And as promised, here we are! Sorry for both the long wait for both the chapter itself (thought yesterday was SATURDAY :P) and for the return of the story as a whole. Didn't want to suffer burnout so I figured a little break was in order so I could organize my thoughts and sort out plot-points. Thank you all for being so patient and so supportive, you guys really keep me going more than you could ever know. Now that said, ladies and gentlemen, leeeeet's get right back into the show!
Fighting Rose: Volume 3
Chapter 30
Let the games begin
"…Ladies and Gentlemen across the world, without further ado, LET'S GET THIS SHOW ON THE ROAD!"
Following Port's announcement, the Amity stadium and all of Vale itself erupted into cheers at the artificial biome system came to life, spawning fields of ice and magma. The entire place felt alive with excitement, popcorn and drinks spilled, fans of the respective teams preparing their posters in support. Upon seeing who was actually performing however, the excitement quickly soured into confusion and then jeering.
"Well… this is certainly… unprecedented in the history of the tournament," Oobleck noted.
Well into the 4v4 matches, things had been going smoothly without any internal issues. This however was… odd. The camera panned to Weiss, Blake and Yang casually sitting in the crowd while Ruby stood against team Auburn alone, arms crossed and a smirk on her face as she faced down the entire team. Whispers and outright shouts had been hurled at Ruby after a few moments, her face having been memorized as the young but questionable hunter, who's age had been equated to her supposed low level of skill and potential bribery to make it into Beacon.
"Erm…" Oobleck tapped the microphone, the feedback quieting the crowd slightly as he spoke up. "Miss Rose, you're aware that while it isn't against the rules to fight by yourself… you do know that your teammates are technically eliminated from this match and you won't have any backup, yes?"
Ruby simply looked around at the crowd, having quieted into murmurs at this point, before looking right at the commentator's box and throwing a thumbs up, murmurs turning in hushed scoffs.
"What, gonna pay off ABRN to jump out the ring for you!?" One spectator shouted, a few others raising their voices in agreement.
"Honestly, I can't wait to see the looks on their faces," Weiss sighed. "Team ABRN is a strong one from what I've gathered. Solid weaponry, good all-around team at close-to-ranged combat, and their leader has quite the sturdy semblance herself…"
"…but compared to the Ast – compared to him," Blake corrected, "They don't exactly stack up to any of us as we are now, do they?"
"GO EASY ON THEM RUBY!" Yang shouted, intentionally making her voice as loud as possible before she plopped back down onto her seat, an annoyed look on her face. "All these people shit-talking her is getting on my damn nerves…" She felt a soothing presence was over her as Blake gently put her hand over hers, her knotted muscles relaxing almost instantly.
"They'll change their minds in a few moments Yang, so don't be too hung up about it," Blake said with a reassuring smile.
"This is going to be a washout," Weiss agreed as she placed own hand on Yang's other arm, the cooling feeling only increasing.
"…Yeah," Yang said after a moment, a small 'thank you' grin on her face aimed at both of them before she turned to look back at Ruby.
…Days before the match…
"Yeah, I say go for it," Yang nodded after a moment.
"Okay look, I know it's selfish of me to…" Ruby paused before looking up with hope shining in her eyes. "…wait, really? B-but two of you won't even be able to show your stuff off!"
"Ruby Rose, people are talking shit about you and as much as I would like to personally deal with the stupid goddamn rumours being thrown around with Myrtenaster in hand…" Weiss said with a clipped tone, veins popping up on her forehead before she forcibly breathed out, "…it's ultimately you who these rumours are aimed at. Having all four of us, regardless of how well you perform, will only reinforce people's beliefs."
"In short, get out there and do what you do best Ruby," Blake grinned. "Get out there and kick ass. Besides, I'm fine with not going out. Never liked too many eyes on me anyway."
"Same, I'm cool with sitting this one out and it's probably safer," Yang agreed, "There's times when my strength flares up and I don't have the best control of it just yet, not to mention what would happen if I accidentally hit someone with a full-force Black Flash in the middle of a fight."
"…thank you," Ruby said as her head drooped down, the overwhelming feeling of comfort and support wrapping around her in the form of her team's hug almost being too much.
"Thank us by winning," Yang said, "And we know you'll win."
…Present…
Ruby closed her eyes, breathed out and bounced on her toes, lightly shadowboxing as the timer began to count down from one minute.
"So you're the one who sullies the purity of martial arts."
She opened her eyes, a single brow raised. "Eh?"
Arslan Altan, the leader of team ABRN dressed in central-Mistralese attire that evoked the image of a monk, had her arms crossed as she glared at the younger girl.
"You prance around with your mishmash of stolen styles thinking that you're stronger for it, while in reality you're little more than a thief, barely scraping by with cheap victories. A faker."
