RWBY-Oh Dimensions Vol 1: Blooming Roses

by Kaizerthewriter

In the world of RWBY, where fighting is most lay done with the cards and wits created by humanity, a young Ruby Rose strives to become one of the best Duelists in Remnant, alongside her trusty ace card, Vermillion-Eye Goldblaze Firebird. But there are many obstacles ahead that she'll have to face, can she face them... or will her world succumb to death and destruction?

4. Chapter 3

Chapter #2: Awakening Flames - Part One

DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING! (Aside from all the original stuff...)

Joint project with darkrebellion04.

---

Jaune was currently panting like a tired-out dog with a few drops of sweat dripping down his forehead. As he stared forward at the cause of it all, his dueling opponent, Cardin Winchester.

Ever since that duel between Ruby and Weiss, two weeks have passed, and life has been fairly manageable for the students of Beacon… except for those unlucky few who Cardin decided to take liberty in bullying without ceasing.

And Jaune was one of those who he'd been bullying.

Cardin stared at him with a snide smirk as things in the duel were going in his favor. "This is the part where you lose." Cardin told him as he pointed at Jaune.

Turn #7: Jaune Arc

Cardin Winchester (Hand = 1): 3300 LP vs. Jaune Arc (Hand = 2 + 1): 900 LP

"Over my dead body, Cardin!" Jaune shot back at him as he stood his ground and looked up at the one monster Cardin had on his field.

It was an eagle-like monster that had a yellow beak, green eyes, bronze and black feathers on its body, and red feathers on its head that made up a crown-like shape, its wings had coloration similar to sand untouched by water on a beach, with a ring of sand floating directly under it.

Super Sandstriker - Galecleave Commander
LV: 7
ATK: 2600/DEF: 1900
EARTH
Winged-Beast/Fusion/Effect

(BGM: Metal Scratchin' - Sonic Rush)

Cardin was a Duelist who specialized in the usage of Fusion monsters in order to overwhelm his opponents with various other weaker monsters in order to inflict damage to whoever they may face.

Jaune didn't care about all of that though… and began his turn. "I draw!" He looked at the card he drew and smiled. "I'll start with Warki-Gold Dual Daggerman!" He declared as he placed the card onto his Duel Disk, which was white with a yellow energy tray.

A new monster leaped out from a portal in the ground and landed in a kneeling position before standing up. It was a humanoid male with a white and yellow tunic, brown boots and gloves with white rings around his arms and feet, black hair, and yellow eyes. And he was wielding two daggers in his hands.

Warki-Gold Dual Daggerman
LV: 3
ATK: 1300/DEF: 800
LIGHT
Warrior/Effect

"While I control no monsters and you control at least 2 cards or more on your field, I can special summon him from my hand to the field." Jaune explained before pulling another card from his hand. "Next up, I activate the spell card, Ki-Gold Wings - Savior's Flight!" Jaune exclaimed as he played a new card.

Ki-Gold Wings - Savior's Flight
Quick-Play Spell

It depicted a humanoid kneeling in pain on a war-torn battlefield, picking himself off the ground with a sword with wings made from golden light shining behind him. "With this spell's effect, I can special summon one Ki-Gold monster from my Graveyard that's level four or lower. Come on back, Synki-Gold Revingine!" Jaune ordered as a purple portal opened up in the ground by Dual Daggerman and another monster came out.

The monster was not as big as Jaune's humanoid monster, it was what could only be described as a sentient engine, with four white-rimmed wheels on the bottom and four tailpipes behind its main body, with was like the engine of a hot rod only with a car's headlights on the front that were yellow with black iris-like dots in them, making them look like eyes. It revved itself up as white smoke came out of the tailpipes on its body.

Synki-Gold Revingine
LV: 2
ATK: 800/DEF: 100
LIGHT
Machine/Tuner/Effect

"And thanks to it being revived by Savior's Flight, I can increase its level by one or two, I choose to increase its level by 1." Jaune declared, as a pair of gold wings formed above Revingine as it did three donuts in place and its eyes lit up.

Synki-Gold Revingine LV: 2 + 1 = 3

Meanwhile, as Jaune and Cardin were dueling, Ruby, Weiss, their friends, and Frei were watching the duel from some seats nearby.

"Woah… Jaune looks like he'll be sitting pretty for a comeback victory." Yang commented.

"Let us hope so, Cardin needs to be taken down a notch, he's only had two losses ever since the start of the semester." Ren said as he shot a subtle glare at Cardin.

"Yeah, one to Pyrrha, and one to Weiss." Nora said, stating the specifics of those losses.

Pyrrha ignored all of the talks as she was laser-focused on Jaune and his moves. 'Come on, Jaune. Show this jerk your strength.' Pyrrha thought, hoping for the best for Jaune.

"Now I'm gonna tune level three Synki-Gold Revingine with Warki-Gold Dual Daggerman!" Jaune exclaimed as he pointed up to the air, his Dual Daggerman jumping up and Revingine's tailpipes roaring to life and shooting up into the air.

Revingine turned into three white stars that flew upwards and turned into green rings. "Great warrior with the speed and heart of a machine." Dual Daggerman went through the rings and turned into three white stars himself. "Let your fighting spirit be your fuel, as you drive forwards, and bring us hope!" Jaune finished his chant as a pillar of light shot through the rings and hit the ground.

3 + 3 = 6

"SYNCHRO SUMMON! Rise up, level 6, Warki-Gold Turbo Speedspear!" Jaune shouted as a new monster emerged behind Jaune.

Jaune's monster was another humanoid covered in white and gold armor with exhaust pipes on his shoulders and running down his sides as he had wheels attached to his boots which were metallic. He wielded a large spear in his hands, which also had a triple-barreled rocket booster on the end opposite to the tip, which was made from golden metal.

Warki-Gold Turbo Speedspear
LV: 6
ATK: 2400/DEF: 1500
LIGHT
Warrior/Synchro/Effect

"Turbo Speedspear's ability when summoned, for every monster used to synchro summon it, it gains 300 Attack Points until the end of my next turn." Jaune declared, as his new monster spun its spear around and pointed it upward, causing power to begin surging through its body as smoke blew out of the exhaust pipes on its body.

Warki-Gold Turbo Speedspear ATK: 2400 + 300 = 2700

'All I've got to do is wipe out that monster, and I can get started on making a comeback at least.' Jaune thought as he glared at Cardin's monster.

Unfortunately, this made him develop tunnel vision as he ignored the ever-growing smirk on Cardin's face, which Pyrrha took notice of unlike him. "Oh no…" Pyrrha muttered, as she didn't want to interrupt the duel, but also wanted to help Jaune, which conflicted with her emotions deep down.

"Turbo Speedspear. Attack Super Sandstriker - Galecleave Commander so we can turn this duel around!" Jaune ordered as Turbo Spearspear twirled around its spear as it lunged towards Cardin's ace at high speeds with the wheels on its feet accelerating it forward.

"Gotcha! I activate the effect of Sandstriker - Tailwind Caster from my hand, by discarding this card from my hand, I can drain 500 Attack Points of a monster on your field and transfer it to one on my field." Cardin explained as he took the one card he had in his hand and put it into his Graveyard slot.

This caused an astral image of an owl with dark brown feathers and blue eyes to appear in front of Galecleave Commander, it spread its wings out and flapped them, causing a strong wind to kick up around Cardin's monster. The wind acted as a barrier, blocking Turbo Speedspear's attack as the Attack Points of the two monsters were recalculated.

Warki-Gold Turbo Speedspear ATK: 2700 - 500 = 2200

Super Sandstriker - Galecleave Commander ATK: 2600 + 500 = 3100

(End BGM)

Jaune saw the difference in Attack Points and panicked as to what this meant. "Oh no, Turbo Speedspear!" Jaune cried out to his monster as the barrier of wind began to strengthen, as Cardin's eagle-like Fusion monster let out a loud shriek that had the barrier blast outward, causing Jaune's synchro monster to go flying backward and land right in front of Jaune, knocking the boy onto his back from the force.

Jaune Arc's LP: 900 - 900 = 0

GAME OVER!

Winner: Cardin Winchester

Jaune groaned in slight pain as he picked himself off the floor. "And that concludes the match." The voice of Glynda Goodwitch declared as the room brightened up. "As you all were able to see, while Jaune didn't focus on dealing an immense amount of damage, he was able to make his monster strong enough to defeat Cardin's. But sadly, he failed to take into account how Cardin might be able to counter his monster's getting stronger with a card that Jaune didn't see coming." Glynda lectured as she picked apart how the duel had ended in detail.

"I recommend that you learn from this, Mr. Arc. I highly doubt you'd want to be knocked out of a tournament of some kind in the first round." Glynda playfully remarked, only for Cardin to huff in a sarcastic tone.

"Hmph. Well, maybe he wouldn't…" He muttered before walking away.

"Now then, children, the Vytal Festival is coming up soon, and with it, comes the biggest dueling tournament that will be held in Vale this time around." Glynda told everyone.

As she continued, Ruby and Yang her getting excited, as were Weiss and Nora, while Blake and Ren smiled at the fact. But Pyrrha hardly expressed her own excitement about that as she looked at Jaune who was walking out of the arena he had just dueled in.

---

(Later at the cafeteria…)

"It was 12:00 midnight… with the moon looming over us." Nora said dramatically, telling everyone about a dream she's been having lately.

"It was three in the afternoon." Ren said, correcting her story in a nonchalant manner.

