beta-ed by xenosaiyan


"Ugh. Anyone else feel like a Vytal Festival parade just marched through their head?" Yang groaned.

"Gugh, at least two," Weiss concurred.

"Three," Blake shuddered, clutching her palm to her head as her eyes fluttered open. "Easily."

The three members of Team RWBY awoke around a campfire in a broken building, Bumblebee parked in the corner. It might have once been an apartment complex for Vale's great expansion, but years without anyone to maintain it left the shelter a desolate place filled with rubble. Still, it was a basic fortification from any Grimm attacks, and a roof over the girls' heads. Very necessary given the rumbling black storm clouds circling overhead.

"Good to see you girls are finally awake," a familiar voice jauntingly greeted, speeding back them to the fire and pouring a pot that'd been roasting over the campfire into three rudimentary bowls.

"Professor?" Blake queried, her head still pounding and her vision not fully back into focus.

"Doctor," Oobleck insisted, passing the cat faunus one of his bowls, warm soup steaming within. He quickly made sure the other two dishes ended up in Weiss and Yang's hands. "Drink up. I admit, your leader's explanation about what happened to you four stretches credulity, but I've never known hot soup not to help a hunting duelist recover."

"Ruby?" Yang asked, ignoring the soup as her eyes raced around the desolate camp. "Where's Ruby–"

"She's safe, don't worry," Oobleck assured her. "When you all broke out of whatever trance you were all in, she remained conscious, unlike you three. Whatever happened between your dragons caused the storm outside. Fortunately, it also seems to have scared off the Grimm, an unheard-of phenomenon, but I thought it best for us to prematurely make camp. Ms. Rose is currently on her watch outside."

"And Zwei?" Weiss worriedly inquired.

"He's with Ms. Rose," Oobleck replied. "He seemed to think she needed him."

Yang and Weiss' brows both creased with concern, an expression Blake was sure mirrored on her own face. Zwei was a hunting duelist therapy dog. If he thought he needed to be with Ruby, then whatever happened must have shaken up the young Slifer Red.

"Doctor Oobleck, you said Ruby told you what happened," the cat faunus said. "But, what did happen? After all our dragons were out, all I remember was everything being consumed by red light."

"Black light for me," Weiss spoke up.

"White," Yang revealed for herself.

"And Ms. Rose reported that she initially saw yellow before what else occurred," Oobleck informed them. "Though, for the sake of accuracy, I believe it is best for her to tell you all what happened herself. Not to worry. You'll have lots of time to discuss it on the evacuation ship."

"Evac ship!?" Blake shouted.

"You called for an evac ship?!" Yang exclaimed. "Doc, why?"

"I attempted to call for an evacuation ship, yes. Though the storm is interfering with the CCT signal, so we'll have to wait until it passes," the professor explained. "As for why, while I'm not sure I believe that what affected you all was of a 'mystical persuasion', one does not continue a mission when over half their force has just fainted under mysterious circumstances. I'd highly recommend the four of you undergo a full medical examination when we return to Beacon to make sure there have been no negative side effects from your dragons' syndication."

"There haven't been any in the past," Weiss said. "Admittedly we haven't summoned all four of them together before."

"So we'll just keep from summoning them all at the same time moving forward," Blake argued. "But we have to continue the mission here."

Oobleck popped his eyebrow above his glasses. "Oh? And why is that, Ms. Belladonna? Our mission is only a standard search and destroy. There is an immense amount of Grimm in the area, but that's par for the course for Mt. Glenn. No one will get hurt if we leave, whereas the four of you may very well get hurt if we stay, for no reason–"

"Not for no reason!" Blake protested. "Doctor Oobleck, we're a team of first-years on a third-year mission. And back during my promotion exam, Professor Goodwitch made it pretty clear that she and the headmaster were at least generally aware of our 'extracurricular activities'. And I don't think you're dumb enough to be that far behind them."

The bespectacled hunting duelist calmly held her gaze, his intelligent, experienced eyes twinkling with amusement at his student's accusation. "You have credible information that the White Fang are here?"

"We do," Blake nodded.

"They've stolen enough dust for an army, doc," Yang pointed out. "We can't leave without kicking their butts!"

"Or at least finding out where they are and what they're up to," Weiss more calmly negotiated. "That way we can at least bring usable reconnaissance back to the headmaster."

Doctor Oobleck pursed his lips, considering. "Eat your soup. We'll see how each of you feels in the morning."

Yang set her bowl down and rose to her feet. "I'll eat later. Gonna check on Ruby."

"Before you go, a question, Ms. Xiao-Long?" Oobleck piped up. "Why did you choose to become a hunting duelist?"

"Huh?" the blonde replied, her step frozen in confusion. "Well, to fight Grimm–"

"No, that is what you do. I want to know why you do it?" Oobleck reiterated. "The honest reason about why you want to be a huntress."

"The honest reason? Ha! You know, I asked a guy that same thing back at the dance," Yang admitted, the boisterous blonde's face turning pensive. "Before I did, I think I would have said that I'm a thrill seeker. That I want to get wrapped up in as many crazy adventures as I can. And if I help people along the way, all the better."

"Interesting," Oobleck replied without commitment. "And now?"

"Now?" Yang stared down at her right hand, curling her fingers into a fist. "My mom was a hunting duelist. My dad and my uncle are hunting duelists."

"The family business then?"

"Not quite, I think. But the first time I won a duel, just a silly for fun duel with a kid whose name I can't even remember anymore, my mom praised me. She was so proud. Of me," Yang reminisced, a fond smile ghosting over her lips as the firelight flickered. "I had the talent. They got me the training. I'm good at it. I'm strong. I… I like who I am when I'm a hunting duelist."

Dr. Oobleck frowned, his brow furrowing in concern. "Do you not like who you are otherwise?"

The crackle of the campfire was the only response. The clouds of the approaching storm rumbled as if warning of a new calamity about to tear through Mt. Glenn.

"Yang?" Blake quietly asked.

The blonde turned away. "I'm gonna go check on Ruby."

She strode out through the rubble without another word.

Dr. Oobleck sighed. For the first time, Blake noticed just how old her usually spry history teacher was. "I had hoped to ask you three that question under less tense circumstances."

"You didn't plan to ask Ruby?" Weiss inquired. "Or is her childish simplicity that obvious to everyone?"

"Little point in asking when she wears the answer on her sleeve," the professor replied. "Though, if you're up for it, Ms. Schnee, may I ask you? A girl born into fame and fortune such as yourself certainly doesn't need the extra work. So, why choose this over a cushy job in Atlas?"

Weiss shrugged. "It's just like you said. I'm a Schnee. And with that comes a legacy to uphold. Since I am capable of fighting, it is my duty to bring honor to my family name."

"Is it?" Oobleck queried. "Forgive me, but by my understanding, the Kaiserin has all but discarded the Schnee name. No Blue-Eyes, no Galaxy-Eyes–"

"Don't compare my father's dragons with Blue-Eyes," Weiss spat. Only to then panic when she realized how harsh a tone she'd used with a teacher. "Sir."

Dr. Oobleck chuckled at the heiress' squeak. "My point being, if your sister, who is by all measure an exemplary huntress, can choose this path while treating your family name as a placeholder at most, is it really the best choice to uphold that name?"

"Perhaps not. But it may be the only way to redeem it," Weiss offered. "The influential of Atlas may clamor and claw for my favor, but the rest of the world?"

"Your father's sins are not your fault, Ms. Schnee."

"Maybe not," Weiss reached up to her face, rubbing her fingers over the jagged scar over her eye. "But they are my responsibility."

"Then I ask again, why choose this over a cushy job in Atlas?" Oobleck challenged. "It seems the best way to redeem the Schnee name for what the SDC has done would be to rise through the ranks and take command of the company. Thereby gaining the ability to ensure they do not continue and that reparations are made."

"I did consider that option. Honestly, until last night, I wasn't completely sure why I didn't take it," Weiss confessed. "I had thought that I simply couldn't stand to stay in Atlas anymore, that if I didn't get distance between myself and my father, then I wouldn't be able to breathe anymore."

"You had? What changed?"

