Last time on RWBY X Meta Runner: Worlds Collide…
The Battleground is ready for a fight night! It's got danger, steel cages, tables, ladders, chairs, and a big prize—Tari! No, seriously, Ruby is putting her on the line, and if she loses, Vekk-Torr will have her in his clutches. But how did we get here? As Ruby and the rest of the gang receive invitations to Yang's tournament, the monstrous Subhowler knocks them out, kidnaps them, and takes them to the abandoned amusement park, Joyworld, AKA: the location of The Battleground. Unbeknownst to Yang herself, the Lycanoid forgot about Theo, who, at this point, is coming to crash the party at Joyworld. But he's not alone, as he brings General Ironrood and Penny along for the ride. As it was happening, Vekk-Torr's search for Lin-Noir came to an unexpected conclusion as he found the latter's location! But that didn't stop Salem, who was hunting for Vekk-Torr for what he did to her. As the two battled it out across the warlord's ship, inside a Dimensional Tunnel and a dead world, the warlord sent them to Silica City—his desired location.
As he defeated the witch, the next thing he did was transfer the power from the Dimensional Compass to his new weapon and power source, the Black Loadstar. With it, his strength became fully restored, and he destroyed the world that Tari, Belle, Lamar, Masa, Sofia, Lucinia, and close ally Marco call home. But when it appears that all hope seems lost, Ilia and Lin-Noir save the city with the Dimensional Compass, saving Silica City and transporting it to Remnant. But with Theo separated from the rest of the pack, he, Ironwood, and Penny will fight to save his friends and take down Yang.
But are the three too late? Stay tuned to find out!
Penny and Ironwood enter a Bullhead at their hangar, with Theo in his mech following behind them. Theo looked at the giant geyser of light across from them as they took off.
"It's beautiful. Isn't it?" He asked.
Penny walked by him and looked in amazement at what she saw.
"I agree, Theo." She responded. "It is beautiful from your view."
"No argument there. I want to see what came out of it." Ironwood chimed in. "But for now, it's off to Joyworld."
Meanwhile, at Joyworld, two VekkTroopers, one with orange armor and the other donning maroon armor, are guarding the gates of the abandoned amusement park with rifles, ready to shoot down anyone foolish, reckless, or daring enough to enter.
"Hey." The orange armored one said.
"What's up?" His maroon-colored colleague responded.
"Do you ever wonder why we're here?" The former questioned.
"It's one of life's great mysteries, right?" The latter jested.
Suddenly, a buggy playing Latino music aloud from its speakers was driving toward the park entrance at 72 miles per hour. The guards pulled out their rifles, knowing it could be a possible threat. As the buggy approached them, it drifted in front of the duo, and the door opened, revealing Tri-El and Err-Yr driving the vehicle. The pair then jumped out of the buggy and walked to the entrance, with Err-Yr carrying a dust-filled plastic bag.
"You know, we have a magical source of energy at home. It's called Tintaglium!" Tri-El hissed.
"Bro, we just have one simple task, and then we are done," Err-Yr responded as he raised the bag of Dust. "Deliver this sack of gems to her so that she can win the tournament."
"You speak of Yang Xiao Long, future herald of Vekk-Torr." The maroon guard implied.
"Yeah, her." Tri-El. "Listen, I do NOT want to be on her bad side, Goa-Eff."
"About that, she is a human." Goa-Eff, the orange guard, confessed. "That's why Soul-Raja and I distance ourselves from her. We do not know when Yang might stab us in the back."
"You act like the omniverse is against us." Soul-Raja, the maroon armored guard, attested.
"Yeah, you need to stay off the joint." Tri-El offered.
"Yeah." Goa-Eff agreed. "I should."
The four then headed inside the abandoned park and activated the laser gates so no one could enter. Elsewhere, Ironwood's Bullhead landed in a parking lot far away from the entrance to the park. The three heroes exited the aircraft and began walking toward the gate, combat-ready and poised to attack any enemy, Camylonian or Grimm when they saw them approach the trio.
"Okay, I detect no enemies around the gate nor in the parking lot," Theo informed.
"Glad to see and hear that," Penny replied.
As they approached the main parking lot, Theo noticed something on his radar on his mech.
"Something's coming from behind us." He warned.
Ironwood turned around and pulled out his guns, ensuring that Theo was correct.
"You know, it would be evident if someone with a high-tech mech suit could cover our backs." Ironwood implied.
