Her uncle Jekyll was losing. There was no denying that even to the most inexperienced of fighters.

It started out on somewhat equal footing which had been impressive enough given that Tyrian had spent a better part of his time chasing after Ruby. With Jekyll being well-rested relative to his opponent, he should have an easier time in this conflict. Ruby did what she could to lessen the burden as well, always drawing Tyrian away from favorable positions since the scorpion faunus was too focused on her for the most part.

However, such an advantage could only last so long. The poison had begun working its way into her uncle's systems. Jekyll pushing himself to protect her certainly didn't help that in the slightest. His movements slowed and his strength failed at times. Tyrian's semblance made it difficult to be defensive as well. Many times already did her uncle had to endure the cuts from thick blades. Ruby flinched every time she heard him scream in pain. Disrupted aura took time to recover. When it did, it rushed to heal whatever wounds that the user had.

Tyrian made use of those openings to land further damage. Bones nearly broke with some muscles clearly having been twisted and sprained.

Uncle Jekyll was stubborn though. No matter how many times Tyrian was certain that Jekyll was down, he would always come back up. Whether by the tail, feet, or hair, Jekyll never allowed Tyrian near Ruby. He grunted every time he grabbed something that prevented Tyrian from getting any closer.

It was a painful and frustrating sight that Ruby had to fight as well. Her uncle Jekyll kept putting himself between her and Tyrian. Enduring all that pain and shouldering the toxins that continuously had been built up with those repeated stings, there was a relentless ferocity behind it. Jekyll stubbornly refused to give in. Ruby wasn't about to let it go to waste. She came to Beacon to be a huntress, to be a hero. What kind of hero would she be if she let others throw away their lives for her sake?

"Aren't we a stubborn little hound?" Tyrian gloated. However, he was panting. Having to fight two people at the same time would still take its toll.

Jekyll didn't reply. He vomited instead. Wiping away whatever remained on his mouth, his aura came back again to heal that nasty wound on his arms that had a cut from earlier; a scar remained. His growls stayed as fierce as before.

Ruby swung Crescent Rose, aiming for the neck. She already knew that it wouldn't work as the large stinger came in-between them. Pulling back her scythe, Ruby wasn't fast enough to cut the end of Tyrian's tail. She gave her own growl in frustration.

"Tut, tut, tut," Tyrian shook his head, feigning disappointment. "Naughty, naughty little girl."

Silver eyes shifted their attention between friend and foe. Jekyll dragged himself between Ruby and Tyrian. His arms shook as he pushed himself back up. Ruby doubts that her uncle could keep his balance with how much his knees shook.

"Uncle Jekyll," Ruby pleaded. "We need to—"

"You go." His voice was weak and hoarse. She could hear the labor behind each his breaths. "However far it will take you, run Ruby, run."

"But this is my fight too! I don't what it is that I have, but it's me he wants!"

"I know. But it shouldn't have been this way at all." He turned to look at her, eyes with fading colors. "I failed Amber. I failed Pyrrha. I'm failing the others as we speak. I will, at least, not fail you here." Roaring, there was a sudden burst of energy as he psyched himself back up. His aura healed his wounds. For a moment, color returned to his eyes.

Jekyll charged for Tyrian. The latter did much the same. Ignoring any damage, her uncle threw caution to the wind as the two wrestled among the damages debris. Tyrian's blasted tail was an advantage on account of being an extra limb. If Jekyll paid attention towards it, Tyrian had a free arm. If he did not, his opponent could further inject him with poison.

Her grip on Crescent Rose was tight. Her lower lip had clear imprints left behind by her teeth. Feet glued to the ground, Ruby wanted to protest; she wanted to stay and fight. But what could she do? Tyrian's senses were excellent that she couldn't simply play distraction. She couldn't cut off that tail.

Heavy was her chest as her back turned towards her struggling uncle. The first step away from the fight was the most difficult thing that Ruby ever did. Teeth grinding, she forced her feet to follow her commands. Every instinct yelled at her to stay, that this wasn't what she is supposed to be.

