And so over 50K views, 200 Reviews, 300 Favourites, and 400 Followers moving into 2022... thank you all once again. I am indeed alive, worry not! This chapter and the next have already been fully written, so expect 23 to be out relatively soon after this one. On the topic of reviews, again apologies for no direct response until now, (busy with Uni work and just finished my exams for this semester) but I have been reading them and I wanna thank you guys for being both supportive and constructive! Of course, I'll be responding to them in due time, so don't worry too much about that. Enough talking, let's get into the show!

Fighting Rose

Chapter 22

Under our noses…

…Late night, Beacon Academy…

Ozpin finished brushing his teeth, rinsing his mouth out with water and putting on his green nightcap, sighing blissfully as he made his way to his bedroom, ready to go to sleep in his comfy emerald woollen pyjamas after the many, many papers he had to look through, sign off or veto.

'Hmm, that's right,' He realized, 'James should be coming tomorrow. I can only hope he's doing well enough, considering everything going on in Atlas. Ah well, that's a thought for tomorrow. Now is the time to rest and-'

The monitor on his desk suddenly went off, and he couldn't help but sigh in annoyance, eyebrows slightly creasing together as he stared at the blinking monitor.

'…No rest for the wicked,' he chuckled ruefully to himself, making his way to the monitor and pressing the button. "What seems to be the problem? Did a student blow up their room again?" He asked wryly.

"U-um, no sir," The secretary stuttered, "Someone's here to see you and… deliver something."

He raised a brow at that. "They do know that visiting-times have long since ended and any mail can simply be put through our physical drop-off system-?"

"Sir, you need to take this," She said seriously, the trembling in her tone instantly banishing any form of drowsiness from him, Ozpin ceasing to be and in his place standing the Headmaster of Beacon Academy.

"Very well. Send them up."

He outstretched his hand, his cane flying into his palm as he stood in front of the elevator's doors, standing upright and ready, unsure of what was coming up until he used a touch of something, eyes flashing before his eyebrows shot right up in shock just before the doors opened. There stood Ruby Rose, her clothes made for combat roughed up, scorched in places and torn in others, wicked gauntlets and greaves of black iron on full display as she dragged none other than a blindfolded Roman Torchwick in by the collar.

"Hey-hey Red, watch the coat! I just got this thing cleaned!" He whined, "Jeez, if you're planning to murder me then at least let me take off the coat, this thing is expensive!"

"You say that as if you actually bought it," She shot back wryly.

"I in fact did buy this legitimately," He said smugly, Ruby visibly surprised, "Hah, I can feel your shock. I'll have you know, professionals have standards."

"Fine, I'll give you that," She said begrudgingly before turning to look directly at Ozpin, the mirth dropping from her face. "Hey. I did your job for you. Again."

"…good evening to you too Miss Rose," Ozpin said wryly.

"O-oh shit, that's Ozpin isn't it?" Roman chuckled nervously, Ruby taking off his blindfold to confirm this before masterfully recovering. "Well-well, what an honour! May I please have an autograph?"

"My team and I uncovered a secret Fang-rally where they displayed technology stolen from the Atlan Military, the prototype of the new Atlan Paladin Mech," She cut in blandly. "From our investigation, we were able to deduce that a shipment of Atlan military equipment, which included Dust, light-to-heavy weaponry, and almost definitely the Paladin Prototype was located in the same area. After locating it in the industrial area of Vale, two of us were spotted and we had no choice but to all engage in combat. We managed to entirely destroy the prototype and take down almost all of the Fang combatants there with zero civilian or combatant casualties, while also keeping collateral damage to an absolute minimum. After combat had ceased, we grabbed Roman Torchwick and…" She dug into her pocket and took out a small black cube, "I was able to extract the Prototype's Black-box. Any public surveillance in the area was already taken down by the Fang before the rally, and this should ensure that our team and therefore Beacon's involvement stays unfound by the police and any other organization."

Ozpin did not miss the way Roman's eyebrow slightly went up, yet Ruby did not flinch, giving him nothing to really work off. Regardless, he was very impressed. Ruby was quick, concise, clean, and most importantly, able to adapt to the situation. For a split second, it was like her hair was slightly longer, her figure slightly taller and her cloak stark white in colour.

"…Colour me impressed, Ruby Rose," he said with a genuine smile. "While my position demands that you and your team be punished for going through with an operation that would by all means be considered reckless, you considered every possible option, ensured your anonymity and were able to adapt when the situation went awry while also keeping people safe."

Ruby didn't expect outright praise, cheeks colouring in surprise before she deadened her emotions again.

"You want something. Out with it," She said bluntly, on edge as Ozpin smiled a bit wider.

