Beta-ed by xenosaiyan

"Ruby!" Astral shouted, bursting through a door he'd sensed Dark Magic emanating behind.

He did hope that his friend was actually in danger in the room. The door had been labeled 'STAFF ONLY' after all and he didn't want to violate the club's rules for no reason.

Fortunately, or unfortunately from a certain point of view, he did find Ruby in the dark, cobweb-filled backroom. The young silver-eyed girl was enclosed in a blazing barrier of Dark Magic, with only a pair of defense mode Baobaboons before her as protection. And even as a Pot of Greed flashed before her and she drew two more cards from her deck, it was clear that such protection was sorely needed.

"Astral, do I want to know what that scary guy with the glowing spider tattoo on his arm is?" Jaune's spirit asked, floating beside his body in spectral form since he'd willingly been possessed while conscious.

Astral narrowed his borrowed gaze at the bulky man facing Ruby with a harsh violet glow in his eyes, a veritable army of insect monsters assembled before him. Unhealthy amounts of Dark Magic radiated off his body, plunged into him by a shining spider biting into his neck. And even that arachnid exuded an impossibly thin thread of mystical power outward, linked to something far, far away.

At the fringes of his memories, visible only due to the recent boost in clarity from his reconnection with Number 103, Astral recalled encountering similar power before. But in vastly greater intensity. A horde of men and women in occult robes, each one backed up by gargantuan black creatures lined with neon-colored lines, a sea of fallen souls giving life to their forms of the mightiest Dark Magic.

"No," Astral informed his partner. "I very much doubt you do."

"Hey! Tall, blonde, and scraggly!" a girl outside the flame barrier called, limping in her torn and outlandish red outfit. "What are you doing here?"

"The sign said 'STAFF ONLY'!" another similar-looking girl shouted, this one in unkempt white clothes. "Get out of here!"

Astral quirked an eyebrow at the frightened pair, bruised and exhausted without any aura. He did not believe he had to worry about them being able to force him to comply with their pleas.

But their voices did attract the attention of the pair of duelists battling within.

"Oh?" the man with the glowing spider tattoo said, his voice overlaid with the unnatural timbre of an older woman's voice. "What have we here? Another fly in the web?"

"Jaune?" Ruby exclaimed.

Astral pointed up at one of his eyes, the one that had been turned red from Jaune's natural blue due to the possession.

Ruby nodded, understanding his hidden meaning under their foe's nose. "Jaune. Good to see you."

"Good to see you too, Ruby–and, she doesn't know I'm here," Jaune realized, sighing in his ghostly state. "Wow, this feels… how do you do this all the time? Knowing that no one can see you?"

Astral shot his partner a comforting smile, understanding how such a state could prick the young man's self-esteem issues. "It is bearable knowing that those who matter can–"

The spirit interrupted his reassurance when he suddenly felt a pricking on the back of his borrowed neck, the magic within him surging out to repel an attempted insertion of a foreign power. Astral swung back with Jaune's hand and swatted a small glowing spider from his flesh, the same kind that was channeling Dark Magic into Ruby's opponent.

"Oh? The Little Signer has two friends with magic of their own? How intriguing," the possessed man remarked, only for her gaze to narrow at Astral with recognition. "Wait, blond hair… and that face… Jaune… no, Saphron, you wouldn't involve your precious baby–"

"Hey! Stay away from my friend!" Ruby yelled, drawing her foe's attention. "Your duel is with me."

"My web has many threads," her opponent replied. "But please, make your move."

"Ruby, I don't know if I can help you," Astral warned her, placing Jaune's palm on the flame barrier and finding its structure too sound for his power to compromise it. "Do you have a plan?"

Ruby glanced down at her two-card hand, her lips splitting into a cheeky grin. "Oh, I have a plan."

RWBYRWBYRWBYRWBYYUGIOHYUGIOH

She had no plan!

Ruby kept her face as brave as she could, but inside she was sweating. She'd pulled Book of Eclipse and Roxrose Dragon off of Pot of Greed, both excellent cards, the former even a useful tool for subverting her opponent's powerful protections. Except to make use of that opening, she needed her Signer Dragon, which meant that she needed an exact total of seven levels for the Synchro Summon.

She had two Baobaboons, which were each Level Three. Roxrose Dragon was also Level Three. In no combination did those equal seven–wait!

Maybe she didn't have to.

"I normal summon Roxrose Dragon!" Ruby announced, her wyvern manifesting in its glittering crystalline plumage (ATK 1600/DEF 1200). "When it's summoned, I can add Basal Rose Shoot from my deck to my hand."

Lil' Miss' spider mark pulsed with energy. "I see. A servant of her dragon. I look forward to facing such a mighty Synchro Monster. And crushing it, of course."

Ruby smirked. "Who said anything about Synchro Summoning?"

"What?"

Ruby thrust out her arms. "Appear! The circuit that moves forward!"

Penny's lessons flickered through the red-hooded girl's mind, thoughts of her friend's beaming smile and poofy orange hair filling her mind's eye and guiding her aura into the necessary setup. Just as the bubbly Atlas girl had promised, the movements were almost intuitive for one of Ruby's skill, as expected for a summoning style meant to elevate the strength of as many decks as possible. The silver-eyed Signer grinned as she successfully conjured a shining blue square grid in the air before her.

"Arrowheads! Middle left! Bottom center!" she continued.

Roxrose Dragon and one of the Baobaboons morphed into crimson streams of energy and zapped into the declared arrowhead on Ruby's circuit grid.

"Link Summon!" the Beacon Slifer Red roared. "Link-2! Crossrose Dragon!"

The holographic blue grid shattered, Penny's greatest gift soaring out the other side into the Extra Monster Zone. The wyvern's sleek black body was smaller than even Red Rose Dragon's, though both flew with wings of the most beautiful roses. However, Crossrose Dragon was adorned with several prickly vines, its chest and tail decorated with bouquets of rainbow flowers (ATK 800).