The sounds of the fight behind her slowly became distant. She could still hear her uncle's growls competing with Tyrian's glee. Both grew quieter as she had gone further.

She needed to find help. Someone. Anyone. She can't let him go like this.

Ruby then stopped. They were far behind her now. She looked around her. This was a long hallway and with no one else present, there was little in the way of risk. Ruby resumed her run. She wanted to be a huntress to be protect people and she intends to. There was someone there who was hurting and there was no one else around. There was someone who was in danger and only she is present.

After finding a suitable enough spot, she turned around and got to her knees. She checked through her scope; she couldn't pinpoint their exact location but the dust clouds and occasional sparks guided her enough. It was pretty much a straight line from where she was. Even if it wasn't, Ruby was confident that she still had the agility to turn.

Feet, she begged. Don't fail me now. Everything went silent for her as she took a deep breath. There was no one else to come around, so she has to turn around. Not for her, but for others.

Much like her namesake, Ruby soon vanished into a gale of roses.

/-/

Even with Ruby gone, Jekyll was certain that he couldn't keep up with Tyrian. The kind of poison his opponent had wasn't the most fatal of things. However, with repeated injections, Jekyll wasn't sure if he would have an immunity for it first or if his body would eventually give out. He could feel it, a sluggish weight on his muscles. A slowing of his reactions. That general feeling of weakness. Anymore and his heart may begin to fail; he could already tell his vision was blurring.

"I can see why Cinder has an interest in you, my good sir." Tyrian was exhausted. Good. That meant that he would be too slow to catch up to Ruby. If she recovered enough to use her semblance, it would be a certainty. "Such relentlessness. I have to say, it's a shame that we're on opposite sides."

"Like we would get along." Was he speaking as Hyde? He couldn't tell. His vision wasn't the only thing that was blurring to him.

Getting back up had become a struggle. Could aura even heal poisons and toxins? It would have been nice if it had anti-venom properties right about now. Still, he couldn't let Tyrian get far from him and so had to force himself if he had to. It was probably his shift between Jekyll and Hyde that was giving him these healing properties, for however long that was lasting.

Foregoing his previous feral-like stance, Jekyll had to lean onto the walls as he pulled himself back to his own two feet. He had now weapon on him, not even the knife that Greene had lent him. When the emergency had been declared, he rushed out as fast as he was able. He had been unsure of where to go with how there was little in the way of Beacon's halls. It was only when Ruby had called him that he had some direction.

He picked up a bent metal rod, probably from one the curtains. He wouldn't even call it a weapon. With his other hand, he picked up a broken brick.

Tyrian cackled. "What a sad sight! Forced to fight in an endless crusade with sticks and stones!"

"Hey," Jekyll replied. "Mankind made quite the distance with sticks and stones. We're all alive right now, aren't we?"

"As if we got here by our own merits." Tyrian shook his head. "It is only by the goddess' gracious mercy that we were permitted to go this far."

"Always with the bloody queen." It was an opportunity to recover. The toxins were still there but he could at least heal his wounds and recover some aura. "If she wanted to, she would have taken over Remnant ages ago."

"Exactly." Tyrian nodded. "At least you understand."

"I wasn't finished ya Jessie, oaf-looking schooner. It bloody well doesn't mean anythin, ya rodent. Mankind has been at it for ages and still kicking. Way ah see it, ya common hoore of a queen ain't been nothin but a cow; grazin on some grass with her lazy bum waiting for milk-drinkers like you to come along to carry 'er."

Jekyll never side-stepped as fast as before. Tyrian was already on his other side and Jekyll was suddenly brought back to his senses.

Tyrian's shoulders visibly rose and fell with such clarity that there can be no mistaking the effects that Jekyll's words had on him. Even the mood behind his voice had changed. "You blaspheme against the queen."

Hyde's smile had begun to return. There was no denying that he was Hyde at this moment. "Touched a nerve, did I, mate?" It was an odd change of pace but that meant more time to recover. If the headmaster used words to slow him down, he should be able to do the same. "But it is a bit odd, innit? All them years and she ain't even had a coin to her purse."