As she went on, Yang was listening with a smile on her face while Blake ignored the tall tale Nora was spinning.

"Our strongest monsters against a group of bandits." Nora continued.

"Third strongest." Ren corrected again.

"Dozens of them!"

"Two of them."

(BGM: But, Frederick, it's nearly dark! - Fire Emblem: Awakening)

Weiss was busy filing her nails as Ruby listened with a smile of her own while Pyrrha listened respectfully.

"But in the end, the bandits were no match for us and teamwork, as we picked their decks off of them, and gave them back to who they truly belonged to." Nora said, finishing her story.

"I have to admit… this did happen at some point, but the weird part is that she's been having this recounting of events for the entirety of this past week." Ren told them, confusing Ruby.

"You think it's some kind of sign?" Ruby wondered.

"Maybe, but heck to it all if it doesn't make for a good story. Am I right, Jaune?" Nora asked Jaune as she looked at the blonde young man in question…

Jaune stayed silent as he looked down at his tray and gently poked at his food as he was in deep thought about his duel with Cardin earlier.

"Uhhhh… Jaune?" Nora asked, this time out of concern, but he didn't respond.

"Jaune, are you okay?" Pyrrha asked somewhat loudly, this time getting his attention.

"H-huh…?" Jaune sputtered out, wondering what was being talked about. "Wha… what's happening?" He asked subconsciously.

"You have something you wanna talk about?" Ren asked out of concern.

"Ummm… why would I?" Jaune asked with an awkward smile.

"'Cause you don't exactly seem like your usual self." Ruby answered with a concerned look on her face.

"Oh, come on, guys! I'm perfectly fine, see?" Jaune said, forcing a smile onto his face while putting a thumbs up beside it.

The only thing that was able to convey to everyone else, however, was that he was trying to hide something despite them knowing exactly what it was.

"Jaune, Cardin has been pushing you around like nobody's business." Yang told him.

"Oh, come on, Cardin Winchester. He's just messing around, you know? Practical jokes." Jaune tried reassuring them.

"He's a bully." Ruby told him.

"Yeah, and one big jerk to the other students, especially the Faunus." Blake told him, with a hint of underlying venom in her voice.

"Oh, come on. What was one time he bullied me once?" Jaune asked with air quotes.

"That time where he drenched you with ice-cold water with the old "water bucket over the door" trick, which had actual ice cubes in it." Yang told him.

"Those times where he knocked your books out of hands, and two days after that, and two days after those two days." Nora answered.

"What about that time he swapped your school-given deck for warrior-practical usage with a fake one full of normal insect monsters, you were lucky Glynda called the duel off upon her noticing Cardin and those buddies of his laughing, or things would've been worse than they already were." Weiss told him with a raised eyebrow.

"Well… the deck itself could've been worse." Jaune muttered reluctantly.

"Jaune, you know that if you need help, we're here for you." Pyrrha told him.

"Oh, WE'LL BREAK HIS LEGS!" Nora suggested with a seemingly serious look in her eyes, making Weiss and Blake slightly nervous at whether or not she might do it.

"Nora! Guys! Okay, I admit it! He IS a bully, but it's at least not just me, he's a bully to everyone." Jaune told them as the eight of them heard something from behind their table, making Jaune sigh in response. "Exhibit A..." He said while pointing his back behind him.

(End BGM)

That something they heard was Cardin and a young man with green hair styled in a mohawk were picking on a brown-haired Faunus girl with a pair of rabbit ears on her head.

The man with the green mohawk was Russel Thrush, and the rabbit Faunus was Velvet Scarlatina.

"O-owwww…! S-stop it…!" Velvet begged while wincing in pain.

"What a freak!" The green mohawk bully mocked as he and Cardin laughed maliciously at the rabbit Faunus.

"See, you two? They ARE real! HAHAHA!" Cardin said to two guys near him.

One with light-brown hair combed to the right of his face, and another with dark blue hair, both of which were awkwardly picking at their food while giving each other unsure looks.

These two guys in question were Dove Bronzewing and Sky Lark.

"Yeah, Cardin. We can see that." Sky assured him with little excitement in his voice.

"You know… there's not much excitement in identifying someone as a Faunus when there clearly isn't something like a headband near their ears." Dove told him whilst trying to suppress the tone of disapproval and annoyance evident in his voice.

Ruby saw the indifference in the two boys beside them but then saw Russel only lightly punch him in the shoulder as a playful gesture. "Dah, come on! You know the Faunus freaks tend to give us humans a bad name, right?" Russel asked before chuckling a little.

Blake only glared at the sight. "And they call HER the freak?" Blake rhetorically asked.

"Disgusting." Pyrrha scowled openly.

Nobody in the cafeteria was even bothering to bat an eye about an innocent Faunus student being bullied for no good reason, let alone doing something to stop the bullying. In fact, some people who were far enough, while awkwardly trying to do so, were just trying to go about their business as if it wasn't happening. The sight itself made Ruby grit her teeth and clench her fists tightly. It made her so furious that she wanted to mercilessly tear out their-

Ruby suddenly shook her head as she realized what she had just thought. 'What was that…? I… I never had thoughts like that… Even for stuff like this...' She thought, wondering what could be the reason for such thoughts leaking into her mind.

"Stop this at once!" A voice shouted as everyone turned their heads to see Frei approaching Cardin and Russel with an angry look on his face. They also noticed that the boy was also wearing a white armband decorated with red accents and the Beacon Academy symbol on his left upper arm.

"What the hell do you want, pal?" Cardin asked him, standing over him with his arms crossed.

Russel was confident as well, but that confidence crumbled away the moment he saw Frei's armband. "Oh, shit…" Russel paled as if he immediately knew what that armband meant. "He's a member of the Beacon Disciplinary Committee!" He exclaimed.

"The Beacon what now?" Cardin asked, confused.

Frei only smirked. "It's only natural that you'd be confused about this. The Beacon Disciplinary Committee was founded only last year, so it's not a well-known thing." Frei exclaimed before he folded his arms himself. "Works pretty well to catch unsuspecting bullies such as yourself unaware." He told Cardin.

"Wh-what?!" Cardin asked, honestly confused as the confusion made Dove shake his head and Sky facepalm.

"You have to admit, it's not rocket science that what you're doing is basically bullying." Dove explained to Cardin and even Russel.

"Wha…?!" They both exclaimed, shocked at what he had said.

Frei only sighed as he lost what smirk he had. "I'll be sure to inform Ozpin of both of your actions. You'd better hope you get put under detention from class and from dueling while at Beacon Academy. Or worse, suspension."

"What?!" Cardin asked, unsure of what to do in this situation.

"Shouldn't there be a system where there need to be witnesses or something?" Russel asked.

"Oh, I've got that covered. Thank you." Frei commented, gesturing to everyone who was looking at the three of them, specifically at Cardin and Russel with glares as Dove and Sky silently scooted away from the two.

"Oh…" Russel said defeated as he felt his mocking attitude from before deflate.

"Come on, we're heading to the Disciplinary Committee's office to decide how to handle this." Frei told them as he grabbed the two's arms and dragged them away with surprising strength, shocking just about everyone present, Ruby and her friends included.

"Woah… that kid's got tough stuff." Yang muttered.

"Oh, wait." Frei briefly stopped in his tracks as he turned to Velvet with an apologetic smile. "You're free to go now, Ms. Scarlatina. I apologize for the trouble these two brutes have caused." He said with respect clear in his voice.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Pyre!" Velvet responded as she bowed her head in thanks, as Frei nodded before continuing on his way with Cardin and Russel in tow.

Dove and Sky were shocked at the sight. "I wouldn't want to arm wrestle that kid." Dove muttered.

"You can say that again." Sky added.

"Sign me up for the Disciplinary Committee, 'cause that was cool!" Nora remarked.

Jaune sweatdropped at the thought of it. "Nora, the only discipline you could properly enforce is what people should and shouldn't put on their pancakes." Jaune told her, having got to know Nora enough to know that she'd eat nothing but pancakes for her whole life if she could.

Ruby couldn't help herself and burst out laughing at how the statement seemed to fit as she wiped a tear of joy from her eye.

---

(Later, during History Class…)

(BGM: A Promise - Fire Emblem: Three Houses)

Ruby was seen with a frantic and sweating expression as she was trying to take notes on what the current instructor, Doctor Bartholomew Oobleck, was writing on the board at a rapid pace and was saying at an even faster rate.

"During the Faunus Rights Revolution, otherwise known as the Faunus War, human governments and councils, particularly the original founders of Mantle, and eventually Atlas, were adamant on centralizing the Faunus population in Menagerie."

Ruby was doing everything she could to keep up as Oobleck continued. Yang was barely able to write down the cliff notes of all he was saying, Weiss was doing better than the both of them, but was still visibly sweating, and Blake was only barely keeping up with her.

Ruby saw Yang raise her hand to try and ask Oobleck to slow down. "Ummm… Professor Ooble-"

Oobleck zoomed straight up to her as he straightened his glasses. "That's Doctor Oobleck to you, Ms. Xiao Long! I didn't earn my Ph.D. in History and Dueling for fun, thank you very much!" He told her before continuing on with his lecture, shooting down what hope Ruby had for trying to catch up.

"Now… Have any of you been subject to discrimination or acts of violence from someone due to any reasons related to Faunus Rights and/or heritage?"

