Ruby let Neptune's words roll off of her— they were a long way from the violent spew she'd been subjected to at the beginning of the fight. If anything, they were encouraging. Neptune stared her down with a grin, the thrill of contest clear in his eyes.
Ruby kept a tight hold of her long axe— Alistair's axe. She still had a plan, but she would greedily take every second to recuperate that Neptune would offer. She huffed, getting a feel for the weight in her hands. The haft was lengthy and of a light wood, with dark leather strips riveted for handholds that weren't quite right for her own wingspan. The head was broad and heavy, with a beard that drooped so deeply it nearly met the haft. She idly swung the weapon, familiarizing herself with its weight. Feeling slightly refreshed, she cast a challenging glare at Neptune.
Unfortunately, he had long since decided her recuperation was over— his trident was held in front of him, pointing towards her. She couldn't discern what he was trying to do from such a distance, but it worried her nonetheless, especially when he closed his eyes and shouted loud. Wisps of cyan energy radiated from his skin.
"Fingers of the deep, I summon thee in trifold!"
The trident's tines glowed a bright blue, barely giving Ruby any warning before three tendrils of water shot forth and snaked towards her at blinding speed. She tried to dodge away, but the tendrils separated, blocking both her flanks as the third continued on its path straight to her heart.
Weiss watched, conflicted between feeling worried for Rupert and being impressed by Neptune's abilities. She hadn't seen water magic of that kind — perhaps it was a Vasilias spell-line, passed down with every new generation and kept strictly secret from outsiders. To control three extracorporeal limbs— she doubted she had that level of mental fortitude; she couldn't even control more than one of her own summons.
Ruby cried out as a tendril whipped across her left side, striking her arm before it wrapped around the limb. The other flanking tendril whipped and wrapped around her right leg, eliciting another yelp from the stinging pain. The two aqueous appendages splayed her grappled limbs apart, leaving her chest wide open, the third tendril drilling straight towards it.
The tendril impacted her breastplate with a heavy thud, blowing her cloak away from the sheer force. She wheezed, the air forced from her lungs.
Neptune stared with surprised eyes. "Wait, you didn't…"
Ruby felt the water whips straining to hold her, and she strained right back. The third limb remained uselessly spread across her metal chestplate, while the other two briefly quivered. Neptune's focus had momentarily lapsed when it turned out Ruby had actually donned some armor— did he really think she'd just been wearing a helmet?
The loss of concentration gave Ruby a chance, one which whe wouldn't pass up. She pulled her grappled limbs tight to her, her free leg kicking at the watery tendril while her unrestrained arm dropped Alistair's axe in favor of her own. The handaxe swiftly split the liquid around her arm, then swung down to free her leg. Unrestricted, she charged straight for Neptune, the tendril around her chest collapsing uselessly into itself as she gained ground.
Weiss watched Neptune's eyes go blank with the backlash of maintaining so many summons, then losing two at once. So many presences filling his head, seamlessly melding with his mind, only to be cut away. She empathized— she was familiar with that loss of being.
By the time Neptune had finally recovered, Ruby was nearly upon him. She charged with axes in both hands— the longest in her left, held just under the head to keep her sprint unfettered. Neptune looked around with panic, which then sharpened to determined focus. Two of his tines ceased their turquoise glow, leaving only the central one alight.
Ruby felt water spread across her breastplate until it seeped around the edges, coldly soaking into the cloth beneath before she found herself suddenly yanked forwards, the chestplate itself ripped away from her torso by Neptune's tendril. The plate clattered to the floor, dropped as soon as it was stolen. Before she could react, the tendril drilled into her exposed chest. Her Aura collapsed in moments.
Ruby cried out and fell straight back, the tendril following. It spread wide when she hit the ground, pressing hard against her chest and pinning her arms. She pushed against the watery limb, only for it to surge against her with twice the strength. Damnit, damnit! She was so close! Her eyes darted around, desperately searching for a solution while her mind worked in overdrive.