"Well, we all want something Miss Rose," He chuckled. "Just as you've done this for your own reasons and benefits, I too have desires that want to be fulfilled. As such… whenever you next plan an operation like this, I would like to know. In return for a successful operation, I will allow you to ask me one question which I shall answer to the best of my ability."

"What's the catch?" Ruby asked plainly, Ozpin's smile becoming a bit sharper.

"Need I remind you that your position in Beacon for the first year is determined by your ability to maintain your position as Leader? Should I find that you are unable to do your duties as a Leader and report to me then… you may find such a position to be taken from you."

Roman's eyebrows went up, not just at the visible anger on Ruby 's face but also the manoeuvring on Ozpin's part. 'Huh, the more you know,' He thought warily. 'He's been in the game long enough.'

"…deal," Ruby agreed, her scowl fading away. "Benefits us either way. Ah, that reminds me!" She said as she looked at Torchwick, "He's working with someone posing as a student from Haven here, someone extremely dangerous. Her name is Cinder Fall, and she's the one who fought me and Professor Goodwitch the night you let me into Beacon."

Ozpin's eyebrows went up, his face going slack.

"Wait… you seriously didn't know?" Roman asked, genuinely confused. "I don't know how old she is but Miss Smoulder looks freaking twenty, and from what I know, her and her groupies are posing as Second-years. How…" He started to turn pale, "Good Lord, this… could've actually gone through. Oh god."

"What could've gone through?" Ruby asked sharply. "What did you get yourself into?"

"I-I…" Roman weighed his options. He'd expected to be hauled off to the police, but for him to be brought right to Ozpin's feet in the middle of Beacon… even if Neo was part of Cinder's team, the actual chance she had of getting him out had just slimmed down to near-zero. To put her at risk like that regardless of her skills…

'Well, it's less risk than the both of us being branded worldwide terrorists,' He thought with a scowl.

"…you're… worried for… someone," Ruby noted, Roman looking up in surprise. "…It's her, isn't it? Neo."

'Fuck, did she read my freaking mind!? I though her semblance was that petal-speed-thing!'

"You're probably thinking if I can read minds, right?" She said wryly as he broke out into a cold sweat. "Not exactly. I'm reading the way your soul moves, the little twitches and signals your body gives off. It tends to be a lot better when I'm up close or when whoever I'm focusing on it just wildly throwing around their emotions. And you really are worried for her, someone who took me and my entire team to just barely scratch. So why? What do you have planned with all the stolen goods? There's no way you only stole one Paladin Prototype."

"…" Again Roman weighed his options, trying to think of a way out of this position with him and Neo intact but finding none. Unless… "Ah dammit," He grunted, "Worldwide destruction is bad for business anyway."

"Come again?" Ruby said with a raised brow, though she didn't bother hiding the shock in her voice.

"You're pretty lucky you went and caught me at this exact time lil'-Red," Roman chuckled ruefully, "Because you've just given me and possibly everyone a shot at preparing for what's to come." She was silent, but the worry on her face telling. "I don't know the full details just yet but… all our stuff is being held somewhere in Underground Mt. Glenn for an operation that was gonna be fully revealed to me when I got there. The end-goal's pretty simple: stir up the population, rile up the Grimm, tear down the CCT, raze Beacon to the ground and kill Ozpin. Just because I played some pretty big roles in the past couple of events, stealing dust, equipment, tech, I'm not stupid: Neo and I aren't high up on the ladder of info as to what exactly is gonna go down, but if Cinder's got the cojones to take down one Academy, I'm betting that all the others on next for the chopping-block."

Roman sighed, a small grimace on his face as he looked down. "Won't pretend to be some upstanding citizen. I'm not, and that's my choice. Sure I haven't outright gone outta my way to kill people, but I've made a lot of enemies and left a lot of 'em six feet under. But this Cinder chick…" He couldn't help but shudder. "Hell, forget prep-time, even with it, Neo and I got our asses handed to us by her weird voodoo shit. Beyond all that whacky bullcrap she can pull off without dust, she's got this… drive, this spark in her eyes that just lets you know she'll turn us to ash at the first opportunity. There was no room for escape after she beat us into submission, no space for completing things slow so long as it's done. Even with me out of the equation, she'll find a way to get it done."

Ruby felt the blood drain from her face at the sheer scale of what was going to occur, only now understanding how much of a blessing it was for her plan to have actually succeeded.

"…You're serious about this then," Ozpin spoke up, both Ruby and Roman flinching away at the sudden weight in the air, Ozpin's face covered by shadow as his eyes glinted dangerously. "You swear that everything you said was true?"

"Y-yeah, it's the truth. Look, you ain't gotta be so-!" Roman laughed nervously.