Velvet, who was in the same class, meekly raised her hand as a couple of other students did the same, Blake included, which confused Yang a little.

"Dreadful! Simply dreadful!" Oobleck stated as he raised his hand to the bridge of his nose. "Remember children, it is this type of ignorance and lack of respect for others that leads to more and more violence being brought about by the day."

Cardin tore a sheet of paper out of his notebook and crumbled it up into a paper ball. "Regardless of that fact, can any of you tell me perchance, what has been the turning point of the war come the third year of its existence?" Oobleck asked as Weiss raised her hand up first.

"The Battle at Fort Castle." She answered with the confidence she could muster from what visible sweat was on her brow.

"Precisely! And now, can any of you tell me, what was one of the major advantages that the Faunus had over General Lagune and his forces upon his nighttime raid of Fort Castle?" Oobleck asked as Cardin flicked the paper ball he had onto Jaune's head.

"The answer is 34!" Jaune yelped as he snapped awake and quickly jolted up from his seat… only to be met with stares from his classmates and the teacher.

Oobleck only raised an eyebrow. "Mr. Arc, you are aware that we're not in mathematics, correct? What's the matter?"

"Wh-wha…? Oh, man… ummm... Well…" Jaune stuttered, not even knowing how to talk his way out of this.

Oobleck only sighed as he turned his head towards a snickering Cardin, knowing that something was up with this. "Very funny, Mr. Winchester. Perhaps you would like to share your thoughts on this subject matter?"

"Well, all that I can say is that it's much easier to train an animal than a soldier." Cardin remarked casually.

Ruby's eyes flashed red as she silently growled at Cardin's blatantly insulting remark… Which was when she heard… something in the back of her mind. 'Scorch him… Burn him… Make him hurt for his ignorance…' A feminine, but raspy and anger-filled, voice similar to her own echoed in her mind.

'No, NO…! What am I even thinking…?!' Ruby quickly shook her head as she tried again to keep those strange negative thoughts out of her head, her eyes also returning to their normal silver color.

This got Blake's attention as the newsboy cap on her head twitched upward slightly, as she saw Ruby's head shaking as if she were in pain.

"Are you ok-" Blake was gonna whisper to Ruby if Oobleck hadn't cut her off.

"Well now, Ms. Belladonna. Might you know what the answer to this surprisingly joke-spawning question might be?"

"Oh, ummm… Of course, the answer is night vision." Blake answered, not liking that she had to ignore Ruby's pain at the moment.

"That is indeed correct!" Oobleck nodded with a smile before looking at the other students. "Now, would anyone like to explain how this was a tactical advantage for the Faunus present at the battle?" He asked.

Jaune thought about it for just a moment before actually getting the answer. "Oh, because it was incredibly dark due to it being nighttime, they could see perfectly fine while Lagune and his forces were unable to do the same." Jaune answered.

"Exactly! Way to pick up the pace, young lad!" Oobleck said with a smile. "I can see that while your dueling applications may need work, you're doing quite well in my classes! And despite the apparent lack of proper rest, you seem to be picking up on them quite well too."

"Ehehe… It was nothing, sir." Jaune chuckled while sheepishly scratching his cheek, not noticing Pyrrha smiling at him in pride.

"Tch, whatever. He just got lucky." Cardin muttered before getting startled at seeing Oobleck run up to his side, noticing the paper ball on the floor near Jaune's seat and the torn leftovers of paper left on his notebook.

"Maybe he did, but at least he's not trying to make others look bad." Oobleck said in rebuttal as he shook his head and then looked at his watch. "Oh, and will you look at the time! We've made it to the end of the lesson for the day. Everyone, but Mr. Winchester, is dismissed until their next class."

"What?! You have to be ki-!"

"Mr. Winchester! Please stay behind for extra readings! In addition, you will also be subjected to an extra week's worth of detention adding to what you'll be given come to your meeting with the Disciplinary Committee earlier during lunch period." Oobleck stated as everyone else walked out of the classroom.

(End BGM)

Ruby rubbed her temples as Blake walked alongside her. "Ruby, are you alright? It looked like you were in pain or something." She asked her, worried about her roommate's friend.

Jaune overheard this and speed-walked up to Ruby's side and spoke with the same concern Blake had. "Something wrong, Ruby? I know that I'm not one to talk when I say this, but… you can talk to us." He told him.

Ruby sighed as spoke up. "I'm fine, you two…" She answered the two as she began to walk off at a quickened pace. "Anyway, I have to go over some notes with Weiss concerning history before the next class. Later!" She told them before walking off.

Jaune and Blake looked at each other before Jaune spoke up. "And you guys thought I was bad at hiding stuff. We should probably do our best to keep and make sure she doesn't hurt herself." Jaune proposed to Blake, who nodded in agreement.

"Yeah… I heard from Yang how much the two mean to each other. I feel like Ruby's gonna need some sort of backup if she's gonna have a nice time at Beacon." Blake said to him.

Jaune looked in the direction Ruby went. "Right, I hope we can help her out in some way…" Jaune said before thinking back to Ruby's duel with Frei and Weiss.

… And felt slightly unnerved at the memory of Ruby's eyes going from silver to crimson red. 'I do have to wonder… what is up with Ruby's eyes flashing red like they did?' He wondered as he and Blake went their separate ways.

---

(Later that night…)

Jaune was currently in his dorm room with Pyrrha, they were both on the floor going over some strategies for their duels, and Pyrrha was giving him some advice.

"... And that's why, if your opponent has a monster with an effect that you want to try and avoid, you should bait them into using that effect in response to a card other and then the one you want to use. That way, they'll have used up their effect, and you're free to use your own in retaliation." She lectured, with Jaune paying attention to what she was saying.

"Wow… I thought about what I should do for something like that, but I always thought that I should just think of a way to negate the effect in question when it's activated." Jaune said in response.

"That is a duelist's first instinct when it comes to abilities that provoke that train of thought. So I can't say that I blame you." Pyrrha said to him kindly.

"Thanks, both for saying that, and for… helping me out with my dueling strategies." Jaune responded, awkwardly scratching the back of his head.

(BGM: The Spirit Dias - Fire Emblem: Three Houses)

"Don't worry about it! We're roommates at one of the best Dueling Academies on Remnant. I feel as though that should be a given course of action." The redhead told him with an ever-growing smile on her face.

Jaune nodded before a thought crossed his mind… involving Ruby.

---

(Flashback to Ruby and Frei's initiation Duel…)

"I'm not scared of both you and your monster… because the only thing I should be scared of right now… IS LOSING TO YOU!"

---

Jaune couldn't get the sight and sound of Ruby's outburst in that particular Duel out of his head, it was like something about the emotion she displayed during that single line came out of nowhere, as Jaune had talked to Ruby after her Duel with Weiss and she was more peppy and optimistic than he'd think was imaginable.

Jaune decided to speak about this. "Hey, Pyrrha… mind if I say something… weird?" He asked, not knowing how he should ask her about this.

"Oh, sure. What is it?" Pyrrha answered unhesitantly.

"It's… ummm…" He trailed on as Pyrrha raised an eyebrow at his wide-open awkwardness. "It's about Ruby…"

Pyrrha tilted her head slightly at that. "The "Fire Girl of Beacon" Ruby Rose?" She clarified.

"Yeah, that Ruby." Jaune nodded before continuing. "Don't you think she's been acting a bit… odd these past few days?" Jaune asked, before adding more to it.

Pyrrha couldn't help but find it a bit hypocritical that Jaune was asking this question, but she felt it in her gut that he didn't mean to sound as such. "Odd in what ways exactly?" Pyrrha asked, deciding to press on the subject a bit.

Jaune closed his eyes before saying what came to his mind on the subject. "Being prone to open bursts of anger, getting lost in her own thoughts." Jaune listed off, before visibly gulping. "Not to mention that I also notice her eyes… briefly glow red whenever she's angry. Like Yang, but… different somehow."

Pyrrha hummed in thought on all of those facts before speaking up. "Nora kept saying that maybe she's experiencing some kind of weird mood swings, but I don't think that's really the case." She said before continuing. "Cause if that's the case, I feel as though Yang would have something to say on the subject, being Ruby's older sister and all."

"Yeah, those two are as close as sisters like them can be. I'm sure Yang would tell us if Ruby's prone to mood swings like that." Jaune noted.

"Nora also even speculated about something like… Ruby maybe has some kind of… alternate personality inside of her." Pyrrha admitted awkwardly.

Jaune had an incredulous look on his face as she said that. "An alternate personality…?" He repeated, barely able to fathom the idea.

Pyrrha blushed a little and shook her head. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have put that thought in your head. There's no way that's actually happening." Pyrrha said while brushing her hair with her hands before looking at Jaune…

Who had a serious look of thought on his face. "... Right?" Pyrrha felt the need to press on that subject, as it looked like her roommate was considering it.

"I won't say I one hundred percent agree with that theory, but… It's not too farfetched in hindsight." Jaune admitted.

Pyrrha noted the look he had while he was contemplating all of this. "You… really care about this situation, huh?" Pyrrha asked with a faint smile on her face.

(End BGM)

"Ruby's the first friend I made here at Beacon, Pyrrha. Of course I would care about her." Jaune stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "I just… hope I'm worrying about nothing in hindsight." Jaune said before walking over to the window of the room and looking out into the night sky.

Pyrrha couldn't help but smile at the sight of Jaune caring for his friend… but at the same time, she also felt like hoping that what they were discussing wasn't much to worry about.

