So this was originally supposed to come out way earlier along with answering reviews, but unfortunately ran into some issues with my laptop, so I'm so sorry for the delay. Even still, it's awesome to see that you guys are still hyped with the story despite all the whacky turns its making in terms of world-building! That said, no more chatting, let's get back into it!

Fighting Rose

Chapter 33

Catching up

"So, going up against Emerald and Mercury huh?" Jaune asked as bashed his shield into the practice-dummy, chopping down on its head over his shield over and over again before shoving it away, lashing out with a stab at its abdomen before it could get too far.

"Yup!" Cardin grunted as his mace smashed clean through his dummy's head, the boy wiping sweat off his face before he put his mace down. "Somethin' I should watch out for?"

"Yeah," Jaune huffed as he sheathed his blade, "…you figured something's up?"

"Not as dumb as I look Jauney-boy," Cardin chuckled, "Shit's been off, and the air ain't right since that super-sized battle-freak attacked the heart of Vale. You're sharper than you know, and I can trust you with that much at least."

Jaune glanced around, others in the training hall too focused on their own exercises and too far away to hear anything, Blake herself busy on a dummy not too far away from them, so he moved in close to Cardin. Still, he was surprised just how long she had been whaling away on it in the back of his head.

"Cinder, the leader of that team…we think she set the whole thing up," He muttered, "The Vale incident I mean."

"…shit, this is that serious?" Cardin whispered back with wide eyes.

"Yeah," Jaune sighed, "It is. Look, you should be fine, just… watch out for any foul play and please, please, please try to win."

"Don't need to tell me twice," Cardin nodded, "And thanks for lettin' me know."

"Don't mention it," Jaune replied.

}-{

"…and that's how the conversation went really," Jaune sighed.

"Jaune, that's more than enough," Pyrrha said as she pat him on the shoulder, "Worst case scenario, we can at least learn what they're capable of. I wish Cinder herself took to the field though… if I could get a read on her habits even when she's not at full power then we might stand a better chance if push comes to shove."

"You really think it'll come to that?" Jaune asked.

"Without a doubt in my mind," Pyrrha said gravely, "Sun and Ruby hit her with a good deal of their power and she apparently tanked it like it was a gust of wind. And considering Sun's blast was powerful enough to launch that man in full armour several feet into the air…"

"…damn, it's a good thing she's not participating in the Tournament then," Jaune said with a breath of relief. "But that Mercury dude gives me the creeps."

"Mm. I won't be surprised if Cardin lands a good shot on and he responds by trying to cripple him," Pyrrha said, a hint of worry in her voice.

"Three, two, one… BEGIN!"

"Time to find out I guess," Jaune said, a small shake to his voice.

}-{

"…so really it was Sun's raw power that managed to deal with it, or at least finish it off in that moment," Weiss sighed. "Had Jaune's father not been there, the situation would've gotten much, much worse, even with Sun performing at his absolute full power."

"…well, being able to stand toe-to-toe with such a… thing… is indicative of your growth," Winter said with no small amount of relief.

"…Winter, we both know exactly what that thing was," Weiss said seriously. "…that was a Berserker of Khorne, wasn't it? Forget that, that was an honest-to-god Astartes."

Winter remained silent for a minute and Weiss patiently waited, but she knew the answer regardless.

"Yes," Winter finally answered, "Yes, that was a Traitor Astartes."

"God…" Weiss leaned back in her seat, "So… it's all real then. You're not going to censor me for the sake of secrecy are you? Because a LOT of people in Vale saw that Astartes."

"Goodness no!" Winter said, horrified, "Besides, such a one-note event can be easily written off with clever news-reporting and planting of false information. As much as the Inquisition controls the populace's consumption of information back in Atlas, we don't have anywhere near as much free reign in the other kingdoms."

"That's good," Weiss sighed before she raised a brow at Winter, "…but we both know what I mean when I say it's all real, now don't I?"

"You speak of father," Winter surmised.

"No actually, I'm talking about-YES I mean father!" Weiss threw her hands up, "He's definitely not an Astartes, but he's… something more than human. That man, Door… his presence is similar to that of father's. It isn't cold or piercing like his, but underneath it all it feels…"

"I'm not at liberty to tell you about that just yet," Winter hummed, "But you'll know soon enough. Give or take within the next few days. I promise you that sister."

"Thank you," Weiss sighed, happy that she was finally getting some answers.