"You would partake in threatening the balance of the world as we know it, where untold millions could die at the drop of a hat. You would dare to mess with groups and forces that are beyond your understanding, to side with her and put at risk everything that I have strived to protect. I will be as infuriated as I so please, Roman Torchwick."

Roman felt like there was a vice around his throat, choking the air from him as his vision tunnelled and all he could see was Ozpin's eyes boring into him, something inside of him slowly being crushed to dust until someone stood in front of him.

"Roman Torchwick isn't a golden guy, but I think we can agree everyone here's working for their own self-interest," Ruby said wryly, "Not to mention, being backed into a corner with something beyond your understanding, power that isn't aura… you can't really blame him for having to work with a gun that can turn his insides out pressed to the back of his head."

Even in the middle of recovering, Roman wasn't one to miss the twitch on Ozpin's face, genuine frustration flashing for a split second.

"You couldn't possibly know what she wields," He replied evenly.

"Not really," Ruby admitted before tapping her finger right by her eye. "But I've got an idea, and we both know it's pretty close to the mark. If that's how bad the situation's got, then you need me. Just like you needed my mother."

The air turned bitter as the two faced off in a quiet struggle, Ruby visibly beginning to sweat but otherwise unmoving in the face of Ozpin's stoic front. After a moment, Ozpin deflated just before Ruby did the same, the tension leaving the room.

"Leave Torchwick here," He sighed, "We will discuss this later."

"Not until you can guarantee his safety," Ruby shot back. "Swear it here and now, with no bullshit wording."

"Aww, you'd do that for me lil' red? I'm touched," He chuckled.

"Eh, torturing someone for info ain't exactly 100% guaranteed to produce the truth. Just like you said, pros have standards."

"Hey, I'm not complaining," He laughed with his hands up in mock surrender.

"Still haven't heard any promise from you Ozpin. Speak up or I'm dragging him into my room and locking him in my closet."

"…Deal. Now go and get some rest. Regardless of the current situation, it does not take away your deeds tonight Ruby Rose."

"Don't try to butter me up Ozpin," Ruby said as she turned away, walking back to the elevator. "But you're welcome. G'night."

"Hmm," Ozpin hummed as she left, shooting a little wink to Torchwick who saluted back. There was an awkward silence as the two stared at each other, Torchwick considerably more uncomfortable towards the man who had just screwed with his head in some literal way five minutes ago. "…There's a spare guest-room to the left," Ozpin spoke, "Clean yourself up and make use of the clothes in there, you should've find something that fits you. Of course, you know that any attempt to escape will be met with extreme resistance from my own hand."

"Yeah-yeah, no need to crush my damn soul again," Roman groused as he waved him off and made his way to the door, stopping for a moment. "…she's quite the handful, ain't she? Little Red I mean."

"Yes," Ozpin said tiredly.

"Then you know what happens when you try to strongarm someone like her. She'll punch through your attempts, keep her eyes on you, watch out for any loopholes you present her."

"Do not presume you know my students," Ozpin said sharply, Roman not flinching away this time.

"Don't need to. She's doing exactly what I would do, especially now that I've been given a chance to get out of this mess. It's why I'm here now, why I can turncoat so easily. I get having an agenda, keeping the world safe and whatnot, but you gotta be careful about ending up like Cinder in the process, looking at everyone like chess-pieces. Do that and you'll end up turning people against ya."

That last piece made Ozpin flinch, eyes going wide as Roman closed the door.

"…you think I don't know that?" He muttered, his hand gripping the doorhandle so hard that the metal started to squish like putty in his hands before he sighed, all the bottled-up frustration leaving him deflated as he walked back into his room. "Well… it's something I should know, yet here I stand… no rest for the wicked indeed."

…

"So uh, we stumbled on a plot that could bring down the CCT Tower, Beacon itself along with an assassination attempt on Ozpin," Ruby said as soon as she sat down on her bed. Weiss promptly fumbled her scroll, Yang almost falling face-first onto the floor, Blake dropping her book, and finally Sun and Neptune simultaneously spitting out the water they were drinking.

"WHA." Weiss uttered with her mouth hanging open, unable to even finish her word.

"Yeah, I think we just got a serious heads-up on it too. Our next best bet is Mt. Glenn, they've got a massive base of operations there where they've got a load more equipment and Paladin Prototypes. Not sure how they're gonna launch an attack from there, not to mention how we're even gonna get there in the first place, so our best option is to wait for the opportunity. Just to make sure that Torchwick ain't lying, we'll need to do a bit more research and confirm what he's saying. We've basically got Ozpin's blessing to go at it so long as we tell him."

"From rumours I've heard," Sun spoke up, "Field-Missions are gonna be available for all students in the next couple of weeks. If Ozpin's really backing you guys, there's probably gonna be one tailored just for you gals to pay Glenn a visit and mess up whatever they've got going on there."