---

(Meanwhile in Ruby and Weiss's dorm room…)

Weiss was sleeping soundly as the moonlight dipped into her and Ruby's room, while Ruby was… visibly groaning and grunting in her sleep slightly.

---

Ruby opened her eyes to find that she was in the middle of a verdant green forest with some white flowers around some of the trees with her pajamas on.

"Where… where am I…?" She muttered before…

"GRRRAAAAAAAAAWWWRRR!"

(BGM: Divine Beast Vah Ruta - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild)

The sound of a tiger's roar echoed throughout the area as she saw, running down a path that led to her, a pearl white glowing tiger running at her at high speeds before he got close to her and leaped over her head.

Ruby was in the process of blinking at this moment before she opened her eyes again… when suddenly, the pearl white tiger was replaced with the deep blue glowing visage of a bipedal dragon with wings, arms, and a long tail to its look as it landed in… an ocean?

Ruby suddenly fell down into some water and soon found herself in the middle of an ocean on a dark and stormy night. She was distracted from her current location as the dragon leaped out of the ocean water and let out a loud roar.

"RAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUGH!"

The roar caused a series of waves to kick up and push Ruby below the surface. While Ruby swam up to the surface, she blinked again and found herself inside a dark cave covered in… neon violet crystals?!

"What is… what is going… on here…?" Ruby asked herself as she coughed up some water and swam to the side of the lake, where she found that she wasn't wet for some reason.

She stood back up on her feet and shook her head. Only to be face to face with a large black spiny tortoise that had a purple glow coming off of its shell, which seemed to have giant crystals jutting out of it.

"AAAAARRRAAAAAOOOOOGH!"

The tortoise let out a loud and deep bellow as Ruby recoiled and closed her eyes again subconsciously. She opened them again, only this time she found herself on a grass-covered hill overlooking a near-endless grassy plain in front of her.

She looked up and saw the sun above her head… and something diving downward from where the sun was positioned.

She gasped as she saw a gold-scaled wyvern with large wings flying over her head while it had a golden light shining off its body.

"RROOOOOOOOOAAAAAAHHHH!"

It let out a loud, yet melodic, roar as it flew upward as its body shined even brighter than before, blinding Ruby and forcing her to shut her eyes again.

When Ruby opened them again, she found herself in a space of some kind that was black and dark red in color. Ruby was starting to get sick of all the places she felt like she was being tossed around to and finally decided to speak up.

"Hello! Is there anyone here!?" She shouted into the space around her, with nothing responding. "I would like an answer and not something that involves me being thro-"

"SCREE-AAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

Ruby's sarcasm was cut off when she heard that screech. "Wait a minute, that was…" She turned around and saw her ace monster looking down at her while it was in the air above her.

"Vermillion-Eye?!" Ruby muttered in shock.

"We meet again, Ruby." She heard a voice in front of her, causing Ruby to look directly in front of her to find… herself?

(End BGM)

She rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn't seeing anything and looked again. Only to find that there was an identical version of herself standing right in front of her, same hair, same face, same clothing, everything.

However… the only difference is that this double of her had sharp red eyes where round silver usually is, and a toothy smile she had on her face showed that her canines were… oddly pointy.

"Hi there, Ruby. Ready to show the world who you are?" Her other self asked as she reached out to her face with her hand.

---

This made Ruby shoot up awake as she panted heavily. She looked around and found herself in her dorm room again, with Weiss still sleeping and the morning sun rising over the horizon.

She sighed in relief as she wiped what sweat she had on her brow off. "Whew… only a dream." She said quietly in relief.

She rolled out of bed as she stood in front of the window and looked out to the ever-growing sun, silently thinking about that dream she just had.

"First a white tiger… and then a blue dragon… followed by a black and purple turtle… and another gold dra- No, a… wyvern, or something…?" She muttered as she recounted the events of her dream. "... Followed by Vermillion-Eye." She finished as the image of that double of her weirded her out.

"Just what the heck was that all about?" She asked herself as she looked out the window in thought, completely unaware that Weiss had one eye open and was openly concerned about what Ruby was going through.

---

(A few hours later…)

After some of the classes for the day were wrapped up, Ruby asked Yang to bring Blake with her to a Common Area that was on Beacon Academy's grounds.

The Common Area itself had multiple seats and tables scattered about in an organized fashion, allowing anyone who walked in to be able to find a seat. It has windows giving people an open view of the main plaza of Beacon. Overall, it was a nice place for people to go to for a break from the Dueling and any school-related work they were subject to.

After Yang and Blake had arrived at the Common Area, Jaune, Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren had just arrived as well. Apparently, Jaune asked them all to share some strategies and past dueling experiences with them, and Ren proposed that they go to the Common Area to do so, which resulted in the timely encounter of the two groups.

Ruby decided to tell them about her dream, as they all had various reactions.

Jaune and Pyrrha had nervous looks on their faces, while Blake and Ren seemed to be lost in thought. Yang raised an eyebrow, confused as to what the contents of the dream could mean. Nora was starry-eyed as, what was apparently, her theory might very well be correct. And Weiss… couldn't help but feel slightly nervous about whatever it could mean.

"That's one weird dream, I'll admit." Yang commented as Ruby just finished recounting the events of her dream to her friends and sister.

"A tiger, a dragon, a turtle, and a wyvern, followed up by your firebird monster?" Blake muttered, wondering what those beasts in question could mean.

"I especially liked that part where you saw yourself!" Nora exclaimed without missing a beat. "Maybe you had a vision where you saw your long-lost twin sister or something!" She said while kicking her feet like a kid.

"T-twin sister?!" Ruby shouted, shocked at the idea of her having another sister she wasn't aware of.

"I think our dad would be aware of it if we actually DID have some sort of "long-lost sister" or something." Yang said with air quotes, not believing the idea for a moment.

"Okay then… maybe it could be… an alternate personality of some kind." The ginger-haired girl spoke dramatically in a faux ominous tone.

"Huh…?" Was all Ruby could let out in response.

Yang couldn't hold in her confusion as well. "So you're thinking that my baby sister has like… another person inside her?" She asked, not believing it for a moment.

Ren hummed at the thought as he took out a textbook that had "Remnant's Historical Tales and Facts" on the front cover he had on him and flipped through the pages, before landing on a page that had a compass rose on an ancient-looking picture at the top of the page. "It couldn't be…"

Weiss snapped him out of his thoughts with her voice. "Nora, I don't regret saying this to you, but could you please lay off these crazy theories?" She asked the ginger-haired girl. "Think about how Ruby feels about them." Weiss told her, making Nora cringe in recoil.

"Oh… sorry. I tend to be about as subtle as a sack of hammers when it comes to weird stuff like that. I've always been fascinated by the concept of dreams, honestly." Nora admitted, deciding to try and change the subject, making Ren roll his eyes.

"Really, how come?" Pyrrha felt like asking.

"Well… if you want to know… it all started nearly five years ago, when I had my first ever dream. It was a tale of heart, a tale of drama. It was-" Nora and her dramatic storytelling voice were cut off by Ren's monotone voice.

"She had a dream about me and her getting married and wouldn't shut up about her theories surrounding it for a month straight."

Everyone looked at Ren with a raised eyebrow and then looked at Nora, who had a blush so red it could be confused for a ripe tomato on a farm. She pouted, while still blushing, before speaking up. "I would've said it was three weeks at most." Nora said while pressing her index fingers together.

(BGM: Bustling Afternoon in Monstadt - Genshin Impact)

Yang, Jaune, and Pyrrha all got a laugh out of that as Blake cracked a visible smile. Meanwhile, Weiss looked at Ruby and noted that she was laughing as well, causing her to form a vague smile of her own in response.

---

(Later, in Port's class…)

"The Cyber Dragon archetype was an archetype that was a pinnacle of Fusion Summoning during its debut. So much so, that the first ever general of Atlas's military, General Maxwell Xenon, was the first to ever master its application in the first-ever Atlas Championship tournament held twenty years ago." Port lectured as the students within his class were either taking notes and/or listening… or dozing off in Nora's case.

"Now, who here knows where exactly he picked up the skills he needed to master the archetype itself?" Port asked as Ruby's eyes widened as she stuck her hand up. "Yes, Ms. Rose?"

"The Cross-Machina Dueling Dojo." Ruby answered.

"That is indeed correct, Ms. Rose!" Port declared. "Now, can anyone else tell me which monsters were the most powerful among the cards in the dojo Ms. Rose just mentioned?"

Jaune raised his hand up this time. "Cyberdark Horn, Edge, and Keel." The blonde-haired boy answered. "When you combine these three monsters for a Fusion Summon, they form together as Cyberdark Dragon, the go-to ace of the Cyberdark archetype."

"Correct, Mr. Arc!" Port said while pointing at him. "The Cyberdark archetype itself was a very complex archetype, you see. So much so, that even when Mr. Xenon had earned the right to use it, he humbly refused as he felt that it conflicted with his own dueling style." Port continued as he put his hands on his hips.

"That leads us to the moral of this particular lesson, ladies and gentlemen. That there are always going to be some sets of cards that resonate with people, some archetypes, and some not. There will always be a particular deck that someone will be adamant about using throughout their dueling careers. So much so, that even if they don't duel for a long while, they'll be able to readjust to it faster than you might think." Port lectured, as his students were actually in thought about what he was saying.