Weiss glanced at the rugged crevice that Yang had just left through. "Someone pointed out that my goals in life are much humbler than my lofty heritage can sometimes make it seem. I want to help people. I like helping people. And if I dedicated myself to rising through the ranks of my father's SDC, I know I would have to hurt people, innocent people, to gain the credibility to take over from him. And I refuse to do that. Being a huntress may make the path to the Schnee name's redemption longer, but it's a path I can live with."

"For your sake, I hope that is true. You have more in common with your team leader than you think. Though your other teammate can tell you from firsthand experience that the life of a hunting duelist is not always black and white," the professor said, turning to Blake. "Speaking of your experiences, Ms. Belladonna, how did they lead you here? On the frontlines of faunus activism from childhood to becoming the infamous Odd-Eyed Bandit. I do not question your sincerity, but I admit curiosity at your pivot onto the path of a huntress with such purpose."

"There's too much wrong in this world to just stand by and do nothing," Blake declared. "Inequality. Corruption. Someone has to stop it."

"Very well. How?"

"I… I… uh…"

Blake suddenly found her bowl of soup much more interesting. She scooped several warm spoonfuls into her mouth, the heat seeping down her throat as the fire continued to bathe her flesh in comfort. Weiss scooched over to her around the blaze and leaned against her shoulder to support her.

"It's alright not to know," Dr. Oobleck assured her. "I wish that I had an answer to give you."

"That's part of what terrifies me," Blake said. Weiss gently squeezed her shoulder, allowing the cat faunus to let out a sigh of self-acceptance. "I ran to Beacon to hide. I told myself it was for the legend about how hunting duelists were the greatest, kindest warriors on Remnant, but I'd seen too many peaceful protests broken up by them to believe that. It was a convenient excuse to hide and put one of Remnant's greatest fortresses between me and my old partner."

"Tai told me the basics of Mr. Taurus's incursion to Patch. I believe your instinct was perfectly understandable," Dr. Oobleck reassured her. "Although, it does raise a question. If The Blood-Soaked Bull was not a factor, would you have left The White Fang?"

"What kind of a question is that?!" Weiss protested.

Oobleck raised a hand for silence from the heiress. His gaze returned to Blake, gentle and calm. "I'm not trying to trick you. I just want to make sure you know, one way or the other."

Blake's cat ears drooped under her black bow, her forehead wriggled with contemplation. For so many years, she'd been proud to be a member of the White Fang. She'd never loved the violence, but she'd been enthralled by the good she'd done with it. Before Adam had been given command of the Vale Cell, they'd done great things under Sienna's command in Mistral. Protecting outlying villages, robbing SDC convoys so those villages could have dust they couldn't pay for, raiding 'legitimate' establishments that totally weren't connected to The Spiders, she'd never felt more fulfilled.

"I don't think it really matters now. Adam was there. He became what he became. No use dwelling on 'What If's," she deflected to her professor. "Besides, it's not like I'd be welcomed back now. I'm a traitor. Anyone in the Vale Cell would have my head on a pike."

"Would Sienna Khan?"

Blake bit her lip and turned away. "Aunt Sienna… wouldn't. But she'd probably give me a disappointed look. Which is arguably worse."

"How is that worse?" Weiss demanded.

"Imagine your sister was giving it to you."

Weiss immediately shuddered, nodding in understanding.

"The White Fang's turn to violence was made inevitable by the powers of humanity refusing to take action to address the concerns raised by their peaceful protests," Doctor Oobleck acknowledged. "I cannot endorse all the actions the White Fang has taken. But it is a sad reality that, throughout history, nonviolent activism has struggled to make headway for its causes without either significant economic leverage… or a violent alternative to browbeat those in power towards alliance with their more 'docile' counterparts."

Blake raised an eyebrow. "I'm confused. Do you want me to try to return to the White Fang after we stop Adam?"

"Of course not. I believe the world would be poorer with one less huntress as earnest and kind as yourself in it, Ms. Belladonna," Oobleck replied with a jolly, but serious smile. "But, I am a teacher, first and foremost. My duty is to give each of my students as much knowledge as I can to help them make their own decisions, and, most importantly, the wisdom to think those choices through. I've seen firsthand how this life can cause even the most brilliant lights to cease to burn. I do not wish to lock any of you into a rigid or brittle mindset."

"We'll manage," Weiss assured him, keeping her hold on Blake. "We have each other."

Blake patted her friend's hand in appreciation. Then lifted her bowl. "And we have soup."

Oobleck laughed. "Good soup and good company. No storm could ruin that."

The three hunting duelists gleefully dug into the warm, salty broth. Around the warmth of the campfire, the coming storm could not be more than a drizzle.


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"Yo, Rubes!" Yang called, traversing the shattered remains of Mt. Glenn to reach her sister's perch. "We're conscious!"

As expected, Ruby's setup for her watch perch was perfect. The position was on the high ground and had a view of all possible approaches. Her back was to a solid wall so Grimm couldn't approach from behind. She had World Carrotweight Champion, a low-level monster with high attack points out to deal with any immediate attackers without straining her aura, and Lonefire Blossom, who could use its effect to call on a more powerful monster if something appeared that World Carrotweight Champion couldn't handle, slapped down on Crescent Rose.

And yet, Ruby was hunched over with her red hood yanked up all over her body, like when she'd flee to an empty classroom to curl up and hide from jerks back at Signal. Zwei was buried in her center, the corgi cuddling against her with worried mewls as his semblance gently glowed.

"Good idea, snagging Zwei while we were out," Yang said. "The Ice Queen would have monopolized him otherwise–oof!"

A blur of rose petals and a rush of wind that didn't come from the rumbling storm rushed through Yang's glowing gold mane. The muscular blonde's eyes widened as her little sister smashed into her and wrapped her arms around her as hard as she could.

"I'm glad you're okay," Ruby whimpered, her face buried in her sister's riding jacket.

Yang blinked in concern and slowly wrapped her arms around her little sibling to return the embrace. Zwei trotted up behind the pair, lovingly rubbing up against the back of Ruby's leg. But at least his semblance didn't need to be active anymore.

For several minutes, the sisters just stood there, the storm clouds above crackling with lightning, just waiting to split the heavens. World Carrotweight Champion and Lonefire Blossom dutifully stood sentinel for Grimm until the siblings finally let go and sat down beside each other in the watch perch.

Ruby did her best to explain what had happened while they'd all been in the dragon trance. How they were all 'Pillars' of the 'god-to-be', whatever that meant. How The Queen that Lil' Miss Malachite had mentioned had made herself known. How she'd had one of the three Legendary Dragons and tried to use it to blow Yang to smithereens to force her little sister to want to use her eyes.

"You don't think she was actually The Smith, right?" Yang tried to joke to lighten the mood. "I mean, if she's as old as the fairy tale, she'd have to be… well, ancient would be putting it lightly. Maybe she was hiding herself with shadows intentionally, huh?"

She must have read that bedtime story to Ruby a thousand times, and Mom had read it to them hundreds of times before that. The Wizard, The Smith, & The Hero was a favorite among those who wished to be hunting duelists. The wizard traveled the land spreading knowledge and magic, with a discerning eye from which no evil could hide. The smith was the greatest card forger to ever live, capable of crafting beautiful monsters and spells whose fangs had no peer. And the hero, who wandered the land with wide eyes of ancient wonder, his claws knowing nothing but kindness for any who sought joy in life. In some versions of the story, they were each granted a Legendary Dragon that suited them by the gods. Some said they were made immortal and each entrusted with a God Card to wield.

Suffice it to say, Yang was worried that both versions of the legend were true to some extent. Especially given one of The Queen's other titles was evidently 'Champion of the Tormentor'.

"Guess we'll have to make sure we don't summon all four of our dragons at the same time again, huh," Yang chuckled, doing her best to hide her nervousness that she'd apparently almost been murdered without even realizing it. "But hey, you used your eyes intentionally! The day that Ozpin taught you how! That's badass, Ruby–"

"When we get back to Beacon, I'm going to ask Weiss to take over as team leader."

Yang froze. "Huh?"

"I'm going to ask Weiss to take over as team leader," Ruby repeated, her voice dim as she clutched Zwei to her chest like a teddy bear. "She wanted the job in the first place. And she's pretty much gotten over all the issues that would have been a problem back when we first met–"

"No one is saying Weiss wouldn't be a great team leader. But she's not Team RWBY's leader. She'd tell you the same thing," Yang promised. "Ruby, I can't imagine how terrifying what you saw was, but risking our lives is part of the hunting duelist package."

