Weiss tumbled across the spotless marble duel arena, dust and rumble following in her wake as she slammed into the hard floor. A trickle of blood dribbled down her left eye, a jagged wound opened up down her face.

"Get up," a callous, uncaring voice demanded, a towering dragon glowing with the shine of a galaxy bearing down behind him. "Get up, Weiss."

Weiss winced, dribbling blood clouding her vision of the man called her father. The heiress's body shivered as she turned over and slowly staggered to her knees. She tried to go further, to rise to her feet once more, but her battered body just couldn't make it.

Jacques scoffed as she collapsed back to the floor. "Pathetic. If only your sister had come to her senses. If Ironwood hadn't stolen her away, the Schnee lineage might have a worthy heir."

"I… am worthy," Weiss snarled, tears dribbling down her right eye as blood continued to pour from her left.

"You're weak," Jacques dismissed. "You expect me to let you run off to Beacon while acting like such a disgrace. In a duel, as well as life, there are winners and there are losers. The Schnee family does not lose. We are the apex, the most powerful duelists on Remnant."

'You're not a Schnee,' Weiss hissed inside her mind, though she wouldn't dare speak it aloud.

"Just as Nicholas added Synchro's power to his arsenal once it became clear that tribute summoning was no longer sufficient, you must learn the power of Xyz summoning," the bastard continued. "I've seen your dragon. Though it is an unsightly beast, it is a powerful one. If only you could muster the spine to use it."

Weiss bit down on her fury, grinding her pearly white teeth against each other. The white-haired girl let her rage flood through her, managing to push herself off her knees and finally rise to her feet. She wiped the blood from her left eye and brought her Myrtenaster duel disk back around. "I don't need your power. I'm strong enough on my own."

"Then prove it. Photon Stream of Destruction!"

The looming dragon reeled back its head, a blinding white light building in its jaws.

Even still, staring down complete oblivion, Weiss stood firm, glaring at her father's great beast. Alone, as always.

It didn't matter. She would not bow. She would not break. She was the heir of the Schnee name, the scion of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. She would never surrender that pride, not to father.

Not to anyone.

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"So, how good exactly is your sister?" Blake inquired to her new partner. "I know she must have skills to get in two years early, but Weiss has probably had the best training and cards money can buy."

Both she and Yang were seated in the bleachers of the Beacon duel arena. Down below, Ruby and Weiss were squaring off at either end of the stadium, Headmaster Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch refereeing from just outside the combat circle.

"It's not gonna be an easy matchup," Yang admitted, though a confident smirk remained on her face. "But Ruby is as good a duelist as they come. And after our uncle took over her training, I haven't seen anyone but him, me, and our dad beat her. She can handle this."

"Great! Does she have a big dragon like you do?"

"Oh yeah. Huge. I mean, I wouldn't trade away my archfiend for anything, but if I could get my hands on Black Rose—" Yang stopped nodding absentmindedly and glanced at Blake. "You didn't say that—"

A new girl with short orange hair popped up out of nowhere right in front of Yang. "Hi there!"

"Gah!" Yang shouted, suddenly pressed back in her seat. "Where did you come from? Who are you?"

"Both valid questions," the orange-haired girl sagely nodded. "But you still haven't finished answering mine. Does your sister have a big dragon like you—"

"Nora!" a new voice called.

"Coming Ren!" the girl merrily responded, instantly skipping away from Yang to an approaching group.

Of course, given that said group was coming towards the two members of Team RWBY anyway, it was kind of redundant.

"Hey guys," Jaune greeted, flanked by Pyrrha, the orange-haired girl, and a green-robed boy who looked like he'd jumped right out of one of Blake's Ninjas of Love books (because he looked like a ninja, not… the other thing). If Blake remembered right from the team announcement ceremony, the latter two were named Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren.

Pyrrha strode forward and raised a fist to Yang. "We heard something was going on here. Why are Ruby and Weiss dueling?"

"Eh, they tied in the leader vote so they've gotta decide which of them gets the job," Yang smirked, bumping Pyrrha's offered fist. "I'm guessing you've already been sworn in, P-Money?"

