Chapter 10: Permafrost
"Come on, Yang!" Ruby said, pulling her sister through the door of their dorm. "We gotta get to class!"
"What?" Yang sputtered, rubbing her eyes. "But, I thought Professor Reds said no class today."
"Not Huntsman Law! Sparring!" Ruby said, letting go of her sister as she got her out of the room. "It's the first day we'll get to fight since initiation!"
"Professor Goodwitch arranged to have an extra long class," Blake said, stepping up to them. Instead of their school uniforms, the three of them wore their casual outfits: Ruby in her black and red skirt, signature cloak, and red-laced black boots; Yang in her light-tan jacket that bore her midriff, a matching half skirt, and knee-high boots; and Blake in a black button-up tailcoat and long purplish stockings ending in black shoes.
"Where's Weiss then?" Yang asked, joining the other two in the hallway.
"She went ahead," Blake answered. "I think she wanted to talk with one of the teachers."
"I hope she doesn't make us help out in class," Ruby joked.
"Speaking of helping," Yang said, swapping to Ruby's other side and laying an arm around her. "What was that class you shared your notes with me in?"
"Which one?" Ruby asked, "Grimm Studies? Public Relations?"
"Yeah!" Yang said. "I would've flunked that surprise test without them, so, thanks."
Ruby rubbed her nose proudly. "Don't mention it, sis!"
"Your pointers on maintaining weapons were good too," Blake said. "I'm getting better control over when Gamble Shroud fires with its ribbon."
"Any time, Blake!" Ruby said, pulling out of Yang's grasp. "Now, let's go!"
Ruby led her team out of their dorm tower and over to the combat tower. The easiest way to tell the white pillars apart was how the structure was shaped: dorm towers were blocky, having tiers and balconies segmenting the building, while the learning facilities were effectively clock towers, rising like alabaster spikes.
The girls entered one of these spikes, making their way past the front desk and up the stairs towards the combat arena's seating area. As they reached the archway to the class's meeting place, they heard Weiss' voice echo from further down the hall.
"You can't be serious!" Weiss sounded furious. "Does Beacon really have no way to reassign teams?"
The rest of team RWBY paused, then slowly peaked around the corner to see Weiss in her stiff white dress confronting Glynda Goodwitch. The blonde woman was looking down at the heiress, nonplussed.
"Ms. Schnee," Glynda said, "you have been bothering every professor on campus with this nonsense. Thousands of huntsmen have graduated from Beacon, including myself, while learning to overcome initial barriers within their own teams."
"This is different!" Weiss insisted, stomping her foot. "My team and I are not compatible at all! If I could at least become the leader, then-"
"It isn't different, Ms. Schnee," Glynda cut her off. "You have shortcomings to overcome before you're ready to be a huntress. Short of a student being unable to attend classes for the remainder of the year, teams remain as assigned by the headmaster."
Weiss pouted, turning away and steepling her fingers while thinking, 'Hmm, if that's the case, then maybe Ruby can meet an unfortunate accident with some stairs. No, her aura's too strong. Oh! Does she have any allergies? She sneezes at dust- but it doesn't debilitate her enough for a school year. Hmmm… ah, I could frame her for grand larceny!'
"Are you well, Ms. Schnee?" Glynda's question startled Weiss back to reality.
"I'm fine," Weiss said, coughing into her hand. "Though, I'm quite disappointed that an establishment as refined as Beacon doesn't have a simple process for transferring students between teams."
Glynda glared at Weiss from behind her glasses before glancing down the hallway. "Issues like these are best sorted internally- with your teammates."
She pointed, and Weiss followed her finger to find Ruby, Blake, and Yang standing in the hallway, having watched the whole scene. Her eyes went wide, stunned by the presence of her disappointed teammates.
She coughed again, then said to Glynda, "Thank you for pointing that out, professor." Weiss pushed past her team, heading for their classroom while acting nonchalant.
Ruby watched her go with a pained expression.
Weiss sat a row in front of her team, pointedly not looking at them as more students trailed in. Everyone was in their combat attire, an atmosphere of excitement bubbling up by the time class started.
"Alright," Glynda said, her voice terse. "Settle down, students. Today, we will begin partner sparring. I'd like to get through everyone today, so keep your matches swift and clean. I will call your names, then you will step down into the arena and call your weapon locker to you. Once you have your weapons, return your locker and wait for me to begin the match."
Glynda waved a hand over her scroll, causing a projector behind the class to display on the far wall of the arena. On it were empty labels for status of the combatant's auras, as well as spots for their names. Asking for volunteer teams, she got a sea of hands, with some students like Nora and Cardin standing to get the first bout.
Eventually, Glynda decided to just pick a team herself, calling JNPR up first. Ren and Nora took to the arena, and their fight was anything but brief. The pair turned their spar into a martial arts competition, which Ren won with his more reserved fighting style and skillful ability to redirect Nora's powerful blows.