"Alright, so we wait," Ruby nodded. "Sun, if it isn't too much to ask, we'll need you and Neptune in East-Vale to provide backup in case things go haywire. Hell, we'll bring JNPR in on this too. Knowing our luck… we're probably gonna need all of you."

"After the fun we had tonight? Hell yeah, I'm ready for a romp like that anytime!" He said confidently, both him and Ruby sharing a fist-bump.

"Pfft, 'fun tonight' eh?" Yang snickered before Ruby promptly whacked her on the head with a pillow, face red and all.

"Any more world-shattering news?" Weiss groaned as she fell onto her bed.

"…Cinder Fall is really high up in this plan," Ruby said gravely, "She's pulling the strings behind Roman and the Vale branch of the Fang, and her two teammates are in on it as well. Worse is… she's got some kind of power that's related to my eyes."

Anyone laying down promptly sat up, the room turning dead cold, though Sun was confused as he peered into Ruby's eyes.

"…You mean…?" Yang started.

"Yeah. From what it sounds like, no set ability, nothing related directly to her aura, just something undefined, raw, unpredictable."

"…Silver Eyes huh?" Sun finally said after a moment, Ruby looking at him with brows raised.

"You know about em'?" She asked, surprised.

"Yeah… well, sorta," He chuckled. "Supposedly, my gramps on my dad's side has them. He was able to… control them to an extent? His irises are normally black, but I've heard from a lot of my other family-members that he can bring them out when he got serious, which he… hasn't been able to for a really long time."

Again there was that droop to his soul, his expression falling in a way that just wasn't Sun, Ruby feeling something aching in her chest seeing him like that.

"Or somethin' like that, never seen it but I don't have a reason to think they're lyin' to me about it," He laughed cheekily, the moment gone and the cheerful Sun returning.

"Well, gonna have to get in touch with him," Ruby chuckled before getting serious. "Alright, we've got an upcoming mission and a goal in mind: confirm Torchwick's words, find the base and wreck everything there. In the meantime, we need to train up and stay sharp. And under NO circumstances is anyone to engage Cinder unless she attacks first, just keep an eye out and stay cool if you end up chatting with her. We've got no real idea what she's capable of, so any real fight with her and her team in Beacon is bound to cost lives in the worst-case scenario, both others and even our own."

"Talk about a mood-killer," Neptune muttered.

"Don't think about it like that," Ruby said confidently. "Sure the odds seemed stacked, but we've got one hell of a head-start. We can counter before they've even thrown the first real punch."

"Fightin' talk, I like it!" Sun cheered, open palm up.

"Damn straight!" Ruby laughed as she high-fived him.

Sure everyone was still nervous, but they felt like they had the one thing that everyone so desperately needed in situations like this: time. Even still, time gives space for worries to fester, its poison bubbling in the guts of both the Silver-Eyed Slayer and the cat-eared Redemption-Seeker.

…Days later…

*CLANG*

Cardin shouted triumphantly as he knocked Pyrrha's sword from her grip, though his brows furrowed as she calmly flipped backward with her shield still in hand.

"Stay sharp guys!" He barked out, "She let me disarm her, she's got something plan-!"

The remaining three members of Team Cardinal promptly froze up in shock as Pyrrha closed her eyes for a moment before snapping them open, brilliant bronze aura surging around her as ancient symbols glowed on her skin.

"My soul is my sword," She intoned, "Break me and I will be reforged."

She pelted her shield in the blink of an eye and nailed Cardin in the mouth, bouncing off on him and the temples of his other teammates in their triangle formation, Pyrrha not even letting the shield fly back into her hand as she literally flew across the floor to slam a spinning roundhouse into the stunned Dove's neck, launching him out of the ring. Sky tried to recover by backing away and firing suppressing shots from his halberd, Pyrrha charging straight at him and easily blocking the bullets with her arm-bracers before ducking low under a desperate slash for her head and sliding in with a bone-crunching uppercut into his solar plexus.

His aura shattered on impact, armour folding under Pyrrha's fist before she sharply backed away with her guard as Cardin dashed in, certain he was about to attack but pleasantly surprised as he checked on Sky, making sure to gently back him out of the ring while protecting him.

"You gettin' serious for us? I'm honoured," He quipped as he readied his mace.

"It's the least I can do," Pyrrha replied with a small bow before putting her guard back up, bouncing on her feet.

There was a breath of stillness before they charged at each other, Cardin bodily spinning and appearing to start a sideward-swing for her ribs, only for it to change mid-strike and swing down for her head. Initially surprised, she sharply twisted her body out of the way as she fired off another uppercut, the mace barely skimming her back as her fist exploded into Cardin's face, snapping his head up and sending him stumbling back with his nose trickling blood.

