Halo, it's time for the newest chapter. Enjoy the reading.

There was nothing to do, the team LLMM was disqualified, Lynda was taken into custody and no one could do anything about it. The rest of the team could only watch the one-on-one fight in the arena.

The fights were in the following order:

Team RWBY from Vale and Yang fight on their behalf,

The team CMEE from Heaven, represented by Mercury,

Team JNPR from Vale and Pyrrha fought for them,

The team SSSN from Mistral and Sun were assigned to represent the team,

And the team PNCL from Atlas and Penny will fight.

- The teams are unmatched again. - Lance remarked after he and his teammates took their places among the rest of team RWBY. Because of what happened with Lynda, the relationship between the two teams became a bit cold but they still considered each other as friends.

- Will they choose again by lottery who will go on? - Ruby wondered.

- Now, the moment you've all been waiting for! – Professor Port spoke on the loudspeaker. - The one-on-one duels! – The whole arena was full and they applauded wildly because now the best of the 5 best teams will clash, they are clearly expecting an amazing spectacle. Unfortunately, they had no idea that they would get more than they paid for. The participants, Yang, Mercury, Sun, Pyrrha and Penny were already excitedly waiting for the clash but Port put the event on hold. - Barty, how about you explain the rules? - He turned to Oobleck, who quickly and forcefully explained the rules.

- Very good, the usual change of terrain is not available and only the smaller field located in the middle can be used for the duelists, which is used to think faster than the opponent and to quickly come up with a strategy that can lead to victory in the fight.

- In short, like all professional Hunters, they will have no chance to prepare and can't know what awaits them.

- Yes-yes! Let's see who will clash first!

The spectators watched with bated breath as the images on the monitor rotated in random order but finally stopped, choosing the first two duelists.

- Yang Xiao Long and Mercury Black!

At the result, the audience started cheering wildly because now they are finally seconds away from the real excitement.

- Break a leg, sis! - Ruby shouted, cheering her sister on with all her might.

- I ask the other competitors to leave the arena.

Pyrrha, Penny, and Sun did so, leaving Yang alone with Mercury on the field. The two fighters approached each other with confidence, the arena lowered a few centimeters towards the ground floor and then spotlights illuminated the arena which made the whole thing more spectacular.

- You better not underestimate me. - Yang warned with a confident hand on her hip.

- You would like.

- 3! – They slowly started to approach each other, scowling, with defensive hands raised. - 2! – They carefully watched the other and tried to read the other's thoughts and movements. - 1! - Their hands were just touching when... - Fight!

They attacked at the same time, Yang with a straight right before Mercury jumped into the air with a powerful kick. Yang's fist and the sole of Mercury's boot met but they both had to jump back as they proved to be equally strong. Mercury charged next but Yang jumped on top of him, got behind him and started firing her gauntlets which Mercury dodged and let Yang approach.

They continued to grapple but were once again evenly matched as Yang landed a punch and Mercury landed a kick to the chest, sending them falling back again. Yang opened fire with Ember Celica but Mercury dodged the projectiles skillfully and quickly and managed to get close enough to Yang to jump into the air and deliver a twisting kick that Yang parried with her arm, Mercury backed off with a backflip but it was just a distraction and he immediately appeared in front of his opponent who managed to dodge another shot, then kicked him in the jaw with another back somersault, causing the girl to fall backwards.

While Yang was already managed to recover in the air and she landed on her feet and attacked Mercury again, landing several punches on him but after a while, Mercury picked up the thread and threw a spinning kick at Yang but she ducked in time, avoiding the kick and hitting him with more punches. Mercury had already started to recognize Yang's style, so he easily started to dodge and counterattack towards her but Yang also switched and dodged a powerful sickle kick.

Yang, as soon as she was sure that the attack was over, she charged at Mercury again, this time she kicked, which her opponent to dodge and Mercury threw a kick back at her which Yang also managed to avoid and then another one, which hit her in the stomach but Yang didn't back down yet, she just clenched her two wrists defensively, which Mercury separated with a third kick, then took a step back.