"What on Remnant–" Miltia squealed.

"–was that!?" Melanie finished, both sisters' jaws on the floor.

"You Link Summoned?!" Astral gasped. "After only a few weeks of training?"

"It's designed to be easy to figure out," Ruby pointed out, beaming with euphoria as the power she learned from her friend took the field.

"So, that's one of the Link Monsters the SDC stands have been hollering about," Lil' Miss remarked, visibly unimpressed. "With all the hubbub about adding more Extra Monster zones, I was expecting… well, more."

"Mess around and find out," Ruby cheerfully goaded, sliding the cards from her hand into Crescent Rose's backrow. "I lay two cards facedown and end my turn."

"And Metamorphosed Insect Queen makes me another Insect Monster Token," Lil' Miss quipped back, her giant insectoid monarch excreting another slimy egg (ATK 100/DEF 100). The Dark Signer drew for her turn and thrust Junior's arm at her bubbly counterpart. "I enter my Battle Phase and–"

"I activate my facedown! Book of Eclipse!" Ruby announced, flipping up a spell card with the image of a leather tome with a red cover adorned in intricate hieroglyphics.

The ancient book manifested in front of its card, opening its pages wide and unleashing streams of dusky, crimson light throughout the barrier of hellfire. Metamorphosed Insect Queen, Underground Arachnid, Bababoon, and the two Block Spiders were struck by the scarlet beams, the monsters all collapsing to the ground and disappearing under facedown cards. Bio-Insect Armor and Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis shattered to pieces, the equip cards unable to remain on the field without valid face-up targets.

"Book of Eclipse changes all face-up monsters on the field into facedown defense position," Ruby gloated. "No targeting."

"And not a problem," Lil' Miss chuckled. "Their battle positions were changed by card effect, which means they can still be changed under their own power this turn. Bio-Insect Armor may be banished due to its own effect, but since Underground Arachnid is no longer equipped, it can steal another of your face-up monsters–wait… why is your Crossrose Dragon still face-up? Your Book of Eclipse affects every monster on the field."

"Oh, it does," Ruby impishly smirked, Crossrose Dragon elegantly preening in the Extra Monster Zone. "I wonder why it didn't do anything to Crossrose then… oh, right! Link Monsters don't have a defense mode!"

"What?!" Lil' Miss exclaimed, the Dark Signer's stolen face warping with befuddled shock. "That's impossible!"

Ruby sniggered. "It feels so much better to be on the other side of that reveal. Now! I activate Crossrose Dragon's special ability!"

Crossrose Dragon's flourished its tail, multicolored flowers spewing from its elegant bouquet. The petals surged through the air on a furious wind, circling the beautiful Link Monster and the facedown Baobaboon until it built a tornado that battered the Dark Magic circle.

"During either of our Main Phases, I can tribute Crossrose Dragon and one Plant monster to special summon one 'Rose' Synchro Monster or a Plant Synchro Monster from my Extra Deck," Ruby explained. "Oh, and it counts as a real deal Synchro Summon."

"It's coming," Lil' Miss hissed, Junior's eyes darting across her field, her defenses completely absent.

"Red like roses fills my dreams and brings me to the place you rest. Cold flames envelop the entire world. Thus kindly scatter and bring me victory!" Ruby chanted, the dragon claw mark on her forearm erupting with blazing crimson light as she pumped it into the air. "Synchro Summon! Black Rose Dragon!"

The petal tornado collapsed in on itself and Ruby's ace monster roared to life fiercer than ever before. The sleek black dragon snarled with livid fury, its majestic plumage flaring as it glared down at Lil' Miss (ATK 2400/DEF 1800).

"Easy girl. She's renting that body. Without compensation," Ruby soothed her dragon. "Her monsters, on the other hand, you can blow to smithereens along with every other card on the field! Black Rose Gale!"

Black Rose Dragon raised its titanic wings and let loose a deafening roar. The Signer Dragon unleashed every last ounce of its power against its ancient enemy, a hurricane of rose petals slicing through every card on the field. Metamorphosed Insect Queen, Underground Arachnid, and both Block Spiders were slain while helpless, not even permitted to scream before they were utterly obliterated by the cyclone.

Ruby's facedown was wiped away by the storm before Black Rose Dragon itself broke apart, the silver-eyed Signer smirking victoriously at her foe.

To her great surprise, when the cyclone had passed, Lil' Miss applauded.

"Bravo, Little Signer! Bravo! Removing your enemies' strength to destroy them without truly needing to waste energy overpowering them," Lil' Miss clapped. "You're young, untested, and blindingly idealistic, but you have talent. More importantly, you have cunning, and a vicious will to survive under that peppy little facade. Under my guidance, you could become a more powerful duelist than you've ever dreamed. Are you sure you wouldn't consider joining my Cabal?"

An enormous pillar of pink light shot up behind Ruby. Black Rose Dragon burst forth the floral column with a thunderous howl right in Lil' Miss' face.

"Why would I need your help? I'm the one with the dragon. When my facedown, Basal Rose Shoot, was destroyed, it brings back Black Rose Dragon or a monster that mentions it," Ruby taunted. "If anything, it sounds like you need me."

"Hardly. But one can never have too many Signers in their corner," Lil' Miss shrugged. "I end my turn."

"And now that Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis is back in my graveyard, I can banish a Plant from there to bring it back," Ruby reminded her opponent, removing a Baobaboon as the bouquet of fiery flowers (ATK 2200/DEF 0) rose in defense mode. She drew for her turn and shifted the card's position on her duel disk. "I switch Amaryllis to attack mode."

"Oh no," Miltia murmured.

"Don't panic," Melanie shivered. "Mom always has something up her sleeve."

Ruby cocked an eyebrow. Since when were the twins rooting for Lil' Miss? They'd been scared witless of her since she showed up.

