have to say it, but she did anyway.
"Ruby Rose has been eliminated due to ring out."
"Yeah. Yeah. I know," grumbled Ruby. Penny had taken it easy on her, and they probably could have dogpiled her before Yang caught up. She supposed she should be relieved about that because Weiss and Blake looked to be in far worse shape.
Almost as bad as Jaune Arc, limping with the help of a dark-skinned girl from Atlas toward a bench he could lay down on. It looked like Yang had decided to forego messing around and just remove him, and he hadn't been able to put up much of a fight.
Not that it mattered. Ruby couldn't see much in the smoke but she could hear the combat within – and she was familiar enough with Ember Celica to differentiate between its buckshot and other, likely small-arms fire. Yang was good – better than any of them in all honesty. Weiss might have been skilled, and Blake had the experience, but Yang had both skill and conditioning, and could fight on twice as long as anyone else. There was a reason she regularly got to spar against Pyrrha, even if she never won.
That didn't mean she was as good as three people, though. Not when one of them was very good herself. Penny might have been able to go on against Yang alone, even if she didn't use her destructive attacks like she had at the docks. Against all three, it was just a question of whether Yang could take any out before she fell.
"Flynt Coal is eliminated due to low aura," announced their teacher.
Ruby cheered for her sister, even as the expected call came not thirty seconds later.
"Yang Xiao-Long is eliminated due to low aura. Team RWBY has been defeated. Cease fighting."
As she said it, she waved her hand and blasted the smoke away with her Semblance. The smoke grenades were still spinning and going off, even if they gave out thinner smoke than before. Miss Goodwitch levitated those, crushed them, then sent them hurling across the arena into an open trash bin at the far end. Ruby was kind of impressed by it.
"Team JCKP of Atlas have claimed the victory," said Goodwitch. "And I hope that serves as a lesson for many of you that strategy and planning can have a far greater impact than Semblances and weapons. Team JCKP. Your strategy was sound but your individual performance needs work. For someone left behind to distract Miss Xiao-Long, Mr Arc's performance granted you seventeen seconds at best. It was enough here, but I wouldn't call below twenty seconds a promising holding action."
There were a few laughs around the hall at that, mostly from foreign students who hadn't yet had the pleasure of trying to hold against Yang at all. Ruby could do it, but then she could run away from her sister.
"All in all, it's difficult to criticise any more of your performance because of how one-sided the battle was."
Ruby winced.
Here it comes…
"Which leads me to Team RWBY." Miss Goodwitch planted her hands on her hips. "I am quite frankly disappointed in my students picking a fight with a specific team and then failing to have a plan. You knew full well the team you would be facing and had ample time to make a strategy. Instead, you allowed your opponents to dictate the tempo and direction of the fight from the first moment, and never made any attempt to reclaim it. If the smoke proved such a hindrance than you should have sought to remove it, or stick together to prevent them splitting you up. I am well aware that your opponents didn't make reinforcing one another easy, but they wouldn't. Team JCKP decided on a plan and stuck to it even as their leader fell, while all you did was react and play chase."
"I can only hope this serves as a wake-up call for you on what real combat is like." That part felt like it was aimed at more than just the spar. Ruby couldn't help but think she was talking about the White Fang, and how the other night's adventure could have gone. "Individually, I can hardly criticise Miss Belladonna for failing a three-on-one, nor Miss Schnee losing against two. What I can criticise is your teamwork. Miss Rose. I trust I do not need to tell you where you went wrong."
Ruby looked down. "No…"
Failure to plan, failure to take the lead, failure to adapt. A whole lot of failures really, but at least she got to make them now and not at the tournament. I guess we need a team meeting after this. We can't fight like this in the Vytal Tournament or we'll be a laughing stock.
"That was a mess," growled Weiss.
"We'll do better next time. I'll have a proper plan and everything."
"You…" Weiss made to say something and then stopped. It was probably an insult knowing Weiss as well as she did, but she realised at the last second that the very fact they didn't have a plan was as much her fault as Ruby's. Weiss' eyes closed. "Yes. You're right. And I will be better. I will listen and not let my temper get the best of me. Let's just hope Blake feels the same way."
You were as bad as Blake, thought Ruby, but she didn't say it because she knew Weiss was only changing the subject. It didn't help that Blake was already arguing with Yang, and had just slapped her arm away before storming off to the changing rooms. Yang followed in a huff. Weiss sighed and went after them, all three of them conveniently forgetting they had one more thing to do. Or intentionally leaving it to her.
"Wow guys. Thanks."
Welp. Time to face the music. Ruby picked herself up and nervously made her way over to the team that had just beat them. They were laughing and chatting, and she felt every bit the outsider. Worse, she felt bad because of how the argument with Penny had started. Ruby cleared her throat to draw their attention, and then squirmed uncomfortably under it.