"I know. And I'm still all in on that. Helping people as a hunting duelist is all I ever wanted to do," Ruby said, her silver eyes staring ahead, drinking in the barren ruins of Mt. Glenn as lightning flashed above. "But that… thing, that a team leader has to have? To be responsible for everyone's lives? I don't think I can have that on me. I never wanted that on me. I can't do that."

"You already have. And you did it incredibly. You called in Pyrrha to save Blake on the highway. You beat Lil' Miss at The Club. You even saved Junior's life," Yang comforted her sister. She hooked an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close, kissing the top of her head through her red hood. "I wish you could see yourself like I see you."

"I know, I know," Ruby rolled her eyes. "I'm 'special'. Silver Eyes, Signer, now Pillar, yada yada."

"That stuff's window dressing," Yang brushed off. "Black Rose Dragon chose you. Starving Venom Fusion Dragon chose you."

"I'm the stubbornness within hunger. Whatever that means," Ruby murmured, her lips pursed in thought. "Did Starving Venom really just choose me because I have a minor cookie problem that I can stop at any time?"

"Hehe, probably not," Yang chuckled, her laughter warm as a wry smile picked up her sister's lips. "I'll say this, no one is more hungry to help people than you. And you can be pretty stubborn about it."

Ruby giggled, her smirk turning earnest and warm. "I wonder who I got that from?"

Yang chortled, holding her sibling even closer as Zwei merrily barked. "You're special, Rubes. No matter what scary thing is filling your head, don't ever doubt that. There's no one better to lead than you."

"I'm still not sure that's true. But thanks," Ruby said. "There's no one I'd rather have with me than you. You'll figure out Clear Wing's whole 'will to move forward' thing in no time."

"That's the… plan…" Yang's brow furrowed as a thought entered her head. "Ruby, you said that The Queen wanted the dragons to have strong pillars."

"Yup. Honestly, I think I know what I look like when I'm getting really excited about new cards now. You know, give or take some cosmic shadows of doom."

"Right. But if that's the case, why was she willing to try to kill me?"

"Oh… well… uh…" Ruby suddenly stammered, her silver eyes flickering about. "I… I don't know, maybe Clear Wing just hasn't fully realized how awesome you, or… uh… uh…"

"Ruby," Yang spoke seriously. She pulled away slightly and turned her little sister to look her in the eye. "I don't need you to protect me."

"I mean, I did protect you from The Queen a few hours ago…"

"It's my job to protect you," Yang declared. "And I can't do that if I don't know what's going on."

Ruby glanced away, unable to meet her sister's violet gaze. "Clear Wing… didn't choose you."

"Yeah, I know, I need to figure out what it likes about me and embrace that–"

"No, I mean it didn't choose to crystalize for you," Ruby glumly revealed. "After the docks, Odd-Eyes, Dark Rebellion, and Starving Venom sort of told her to… well…"

Yang frowned. "Tell me what they said, Ruby. All of it."

"... stop being picky," Ruby confessed. "They said that they'd already chosen, so she should settle for the convenient… yeah."

Yang's brow furrowed, her arms recalling to her sides as her fists clenched.

"Yang? I'm sorry–"

"You've got nothing to be sorry about. Thank you for telling me. It's good to know where I stand with her," the blonde said. "I'll take the next watch. You head inside. Get some rest. The doc's got some good soup on."

"Mmm, so that's what that smell is," Ruby smiled. "I think I'll lean into my 'hungry' nature. Come on, Zwei."

"Arrf!-Hmmm…"

Zwei glanced out to the ruins of Mt. Gleen, his rear legs shaking. Both sisters recognized what those signs meant as he dashed out into the ruined city.

"Zwei! Come on!" Ruby called after him. "This is a wasteland! You can do that anywhere!"

"You want me to go get him?" Yang asked.

"Nah. You're on watch, right?" Ruby waved off. "It'll just take me two seconds to grab him."

With a hop, skip, and a blur of her semblance, the Slifer Red's monsters dissipated and she raced after the adorable corgi who needed to use the bathroom.

Yang quickly set up the watch perch for herself, unfurling Ember Celica and calling out Vice Dragon, before tributing it for her even more powerful Strong Wind Dragon. Once the emerald beast was hunched beside her, she pulled out Clear Wing Synchro Dragon's card from her Extra Deck, along with one other.

"I guess I should say sorry for the misunderstanding. You really did never want me," Yang scowled. "So, sorry for trying to shove a square block through a round hole. You don't have to worry about it anymore. Someone's gotta not summon their dragon again to keep that Pillar trance thing from happening again, so it might as well be me and you, right?"

No response. Just her glaring at the card. A card with an image of a majestic and beautiful silver dragon that shone like the stars.

"Same attack. Same defense. Same type. Same attribute," she sighed. "Your siblings are all dark attribute. Why did you bother giving me hope that I'd gotten lucky enough to recreate Stardust Dragon if I wasn't even worth your time in the first place?"

She felt the dragon stirring within the card's dust, disappointment tinging its veneer. "I had hoped you would be ready to move forward one day. I had hoped at the dance that you had begun."

"Yeah, well, guess we're both disappointed," Yang sneered.

She pulled out the other card she'd drawn from her Extra Deck, one that was truly hers. Hot Red Dragon Archfiend reflected her strength and her pride back at her, fiery and fierce. It wasn't magic, in that regard it was as much a failure at recreating one of her parents' Signer Dragons as Clear Wing was.

But it was hers. The bounty of her tenacity and drive to be worthy of her incredible family.

"I don't need luck. I don't want it," Yang growled. "I've always had to struggle and scrape and it's made me strong. It's made me who I am. And my Burning Soul's gonna burn brighter than the sun whether you help me or not."

"You think your soul burns hotter than the sun, but it's a matchstick–"

Yang growled and shook her head to force Mercury's words from her mind. She slid Hot Red Dragon Archfiend and Clear Wing Synchro Dragon back into her Extra Deck and set herself to work watching for Grimm like a hawk.

Actually, shouldn't Ruby and Zwei have been back by now? How big was that corgi's leak?


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"Curse my hubris!" Ruby wailed, foolishly having thought that she could take her dog to the bathroom without the ground literally falling out from under her.

Fortunately, she was an ace hunting duelist in the making and her hubris would not be her undoing! She slapped White Rose Dragon onto Crescent Rose as she tumbled through the air, her flying lizard appearing beneath her… just in time for them to smash into the roof of a subterranean skyscraper.

"Ow," Ruby moaned.

White Rose Dragon groaned in concurring pain beneath her. The silver-eyed Slifer Red quickly dissipated its aura body to spare it any more pain.

Ruby staggered up to her feet, her keen eyes using the light of the hole she fell through to get the measure of her surroundings. It looked like she'd fallen into the subterranean settlement Mt. Glenn's citizens had fled to when the main city had been overrun. Empty buildings stretched out through the cave as far as the eye could see. Meanwhile, her own roost was jammed up against the side of the cavern, where there was… a door?

"Hey! I think I heard something!"

Ruby ripped the top card from her deck, slamming down Roxrose Dragon onto her duel disk, the small, resplendent dragon manifesting before her just as the door opened. The tiny drake unleashed a bejeweled fireball that blew away the masked White Fang grunt who'd been coming in.

"Heinz!" another faunus, this one with glasses over his Grimm mask, shouted, his comrade flying past him and onto the ground, unconscious. He thrust his hi-tech Atlas duel disk towards Ruby, a duel anchor snagging her wrist. "You'll pay for that human!"

Ruby smirked as the seal on her aura caused her Roxrose Dragon to flicker away, readying Crescent Rose for a real duel. "Bring it on, White Fang guy–oh, hey Perry!"

"You know me–Red!"

"It's Ruby, actually," she clarified. "Red is just what Torchwick calls me to be a jerk.. What are you looking at?"

"Where's the other one?!" Perry asked in a minor panic, his head swiveling around to give his night vision as much of a view of the surroundings as possible. "The redhead!"

"Pyrrha? Have you met her?"

"No! The terrifying one!"