Eh. Whatever. She had enough firepower on board to win this turn. The duel would be over soon.

"Black Rose Dragon!" Ruby called. "Direct attack–"

"Infinite Antlion! Defense mode!" Lil' Miss announced, slapping the only card in her hand down on Junior's hulking duel disk. A swirling sand pit opened up before the mob boss, and a pair of enormous beetle jaws pierced out of the tide (ATK 1200/DEF 1500). A Block Spider flashed above the pit, comedically flailing as it fell into the antlion's maw (ATK 1700/DEF 2000). "When you declare an attack, I can special summon this card from my hand. When I do, it equips an Insect monster from my hand or grave to boost its points by five hundred."

"Uh… okay?" Ruby replied, nonplussed. "Black Rose Dragon, continue your attack!"

"Ruby, wait!" Astral yelled.

"Too late!" Lil' Miss exclaimed, Black Rose Dragon already breathing fire down on her monster. "When an Insect monster battles, Infinite Antlion's effect activates! One card on your field, and one card on my field, are targeted and destroyed!"

Sand blurred up from the vortex of a pit, shredding Block Spider into bits before rocketing out to block the stream of dragonfire. With an explosive eruption, the grains flared out and obliterated the Signer Dragon.

"Oh no, my dragon!" Ruby wailed. "What a world! What a world–where Crossrose Dragon is in my graveyard!"

Lil' Miss and Astral both blinked in surprise. "What?"

"Hahaha! When one of my monsters is destroyed by card effect, Crossrose Dragon can banish itself from the graveyard to summon another 'Rose Dragon' from my grave," Ruby laughed, rainbow rose petals swirling behind her, Black Rose Dragon roaring back to life. "What? You thought I didn't know what Infinite Antlion did? That cool guy was in Duel Monsters Monthly's Top Five Insect Monsters for seven straight months! Now, incinerate him, Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis!"

Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis unleashed a searing flamethrower into the sand pit, Infinite Antlion letting out a shrieking death howl as it was burnt to ashes.

"And after Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis attacks, it self-destructs," Ruby relayed. "And when it's destroyed, you take eight hundred points of damage!"

The bright orange bouquet bent in on itself, glowing with mounting pressure. Only to explode with blazing force right in Lil' Miss' face.

Lil' Miss Drone: 3200 Life Points

"I activate my Quick-Play spell! Battle Tuned!" Ruby announced, slamming the final card in her hand into Crescent Rose. "By banishing one Tuner from my graveyard, I add its attack power to one of my monsters on the field! I banish Roxrose Dragon and boost Black Rose Dragon!"

"No," Miltia whispered.

Black Rose Dragon's majestic plumage ignited with rippling flames, the Signer Dragon's maw flaring with a building conflagration (ATK 4000).

"Battle!" Ruby commanded. "Black Rose Dragon! Attack her directly! Black Rose F–"

"Stop!" Melanie screamed. "Please don't attack!"

"Please!" Miltia wailed. "You'll kill him!"

"What?" Ruby exclaimed, her eyes shooting wide. "Black Rose Dragon, stop!"

Black Rose Dragon snapped its jaws closed, containing its fury just as its concern for the (relatively) innocent that was Junior barely contained its rampant disgust for the Dark Signer.

Lil' Miss raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing?"

"She has a point, Ruby," Astral reluctantly agreed. "This duel can only end in your victory or defeat."

Ruby turned back to the Malachite twins. "What are you talking about? I've seen my dad duel in these magic barriers before. No one's in danger of dying any more than a regular aura body duel."

"It's not the barrier, it's the spider!" Melanie pleaded.

"If a drone doesn't win, their soul is flooded with more Dark Magic and taken by the Earthbound to recoup the spent energy," Miltia frantically explained. "If you beat him, he'll die!"

Ruby's silver eyes widened in horror. She whirled around towards Lil' Miss, her brow furrowed with livid rage even greater than Black Rose Dragon's. "Is that true?"

"Yes," Lil' Miss shrugged. "Though I don't understand how it's relevant… no. No! Ha! Hahahahaha!"

The already unnatural timbre of the Dark Signer's stolen voice boomed through the backroom as she let out a thoroughly amused, bombastic laugh. Spiders skittered through the piping above, their cobwebs falling into the dark flames as the very room shook from the drone mistress' malicious amusement.

"Junior? Really? For Junior? He tried to murder your sister not twenty minutes ago!" Lil' Miss cackled. "And yet you care enough to let him be used as a hostage against you? I guess I needn't have bothered trying to snatch up one of your little friends."

"I'm a hunting duelist," Ruby stated with ironclad certainty and boiling anger. "I kill if I have to. But I don't let someone die if I can help it."

"Hahaha! Like I said, you are blindingly idealistic," Lil' Miss chuckled. The mob boss raised a trio of Junior's stolen fingers into the air before her, staring down Black Rose Dragon with delighted mockery. "It seems you have three options. One, do the smart thing and blast Junior to bits to win the duel and save yourself. Two, call off your attack and eventually find yourself at the mercy of whatever end I decide for this match, which could cost you your soul to strengthen my Immortal if you lose. Or three…"

"... accept your deal and become your ally by mystical contract," Ruby grumbled, her fingers clenching into fists at her sides.

Lil' Miss smirked at her, a far too pleased mockery of a true smile. "So what's it going to be, Little Signer? Like I told you before, waste all your power selflessly saving others, and you'll have none left to save yourself when you need it."

Ruby's brow dipped further in thought, the silver-eyed girl staring down at her still blazing Signer Mark. The same kind of mark that her mother had borne before she'd run off and died on her secret mission. The same kind of mark that her father hid under an armband, desperately trying not to see it and remember his shame. The same kind of mark that she was now realizing she knew so little about its true purpose. The legacy of kick-butt heroism that she believed it was tied to might not even have been real, just a story someone made and spread to her loved ones, who'd, in turn, told it to her. All she knew for sure was that it was tied to Black Rose Dragon, a sign that her dragon had chosen her and allowed her to channel its immense Light Magic through her.