After them, Jaune and Pyrrha had a spar, though it was really Pyrrha pummeling Jaune with rapid flourishes of her spear. Shorter than the last, Jaune's aura held firm until Glynda called the match when Pyrrha managed to disarm and pin him.
"Next up: Team RWBY," Glynda called. "Please choose which pair is going first."
"Let's go, Weiss," Ruby said, standing up and marching down the bleacher.
"Absolutely not," Weiss declared, remaining in her seat. "You should duel your sister."
Ruby spun from where she was crossing the bottom of the stairs. "What? It's partner sparring, Weiss, and last I checked, we were partners."
"What difference does it make?" Weiss asked. "Yang fights you, and I'll partner with Blake."
"What is with you?" Yang asked as she stood. "Do you really not want to be on our team anymore?"
"I never needed a team," Weiss said. "Being on one has been nothing but trouble. I'd be better off training alone."
Ruby glared at her as Professor Goodwitch interrupted, "Girls, stop bickering and get into position."
Weiss scoffed but stood and followed her partner, walking out the same way Ruby had. They meet in the arena, each with a scroll in hand. "You take that side," Weiss said, pointing to the other half of the field while typing on her scroll.
Ruby glowered, muttering, "You think you're so perfect, don't you?" as she stepped away.
Weiss narrowed her eyes, retorting, "I'm not perfect. But I'm still leagues better than you." Both girls held out their scrolls, typing in the code that would call their locker to them.
"You hardly know me," Ruby said with a pained but resolute look as their lockers arrived, materializing out of the tower's retractable windows. Each landed with a loud thud, then popped open, revealing their weapons.
"Before we begin," Glynda said, looking over the arena, "I'll go over the rules once more. This is to be a freeform match: you are to reduce your opponents aura to twenty-five percent or lower. There are no restrictions on weapons or equipment, including dust. All force is authorized, but if either of you reduce the other to below fifteen percent of their aura, the victory will be forfeited for unsportsmanlike conduct; so please, try not to kill each other."
"I know the rules, professor," Weiss said, taking up a casual stance with her sword as the rocket lockers departed.
"Rules change when the stakes are personal, Ms. Schnee," Glynda said, her voice even. "It is too bad the rules do not stay changed when all is said and done."
She waved a hand over her scroll, causing the display on the far wall of the arena to fill with the combatants' information.
"Now." Glynda looked between the girls. "Bow to your opponent and begin."
Ruby bowed and Weiss gave a small curtsy.
Weiss tried to ready her stance again, but Ruby was upon her in a flurry of rose petals, scythe raised. Using the hooked blade, she swept her opponent's feet and threw Weiss into the air. She had Crescent Rose reconfigured into a rifle the next instant, shooting at the falling heiress.
A black glyph materialized at Weiss' feet, holding her above the arena. She lost her balance as a bullet shattered her glyph, forcing her to spin and create more platforms for herself to dodge Ruby's fire. She leveled her rapier and returned her own strikes of ethereal energy.
The girl in red bounded away, dodging the attacks, which allowed Weiss to land on the ground. Ruby shot again, but Weiss brought up a spinning white glyph, shielding her from her opponent's bullets.
Ruby darted forward, unfolding her scythe and curving around Weiss to strike. The two locked blades, the pressure causing Crescent Rose to stretch into its war scythe form.
Weiss gained control of the fight, using her balance and poise to deflect Ruby's weapon and force her away with precise thrusts. She lunged for her face, landing a glancing blow and causing Ruby's aura to flare around her.
Using her speed, Ruby ducked away and tried to overwhelm Weiss with a rapid flourish. Each hit was parried, though Weiss' sword flashed a white-blue color several times, her aura preventing damage to the weapon.
Weiss shifted back, summoning a purple glyph beneath Ruby. The girl started falling into the air, but Ruby swept her scythe under Weiss' feet, carrying her up. They both tumbled toward the ceiling, locking eyes at the apex of their fall before darting at one another; Weiss bounding from glyphs and Ruby using her weapon's recoil.
Ruby shot toward Weiss, smacking her with a small blade at the end of the scythe's shaft. Weiss threw Ruby off with a slash, causing her cloak to glow with aura.
Weiss started to stand on a glyph, but Ruby spun at her, sweeping her feet with her blade. Crescent Rose caused a ripple of white over Weiss' form as she lost her balance, plummeting again.
Spinning her weapon's revolving chambers, Weiss formed two bright red glyphs between her and Ruby, which exploded as the other girl attempted another strike. They landed in a ball of smoke, rushing forward to make a final clash of blades. Their eyes met, fury in both as they pressed their weapons together.