"Crook and cane, Red," Neptune entered from the peripheral of her vision, visibly panting as his Aura shimmered. The one glowing prong of his trident had noticeably grown in strength since he let the other two go, but it was clear that it was taking quite the toll on him. "You almost had me."
Ruby snorted, hawking a last-ditch solution from her throat, only to spit it into a watery muzzle. The central tine glowed brighter.
"Don't fucking do that," Neptune huffed.
Ruby continued frantically searching the field, finding nothing but the excited faces in the crowd, elated at the idea of her defeat.
"Watcher's gaze, man, just forfeit," Neptune let the watery muzzle recede. "It'll be a lot less painful."
Ruby thrashed and struggled, then slumped to the ground, her head rolling back.
She met eyes with Weiss. Her cerulean gaze was pleading, hands wringing together as she bit her lip. She looked at her with such need, such desperation— why did she care so much? Ruby closed her eyes. She was just a rich princess getting some entertainment, and Ruby was just a poor smith trying to prove herself.
"Last chance, Red," Neptune intoned, approaching her with his trident extended.
Ruby met his eyes with determination. Giving up was the last thing she would do— she could take whatever came next.
"Ah, damn," Neptune sighed. "I didn't want to ruin that pretty face of yours."
He flipped the trident in his hands, showing off the weapon's bulbous butt— perfect as both a counterweight and a blunt instrument. He stepped over Ruby, legs on each side of her pinned body. The weapon's blunt end touched her temple, then rose high. Neptune lined up his shot.
Ruby locked eyes with him. She could take it.
Suddenly, the weight on Ruby's chest disappeared, and the animate tendril of water simply collapsed into its base liquid, spilling and seeping into her clothing. Neptune's eyes briefly glazed over, then snapped back into focus as he quickly brought the trident back down.
But he was too late— his weapon struck nothing but petals. He turned, raising his trident.
Weiss sighed, leaning forward and pivoting to better hide the glowing wisps of magic that drifted off her hands. She wasn't sure if they'd been in range— her grasp on counter magic was shabby at best.
The plume of petals rapidly coalesced into an umber cloak behind Neptune, then formed the rest of their progenitor. Ruby struck at Neptune with rapid, unceasing blows from her handaxe. His trident caught the first couple, but a sudden boot to his chest made him stumble and catch a third. He cried out, Aura flaring, then wildly swung his trident, forcing Ruby to leap back.
But as quickly as she retreated, Ruby charged again. Just before she entered the trident's range, though, she tossed her handaxe skyward. She had a plan.
Neptune's eyes followed it up. Ruby smirked.
Realizing he had fallen for her trap, Neptune quickly flipped his trident back around. Oddly enough, she had approached at least a foot closer than she needed to— did she not know the most effective range of her axe? Probably not, he supposed, it wasn't even hers.
Neptune's trident easily caught Ruby's axe when she swung it overhead, the metal prongs locking against the wooden haft. Now the trap was sprung.
Before Neptune could force her weapon away, she pulled it straight back with all her might. The trident's metal ran smoothly against the wooden haft until its crossbar slipped under the axe's beard, caught like a neck into a noose. Ruby yanked back, ripping the forked weapon straight out of his hands.
Neptune fell forward as he lost his grip, empty hands groping nothing but air. Panic clear in his eyes, he frantically reached for the sword at his hip.
Ruby quickly lunged, ignoring the useless trident uselessly dangling between the axe's beard and its haft. She thrust the weapon forward. The weighty head bluntly struck Neptune in the face, drawing blood from his nose and a cry from his mouth. Another jab opened a shallow cut across his forehead.
"Okay, okay!" Neptune shouted, empty hands held between them. "I forfeit!"
Ruby stared into his eyes, demanding. Neptune rolled his own, then shouted loud enough for the world to hear.
"Fuck's sake, I forfeit!"
AN: tsk tsk, cheating already, weiss? shes whipped