… and maybe from her into others.

"Ruby! Take him out!" Astral urged her. "There is no way for you both to survive, so don't sacrifice your life for scum like this!"

"How about you do it then!" Miltia roared.

She and Melanie both draw hidden knives from their tattered clothes. Spurred on by whatever bond they shared with Junior, the exhausted, auraless girls lunged for Jaune's body, clearly planning to try to take him hostage and force Ruby to save their friend.

Their blades clanked harmlessly off of the Ra Yellow's aura.

Astral lashed out like a King Taijitu, grabbing both his assailants' hair with swiftness and coordination that Jaune would never have sought nor managed. With clinical efficiency and casual brutality, the spirit controlling the blond in the bright yellow jacket repeatedly bashed the Malachite twins into the stone floor before discarding them in a groaning heap.

"Woah. How did I ever think you were Jaune?" Ruby whispered under her breath.

"Careful, boy," Lil' Miss warned. "It is unwise to harm a mother's children in front of her."

"From what little I have witnessed here, it does not seem that you possess the necessary empathy to care about anyone as a parent should a child," Astral plainly replied before turning back to Ruby with a much more frightened face. "Ruby, I know this isn't what you imagined when you came to Beacon, but you did not ask for this duel. You were forced into it. You have the right to defend yourself."

Ruby flashed him a grateful smile. "Thanks, buddy. But you're wrong."

"Ruby, his life is not worth yours–"

"This is exactly what I imagined when I came to Beacon," Ruby declared, turning back to Lil' Miss with a confident, beaming grin. "Beating the bad guys, stopping their evil plans, and saving everybody against all odds."

"Oh?" Lil' Miss challenged in response, opening Junior's arms to give the silver-eyed girl's monster a clear shot. "By all means, show me what you can do, Little Signer."

Ruby crouched down into a runner's pose, her limbs limber and ready. "Ready, girl?"

Black Rose Dragon tilted its head as it realized its chosen duelist's plan. A smirk of pride bled onto its sharp teeth, hunkering down and readying to plan her part. Ruby's Signer Mark blazed with power, pain aching through her arm as her balance began to tilt too far to the side of Positive Magics.

"Battle!" Ruby called once more. "Black Rose Dragon! Direct attack! Black Rose Flare!"

"No!" the Malachite twins wailed.

Astral's eyes widened, not unhappy but certainly surprised. "What are you doing?"

Black Rose Dragon reeled back its head and unleashed a violet inferno from its jaws, the conflagration hurdling towards Junior's possessed form.

Ruby broke into a rapid sprint across the field, Lil' Miss' recoiling at her sudden charge. But with her attention on the Signer, she missed that the dragon hadn't aimed directly at her. Instead, the Black Rose Flare struck the dark magic barrier behind the Dark Signer, the explosion knocking her drone body forward as the circle of black flames collapsed.

Lil' Miss Drone: 0 Life Points

Winner: Ruby Rose

The moment the magic barrier went down and the distraction was no longer necessary, Ruby activated her semblance and blurred into Junior's body. With a shriek of defiance, the hunting duelist slammed the palm of her Signer Mark arm into the glowing violet spider.

"All of that talk about needing balance, let's give Junior some!" Ruby yelled.

Black Rose Dragon roared and Light Magic surged into Junior's body. Crimson light burned through his veins, the purple glow in his eyes flickering before Lil' Miss reasserted control.

"Balance the spider's Dark Magic to keep it from taking Junior's soul? Not a bad idea," the mob boss admitted. "Unfortunately, that's a careful balance to keep. Especially if I actually try."

The Dark Signer mark on Junior's arm flared a sickly purple, violet cracks splintering through his face and arms. Ruby's crimson veins were pushed back, the red-hooded girl struggling to maintain her grip as smoke rose from her hands.

She was losing. Lil' Miss was sending over her own mark's Dark Magic power and combined with the mystical energy the drone spider already had, Ruby was outgunned. She needed more positive magic to level the playing field!

Fortunately, she had it.

"Fear my laser eyeballs!" Ruby shrieked, glaring with her silver eyes and awaiting the blinding surge of Creation Magic to unload on her enemy just like had back during Weiss and Blake's duel.

Unfortunately, that did not happen. Apparently, using her Silver Eyes' powers would require more than a desire to stop the bad guys. Which was a problem because she really needed extra Creation Magic right now!

"Starving Venom!" Ruby desperately called out, Black Rose Dragon wrapping her vine tendrils around her to keep her smoking hand from being blown off Junior's body. Unfortunately, the Slifer Red's palm was steadily rising as violet cracks nearly consumed the gangster's body. "I know I haven't summoned you properly yet and all, but we could really use some extra magic muscle right now!"

"You have another monster with magic?" Lil' Miss cackled. "You're just full of surprises, Little Signer!"

"Come on, Starving Venom! Come on!" Ruby pleaded, crying from the pain aching from her raw and burnt palm. "We've gotta save him!"

Starving Venom's feelings radiated from Ruby's Extra Deck, a message that burned with utter and complete befuddlement.

"Why?"

"Why?!" Ruby squealed, just as confused, if far more panicked. Why would they need a reason to save someone?

"Too late!" Lil' Miss called, Ruby barely able to keep a single finger pinning the burning violet spider to Junior's flesh. "Sometimes, Little Singer, there are only the options in front of you!"

"Only if there is no friend behind you!"

"Huh?!" Ruby exclaimed, only for her smile to widen as Astral dashed forward and smashed Jaune's hand down alongside her own.

The key lit up like a second sun beneath Jaune's shirt, the blinding glow searing through his clothes. A surging warmth that could only be Order Magic blazed through Ruby's nerves, reinforcing her flagging strength and merging with the crimson shine of the Signer's Light Magic. As one, they smashed through the violet crags lining Junior's body, the spider possessing the gangster squashed into paste.