Ruby's eyes darted to observe her other teammates, noting the exasperation on their faces. They didn't agree with it and had evidently been listening to her say things along these lines for a while, even the other Mistralese boy wielding a bo-staff. Judging by his features, he seemed to be from the far-eastern area of Mistral, the Land of Eternal Lightning, interestingly enough.
"I dunno," Ruby shrugged as she rolled her shoulders, "I think that my techniques are real enough. You might not be wrong about scraping wins, but hey, a win is a win."
"The art of combat is not one meant for an underdeveloped child like you," Arslan persisted, "If you decide to jump out of the arena or forfeit, I would not be surprised. It'd be better to save your dubious reputation."
"And here I was getting aaaall happy that people were starting to notice me," Ruby chuckled as she began to stretch her back.
"Hmph! Your house of cards will come crumbling down when I reveal you for the fraud you are. You'll find that whatever amount of money you paid to get into the tournament was a waste. Then again, no surprise considering your father and your friendship with Wukong!"
"Pfft, what's my dad and Sun gotta do with my about to win?" Ruby asked with a grin.
"One is little more than a burnt-out disgrace and the other is dirty fucking animal who steals techniques!"
Ruby stood still at that, the little grin on her face wiped away in an instant as she stared directly into Arslan's eyes, the latter and her entire team flinching at the sudden gleam in them. Ruby closed her eyes and inhaled deeply the tips of her fingers touching as she sharply exhaled.
"…okay wow, and here you are already getting personal," Ruby sighed, a menacing tone creeping into her voice. With under thirty seconds left, Ruby sharply twisted her wrists and rolled her ankles before flinging Beowulf's gauntlets and greaves away to leave her entirely unarmed. "I was just gonna make this a fair fight… but now…" Her body was suddenly engulfed in a swirl of red aura, the bloom of her Trigger unleashing a wave of air that forced ABRN a step back in shock as the crowd went silent. "Now I'm gonna style on you."
"Three… two… one… BEGIN!"
There was little more than a red flash as the crowd blinked, Ruby having covered the distance to smash her knee right into Arslan's face, the latter's head whipping back with her eyes wide and nose trailing blood. Ruby spun in the air, her Lunar Phase axe-kick crashing into Arslan's stomach before she finished off with a final spin to launch her head right into the latter's mouth and sending the monk into the floor, a shower of stone thrown up into air. The crowd was dead silent now as Ruby walked out of the dust, her aura and Trigger glowing proudly on her skin as she stared down the rest of ABRN.
"…we gonna stand here or what?" She asked as she cracked her knuckles, a massive grin on her face as she began to bounce on her toes in her signature flicker-stance. "C'mon! Show me your motivation!"
(Papa Roach: To Be Loved)
Bolin dashed forward and was immediately on Ruby, his staff lashing out in a flurry of straightforward thrusts at her head and body, Reese and Nadir fanning out to the sides to open fire on her while avoiding hitting their melee teammate. Both Reese and Nadir let loose bursts of high-intensity rounds, Bolin's staff not only stabbing anymore but also whirling through the air in a dazzling display of speed and dexterity, yet not a single thing hit Ruby. Her limbs reinforced with aura, the brief glimpses of her face showed a girl who was having unbounded fun, fists lashing out like whips to block and deflect everything sent her way, her knuckles crashing against Bolin's staff and forcing him to constantly adjust from the feedback and stinging in his arms while the bullets curved away from her with each gentle redirection.
"Y-you're KIDDING me!" Nadir shrieked.
Something furious brushed against Ruby's awareness from behind and she sharply pivoted around to look into the enraged face of Arslan dashing forward with a straight punch and her fist over her front leg, her entire body lunging in a straight line with her full weight behind it. Ruby could only grin wider as she shifted slightly to the side, her hands placed almost gently on Arslan's arm as she seemed to coax it and all of the latter's weight and momentum right into Bolin's chest, the loud *CRUNCH* and his body folding over her fist before being launched backwards through an icy outcropping making everyone watching flinch.
"Hmm, straight-line attack, full bodyweight and momentum…" Ruby hummed aloud as she got everyone's attention. "…you're a Bajiquan practitioner, that's pretty neat."