Suddenly, a winged figure flew over them and landed before them. Ironwood turned around and aimed at the figure's head as it did that.
"Which one of you is the 'Coconut Boy'?" It asked.
"Why do you ask?" Theo responded as he raised his mech's machine gun arm at the figure.
Suddenly, Penny knocked on the windshield politely.
"I recommend you to get out of the mech." She requested.
"Fine." Theo sighed.
"Penny, are you nuts?" Ironwood whispered.
Theo then exited his mech and walked towards the figure. He noticed the raven-like features on his body and then stepped back.
"A-are you going to hurt us?" He asked.
"No." The figure responded. "I am here to help. It seems we share a common goal, you and I. We both want to stop Vekk-Torr."
With the Nevermore Energy inside of him, he activated a street lamp, which shined on the trio and himself.
"My name is Lin-Noir. I hail from Camylon, a world beyond your own." He said.
"Whoa, how did you do that?" Theo questioned.
"Let's just say a friend taught me how to use it." The Camylonian responded.
"Masa," Theo whispered.
"So, who are you exactly?" General Ironwood demanded.
"As I said earlier, I hail from Camylon, a world beyond your own. And to be more exact, I am one of my planet's most praised guardians—the Knights of the Core. Along with Spectators and Rooks, we keep every known reality safe against rouge abnormalities called Distortions." Lin-Noir explained. "As of now, there are five Distortions in that abandoned theme park. Luckily, you two have found one of them."
"Excuse me. I am not a 'Distortion' or whatever; I'm normal." Theo pleaded.
"Sedition, you are a Distortion!" Lin-Noir countered.
"Well, you do not know who's friend or foe!" Theo bickered.
"Well, let's see what my Scouter says!" Lin-Noir confessed.
He then pulled out his Scouter and put it on the left side of his head, and then it analyzed Theo. It then revealed to him that Theo was on the same side as him as it displayed the phrase 'DISTORTION ALIGNMENT: POSITIVE' and paused.
"I—I don't believe it." He gasped. "A Positive Distortion!"
"Positive Distortion?" Theo asked. "What is that?"
"A rouge entity that protects the reality it calls home. No Camylonian has seen one in centuries." Lin-Noir explained.
"Wait. Could that mean that Ruby, Tari, Lamar, and Weiss are Positive Distortions too?" Theo pondered.
"At this point, with you guys fighting Vekk-Torr's army, it would seem so." Lin-Noir acknowledged.
The four then walked toward the park entrance, and once they arrived at the gate, Lin-Noir summoned a tendril from the palm of his left hand and turned off the lasers.
"How'd you do that?" Ironwood asked.
"An old friend of Theo's, Masa Shimamoto," Lin-Noir replied.
"He's alive?" Theo gasped.
"Indeed. Shimamoto's in Menagerine after a jostle with a Distortion there." Lin-Noir added. "I'll explain later."
The quartet entered the abandoned amusement park, hoping to find The Battleground. As they walked toward the park map, they noticed a drawing of a circle around the food court with a red marker pinpointing the location of The Battleground. As Theo exited his mech, he saw that it was the location of The Battleground.
"Okay, according to that map, The Battleground is where the food court is." He informed.
"Roger," Penny remarked. "I'll upload the park schematics to everyone's scroll."
"No need, Penny. I got it covered." Lin-Noir said as he summoned two tendrils from his palms and uploaded the park's map to their devices. "Follow me."
They walked through the abandoned park, seeing the worn-down rides and dusty stalls. They even saw a sleeping Ursa on one of the roller coaster carts. As they approached the food court, they immediately noticed the neon lights illuminating the building and shining like spotlights in the sky.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have arrived at your destination." Theo proclaimed.
The four arrived at the rave-like atmosphere as they saw numerous VekkTroopers entering the building. As they entered it, they saw it renovated to become a fighting ring akin to Amity Colosseum, with cheers as loud as a hockey arena. When they progressed, one VekkTrooper came across the four.
"Salutations. Welcome to The Battleground." It greeted.
"Uh, hello," Ironwood responded.
"As of now, we need one more fighter for this tournament. Are any of you up for the task of dethroning the champ?" The VekkTrooper inquired the group.
Lin-Noir, Penny, and Ironwood then huddled, discussing who should represent the group.
"Okay." Lin-Noir bespoke. "I would like to say-"
"I'll go." Theo declared.
The rest then paused and turned around to see Theo next to the VekkTrooper, joining the tournament.
"Theo, what are you doing?" Ironwood hissed.