"What? Oh no," Pyrrha bashfully revealed. "I'm not our leader."

Blake raised an eyebrow. "You didn't win the vote?"

Pyrrha shook her head, leaning back to drag her partner forward. "Jaune did."

Yang blinked. "Jaune?"

"Yeah. Real dark horse victory," the boy nervously chuckled.

Yang glanced at Ren and Nora. "What kind of first impression did he make on you guys?"

Ren smirked. "He said his name was Jaune Arc. Short. Sweet. Ladies love it."

"I wouldn't say 'love', but I definitely think I like it," Nora joyfully nodded. "It's a good name."

Jaune groaned. "You know, hearing it out loud from someone else? Remind me to never introduce myself like that again."

"Ooo, it can be the first thing we talk about at our opening team meeting!"

Blake could only furrow her brow at Team JNPR. Nora and Ren seemed affable, but she couldn't figure out why they'd make Jaune their leader. Even if the blond wasn't the hot mess he was, why would anyone vote for him when they could have Pyrrha Nikos lead them into battle?

Though, given her ulterior motives for her own team's election, perhaps she shouldn't have judged the situation so harshly. She'd voted for Ruby solely to further her own agenda of remaining as under the radar as possible. Having the silver-eyed girl as team leader would attract far less outside attention to Blake than if her partner or the Schnee heiress took command, especially with the Vytal Festival coming up this year.

Oh well. At least the duel would give her a chance to get the measure of her teammates' skills. It'd give her an advantage if worst came to worst and her identity came out.

Ruby and Weiss's duel disks lit up as they inserted their decks. The arena's hard light dust walls flared to life, ready to protect the spectators from the crossfire of the match.

"Duel!"

Ruby Rose: 4000 Life Points

Weiss Schnee: 4000 Life Points

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"You've been rushing ahead all day," Weiss shouted over. "So why don't you take the first turn."

Ruby pouted, inserting a card into Crescent Rose. "Gee thanks. I'll start by activating Graceful Charity. This spell card lets me—"

"Draw three cards and discard two. I know what Graceful Charity does," Weiss snapped. "My family makes these utility cards."

Ruby groaned. She got that she'd given the heiress plenty of reason to be mad at her during initiation, but did she have to go back to interrupting her like yesterday? No matter what was on the line, they were having a nice, fun duel. She didn't have to be such a crab about it, no matter how much she wanted to be team leader.

She pulled three cards from her deck and sent her Dark Verger and Glow-Up Bulb to her graveyard. Then she slammed another card from her hand onto her field. "I summon Baobaboon in attack mode."

Light flickered in front of her and her monkey-faced tree spurted up from the arena (ATK 1200 / DEF 1000).

Weiss cringed at the botanical baboon. "I don't know what I was expecting."

Ruby frowned. "Hey! You can call me and an idiot or a dolt or whatever all you want, but you don't get to insult my monsters."

"It is a tree with a baboon's face!" Weiss protested. "I don't think I can come up with anything more insulting than its existence if I tried!"

Baobaboon screeched at the heiress, the white-haired girl pulling back in distaste.

"He's also got a bit of howler monkey in him," Ruby smirked. "And that allows me to draw one card from my deck whenever he's summoned, as long as I put one card from my hand back on the top or bottom of my deck."

She quickly carried out the action and snatched up two more cards from her hand. "I lay two cards facedown and end my turn."

"My move then. I draw!" Weiss proclaimed, doing just that before inserting a spell into her Myrtenaster. "I will also activate Graceful Charity!"

The heiress drew three cards from her deck, a pleased smirk breaking out over her face at the sight of her hand.

"I discard The Phantom Knights of Ancient Cloak and The Phantom Knights of Torn Scales," she announced, complying with Graceful Charity's cost. "Then, I will banish The Phantom Knights of Ancient Cloak in order to activate its special ability, letting me add one 'The Phantom Knights' card from my deck to my hand."

Ruby grinned, watching her opponent add The Phantom Knights' Fog Blade from her deck to her hand. No matter how good that trap card was, there was no way Weiss would get so confident just because she could search it out. There was something bigger at work, and she had a feeling it had to with the other monster she'd discarded.