"YOU DARE-!?" Arslan shouted as her leg fired out in a sidekick, Ruby smoothly ducking under it and whipping out a low sweep-kick at the former's supporting-leg, knocking her balance away and sending her crashing onto her back as Ruby sprinted right at Nadir. The older boy quickly opened fire on her, his aim shockingly good despite his obvious panic as bullets raced for Ruby's knees and feet in an attempt to slow her down on and force her to slip up on the icy floor. Even as she began to dodge by leaping from left to right, her balance was as stable as ever, closing the gap moments later and easily slipping past his bayonet charge to force three straight right kicks into his stomach, chest and chin to bounce him up into the air. She tricked right up at his stunned and airborne body, her spinning roundhouse-kick blasting into his ribs in a burst of petals and sending him crashing into Reese, who was attempting to catch up and support him in melee on her intricate hoverboard/dual-pistol. She was hounded by both Arslan and Bolin as soon as she touched down, a furious barrage of staff-thrusts and bareknuckle blows barely missing her by a hairs-width with each and every dodge. Simultaneously, Bolin thrust at her stomach while Arslan shot a heavy palm-strike at Ruby's head –
*BANGBANGBANG*
Ruby blinked as she realized she was now behind Bolin, her mind catching up with the actions of her body. She'd barely had time to register that his lower thrust had left his ribs, stomach and face open before her body had simply reacted on its own, stepping past the thrust to fire off a left-straight into his stomach, a right hook into his ribs and an upward left-elbow to his jaw that snapped his head back, the back of his neck crashing into the ice as Ruby sharply pivoted around to face Arslan once more. Her muscles felt like they were buzzing under her skin, so alive with energy and so smoothly coordinated, that she couldn't stop smiling.
Arslan grit her teeth and from her sleeve fired a rope-dart at the ground, yanking on it to pull herself at Ruby and trying to cave her stomach in with a roundhouse kick. Ruby sprinted into the attack, sliding on her knees at the last moment to watch the kick brush right over her nose as the crowd gasped in awe.
'They ain't seen nothin' yet!'
She hopped off her knees in the middle of the slide, springing up into a cartwheel and flipping into the air before sharply turning around with her glowing leg drawn back.
'Crescent Judgement!'
Arslan barely had time to turn around as she was hit full-force by Ruby's near-instant attack, three rapid-fire waves of petal-strewn aura smashing into the entire front of her body. Ruby stayed floating in the air for a moment, eyes curiously honed-in on Arslan as she observed her opponent.
'The first one did a good deal of damage,' She noted, 'But then her aura seemed to… harden? Probably some kind of durability semblance, doesn't look like a learned technique. More fun for me!'
Gunshots suddenly rang out before bolts of flame and frost barely skimmed past her cloak, Reese and Nadir having regrouped to stand side-by-side on the very edges of the magma and ice biomes respectively, both having made use of the abundant raw dust scattered around the arena and fuelling their weapons with it.
'Oooh, getting me to stop moving before hitting me with the damage from the sudden Melt-reaction,' Ruby internally applauded. 'Nice… but you'd have to hit me first!'
Tricking back down to dodge two bolts aimed for her shoulder and head, she relaxed as her feet touched the floor before she exploded into motion, seemingly reappearing in front of Reese between her outstretched, pistol-wielding arms. The green-haired girl couldn't even react as Ruby shot both legs forward in a brutal dropkick, the former's entire body blasted across the little ground left behind her before she crashed right into the hardlight shield protecting the crowd, literally sticking to it for a moment before she slid down and fell onto the dirt completely unconscious.
"HWOOOOOOOOH!"
Ruby was backpedalling into the magma-biome now as Bolin unleashed everything he had on her, leaping into the battle with a flying kick after pushing off his staff, his greater space allowing him to open up with more and faster techniques. His staff whipped through the air with spins, low sweeps, short-range thrusts, at times even switching to one-handing in order to lash out with knife-hand stabs and middle-knuckle strikes, all while constantly moving forward to cut her off. Nadir, despite the damage he'd taken, was working well with Bolin to try and hit Ruby wherever she was open with the same burst-fire strategy as before, the Frost-Infused rounds throwing up scalding steam even as she continued to redirect them away.
'Oooh, trying to blind me and whittle my aura down with the scalding mist! But the air-pressure from Bolin's staff-swings keep him safe from it. Very smart!'
Instead of blocking, she grunted as she threw a right uppercut as he thrust at her face, his staff yanked into the air by the force of the blow and almost wrenching it from his grasp. Having just grabbed hold of his weapon, pain exploded through his stomach as three uppercuts in a row smashed into his floating ribs and liver, his feet lifted off the floor and his body stunned before she reappeared behind him, her own form slightly curled in on itself with arms crossed over her chest and knees bent. Arslan, who had been racing to catch up to the fighting after the effects of her Semblance wore off more than recognized what technique she was about to use.
'No… NO, THAT'S-!'
"Got a name for this one now! IRON-ROSE MOUNTAIN!"