"It's a lot like riding a bike when you were a kid. You might not have done it in a long time, but you'll be able to pick it up again in no time." Port stated as the bell went off, signaling that the class was over. "Well, then… class dismissed!" He said as everyone began to walk out of the room.

Ruby walked out of the room with Weiss, Blake, and Yang wrapped her arm around her shoulder. "So, what did you think of that class, Ruby?" Yang asked with a smile.

"It was actually really deep. Can't believe one of Professor Port's lectures wound up being as informative as it was." Ruby joked with a smile.

"Oh, come now. Port's lectures aren't ALL bad." Weiss said, defending the professor.

"That's probably because you're a butt-kisser." Yang told her with a nonchalant smile.

Weiss blushed at the insult before stomping on the ground one time. "Wha…?! Am not!" The white-haired girl remarked.

Blake nodded. "I have to agree, Yang. That's a bit much." She said to Yang.

Weiss smiled. "Thank you, Bla-"

"Teacher's pet is more appropriate." Blake said suddenly, making Yang and Ruby's snorts evolve into laughter while Weiss's face grew red before she pouted while crossing her arms.

"You guys suck…" Weiss grumbled.

(End BGM)

"What a freak!" They all stopped walking when they heard something around the next corner.

The gang walked up to the corner and poked their heads around it, one stacked over the other. "Huh? What the heck's going on over the-" Yang asked as they peeked around it before grimacing. "Oh… hell, no…" She swore, recognizing the scene.

"Cardin Winchester…" Blake said through gritted teeth.

True enough, the four of them spotted Cardin and Russel harassing Velvet once again as the former of the two tugged on her rabbit ears while shouting out blatant racial slurs.

"So, I'm almost positive that both your parents are Faunus as well. So tell me, does your hometown by any chance have a… rodent infestation?" Cardin snarked with a mocking laugh.

A small crowd started to form around them as no one knew what to do. "He still hasn't learned to take a hint, doesn't he…?" One student muttered in annoyance.

"Great... I guess that his punishment from the Disciplinary Committee and Doctor Oobleck yesterday wasn't enough to make him stop." Blake remarked as the four of them walked up to the back of the crowd. "Speaking of which, where's Frei right now?"

"I heard that he's taking a break right now from his Disciplinary Committee duties this afternoon." One male student turned back to answer the question.

A Female student turned around to add more to the fact. "Not to mention that he's also taking this time to study in the library until his break's over." She stated, making Blake grit her teeth.

"I guess that Cardin and his buddy decided to pick the right time to pick on Velvet and get away with it…" Blake guessed.

"Guess those two meatheads aren't entirely brainless." Weiss muttered under her breath.

"S-stop, p-please…!" Velvet begged as Cardin began to pull harder.

Ruby began to grit her teeth as her hand balled up into a fist. "Not worth it, Ruby. Not worth it." She muttered in a tone low enough that no one could hear it… except for Blake, who looked at her worried.

Meanwhile, Dove and Sky could do nothing but stand by them and try to defuse the situation.

"Cardin, I think she's had enough." Sky said to Cardin while he had a stern expression on his face.

"Yeah! Just let her go, man! She's not worth the trouble!" Dove added while gesturing to Velvet herself.

"Oh, come on. Where would the fun in that be?" Russel said, playfully jabbing Dove's arm, not noticing the growing ire on his face.

THAT made Ruby's fist tighten up harder, with Ruby barely even acknowledging it. "Not worth it. Not worth… Not worth it." She repeated in her head as her gritted teeth started to show.

"Ruby…?" Blake muttered, starting to get worried about what might happen.

"P-please…! S-stop it…!" Velvet begged again as she tried to wrestle Cardin's arm off her ear.

"Hey, who said you could TOUCH ME?!" He exclaimed before gripping her ear and tossing her to the ground hard, earning a gasp from everyone around her as Russel laughed at the girl's misfortune.

"Cardin, Russel, stop it! She's not done anything to you!" Dove told them, his voice signaling that he's just about had enough of his friend's antics.

"Really, Dove? What about all that stuff with the White Fa-" Russel started to say while reaching for Dove's shoulder before the boy grabbed Russel's wrist.

"I DON'T CARE… what you arrogantly assume about the White Fang!" Dove sternly said to him, barely hiding any venom in his voice.

"Neither do I quite frankly." Sky said as well, making the two bullies look at him. "This girl is one of the nicest in the academy. And you two have done nothing but push her around, all because she's a Faunus!" He exclaimed while pointing to her as she wiped the tears off her face.

Ruby's anger was starting to boil as her fist was squeezed so tight, it was beginning to leak blood. 'Not worth it. Not worth it. Not worth it. Not worth it. Not worth it. Not worth it.' She repeatedly said in her head as her eyes began to flicker from silver to red.

Cardin sighed, seemingly in disappointment. "Come on, you two. And here I thought you two knew how to have some FUN!" He said loudly before punching Dove in the face.

"Gyah!" Dove fell to the ground as he clutched his nose, which started to leak out blood.

"DOVE!" Sky cried out as he quickly went to his friend's side, right before he turned to growl at Cardin with an angry and hateful look in his eyes. "You bastard! JUST WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"

This earned a gasp from everyone, especially Weiss, Blake, and Yang. But when Ruby saw that happen… it was like a switch flipped in her head.

'WORTH IT!' Ruby shouted in her mind, as her silver irises switched to a red color and she marched through the crowd.

"What the…?! Ruby?!" Yang asked, completely lost as to why Ruby is moving like how she is now.

"Oh, no…" Blake said, worried about Ruby's safety.

(BGM: Manjoume's Theme - Yu-Gi-Oh! GX)

"HEY!" Ruby shouted, making the crowd jump and scatter away from her. "Leave them alone, Cardin!"

"Huh?" Cardin turned around to face Ruby before smirking. "Well, well, well. If it isn't the Fire Girl of Beacon."

"So what if I am?" Ruby practically snarled at him.

"Since you're supposedly so good of a Duelist, how about I give you a chance to back off and walk away?" Cardin said with a sinister smile as Ruby didn't flinch at all. Which only made Cardin grit his teeth in anger at how she looked. "I said back off, you half-baked runt!" Cardin shouted as he attempted to pummel Ruby, only for the girl herself to catch his fist without flinching. "Wha…?! What the hell are you…?!" He started to ask before he noticed the blood on Ruby's hand.

"Yaaaaahhh…!" Cardin flinched in recoil as he pulled his hand back while feeling disgusted at the sight of the blood on his sleeve.

"Ruby! Sto-" Yang started to tell Ruby before the girl spoke up.

"This is your last warning, Cardin Winchester. Leave Velvet and everyone else alone right now if you value your well-being more than your shitty prideful ego." Ruby growled out, which greatly shocked everyone who knew her as they gasped in shock at the girl's unexpected use of profanity.

Yang was shocked most of all. As Ruby's sister, she'd never seen Ruby swear in front of her. Ruby was so obsessed with not swearing, that she had a swear jar around the house when someone wound up swearing around her. Yang would usually joke about pulling it out and pressing it against her face but… she felt like it wasn't even Ruby who said that.

Cardin raised an eyebrow himself at that warning as he spoke up. "Huh… didn't take a squirt like you for someone who had a sailor mouth. Just last week you gave your blondie sister a punch on the arm for making…" Cardin stopped for a moment as he feigned a recalling of that moment in particular, only for Ruby to take a step forward and get his attention.

"Making what? I dare you to finish that sentence." Ruby threatened.

Cardin slightly flinched as he decided to change the subject. "You know… I've been wanting to see for myself what this so-called Fire Girl of Beacon is made of along with that giant flying fire chicken of an ace monster."

"Fire chicken…?" Ruby wondered as she stared at the tall bully with an incredulous and annoyed look.

"And Vermillion-Eye Goldblaze Firebird? Don't make me laugh! I think your monster's name should be Vermillion-Eyesore Fool's Gold Chicken instead!" Cardin mocked as he and Russel snickered at the (poor man's excuse of a) joke.

Yang winced at that statement of his as she let out a low hiss. "Oh… now he's done it." She muttered.

Ruby's rage was already at a boiling point, but she decided to reign it in as she spoke up. "Why don't you just put your cards where your mouth is, Winchester?" She growled aggressively as she pulled out her deck and held it in front of her. Strangely, her voice suddenly sounded a bit deep when she spoke as her red eyes returned to silver, which Weiss, Blake, and Yang noticed.

'This does not sound like Ruby at all…' Yang thought while feeling her blood run cold due to how nervous she felt.

Cardin smiled as he looked at Russel, who shrugged at the idea with a wink. "How about we make it a Tag-Team Duel? You and someone else, against me and Russel." He proposed with his hand on his side.

Ruby narrowed her eyes at the thought. 'This is obviously a trap, I severely doubt they'll go through with this without making some plans beforehand.' Ruby thought, seeing that he knew what he was doing… shockingly enough, but she knew one thing about people like this. 'He won't take the challenge if I don't take his.'

"You're on." Ruby answered with an intense glare at him.

Cardin smirked as he spoke up. "Dirt Dueling Arena #3 at 4 o'clock PM. Pick your partner, and be there." He stated as he walked away. "Let's roll, Russel."

"Right." The man in question responded as he followed him.

(End BGM)

Ruby glared at her two newest opponents as her eyes turned to look at Dove and Sky. She walked over to them and offered Dove her hand. "Need a lift?" She asked, her anger from earlier practically vanishing in thin air.