"On a more interesting note," Winter said with a grin, "you've gotten far more proficient with our Semblance. I'm impressed that you've grown so rapidly, not to mention in the middle of combat."

"About that," Weiss said with an excited grin of her own, "I've discovered something about our Glyphs: it's not a semblance at all!"

"Oh…?"

"Winter, our semblance isn't a semblance. Glyphs are an auric skill that has been passed down through the Schnee bloodline. We've literally been born in a way that allows us to better use Glyphs, but that doesn't make it an individual's Semblance. If anything, I think that because of how conditioned we are to use Glyphs, our semblances are either influenced by our Glyphs or vice versa!"

"…show me."

Weiss stood and Winter watched with pride as Weiss formed a simple platform-Glyph and placed her hand on it, her eyes seeming to glow with a frosty light.

"Basic barrier-glyph, paper thin and a highly compressed form of aura allowing for a form of defence and traversal options. Stands as the simplest form of gravity manipulation."

Winter obviously knew that: it was the first Glyph ever taught to the Schnees. But her eyebrows went up as Weiss' eyes turned to stare at her sword directly attached to her hip.

"Sabre and Compound-Rapier, Aerodite/White-Iron alloy, magnetic lock triggered by aura or DNA interface on the handles, hollowed centre allows for greater flexibility while metal composition allows the main blade to retain its integrity along with being further strengthened by aura."

That took Winter for a loop: the secrets to her weapon's inner workings were tightly guarded, and Weiss figured it out at a mere glance in a way that should not be possible.

"You've… you've killed over fifty people with those swords," Weiss said slowly, Winter going completely pale, "Thirty-one by a stab to the heart, twenty-five by decapitation, five via piercing the brain, two by slashing the jugular. All of them were trying to kill you."

"W-Weiss…" Winter started, a bit of shame and guilt creeping up the back of her neck as her eyes began to droop down, until she saw Weiss shake her head and smile softly at her.

"It's okay Winter," she said gently, "I… figured that being in the Inquisition meant getting your hands dirty, and I know you don't kill for no reason. That's besides the point! I think I can… understand constructs and certain things as a fundamental level. Its makeup, history, materials, creation, user, I can see all of it the deeper I look. And once I look deep enough…"

Weiss closed her eyes, grimacing as ice-cold pain needled through her arm and into the glyph she created, one that Winter easily recognised at being a summoning-Glyph.

"Trace…On." She chanted, the reverberations to her voice making Winter's jaw drop: she knew what that sound was, but even more shocking was what happened next. "Strike down the Heretic, the Terror, and the Traitorous foe…Iron flower, Myrteneisen!"

In a pulse of auric light, the glyph rapidly spun around Weiss' hand before seeming to pop, frost crackling in the air as a perfect replica of Winter's blade, glowing with the colour of Weiss' icy-blue aura.

"My whole life has revolved around swords," Weiss said softly as she took a stance, exactly the same as Winter's, "And while I believe I have the Glyph to summon whatever I defeat, as is the birth-right of the Schnee bloodline, the combination of my ability to analyse something's very being means excel in the summoning of weapons and all things tied to them."

Winter clapped, slowly, but it snapped Weiss out of her concentration and the blade in her hand shattered into motes of light.

"You've come far Weiss," Winter said with a genuine smile, "I'm proud of you."

"Thank you, sister," Weiss curtseyed, beaming equally as happily.

"Still," Winter said as she stood, "The formation of your glyph is hasty at best, and the flow of your aura to supply your construct is too forced, dangerous to your nervous system if overused. You must continue to improve if you wish to face what lies ahead."

"Such is the way of things," Weiss shrugged playfully before eagerly readying herself. "Let's begin right away."

}-{

"KO! You win! Fatality!"

"Are you KIDDING ME!?" Yang roared as her hair burst into flames, black sparks popping around its ends, "You dirty SPAMMER! You KNOW how busted that move is!"

"Hey, if it's in the game, then clearly the developers wanted me to use it," Qrow shrugged as Ruby howled with laughter at Yang's impotent fury. "Anyway, that's seven to… zero. Huh, guess I've slacked off a bit if it took me this long to get seven wins over ya."

"Or maybe I'm just improving in the face of your cheap tactics, ever consider that uncle?" Yang said through grinding teeth. "I promise you that the day I get past your spammy bullshit, you'll eat your damn words!"