"Still sounds like Pyrrha. I mean, if you're the one dueling her–"

"Not The Invincible Girl! The Atlas one who was with you last time!" Perry fearfully explained. "The one with the Link Monsters!"

"Oh! Penny," Ruby nodded. "She's not here."

"Oh, thank God of Animals," Perry sighed in relief. He gathered himself and dug his hand into his pocket. He fished some cards out of his pocket. He took an equal amount out of his deck before replacing it in his duel disk. His cards shuffled as he raised it for battle. "Too bad for you. Your girlfriend's not here to save you this time."

"Why does everyone think that she's my girlfriend? I don't even know if she likes… well, people in general really. That way, at least," Ruby groaned, drawing her five cards for her hand.

"Duel!"

Ruby Rose: 4000 Life Points

Perry: 4000 Life Points

"Let's see if you remember this one from the docks! I activate Seed Cannon!" Ruby announced, sliding the continuous spell card into her duel disk. Her bulging cactus artillery bloomed to life in front of her. Shortly followed by a familiar spiky purple bulb that was so heavy it caused its stem to droop (ATK 100/DEF 100).

"I do remember that one," Perry groaned, watching Seed Cannon pump up with its first Plant Counter. "And what your Evil Thorn does."

"Tribute it and deal you three hundred points of damage," Ruby grinned, pointing at her normal summoned monsters just as it exploded. Perry raised his arms and ducked low to avoid the launched spines, much more confident than his frantic dodge during their first encounter.

Perry: 3700 Life Points

Ruby grinned as two more Evil Thorns blossomed onto her field, the red-hooded girl sliding her Zero Gravity and a new trap she'd bought after her duel with Cinder called Pollinosis. "I'm flattered that you side decked especially for me, Perry, but you're not the only one who remembers our last match. I'm not going to give you the chance to take out my spell this time! Seed Cannon, fire!"

With her cactus artillery having gained a second counter when her new Evil Thorns were summoned, the bloated cannon exploded and sent its payload hurtling towards Perry. The glasses-wearing faunus squeaked as the new attack came hurdling at him, rolling out of the way with some of his old fear returned.

Perry: 2700 Life Points

"I end my turn," Ruby preened with a grin.

A solid opening if she did say so herself. Dealt some damage, and set up some defense. And with Zwei no doubt going to get the others, they would soon have a solid lead on the White Fang's location.

"I draw!" Perry announced, pulling a card from the top of his deck. He quickly recognized the pull and slid it into his Atlas duel disk. "I activate Mystical Space Typhoon! I'll destroy the set card on your right!"

"Oh, crud! I'll activate it! Zero Gravity!" Ruby scrambled, her trap flipping up just as the racing tornado crashed through it. A green energy field overtook both her Evil Thorns, the flowers bending over as sideways cards manifested beneath them. "All monsters on the field switch battle positions."

"Then I'll activate another spell card! Fusion Sage!" Perry called, inserting a card from his hand into his duel disk, a spell with the image of an elderly wizard conjuring familiar orange and blue spirals. "It lets me add a Polymerization from my deck to my hand. I'm sure you remember what that means."

"It means I'm not letting you do it!" Ruby defiantly yelled, her second trap card flipping up with the image of a greedy goblin sneezing like there was no tomorrow. "I activate Pollinosis! With this Counter Trap, I can tribute a Plant-Type monster and negate a normal summon, a special summon, or the activation of a spell or trap card, and destroy the negated card."

One of her Evil Thorns disintegrated into flecks of golden pollen. The trap card then blew a fierce wind, blowing the airborne contagion into Perry's spell, the searching card disintegrated.

Still, Ruby couldn't help but frown. Counter Traps weren't normally her style. They were a valid strategy, but their purpose was to keep the opponent from playing their key cards, or really any cards at all. And the red hooded girl wanted to see her opponents' cards, to see what wondrous monsters they'd crafted and face them head-on.

But then she'd dueled Cinder, and had been utterly dominated despite playing as best she could with the cards she'd been dealt. She'd thought back to her match against Lil' Miss, about what would have happened if she'd lost then or hadn't had Astral to back her up.

"You must always strive to do your best, and furthermore improve what that best is," Professor Ozpin had warned her. "You can rest assured that those you face will always be working to increase their own power."

She was Team RWBY's leader. She had only grown more and more unsure about whether she wanted to be, but for the moment, she didn't have a choice in the matter. So, she'd sacrifice a bit of her personal desire to see as many cards as she could to better protect her team. That was the job. That was what she'd signed up for.

She was 'special'. She could handle it.

"Haha! You fell for it!"

"Huh?" Ruby squeaked, her attention pulled from her own moroseness as Perry laughed. "What's so funny?"

"Haha! Like I said!" the glasses-wearing faunus exclaimed. He flipped around a card in his hand to reveal… a Polymerization. "You fell for it!"

Ruby's eyes widened. "It was a feint?!"

And she'd used up two-thirds of her remaining cards on the field dealing with it.

"I summon Des Wombat!" Perry yelled, a familiar furry animal (ATK 1600/DEF 300) manifesting before him right before he slid his key spell card into his duel disk. "I activate Polymerization! I fuse the Des Wombat on my field with the Des Koala and Green Baboon, Defender of the Forest in my hand!"

The spell card of orange and navy spirals flashed before the masked faunus, the fusion vortex churning through the air. Des Wombat yelped as it was sucked back into the hole in space, soon joined by an oblivious koala and a huge green baboon, all three monsters warped and churned.

"Oh, not good," Ruby murmured, remembering their duel back at the docks. "I know where this is going."

And this time, Penny wasn't here to bail her out.

"Taunted, tortured, insulted, and reviled. Demeaned by human overlords who never paid the price. No more! Unify our people! Lead them to salvation and take back the lives they stole!" Perry chanted, swinging his arms before bringing his palms crashing back together. "Fusion Summon! Level Nine! Guardian Chimera!"

The misshapen monstrosity of lion, eagle, dragon, and serpent howled from the depths of the vortex. The golden lines of power of the great behemoth blazed over its horns and wings as it emerged from the distortion in space and snarled down at Ruby (ATK 3300/DEF 3300).

"When Guardian Chimera is summoned by a spell card or effect, I can draw cards equal to the number of materials used from my hand. Two in this case," Perry noted, yanking a pair of cards from his deck to refill his hand. "Then, I can destroy cards you control equal to the number of materials used from the field."

The chimera's lion head let loose a stream of blazing fire breath from its maw. Ruby raised her arms to shield herself from the heat as her last Evil Thorn was incinerated.

"Guardian Chimera!" Perry roared. "Attack her directly!"

All four heads whirled towards the young hunting duelist and opened wide. The depths of their throats glowed with a brilliant kaleidoscope of fire, building and building in power before finally being unleashed with a quartet of thunderous howls.

Ruby leapt back, but there was no way to dodge the blast. Scorching flames rolled over her, the red-hooded girl sent tumbling across the desolate rooftop. She twisted and bounced until she was thrown over the edge of the skyscraper, barely able to flail out and snag the edge of the skyscraper. The silver-eyed Slifer Red squeaked with terror as her legs helplessly scrambled over the open air of Mt. Glenn's last bastion.

Ruby Rose: 700 Life Points

"I lay two cards facedown and end my turn," Perry said, looking over the frightened girl at the other end of his duel anchor. His eyes looked away behind the slits of his Grimm mask, his rage for his people warring with common decency. "Look, kid, just surrender. I'll turn you over to the boss and you'll sit tight as a hostage until… uh… actually, probably best if you just leave. Ilia wouldn't hurt you, but Torchwick rants about you a lot these days and Adam… yeah…"

"That's about… what I've heard…" Ruby grunted, getting a better grip on the edge of the skyscraper and hoisting herself back up onto the roof. She panted for breath as she managed to get to her knees and drew from her deck. "But I'm not giving up. I came here to be a hunting duelist. I activate Graceful Charity. I draw three cards and then discard two."

She glanced over the four cards at her disposal. She hesitated for a moment at the sight of one of them, considering whether she should discard it or not given recent events. But she soon disabused herself of that idea, noting it was still her best option to keep it. Instead, she pitched Red Rose Dragon and Glow-Up Bulb to Crescent Rose's graveyard slot.