There was no cackle behind Tyrian anymore. Did he even understand what was being said? Hyde himself wasn't sure on how true his statements were; he was just throwing them out considering how much Tyrian devotes himself to the queen.

More words were being thrown. He already gave up on what they meant. What mattered was that Tyrian was angered to a point that his focus would falter. Hyde moved and leaned as far as his body allowed, aura was healing the wounds and while the poison was still there, it was slowly receding.

Tyrian must have noticed it for his eyes widened at Hyde's regaining movements.

Fancy that, mate. Didn't think I would be regenerating like this. The next step, perhaps? Or was it a gift to balance that reminder of what always lurks inside of him? Maybe it was just the adrenaline going overboard for him. He wasn't sure on the specifics. Shifting between his selves, right. Terrible thing to forget right now.

Either way, it was working in his favor. Tyrian's anger was making him dedicate too much into his strikes and his tail was practically dripping with poison. Hyde grinned when those drips slowed to a point that he was certain that Tyrian needed to squeeze out what remained. Just like any other animal with venomous or poisonous properties, there was a limited amount that they could have before they would need to replenish their supplies. Part of him wondered if Tyrian also needed nutrients that specifically aid in the making of such toxins. Did Tyrian have some special gland that creates it?

An idea came to mind. He never really gave it much thought at all but if the faunus shared traits and capacities of the animal, then for Tyrian that would be mean that his tail had another function. While Hyde may not be the most academically curious of the two halves, they still shared the same mind. His claws weren't sufficient; he needed something bigger.

"Looks like Hyde has his own experiment to do!" There was no bladed weapon on the ground but there certainly was one nearby. Stretching out his arms, Hyde taunted Tyrian. "Was that it, mate? Some follower you are."

Tyrian roared and charged straight at Hyde. Just as he wanted. Moving out of the blade's way, Hyde isolated Tyrian's arm from the rest of his body. They were attached to bracers. There was no time for him to manually untie all those knots. Instead, Hyde used the claws of his fingers to rip the bracers apart. Before the faunus could realize what had been done, he was already skipping across the floor like a pebble across a lake.

The mechanisms of the weapon were something that Hyde could never figure out. But that didn't matter. All he had to do was destroy much of its parts and all that will remain is the blade. That was a simple enough matter.

"Not just a blasphemer," Tyrian accused. "But a burglar as well!"

"Ye forgot interloper, ye dobber." The blade was held carefully in Hyde's hand. The rest of Tyrian's weapon clanged on the ground except the leather which enveloped a part of the blade, making it the grip.

It wasn't the most efficient of knives but the leather kept it in place. There was no fear of suddenly cutting himself. Even if there was, Hyde still had a doctor's hand.

Tyrian could guess what Hyde's plan had been. He was still rather slow in his movements; the effects of the poisons were still present. But he was beginning to recover in some way. However long it would last was not for him to decide or to figure it out. Tyrian had kept Hyde's stolen blade away from him.

Finally, there was some equal ground. Hyde had a weapon and was recovering from the effects of the poison and the bastard Tyrian was getting exhausted. For someone who had no care in the way of moderation, he certainly had quite the stamina to be able to keep going.

Blades clashed. With Hyde's intentions being made clear, Tyrian kept the tail away. A difficult task since it appeared that the tail also served as an aid to the faunus' balance. Tyrian's unorthodox movements were only possibly because of that tail counterbalancing his weight, sometimes gripping something for aid. Hyde's intent of grabbing and keeping close to that tail made such balancing acts as much of a problem as it was a boon.

Pulling on Tyrian's legs, Hyde had to endure some kicks to the face as he gripped on the furiously wiggling tail. It wasn't a guarantee if removing the tail would have the same effects on the faunus as it would a scorpion. But that was still robbing Tyrian of another tool to his advantage.

It was Tyrian's turn to put some distance between them. No further poison was dripping from that tail. Whatever gland the faunus had in his body had run out of juice. On top of that exhaustion, Tyrian must be running on fumes by now. Still, he kept a fierce expression as he stared down Hyde.