"H-Hey, so… um… I wanted to say we're sorry-"
"We?" asked Neon. "I only see you."
"Ahah. Yeah, my team… um… forgot?"
"Ruby, no!" cried Penny, genuinely aghast. "You are the only one who does not need to apologise. Everyone on your team insulted Jaune but you."
"Insulted me?" asked Jaune. He sighed. "Is that what this was all about? Penny, I don't mind if they dislike me. That's not a problem."
"It shows a lack of judgment on their part but let them have it," said another girl. Ruby didn't recognise her. Dark skin, darker hair, and bright blue eyes. She was supporting Jaune on her shoulder, even though it looked like he was able to stand.
"I'm apologising anyway," said Ruby. "Because it was the agreement. You win and we apologise. Even if we is just me." She cringed. "I'm sure they just forgot. They're not sore losers or anything. Not normally, anyway."
"I am distressed," whined Penny. "This does not feel as good as I assumed it would."
"It's fine," said Jaune. He looked at her. "Look, Ruby, I'm sorry for being so aggressive toward your team as well. It's just that I'm a team leader and I couldn't believe your team would do something so reckless. I was imagining my team in their shoes, and them being in trouble if something went wrong, and how that'd be my fault as team leader. And this…" He eyed the ring. "I guess I just wanted to show you that raw talent won't always cut it."
He was interrupted by four members of Team CRDL flying out the ring.
"Unless you're Pyrrha Nikos," said Flynt, dryly.
Ruby giggled a little. "I get it. It's not like I wasn't worried either but I don't know what to do. I was made team leader, and Ozpin said I have potential, but I'm just fumbling around trying to make it work. I've come up with team attacks and I make us train every now and then but that's all I know how to do."
The dark-haired girl's eyes narrowed. "What about your leadership lessons? Don't you pay attention in those?"
"My what?"
"Leadership lessons. Or classes," said Jaune. "You know, where they get all the team leaders together and teach them things relevant to that. Tactics, or organisation, or how to make a training plan so your team gets better."
Ruby stared at them.
"You do get those, don't you?"
Ruby stared harder.
"You don't!?" cried the dark-haired girl. "What on Remnant? How does Beacon expect you to be competent commanders if they don't offer you any training related to it!? That's like throwing someone at a bomb and telling them to defuse it!"
The blame was being shifted. Ruby felt guilty about how relieved she was for that. "Y-Yeah, I don't think we get anything. Maybe it's in later years, though?" Even she'd thought it a bit odd, and Weiss acted like knowing how to be a leader was just something you were born with.
Come to think of it, I bet even Weiss had special lessons in Atlas on how to lead. It's not like she really did know from birth. Why have we not got any? Is it something only third years and above get? That doesn't seem fair when I have to lead now.
"I… I don't know how to be a team leader," Ruby admitted.
"Of course you don't. No one knows how to do anything if they're not given the resources to learn it. This blasted school!"
"Ciel," warned Jaune. "Be nice."
"Nice won't help her pick up the pieces if something goes wrong and her team dies because she wasn't able to command them effectively. Nice won't comfort her as she's wracked by guilt and doubt asking herself if it's all her fault." Ciel painted such a horrible picture that Ruby felt her heart race. "And don't give me that learning it in the field nonsense. For every one team that does, nine more will suffer and fail under that mentality. This is a school. You are supposed to be taught this."
Yeah, that sounded about right. Ruby looked at their team – they really were weaker than hers individually. It felt arrogant to say, but Weiss was exceptional, Yang was naturally talented, and Blake had more experience than most in their year. Team RWBY were made up of heavy hitters, and the only reason they lost was a lack of leadership. And that, for once, wasn't her fault. Or not entirely her fault. Ruby couldn't give what she hadn't been taught.
But that could change.
"C-Can you teach me?"
They all stared at her.
"Please?" asked Ruby, putting on her best puppy-dog eyes. The one that made dad quail and uncle Qrow suffer immediate indigestion. Neon covered her eyes with a yelp, and Flynt looked away with a guilty groan. Jaune was caught. "P-Please…? I'll be a good student – your best student – and I don't want to watch my team suffer because I'm not good enough."
"I… I… uh…"
"Jaune agrees," declared Penny.
"I do…?"
"Yes!" cheered Ruby, more than happy to take it. "Thank you. Thank you!"
"Uh." He looked like her father when she and Yang ganged up on him. "N-No worries, I guess?"
I know. Maybe leadership lessons were off-screen in the show. I don't know. Just seems strange to never imply it, and I also don't count "team attacks" as being proper teamwork. That's just stopping your 1-on-1 fights to do an attack and then going back to your 1-on-1 fights. From what I recall the first "real" instance of working together we saw wasn't until the 2-on-2 rounds of the tournament between Weiss and Yang.
Even vs the paladin and on the train they just sort of "did their own thing" and split up.
Next Chapter: 25th March
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