"I'm registering myself and Glitchy Boy into that tournament," Theo explained.
"Glitchy Boy?" Penny pondered.
"That is what he calls his Recon and Tactics Exosuit, or RTX for short," Lin-Noir explained.
Ironwood and Penny then acknowledged what Lin-Noir said.
"Good luck, friend!" Penny cheered.
The VekkTrooper then escorted Theo to the elevator, and once they entered it, it sent them down to the fighters' locker room. Once it arrived, Theo immediately stepped out and headed into the locker room.
"Good luck!" The VekkTrooper said.
"That's what Penny told me." Theo chuckled.
Suddenly, Ruby came across the ally that she presumed was left behind.
"Theo!" She exclaimed as she ran towards him and proceeded to hug him.
"Heya, Ruby! What are you doing here?" Theo questioned.
"Okay, I joined this tournament, and if I win, I will tell Yang all we know," Ruby explained.
"What about the others?" Theo asked.
"They are in attendance at the tournament, but Tari is in Vekk-Torr's clutches, and Remnant will be reduced to dust if I lose," She replied.
"Better make that we. Because we share the same goal." He added.
"Ruby! Theo! Tournament stats in ten seconds!" The ring announcer informed.
"Race you there!" Theo challenged.
"You are on!" Ruby replied.
Back in the arena, Lin-Noir, Ironwood, and Penny walked to their seats. Surprisingly, they were sitting next to Ruby and Tari's group. Both groups were immediately shocked and surprised by the sight of each other, but none could show more of these emotions than Arma-Kade and Lin-Noir."
"Lin?" Arma-Kade gaped.
"Armie?" Lin-Noir spouted.
"You know him?" Lamar interrupted.
"Why yes. We are Knights of the Core and will happily tell you about it when this tournament ends." Arma-Kade revealed.
Suddenly the pyrotechnics go off all over the arena floor, with the crowd cheering as loud as possible. Once the dust settled after the pyrotechnics went off, Yang emerged from the smoke with a microphone in her hand.
"Ladies and gentlemen," She spoke. "Tonight is a special night here at The Battleground. Tonight, we determine if Remnant lives or dies!"
The crowd erupted in cheers after Yang's announcement.
"Tonight is a tournament for the grandest prize in Lord Vekk-Torr's trophy room—the sapphire threat herself, Tari!" Yang announced as she showed an image of Tari in a cage with Vekk-Torr holding it by its chain. The crowd immediately booed her when the jumbotron displayed the photo.
"And fighting on her behalf is her friend and colleague who says Vekk-Torr is using me like a puppet," Yang announced. "Please welcome… RUBY ROSE!"
Ruby came out to the sound of boos from the crowd, except from her group, who was cheering her on.
"Tough crowd." She thought to herself.
"But if she wants Tari, she must get past this tournament's fighters. Introducing first, piloting his awesome mech suit, The Coconut Boy, THEO!" Yang announced.
Theo came out of the backstage and immediately waved to the crowd.
"The Loud Hound of Lycannus, SUBHOWLER!" She continued.
Subhowler sprinted from backstage and leaped over the two heroes. He then landed on the ground and gave a loud howl that galvanized the crowd.
"That's how you get the crowd to like you, champ." He snarled when he got close to Yang.
"Yeah, whatever," Yang responded. "Now, where were we? Oh yeah! The Three-Headed Monster of Hydaxx, TRIPLEHEADER!"
Tripleheader came out of the smoke created by the pyrotechnics and smoke machine. They were a three-headed dragon-like humanoid alien standing eight feet tall with three heads, necks almost as long as two feet, and scale colors, signifying their different personalities. The first head resembles a triceratops, with bone-white horns, amber-colored eyes, and burgundy-red scales, and is the rightmost head. The second head resembled a Komodo dragon with a neon blue head sail, lilac eyes, and black scales, and it is the leftmost head. The third one is akin to a wyvern with pitch-black eyes, white irises, and silver scales and is the center head. They wore an asymmetrical mancia covering their right shoulder, white fingerless gloves, and long black, tattered pants that displayed their asymmetrical scale pattern. They turned their attention to Ruby when they walked out.
"Who invited the shrimp kebab?" The komodo head asked the others.
"Not now. We have a tournament to win!" The wyvern head informed.
"Oh. That." The komodo head groaned. "Can we eat Yang and that appetizer once we win?"
"Guys, we discussed this. We are going to Sammie Raphaello's." The triceratops head grunted.