The full weight of her body going from relaxed to explosive in an instant smashed into the airborne Bolin shoulder-first, his aura shattering well before his unconscious form crashed into Nadir, the momentum sending him flying into a particularly large Fire-Dust crystal right as his rifle went off. Ruby's eyes went wide as the crystals began to shake and glow violently, Nadir panicking as he scrambled to try and get free, his aura having broken on impact. She didn't need to think about what to do next. Tapping into the speed granted by the Advance, she crossed the distance faster than any civilian could hope to keep up, reaching Nadir to grab him by the shirt and bodily throw him with all her might and semblance she could muster, condensing her aura on her skin as tightly as she could while wrapping her cloak around her.
'This is gonna suck, gotta time this right-!'
*BOOOOM*
Music End
Pure fire bloomed into air all the way to the top of the arena's shielding, the searing heat washing even over the crowd. Yang's heart leapt in her throat as she sprung to her feet along with Blake and Weiss, horror on their faces as they watched Ruby disappear in the fire. Where her blood had been beginning to boil at the initial negativity of the crowd and then observing the joy of the fight, it now ran stone cold through her veins. There was a moment of silence as they thought they all watched a poor girl get incinerated… right up until Yang let out a big breath of utter relief.
"I'm gonna clock that dumbass upside the head for scaring us like that…" She snorted, everyone who could hear her staring for a moment before their eyes snapped back to the scene unfolding before them.
The base of the flame-geyser suddenly bloated before it burst like a balloon, Ruby standing in the middle of a swirling mass of crimson aura and petals with her fists raised to the air, her proud roar drowning out the hum of the dying flames.
"…R-Ruby Rose just saved Nadir Shiko from becoming a burnt shish-kebab AND has won against a point-blank explosion from a super-sized Fire-Dust crystal!"
"I may not be well-versed in the wellness of weather, but ladies and gentlemen, this girl is a walking storm if I've ever seen one!"
The crowd, once against this unknown girl, now burst into roaring cheers as the storm of aura surrounding her suddenly shut off, her proud stride out of the fire and easy smile only making them cheer harder.
"She took damage from that," Weiss noted, teeth nibbling on the nail on her thumb. She was right, and anyone with decent experience could see that. Where she'd been at 98% of her reserves, her hasty defence from the explosion hadn't been perfect, her cloak slightly charred at the edges while she visibly struggled not to cough, deeply reddened patches of skin indicating extremely painful burns. Even her stride, as powerful as it looked, took a lot of effort from her: WBY could see the slight shake of her body with each step she took, no doubt from the sheer concussive force of the explosion. To top it all off, she was now resting at a mere 30%, only fifteen away from a disqualification and slowly dwindling down to heal her ailments. And yet...
"Damn, that really stung…" She muttered to herself, just about managing to hold the fit of coughing back, her lungs burning for oxygen. She had to blind a couple of times, her head spinning and throbbing a little as her lips cracked, but oddly enough, her grin only seemed to widen.
"So you'd steal techniques from my sacred sect!?" Arslan shouted, catching her attention. "Have you no shame!?"
"…Are… are you fucking serious?" Ruby rasped, her smile wiped away and teeth gnashing together before she strode over to Nadir, the boy unconscious but otherwise safe, Ruby having thrown onto the ice without him crashing into anything. "…thank god, the explosion didn't catch him."
She grunted as she hefted him onto her shoulders in a fireman's carry, legs shaking slightly as she walked to the edge of the arena safely depositing him to the waiting medical staff.
"I think he's got some slight abrasions, but other than that he should be okay," She said. "Still, check his head. I threw him long-ways onto the ice and on his side, but better safe than sorry."
They nodded and quickly had him on a stretcher, the audience clapping at the display of sportsmanship from Ruby before she turned around to glare at Arslan, the latter still glaring at her.
"You've got some fucking audacity to look at me like that," Ruby hissed, the sudden twisted look on her face making Arslan flinch. "Your teammate just got his aura broken and almost died, and you only thing you can fucking think about right now is your martial-arts purity bullshit? REALLY?"
Ruby rolled her tongue in her mouth before she spat onto the floor, staring right into Arslan's soul as she walked back to the centre of the arena, beckoning her to follow. Arslan sneered as she followed, though not in a rush as she saw Ruby almost casually adjust her pants before setting her feet in a wide stance, her right hand out ready and waiting.
"You… you think you can beat me in a-?"
"Please shut up," Ruby groaned before a more savage grin split her face, "I won't just beat you. I promised that I'd absolutely style on you. Besides, better I do it than Sun, he'd absolutely mess you up."
"Zoo-fucker," Arslan muttered under her breath as she mirrored Ruby's stance, the back of her outstretched fist touching the back of Ruby's open palm.
"…He absolutely whooped your ass already, didn't he?"