"A bit too high Pyrrha, go for the jaw!" Ruby shouted, "And don't just throw one at the head every time, mix it up high and low like you do with your sword combos!"

Pyrrha nodded, grinning as she stepped in with a hard jab to Cardin's jaw before he could recover, slamming a calf-kick into him as he retreated and finishing off with another uppercut to the stomach. Cardin was no fool though, sharply swinging his mace over Pyrrha's head as she punched, forcing her to duck slightly while the force of the swing slightly twisted his body away from the blow, mitigating the damage even as his armour warped. With Pyrrha seemingly off balance, Cardin rapidly reversed his momentum with a quick pivot for a close-range strike right for her stomach.

'She can't dodge at this range! The moment she stops it then I'll nail her with a quick right hook!' He thought right before her shield flew in out of nowhere, smashing into the base of his weapon and obscuring his vision. Even as he slapped it out of the way, the second of distraction was all Pyrrha needed, slipping behind him to wrap her arms around his waist and gripping tightly.

"…aww shhiiIIII-!" Cardin cried as he felt himself yanked straight backward.

"SUUUUPLEEEEEX!" Ruby, Yang and Nora roared as Pyrrha did just that with the aid of her semblance, Cardin smashing into the ground at full force. Grunting, Pyrrha used her full abdominal strength to vault over Cardin while still holding onto him, powerfully toned arm, leg, and back-muscles visibly tensing.

"There's no way she's gonna-!" Nora started before she had an ecstasy-induced seizure as Pyrrha pulled off another suplex before launching both of them high into the air, spinning like a wheel on the run until she bodily launched Cardin clean out of the stage, the body crashing into the floor so hard that it shattered. Nora, after her vision returned slowly but shakily turned to Ren, the boy looking back with his usual stoic face.

"Ren?" She started shakily.

"Yes Nora?"

"…getting wet," She said lowly until he pulled out a rolled up piece of newspaper from nowhere to promptly rap her head with it with an audible *BONK*.

"No. Bad Nora."

"Aww…" She pouted before grinning. "Still awesome though."

"Indeed," Ren agreed with a little grin of his own.

"And that's the match," Goodwitch called as Pyrrha gracefully landed on her feet, shield flying back onto her forearm as her Trigger faded away. "Needless to say, you should have no problem qualifying for the tournament. You as well Team Cardinal. You've shown great improvement in your teamwork and I'm especially impressed with your on-the-fly improvisations with your mace."

"Thank you professor," Pyrrha bowed gratefully, throwing a quick thumbs up to Ruby.

"Mm, thanks," Cardin grunted as pulled himself out of the floor, dusting his armour off and sending a respectful nod to Pyrrha who returned the gesture.

"Now I know that's a hard act to follow, but we do have time for one more match… Miss Belladona," Said girl's head snapped up in surprise, her eyes clearly sunken in. "You've been rather docile as of late, despite your steadily improving statistics. Why don't you-?"

"I'll do it."

RWBY, JNPR and Glynda immediately tensed up as Mercury Black raised his hand.

"…Very well, Mr. Black was it?" Glynda said tensely as she went to her scroll. "Let's find you an opponent."

"Actually, I wanna fiiight… her!" He said cheerfully as he pointed at Pyrrha, the latter raising a brow as her grip on her sword tightened.

"I'm afraid that Miss Nikos has just come out of a match. You'll have to choose someone else if you wish to-!"

"I'll step in for Pyrrha," Ruby said evenly as she cracked her neck. "Can't have her stealin' the spotlight again before our rematch."

Mercury frowned slightly: this little girl wasn't who he or Cinder wanted to scope out for the plan, regardless of whether she was the one to supposedly stop Nikos and foil Torchwick at the docks. Combined with the frustration that Roman had seemingly gone missing after the botched Fang Rally and he was starting to get annoyed.

"What's wrong, not liking your chances against a little girl?" Ruby taunted, a vein popping up on his head as a couple people in the crowd chuckled lowly, even Emerald snickering.

"Alright kid, let's see you put your money where your mouth is," he chuckled lowly before they made their way down to the ring. 'I'll just knock her out of the way quickly. No need to waste time with her.'

Pyrrha passed by Ruby and quickly wrapped her fingers around the younger girl's wrist, whispering into her ear.

"Do you think you can take him?" She asked.

"S'not about if I can take him," Ruby whispered back, "He's gotta be scoping you out for a reason Pyrrha. I've probably had a target on my back anyway, so this'll be more like diverting attention from you."

"Fair enough. Good luck brat," Pyrrha said with a grin, Ruby returning it with a fist-bump.