"I normal summon White Rose Dragon!" Ruby declared. She placed her Level Four monster down on her duel disk, her small dragon manifesting before her as it preened its white flower plumage (ATK 1200/DEF 1000). The small wyvern turned its head and glared at her duelist, clearly displeased at being summoned so soon after being used as a glorified freefall cushion. The silver-eyed girl could only sheepishly shrug at her monster. "When White Rose Dragon is normal summoned, I can summon a Rose Dragon from my hand or graveyard. I revive Red Rose Dragon!"

White Rose Dragon puffed itself up, white petals shedding over the prideful wyvern and swirling off into a small cyclone. When the flowers really got racing, its sibling charged out with wings of crimson bouquets (ATK 1000/DEF 1800).

Everything was set. If Ruby remembered Penny's analysis back at the docks right, Guardian Chimera only had protection from targeting so long as Polymerization was in Perry's graveyard. So one blast from Black Rose Dragon's field destruction effect would take it out and the faunus' back row cards with it. Due to Red Rose Dragon and White Rose Dragon's effects, she'd also get to summon Roxrose Dragon from her deck (and get its search effect) and dump another plant from her deck into her graveyard. A bit of Synchro climbing later and boom! Baronne de Fleur was out with a clear path to attack for game! Easy peasy.

"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, Red Rose Dragon bursting into three emerald tuner rings while White Rose Dragon filled them as a quartet of twinkling stars. "Synchro Summon! Level Seven! Black Rose Dragon!"

A bright pillar of light flared through her trio of tuner rings. Her great Signer Dragon, its rose plumage shiny and majestic, launched itself forth from the radiant column. It flexed its wings out behind Ruby, its vine tendrils flaring out from beneath its flowery frock (ATK 2400/DEF 1800).

"Black Rose Dragon destroys every card on the field when it's Synchro Summoned," Ruby proclaimed, already searching through her deck for the effects of its materials. "As well, the effects of Red Rose Dragon and White Rose Dragon activate when they're used in a Synchro Summon."

"Then I'll activate my trap card as the last chain link behind them."

Ruby's head shot up. "What?!"

"I got you! Grisaille Prison! Activate!" Perry called out, finally able to be completely epic as he swept his arm around, one of his facedowns rising up.

The trap conjured an empty painting frame, though it soon began to glow and fill its contents. In a brief moment, it contained an elegant, monochrome painting of Black Rose Dragon, frozen like a sculpture.

A hissing mist expelled from the painting and rushed over Ruby's Signer Dragon. The elegant creature didn't even get to howl in anguish as it was robbed of its color. The great, majestic dragon was turned greyscale like the painting, as if reality had been made to match a twisted mirror.

"Black Rose Dragon!" Ruby cried, helplessly reaching out towards her ace, now as cold and lifeless as the rest of Mt. Glenn. The red-hooded girl uncomfortably flashed back to how The Queen's dragon had mercilessly pinned her own down, the Signer Dragon powerless to resist. "Wha–what did you do?"

"Grisaille is a painting style from old Mistral, one that's done in a gray, monochrome style. Similarly, Grisaille Prison is the bane of the monsters of white and black, Synchro and Xyz!" Perry explained, victoriously pointing towards his Guardian Chimera. "So long as I control a monster that was Tribute Summoned, Ritual Summoned, or, in this case, Fusion Summoned, then Synchro and Xyz monsters cannot attack and lose their special abilities until the end of your next turn. Not only that, but neither of us can Synchro or Xyz Summon until that time either!"

"We can't–what?!" Ruby stammered, even as she called out Roxrose Dragon (ATK 1600/DEF 1200) to her field and added Frozen Rose from her deck to her hand by Red Rose Dragon's effect.

Not good, not good, not good! With Black Rose Dragon's field destruction effect negated, she should in theory have the right levels to Synchro Summon Baronne de Fleur (though it wouldn't be able to win directly against Guardian Chimera), except she flat-out couldn't Synchro Summon. And since Black Rose Dragon was still on the field, her Extra Monster Zone was clogged up! It wasn't even the right attribute for Ruby to make use of the card in her hand that she'd hesitated about.

"I prepped these side deck cards special for you, Red. I asked Torchwick about you after our first meeting. He mentioned you could Synchro Summon. And since you're gifted enough to get into Beacon even as young as you are, I figured you might want to try to expand your repertoire of summoning styles," Perry shrugged, clearly relishing the chance to actually get to be clever. "Given you're partners with the Schnee heiress, I figured Xyz was the likeliest option."

Xyz? Well, she was trying to figure out how to forge Rank-Up-Magic spell cards because of how cool it was when Astral had used them, but she had no idea how to use that style, just… Oh, yeah.

"Sorry to undercut your epic moment again, Perry," Ruby grinned. "But right theory, wrong summoning styles."

"Huh?" the masked faunus squeaked. "What else could you have learned?"

"I have a friend who is a girl, remember?" Ruby gloated. "And a redhead."

"You–You mean can–"

"I use Glow-Up Bulb's effect to send the top card of my deck to the graveyard and summon it from there!" Ruby announced, the small flower with an eye in its bulb (ATK 100/DEF 100) sprouting onto her field. Then, the leader of Team RWBY thrust her arms towards her foe. "Appear! The circuit that moves forward!"

Her aura flowed through her limbs, coalescing out of her to form a glowing blue grid in front of her.

"The materials are two monsters with different types. Arrowheads confirm! Middle left! Bottom center!" she announced, Glow-Up Bulb and even Black Rose Dragon morphing into streams of energy and smashing into the designated points on the square circuit. "Link Summon! Link-2! Crossrose Dragon!"

The glowing sapphire circuit shattered, and Crossrose Dragon soared into the Extra Monster Zone. The sleek, beautiful wyvern livened up the barren rooftop with its playful struts, brandishing the bouquet of rainbow flowers that was its tail (ATK 800).

"Oh, snap! That's not one of the mass-produced ones the SDC's started selling," Perry realized. Still, the bespectacled faunus stood his ground, his previous panic fading. "I'll give you props kid. Didn't think anyone apart from Adam would figure out how to make their own Link Monsters so soon."

"Aw, thanks. Though honestly, I'm still working on it. Crossrose was a gift–what was that about Adam figuring out–"

"But I'm afraid it's too little, too late," Perry continued on, proudly gesturing to his Guardian Chimera. "Unless that lizard of yours has one heck of an effect, you're quite hilariously outgunned."

Ruby smirked. "In this case, the effect, which is awesome by the way, isn't the important part. It's that Crossrose Dragon and Roxrose Dragon are both dark attribute monsters."

"What's that got to do with anything?"

A mighty presence reached out to Ruby from her Extra Deck, bouncy and ecstatic like Weiss would be if she was told that Zwei had puppies and she got to keep all of them. She'd be lying if she tried to claim she wasn't excited in her own right. She dreamed of the moment when they could do this together for months.

Only her encounter with The Queen made her hesitate, remembering how eager she was for the four Pillar Dragons to become stronger. Would Ruby be playing into her hands, which were clearly not good, if she called forth her monster?

"You can rest assured that those you face will always be working to increase their own power."

Professor Ozpin's words, and how thoroughly Perry had proved them true with his preparation, obliterated any of her remaining hesitation. If she was to be a hunting duelist, to be Team RWBY's leader, she had to always be striving to be at her best and bettering what that was. The monsters she'd forged had been forged with her aura, her soul. Whatever influence The Queen had in them, it was secondary to her own bonds with her cards. And together, they would triumph over anyone, even her!

"I think we've both waited long enough to do this in an actual duel, don't you think, buddy?" she grinned at her Extra Deck.

The monster waiting within howled in agreement.

Ruby ripped the card she needed from her hand and slammed it into Crescent Rose. "I activate Polymerization!"

"What?! Blake taught you to–" Perry yelped, leaping back as the spell of orange and navy spirals flared before his opponent for once. "But Ilia said she was in no shape to do that!"

"She got better!" Ruby cheered, the fusion vortex warping the air before her. "I fuse two dark attribute monsters on the field! Crossrose Dragon! Roxrose Dragon! Combine!

The Silver-Eyed Signer slammed her palms together as her teammate had taught her. Her two floral dragons flowed back into the swirling distortion in space, violet lightning crackling the moment they were both consumed.