Arslan's face twisted with rage before her fist shot forward, aiming to shatter Ruby's teeth-
*CRACKBANGBANG*
'It's happening again…' Ruby thought almost in a daze as her body moved once more on its own, a spear-hand stabbing into Arslan's stomach, a Karate Seiken crushing her ribs before a middle-knuckle strike hit the latter clean on the chin, all before she could fully extend her arm. 'Something about my Crescent Slayer style is… sharper.'
Arslan barked a cry of pain as she shifted her weight to slam her right elbow into Ruby's temple, the latter grinning wider as she placed her hands on the oncoming strike and redirected it barely an inch away from her face, turning with the momentum to shoot her knee right up into Arslan's chin with another sharp *CRACK* of bone-on-bone. She stumbled now, barely stifling a cry of pain before she set her feet and tensed her legs. Ruby's eyes lit up like Christmas trees as Arslan's dense yellow aura flared around her body, the latter's entire weight thrown forward with a defiant roar.
"TEISHANKAO!"
"Exploding Heart: Release Fist."
All of Arslan's forward momentum was used against her as Ruby let-loose with a left-straight directly into her ribs, stabbing pain piercing right through her liver as petals seemed to dance around her. Her eyes threatened to roll into her head as she felt herself fall onto her backside, the sharp pain of her liver being jarred yet again waking the Mistralese girl up instantly and having her scramble away while barely managing to fight off the urge to curl into a ball and throw up. Ruby was still standing there in the same stance, the same grin on her face before she shifted back into her signature flicker-stance.
"C'mon, stop playing around with your little punches," Ruby said as her skin began to turn pink and steam, "My head's ringing, my throat and lungs feel like I've swallowed ash and my legs are shaking… there's no place that makes me as happy as this!"
"GODDAMN THEIF!" Arslan roared and threw herself forward in another lunging elbow strike, making sure that her semblance was turned up to its max as she aimed for Ruby's solar-plexus. 'I might be a bit slower, but she'll never get past my Steelskin Semblance!'
*BANG*
Her head whipped back as Ruby's front-kick smashed into her jaw, her body bent over backwards as a roundhouse blasted into her thigh right above the knee before Ruby stepped in hard and unleashed another Release Fist straight into her stomach, a bell-like *GONG* ringing off as Arslan was sent skidding back.
'Impossible…' Arslan thought as her hand went to clutch her stomach, 'I-I still took damage from-!?'
"Iron Rose Mountain!"
Arslan didn't get the chance to put her guard up as it was Ruby who smashed her shoulder into her solar plexus, her cloak flaring out like great crimson wings as Arslan was sent skidding back yet again, her lungs feeling as if they'd been crushed. Ruby Rose, despite being at 26% of her aura and still suffering from the damage from the explosion was on nothing short of a warpath, her body moving a well-oiled machine throwing combination after combination out to smash against the rapidly wearing Arslan's defences.
"GET OFF OF ME!" Arslan screamed as she slammed her foot into the floor, the stone shattering under her foot in a wave out in front of her only for Ruby to have already hopped over it, though Arslan didn't stop, spinning as she moved forward to swing a hammer-fist down on Ruby's head. Even mid-air, Ruby simply redirected to downward strike just slightly off to the side, Arslan's strike throwing her off balance as her fist blasted a crater into the floor around her, the dust quickly settling to reveal Ruby casually standing atop the crouched Arslan's head, the latter so enraged that veins threatened to burst from her head. She snarled as she went to grab Ruby's legs, only for the girl to have disappeared and leave her grasping at air-
"Red Release."
Ruby's front-kick exploded once more into Arslan's stomach, though something about it felt different to the younger girl. Again, she'd felt her body move on its own having sensed the opening she's created, but the way the kick landed felt… different. There was no shockwave, no burst of red petals, the kick felt… perfect. There was a moment of stillness before Arslan dropped to her knees, clutching her stomach as her aura suddenly shattered like glass and she promptly vomited bile onto the floor, bile and red phantasmal petals.
'Wh – already?' Ruby thought in surprise as the buzzer go off, her body relaxing as she simply raised a fist in victory, the crowd going absolutely wild.
"L-ladies and gentlemen, I'm not sure how to say this…" Port announced, barely heard over the rabid cheering, "…But Ruby Rose, unarmed and by herself, has absolutely wiped-out team Auburn of Haven Academy!"
"H-how…!?" Arslan gurgled as she tried and failed to stand. Ruby stared down at her for a second before she placed a hand on her shoulder, steadying the older girl as she fed some aura to her. "…Why are you…?"
"You're not half bad," Ruby said after a moment, "But that whole 'purity of the arts' bullcrap isn't going to help you when you come up against something that'll take more than one skillset to beat. You're so hung up on how strong your 'art' was while Sun and I are trying to master ourselves. Fix your damn attitude and be the leader that your teams needs you to be, and be the best warrior you can be."