"Thanks chump, might need it this time."

Ruby and Mercury made their way to the arena, the former idly bouncing on her toes to quickly warm up her legs as she eyed her opponent. She had to supress her face twisting in confusion as she felt the flow of his aura. First-off, he was strong, no doubt about it. Well-refined, clean, but most importantly controlled.

'He's restraining himself, and by a pretty good deal,' She thought as she hid a smirk. 'Two can play at that game.'

Second was how muddled his aura felt around his lower legs, not flowing like it would through flesh and blood but rather as if it was being subconsciously channelled through another material like one would a metal weapon... or a prosthetic.

'Huh. Ain't that a kick on the head. Wonder how powerful they are?'

Finally, Ruby felt that something within his aura was… hollow. It still acted normally, flowed normally, but it felt as if there was something missing within Mercury's soul.

'Yeah, something's off,' Ruby hummed as she slid into her stance, watching as Mercury's own was basic, almost amateurish despite the relaxed look on his face. 'He's not fighting seriously. Alright, no need for me to bring out Beowulf just yet then.'

Mercury suddenly sprinted forward and launching a side-kick right for Ruby's head, the latter grinning a bit as she countered with the exact same move, his heel crashing into hers. He grunted in surprise at the sharp sensation travelling right up his prosthetic and into his bones, Ruby quickly hooking his ankle with the crook of her foot to yank his leg down, leaving him open for a spinning back-kick to the face. He stumbled back before Ruby followed up with a swift low sweep before planting both heels in his chest, the older boy coughing in surprise as he was blown back a good few feet. As she'd expected he recovered from the damage smoothly and quickly, whipping his legs around to vault onto his feet while Ruby smoothly landed on hers, making a little bit of a show by pretending to breath harder than normal.

'Little brat's got some power!' He appraised as he got back into his stance. 'Style's pretty close to my own too, though it's less Taekwondo and more Muy Thai mixed in from the way she throws her weight into it. Still looks like that took a good deal out of her, so that's probably her max. Just gotta slowly beat her down 'till she gives out. Gonna have to make it sting real good too for that kick.'

He smirked as she rushed in, appearing to want to end the fight there and then but he wouldn't let her, sharply lashing out with a roundhouse-kick for each of her knees to halt her forward momentum and following up with three more for her right rib, shoulder and head-side. Ruby grunted as she blocked the first two and quickly angled her forearm for the last kick to slide over her head, Mercury again off balance at the sudden redirection as she smashed a roundhouse of her own right where he supporting knee was. He buckled as he tried to quickly regain his balance until he felt a boot on his ass casually shove him away, sending him stumbling for a second before he cartwheeled back onto his feet.

His blood started to burn as he heard a few snickers work its way through the crowd, more than a couple coming from Emerald herself only serving to piss him off further. 'No fucking way I just got booted on the ass by a girl four years younger than me.'

"You good?" Ruby asked innocently, "Sorry, I just had to make some space and it was the closest think I could kick."

"Check yourself first red," He ground out from between his teeth, gesturing to her hand holding her rib.

"Well yeah, you kick hard. So what? You still ain't up to Pyrrha's level yet. That's okay though, nobody is… yet." She said back, again dripping with false innocence. Granted, she wasn't fully lying about his kicks. 'Okay, he's not reading me, but I need to keep calm just in case. Those kicks are landing way too heavy for speed like that. Those aren't run-of-the-mill combat prosthetics, those are custom, so probably not something you can legally get. And now he's pissed.' She tilted her head at that, a tiny grin on her face. '…I find that I'm pissing a lot of people off nowadays.'

She could feel the simmering anger of his soul, the tensed muscles in his legs tipping her off of his impending charge or leap.

'I need to let him push me a bit more, let him think that I'm panicking before I whip out something that'll really get his attention… and therefore Cinder's. Can't be too wild, buuut…' Again she had to supress a feral grin at what was to come. 'This'll be fun.'

Mercury bounded through the air, spinning to build momentum before a diagonal axe-kick chopped at Ruby's neck, his boot barely skimming by her cheek as she twisted to avoid it, just having her foot clipped as she dashed back from his low sweep before rapidly blocking his follow-up roundhouse kicks, a right and left cutting for her head. Outright blocking was never her style and it showed, genuine sweat starting to form on her forehead as she was knocked to the side, feet skidding across the ground as her arm shook slightly.

Mercury smirked, confident that her previous success was a fluke as he swooped in to finish her off with a hook-kick that was much faster and harder than his previous ones, aiming right for her temple. Only it was Ruby who grinned this time, sharply redirecting the kick with her elbow before Tricking behind him, back-to-back with the shocked and unbalanced Mercury. He quickly spun around to elbow her in the face and hitting nothing but air, Ruby already in a deep stance with her left fist clenched by her ribs, her Trigger bursting from her body for a split second as Beowulf unfurled to encase all her limbs.