"Y-yeah… th-thanks…" Dove responded as he grabbed her hand.

She hoisted him onto his feet as Sky spoke up. "Hey, uh… Ruby Rose, right?" He asked the crimsonette. Meanwhile, Dove was busy covering his bloody nose with a handkerchief he just borrowed from Sky.

"Yep, the one and only." Ruby answered with a smile.

Sky and Dove looked at each other before looking back at Ruby. "Thanks… for stepping up to him." Sky said.

Dove sighed before speaking up however. "Sorry about Cardin's behavior. We've known the guy and Russel for years… and… ever since coming to Beacon, it's like a switch was flipped in his head or something." Dove told her.

"Seriously?" Ruby responded with a raised eyebrow, before shaking her head. "That doesn't matter now. What does matter is that you get to the nurse's office." She told them.

"Right, thanks again." Sky said to her before he and Dove went off to get the latter's nose looked at.

Ruby saw them off as she turned to her friends. "I'm going back to my dorm. I've got a deck to sort out." Ruby said with a smile as she dashed off down the hallway… leaving Weiss, Blake, and especially Yang gobsmacked out how quickly her mood changed from the start of this whole confrontation.

'That was… insane.' Yang thought as her pupils were shaking from her thoughts. 'How? How did Ruby switch her mood up so quickly? It's like she was…' Yang's thoughts paused for a moment as she thought back to what Nora said.

… About. 'Could it really be that… my baby sister has an alternate personality inside of her!?' Yang wondered as she was at a loss as to what to do right now.

---

(One hour later, in Ruby and Weiss's dorm room…)

(BGM: Beautiful Dead - Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc)

Ruby was currently looking at her deck and the cards she thought that she could use during it. She looked at the time and saw that the Tag Duel with Cardin and Russel was just less than an hour away from now.

"Okay, Cardin's fighting style revolves around overpowering the opponent with trickery and different kinds of card effects, so… if I use this Vermillion-Eye support card in conjunction with this monster's effect, I should be able to-" Ruby was brought out of her thoughts when…

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!

She heard a knocking on the door to the room as she turned to face it. "Huh… must be Weiss wanting to ask me if I'm alright." She remarked with a sigh as she got up from the chair she was sitting on, walked over to the door, and opened it.

… Only to be pleasantly surprised by someone she'd not expected.

Instead of Weiss, Ruby opened the door to see… "Jaune?" The first friend she encountered here at Beacon, Jaune Arc.

"Hey Ruby, how've you been today in terms of lessons?" Jaune asked with a slightly visible smile on his face.

Ruby had a smile of her own form on her face as she answered. "Not too bad, honestly." Ruby answered as she gestured to him to come inside.

Jaune walked into the room as he sighed and put his hands on his hips, looking around the room casually.

"If you want some snacks, I have a couple bags of chips and some cookies in the room." Ruby offered. "Or some soda and iced tea if you're thirsty."

Jaune shook his head, as he turned around. "Nah, I'm not hungry. Admittedly. I'm just…" Jaune hesitated for a moment. "I heard… about that Tag-Team Duel that Cardin challenged you to." He said to her.

"Who told you?" Ruby asked, concerned about how the info regarding it went around.

"The students that were there when Cardin made the challenge spread the word. Saying a whole lot of overdramatic nonsense about how you were gonna take them down alongside whoever you picked to duel alongside you." Jaune said, waving his hands around.

"Oh, goody…" Ruby muttered as she kicked the floor with a pout.

"So…" Ruby saw that Jaune wanted to say something, but clearly didn't know how to say it. But when Jaune took one look at Ruby, that look vanished as he spoke up almost immediately. "I'd… like to be your partner for the Tag Duel in question." Jaune said quickly.

"What…?" Ruby asked.

Jaune took a deep breath as he spoke up. "You're going to be facing both Cardin AND Russel. I can help you strategize for what you can do against them both. I've fought them both in my time here." Jaune told her.

Ruby thought about his words, and did see the logic in them. "That does make sense, but still…" Jaune interrupted her next sentence.

"Say what you want, Ruby. But I am not going to let you duel those two alone." Jaune said with conviction in his voice.

"Woah, woah! Jaune, I'm not going into the duel alone!" Ruby said in a way to calm him down, as she felt some form of tension coming off of him. "I mean… I could ask Yang… or even Weiss to team up with me." She assured him.

"I won't deny that, but… what if they're expecting that?" Jaune asked, confusing Ruby.

"Eh?" She let out in confusion.

"You've recently dueled Weiss, so you have a grasp on how she can duel. And Yang's your sister, of course you'd want one of them on your team, it only makes sense." Jaune told her. "But if you bring one of them onto your team, you'll have a high chance of being blindsided by Cardin and Russel, and they could use your own teammate against you somehow." He finished as he said that.

"You…" Ruby raised her finger up to protest, but lowered it. "... actually have a point there."

"I'm not saying that you don't have a chance without a partner, I just think… you need something that can qualify as an element of surprise

"So like… I should be… unpredictable during the duel?"

"Exactly!" Jaune answered. "And what would they predict less than you having me as your partner?" Jaune finished with a smile on his face.

Ruby halted for a moment as he looked at his face. It appeared to be one of slight desperation, like he wanted to somehow get back at them, which she couldn't fault him for admittedly, but also one that showed he wanted to help her at the same time. Ruby nodded as she spoke up. "Alright, you've convinced me. You can be my partner." She answered.

"Hehe~ That's the spirit!" Jaune chuckled. "Now, how about we look at each other's decks? If we do so, we might be able to make some last minute combos with our cards." He offered.

"Right! Let's get to work!" Ruby nodded eagerly as he and Jaune got started on their strategy plan. "So… what kind of Trap Cards do you ha–"

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!

Which was immediately interrupted as Ruby and Jaune heard another set of knocking at the door.

"I'll get it." Ruby said as she walked over to the door and opened it.

(End BGM)

Only to, once again, be shocked at who was at the door this time.

---

(Later, in Dirt Dueling Arena #3…)

There were quite a lot of students around the arena in question as Cardin and Russel were already in position for the Tag-Team Duel, with Cardin checking his deck to make sure nothing was out of place while Russel was stretching his arms over his head.

Blake and Yang were sitting on a set of bleachers with Yang glaring at Cardin and Blake reading a book till the Duel starts. "You know, if you keep looking at them like that, your face will get stuck." Blake remarked, not looking up from her book.

Yang heard this and shook her head rapidly. "Sorry, Blake. I guess I'm just… nervous about this duel is all." Yang told her.

"What do you mean? I'm sure Ruby and her partner will be able to handle it. Regardless of who her partner is." Blake told her while still looking at her book.

"I get what you mean, it's just… I realize now that Ruby's been acting differently than how she usually acts." The blonde told Blake.

This got Blake to look up at Yang to see the stress that Yang was hiding in her eyes. "Is it because of how she was talking back in the hallway?" Blake asked.

"Exactly, I've never heard Ruby swear before, and I've also never heard Ruby talk to… anyone with that much venom in her voice." Yang said while twiddling her thumbs.

Blake raised an eyebrow at this and closed her book before speaking up. "You really mean that?" She asked.

"Yeah, and the funny thing is… something like that happened when I first saw Weiss in the amphitheater. I played it off as nerves and stress, but what if it's… something more?" Yang wondered.

Blake began to understand why Yang was worrying, before she placed a hand on Yang's shoulder. "Yang, I'm sure that however this duel goes, Ruby and her partner will take it in stride." The black-haired girl said with confidence.

"I hope so…" Yang said before sighing.

"Hey, fellas." A young boy's voice got their attention as Frei and Weiss walked up to their spot on the bleachers.

"Frei? Weiss?" Yang asked.

"Got room for three more?" Another bubbly voice asked as Nora, Ren and Pyrrha walked up beside them from the opposite direction and took their seats behind them.

"You guys here for the Duel?" Yang asked.

"Indeed we are. We have an idea as to who Ruby's partner is, after all." Pyrrha told them.

"Wait… does that mean…" Blake and Yang looked at Frei and Weiss. "Neither of you are going to be Ruby's partner?" Blake asked in light shock, as Yang had widened eyes.

"Unfortunately, no. We both shot her a message, but she already had her pick lined up. Said something about wanting a surprise at that." Frei told them.

"Seriously?" Yang asked, completely confused.

"Yeah, I asked her first, and then Weiss went next, but we both got the same response. Just look." Frei said before taking out his scroll and showing them both a message.

"Thanks for the offer, but I have an idea for who I want my partner to be. It's a surprise." Blake read aloud. "Huh… I guess she knows what she's doing." She muttered with a raised eyebrow as she looked at Yang, who only shrugged.

Cardin checked the time on his Duel Disk and smirked. "Heh, 3:57. If she and whoever her partner is don't show up, we might just be able to call it a forfeit and get some lunch early." Cardin snarked.

"Maybe, but I still want to get a chance to duel." Russel told his partner before looking at the crowd around them, and noticed Yang talking to her friends. "Hehehe… Hey, if ring-around-the-rosie doesn't show up, think we can Duel her blondie bimbo sister instead?"

Cardin looked at him with a smile before a voice rang out. "Wanna say that AGAIN, birdbrains?!" Ruby's voice shot at them from the other side of the field.

Yang, Blake, Weiss, Frei, and everyone else present looked in the direction the voice came from to see Ruby walking towards the field with Jaune by her side.