"Colonnoa's The Frostbiting Formicidae, ANTARCTIC!" Yang announced.
From the smoke, Antarctic revealed himself as a pale white humanoid ant. He had light blue teeth, toes, and a slender physique, similar to a basketball player, excluding his gaster. He wore a navy blue flight suit with an energy cell pack hooked to his ice cannon. Said cannon is similar to a rotary cannon, colored bluish gunmetal gray.
"Let's get this over with." He groaned.
"The Locked and Loaded Rocker, ROCK-SKAR!" Yang announced.
Rock-Skar ran out to the arena with a loud crowd pop.
"BATTLEGROUND!" He reckoned as he snatched the microphone from Yang's hand. "CAMYLON'S GREATEST WEAPONSMITH HAS ARRIVED!"
Yang then proceeded to yank the mic back from the general.
"Okay, whatever you say. Now back to our fighters." She interrupted. "The Brutish Metal Monstrosity, MONGO!"
Mongo then barged through the backstage and stumbled onto the ramp. He revealed himself as a large, bulky Camylonian, wearing navy breeches, large armored boots, and a strap around his left shoulder with a spiky shoulder pad. He also had a mohawk made of data jacks.
"BAH-HAHAHAHA! He tripped over the wire of the smoke machine!" Tripleheader's Komodo head laughed.
The crowd fell silent after that burst of laughter and looked at Tripleheader. Then, Mongo got up, dusted himself off, and waved.
"Mongo'll break you." He reckoned.
"Well, that was awkward," Yang noted.
"Yeah. What kinda idiot makes fun of someone's fall?" Lamar ranted.
The crowd then singlehandedly agreed with what Lamar said.
"Anyway," Yang announced. "Rounding out this tournament is the champ herself. The herald of Vekk-Torr. The one. The only. The Firestarter…"
Yang raised her and in the air with the microphone in hand.
"YANG XIAO LONG!" The crowd chanted.
"You were saying?" Yang asked as she turned to Subhowler.
"Wait till I rip you in half." The Lycanoid growled.
Hearing their conversation, Ruby turned to Theo.
"Let's win this for Tari." She told him.
Theo gave a thumbs-up from inside his mech before the tournament began. In the first match of the quarterfinals, Rock-Skar took on Subhowler. As the two began to circle the fighting ring, the former readied his guitar axe and focused on a strike to subdue the latter.
"Alright, Wolfie. Playtime's over." He taunted.
He then charged in mindlessly, and the Lycanoid grabbed him by the leg and thrashed him around like a ragdoll. Rock-Skar screamed as he was thrown and slammed to the floor like a mace. He then threw his weapon at his opponent's face, striking Subhowler. The Lycanoid then raised him to his face, snarled at him, and then threw him like a shot put out of the facility. The crowd cheered for the victorious Lycanoid, grabbed the mic, and began cutting a promo.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you." He acknowledged the cheering crowd. "There is one person in this tournament I want to defeat more than the champ. So, the sooner you're finished beating the crap out of your opponent, the sooner I get payback."
In the next match, Theo faced off against Mongo. As Mongo tried to get a shot in with his wrist-mounted chainsaws, Theo dodged the attacks with his mech's mace arm. He then fired the mace into Mongo's face, stunning the Camylonian. Theo fired at Mongo with his mech's rotary cannon arm, rocketed toward him via his jetpack, and hugged him for a German suplex. He then slammed his mech's mace arm between Mongo's legs, burying his torso like an ostrich's head.
"Let that be a lesson to you, you big meanie!" Theo teased.
The following match was between Yang and Antarctic. When the bout began, Antarctic fired his ice cannon at Yang, turning her into a glacier. He raised his hand when he thought he was the victor. Suddenly, Yang broke through the ice with her Semblance and body heat.
"Oh, kosva!" He spouted.
She then charged at him, with him firing a few shots and Yang evading all of them. When she came close to her opponent, she sucker-punched the Colonnite before giving him a diamond cutter. She then froze her opponent into a glacier with his ice cannon.
"Cool off, bug." Yang mocked her opponent.
She then pushed the glacier up the ramp, and the latter slid backstage, where the defeated Antarctic awaited medical attention. Thus it led to the final match of the quarterfinals, between Ruby and Tripleheader. As Ruby and Tripleheader traded blows, the latter got the upper hand by knocking the former on her bottom, making her lose grip on Crescent Rose.