The two opponents attacked each other at the same time again but this time Yang managed to punch Mercury in the chin and stomach, who slipped and fell to his stomach. Yang opened fire with Ember Celica and Mercury was quickly forced to flee, jumping, throwing and rolling, doing everything he could to avoid having to endure Yang's shots. Unfortunately, the shock wave of one of the projectiles caught him and caused him to slip off the battlefield but with the help of the air cannons attached to his boots, he gained enough momentum to fly back to the arena.

As soon as he hit the ground he wasted no time attacking Yang, both sides were evenly matched, Yang parrying half a dozen kicks and landing punches as Mercury parried a flurry of punches and landed a flurry of kicks. Finally, Mercury kicked Yang hard, causing her to fall backwards but she didn't stop, as a kick in the air sent a projectile flying towards her.

Yang dodged the projectile as it hit the ground but was surprised to see Mercury launch two dozen kicks into the air in just a few seconds, firing at least as many projectiles from the air cannon mounted on his boots. It didn't bother Yang to dodge one or two but Mercury didn't even try to hit his opponent with the rest.

Yang didn't think, she just attacked Mercury and caught him a bit by surprise but he quickly picked up the pace and kicked Yang in the back, then came towards her and sent her to the floor with another kick. The air projectiles that I had circled above the battlefield now went towards Yang at the same time and all of them hit the girl, accompanied by two dozen sonic explosions.

Mercury was sure of his victory, so he confidently dusted himself off but due to a huge explosion, he lost the confidence he had just gained and as soon as he turned around, he noticed a ring of fire around Yang, which quickly went down but barely recognized Yang who was completely enraged, her eyes turned red and seemed stronger than ever.

Her mind was completely overwhelmed, she lunged at Mercury which he was still able to defend but he slipped back one and a half meters. Mercury launched a counterattack but in vain, thanks to Yang's newly acquired strength, she didn't even feel the blows and just continued to push forward. She mercilessly pounded Mercury until she knocked out his aura with a stomach punch and sent him to the floor with a straight right punch.

The bell rang, indicating that Mercury had run out of aura and the fight was over.

- What a fierce clash! – Port and the entire audience were beside themselves with excitement.

Yang raised one of his fists in triumph, and the audience applauded.

- Yang Xiao Long won! - Oobleck announced.

- You were awesome, sis! - Ruby and her team started clapping.

- Good thing I didn't have to deal with her. - Mike was also excited.

- I'll admit, - Lance liked the clash too. - your sister is pretty tough, Ruby.

- She's the one you better not make upset. - Mike laughed.

- Better luck next time. – Yang just walked past Mercury, who was just trying to get up tiredly but when he did, Yang punched Mercury in the leg without any warning or reason and he fell to the ground yelling and screaming. His leg was bent in an irregular way which made it clear that it was broken.

- MY LEG! MY LEG! – Mercury couldn't move, he just screamed in pain.

- This is what you get for… - Yang was about to sneer when a group of Atlas robots and soldiers surrounded her.

- Yang Xiao Long, stop now! - A soldier yelled as he and his robots pointed their weapons at her.

- What was that?! - Lance couldn't believe his eyes as he angrily demanded answers from the rest of team RWBY. - This is how you fight? - His indignation vanished immediately when he saw Ruby's shocked gaze.

The other members of the team LLMM and the team JNPR could hardly speak. The audience began to booing violently upon seeing the scene.

- Mercury! – Her teammate Emerald ran down to help her teammate.

- MY LEG! WHY DID HE ATTACK ME?! - Mercury was speechless from the pain but Emerald just glared at Yang for abusing her teammate so badly.

The monitor replayed Mercury just standing up after the beating he received from Yang, then Yang broke the boy's leg for no reason.

- Somebody help, please! - Emerald begged, while two paramedics immediately rushed over with a stretcher to pick up the injured boy. - Can you do something?

- We need to get this boy to the hospital! – Said one of the paramedics while they put Mercury a stretcher and taken out of the arena, Emerald followed them.

- You don't understand! - Yang, who had been watching the events in a state of shock until now, she finally spoke. - He attacked me! I swear!

- Enough! You've done enough damage for today!

Cinder, the moment she found out that Mercury and Yang would be fighting in the next round, wasted no time in taking out her Scroll and sending a message to Emerald, Neo, and Mandy.

"The time has come, be ready."