"Beautiful flowers with alluring fragrance! Scatter your petals and disclose the nightmare hidden beneath! Disclose your blood! Red likes roses!" Ruby gleefully chanted. "Fusion Summon! Level Eight! Starving Venom Fusion Dragon!"

A hellish roar shook the underground cavern, a claw of green and purple bursting forth from the fusion vortex.


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Yang shot up from her watch perch as the familiar adrenaline rush flared through her. Above the ruins of Mt. Glenn, the storm clouds crackled with violet lightning.

Weiss and Blake popped their heads out from the entrance to their makeshift camp.

"You guys feel that?" Yang asked, wanting to make sure the ones who actually had proper connections to their dragons were getting the same signals she was.

Blake nodded. "Ruby."

"She's dueling," Weiss deciphered. "Did that dolt really stumble into the White Fang on a bathroom break?"

"Aarf! Aarf! Aarf!"

The three girls looked down at the craggy streets, spotting Zwei charging towards them in a panic.

"Yo, doc!" Yang called, rushing inside the camp to start Bumblebee. "We've got a problem!"


RWBYRWBYRWBYRWBYYUGIOHYUGIOH

A thin body of ivy green and royal purple. Golden horns and creepy scarlet and amber orbs bedecking its muscles. Razor-sharp claws and two ravenous flytraps on steroids for wings. All topped by a dark crimson jewel in the center of its forehead and a pair of fierce yellow eyes (ATK 2800/DEF 2000).

"Beautiful," Ruby whispered, her silver eyes sparkling as she beheld Starving Venom Fusion Dragon in the flesh, in a real duel, for the first time. With Blake's teachings, she'd finally called forth her first Fusion Monster, adrenaline and euphoria flooding through her.

"What the heck is that?!" Perry screamed, scampering back as his glasses bounced atop his mask. Guardian Chimera dashed in front of its duelist, all four heads growling menacingly at the new threat.

Starving Venom Fusion Dragon only salivated at the challenge. It had desperately wanted to clash with its fellow Fusion Monster back when the hybrid creature was first summoned during the tag duel at the docks. Now, fate had given it a second chance to test its mettle.

"Sorry, Perry," Ruby smiled, pointing across the field at her foe. "It's over."

"What are you talking about?" the masked faunus queried. "Your Fusion Monster may be creepy as all get out, but Guardian Chimera's still stronger."

"Is it?"

Starving Venom's flytrap wings cracked open, spittle and vegetable pulp spraying out off the edge of the skyscraper. The botanical lips spread wide, sucking in streams of pollen like a vacuum cleaner. Flecks from Guardian Chimera's fur and golden lights joined the streams of dust, yanked into the enemy dragon as its muscles bulged and clenched (ATK 6100).

"When Starving Venom Fusion Dragon is fusion summoned, it can gain attack equal to the attack points of one of your special summoned monsters until the end of this turn," Ruby revealed. "And this effect doesn't target."

"Oh," Perry squeaked. "Crud."

"Starving Venom Fusion Dragon! Attack Guardian Chimera!" Ruby commanded. "Venom Experience!"

Her resplendent botanical dragon let out a ferocious roar, its flytrap wings split wide open. Blazing crimson vines erupted out from its maws, spreading out behind the feral beast like a spiderweb of fire. A dozen sapphire orbs lit up with power atop the vines' crisscrossing intersections, building up more and more light and energy until they discharged twelve beams of death upon their foe. Guardian Chimera shrieked as each of its four heads was sliced off its body, just before its remaining muscle was cut up eight different ways and exploded.

Perry: 0 Life Points

Winner: Ruby Rose

"And that's game!" Ruby grinned, flashing a peace sign at Perry as the masked faunus fell to one knee, his aura shattered. "That was a great duel! We should do this again someday. You know, for fun–"

"Raaawwrgghhh!"

"Huh?" Ruby squeaked, turning around just in time for Starving Venom Fusion Dragon to whip its barbed tail past her and across the desolate rooftop. "Uh, Starving Venom? The duel's over–AH!"

"Woah! Waaah!" Perry cried out, the dragon's ivy-green tail wrapping around him, coiling tight. "What the heck is this?! Let me go! Let me go–Aaaahh!"

Starving Venom Fusion Dragon flicked its tail back, tossed Perry in the air… and ate him.

"Aaaaahhh!" Ruby screeched. "Bad Starving Venom! Bad! Spit him out!"

Her botanical behemoth paused just as it was about to tip its head back and swallow. It looked at Ruby with complete befuddlement in its eldritch yellow eyes, tilting its face to the side to emphasize its confusion. 'Why?'

"Because eating people is bad!" Ruby insisted.

'... Why?'

"Because we're supposed to help people! Save people–"

Ruby stopped, recalling when she'd tried to enlist Starving Venom's help in saving Junior from Lil' Miss. She remembered just how utterly puzzled her Fusion Monster was by the goal. Not derisive or dismissive, just utterly confused by why they should do so.

"Starving Venom…" she softly queried. "Do you… want to help people?"

The poisonous dragon eagerly nodded. 'Help people means… fight other people. Always more to help. Always more to fight! To duel! Duel! DUEL!'

"Uh… okay, I guess I never thought about it that way," Ruby nervously winced. "But, fighting people doesn't mean we need to eat people."

'No reason not to. To face a foe with all one has… to grapple to the last until only one remains… is respect.'

"Ugh, that's kind of Burning Soul… Uh…"

'The hunger never ends. Never give up. Keep moving forward.'

"Look, just… spit him out, okay?" Ruby negotiated. "We need to find the White Fang base to fight the rest of them, so we need to interrogate him to find it. Got it?"

Starving Venom frowned like she did whenever Yang or Dad had tried dragging her away from the forge late at night to 'get a reasonable amount of sleep'. The dragon whined and pointed a claw towards the door in the wall, where the guard Roxrose Dragon had knocked out still lay unconscious. 'Could just interrogate him instead.'

Ruby's eyebrow twitched. "Talk about 'the stubbornness within hunger'. This is like getting Zwei to go to the vet."

Her Signer Mark suddenly lit up, Black Rose Dragon's presence emanating from her graveyard slot. Ruby couldn't understand what the Light Magic creature was saying, but she saw Starving Venom hunch over and roll its eyes. Again, the silver-eyed girl recognized herself in her monster, pretty sure she'd made that same expression during some of Weiss' more demanding 'heiress-y' rants.

Hmm… if Starving Venom Fusion Dragon was similar to her, if she embodied similar aspects of 'the stubbornness within hunger' in her unrelenting need to help people, duel, and forge, maybe she could handle Starving Venom in a similar way to how other people had handled her? After all, how had Uncle Qrow motivated her to go from complete garbage to a kickass duelist?

He took away her cookies.

"Starving Venom Fusion Dragon!" Ruby called, stamping her boot on the rooftop to literally 'put her foot down'. "If you don't spit out that faunus right this instant, you lose your getting summoned privileges for a week!"

Her botanical dragon gasped, appropriate horror at not getting to duel on its face.

"That's right! Even if we find the White Fang base, you won't get to fight anyone!" Ruby continued, laying on the authority. "Now spit Perry out."

The vicious dragon whimpered and whined, like she always did when begging Yang or Dad to make 'just one more card' before bed. She wasn't falling for it.

"Now!" Ruby demanded.

Starving Venom mewled and relented with a frown. It fluttered back down to the rooftop. The Slifer Red duelist could feel Black Rose Dragon preening with pride for her mistress from the graveyard. Or sticking her tongue out at her fusion counterpart. One of those two.

"Ruby!" Yang yelled, Bumblebee's engine cutting out up above. "Ruby! Are you okay?"

"I'm good, Yang!" Ruby hollered up towards the hole she'd fallen through, Starving Venom sneakily trying to turn away from the rooftop. "You guys should get down here! I found the White Fang and–Hey! Hey! Starving Venom! Bad dragon! I see you trying to 'spit him out' off the building! Don't try to exact words me! You know I meant spit him out on the rooftop safely!"

More grumbles, but Perry was deposited back on the rooftop with only mild acid burns by the time Dr. Oobleck and the rest of Team RWBY made their way down.