"What!?" Lil' Miss screamed, a mini-supernova of red and white light blasting Junior's form back into the wrecked CCT monitor console.

"Gah!" Ruby gasped, Black Rose Dragon and the glow of her Signer Mark fading away. The Beacon Slifer Red collapsed to her knees, clutching at her throbbing arm and the smoking, burnt flesh of her palm. "Ow! Ow! Ow!"

Astral instantly knelt at her side, supporting her swaying form. "Are you alright?"

"That was awesome!" Ruby cheered, only to hiss at her twitching arm. "Incredibly painful, but awesome."

"Channeling so much of your dragon's Light Magic began to unbalance you," Astral surmised, examining her wounds. "Fortunately it does not seem that you have suffered any injuries that aura cannot heal in a few days."

"Interesting. Someone is well-educated in mystical matters."

Ruby groaned. "Aren't you supposed to be gone now?"

Lil' Miss attempted to laugh but only managed an amused chuckle. Her borrowed body sagged back in the sparking mechanical, the few remaining scraps of Dark Magic lining Junior's veins steadily disintegrating towards her glowing violet eyes. The purple Spider Mark on the possessed gangster's arm had already vanished.

"Congratulations. Junior is yours to do with as you wish. Vale too for that matter," she said, the unnatural timbre fading from her victim's voice. "Duel and dance through your sanctuary of innocence for as long as it lasts. And when reality comes crashing down around you and your idealism shatters like the moon, come to Mistral. I will find you. My offer remains open."

"Close it," Ruby spat. "I'll never join you."

"Then don't come to Mistral," Lil' Miss replied, venom coursing under her voice. "The spider cannot ignore a fly that wanders into her web. Hahahahahaha!"

With that final twisted laugh, the crumbling veins of Dark Magic reached Junior's eyes, the hellish purple glow finally evaporating completely as the gangster collapsed completely onto his back.

"Urggghh…" Junior groaned, his body burnt and smoking worse than Ruby's hand, barely able to crack open his eyes. "I'm… alive?"

"Boss!"

The Malachite twins scampered across the room, all their injuries forgotten as they collapsed beside Junior, tears of relief freely flowing from the proud girls' eyes. They made to hug him, only to pause when they spotted his burns.

Soon enough though, all three criminals' gazes turned towards Ruby.

"Thank you," Miltia gasped, her pride discarded for unfamiliar gratitude. "After Neo wrecked Lady Browning's, mom was gonna make us come home before he stepped in and offered to foster us here–"

"Yeah, that's great," Ruby hissed, pointing Astral toward one of the pouches on her belt for some medical gauze (Dad always said to only go into the field prepared). "But I'm not really interested in your backstory."

"Then why did you try to save me?" Junior queried.

Ruby sighed, wincing as Astral started wrapping up her burned hand. "Weren't you listening while you were all possessed? Wait, were you even aware of what was happening?"

"Of everything," Junior replied, haunted. "Which is how I know you know what I tried to do to your sister."

Ruby scowled. She waited until Astral tied off her hand's gauze, and then rose to her feet. With the duelists before her injured far worse than her and crippled without aura, the silver-eyed Signer's gaze was like that of a monarch sitting in judgment.

"I know what Yang did to you. I know you're a Xiong and can guess what our dad did to you. I get why you would choose to hurt us. Even if I would never let you do it, any more than I would let you hurt anyone else," she spoke slowly, the girl who always raced into battle choosing her words more carefully than ever. "Now, I have a choice. And I choose… to give you another choice."

Junior gulped. "And that is?"

Ruby withdrew his deck from another pouch on her belt, where she had stored the cards after preventing Lil' Miss from tossing them into the flames. She leaned down and neatly placed them on the floor before the criminal trio.

"Whether to live or to die," Ruby declared. "These cards deserve a duelist."

Junior and the twins shared a skittish look, Melanie reaching out to snatch up her boss' deck.

"Name your terms," Junior submitted.

"Turn yourself in. Or go straight. Or move to Vacuo. Or some other fourth option where you don't do crime anymore and you never come after my family again," Ruby dictated. "You do that, and you'll never get trouble from Yang or any other member of my family again."

"You expect us to believe you can control that maniac or The Sun Dragon of Hell?" Miltia fearfully demanded.

"I give you my word," Ruby assured them. "If I just proved anything, it's that I don't want any of you to die."

She locked eyes with Junior, his fearful gaze crashing against her surety. They both understood the reality of the situation. If Yang told dad about what they did (which she wouldn't, she'd never wanted him to know she'd visited some of his old stomping grounds and she'd die before letting him know she'd done a full-on shock collar underground duel), then they were done. Even if her dad's heart condition prevented him from coming after them himself, he'd tell Uncle Qrow. To some in the underworld, that was a worse fate.

If Junior wanted him and his people to live, trusting Ruby was his only chance.

"I accept," the mobster finally said. "Thank you."

Ruby nodded. She turned around and began striding out of the backroom, Astral on her tail and not a spider daring to skitter out from the shadows above.

"A little advice before you leave though," Junior called after her. "You barely took down one of her backup decks she keeps around those she might have to use as drones. Her real deck, her real ace… you won't stand a chance. Don't plan any trips to Mistral any time soon."

Ruby didn't respond as she and Astral strode out into the halls of The Club. However, once they'd marched down several long corridors, following the sounds of Nora's manic laughter, that stoicism did not last.

"Did you see that?!" Ruby gleefully cheered. "We totally kicked her bad guy butt all the way back to Mistral!"

"We did," Astral acknowledged, far more subdued. "Were you counting on my ability to support you in your efforts to balance the magic within?"

"Nope!" Ruby admitted. "I didn't even know you could do that if Utopia wasn't out."