The sight of the person Ruby had beside her shocked nearly everyone… except Pyrrha. "Good luck, Jaune." Pyrrha muttered.

"No way…" Blake said aloud.

"HE'S Ruby's partner!?" Weiss and Yang exclaimed together.

"Hehehe~ This'll be an interesting duel for sure now." Frei said with a smile on his face.

Ruby and Jaune got in position on the field as Cardin and Russel looked at each other puzzled, making Ruby smirk inwardly. 'Good, looks like Jaune's idea worked, they seem to be shooken up a little at least.' Ruby thought, holding her best stoic expression on her face.

Cardin and Russel burst out laughing for a short while before they simmered down as Cardin spoke. "You've gotta be joking right now. You picked Jaune to be your dueling partner?" Cardin asked incredulously.

"What, you gonna beat us both with the "power of friendship" or something?" Russel joked before laughing a little more again.

"Oh yeah, laugh it up while you can, birdbrains." Ruby said as the bullies stopped laughing.

"You might be able to beat me when I'm on my own, but I at least have a partner I can depend on, and vice versa." Jaune told them while looking at Ruby, who nodded in understanding.

"We're gonna defeat you, Cardin. And when we do, you two are gonna stop it with all this bullying once and for all." Ruby said, pointing at them.

Cardin looked at her unimpressed, but went along with it. "Okay fine. But… what would happen if me and Russel win this Duel?" Cardin asked with a raised eyebrow.

Ruby stared at them before she took a deep breath and took a card out of her pocket and showed it to them, revealing it to be... "If you win, I'll give you my best card. No strings attached." Vermillion-Eye Goldblaze Firebird.

Everyone gasped at the declaration Ruby just made. "Is she CRAZY?!" Nora shouted.

"Why would she wager her best card like that?!" Blake asked, shocked by the bet she made.

Yang was shocked as well, until she saw Ruby's expression. "She's luring him in." Weiss said, catching everyone's attention.

"What?" Nora asked.

"She's betting her best card in this Duel to ensure that Cardin and Russel would stick to the challenge." Weiss told them as she analyzed Ruby's expression.

Yang wouldn't have believed her when she said that, but as she stared at Ruby's expression, she knew she couldn't deny it… as well as the fact that Ruby was changing for some reason.

'Good luck, Ruby.' Yang wished her sister in her head.

Cardin smirked at the idea as he looked at Russel, who had a smirk of his own on his face. They both readied their Duel Disks, as Cardin spoke up. "You're on." He answered.

Ruby nodded before looking at Jaune. "Hey, Jaune. Are you ready?" She asked her first friend at Beacon, who shook his head before clapping his hands against his face.

"You bet I am." Jaune answered.

"That's more like it." Ruby responded with a smile of confidence on her face. Cardin spoke as he placed his Duel Disk on his arm, which was a brown and sandy yellow bracelet-like Duel Disk that had his cards as holographic versions of themselves.

"Let's rough them up hard!" Russel said with twisted excitement in his voice as he tossed his own Duel Disk, which was like Ruby and Jaune's in that it had a physical deck of cards in it and was dark green with a light green energy tray.

"Hah! Alright then, prodigy and wimp. Let's dance!" Cardin smirked maliciously as he pulled out and activated his Duel Disk, which was a Bracelet-like Duel Disk that had chestnut brown color as the cards were virtual.

"Time to take you down!" Jaune exclaimed as he tossed his own Duel Disk up into the air with his left hand, before catching it in his right and attacking it to his left arm as it activated.

Meanwhile, up in one of the trees near the dirt dueling arenas, the same masked figure with the porcelain tiger mask who witnessed Ruby and Weiss' duel the other day was jumping from tree to tree until she stopped to see the nearby commotion. "Hmm?"

As she saw Ruby attaching her Duel Disk to her arm, she nodded. "And so it begins…" The masked tigress mused as she sat down on the tree branch she was standing on while crossing her arms. "Alright, let's see how she can hold her own in this duel together with her friend." She mused as the four Duelists shouted…

"DUEL!"

Turn #1: Cardin Winchester

Cardin Winchester (Hand = 5 + 1) & Russel Thrush (Hand = 5): 4000 LP vs. Ruby Rose (Hand = 5) & Jaune Arc (Hand = 5): 4000 LP

(BGM: Battle Theme #12 - Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel)

"I'll go first, and since this is a Tag Duel, I get to draw a card even on my first turn, I draw!" Cardin declared as he brought up his hand. "I'll start with something even Jaune could keep up with. I set one monster face-down in Defense Mode." Cardin said as a card appeared face-down on his field, only in a horizontal position as opposed to a vertical one, and a purple orb with red small eyes and a black cage appeared directly over it.

"I set two cards face-down and call it there." Cardin stated as he pulled two cards from his hand and set them down on his field as well.

"You're up next, little miss prodigy." He taunted as Ruby began her turn.

Turn #2: Ruby Rose

Cardin Winchester (Hand = 3) & Russel Thrush (Hand = 5): 4000 LP vs. Ruby Rose (Hand = 5 + 1) & Jaune Arc (Hand = 5): 4000 LP

"You're gonna regret ever hurting anyone in this school, Cardin. I draw!" Ruby exclaimed as she drew her card. "I normal summon Shining Knight Huntress - Lumine in Attack Mode." Ruby declared as she slapped a card onto her Duel Disk.

This caused a humanoid monster to appear on her field, which was a female knight covered head to toe in steel armor with blue trims on the waist, shoulders and arms, knees, and around the collar, with a knight's helmet on her head that had face visible, and for weapons, she wielded a sword and shield that had blue trims on the edges of the shield and a blue handle.

Shining Knight Huntress - Lumine
LV: 4
ATK: 1700/DEF: 1400
LIGHT
Warrior/Effect

"What's wrong, prodigy? Where's that giant chicken you call as your ace monster?" Cardin taunted. "Or is it that you're too scared to even play it?"

"I don't even need Vermillion-Eye right now to beat you." Ruby responded as she looked at her hand, which had Vermillion-Eye Goldblaze Firebird in it. "I know he may be a strong monster, but I don't always have to rely on him to win on every duel I'm in."

"He? Ah, whatever! It's not like Monster Cards have a living soul anyway!" Russel mocked with his hands on his waist.

Ruby's brow narrowed slightly as she looked at her hand. "In Tag Duels, no player can attack on their first turn. I set one card face-down and end my turn." Ruby stated as she pulled another card from her hand and set it face-down. "Over to you, Russel." She said to the bully.

"Looks like nothing much is happening so far." Weiss said at the pace of the Duel.

"Slow and steady wins the race as they say." Ren commented.

"Come on, Ruby and Jaune! Kick their butts!" Nora cheered loudly.

Turn #3: Russel Thrush

Cardin Winchester (Hand = 3) & Russel Thrush (Hand = 5): 4000 LP vs. Ruby Rose (Hand = 4) & Jaune Arc (Hand = 5): 4000 LP

"It's my turn!" Russel placed his hand on his deck. "I draw!" He exclaimed as he drew his card and smirked at the sight of the card he got.

"I'll start my turn by summoning Wicked Wings Swallow in Attack Mode." Russel declared as she played a monster of his own.

This monster of Russel's was a blue and black bird with green glowing eyes as it flew through the air before letting out a loud shriek.

Wicked Wings Swallow
LV: 3
ATK: 1200/DEF: 700
WIND
Winged Beast/Effect

"Huh… That's not much of a strong start." Nora muttered in response to seeing the monster.

"Haven't you seen the last few Duels Russel had been in?" Frei asked her.

"Huh? Oh, sorry. I don't really pay attention to their Duels as they seem a bit bland in my opinion." Nora apologized.

Pyrrha sweatdropped as she looked to him. "This is all part of his strategy." She told him.

"Exactly, I wouldn't underestimate him just yet." Blake said as she agreed with Pyrrha. "It may be not be much of a start just like you said, but this is just the beginning of the duel." She then turned her attention back at the duel. "In other words, he must have something up his sleeve."

"When Wicked Winds Swallow is Normal Summoned, I can Special Summon a Level 4 or Winged Beast monster from my hand. I choose to Special Summon Wicked Wings Blue Jay!" Russel stated as he slapped another card from his onto his Duel Disk.

This caused Wicked Wings Swallow to flap its wings, causing the wind below it to soar up into the air, making another avian monster to fly out of it. That monster being a bird with both light and navy blue feathers with green gleaming eyes as it let out a shriek of its own.

Wicked Wings Blue Jay
LV: 4
ATK: 800/DEF: 1600
WIND
Winged Beast/Effect

"Now I activate my Blue Jay's ability. When it's Special Summoned, I can change its level to any Level between 1 and 3." Russel explained as gestured to the blue-colored bird. "I choose to change it to Level 3." Russel said as Wicked Wings Blue Jay let out a loud echoing chirp as it had a green aura glow around it.

Wicked Wings Blue Jay LV: 4 to 3

"What would be the point to…" Jaune started to ask until he looked at both of Russel's monsters and gasped. "He's got two level three monsters on his field." Jaune realized.

"Well, look at that. The blondie can actually learn." Russel snarkily said as he pointed his hand to the air. "I overlay both Wicked Wings Swallow and Blue Jay!" Russel declared as both of his monsters turned into green collections of light and energy and flew into the air while spinning around in a spiral.