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After going through the door in the wall to the wider cave system, the hunting duelists tied up their prisoners, leaned them against the wall, and began figuring out how to interrogate them. There were numerous tunnels leading deep into the rocky darkness, so they would need intel to figure out which one to take in order to find the White Fang base. Once they knew where to start, Zwei's nose could probably get them the rest of the way.

Since Perry was still only slightly delirious instead of unconscious like the other guard, Team RWBY settled on him to interrogate. Dr. Oobleck removed his Grimm mask, replaced his glasses over his eyes, and stuck his personal coffee thermos under the faunus' prominent duck bill. The fumes of the hot, rich liquid fluttered up through his nostrils, stoking him back to life as the Beacon teacher allowed him to sip up that brown beverage.

"So he's a duck faunus?" Yang inquired.

"Platypus faunus," Blake clarified.

"Wait, but how can he tell?" the blonde queried, rubbing her chin in confusion. "Platypi have duck bills… so how does he know if he's a duck faunus or a platypus faunus?"

"Oh my gods, Yang! You can't just ask someone whether they're a duck faunus or a platypus faunus?!" Weiss objected.

"You can't?" Yang questioned.

"Weiss, you can," Blake corrected. "It's a perfectly normal question."

"But not the question you should be asking," Dr. Oobleck reminded them, stepping back as Perry's eyes twitched to the side. "Show me what you can do, ladies."

"Will do, professor!" Ruby saluted.

"Doctor."

Ruby ignored him and stepped up to Perry, only to suddenly feel very awkward as he glared at her from behind his spectacles, his acid burns in plain sight. "So… sorry again about my dragon nearly eating you."

Perry's eyes flicked to the side, spitting a glob of saliva in that direction. "Believe it or not. I've been through worse. Though with as powerful as he is, you'll want to get that guy under control soon. Worst-case scenario, he'll start attacking your opponent without your command."

"Pfft! Please, I'm not a complete amateur. I'd have to be unconscious for him to attack without my say-so in duel. And his aura body wouldn't last long if I was," Ruby waved off. "Actually, I wanted to ask…"

"I'll never tell you where the base is–"

"... what was your last facedown just now?" Ruby inquired. "I mean, you would have obviously used it if it would have helped, but you seemed really proud of it."

"Uh… Discord," Perry replied, blinking in surprise. "It's a continuous trap card. Stays on the field for three turns–"

"-and keeps both players from Synchro Summoning as long as it's on the field!" Ruby clapped with a huge grin. "You really did have my number! What else did you side deck in–"

"Okay, moving on to business from duel obsession," Weiss strode in, shoving her team leader aside. She coughed into her elbow and imperiously looked down on Perry. "Ahem! Mr. Perry, I assure you that as we are all civilized people, there will be no barbaric torture. But, if you do assist us in thwarting Roman Torchwick's plot to… do whatever you're all doing, I can promise ample compensation."

"Schnee scum! You really think I'd sell out my people for a measly bribe–"

"Aarf!"

Perry's rant halted in befuddlement, his eyes narrowing with ever-increasing perplexment. "-dog?"

"What? No!" Weiss exclaimed, pulling Zwei close after holding him out toward the terrorist. She hunched over the merry corgi, greedily cuddling him. "I'm not offering him! Just three belly rubs… actually, two belly rubs. The rest are mine. Mine! Mine–Eep!"

"Okay, enough of that," Blake declared, grabbing Weiss by the scruff of her Obelisk Blue jacket and yanking her away. She marched up to her former ally and glared down at the platypus faunus, threateningly raising Gambol Shroud. "You know what I'm capable of Perry. I don't want to hurt you. But innocent lives are on the line. People are gonna die. I can't let that happen."

Perry's eyes flickered to the side, only to focus back in on his old comrade with utter disinterest. "Been studying hard at that fancy human school you abandoned us for? Hitting the books? You always did struggle with math."

"That's what you helped me with," Blake morosely reminisced. "I didn't want to leave you all. I just… I needed to get away from Adam."

"Adam? Why would you need to…"

Perry noticed the frightful shift over Blake's face at the mention of the bull faunus. The duck-billed man's brow furrowed in thought, his expression flowing through a mess of emotions, before finally settling on horrified realization.

"I didn't realize… I didn't… I'm sorry," Perry genuinely confessed. "I… I can't forgive betraying us to humans. But I am glad you got away from him."

"Thank you," Blake replied. "Will you help us?"

Perry solemnly closed his eyes and looked away. "No."

"Why?!" Blake demanded. "If you know what Adam has become–"

"I disagree with Adam about many things. I don't think that 'humans should serve the faunus' like he's always ranting about. My mentor was human, one of your mother's acrobat friends. He took in me and my siblings. And then a bunch of human punks firebombed them in the house for a laugh, and the cops and the huntsmen didn't care. Just 'an animal lover and his pets' they said."

Ruby and Yang's eyes widened in horror. Weiss turned away in shame, clutching Zwei as tight as she could as the corgi whimpered. Oobleck pulled his helmet down over his eyes.

"I… I…" Blake murmured. "I didn't know."

"I wish change could come peacefully. Your parents gave the best try anyone ever could have. But if the current system remains, nothing will change because those who run it profit from hurting our people and anyone with the compassion to stand with us," Perry glumly remarked. "Adam's too bloodthirsty, and I'd take anyone else to lead us to revolution. But there is no one else with both the strength and the will, and revolution needs to happen. So we're stuck with him."

Blake took a deep breath as she raised her duel disk and steeled herself for what had to be done. "Then… I'll do what I must."

Perry's eyes flicked to the side again, before he smirked at the looming cat faunus. "Thing is Blake, with anyone else, that might be intimidating. But, I know your weakness."

"What? The suffocating weight of my past mistakes? The crushing guilt of constantly betraying everyone I've loved in pursuit of my ideals? The neverending anxiety of the titanic systematic issues I've made myself responsible for fixing?"

"You've been a diligent student, as always. Which means you haven't had the chance to get and read the two new Ninjas of Love books that've come out since you left," Perry grinned. "In the next book, the kunoichi and the warlord–"

"Eeeee!" Blake leapt away, shoving her fingers into all four of her ears. "Gag him, gag him, gag him, gag him! No spoilers! No spoilers!"

Yang numbly blinked at her partner before turning to Oobleck. "If it's all the same to you, I'm gonna forgo my turn at interrogating him."

"No worries. You all haven't taken Glynda's third-year interrogation class yet," Oobleck reassured them, before pointing down one of the dark tunnels. "Fortunately, we just need to go that way to reach the base."

"Huh?" Yang, Weiss, and Ruby asked.

"Has he stopped spoiling things yet?!" Blake yelled, her fingers still stuck in her ears.

"What?!" Perry stammered, his eyes desperately looking everywhere but the tunnel Oobleck was pointing down. "I–I don't know what you're talking about. You've got nothing on me!"

The Beacon professor raised his coffee thermos. "My semblance burns caffeine in my system to increase my speed. Thus, I have my own special coffee blend with a significantly higher concentration of its natural stimulant. Fine for me, but in others, it tends to make them slip. You've been sneaking glances down that tunnel this entire conversation."

"Y–you…" Perry couldn't come up with a response and just sagged his head forward, his glasses slipping to the edge of his duck bill.

"You got the information out of him?" Weiss gazed, impressed.

"With coffee?" Yang remarked, equally stunned.

"Awesome hunting duelist skills!" Ruby cheered.

"Aarf!" Zwei agreed, still swaddled in Weiss' arms.

"Seriously, guys, has he stopped spoiling things?" Blake pleaded. Yang grabbed her wrists and unplugged her fingers from both human and cat ears.

"Alright, Team RWBY!" Ruby announced, leaping forward and striking her best inspiring pose. "We had some bumps in the road. Some mystical mishaps that shall not be repeated. Some of us even had our monsters try to eat people without permission. But, we came here to do one thing: Stop Torchwick and the White Fang nefarious plot to… to… Perry, you gotta help me out here. What the heck are you guys planning?"

Perry scoffed. "Wouldn't you like to know."

"Yes, we would," Yang confirmed. "Because honestly, your moves don't make much sense. You steal most of the dust in the kingdom…"

"... in really risky and out-of-character ways," Blake added.

"... recruit a whole bunch of new members," Weiss continued.