Arslan's glare was weak under the stony face of Ruby before she finally looked away, Ruby standing up and walking over to the exit with a small smile on her face believing that she said the right words.
…
"That was freaking awesome!" Yang squealed as she picked Ruby up and spun her around, the younger sibling embarrassed by the whole ordeal but otherwise still happy as she celebrated with her team. "But goddamnit don't you EVER scare us like that again!"
"That was easily one of the most reckless things I think you've done to date," Weiss sighed before a wry grin popped up on her face, "…but it was really cool."
"And it seems like you've got another fan coming your way," Blake chuckled wryly, Ruby raising a brow at her.
"Eh-?" She barely uttered a word out before she was swept up into powerful arms, peeling with laughed as she was face-to-face with Sun's beaming grin and bright teal eyes shining at her, the awe and pride radiating from him making her stomach flip.
"Now that," Sun said after he put her down, Ruby standing directly in front of him and not wanting to step back, "Was kickass."
"I try," Ruby quipped back with a shy grin, hands behind her back as she idly tapped one of her feet on the ground. "We were planning to grab a bite to eat. Do you… wanna join us?"
"Saiyans never skip meals," Sun laughed as he seamlessly entwined his fingers with Ruby's own, "I'd be glad to join you gals if you'd have me."
"A fellow blonde never says no!" Yang cried dramatically as she and Sun fist-bumped happily.
"Mm," Blake nodded simply, her notebook already out as she not-so-subtly observed Ruby and Sun's interactions.
"My wallet is done for…" Weiss whimpered as the group burst into laughter, right up until a bottle smashed directly into Sun's head with a wet *CRASH*, soda spilling onto his jacket and hair as the entire group froze.
"WHITE FANG TRASH!" A seemingly regular civilian male shrieked before he tried to worm away through the crowd. Worse yet were the few snickers that clicked through the otherwise silent crowd.
"…yep, he's dead," Ruby said blandly before her face twisted with rage, her along with every other member of team RWBY literally exploding with anger as their auras washed over the crowd.
"GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" Yang roared.
"Go for his legs," Weiss hissed as frost crackled around her body. "I'll pin his hands."
"Understood," Blake said with bared teeth, canines and even her nails literally sharper before Sun managed to grab all four of them and hold them back, his own aura augmenting his body as he struggled with their combined strength.
"U-UM, IT'S FINE I CAN JUST WASH MY JACKET!" Sun strained as they began to push back against him. "PLEASE DON'T KILL HIM!"
"IMMA KILL 'IM!" Ruby shouted before something odd happened.
The same man was suddenly launched back through the crowd, skidding to a stop right in front of them completely unconscious, the quintet looking up at who was responsible. They were… short. Barely over 5 feet in height, but that didn't stop the figure from being absolutely menacing to everyone around them. Their armour was both brutal and ornate, a dull silver accented with crimson steel and cloth, a plated war-kilt scraping around their armoured greaves, their gauntlets baring massive spikes on their forearms and further accentuated by the large plated pauldrons. It was the helmet that solidified the entire look, two narrow slits for eye-holes on a darker-grey face-plate topped off with grey, upward-curved, menacing horns. The way they practically swaggered into the square radiated the energy of an absolute menace.
"Oi," They spoke, their voice echoing from their helmet and hiding their identity, "Wake up and apologise, dumbass." They jabbed the pointed part of their steel boot into the man's ribs to promptly jolt him awake.
"WH-I-I-I'M SORRY-!" He cried before the figure leaned in over them.
"Ey, look at 'em when you're talkin'," They growled, "Then you apologise to me for scuffin' up my armour!"
The man's demeanor changed entirely from fearful to spiteful, regardless of the glares he was getting as he stared the rather passive Sun in the face.
"Sorry," He muttered first to the stunned Sun before turning to the armoured figure, "I'M SORRY FOR BUMPING INTO YOU!"
"Good. Now get the hell outta my sight!" He squealed as he ran off, the armoured figure chortling with laughter before their gaze spanned the crowd, everyone's eyes quickly turning away from the pressure of their stare. "You alright? They chucked that bottle pretty hard at ya."
"Oh yeah, don't worry about it," Sun waved them off as he took his jacket off, "Though uh… who are you exactly? You're armoured up, but I don't think I recognize you from the tournament roster."
"Oh, I ain't in it," They said, "Just here to give my support to my brother. Lord knows he needs it, a lot of my family didn't really… support him comin' to Beacon and livin' out his dream. Think that's bullshit personally."