"Ha! How do you like that?" The Komodo head taunted.
Ruby quickly got up and raised her prosthetic arm to her signature weapon. The wyvern head then noticed it and signaled the rest of their body to stop it.
"Oh no, you don't!" The triceratops head exclaimed as they sprinted toward her weapon.
Ruby slightly lifted her hand as her opponent was off guard and started to pull in Arma-Kade.
"What the?!" He noticed when he got caught by the magnetic pull.
He then got pulled by the magnetic pull and into Ruby's hand. Surprised by this, Arma-Kade then crawled onto her shoulder.
"Ruby, do you know what you're doing?" He asked.
"Yeah, I know what I am doing." Ruby smiled confidently. "Using Crescent Rose as a distraction so you can choke out King Taijitu here."
Ruby threw Arma-Kade like a pair of bolas, and he then grabbed all three necks of her opponent. When Tripleheader grabbed and pointed Crescent Rose at Ruby. However, they didn't expect Arma-Kade to come at them, thrown like bolas. As he held their necks, he tightened his grip so they suffocated. They immediately dropped her weapon, and as the Camylonian centipede continued strangling them, Ruby jumped to one of the walls of the ring and gave a flying roundhouse kick, knocking out the wyvern head of the three.
"Ha! Moron!" The Komodo dragon mocked.
Ruby then smirked and gave a jumping uppercut that knocked the said head out.
"Forgetting something?" The triceratops head questioned her.
"Nope." She responded.
Ruby then picked up Crescent Rose and used the blunt of her scythe form to knock out the triceratops head, causing the three-headed challenger to fall onto the floor. Arma-Kade then let go of the defeated opponent and crawled back to his seat next to Lamar before the two winked at each other. She then grabbed the microphone and cut a promo.
"Yang." She started. "I know Subhowler wants that rematch with you, but I already called dibs on him."
Subhowler then stormed out backstage to confront the confident Huntress. He then grabbed a mic for himself and snarled at her.
"You want me? You're on." He responded.
He then shoved her into a wall, signing the start of the semifinal round. Ruby then tried to free herself from his grasp using her strength. As she tried to pry herself off Subhowler's grip, she spitted in his eye, causing him to reel back and for Ruby to deliver a punch to stagger the Lycanoid. Ruby gave a slash from Crescent Rose, but Subhowler parried it. The two traded blows, but as Ruby tried to deliver a blow to stagger her larger opponent, Subhowler grabbed her by the legs. Much like Rock-Skar before her, Ruby was thrashed on the ground. However, unlike the general of Vekk-Torr before, Ruby thought smart and used Crescent Rose to pierce a hole in the arena floor. As he started slamming Ruby again, she activated her Semblance, confusing the Lycanoid. She then fired a shot from Crescent Rose at him to draw his attention, and by surprise, it did.
"Lucky shot." Subhowler snarled.
"Let me guess. The next thing you are about to say is—'You must've got some nerve firing a pathetic firearm at me.', isn't it?" Ruby taunted.
"You must've got some nerve firing a pathetic firearm at me," Subhowler growled.
As he said that, he became immediately shocked as she somehow predicted the words he would say right out of his mouth.
"Impossible." He whispered. "No one has ever predicted anything that I ever do."
"I know what you're saying next," smirked Ruby.
"Stop copying everything I say, asshole!" They both said in unison, Ruby confidently and Subhowler angrily.
The jinx infuriated the latter, and he pounced to snatch her off the ground. But Ruby evaded the oncoming attack and fired a few more rounds at him.
"Hold STILL!" He demanded Ruby as he leaped at her again, only for the same result.
As he leaped at her once more, Ruby gave a slice at his back with her signature weapon. Subhowler reeled in pain when the attack struck him. As he saw the attacker in front of him, he jumped and slammed his fists into the arena's center, creating a powerful shockwave that sent Ruby into a wall, separating her and Crescent Rose. He then clasped his hands and activated a loud, paralyzing soundwave from his forearm-mounted speakers.
"Now, you're trapped." He smirked sinisterly.
"We'll see." quipped Ruby.
Using her electromagnet in her prosthetic arm, she levitated her weapon and then hurled at her forearms, severing them. Surprised by this, Ruby gave a left hook that knocked seven teeth out. She then gave a low blow, which staggered him, and proceeded to grab his groin and squeeze it painfully, causing Subhowler to cry out in pain comically. Everyone in the audience laughed at the sight of this.
"Alright! I give! I give!" He whined.