"Since another Phantom Knights card in my graveyard was banished, I get to special summon my lost Phantoms Knights of Torn Scales, though it will be banished when it leaves the field," Weiss explained, an antique knight helm with torn armor appearing before her, a ghastly violet spirit sticking out under it (ATK 600 / DEF 1600). "But since I control a Phantom Knights monster, I can special summon The Phantom Knights of Silent Boots from my hand."

She smacked another card onto her duel disk, an old straw scarecrow rising from the ground, inhabited by a blue ghost with pure black eyes (ATK 200 / DEF 1200).

"I then activate my Phantom Knights of Torn Scales's effect! By discarding my White Stone of Legend, I can send a Phantom Knights card, such as my Phantom Knights' Sword trap, from my deck to my graveyard," Weiss said, carrying out the action only to snatch up another card from her deck to her hand. "And when The White Stone of Legend is sent to my graveyard, I add one Blue-Eyes White Dragon from my deck to my hand."

Ruby instantly recognized what was coming next. After all, despite the fact that she had two monsters on her field and six cards in her hand, the Atlesian girl still hadn't used her normal summon.

The two Phantom Knights monsters melted into orbs of crackling energy, orbiting around each other in a circuit that flared with electricity.

"I sacrifice my two monsters in order to tribute summon the ultimate creature of destruction!" Weiss cried, slamming her legendary card down onto the field. "Behold the pride of the Schnee family! Rise! Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

The swirling energy spheres slammed together and erupted in a vibrant storm of alabaster electricity, the arena's hard light shield flickering as errant bolts crashed against it. In the stands, Jaune leapt back in fright as a lightning strike screeched only a few inches from his face. Though Headmaster Ozpin merely took a sip from his coffee as the same thing occurred to him, the old hunting duelist unflappable even in the face of such ancient power.

Ruby wished she could be so coolheaded. But as her Baobaboon hunkered down to its roots, the silver-eyed girl was forced to raise her hands to her face as her crimson cloak billowed in the face of the raging tempest.

When the storm finally faded, an even more awe-inspiring sight had replaced it, the same titanic blue dragon from the Emerald Forest letting out its distinctive sheering roar (ATK 3000 / DEF 2500).

Weiss smirked. "Now then, you were quite excited to fawn over my dragon before, but let's see how you like facing it in battle—"

"It's so awesome!" Ruby squealed. "First I get to see a Blue-Eyes and now I get to duel one! This is the best day ever!"

"You… you… you…" Weiss stammered, her face contorting in twisted expressions of incoherent rage. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"What'd you mean?" Ruby asked, confused.

"What do I mean?" Weiss repeated. "You are facing down one of the most powerful creatures in Duel Monsters! Why are you excited about it?!"

"Uh, because I get to face down one of the most powerful creatures in Duel Monsters," Ruby replied, trying to figure out how her partner wasn't understanding this obvious point.

"That is not something to be excited about!" Weiss insisted.

"Why not?" Ruby inquired. "I mean, sure, if it was a life-or-death duel there are probably more important things to worry about, but why shouldn't I be excited to see rare and awesome monsters when I can? Just think about it. Your dragon is incredible, but it's still only one dragon, of one type of monster, in one city, in one kingdom, that's only part of Remnant. There are millions of monsters out there and each one…"

A flash of memory flickered through her mind. A smiling woman in a white cloak, a graceful silver dragon gently landing behind her as stardust shimmered down from its shining wings.

"Each one is only going to be here as long as its card stays whole. Or until it's lost," Ruby continued, a hint of melancholy invading her voice for a moment. But only for a moment, her brilliant smile lighting up again the next instant. "I want to be able to see as many as I possibly can, for however long I can. And taking them on in duels? Pitting everything me and my deck have against everything they have? I don't think there's anything more incredible than that."

Weiss blinked at her, confounded. "You want… to see them?"

"Yup."

The heiress frowned. "I see. How… unambitious."

Ruby cocked an eyebrow. "I can't tell if that's an insult or not."

"It isn't. But it's not a compliment either!" Weiss proclaimed, sliding a spell into her duel disk. "I activate One for One! Now, by discarding Keeper of the Shrine from my hand, I can summon the White Stone of Ancients from my deck!"