"A recent occurrence with Pyrrha widened my perspective. Utopia possesses a great deal of Order Magic, but I have my own supply, as well as Chaos Magic," Astral explained, though he furrowed Jaune's brow in disapproval. "Does that mean that you meant to challenge her with only your Light Magic?"

Ruby embarrassedly rubbed her cheek. "Well, I didn't really realize that the spider had a separate store from her. But I mean, if I got my eyes or Starving Venom's Creation Magic to work, it would have been fine too."

"Do you really believe it is logical to rely on your eyes that you do not know how to use, or your dragon that you have not summoned?" Astral inquired. "That seems reckless."

"Well, when you put it like that," Ruby bashfully muttered.

Astral gestured to her bandaged-up Signer Mark arm. "Even if you had been successful at utilizing such power, with your body's current acclimation to magic, this was the cost of channeling so much of Black Rose Dragon's Light Magic. If you had been successful at calling up more Positive Magic, you might have received serious injuries."

"And if I'd done nothing, Junior would have died," Ruby argued.

"Better that than you," Astral insisted.

"I'm a hunting duelist," Ruby shot back. "That's a risk I signed up for."

"As did he when he chose to be a criminal," Astral argued. "You are your team's leader, are you not? Should you not consider what would happen to them before your foe? What they would feel if you should disappear?!"

Ruby's silver gaze narrowed in perceptiveness. "How they would feel? Or how you would feel?"

Astral flinched back, the truth of her deduction evident. "I… you are my friend. But my point stands. You should not waste power on others when you may not have enough for yourself and those you are responsible for."

Ruby gave him a soothing pat on the shoulder. "I can't just stand back and do nothing while people get hurt."

But Astral did have a very good point. She'd expected the most dangerous thing she and her friends would encounter in their investigation would be Torchwick or maybe that mysterious woman with the black skeleton dragon who'd flown him away the night she first encountered him. This Dark Signer stuff had caught her completely off-guard, a threat where winning the duel didn't necessarily mean getting everyone a happy ending.

She needed to get stronger in case she had to face something similar soon, have Black Rose Dragon help her body get used to channeling bigger amounts of Light Magic, and figure out how to use her eyes. And, most importantly, forge a Polymerization already and get someone to teach her Fusion Summoning so that she could summon Starving Venom already!

But in the meantime, it was a good day.

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Lil' Miss groaned as her senses snapped back to her in full, the fraction of her consciousness that'd been puppeteering her drone bringing with it the full weight of the Dark Magic imbalance it'd utilized.

"My efforts to ensure 'discipline' among the work crews have yielded increased progress over the last few months," a muscular woman spoke, braids of vibrant orange hair tumbling down her back. "The tunnel into the vault chamber will be complete by the next Underground Cup, with time to spare… you alright?"

"Fine, Bryn, just a minor headache," Lil' Miss waved off. "I'm glad we're getting good use out of your mount. Though, are the recent casualty numbers from it?"

"No, your Dark Magic tinkering keeps the Nuckelavee perfectly under my control," Bryn proudly replied. "The casualties have been from exhaustion and overwork. Your Immortal has been eating well, which has been helpful in keeping the dragon spirit locked up down by the barrier crack, but we'll need to restock the crews if we're to maintain the pace."

"I'll inform Raven that she is to focus on taking prisoners in her upcoming raids," Lil' Miss said, her lips pursed with other thoughts. "Send a message to Mr. Heartland. Our Number Hunter will be joining him for his promotions during the Vytal Festival."

Bryn cocked an eyebrow. "You sure you want to make a move on Ozpin's turf? Especially when we're so close?"

"I will not be making any moves. Merely reconnaissance," Lil' Miss responded, recalling the avalanche of Order Magic that had aided Ruby Rose in preventing Uru from taking Junior's soul at the last moment. "Make sure a little headache doesn't become a larger one."

"You sure our Number Hunter friend is the best person to send then?"

"Given my concerns, he's the best person for the job. I'll just stress the importance of stealth."

All her underground dealings, all the souls she'd fed to Uru, all to imprison the immortal queen and take her rightful place as ruler of Remnant. Her associates knew better than to jeopardize that goal for their selfish whims.

Something Ruby Rose would learn in time if she attempted to do the same.

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"In other news, the police successfully arrested multiple members of the faunus extremist group 'The White Fang' tonight, including a noted lieutenant to 'The Blood-Soaked Bull' Adam Taurus known as 'Banesaw'-"

Ilia furiously turned off the news report on her scroll, Lisa Lavender's face disappearing as the chameleon faunus dashed across the warehouse, grabbed Neo by her collar, and smashed the impish criminal against the wall.

"You were supposed to protect him!" she furiously shouted.

The Neo in her grip rolled her different colored eyes, only to shatter into glass shards, revealed to be an illusion.

Ilia whirled around towards Torchwick, the real Neo sniggering by his side.

"Keep your skin monochrome, Lizard Lips. We've broken out of VPD lockup so many times, we could do it in our sleep," Roman said. "Plus, this way, all those new recruits we nabbed up get to see how we 'care about their wellbeing' and 'have their back if they get in trouble'. It's a very important illusion to have for the rank and file of any gang."

"The White Fang is not a gang," Ilia growled.

Torchwick and Neo both burst out laughing.

"Yeah, yeah, sure. Maybe without the big horn guy around," Roman cackled. "Now come on, let's get the cannon fodder headed out."

Ilia wanted to argue. She wanted to declare that the White Fang was not some crime syndicate, that Sienna Khan's mission was to defend their people from the injustices leveled against them by humanity.

Instead, she said nothing. After all, they were not following Sienna's mission anymore, not even Adam's. They were the servants of that black-haired woman and the scorpion faunus, advancing their agenda, whatever that was.

She found herself idly wondering what Pyrrha Nikos would do in her situation, only to find herself internally scoffing at that. She knew what the Invincible Girl would have done. The same thing that Blake had. Left to become huntresses, fleeing into naivety that such a thing would actually help.