A black and yellow galaxy-like portal opened up in the ground as this happened. "With these two bad birds, I build the Overlay Network!" Russel shouted as the two green lights flew into the galaxy-like portal.

"A green avian rider of the winds, soar down to the earth and blow away ALL your enemies!" Russel chanted as the sight of an avian monster with black wings that had white spotted feathers on it as its eyes glowed with blue light. "XYZ Summon!" Russel

"An XYZ Summon already?!" Weiss exclaimed. "... Great..." She mumbled as she grit her teeth.

"Wasn't expecting that this early in the Duel admittedly!" Yang admitted.

"Wonder how they're both gonna overcome this." Frei wondered aloud as Russel's XYZ monster became more visible.

"Time to fly! Rank 3, Wicked Wings Night Starling!" Russel called out as his monster's appearance was revealed.

It was a large jet black bird with white spotted feathers and a yellow beak, and had glowing blue eyes as it let out a loud shriek as it had green wind blow around it for a moment, and there were two green orbs orbiting around it.

Wicked Wings Night Starling
RNK: 3
ATK: 1900/DEF: 1100
WIND
Winged Beast/XYZ/Effect
Overlay Units: 2

"Hope you both are ready, 'cause you two are gonna get blown away hard by this monster!" Russel shot at them as his monster let out a shriek of what seemed like rage.

Meanwhile on the trees near the dueling arena, the masked tigress looked on as her left hand balled up into a fist.

"That rotten dirtbag…" The masked tigress growled out while gripping a tree branch tightly. Strangely, if one were in close proximity with her, you can hear that the growl laced within her voice almost sounded rather… animalistic, akin to that of an actual tiger than a human. "How dare he treat his monster in such a fashion." She muttered.

"I activate Night Starling's ability. By detaching one overlay unit, I can inflict 200 damage for every card I have in my hand." Russel stated as one of the green orbs it had floating around it flew into its chest.

Wicked Wings Night Starling

Overlay Units: 2 - 1 = 1

"I have three cards in my hand, so that makes 600 points of damage!" Russel exclaimed as he pointed forward at Ruby and Jaune.

(End BGM)

Wicked Wings Night Starling flapped its wings, sending a large gust of wind towards Ruby and Jaune. The wind made the two flinch as they both covered their eyes from the effect as their conjoined Life Point count took a hit.

Ruby and Jaune's LP: 4000 - 600 = 3400

"Great. They got the first blood in on them." Nora complained with a pout on her face.

"Don't worry, Nora. They'll both be fine." Frei assured her, not seeing the worried look on Yang's face as she looked at Ruby.

'Don't lose, Ruby.' Yang hoped in her head Russel continued on with his turn.

"I set one card of my own face-down and end my turn." Russel stated as he placed a card from his hand face-down on his part of the field while he looked at Jaune. "You two won't beat us, we both rule the skies with our monsters." He taunted as Jaune began his turn.

Turn #4: Jaune Arc

Cardin Winchester (Hand = 3) & Russel Thrush (Hand = 3): 4000 LP vs. Ruby Rose (Hand = 4) & Jaune Arc (Hand = 5 + 1): 3400 LP

(BGM: Yusei Fudo's Theme - Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's)

"Then consider this Duel the one that knocks you both out of the skies! I draw!" Jaune snapped back at them as he began his turn. "Since there's currently a Warrior monster on my and Ruby's field, I can Special Summon Warki-Gold Rapid Racer in Defense Mode!" Jaune declared as he slapped the card he just drew onto his Duel Disk.

Once he did, from behind him came a humanoid warrior covered in golden protective armor and a pair of boots that had wheels on the outer sides of them, he wore a helmet that covered his entire head except for the area around his mouth and nose, and had a set of jet boosters mounted onto his back.

Warki-Gold Rapid Racer
LV: 3
ATK: 1000/DEF: 500
LIGHT
Warrior/Effect

"And since a Warki-Gold monster was Special Summoned to the field, I can Special Summon this little guy as well!" Jaune explained as he pulled another card from his hand. "I Special Summon Synki-Gold Ener-G from my hand in Defense Mode!" Jaune stated as he summoned another monster.

This monster appeared as a circular battery with a plus sign in its front center and minus sign on its back. It had five spherical nodes along the outer edge of the ring with four extending out to form impromptu arms and legs, and one on top popped out to reveal a face hidden underneath with yellow eyes and a red circle around them.

Synki-Gold Ener-G
LV: 2
ATK: 500/DEF: 200
LIGHT
Machine/Tuner/Effect

Ren's eyes widened slightly at the sight of the small battery-like monster. "That's a Tuner Monster." He noted.

Yang smiled at the fact. "Go get 'em, Jaune." She cheered with enthusiasm.

"I tune Level Three Warki-Gold Rapid Racer with Level Two Synki-Gold Ener-G!" Jaune declared as his two monsters leapt into the air.

Rapid Racer's jet boosters roared to life as he flew up into the air, with Ener-G closing its arms and legs into its body before disappearing into three stars that flew up into the air.

"Warrior that dashes through the stars, become empowered by their energy as you pave the road forward, for a fighter who smites evil down!" Jaune chanted as Rapid Racer was surrounded by three green rings and became an orange outline of himself, before turning into three stars himself as a white pillar of light shot through them both and struck the ground.

"SYNCHRO SUMMON!" Jaune shouted with his hand in the air. "Come on down! Level 5, Warki-Gold Charger Cestus!" Jaune declared as he summoned his new monster.

This Synchro monster appeared as a large humanoid monster with silver and gold armor covering his body except for his face, revealing him to have cloudy gray eyes and pale skin. And on his arm were shoulder guards with a pair of cestus connected to a power generator on his back. His eyes flashed for a moment before he punched his two cestus weapons together as sparks flew out of them and raised above his head before striking a pose with them pointed upward.

Warki-Gold Charger Cestus
LV: 5
ATK: 2400/DEF: 1000
LIGHT
Warrior/Synchro/Effect

Any look of stress and anger towards the two bullies disappeared off Ruby's face as she looked at Jaune's Synchro monster with sparkles in her eyes. "So cool…" She whispered at the sight.

"Okay, this is my new favorite monster from Jaune's deck." Yang commented as she gazed at the monster's namesake weapons.

"I activate Charger Cestus' ability! Whenever it's Synchro Summoned, I can destroy one card you control, and if it's a face-down Spell or Trap Card, you can't activate cards or effects in response to it." Jaune explained his monster's effect as it raised one of its cestus up, which sparked with energy.

"Oh, great." Cardin muttered as he looked at his face-down cards for a moment.

Which Jaune was able to spot at the same time. 'If I go for the destruction of one of their monsters, I'll only waste the ability if those cards they have face-down are even more dangerous, which means I should go for them first, and that means…' Jaune thought as he looked at Cardin and made his choice. "I choose to take out your face-down card on the right Cardin." Jaune declared.

Charger Cestus channeled the energy from his gauntlet-like weapons into a sphere-like projectile before he launched it forward as it struck Cardin's face-down card, which exploded into yellow particles upon making contact.

Cardin grunted at the sight of his card being destroyed as Jaune spoke up. "Since it's still my first turn, I can't attack. So I'll end it here by placing one card face-down and ending my turn here." Jaune stated as he set one card face-down from his own hand.

Turn #5: Cardin Winchester

Cardin Winchester (Hand = 3 + 1) & Russel Thrush (Hand = 3): 4000 LP vs. Ruby Rose (Hand = 4) & Jaune Arc (Hand = 3): 3400 LP

The ones watching the Duel were as silent as can be at the sight of how even the Duel seemed, only Ruby and Jaune had taken damage and it was much, and all four Duelists had summoned their own monsters, with Russel and Jaune having taken initiative in terms of summoning their own from their Extra Decks.

Weiss was twiddling her thumbs at the sight in slight nervousness. "Damn, the start of this Duel is going by pretty steadily." She commented.

"You can say that again." Frei nodded as he continued. "No one side has a major edge over the other, but that'll all change now that they're free to attack." He said as he looked at Ruby for a bit… and noticed her eyes changing color from silver to red, only for a moment. 'What the heck was…' He thought as he looked at Yang, who had a look of confidence in her eyes, but her clenched hands betrayed her.

Cardin grit his teeth at how things were so even as he spoke up. "I admit, things might be even now, but you'd better do yourselves a favor and hold onto your asses. 'Cause they're about to get blown away HARD!" Cardin warned them.

Ruby grit her teeth as she glared at him… While her eye's color seemed to… flicker in and out of their red and silver color for a moment. "This guy… This guy is…" Ruby muttered so low that no one could hear her, no one but Blake at least.

(End BGM)

"Ruby…?" Blake muttered as she looked at Ruby in worry.

'This guy is really starting to PISS ME OFF!' Ruby thought in anger as she didn't notice a spectral version of herself appearing behind her, only this one had red eyes and a feral smirk on her face.

~ CHAPTER END ~

---

This chapter was all in-part thanks to my co-writer for this story, who helped out with the writing and the background music selections.

I hope you all like the twist about Dove and Sky being not as mean and bully-like to Velvet as they are in the canon, and if you think THIS is crazy, than get ready for the future events of this story.

And while I wanted to put the card effect descriptions for this chapter in here, I'll take care of that when I have actual time on my hands.

Regardless, I hope you enjoy this chapter as well as the one most recently updated alongside this chapter update.

And hold onto your backsides, folks. Cause for my next duo of updates...

We're going to a whole other world for THAT one.