Ruby then released her forfeited opponent's groin and knocked him out with an uppercut.
"All bark, no bite," Ruby said as she walked away from the defeated Lycanoid and raised her fist.
Then, it was the matchup between Theo and Yang. As both combatants square off in the center of the arena, Yang bolted and punched through the windshield, pulling Theo out of his mech.
"Theo!" Weiss and Lamar shouted from the crowd.
Yang then pounded him on the front of his mech. She then threw him to a wall, and as he recovered, Yang threw his mech at him, crushing him.
"NO!" Lamar screamed.
Yang then turned her attention to the rest of Ruby's group.
"Yang, how could you?" Weiss bellowed.
"You know. I knew all of you would fall into my trap." Yang replied.
"Trap? Trap?! You call this a trap?!" Lamar questioned.
"Yeah," sassed Yang. "Now, if you excuse me-"
"HEY!" A voice interrupted.
Everyone turned around to see Ruby combat-ready and determined to defeat her sister.
"You lost a part of yourself, Yang," Ruby said.
"So?" Yang bellowed. "I am glad that piece of me is gone and the fact that it's never coming back."
Ruby gritted her teeth, and Yang taunted her.
"Time for you to see the light." Ruby snickered before bolting at her gone rouge sister.
Yang then dodged the attack Ruby tried to give her, only to counter by yanking the hood on Ruby's cape and delivering a Diamond Cutter. The crowd cheered, and Ruby's group booed Yang for that dirty move.
"Quite frankly, that's cheating!" jeered Lin-Noir.
"Up yours!" replied Yang as she flipped off the Knight and turned to her sister. "Night night, sis!"
"My thoughts, exactly." jested Ruby, who, unbeknownst to Yang, used her prosthetic arm's electromagnet to bring down a loosened girder on top of her.
Yang noticed the object about to fall on top of her and possibly crush her and evaded once it made contact with the ground. Ruby got up and used Crescent Rose like a projectile with the said prosthetic arm. Yang dodged that as well, and she bolted toward her younger sister. Ruby responded by giving her a lariat across the jaw.
"That's it! Use some of your wrestling moves to counter hers!" Arma-Kade cheered.
Ruby acknowledged what her comrade said by nodding in agreement. She then gave Yang a flying knee on the way to pick up Crescent Rose and fired an ice shot at her right foot, snaring her.
"Damnit, Ruby. Those are 500 Lien shoes!" Yang hissed.
"I know what you are about to say next." Ruby jested.
"This besmirch you have caused in lord Vekk-Torr's plan ends now!" They both said in unison.
"Oh, crap!" gasped Yang.
Ruby then sprinted toward her sister with another attack—this time with the girder from before being used as a projectile. Yang then grabbed it and hurled it into a wall. Ruby then recalled Crescent Rose to her in response and prepared to strike her sister with it. But Yang caught it by the scythe's end, pointed toward her ice-ensnared foot, and fired at it. She threw Ruby aside and clutched her freed foot in pain as she did that.
"Aaagh! My foot!" Yang screamed.
"Now's my chance!" Ruby thought as she saw an opening.
Ruby then bolted to her reeling-in-pain sister with another lariat. Yang saw the attack coming and retaliated with a roundhouse kick, knocking Ruby down. Yang then picked up the girder and swung at her sister, but Ruby managed to slice it like a loaf of bread with her signature weapon. Then, using the cut-off pieces, Ruby used her arm's electromagnet and hurled at Yang like projectiles. Yang caught one of them and tossed it back at Ruby, hitting her in the chest. The attack would send her back into Theo's mech, accidentally causing her to start the self-destruct sequence.
"Ow." Ruby groaned. "My ovaries."
Yang ran towards her with a fist clenched, ready to finish her off for good. Ruby regained conscience, thanks to the loud beeps from the mech's cockpit. Then, Ruby thought of an idea—let Yang take the explosion head-on and strike when she is down. As he saw this, Tri-El threw the sack of Dust Crystals onto the arena floor, spilling out two large Fire Dust crystals. Yang then picked them up and crushed them, engulfing her hands in flames.
"Any last words?" Yang asked.
"Yeah," grunted Ruby as she used her prosthetic arm's electromagnet to get the piece of girder off of her and throw it back at Yang. "Think fast!"