The glowing spherical stone glimmered onto the field, the Blue-Eyes protectively lowering itself over the egg.

"I then tune my level one White Stone of Ancients with my level eight Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

The shining white stone dissipated into a single emerald tuning ring, the great azure dragon breaking down into eight twinkling stars. A blinding pillar of light blazed through the circle and from it emerged a creature that looked nearly identical to the Blue-Eyes in features, but with phantasmal alabaster scales (ATK 2500 / DEF 3000).

"Blue-Eyes Spirit Dragon," Weiss introduced her new monster. "As I've mentioned, I am perfectly fluent in synchro summoning, as any true Schnee would be."

"I'll say," Ruby grinned. Yang and her dad made the tuning of the monsters' aura bodies go silky smooth, better than any other duelist she'd ever seen, but Weiss could give them a run for their lien. Her new monster had arrived in the Extra Monster Zone without even a hiccup. "But I'll admit, I'm a bit sad to see your original dragon go so soon."

Weiss snorted. "Please. I don't have the luxury of acting like you. I don't get to treat being a hunting duelist as a sightseeing tour. I duel to win, to prove my strength and bring honor to my family name. Which means I don't toss away my most powerful creature on a whim like you did in the forest."

The heiress dramatically revealed another spell from her hand. "I'm sure you know what this is, correct?"

Ruby frowned, recognizing one of the most popular utility cards on Remnant. "Monster Reborn."

"Correct!" Weiss yelled, sliding the spell into Myrtenaster. "Revive now, my great beast! Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

The legendary monsters rose up from the floor of the field, rising up side-by-side with its spectral copy. Both ferocious dragons roared across the arena, even Baobaboon shuddering at their display.

"Okay, that might be a problem," Ruby admitted.

Weiss let a smug smile drift over her lips. "Honestly, your goal sounds rather nice. Gallivant around Remnant seeing as many exotic monsters as you can. An easy life, but a respectable one. But a leader cannot take the easy path. A leader must always be on guard, stay strong to protect those under them. That is a burden that I am prepared and willing to bear. And I'll prove it by winning this duel! Blue-Eyes! Attack Baobaboon! White Lightning!"

The magnificent blue dragon opened its massive jaws and unleashed a searing beam of raw electricity, blowing Baobaboon away in the blink of an eye.

Ruby Rose: 2200 Life Points

Ruby grit her teeth as her aura strained against the death of her monster, even as she swept her arm through the smoke to meet her opponent's gaze with a victorious grin on her own. The battle had gone just according to plan.

"When Baobaboon is destroyed, its special ability activates—"

"Allowing you to special summon new copies of it from your deck," Weiss finished with a smug smirk.

Ruby gasped. "How did you—"

"My family makes these cards, remember. I make it my business to keep track of common monster effects," the heiress revealed. "But yours won't be activating! Once per turn, my Blue-Eyes Spirit Dragon can negate an effect that activates in the graveyard. So your monkey tree won't be sprouting any new saplings!"

Ruby's eyes widened in shock. Blue-Eyes Spirit Dragon flapped its wings and a gust of silver wind slammed into the hooded girl's graveyard, sealing away her reinforcements.

"This is my strength, you dolt. This is the power that comes from true pride!" Weiss declared flipping her ponytail over her shoulder and dramatically pointing at her opponent. "I have worked myself to the bone to master my deck! I have studied strategy and tactics from every kingdom! With me as this team's leader, all of us will rise to be the finest hunting duelists we can be!"

"I know," Ruby responded. "That's why I voted for you."

She felt a little guilty about it, but the red hooded girl couldn't help the twinge of pleasure that shot through her at the heiress's sudden look of shock.

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"She what?" Blake exclaimed, reaching for her bow to clear out her ears before remembering her disguise.

Yang groaned. "Ugh, yeah, that makes sense."

"Does it?" Nora queried. "I mean, I don't know your sister, but Weiss seems pretty crabby. Why would anybody want her for leader?"

Yang shrugged. "Probably less about wanting Weiss as leader and not wanting to do it herself."