"You said that the last five times," Ruby snickered before exploding into laughter again as Yang pelted a pillow into her face.

"Weeelp, now that I'm done wiping the floor with Yang," Qrow said as he smoothly dodged another pillow being lobbed at him, "I believe that you're owed some… answers."

They both calmed down instantly, sitting to face Qrow and silently waiting for him to start.

"…Mm, where to begin really?" He muttered as he scratched his beard, "…okay, so… Sparda, right? Super-powerful Faunus warrior, all-round a great guy and all that jazz. Supposedly had two apprentices, and he gifted one a piece of his power. Following me so far?" They both nodded, Yang especially unsure of where this was going. "So his apprentice, Modeus, another powerful De - Faunus like him, was so good in a fight that Sparda decided to gift him a piece of his own soul. After Sparda disappeared, Modeus wandered the world and eventually came to love a woman who was way too headstrong for her own good."

"Not to interrupt," Yang said with a raised eyebrow, "This kinda feels like a rehash of Sparda's Tale."

"…that woman's familial name was Branwen."

"…oh," Yang said in a small voice.

"Yyyup," Qrow said with a grin, "Every direct descendant of the first Branwen is officially related to Sparda himself, on a level that's as deep or even deeper than blood. Aaand that includes you Yang."

"Waitwaitwait," Ruby started before a grin split her cheeks, "So not only is Yang related to a legendary warrior, but she's also part Faunus? That's definitely new."

"Part Faunus?" Yang chuckled idly. "Wish I was a dragon. Still is cool though."

"Ain't it?" Qrow nodded, "Sparda's power is… special. While you and your semblance are already strong, it's pretty likely that it's been influenced and amplified thanks to that piece of him that's been passed on and nurtured by your own hard work and experience. Hell, that's not even mentioning ol' Tai's bloodline. You mix the raw emotion that comes from your old man's power with the blood of Sparda and there's no telling what your ceiling is."

"So what's the deal with dad?" Yang asked.

"Ooh, that's a bit of a tricky one," Qrow chuckled, "Not even I know the full story, only that he's supposedly a descendant of a demigod, one who tried to fight God, as in Big-G-God himself for imprisoning his daughter."

"That's so metal," Yang gasped in awe, looking at her hands as if she could feel the potential within her blood.

"…So what's the deal with my eyes then? With mom's eyes for that matter?" Ruby asked, curious. "I know that they can repel and even outright kill B-Class Grimm in one go, and it's more than just a semblance too."

"That's… a really dangerous question to ask," Qrow sighed, his eyes closing as his aura wavered around him gently. Ruby could tell from the way it brushed against her so subtly that he was checking for anyone eavesdropping on them. "…But you've more or less described it yourself. A very, very select number of people in history have ever had the Silver Eyes, and while all of them show similar abilities, some stand above the rest in terms of raw power. They go by many names, Voids of Light, Untouchables, Reverse-Blanks, just to name a few, but the greatest of them have always…" He paused for a moment, and the sisters were not blind to the flare of sorrow on his aura before he quickly masked it with his usual chill grin. "Always been remembered as some of the greatest warriors to fight against the darkness. You'd know a few of them too, I reckon."

"Really? Who?"

"Oh you know, the Wolf Knight Artorias, the Toa of Light, even Wukong's grandpa has a hell of a record."

"…you're serious…" Ruby breathed.

"Dead serious," Qrow nodded, "Those eyes of yours are special… use them wisely Ruby."

"…I will Uncle Qrow, I promise."

"Good. There's more to tell, but we'll get into that soon. Now hop on, lets see how quick I can rack up some wins on you before I gotta bounce lil' red!"

"Fine, you're on!"

…

Ozpin walked through the halls of the Atlesian Battle-Barge, everything neat, tidy and precise, yet dotted with the symbols of Atlesian faith. The twin-headed bird of prey, one head blind and facing the past, the other wide open and looking to the future, talons bared and wings raised proudly. There were also papers with hymns and prayers written on them, stuck to the wall with hallowed wax, their numbers growing as he continued down the hall into the most secure layers of the ship. All of them were symbols of piety and praise to the so-called 'God Emperor'. All of it absolutely disgusted Ozpin.

"To think this is necessary…" He scoffed.

"You know that it's necessary," Ironwood sighed, "Regardless of your stance on my religion, nobody can deny the collective power that faith brings. These hallowed items are key in keeping him here."