'Silat, Karate AND Auric Trigger!? What the fu-?!' Mercury panicked as she launched her fist forward with a full-body and semblance-infused Karate Seiken, Beowulf's jaws crashing into his ribs with a sickening *CRACK*, the crowd flinching and Emerald's eyes as wide as saucers from the sudden burst of power from the little girl. The impact seemed to pierce his body like a literal red lance, his jaw hanging open as spit and a bit of bile flew from his mouth as he appeared to curl in on himself, Ruby making a show of relaxing and slightly stepping away, though Yang could see that her muscles were still tensed in preparation. Mercury's head snapped up, teeth bared as his leg blurred into her stomach with a sharp *BANG* of its own, Ruby folding over his leg before she was bodily flung backwards, pain blossoming through her tensed body before she relaxed and flipped, landing on her feet with a little cough and her guard up.

'Oh yeah, THAT'LL get his attention. Good thing I was able to tense up for that kick and go limp to disperse the damage after, otherwise I'd be in way more trouble,' She thought as she suppressed a grimace at her throbbing ribs and abs, taking deep breaths to lessen the pain. 'Now lets see how you react.'

'That little SHIT!' Mercury roared internally as he slowly stood up. 'She was just playing all along! She's got the goods, I'll give her that. Hell, now I can get why Roman considered her a big thorn in her side… but that's ALL she is.'

Ruby twitched in shock as she felt that hollowness in Mercury be filled by… something else. Something utterly jagged, twisted, like barbed wire wrapping around her throat and preventing her from breathing. His stance changed to stand more hunched, hands by his waist open with fingers curled like claws.

'Gotta thank my pops for taking my semblance away!' He cackled, 'Otherwise I would've never got THIS! YOU'RE DEAD LITTLE KID!'

Pale grey aura started to rise and warp from his body with its colour slowly turning darker, Ruby visibly sweating nervously now as she slowly backed up, her eyes narrowed. 'There's no mistaking it. I've never seen anyone use it before, but this has to be it! When someone gives up who they are entirely for the sake of killing, they're overtaken by a Surge of Murderous Intent: the Dark Hado!'

"MERCURY!" Emerald's voice cut through right before he pounced, his eyes going wide as he cursed under his breath before making a show of coughing loudly before falling to his knees, his Murderous Aura fading away before putting a placating hand up.

"I-I forfeit," He coughed out, Glynda relaxing and letting her grip on her crop loosen up, convinced that she was about to step in again.

"So be it. Next time you should think before you choose an opponent."

"…Yeah," He said flatly as he glanced sharply at Ruby, the girl now seemingly relaxed with her hands in her pockets. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Well then, regardless of whether you have or have not fought today, make sure to take notes and keep training. The Vytal Festival isn't long away now, so keep your minds sharp and training rigorous if you wish to win!"

Mercury continued to stare hard at Ruby as she promptly turned to leave and get changed, though she was well aware of his stare… not so much the further nervousness creeping up on her heart.

…

"Yo Ruby, you alright?" Yang asked as soon as the rest of Team RWBY met up with her. "That guy Merc, he's…"

"Yeah, I know," Ruby nodded seriously, "And don't worry Yang, I'm alright. Just…"

"Just?" Yang pressed, easily sensing something.

"Nothing. Yeah. Yeah I'm…" Ruby deflated under Yang's firm gaze, "I'm worried I guess. If he made me back up, then what's Cin – she gonna be capable of?"

"Ruby…" Yang said softly as she rubbed her back before her gaze turned hard. "You are not training yourself to death again." She was relieved as Ruby chuckled softly, still nervous but genuine.

"I won't be doing that so don't worry," She reassured her. "I just… need to think about what to do next. I'll probably look at the Tome of Sparda for more advice." Ruby suddenly looked the other way to catch Blake as the older girl almost fell onto her. "Woah Blake. You really need to get some rest."

"Yeah, the Dance is coming up really soon, it's a great time to relax!" Yang suggested, "After that we can work ourselves back into solid training."

"Indeed," Weiss coughed into her fist as she spoke up, "I would personally like to have a dance with you Blake. Consider it a consolidation of our friendship-"

"Oh please," Blake hissed, her bow folding back as her top ears tried to fold onto her head while they all flinched away. "As if we have time to focus on some stupid dance. I thought you'd all understand that above everyone else."

Ruby opened her mouth to call her back as she stormed off, her sense of duty kicking in until Yang and Weiss stopped her.