"Ah, that makes sense," Pyrrha nodded. "Especially in a Vytal Festival year, team leaders are the representatives for their teams, catching attention from the press, sponsors, clients. Everyone who a hunting duelist needs to know to facilitate their team's careers. It's not a spotlight everyone wants on them."

"Just because they don't want it doesn't mean they're not the best for the job," Yang argued. "Ruby thinks she's worse at dealing with people than she is. The only way to make her realize that skill is to put her in a position of power that will reveal it."

"Not wanting to be also doesn't mean she's the best for the job," Jaune pointed out. "I mean, Weiss certainly isn't being nice about it, but she's mastered both Extra Deck summoning methods and is clearly willing to put in the work to get even stronger. Heck, she's got complete control of this duel. You really think she couldn't be a good leader?"

"Talent does not necessarily translate to aptitude," Ren noted. "Though, lack of desire does not translate to fitness either."

Both Jaune and Yang turned to the green-robed duelist and raised an eyebrow. Blake wished she could say she understood more than them, but she was too busy being terrified that she might have to serve in a team led by a Schnee.

Meanwhile, Nora sagely nodded at her partner's words. "Completely right, Ren. But it really doesn't matter all that much. I mean, if Ruby didn't want to be leader that badly, she could just surrender."

Yang blinked numbly. "That's… actually a really good point." The blonde grinned and turned back to the match. "I knew she had it in her."

"For all the good it'll do her," Blake mumbled. "She's about to lose."

"Heh," Yang chuckled. "Don't be so sure."

Down on the field, Weiss had finally seemed to recover from Ruby's proclamation, taking a deep breath as she stood up ramrod straight.

"Well… you… made the right choice," The heiress declared. "I promise I will make sure our team prospers. Blue-Eyes Spirit Dragon! Attack her directly!"

The spectral dragon reared back, its wings spread out behind it as a crackling tempest built between its jaws.

Blake gulped, her hopes for inconspicuousness plummeting through her stomach. Weiss's monster had more than enough strength to wipe out Ruby's remaining life points, and when she did, the Schnee would become the face of their team—

"You just activated my trap card!" Ruby shouted, throwing out her hand as one of her facedowns rose up to reveal a picture of two uniformed security guards standing before a barred cell door. "No Entry!"

"What?" Weiss squeaked.

"What?" Blake echoed; her amber eyes wide.

Yang's proud smile only grew. "Told you."

Blue-Eyes Spirit Dragon's breath attack vanished from its maw. Both the ghostly creature and the original Blue-Eyes White Dragon pulled in their wings, hovering closer to the ground as horizontal cards appeared under them.

"When I activate No Entry, every monster on the field is forced into Defense Mode!" Ruby explained. "So your direct attack is stopped."

"Woah! Awesome," Jaune gasped, leaning over the rail of the stands in amazement.

"Yeah!" Nora agreed, before her brow scrunched up in confusion. "But wait, why didn't she use that when the first Blue-Eyes attacked her monkey tree?"

Pyrrha smiled. "Because she was counting on Baobaboon being destroyed. She wanted to take advantage of its effect to double her field presence."

"But Weiss's Spirit Dragon cut off that strategy at the head," Jaune finished, his eyes flickering between the two duelists with sheer awe in his eyes. "They're both incredible."

Blake couldn't help but agree. Weiss had fully lived up to the Schnee family's reputation for both power and skill, bringing out both a level nine Synchro monster and a legendary level eight powerhouse in her first turn, and anticipating her opponent's plan to take advantage of such a frontal assault.

Meanwhile, Ruby had barely missed a beat after her Baobaboon had been negated, moving swiftly to shut down the dragons' onslaught. Where most would have recklessly put all their chips into their primary plan, the red hooded girl made sure to keep a few tricks up her sleeve to ensure she didn't suffer a single turn kill.

Both girls were far beyond the average skill level of what a huntsman academy first-year should have been at. Blake honestly thought they could take on her or Ilia at their best. They weren't at Adam's level, but given that they were just as good as some of the White Fang's finest? That Ruby in particular was already two years younger than the rest of her class?

To say the two duelists were prodigies was a vast understatement.