"I know," Ozpin huffed, "But it doesn't mean I have to like it. The Cult Atlesian, regardless of a handful of changes to its original form, is still a bastardised version of what the Emperor had planned."

"And yet the God Emperor's plans failed." Ironwood said. There was no anger in his voice despite Ozpin's lashing tone towards his faith, only the sombre mood behind his words. Ozpin himself calmed down, closing his eyes and breathing out, accepting the truth for what it was.

"…you are right," He said, "I'm sorry James, that was… unprofessional of me."

"Apology accepted," Ironwood chuckled, "And besides, we're friends. It's only natural that we get unprofessional every now and then."

"Indeed," Ozpin hummed back, a small smile on his face before he schooled his features. "Now then…" They stood in front of massive metal doors, though you wouldn't figure it out at first glance on account of them being entirely covered by religious items. "Let's get this over with."

The doors slid open and defence-mechanisms lined in the very walls activated on a dime, high-calibre auto-guns, flamers, and bolters trained on the inside of the room itself.

"James Eisenhorn Ironwood," Ozpin spoke, something in the tone of his voice suddenly deeper, reverberating off the walls. "I order you to aid me in the containment of the Dark Apostle Erebus. If he is uncooperative, do what you see as necessary to elicit his compliance as best as possible, otherwise I bade you kill him in the attempt of an escape."

"Orders: Received," Ironwood confirmed, gunmetal aura flaring around him as his eyes sharpened, and they walked in. Three more sets of metal doors opened, each covered in more religious iconography than the last before in the very middle of the room revealed the captured Erebus himself kneeling down, and no measure meant to contain him was spared. Stripped of his armour and the synthetic steel-muscle undersuit that it was connected to, he wore only a simple white shirt and trousers. Almost every inch of him was bound by chains welded to the floor with foot-thick ceramite shackles, from fingertip to elbow, from toe to waist, from the pit of his stomach to his neck. Gravity-dust was inlaid into the metal, further locking him in place. Each super-sized shackle and chain had symbols of faith stuck, nailed and carved on them, all faintly humming as Erebus seemed uncomfortable in his own skin. Still, pain was a sensation that She fed off, so he embraced it.

"Well…" He said with a grin, "It has been some time since I have had visitors, but I wasn't expecting the likes of you so soon. I'd bow, but as you can see…"

Ironwood flicked his wrist, a scowl on his face as the gravity-dust in the neck-shackles glowed brightly, Erebus' face smashed into the floor a moment later in a wet *CRACK* as his nose shattered, blood splattering on the floor.

"Speak when spoken to, Traitor," Ironwood spat. "Tell us why you are here."

"…bit of a rude start to a conversation," Erebus said with a muffled laugh, blood spattering across his face with each chuckle. Again Ironwood flicked his wrist and the shackles immediately yanked the Astartes upright, bones clicking as the force slightly fractured them. "Oooh, testy today aren't we?"

"You broke into the middle of Vale and let loose Faunus infected with her Undivided Warp-Essence. That's not even counting a World Eater who had been elevated to a Berserker in the middle of battle, by your hand no less. I'm a little past testy." Ozpin said coldly as his hand shot out and grabbed Erebus by the face, his aura crackling around his hand as he began to slowly squeeze, leaning in close to stare at the Dark Apostle.

"Your attack, whatever the goal, was far too premature Erebus," Ozpin said, Erebus staring back unflinchingly, "Whatever plan you have, you revealed your machinations too early. Remnant's finest have already deployed to be ready, and in case you need to be reminded…" He squeezed down harder, Erebus' skull starting to groan. "I am considered one of the most powerful men on the planet. TALK."

Something more than aura emanated from his words, a force that ultimately stemmed from his soul but was decidedly not Ozpin's. Controlled, manipulated, guided by him, certainly, but this power was not his. Erebus' face twitched for the first time, eyes widening in surprise.

"…Alpha Plus, eh?" Erebus said, a grin on his face. "Strange. Always took you to be at the level of an Alpha. You never struck me as someone who would throw Warp-Sorcery about."

"I've seen my fair share of fighting," Ozpin nodded, "And I've had time to develop my power. I do not need to 'throw it about.' Besides, do you really think that's the only tool at my disposal?"