"Ruby, clear your own head first before dealing with someone else's problem," Weiss said softly before turning to Yang with a smile. "We'll deal with this. Besides, you've got a meeting with Ozpin. Get that out of the way and relax, you deserve it."

Ruby hesitated, again feeling a pang in her chest at not being able to properly help her teammate, but she ultimately agreed. If she tried to intervene here, her instinct to push herself to the brink had a chance to resurface, which in turn would validate Blake's current ideas before leading to both of them breaking down physically and mentally. With that, she drew Weiss and Yang into a quick but tight hug before rushing off, a trail of petals in her wake.

"Both her and Blake need to learn to relax more, bless them," Weiss sighed.

"Well, at least Ruby's getting it now," Yang said with a lopsided grin. "But now… Blake. I'll be honest, no idea how to deal with this."

"You're intimidated by Blake," Weiss stated, Yang visibly twitching. Weiss did not need to try and read her soul to understand that she was nervous. "Yang… you know she's not going to try and hold the incident at the docks over you, especially for something like this."

"She'd be right to though," Yang muttered, the blonde's eyes low in shame as she rubbed her other arm, "Yeah I'm scared of that coming up, but I don't want that. I wanna be cool with her, with you, because you're both awesome and I've never had friends as close as you two. I don't wanna mess that up by fuckin' up my words."

Weiss was surprised by the utter worry written all over Yang's body-language like a flame quivering in the wind, yet she felt her heart grow warm at the honesty in Yang's words, the flame still burning brightly for the sake of others. Yang had her faults, but one thing was for certain: her heart was golden fire, and she wore it openly on her sleeve. Yang initially froze in shock as Weiss fully embraced her, the latter's cheeks pink yet she couldn't find herself to care as Yang relaxed and hugged her back tightly.

"You can do it Yang," Weiss encouraged her. "Be gentle with Blake when necessary and be firm when needed. But above all else… be honest. Speak from your heart and I know you'll get through to her. If you want, I'll be just around the corner to step in if you feel like you haven't succeeded, but I don't think it'll be necessary."

"…You think so?" Yang muttered into Weiss's shoulder.

"At the risk of sounding snobbish again," Weiss sighed, "I know so."

They both broke off the embrace as Yang wiped her misty eyes, confidence slowly returning to her as she nodded gratefully with a little grin. "I find that I'm counting on you a lot nowadays."

"Pah, tis' no big deal," Weiss scoffed playfully, "…I'm your friend, and you'd do well to remember that Yang."

"I got the memo Weiss," Yang chuckled before she smiled warmly, "Thank you."

"Hey-uh, hope I'm not interrupting something," Sun chuckled as he waved at them.

"Oh, sup Sun?" Yang greeted her fellow blond, both of them suddenly dead serious as they squared up, Weiss flinching back in surprise at the sudden tension between them. Suddenly, they firmly fist-bumped, followed by an elbow-bump, their insteps following after before they finished by clashing their forearms against each other. They then proceeded with the conversation as if nothing happened.

"Well uh, I was wondering if you've seen Ruby anywhere? I was uh… I was thinkin' of asking her to the dance. Probably thought it'd be best to go to you first, older sibling and whatnot."

"Aww Sun!" Yang cooed as the boy in question turned a bit pink, "You're a cool dude and I appreciate you comin' to me first, but that's up to Ruby at the end of the day. Still, you 100% have my blessing, though you'll have to wait for her to finish up a meeting with Ozpin."

"Great! That's awesome!" Sun cheered before he coughed into his fist, embarrassed at his relieved outburst. "I-uh, thanks again Yang. I'll be going now."

"Take care Sun," She laughed as she gave him a heartly slap on the back as he left, wincing a bit as her palm stung, "Geez, muscles like steel those are…"

"…What just…?" Weiss stuttered, "Did you just let someone openly court your sister?"

"Court? Wha-? Oh come on Weiss, this is Sun!" Yang laughed. "He's a cool guy, really strong, and it's pretty clear that Ruby's got a crush on him, even if she doesn't get it herself. Plus, it'll help her get some of that stress out, talking to someone else who nerds out about fighting and aura. What, did you think I'd go berserk and bite his head off?"

"…" Weiss simply raised a brow.

"Oh bite me Weiss," Yang muttered with pink cheeks as Weiss giggled.

(TWBY Continued...)

Aaaand scene! So, what'd ya think? Betting you weren't expecting ol' Merc to pop a fking Streetfighter reference out his ass XD. Really though, I had to ask myself since he's someone who's had a fundamental piece of their soul ripped away from them to be then trained to kill, what do you think would happen? More specifically, what power might they gain? Boom, Dark Hado! Of course, he ain't the only person who's got this (and other variations of it) up his sleeve, but we'll get to that later. Love you all, hope you enjoyed and piece ooouuut!