Yang clapped Jaune on the back, the blond boy coughing from the blow. The muscular girl barely even noticed, a brilliant grin on her face.

"Hold onto your hat, big boy," she said. "You ain't seen nothing yet."

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Weiss stammered a moment after her dragons were forced into defense mode. The spike of shock and frustration that rose within her mixed with the confoundment that had already been stirred up from Ruby's earlier words.

Why had Ruby voted for her for leader? Ever since the courtyard, the other girl had done nothing but get in her way, both figuratively and literally. Had she recognized the truth that Weiss really was the best suited to lead their team? But if that was so obvious, why had Blake and Yang voted for the silver-eyed girl? Why hadn't she conceded the match?

No, no, no. She settled her hands over her duel disk and took a deep breath to center herself. She couldn't let her emotions run wild and make her lose control. She had to show decorum, respect. Ruby had played a fine move. And it was her responsibility to answer in kind.

"I banish my The Phantom Knights of Silent Boots from my graveyard to activate its effect," she announced, pulling the monster from Myrtenaster's graveyard slot and then clasping the card that popped out from her deck. "This allows me to add another Phantom Knights' Fog Blade from my deck to my hand. Then, I set two cards facedown."

She laid her two Fog Blades into her duel disk, the card flashing into existence on the field. Each misty sword was a powerful trap, capable of completely paralyzing a monster and sealing both its attack and special abilities. If Ruby went for the monster that the heiress thought she was going to, then her blades would stop it cold.

And in the meantime…

"I end my turn!" Weiss shouted. "And when I do, the effect of the White Stone of the Ancients in my graveyard activates, allowing me to summon any 'Blue-Eyes' monster from my deck! Rise! My pride! Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

A pillar of blinding white light blazed up from the arena, the shadow of her family's magnificent creature falling over the battlefield. With a single flap of its mighty wings, the dragon battered Ruby with gale-force wind as it soared through the sky in attack position.

Weiss smirked at her partner. "Your move."

On the off chance that Ruby had some greater purpose for putting her monsters in defense mode other than just stopping her attack, her second Blue-Eyes White Dragon would hopefully throw a wrench in that plan. And on the other off chance that it couldn't, she could just use her Blue-Eyes Spirit Dragon to summon her Azure-Eyes Silver Dragon for protection.

She had three immensely powerful monsters, two with three thousand attack points. She had a pair of trap cards that could each paralyze a monster. Ruby had only one facedown on the field, and, once she drew for her turn, she'd have only three cards in her hand. If Weiss was a fool, she'd probably assume she had nothing to worry about.

But Weiss was not a fool. She remembered the Emerald Forest. She knew her opponent still had one monster that could shatter her formation. And she was ready to counter it.

"My move! I draw!" Ruby declared, drawing her third card and then slipping a spell card from her hand into her duel disk. "I activate Twin Twisters! Now by discarding one card, I can destroy up to two spell or trap cards on the field!"

The spell flashed into existence and, just as the name suggested, two tornados surged out, careening to Weiss's side of the field and obliterating both her Fog Blades.

The heiress frowned. Well, there went her first line of defense.

"Next, I summon White Rose Dragon!" Ruby said, slamming the last card in her hand onto her crimson duel disk. The same lizard coated with pale flower petals that she rode from the forest materialized before the silver-eyed girl. (ATK 1200 / DEF 1000) "And when she's normal summoned, she lets me special summon another 'Rose Dragon' from my hand or graveyard."

"What? But you don't have anything in your hand or in your—" Weiss suddenly cut off her own query, a scowl falling over her lips. "You discarded one to activate Twin Twisters, didn't you?"

Ruby shot her a gleeful grin, a monster card sliding out from her graveyard. "Come on out! Roxrose Dragon!"

A pink light flared up from her duel disk, a smaller version of White Rose Dragon appearing beside it, only without the petals covering its wings. Instead, a small lavender rose was nestled between its tail feathers (ATK 1600 / DEF 1200).

"When Roxrose Dragon is summoned, I can add one card with 'Black Rose Dragon' in its text from my deck to my hand!" Ruby revealed, snatching a spell from her deck and showing it to her opponent. "I choose Basal Rose Shoot!"