*BANG*

Erebus grunted in surprise and pain as Ironwood's handcannon blasted a round right directly into his stomach, piercing through his flesh and organs. Pain seared through him as he realized that the round itself was blessed, the complete, disgusting antithesis to his very being, to the truth of this world. He was thankful that it wasn't a truly explosive Bolter-round: that would've taken a significant amount of time and power to heal, even for him.

"Getting rather dirty now, aren't we?" He said, his voice slightly strained.

"Says the man who's responsible for the murder of billions," Ironwood scoffed as he put another round in Erebus, the latter flinching in pain again.

"O-Oho, that's rich!" Erebus laughed through the pain, blood sticking in strings between perfectly white teeth and dripping from his face, "You parade the idea that the Four Kingdoms are the greatest central authority, and that every person, Human and Faunus alike are safe, protected, even outside your borders. How many people as that lie gotten killed, hmm? Rather, how many more people have you awakened to the truth of the world?"

Both Ozpin and Ironwood remained silent, the former backing away slightly.

"Those paragons you call Hunters are capable of… great deeds in her name, you know? Frankly, it's amazing what happens when you combine the power of the individual soul with the might of the Warp. Some of course could not handle it, but others… oooh, they're capable of wonderous things."

Lightning exploded from Ozpin's hands and blasted into Erebus, his body shuddering and convulsing as his flesh began to cook and blood began to boil.

"I command you, speak of your plans," Ozpin's voice boomed. "Do NOT test me, Dark Apostle."

At first, they thought Erebus was gurgling only for his laughter to grow louder, crackling with burnt flesh as he thrashed in his chains. At Ozpin's command, four more bullets were fired into his chest to no real effect. In fact, Erebus' eyes began to glow with sickly-yellow Baleflame, blasphemous sparks flying from his eyes as he yanked his head to stare directly into Ozpin's eyes, the religious symbols and the room itself began to tremble and spark violently. The entire time, Ironwood had his handcannon aimed directly between Erebus' eyes, never flinching in the slightest at the display.

"Test you!? The grand finale is upon us Ozpin! Let the final days of this rotting façade you call order come to a pitiful conclusion. Let the masses see the truth behind the lie, much as my young protégé has seen herself! LET THE END TIMES COME!"

The moment the final word left his mouth, Ozpin ceased attempting to liquefy the Dark Apostle's organs as both he and Ironwood stepped back in shock.

"…Come again?" He said in a small voice.

"You lie," Ironwood hissed, though he visibly began to sweat.

"…It seems I've said too much," Erebus wheezed, though his smile was still on his tattooed face, "But… we all knew that this was bound to happen… eventually."

The duo stared at Erebus for a long while, the latter coughing and wheezing as his superhuman biology rapidly kicked in to heal the damage caused, yet he never broke eye contact… or stopped smiling. After what felt like an hour, Ozpin and Ironwood swiftly turned around and walked out of the room.

"We're not done," Ozpin said over his shoulder as the doors began to close.

"I should hope not!" Erebus laughed. "Don't keep me waiting, I always enjoy company!"

Ozpin and Ironwood silently walked down the halls for a while, their steps even yet heavy. There was nothing to say between the two of them; they both knew what was at stake now.

}-{

A complete washout. That was the only way to describe the brutal beating that Mercury and Emerald laid down on Cardin and Sky, as the start of the match opened up with Mercury beating the stuffing out of Sky and blasting him out of the ring. From that point, it just got messy. Mercury brawled toe-to-toe with Cardin, systematically breaking him down by lashing out with kicks to his thighs and stomach. The heavy armour he wore rapidly began to crumple under Mercury's assault, the pained wince on his face following each *CRUNCH* of metal. Even still, he continued to stand his ground and fight as best as he could, rapidly spinning his mace like a baton and using its weight and momentum to deflect and attack far more dexterously than anyone watching thought him capable of. It was not enough.

He stifled a cry of pain as Mercury shot his foot straight into his knee while casually leaning away from another swing of his mace, his joints screaming in protest as he tried to readjust before Emerald fired rounds into his back and knees. Every little distraction cost Cardin, Mercury now aiming at his shoulders, forearms and wrists with every kick, the mace in his hands getting heavier and his swings rapidly becoming slower and more predictable.

'C'mon, I'm not giving in just yet-!'

*BANGBANGBANG*

Three kicks to the stomach, the heart and the chin hit him so quickly and cleanly it felt it a single attack, his jaw instantly cracking in a bout of molten pain.

"Em, no need to waste your bullets, I've got this jobber!" Mercury called out.