Ruby inched Crescent Rose forward, aiming its barrel at Weiss' face. She fired; the bullet glanced past her opponent's cheek, a strong aura thickly repelling the attack in a wave of pale blue. The scythe's recoil caused Ruby to skid to the opposite side of the arena, separating the girls.
The audience saw them breathe heavily, their auras becoming visible with quick flashes of brilliant light. Their teammates and friends watched the fight intensely, faces racked with concern.
Ruby recovered first, dashing at Weiss in a flurry of rose petals, her scythe held high.
Weiss snapped her blade up, drawing out dust and slashing the ground before her. A large wall of ice sprang from the tip, catching Ruby along a slide and sending her into the far stone wall, leaving her in a crater.
Ruby had a moment to breathe before she turned, seeing Weiss surrounded by several small pale glyphs. They shot out a barrage of icicles, which trailed after Ruby as she darted from her perch. The girl zigged and zagged through the storm, preparing to slam Crescent Rose into Weiss.
Gritting her teeth, Weiss let out a breath, watching the approaching petal stream. She spun her sword's chambers, then activated a light yellow one, causing her sword to glow the same color. She imbued the dust with the next glyph she sent out, catching Ruby only a few feet away and slowing her to a crawl.
Several more projectiles shot from Weiss, catching Crescent Rose and Ruby's arms and legs. The blade, shaft, and limbs each had a small white glyph surrounding them, preventing them from moving.
Sweat falling from her face, Weiss reeled back, spinning her sword's dust chambers. She launched off another glyph, thrusting at her opponent. She hit, throwing Ruby to the floor; the glyphs shattered and left the other girl in a crumpled heap.
"The victor," Glynda said, "is Weiss Schnee."
From the projector's display, the status of the combatant's auras was readable by the whole class: Ruby at 16% and Weiss at 26%.
Weiss breathed in and out, slowly regaining composure. Then she stood up straight, flipped her hair, and turned to Ruby.
"See that?" she asked between breaths. "Leagues-"
"Good fight," Ruby managed to say quickly, lifting a wobbly hand towards Weiss.
The heiress hesitated, then she shook her head.
Ruby glowered, her arm falling back to the ground as Weiss turned and marched out of the room. Yang and Blake came down, helping Ruby back to her seat before starting their match.
"It's over, Torchwick!" a man yelled as Roman Torchwick scrambled further into an alleyway.
"But it's only begun!" Roman quipped back, hugging a gray briefcase to his chest as he darted away from the street and into an alleyway. He'd made a relatively clean escape from that dust store, only having one persistent huntsman close behind. But he could be dealt with.
Roman rounded a corner within the maze-like corridors of Vale's commercial district, coming up at a dead end. His eyes went wide as he turned to see his assailant limp in front of him: a man dressed in red holding a sawed-off shotgun at his hip. He pointed it at Roman.
Sweating, Roman began, "Come on, Bart! You've been amenable in the past." He backed up toward the wall, flicking a set of lien cards out of his pocket. "How much this time?"
"You ain't got enough."
"Not yet!" Roman said quickly, shifting his load to clench a hand over his bleeding shoulder. His aura flickered, accelerating the healing process, but it was running low. "I'll pay you ten- twenty times this much!" Roman insistently proffered the cards. "I just need time!"
The huntsman growled at him. "I said you ain't got enough, and this time-" The shotgun clicked, ready to fire. "I'm bringing you in."
Roman laughed, letting the money fall to the ground. "You know I won't let you."
"You serious?" Bart asked. "I'll shoot if you run."
"I know," Roman said, confident. "But I'm a lot faster now thanks t-" He tried darting past the huntsman.
The gun fired, hitting Roman and shattering his form, leaving shards of glass on the ground. Bart balked, staring as the pieces vanished before letting out a cry of pain. A thin blade protruded from his chest, causing his aura to warble, flicker, crackle, then shatter in the span of a few seconds, completely expended. He fell in a heap.
"Good work, Neo," Roman said, standing from where he'd crouched beneath her illusion. The girl with the multi-colored hair smiled and flourished a dainty umbrella, a thin spike in her other hand. Roman gathered a few lien cards he'd dropped and tucked them into Bart's jacket.
"Never knew when to quit, did you?" Roman said to the dying fellow. "No wonder you were up to your eyeballs in debt."
He stood, turning to Neo with a quick, "Let's go." She placed her spike into her umbrella, forming the last of its handle, then started following him, only to waver. She coughed, leaning on her weapon and placing a hand to the building's wall. Roman was by her side the next second, helping her walk.
"I told you to stay in bed," he chastised her. The pair made their way out of the alleyway to a non-descript black car. Roman helped Neo into a passenger seat, then jumped into the driver's seat himself.
"I'm grateful for the save," he assured Neo, who looked at him with concern. "But we've still got to pull off our biggest heist yet. I need you at your best for it." Their vehicle took off into the winding streets of Vale.