Yang noticed the projectile thrown at her and jumped over it and on it to prepare for a final blow that would end the fight once and for all. Then, Ruby managed to dash away from Yang just in time as she got close to the destroyed mech that was about to explode. When it did, it knocked Yang back and created a fire as long as a yard in diameter. Then, something emerged from the fire, the same mech that once was destroyed, now rebuilt and unblemished.
"Ugh, did I just explode?" said Theo as he walked out of the explosion the same as before.
Yang noticed the once-defeated combatant come out of the fire unscathed and charged at him.
"You should stay dead, runt!" Yang yelled.
"Oh no, you don't!" Ruby confessed. "Your fight is with me!"
Ruby then used Crescent Rose and sliced off her right arm, causing Yang to scream in pain from the attack.
"YOU RAGGEDY BITCH!" She yelled at her attacker.
The two sisters charged at each other, with Yang about to deliver a punch with her left arm. Noticing this, Ruby severed Yang's left forearm, causing the elder sister more pain.
"This wasn't supposed to happen!" Yang shrieked.
"Seems you had enough." Ruby bragged.
Yang looked around to see her severed limbs fade into dust.
"Uh… heh-heh. Mercy?" Yang nervously laughed.
"Nope," Ruby replied, giving her sister a sucker punch to knock her out.
"The winner of this match… and NEWWWWWWWWWWW champion of The Battleground, RUUUUUUUUUBY ROOOOOOOOOOOOOSE!" The announcer declared.
Then, the crowd, except for Ruby's group, began throwing trash onto the arena floor and jeering. Weiss, Lamar, and Roa-Nyn reached the arena floor, and the Huntsmen hugged Ruby.
"I knew you had guts!" Weiss quipped. "You remind me of the head of the Ace Ops, Clover Ebi."
Then, a portal opened behind the three, and Tari walked out of it with tears in her eyes. She then hugged Ruby in joy, knowing that she won.
"Thank you, Ruby. Thank you for being so selfless and so brave. You are a true hero." Tari sobbed joyfully.
"You're… welcome," Ruby replied as she hugged her new friend back.
"Champ, you now have the mic." The announcer interrupted.
"Combatants of The Battleground. As of tonight, Vekk-Torr no longer claims you as enslaved individuals for entertainment. You're free!" Ruby announced.
The crowd is in shock at what Ruby said. Then, Tripleheader ran towards Ruby, and they shook hands.
"Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!" The Komodo dragon head giggled.
"What he said." The triceratops head acknowledged.
"Same here." The wyvern head agreed.
Then, dozens of aliens from various worlds that Vekk-Torr destroyed headed to the front of the arena and walked toward Ruby.
"Folks, this is your savior. Ruby Rose." Tari explained.
"As I said before, you are all free!" Ruby informed them all.
The freed aliens cheered in unison and then scaled the arena's walls.
"Everyone, fall back!" One of the VekkTroopers ordered.
The VekkTroopers then evacuated the building with the escaping aliens pursuing them.
"Where are you going?! They are just—-oh, that's right. They are unarmed." confessed Yang.
"You lose, Yang," claimed Ruby. "Now it's time for you to know the truth."
Suddenly, the jumbotron lowered and unfolded to cover Ruby, Tari, their group, and the defeated rouge Huntress. Vekk-Torr appeared on the monitors as they turned on all around them.
"Honestly, it's time for you to cease your interference, Ruby Rose." He declared.
"You turned my sister into a damn puppet!" Ruby shouted.
"Wasn't me." Vekk-Torr countered. "That was my trusted colleague, Braane-Strom."
Suddenly, Braane-Strom appeared on the monitors vertically toward everyone.
"Why thank you, my liege. I am sure that—WHAT IN THE GREAT NAME OF JULIUS ROBERT OPPENHEIMER DID YOU DO TO YANG?!" He exclaimed in shock.
"Your bruiser tried to kill Theo. And now that she's out of the way, we are coming for your ass!" Lamar interrupted as Weiss sped over to his side.
"Yeah!" Weiss chimed in as Lamar held out his hand, and she low-fives it.
"If a sportsbook has odds of you wannabe heroes saving Remnant from getting destroyed in one hundred sixty-eight hours, they would be sextillion to one!"
"And honestly, we like those odds." Roa-Nyn chimed in.
"Bah! You and achieving the possible, old friend." Vekk-Torr mocked. "One day, you will soon see the odds stacked against you."
"And as for you and your motley crew, Ruby, every Huntsman and Huntress in Beacon will come for you, and you have zero chance of surviving," concluded Braane-Strom.
"Wait, isn't she forgetting something?" Lamar realized.