Ilia could not accept that illusion. Nor could she leave the White Fang. Where Blake had her parents on Menagerie and Pyrrha had her mother back in Argus, she was an orphan. She had no one save Sienna and the rest of the White Fang who'd become her family since they'd help smuggle her out of Mantle all those years ago. She had nowhere to go.

But if that was the case, why couldn't she get Pyrrha out of her head, and not in the way that Blake was always stuck in her head? Why did Ragnazero sing with joy even now at the fact that they'd encountered another Over-One Hundred Number?

And why did she even now want to trust Astral, despite the fact that he made her relive the worst day of her life?

"Well, wipe that blank look off your face, Lizard Lips!" Torchwick called, he and Neo merrily striding away. "Mountain Glenn awaits!"

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"Mountain Glenn, huh?" Ruby remarked between bites of Heartland Pizza back in Team RWBY's Beacon dorm room. "What do you think they're doing out there of all places?"

"Beats me. There's nothing to steal out there, nothing to destroy," Yang shrugged. "Still it's gotta be something important if they're willing to risk being in that mess of Grimm."

After all the chaos of the night, Ruby, Weiss, and Yang had dropped off Banesaw at a hospital to recover from the wounds that Neo woman had dealt to him, which had led to the faunus' arrest since the police had been alerted to the wanted man becoming a patient. The girls, Jaune, Nora, and Ren had then swung by the Heartland Funzone Pizzaria for food and reunited with Blake and Pyrrha at Beacon.

Now, with Pyrrha having begged off for a late-night training session and the rest of Team JNPR returned to their own room, Team RWBY had collapsed back on their beds and dug into their bounty of delicious cheesy goodness. Yang had two cleaned-out boxes in front of her and was working on polishing off a third. Normally, only Nora's insane metabolism would be able to stomach such gluttony, but the blonde Obelisk Blue was still working on recuperating from using her semblance. The healing factor may have kept the shocks from leaving lasting damage, but it burned through anything and everything in her body to fuel the recovery process. Not too harmful so long as it only burned through her fat cells and other stored calories, but it would start cannibalizing her muscles and even her organs if it was active too long.

"Also, you dueled a 'Dark Signer'?" Yang asked her sister incredulously. "What the heck even is that? Just a Signer but 'dark'?"

"No clue, but with how Junior and the twins talked about her and all the stuff she pulled, she's definitely dangerous," Ruby said, shivering at the picture of a smiling Mr. Heartland on the lids of the pizza boxes. "And she sang the creepiest version of the Heartland Pizzeria theme."

"Fascinating, but as long as none of us are planning to visit Mistral any time soon, something we can table," Blake scowled, not even having touched her pie even though it was covered in her favorite topping: anchovies. "Why would they steal so much dust just to take it to Mt. Glenn? I thought they were using it to make a bunch of bombs or some super mega Fusion Monster, but there's nothing to destroy out there and it's too far from the city proper to make a good staging ground."

"Too far away from us to just ride out to as well," Ruby pointed out. "If we're gonna get there, we'll need to get an airship somehow."

"Or maybe we shouldn't go at all."

Yang sighed, having expected something like this was coming since they'd seen Banesaw's branded face. She, her sister, and her partner turned to face the fourth member of their team, Weiss barely able to glumly pick at her pizza.

"Why would we do that?" Blake demanded. "We have the intel we need, we need to hit them where it'll matter!"

"Like we did tonight?" Weiss softly queried. "Another disaster?"

"Disaster? What are talking about, Weiss?" Ruby questioned. "We stopped the bad guys from recruiting at Junior's place, we got the intel we needed, got back stolen duel runners, I Link Summoned, and no one got seriously hurt. We went in as a team, had each other's backs, and were able to handle things even when we got surprised. That's a good day. Our first good day as real hunting duelists!"

"We're not hunting duelists!" Weiss snapped. "We're students. We should give that intel to Professor Ozpin and just go back to our studies."

Yang bit her lip, recalling her friend's broken reaction to Banesaw's brand. "Weiss, I know what we saw tonight wasn't easy to see–"

"What are you referring to? Specifically?" Weiss barked. "Your dragon melting the cage and endangering the entire crowd? You torturing a beaten opponent?"

"I wasn't actually gonna torture him," Yang let her know. "I just needed to scare him into giving us the intel–"

"Oh, like you just needed to take part in that underground duel to get the intel?" Weiss demanded. "I told you it was a trap, and you ignored me and almost got electrocuted to death! By people that you provoked! So how about you stop ignoring my caution before we all get killed–"

"We, and a lot more innocent people, are going to get killed if we don't stop the White Fang!" Blake snapped, rising to her feet. "Regardless of the extra problems we ran into, you were there to watch Yang's back, and you did. You took down Junior's doublecross and she took down Banesaw."

Weiss flinched, a haunted look misting through her crystal blue eyes. "Blake, you didn't see his face, the way he looked at me. His–."

"Brand?"

Weiss went pale, her eyes widening as she gazed at her teammate in shock. Blake sighed when she saw the white-haired girl's turmoil, her fire softening in sympathy.

"I understand why you'd be horrified by that," Blake said, the cat faunus doing her best to contain her rage. "He's not the only one in the White Fang who has one. But being hurt does not give them the right to hurt others."

"It doesn't give me the right either," Weiss mewled. "It might be best if we just stopped and let people who are more experienced, who know who the right people to hurt are–"

"You wanted to be a hunting duelist! This is what being a hunting duelist is!" Blake shouted, her frayed patience shattering. "It's taking corruption and evil head-on and doing whatever it takes to stop them! If you're going to let anyone with a sob story walk all over you, you might as well have never left your ivory tower!"

"Blake!" Yang called. "That's enough!"

Blake clenched her fists, glaring down at her trembling hands with livid fury. "I will not stand back and be powerless. I'm headed to the forge. I won't let the White Fang get away."