"You sure? Looks like you're having a little trouble with him," Emerald said as she stepped out from behind.

"Yup," Mercury grunted as he threw a hook-kick right as Cardin swung down, smashing his mace to the side and leaving his face wide open for a roundhouse directly into his mouth with enough force to disintegrate a normal man's teeth and pulverised his jaw, launching him into the side of a ruined building, the crowd going wild. "Tough nut, but that's it."

"Ooh, how far do you think he'd have gone without the building?" Emerald asked.

"Well, he's easily over 230 pounds, that armour is modelled after a knights but missing a lot of pieces, so that might be an extra… 20 pounds? I'd say… sixty meters at most."

"Damn, that's pretty far… expected farther though," She said with a shit-eating grin.

"Up yours," Mercury rolled his eyes as he moved in to check his prey. To his surprise, Cardin was slowly getting back up, though from the blood running down his chin and nose along with his shaking legs, it seemed clear that he was closed to finished.

"Huh, kinda impressed," Mercury muttered as he casually dashed in to kick Cardin into oblivion.

*CLANG*

Only for Cardin's mace to explode across his jaw, sending him flying back through the air and forcing him to readjust, landing heavily in a crouch next to a laughing Emerald.

"Wow, you got your shit rocked!" She howled, barely able to stand straight as Mercury himself shot to his feet, a very dark look on his twitching face as he wiped the speck of blood from the tiny cut on his chin. "Hey now, don't get pissy and go overboard-!"

Mercury shot across the concrete in a blur, Cardin unable to react as the former's flying knee smashed into his jaw and through the stone wall. Flat on his back, he was never allowed to stand as Mercury pummelled him into the floor, smashing his face in with stomp after stomp with both of them inside the building, nobody could see what was going on, only that Cardin's aura was being ripped away chunk by chunk, lips splitting and face gashing as his consciousness slipped away.

"Little – fucking – upstart – piece of – SHIT!" Mercury hissed as he reared his leg back and blasted it into his ribs, the metal chestplate finally giving out and shattering along with Cardin's aura as he was launched back into the centre of the arena, the crowd's cheering slowly dying out for a moment as they saw the brutalised state he was in.

"…Team Cinnamon wins," Oobleck stated rather blandly.

There were still a wall of cheers, people naturally revelling in the rougher and more brutal aspect of combat, though something about the cheering seemed a bit more… rabid. Something scratched at the back of Jaune's mind: he could feel the subtle bloodlust worming its way through the crowd thanks to Pyrrha and Ruby just passably catching him up to speed on his aura. He just knew that it felt too similar to the Lupa Ira to be a coincidence.

"Cinder," Pyrrha said in a tight voice, clearly feeling the same thing he was but far more heavily affected thanks to being able to pinpoint the source. Looking at the aforementioned false student, Jaune could see that Cinder seemed to be concentrating on something other than the match. "She's... she's affecting the crowd's mood somehow."

Clearly that included Pyrrha, veins popping up on her forehead and her teeth grinding. Jaune couldn't deny that he felt it too, his own blood starting to pump before he did the only thing he could think of and quickly held Pyrrha's hand.

"Breathe Pyrrha," He said both to himself and her, Pyrrha squeezing back anchoring them back in reality, "Are you okay?"

"Y-yes, a little better now," She nodded, sighing with a relieved smile before eyeing Cinder once more, "Let's leave "

}-{

"COME ON!" Blake roared as she slashed away at the training-dummy, desperately trying to output as much power as possible. In the back of her head, she understood that what she was doing was pointless: sure, she could come up with a new skill, slightly increase her physical abilities, work on her Trigger, but none of it really mattered. She was by far the weakest member of Team RWBY, barely able to keep up on the best of days and it was clear that she was being left far behind. She didn't have Weiss' versatility, Yang's raw power-output, or Ruby's monstrous adaptability. She could shoot, slash, and run. That was all.

Her Trigger(?) crawled across her skin with unknown markings, her body becoming a blur as it was constantly pushed forward. Her attacks flowed together like water and whenever the dummy lashed out with an attack that should have landed, her semblance seemed to automatically push her out of the way of harm. Still, it was not enough. A meagre evolution like this would never be enough to keep up. To save him.