"…hold up…" Ruby, having now calmed down, looked at the figure closely, shocked that she was barely able to feel the aura radiating from them, as if the armour wasn't just containing it, but also concealing their very soul. "…are you one of Jaune's sisters?"
The figure peered at Ruby for a moment before a lightbulb seemed to go off on their head.
"Ah! You're the Ruby chick who smacked Jauney up!" She laughed before tapping something on the back of her helm. The metal suddenly began to clank and whir as it folded in on itself, pieces floating momentarily through some odd magnetic manipulation before it folded down into the breastplate, revealing the girl underneath and shocking everyone there. The shade of blonde in her hair was the exact same as Jaune's, their facial-structures and skin similar but her own being more petite and feminine. She wore no makeup, a tomboyish grin on her face and her shining jade eyes all the more intense as she outstretched a hand.
"Name's Mordred Arc, a pleasure to meet the gal who smacked some sense into my twin brother!"
"U-um, pleasure's all mine…" Ruby chuckled sheepishly as she shook Mordred's hand, surprised at how firm her grip was. 'Hell, she's really damn strong! Didn't really need to feel her aura for that though.'
"So that makes you… Blake," She listed off.
"Hello there," Blake said with a nod and a smile.
"Yang…"
"Now we've got three fellow blondes!" Yang cheered.
"Eeeeyyyyeee," Mordred grinned before looking at the last member, "And you're Weiss! Huh, funny… so you're the one he'd had the hots for."
"A pleasure to… wait, Jaune has a crush on me!?" Weiss squealed.
"Had, princess, it was more of a little phase he had but now he's got someone else on his mind," Mordred chuckled before leaning in with a big grin, "Though, I can see why he'd liked ya."
Weiss promptly turned beet red and froze on the spot, Ruby raising a brow as both Yang and Blake's expressions turned… tense.
"Mo', please stop flirting with one of my friends," The tension was broken as they all turned to see team JNPR walk up to them, a wry but big grin on Jaune's face. "You're already enough to handle as you are."
"JAAAAUNE!" Mordred laughed heartily as she literally launched herself at breakneck speeds, bowling into him and managing to combine a bearhug and a punch to the gut at the same time. "You're still kickin', you damn weakling! I thought you kicked the bucket after you stopped sendin' me updates!"
"Yeah-yeah keep talking," He growled playfully as he easily held her up by the waist, "And I stopped sending them because you kept flapping your gums to the rest of the family!"
"W-well…" Mordred turned sheepish at that, a light blush on her face as she twiddled her index fingers, an extremely odd turn of behaviour for the boisterous girl before her eyebrows suddenly went up and she realised she was being held aloft. "…hey hold up, you holdin' me up? What's up with that!?"
She lightly pat Jaune's unarmoured frame, brows only going up further.
"Damn bro, you've been liftin or what?" She asked as she jabbed him in the stomach, "Last I remember you were a scrawny little beanpole."
"Says you," He jabbed back at her shoulder.
"Who the hell're ya callin' a beanpole, ya damned beanpole!" She growled as they began to wrestle around for a bit.
Anyone not paying deep attention to the exchange would assume that the siblings really didn't get along, but to RWBY and JNPR, especially Ruby and Yang, could feel the strong bond between the two: Mordred treated Jaune as an equal, and from the way his soul lit up, it was something that was sorely lacking in his life.
"I think that's quite enough you two."
Once more, everyone but Jaune and Mordred froze as a new presence made itself known, one that both uplifted the hearts of everyone there and made them want to bow in the sheer royalty of it. A woman, 5 feet and 8 inches tall, walked towards them. It wasn't hard to figure out who she was, her features almost the exact same as that of Mordred's but older, more mature, womanly and ethereally beautiful with locks of golden hair tied in a messy bun. She was dressed casually, with a blue long skirt, black leggings with shoes to match, and a white dress-shirt, yet the plainness of the clothing only served to make her look that much more regal while accentuating her rather… toned curvature.
"…mom," Jaune greeted, all the fire in his eyes and voice gone as he coldly looked upon her.
"More like crush me with those damn thighs mommy," Yang muttered, Weiss and Blake nodding absently in agreement before they promptly elbowed Yang in the gut, furiously embarrassed looks on their red faces.
'What the hell is up with them?' Ruby wondered.
"…It's been some time," She said, her voice even, though there was a crinkle in her eyes and a barely noticeable upturn in her lips as she placed a hand on his chest. Ruby could see it: though it was petite and almost delicate-looking, she could see the countless scars, scrapes and callouses that littered the entirely of it from palm to knuckle. "…you've grown so much."
There was so much pride and love in her aura that it was almost blinding to Ruby, but the same could not be said for Jaune's own feelings. His aura stung with shock, but above all else was pain and shame.