By contrast, Hyde's colors were returning to him. His muscles, once numbing, were sending shocks to his system that every time it would hit something, he could feel needles piercing his flesh.

"What's the matter, mate?" Hyde asked. "Run out of steam?"

Tyrian had stopped smiling a while ago. From the moment Hyde had insulted his beloved queen, the faunus had neglected whatever mission it had intended for Ruby.

Hyde was on the offensive. Aiming for that tail, he kept Tyrian on the back end. Without the other blade, Tyrian couldn't go as wild as he had before; that arm was exposed not just to the stolen blade but also to Hyde's grabby one. The faunus still had quite the sense to be able to detect his surroundings, though.

Both combatants were soon drenched in water. All those Dust rounds that had been fired must have triggered an alarm and the sprinklers. It took quite some time before it got here apparently. Then again, Beacon was a combat school that uses firearms during training; the systems may not be as sensitive to fires as it would have in any other place.

The water made their clothes heavy, especially Hyde's. Tyrian didn't have to wear and wasn't as impeded. Lucky for Hyde, he could always get rid of the jacket and vest. Loosening the tie, he had a messier look as the hair clung to his forehead with some nearly covering his eyes. Shaking off what water he could like a dog didn't help as much, sadly.

His vest wasn't the best choice for a makeshift whip. But the water still gave it a weight that he could use. It wasn't the best rope either but he could lucky. Tyrian's senses only worked well with metal. With anything else, it was a matter of experience and instinct.

From the corner of his eye, he noticed the reflection on the puddle of water. Oh. I see. Two different eye colors stared back at him. He wasn't quite as Hyde as he thought nor had he been Jekyll. He had been both. As he is now, he is Jekyll and Hyde.

The blade poorly twirled in his hand. It was an oddly familiar situation, being fully aware of one's own depravity and sin. Jekyll remembered those days. When he would freely have indulged himself in his own sinful urges. All he had ever wanted was to freely do as he wanted without free of consequences. That had been the purpose for Hyde to begin with. It was only when that threat of being caught that he had separated the two. Perhaps, that had affected his place as a Servant; most remembered the split entities, after all.

But now, that wasn't the case. Had that ever been the case since he came here? He wasn't sure. What mattered now was that he had found that control. He found his answer to never lose himself in his own vice. As Hyde, he only wanted to be free to sin. With enemies like Tyrian? The Grimm? Cinder? A wide grin shaped his lips.

"Well then," he said. His voice was mixed of his two halves. His two selves. "Let's start with the fun, shall we?"

Contrasting the state from earlier, it was Jekyll's turn to cackle with Tyrian to growl. The poison's effects were vanishing as he regained the advantage. He kept his wits about him as the scorpion tail was a bit more daring now, probably trying to apply the effects again.

Holes were being made in the walls and various debris broke into smaller pieces as both of them used what they could grab as weapons. Bricks, glass shards, wet curtains, and curtain rods, there was nothing that wasn't used.

Spit flew out of Tyrian's mouth when he had been struck in the face by a brick. He reeled and stumbled back, exposing that tail.

Before Jekyll could take advantage when he had grabbed the tail, Tyrian forcefully pulled said tail downwards, dragging Jekyll along with it. A rising shin met him on his way down from an angle, causing him to fly off the ground and make yet another gaping hole in the corridors of Beacon's halls. Jekyll had to spit out some dust and wood that got into his mouth.

Tyrian was wilder now, much closer to being a deranged scorpion. Hyde was pretty much the same, except his was more of a wolf. A big bad wolf, indeed.

Descending into a slugfest, exhaustion soon made its way to both. There was only so much that adrenaline and perhaps insanity-driven bloodlust could give them. Both were practically panting and gasping for air; their arms hung limply but their fists refused to loosen.

They both stared down one another. Neither really moving from their spot. Their feet shuffled and though their knees' screamed for them to stop, neither of them were willing to back down. Tyrian's tail had already run out of that toxin. Jekyll's stolen blade was shaking in his exhausted hands.

Both forced their arms up, readying themselves for one more clash. Whatever aura that they had managed to recover in that time would be lost in an instant.