Weiss glanced between the silver-eyed girl's monsters. A level three and a level four. She didn't know which was a tuner, but she was willing to bet that one of them was. No matter what that spell did, now was her chance to protect her dragons.

"I activate the second effect of my Blue-Eyes Spirit Dragon!" she proclaimed. "By tributing itself, my great beast special summons one other light dragon Synchro Monster from my Extra Deck, but that monster will be destroyed at the End Phase. I choose my Azure-Eyes Silver Dragon!"

The Blue-Eyes Spirit Dragon folded its wings into itself and faded away into shimmering sparkles. From its place however rose another great dragon, its scales a stainless ivory as horns stuck out of both its knees and shoulders (ATK 2500 / DEF 3000).

As soon as the creature appeared and settled on top of its horizontal card, a glimmering white aura began to radiate off its flesh, wisping around itself and the Blue-Eyes White Dragons flanking it.

"When Azure-Eyes Silver Dragon is summoned, its ability activates," Weiss preened, looking on with pride upon her wondrous monsters. "Until the end of the next turn, neither of us can target or destroy the Dragon-type monsters I currently control with card effects."

"Well then it's a good thing you don't currently have any Dragon-type monsters."

Weiss's eyes widened. "What?!"

"I activate my trap card!" Ruby yelled, her facedown flipping up to reveal a knight bound and strangled by thick, thorny vines. "Ivy Shackles!"

Enormous plant tendrils burst out from the card, zipping across the field and wrapping all around Weiss's dragons. Immediately, Azure-Eyes Silver Dragon's protective aura evaporated into useless mist.

Ruby smirked. "I assume you know what this one does?"

Weiss ground her teeth against each other. "Ivy Shackles. A continuous trap card that turns all my monsters into Plant-types as long as it's your turn. And since you connected it as Chain Link 2 to my Azure-Eyes Silver Dragon's ability, it takes effect before the protection would shield my dragons. Meaning none of them qualify when the shielding would be bestowed."

Leaving them wide open to her enemy's masterstroke.

"I lay one card facedown," Ruby said, doing just that. "And then I tune my level three Roxrose Dragon with my level four White Rose Dragon!"

Roxrose Dragon burst apart into a trio of vibrant green tuner rings, White Rose Dragon sliding between them and breaking up into a line of four twinkling stars.

"Red like roses fills my dreams and bring me to the place you rest. The cold flame envelops the entire world. Thus kindly scatter and bring me victory! Synchro Summon! Black Rose Dragon!"

A column of light shot through the emerald rings and from it descended a dragon just as gorgeous as any of Weiss's own. Elegant, noble, and covered with majestic rose petals throughout its glistening ebony body, Black Rose Dragon was, in the heiress's opinion, as radiant a monster as could be (ATK 2400 / DEF 1800).

If only it wasn't about to vanish.

"I activate my dragon's special ability to destroy every card on the field!" Ruby roared. "Black Rose Gale!"

Black Rose Dragon raised its wings to answer its duelist's call and with a single mighty roar unleashed its wrath upon the field. A raging maelstrom of hurricane-level winds and razor-sharp rose petals flooded across the arena, the hardlight walls crackling as they contained the tempest.

Everything within their purvey was not so fortunate. Both Blue-Eyes White Dragons and Azure-Eyes Silver Dragon cried their death knells and shattered against the force of the gale, their legendary power useless against their foe's assault. Thanks to Ivy Shackles, their defeats wouldn't even trigger Keeper of the Shrine in the graveyard.

Weiss growled, throwing her arms in front of her face as her aura struggled to shield her body from Ruby's move. She had to summon a gravity glyph beneath her feet just to keep from being blown away. Even then, she doubted she could have held on if the hurricane had gone on a moment longer.

The heiress looked out over the field, completely barren before both duelists. Ruby alone stood triumphant among the annihilated arena.

"Since White Rose Dragon was used in a Synchro Summon, I can send a level four or higher Plant-Type monster from my deck to my graveyard," Ruby said, pulling a card from her deck and slotting it down Crescent Rose's shaft. "I choose World Carrotweight Champion."