"Don't start with that," He scoffed coldly as he firmly pushed her hand away. "You're only saying that because of where I got to now. You and dad didn't say anything like that when I asked you to train me. You and dad didn't do anything but burn or lock away books related to Hunters, you and dad didn't do anything but block internet searches from me about topics like training regiments and fighting even while I was in school. You even encouraged everyone else to hold me back! The only one who actually tried to help was Mordred."
"Suuup," The girl waved.
"Even if she was bad at it-!" Jaune continued before she elbowed him in the side.
"Oi!"
"Goddamnit she still tried whenever she could no matter how little time she had since you were always hounding me, unlike the rest of you! Hell, even Uncle Markus and Door didn't shoot me down at every opportunity they could! One only one who's got an excuse is Lily, and that's it." He hissed, practically right up in her face.
The woman stood resolutely, her serenely calm face betrayed by the deep flash of hurt crying across her aura. Still, there was this sense of… acceptance.
'She was as expecting this. She's been expecting this for a long time,' Ruby realized as her eyes narrowed. 'Something isn't right.'
"You too?" Weiss muttered, startling Ruby for a second: Weiss had come to the same conclusion as she had, silently nodding.
"Very well," She said as she stepped back, her head down for a moment before she reined her emotions in with such ease, Ruby couldn't help but flinch. That kind of emotional control came from a lifetime of both practice and experience. As to what those experiences were… "So these are your friends then? The Knights of Juniper and Ruby."
"…knights…?" Yang asked, about as confused of everyone else there.
"Oh don't mind mom," Mordred drawled as she zipped around to put a hand her shoulder, "She's suuuper old-fashioned about lotsa' stuff. Knights are kinda just what she calls anyone who 'takes up a sword and fights for the good of the people', that kinda fairy-tale jazz."
It was pretty obvious that Mordred was trying to defuse the situation, no thanks to the slightly nervous and worried glances darting back and forth between Jaune and their mother, but thankfully it worked, the tension mostly relieved with laughter as she went around greeting everyone there with handshakes and warm smiles. She stopped when she reached Pyrrha, holding her hand for a moment and peering at the gladiatrix before her smile turned brighter.
"Ah. You're the one who's helped bring my son up to speed," She said before actually bowing to Pyrrha, the crimson-haired girl flailing a bit in embarrassment, "You have my eternal thanks for that Pyrrha Nikos."
"O-oh not at all!" Pyrrha disagreed, "Jaune's been putting his heart and soul into training, and he hasn't slacked off once since he's started."
Her smile turned a bit watery as she looked down, concern flashing across Jaune's face as he tried and failed to bury the same feeling from his soul.
"…that is excellent to hear," She said after a moment, looking as if she was about to say something else.
"Will team JNPR please report to the Amity Arena in the next twenty minutes? Your upcoming match is in the next twenty minutes. Please report to the Amity Arena."
"…C'mon team, we've got a match to win," Jaune said as he began to walk off, "See you later mom."
"Jaune." Her voice was strong, authoritative, but not commanding as he stopped to look at her with a raised brow. "…fight well. I will be watching you."
He paused at that, Ruby feeling the questions and indecision squirming in his soul before it settled in writhing derision.
"Yeah, sure. You always do anyway," He scoffed, waving her off as the rest of his team somewhat hesitantly followed him. It was only after they left that the woman schooled her features and turned to team RWBY, Mordred opting to go with Jaune's team in order to save some seats in the coliseum early.
"I am hungry. Do you wish to accompany me in the acquisition of food before we observe my son's match? I believe that they have excellent burgers in a stall not too far from here."
"U-um, yeah, sure!" Ruby said, mildly disturbed by the eagerness shining from her eyes. "Was just planning on getting something to eat, Lady Arc."
Her chuckle was like a gentle waterfall, her small but kind smile truly comforting to Ruby.
"Please, you don't need to call me that, my days of titles and… formalities are long past. At most, just call me Miss Altria. Now come, let us partake in some Burgers, I shall pay."
"...did... did she just manage to say 'burgers' with a capital 'B' out loud?" Blake muttered. "How the hell did she do that?"
"Don't question it and let her pay," Weiss sighed.
Yang wasn't paying attention, her eyes darting around as she observed the nasty glances shot in Sun's direction. Anti-Faunus propaganda had was something that had become more common after the Vale Incident, and it apparent that nobody was safe from it. Her blood began to simmer before she looked at Weiss and Blake talking to each other, a wry smile on her face as she simply observed the little giggles they shared.
'...Maybe everything's gonna be okay.'
(TWBY Continued...)
And with that concludes our first chapter of Volume 3. So, what are your thoughts? Suggestions? Theories? Be sure to let me know if you got any! All said, love you all so much, and peace out!