"... and then come out here to the middle of nowhere," Ruby finished, shrugging at their captive. "We know that scorpion guy who gave you Polymerization is pulling your strings now, but it still doesn't make any sense. This place is too far away from the kingdom to make a good staging ground for a robbery or a terrorist attack, and there's too many Grimm for it to make a good base camp."

"Unless the Grimm are the weapon of the attack," a new, chilling voice purposed. "Mizuho!"

It all happened so fast. A slim woman in red samurai armor appeared in the dark tunnel to the base, her hand around another swordsman's throat. A brilliant scarlet energy lit up the held monsters and his female captor chucked him across the cave, smack dab in the middle of the hunting duelists and their captives. And then, the thrown warrior exploded.

Oobleck moved first, his experience and super speed semblance enabling him to grab Weiss and Zwei and ferry them to safety. Blake had her arms on Yang and Bumblebee and was able to use a shadow clone to shield them, so the doctor looked to evacuate Ruby next.

But the red-hooded girl, with a speed semblance of her own, had already blurred over Perry to shield him from the blast.

BOOM!

The explosion shook the cavern, blasting Ruby and Perry into the craggy wall. There was an unpleasant crack when the latter's head struck the rock, while the other, still unconscious White Fang grunt was sent flying out the door and back onto the abandoned rooftop.

"Ugh. Ow," Ruby groaned, staggering up from her aching muscles. If she hadn't had time for her aura to recover since her last duel, it might have broken from a blast that strong. But at least she'd shielded the guy who hadn't had any aura left from it. "Perry, are you alright?... Perry?"

No response. The young hunting duelist instantly fell back on her first-aid training, grabbing the platypus faunus all over and checking every inch of him for injury. It wasn't long before she spotted the red leaking out the back of his head.

Ruby's breath hitched in her throat, her silver eyes widening as she realized there was no light in the faunus' eyes. There had been light in his eyes when they'd been dueling. She had seen it even behind his Grimm mask and glasses. There should have been light. There should have been light. There should have been… should have been…

… had she ever seen someone die before? Had she ever seen a dead body before?

Mom's body had never come back.

"Perry!" Blake screamed, racing over to Ruby and falling to her knees before her lost friend. The cat faunus reached out to her old math tutor, only for her head to fall when she saw his fatal skull wound. Tears squeezed from her amber eyes as she shook with sorrow and wrath. Weiss released Zwei, the corgi racing over to the black-haired girl and immediately lighting his semblance to calm her breathing.

"Another brave soldier lost to your treachery," the chilling voice sneered, a masked redheaded bull faunus emerging from the shadowy tunnel beside the armored female warrior. "How many more will die in your name, my beloved?"

"You son of a bitch! He was your guy!" Yang roared, her eyes scarlet as her golden mane erupted in flames. "How could you do that–"

Doctor Oobleck stepped in front of the blonde and held out his arm to stop her reckless charge, though his scowl held no more fondness for the new arrival as his duel disk expanded over his arm. "The 'Blood-Soaked' Bull indeed, Mr. Taurus."

Adam's gaze locked onto the professional hunting duelist. His jaw set, analyzing the threat. He pressed a button on his duel disk, a communicator crackling to life. "The timeline has changed. Begin the operation now."

"Now?!" Torchwick's voice whined over the radio. "You said you were going to check on that patrol that didn't check in! What could possibly have–"

"Blake and her friends are here," Adam informed his co-conspirator. "With a hunting duelist."

"... shit. How many? Is the redhead from Atlas there? You know what, I don't care. Neo's nearby, she'll back you up on her runner. I will try to make these animals of yours half-decent train conductors. Torchwick out."

Adam growled at the racist remark that closed out his fellow criminal's communique, but he couldn't afford to take his eyes off Dr. Oobleck. Even when Yang and Weiss each shot duel anchors his way, the masked bull faunus easily dodged the energy cords while keeping his gaze on the most dangerous threat.

"Stop! We don't have time for this!" Oobleck commanded the girls. "Team RWBY get to the White Fang Base, now! Stop them. I'll handle this."

"Huh?" Yang queried. "But I thought you wanted us to evac–"

"Using Grimm as a weapon. Train conductors. The Mt. Glenn subways lead directly to the heart of Vale. Enough stolen dust to blow a hole through the side of a mountain," Dr. Oobleck swiftly deduced, his usually hyper voice as serious as the grave. "They're going to smash a hole for the Grimm right to the center of the kingdom!"

"What?!" Ruby exclaimed, leaping up to her feet as Yang's face went pale. The blonde raced for Bumblebee and got her duel runner roaring as fast as possible. Weiss went to her side and grabbed the vehicle, conjuring a line of glyphs down the dark tunnel to boost its speed.

"That's… that's insane," Blake whispered, turning towards Adam with horror. "Tell me it's not true. Tell me it's not true!"

When Grimm appeared on a battlefield during the Great War, international treaties and common decency led to a truce between all sides until the creatures were dealt with. Even during the Faunus Rights Revolution, where the fighting could be the most vicious ever seen in Remnant's history, the racially charged sides still joined forces if the nightmarish creatures bore their fangs. To use the Grimm as a weapon, to knowingly and willfully unleash them on a populated area, on one of the four kingdoms, wasn't merely an act of terrorism. It was an act of war against life itself. There was no coming back from that.

And yet, Adam Taurus seemed to relish the idea, a smile twitching up his lips at Blake's helpless plea.

Ruby didn't understand what anyone could possibly gain from that. She couldn't understand how anyone could possibly be that evil.

But one last glance at Perry's corpse reminded her that it was possible.

"We need to go," she declared. She yanked her silver gaze away from Perry, turning it towards Blake, who was trembling in Adam's presence. "Blake! We need to go! Now!"

The Odd-Eyed Bandit was roused from her stupor by her leader's command. Still unsteady on her feet, she and Ruby hurried over to Bumblebee. They grabbed hold of the duel runner as Weiss was doing, and Yang gunned the throttle. Team RWBY accelerated over the line of white glyphs, skating over the semblance-conjured sigils into the tunnel's darkness. Adam made no move to intercept them, he and Dr. Oobleck squaring up to duel.

Adam Taurus: 4000 Life Points

Bartholomew Oobleck: 4000 Life Points

Ruby mentally wished her teacher luck, praying he and Zwei would have each other's backs as her team rocketed into the shadows.

Most of the hunting duelist teams being housed at Beacon had already left the city for their away missions. If a horde of Grimm were given a straight shot past Vale's defenses and into the center of the capital, thousands of people would die. The kingdom itself might fall, as Mt. Glenn did. The young silver-eyed warrior desperately hoped that faunus of the White Fang, faunus like Ilia and Perry, didn't know what Adam, Torchwick, and their masters were doing…

… but she couldn't hold back on them based on that hope. Not when the stakes were this high.

From her Extra Deck, she felt Starving Venom salivating at the thought of the battle to come.


And with that, the pacing for the Mt. Glenn Arc is back on track. Originally, I was gonna have last chapter end at the start of Ruby vs. Perry, but even though it required some extra length from this chapter, this one still ended where I'd planned it to in my outline. Huzzah!

Lots of fun stuff this chapter. Oobleck's interrogation of WBY is one of my favorite sequences in canon Volume 2, so I was ecstatic to be able to show off a translation of it for where each of the characters are at in this story. I honestly didn't realize that I'd basically had Yang ask the same question of Mercury back when I wrote their Dance Arc scene, but I was thrilled to make use of the parallel here. Meanwhile, Weiss has worked through enough of her demons to support Blake as best she can as they head into a particularly harrowing arc for her.

And of course, the final Dimension Dragon takes the field in a proper duel. Been waiting so very long to finally show off Starving Venom and his dynamic with Ruby. Those two are going to be a FUN pair as the story develops.

Also, RIP Perry. For a guy who I first only made use of to have a canon character be Torchwick's tag-team partner at The Docks, he ended up being impressively useful from a narrative and character development angle for Ruby and Blake. He even serves as a sort of Sacrificial Lamb for the story as he's the first named character to die, even if he is a very minor one. Also, to be clear, Adam was not intending to kill Perry specifically. He just saw a golden opportunity to ambush a bunch of his enemies while they were all focused on something else and did not care if Perry got caught in the blast.

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!