"God DAMNIT!" She screamed as she slashed straight up, an aura-blade ripping the dummy in half from stomach to head. Collapsing to her knees, her Trigger faded from her skin as she gasped for breath and struggled to keep the stinging tears falling from her eyes. She'd seen countless atrocities committed by Atlas in the name of faith, freed countless more Faunus slaves, but remembering Adam's broken body and weak voice, it was then that she understood Ruby's words, her desire. "I… I need more power!"

"I mean sure that sounds simple, but can you handle it?"

She shot to her feet in surprise, quickly wiping away her tears before relaxing slightly at the sight of Ren.

"…When did you get here?" Blake asked.

"Couple minutes ago," He said casually, walking up to the training dummy and sitting down in front of it, patting the ground next to him, "Come, sit."

Ren was not the type to speak all too often, the boy's presence either calming or going entirely unnoticed. Either way, his quiet demeanor was something that Blake needed right now, so she sat next to him and evened her breathing, the two sitting in silence for a few minutes as Blake composed herself.

"…what did you mean?" Blake asked after a moment.

"Never-mind that for the moment. Are you aright?" Blake simply raised a brow at him and he grinned in response. "Fair enough."

There was another moment of silence.

"You know, for fighters like us, simply forcing out more power is only going to hurt our development in the long run. The best we can do is combine all of our experiences and skills."

"What is there to combine for me?" Blake asked frustratedly, "I know the same auric skills that Ruby did, I arguably have as much or more combat and mission experience from my time in the Fang compared to her and Yang. So why…?"

"I don't mean to be rude, but has the calibre of your experience match theirs?" She looked down at that, a scowl on her face, "I thought so. Besides, don't be so hard on yourself. You have been able to advance thanks to the threats we've faced."

"Don't be so hard on myself? DON'T BE SO HARD ON MYSELF?!" Blake roared as her aura writhed around her, "The first person who ever taught me how to be strong is being tortured, MUTATED into a monster, the entire WORLD is at stake, and I can't help the people I love! What would YOU know!?"

Ren stared impassively at Blake caught her breath, her aura fading as Ren seemed to contemplate for a moment. It was as she calmed down that she winced at her outburst, though before she could apologize, he stood. Walking to another dummy that was barely a few steps away, he put a palm on its chest, and immediately something felt… off from Ren. Blake shivered as his expression went from impassive to dead. His aura didn't rise, it simply went still, and it was as if she had trouble concentrating on him, as if her senses were sliding off of where he was supposed to be. He retracted his hand slightly, a finger now pointing exactly at where a person's solar-plexus.

"ATA!"

Blake was sure that she didn't blink but it was as if his fist… skipped forward into the punch, retracting just as fast.

"Trust me…" Blake yelped as the dummy suddenly imploded, its chest caving in as the stuffing burst from its back. "I know. I know what it's like to watch as everything you hold important dies. I know what it's like to hate yourself for being weak, for realizing that the strength you have is not enough to stop the death of the things you love. I know very well Blake, I promise you that much."

"…I'm… I'm sorry," Blake said with her eyes down, feeling the flare of raw pain from his soul.

"Don't be," He waved her off as he smiled, burying the pain with disturbing ease, "I didn't mean to get so… heavy."

"You had every right to be," She said sincerely, "It won't change the fact that I'm sorry."

"Then if it helps ease you, apology accepted," he nodded, sitting down next to her again. "Point is, you have a goal, but don't let that consume your reason for improving or else you end up slamming yourself into a wall over and over again. So Blake, what is your reason, or reasons?"

"…I want to repay the debt owed to the first person I ever loved," She said as the image of Adam flashed in her mind, his determined face sending a painful throb in her chest, "I want to catch up to the leader who took me in even after I ran away," Ruby's grinning visage was next, her heart calming at the uplifting spirit of her leader, "…I want to fight beside the people who mean the world to me. I want take one step forward."

She was surprised how quickly and clearly the image of Yang's beaming smile and Weiss's soft smirk appeared in her head, along with the strength she drew from their faces. Ren smiled as if he understood her realization and relaxed.

"Good. Now that you have a good head on your shoulders, think about what you can do to improve."

"I will," Blake nodded. "Thank you."

"No problem," Ren said with a smile as he pulled out two canisters from nowhere. "Tea?"

"…sure," Blake chuckled as she took one, relishing the taste of green tea. "…Hey Ren?"

"Mm?"

"That thing you just did, that was as fast as Ruby. How…?" Blake started, curious. His brow went up. "Fair enough."

"Mm."

(TWBY Continued...)