The cat faunus stomped out of the dorm, her teammates left behind to stew. Including a silently tearing Weiss.

"Weiss?" Ruby tentatively inquired. "Are you okay?"

"I… I'm done," Weiss shivered. "I'm sorry. I want to be a good teammate, but… I have to focus on my studies. I have to learn how to be a good hunting duelist. I can't become like my father."

"You won't," Yang tried to reassure her.

"Really? Because I've never met Raven Branwen, but when you were standing over Banesaw, I know you were her spitting image," Weiss lashed out at the blonde, though she could not stop trembling herself. "The Dance Committee we were going to head up together? You can have it. I need to study. I need to learn how to do this right, so I don't hurt anyone else. I'm… I'm going to the library."

The Schnee heiress followed the same path her dark-haired teammate had, slamming the dorm room door behind her. Leaving the sisters of red and gold to stew in the awkward aftermath.

Yang sagged back on her bed, her hands smacking over her face. "I screwed up. I screwed up, big time."

"What? No… well, yeah, jumping an underground duel wasn't your best idea," Ruby awkwardly admitted. "Dad doesn't find out?"

"Oh, God Cards, no," Yang shuddered. "I'd rather get shocked by Junior again."

Ruby pursed her lips in worried questioning. "So… you are gonna leave him and the twins alone like I asked?"

Yang took a deep breath, desperate to quiet the fire struggling to light in her chest. "Yeah, don't worry. I'm not gonna go looking for them."

Honestly, she was still angry. She supposed it was understandable given the assassination attempt, even with the logical knowledge that she brought it on herself. But she didn't want to be angry about it and make things worse, not after how much that rage had backfired on her that night. Its persistence aggravated her, which just got her more angry and, well, only her love for Ruby and desire to respect the mercy she'd chosen allowed her not to succumb to the feedback loop of fury.

"So," she sighed, trying to think about anything except the chain of events she'd set in motion that had hurt and triggered both Weiss and Blake. "How much is your silence to dad gonna cost me? Two jars of cookies? Three?"

"Let me pick my own outfit for the dance."

"What?!" Yang cried, snapping up to a sitting position, suddenly full of energy. "But you look so cute in that little red dress!"

"The heels are stupid stilts of death," Ruby pouted. "I will go to the boring dance for the Tag-Duel Showcase and to show sibling support for you like always, but I demand to at least be allowed to be comfortable while I'm there."

"Dad started having me pick your outfits for the dances because you tried to go to your first Signal one in a t-shirt and sweatpants."

"You said I couldn't wear my hood!"

Yang groaned. The trials of being a loving older sibling desperately trying to get a duel-obsessed sister to socialize outside of combat… at all. "You can pick your own outfit so long as it is up to standards for a dress-up event. Who knows? Maybe everyone getting excited for the dance and just taking a breath and having fun will be good for everyone."

"Yeah, sure. I'm sure everybody else will enjoy it just like the ones you threw at Signal," Ruby idly waved off, before an energetic smirk split her lips. "Meanwhile, I will be looking for a way to get us to Mt. Glenn and trying to forge Polymerization ASAP. Gotta summon Starving Venom properly and make sure we're on the same page after the 'Why?' thing tonight. Fun stuff!"

Yang's shoulders sank at the mention of her sister's dragon sibling, recalling her experiences with her own during the night. "I tried to summon Clear Wing while I was dueling Banesaw."

"... Oh…" Ruby said, her cheer suddenly diminished, her eyes skittish like she was trying to keep something secret. "... how did it go?"

"Got told to screw off."

"That bad, huh?"

Yang clicked her tongue. "You disagreed with Starving Venom tonight, right? Do you think you could still summon it?"

"You mean if I could Fusion Summon?" Ruby replied. "I mean, I don't know for sure until I try–"

"Ruby. Please."

Her cute little sister sighed. "Yeah, I think I could."

"But I can't. And, it's not my technique either. Clear Wing doesn't want me," Yang glanced at Weiss and Blake's empty beds, open uneaten pizza boxes left in their wakes. "Maybe it has a point. Like Weiss said, I'm my mother's daughter."

"Well, yeah, we're both mom's daughters," Ruby bluntly said.

"That's not what I meant–"

"It's what you want it to mean. And that's what it does, no matter what you, or Weiss, or anyone says," Ruby assured her. "Clear Wing manifested because of something about you. It partially let you forge it years ago. You just need to figure out what it is and embrace it. Even if it's you trying to make me… urgh… socialize."

Yang chuckled. "You don't need me, Ruby. You're incredible."

"Of course I do," Ruby snorted, hopping up onto her sister's bed. "I mean, you're the one I can always count on to come back. You always pull through."

Yang took a moment to look at her beautiful sister. The next moment, she'd engulfed her in a hug.

"Oh. This is nice. I can breathe," Ruby noted, only to immediately frown in concern. "Yang, are you sure you're okay?"

"Not sure. But I will," Yang promised. "You're here."

And if her sister loved her, maybe she wasn't a complete lost cause after all.

And thus closes the Investigation Arc! Huzzah!

Didn't expect it to be six chapters, but I'm starting to think breaking up duels might be necessary no matter how the overall arc length ends up. I'm very happy with how this arc turned out, with the adaptation working to put Team RWBY in potent dueling and moral difficulties, their first taste of the reality of being huntresses. While Weiss, Blake, Yang, and even Pyrrha struggle in a variety of different ways, Ruby gets the first win of hunting duelist and feels on top of the world.

Now we go into the Dance Arc. I know some aren't big on this arc and I can understand why. But for me personally, it is one of my favorite arcs in the show. So I will do my very best to amplify its strengths and the themes I find so effective while minimizing its weaknesses.

Remember to check out and add to this story's TVTROPES PAGE! I check my stories' pages often and I always enjoy it when they grow. :)

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

Go Forth and Conquer!