"Right," Weiss replied, steeling herself from the recent onslaught. "Given you have no cards left on your field or in your hand, I assume you end your turn?"

Ruby smirked. "Not quite."

A vibrant tower of blazing pink light erupted up from behind the red-hooded girl. Weiss's eyes widened in horror as Black Rose Dragon emerged from the luminous pillar, very much alive.

"H… how?" the Schnee heiress stuttered.

"Remember that Basal Rose Shoot I laid facedown?" Ruby taunted. "When it's destroyed while set on the field, I'm allowed to summon my Black Rose Dragon or any monster that mentions it in its text from my banished zone or graveyard."

Weiss paled. "But that means—"

"You're wide open!" Ruby declared, dramatically pointing towards her opponent. "Black Rose Dragon! Attack directly! Black Rose Flare!"

The majestic dragon reeled back its head and then whipped it forward, a searing beam of purple fire tearing across the field. Weiss leapt back in terror, only to be blasted back as the attack smashed into the arena in front of her.

Weiss Schnee: 1600 Life Points

The white-haired girl tumbled across the ground, flaring up her semblance beneath her to attempt to roll to her feet. But the concussive force of the blast was more than she expected and the best she could manage was to come to her knees.

"Hey!" Ruby called. "Are you okay?"

'Get up.'

Weiss's muscles went rigid, the familiar demanding command echoing over the genuinely concerned voice. She glanced upward, spying Ruby and Black Rose Dragon looking down upon her… and for a moment she saw her father and his mighty beast doing the same.

"Don't look down on me," she whispered defiantly. "I am worthy."

"Huh?" Ruby said. "What'd you say? I didn't hear you!"

"Nothing!" Weiss responded, before another thought occurred to her. "Why?"

"Why didn't I hear you? You were talking really quietly—"

"Not that!" Weiss clarified. "If you voted for me because you thought I'd be the better leader, why are you fighting so hard to win?"

Ruby tilted her head to the side. "Uh, because we're dueling. I think you're really strong, and you'd probably do a great job as leader. But I'm not going to disrespect you by coming at you with anything less than my best."

Weiss took a deep breath. "I understand. And I thank you. But that doesn't explain why you didn't concede before the match began."

"Huh? I thought that was obvious," Ruby said.

A smile blossomed across the silver-eyed girl's face as she whipped her arms out towards the arena. "I'm dueling you because I want to duel you!"

Weiss cocked an eyebrow. "Because… you want to duel me?"

"Duh! It's fun!" Ruby shouted. "Clashing head-on with a super-strong opponent, facing them with everything you've got! Other than protecting people from the Grimm, what other reason is there to duel?"

Power. Prestige. Glory.

Honor.

Weiss's hand flickered up to her left eye, her fingers brushing over her jagged scar. She knew many other reasons to duel, had seen them put into practice all her life.

Ruby's motive was... alluring, free from the weight that the heiress had had to bear since the day Winter had been disowned for joining the military. But if the red-hooded girl was dueling simply because she enjoyed dueling, would she be prepared to shoulder the consequences of her victory?

It didn't matter really. If Ruby won, then she would be leader. Of the team's choices, she would have proven herself superior. It was only right. If Weiss wanted to be leader, she needed to be the best possible choice.

And just like the rest of her life, she'd have to prove it.

The heiress gathered her strength and rose up to her feet, defiantly staring down both her partner and Black Rose Dragon.

"It's my move," Weiss declared, placing her hand over the top card of her deck. "I draw!"

Ruby had played a fine move. Time for her to answer in kind.

For those of you noting that Blue-Eyes and Phantom Knights is a strange combination, you are not wrong. The two archetypes each represent a different side of Weiss, her pride in the honorable legacy of the Schnee and her rebellion against Jacques. Making them work in concert with each other, as well as balancing them in her own mind, will be part of her own struggle.

This duel is exactly as fun as I thought it'd be. Ruby and Weiss have different philosophies for why they're dueling, each forged by their own experiences, but they're both quite excellent at the game. Whoever wins this is going to need their best to outmaneuver the other.

Thank you for Reading! I hope you enjoy what comes next!

Go Forth and Conquer!