With that, she got up from her seat and headed towards the employee exit of the arena where she met Neo who had already foresight bought a paramedic uniform for Cinder, she didn't need changing clothes, she had already conjured the white cloak on herself with the help of her Semblance, the black trousers, shoes and the doctor's cap with the red cross on it. She also changed her appearance, now tied her long black hair in a ponytail and changed her eyes from green to purple.

- Stuck-up. – Cinder just rolled her eyes, seeing how much faster Neo managed to change into the same paramedic outfit as her but with her hair in a bun at the back. Upon hearing that Mercury was being brought, Neo climbed into the cockpit to start the ambulance-plane. - Here! We have an ambulance-plane here, ready to go!

The paramedics didn't think much, they just put the injured Mercury in the plane, Emerald went with him to give him emotional support.

- It's fine, - One of the paramedics calmed down but still looked towards Cinder. - they are inside. She is with him. Take care of them.

- We'll take care of them. – Cinder answered and then she also got into the plane, which they already left the arena with.

- Oh, doc, be honest! - Mercury suffered on the plane. - Will I ever walk again? - Emerald just slapped him. - Ouch, hey! - He suddenly stopped acting and sat up. – What's wrong?!

- Headache. - Emerald was completely exhausted and dizzy. - It's easy to fool one person's mind but two...

- You were both very good. – Cinder said back from the first seat. - So is our driver. - – She nodded towards Neo, who smugly switched off her disguise, her eyes and long hair tied in a ponytail changed back to brown and pink and drove the plane, not to the hospital but to one of the White Fang hideouts.

Cinder and Neo changed clothes, more specifically, Neo just used her Semblance to change back to her original outfit and hairstyle but Cinder needed time to do it, since she did it the regular way. Emerald just poured herself a coffee until Mercury hopped into the warehouse on one leg, pulling up the pant leg of his broken leg, revealing that it was actually a mechanical leg and not realizing that Yang had broken it and began to assemble it.

- What do you think? Did they buy it? – Mercury asked, before Neo just turned on the news station.

- A terrible accident shook the whole of Vale during the one-man duel at the Vytal festival. – The reporter explained on TV, before they switched to one of the viewers, who was asked what he thought about it.

- I don't know what they teach them at Beacon, but it was very rough. Not sporty at all. – Cinder took the remote from Neo's hand and switched to another news channel.

- Despite the strengthened protection, the local defense forces would absolutely need the help of all available Hunters, as the level of Grimm attacks has increased drastically in the past hour. - Cinder finally turned it off.

- Hey, I was just looking! - Mercury complained as he was fixing his leg with a screwdriver.

- Just shut up! - Emerald hushed her.

- Is this how you treat an injured person? – The boy joked, and the girl just pulled the screwdriver, which made Mercury cry out in pain. - Ouch! Tight!

- Enough! - Cinder waved them in order. – Mercury gave an excellent performance. You were very brave. – Mercury was happy to be praised but he was still angry with Emerald for almost destroying his spare part.

- These things aren't cheap.

- What's the next step? - Emerald asked.

- Neo, - She looked towards the shorter girl. - infiltrates the Atlas flagship where Roman is being held, - She handed her a Scroll. – and install the virus sent by my dear friend Arthur Watts to take over the Atlasian robots. – Neo took the Scroll and excitedly waited for to do it. - The final duel will take place tonight and Beacon will never see the light of day again. Me and Emerald go back to the arena to make sure everything goes according to plan.

- What about me? - Mercury, who Cinder completely missed, inquired.

- You, hide until the main attraction starts. After all, you were injured, it would be a little suspicious if people saw you getting back on your feet so quickly.

- Got it. – With that, he continued tinkering with his leg.

Later that day, Yang was taken to her room, where General Ironwood, accompanied by two robots, came to interrogate her, just like he did Lynda the day before. The team JNPR and LLMM members were forced to wait outside the room until they learned Yang's fate.

- What do you think, what happened with her? - Lance still couldn't believe that Yang had done such a thing.

- I have no idea. - Jaune shrugged and looked ahead.

- Could it be that Mercury made some sudden movement? - Ren thought. - Perhaps Yang was angry with him for something?

- I don't think so, - Pyrrha shrugged. – I didn't see Yang and Mercury talking much at all.

- And you saw the recording, - Interjected Norah. - Mercury didn't make any sudden moves.