There was a sudden booming sound, causing them both to pause. Neither of them had expected it but both were certain that it sounded like thunder. There was no rain nor was there lighting. Then, more sounds were heard. Various debris were being struck and pulled apart as a tornado of roses rapidly got closer towards them.

"Good show, Ruby." Jekyll will admit his being impressed.

Instincts took over as both he and Tyrian failed to outrun the oncoming petal storm; both were swept up by it.

A pained sound was heard coming from Tyrian. Jekyll couldn't tell what it was for being carried by forceful winds was disorienting.

When Ruby stopped, the two adults were still flying by the momentum. Both were planted to the walls of Beacon. Before gravity could bring both down, debris followed suit and Jekyll had to brace himself with aura for any incoming object flying his way. Wooden planks, bricks and shattered glass hit his body like uneven bullets and cannons, depending on how big they were.

Ruby was there to catch him when he fell, unlike Tyrian who landed on solid ground.

"Uncle Jekyll," she asked. "Are you okay? I'm sorry I couldn't find help. I'm sorry that I came back. But—"

"Y-you did good, Ruby," Jekyll replied. Poor girl was crying. "Better than I would have thought." It wasn't the first time that she saved him. That incident at Forever Fall brought quite the memory for him.

There was no hiding the gladness in Ruby's exhale nor the redness of those eyes. "I'm just glad you're safe."

"You bitch!" Tyrian called out. Only now did Jekyll see what Ruby had done: she cut off the tail.

It was Ruby's turn to get between them. For a moment, Jekyll would swear that Ruby's eyes sparked. "I won't stand by and watch someone get hurt. Not my friends and not my family." Jekyll had mostly been adopted by Ruby technically but details.

Tyrian would have gone in anyway but Jekyll stood between them. His arm was raised to protect his student, the niece that he had been adopted by. Behind him Ruby held her determination and focus close to her chest; there was no convincing her to run this time either. He was capable now though. Better, more alive.

"She'll forgive you," Tyrian whispered. "And she'll know more about them both." Soon enough, the faunus retreated.

Rather than chase him, they let him go; Jekyll was too exhausted to keep going as he collapsed. Ruby was there to catch him.

"I'm okay." His reassurances did little to ease her. "I'm okay. But we're not done here, Ruby. There is another, in Vale."

"Then, we'll go together," Ruby said. "Little red riding hood and—what was it you said, uncle? Big bad wolf?"

Jekyll couldn't hold back a chuckle. He shook his head. "I suppose so, Ruby. I suppose so."

"How are you okay?" She placed his arms over her shoulders. Rather than being supported, it was more accurate to say he was being dragged along, given Ruby's height relative to his. "I thought he poisoned you."

"He did. I got better."

"You worried me, you know?"

"I'm sorry. I just didn't want to fail you."

"But you didn't. Not me. You never failed me."

The older huntsman smiled as he looked up to her. He had to fight back the tears. "Come on. We've got a kingdom to save."

It wasn't over yet. Jekyll still had a fight to go to. Though he never did spend much time out in Vale, there were people that he knew who were and they were out there risking themselves to keep civilians safe.

Ozpin's words echoed in his mind. Nameless civilians though they may be, their lives were not any less than those he called friends and companions.

Jekyll wanted to be a hero and he was going to be Hyde to do it. Not just to avenge those that were lost but to protect those that were still around.

Just hold on, Peach. I won't fail you either. I promise.

Both of them soon stopped. They felt the danger come towards them. Jekyll himself felt as though that this was familiar. But it should have come from inside of him that outside.

/-/

The pain stopped. Everything was calming down. She was uncomfortable. In a strange way, whatever had happened to her was enough to push her own body to act.

Amber's eyes twitched. Slowly, they had begun to open.

AN: Trying to learn Scottish slang/insults feels like learning a whole new language. Here's hoping that if JnH ever gets any story relevance, we'll get Scotsman Hyde. Who knows? Maybe we'll get an animation update. We'll get them someday, right? Right?

*overdoses on hopium*