"Oh, right." Vekk-Torr noticed. "One sec."
He opened a small portal, and a lightning bolt struck Tari. As it hit her, it transformed her into when she logged out of the game, giving the blue-haired Meta Runner her gear back. But then, something happened to her hair. It became a bit more spikier, and a cowlick curled up around the top of her head. Noticing this, Tari then twirled her sword and hoisted it in the air.
"Look out, Vekk-Torr. The new and improved Tari is here!" She exclaimed.
"Yeah. Whatever. See you tomorrow." Vekk-Torr dismissed before the monitors went off, and the jumbotron folded itself back up and returned to its original position.
Suddenly, dozens of humans, faunus, and Camylonians entered the empty arena. They came armed with numerous weapons, such as swords, hammers, and guns.
"This is the Remnant Resistance Front! Stand still with your hands in the air!" A shark faunus ordered everyone in the arena.
"Remnant Resistance Front?" Lamar questioned. "I have never heard of you guys before!"
Suddenly, a group of seven RRF soldiers, including the shark faunus responsible for the announcement, came close to them. And among them, Roman Torchwick emerged from the group.
"That is because you have never heard of us." He answered.
"Torchwick?" Ruby gasped.
"Greetings, Red." He responded. "And it is Acting Director Roman Torchwick."
"Glad to see someone with a change of heart." Ozpin chimed in.
"I appreciate that, and quite frankly, these freedom fighters would like to join the cause."
"An invitation to join an organization that can help us stop Vekk-Torr's despicable plan to destroy Remnant?" interrupted Ruby. "You son of a bitch, we're in."
"I'll pass." Yang declined as she walked away from the rest of the group.
The group turned to Yang as she said that.
"We are here to protect Remnant from evils like Vekk-Torr. You were a fool to go rouge and join his side!" Weiss ranted as she threw a grenade at her.
"The only fools here are you and your gang of misfits trying to save the world," Yang responded as she snatched the grenade midair with her left hand, which had somehow regenerated as it got cut off in her fight with Ruby. "I'd wish you had the same vision as me."
"Yang!" Ruby yelled.
"Farewell." Yang disclosed as she crushed the grenade with her hand, causing an explosion that led to rubble falling on top of her and knocking Ruby back. She then got up slowly as Weiss and Tari helped her up.
"Ruby. We tried our best." Tari appraised.
"But it wasn't enough." Ruby scorned. "Yang is dead."
"We'll avenge her, no matter the cost." Weiss comforted. "Because-"
"That's what Huntsmen do. Keep moving forward." Ruby smiled.
The group then joins the Remnant Resistance Front to return to Silica City. Once they arrived, Ruby and Weiss flew around the city on the latter's jetpack, taking in the sights of it. As they landed near MD-5's hideout, everyone, including Roman, was waiting for them.
"Everyone, you might want to see this," he said. "This is the new HQ of the Remnant Resistance Front!"
Roman placed his hand on the hand scanner to the hideout.
"Whoawhoawhoa-Whoa! Who gave him access to our hideout?" Lamar inquired.
"That would be me," Lin-Noir revealed. "I enhanced its security with both Atlesian and Camylonian technology."
As the scanner accepted his handprint, the doors opened to see the hideout renovated to become a main lobby where the group could hang out, have a meal, play video games, cook, and discuss any plans to save Remnant from destruction.
"How did you find this place?" Ruby pondered.
"Well," chuckled Roman. "It's a long story."
How did Roman, out of all people, become the founder of the Remnant Resistance Front?
How did it catch the attention of Remnant?
And where's Neo?
Be here for when all of those questions get answered in Sidequests: Crime Crisis!
In Joyworld, the turtlelike Knight of the Core began removing the rubble in which Yang forced herself to get buried. Piece by piece, he threw it into the stands with unparalleled strength. When he found the unconscious rouge Huntress, he pulled her out and placed her on the ground. Then, in surprise, Yang got up, ticked off, and enraged at the Knight that saved her life.
"Yo, turtle boy. Who in the hell are you?" She asked.
"A friend. My name is Erde-Vere." The Knight revealed.
"What do you want?" She demanded.
Erde-Vere chuckled as he placed a pair of bracelets familiar to her.
"I want to give something to you." He responded as he placed the bracelets down on the ground of the arena. "A shot at redemption."
And stay tuned for Chapter 10: Rekindling an Undying Blaze, where Yang answers one question—Will she become a hero or remain a villain?