- I'm just trying to figure out what could have happened. - Ren thought. - We know Yang, she would never hurt a defeated opponent who is no longer a threat to her.

- Maybe she was hallucinating? - Mike guessed.

- Most likely. - Mandy agreed.

- I mean, - Mike began to explain. - adrenaline, high stress and a heightened nervous state can easily cause such hallucinations.

- But at this level, - Lance considered this a weak excuse. - to make you think the guy you just knocked to the ground would grab and attack you? In front of an audience and cameras?

- It's true that Yang is a bit aggressive, - Mike on the other hand wanted to believe in Yang's innocence. – but she just wouldn't hurt someone she already defeated.

- I'm not judging her, - Lance just shrugged. - but did you see what happened? As did everyone in the world who watched the broadcast.

- Maybe, let's ask her when we can talk to her. - Jaune suggested as Ironwood came out of team RWBY's room and left the dorm with his robots.

- What do you think, - Mike asked. - should we knock?

- Maybe… it's better to give them some time. - Pyrrha suggested as team JNPR went back to their room.

- I... I'd rather go back. - Mandy didn't want to look at Yang, considering she knew exactly what happened. She was afraid that her guilt would betray her.

- Then, - Lance looked at Mike. - only the two of us remained.

- I hope they'll be okay. – Mike looked at the door of team RWBY's room. - Do you remember when we first met them?

- Oh yeah. Lance smiled. Ruby and Yang, they were cute and excited to come to Beacon.

- I'm sure those two girls wouldn't hurt anyone without reason.

Suddenly, the door opened and Ruby, Weiss, and Blake came out but Yang stayed inside.

- Um, is Yang okay? - Lance asked, not knowing what to say.

- She'll be fine, it's just… - Ruby worried for her sister. - the shock.

- And they disqualified us from the competition. - Blake added.

- You too? – Lance could hardly believe that the team RWBY was also eliminated after them.

- Did she mentioned that… - Mike felt that the question was a bit awkward. - why did she...

- She'd dare to swear, - Weiss replied. – that Mercury attacked and she fought back.

- Why didn't she defend herself, instead of fight back? - Lance guessed.

- What's that supposed to mean?! – Team RWBY snapped at the same time, causing Lance to stop a bit.

- Well… it's clear that Yang was just hallucinating, since Mercury didn't make any threatening moves. But let's say she was angry with Mercury, then…

- She wasn't angry at him! - Ruby snapped. - We barely knew that guy and none of us had a problem with him! Yang was very sorry and hurt by it, so don't blame her! - Lance was silent for a while.

- Tell that to Mercury and his parents. – With that Lance left team RWBY and Mike but he had one last comment and turned back to them. – Oh, and one more thing, you didn't hesitate to judge Lynda and point with finger at her when she was arrested! At least now you understand what she felt then! – With that, he turned around again and a door slam indicated that he had entered his room.

- If it helps… I don't think Yang did it on purpose. - Mike was trying to be supportive.

- Will she alright? – Hearing the discussion, the door of team JNPR also opened and Jaune spoke out but his entire team was worried.

- I think she'll be fine, she just needs time. - Blake replied.

- I heard that Mercury and his team are on their way to Haven, to his family. - Ruby said. - So, until they land, we can't question them.

- If there's anything we can do, - Ren suggested. - don't hesitate to ask.

- Neither from us. - Mike added. - I'm sure Lance isn't mad at you, he's just upset about what happened to Lynda. He, I, Mandy and Lynda will remain your friends.

- Good. - Ruby lowered her head. - In that case, - She looked at Pyrrha. - Pyrrha, do whatever it takes for Beacon to win! - Pyrrha, the last team from Vale left in the game.

- I'm sure Yang would be happy about it. - Weiss tried to be supportive. Pyrrha turned away, then smiled.

- I will do everything. - Something clearly bothered her but no one wanted to talk about it now. What happened to Yang was on everyone's mind.

- I'll definitely watch your match tonight! - Ruby assured.

- I'll bring popcorn and coke! - Mike supported.

- I had enough excitement for today. - Blake didn't feel like watching the game.

- Ditto. - Neither does Weiss. - Coffee?

- Tea.

Team RWBY and Mike left team JNPR but while Ruby went back to the arena, Weiss and Blake went to the dining room, Mike went to his team's room. As she walked in, she found Lance angrily looking out the room's window.

- Lance, you're not mad at the Ruby and her team, are you? - At that, Lance just turned towards him but it wasn't his usual face that he was used to and it wasn't angry either, it was rather sad.

- Well… maybe a little. I mean… I don't know. I'm not mad at them, I'm just… maybe sad that they don't believe in Lynda.

- You mean, disappointed?

- I think that's the right term. I'm not mad at them.

- Are you coming to watch today's last game? Blake and Weiss skip it but Ruby made sure she'll watch it. We shouldn't leave her alone. - Lance just sighed and shook his head.

- Fine. We can watch the tournament together. - Lance came from the window and looked towards one of the beds. - And you, Mandy? Aren't you coming? - Interestingly, they only just noticed that all the beds were empty. Mandy didn't come back into the room. - Where's Mandy?

- I don't know. I thought she came back into the room.

- Maybe she just went to the dining hall or went back to watch the game.

- We'll see, - Mike looked at his Scroll. – 10 minutes and the match will start. Let's go.

Lance and Mike went to the hangar from where the planes that would take them up to the arena started. They found Ruby talking to Velvet, the bunny faunus girl.

- Hey girls, what's up? – Lance greeted them.

- Oh, nothing. – Answered Velvet, who was just putting away her camera. - We're just talking about what happened to Yang with Ruby.

- About that, Ruby, - Ruby braced herself for Lance to give her a scold, again but that didn't happen. - look, I want to apologize. Know that I am not angry with you or the members of your team.

- Thanks, Lance. - Ruby's face brightened. - I'm not mad at you either.

- And people shouldn't be angry with Yang either! - Velvet spoke up. - Even the most experienced can hallucinate during combat. Just like Coco.

- Coco? - Ruby asked.

- Yes, when she fought against team CMEE. She could have sworn she saw Yatsu when she fought Emerald. But he didn't make it out of the geyser field and Mercury knocked him out.

- Hm. - Ruby was thinking that Yang and Coco had a pretty similar vision.

- Now you're thinking that this can't be a coincidence, right? - Lance asked.

Ruby, Lance, and Mike boarded the first plane that took them up to the arena, which was still packed and waiting for the next battle. Lance and Ruby took their seats while Mike brought them snacks.

- Hey, - Ruby spotted someone in the stands across from her. – is that Emerald?!

- Where? - Lance started to look around but Ruby immediately started pointing.

- There!

- Indeed! It's her! - Lance spotted her after a bit of searching and squinting. - You have good eyes.

- What is she doing here? - Ruby didn't understand. - She should head to Haven with her team, to Mercury's family.

- I would also be interested in that. I think it would be wiser to ask what is she doing here and about Mercury's condition. What do you say, Ruby? - By the time he turned to her, the girl was gone. – She did it again. – Lance just shook his head tiredly and went after Ruby. - Mike, - He said to the fat boy who bought a ton of snacks and coke. – stay here, Ruby and I will be right back.

- But...

- Stay here!

Lance went after Ruby, up to the top of the stands, into the maintenance corridor, where they could get faster to the place where Emerald was.

- Okay, - Oobleck could be heard announcing the participants of the next battle but Lance and Ruby's path was blocked by a person they didn't even think could stand on their feet.

- Mercury?!

- What are you doing here?!

The gray-haired boy didn't look injured at all, in fact he was healthier than ever and he didn't look like he was going to let Ruby and Lance through at all.

- And the participants in the next fight, Penny Pollendina from Atlas,

- What are you doing here? - Ruby asked suspiciously.

- And how come your leg isn't broken?

- and her opponent, Pyrrha Nikos from Vale!

Ruby switched suddenly, as if realizing something terrible.

- No!

- What happened?! - Lance looked at Ruby worriedly.

- Wow, - Mercury stretched his face with fake empathy. – polarity vs. metal… Bad combo.

Lance reached for his sword while Ruby reached for her scythe but neither of them had a weapon and Lance didn't even have his armor on. Mercury, on the other hand, still had the air cannon mounted on his boots, his aura was recharged and he could use his bare hands and legs as deadly weapons, which he was happy to do.

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