Loyde marched towards the girl in the back of the shop. As he approached however things became… Weird. He was blanking out, having taken steps forwards without remembering, and the girl was walking towards him. Loyde opened his mouth, only to immediately find it closed again as the girl was in his guard.
"Are you… Robbing this place?" She said softly, hair covering one eye. Loyde went to say something, only to find himself silent again, "I see, that's too bad…"
Next thing Loyde knew, there was a fist in his gut. And he meant that literally, there was no movement, no coiling of the arm. One second she had her hand at her side, the next it was in his gut and punching him out the window in a shower of blood and cracked bones.
—
Cursed Technique: Queen Crimson.
Ruby creates a twenty second window where each second is a frame. During that time, only Ruby is capable of moving from the predicted path. When time resumes, nobody but her remembers what happened in the manipulated time. Additionally, she can passively see those seconds in advance within her Innate Domain.
Binding Vow: Normally, Ruby would be unable to touch someone in the time as it would disrupt their movements. By placing a binding vow that cuts the length Queen Crimson can be activated in one usage in half, she gains the ability to strike them, though the effect of the action only applies when the Cursed Technique ends.
—
Roman watched the girl handle his support with painful ease, watching the flaming, crimson, Cursed Energy rise from her hands. Crap, a Sorcerer.
Spinning Melodic Cudgel, Roman poured both Aura and Cursed Energy into it, a trick he had learned from Neo. Why she had known it was a question he wouldn't look or be getting an answer for. It was from before and they didn't talk, as much as Neo "talked", about then. Trivia Vanille was dead, and Neo was happier that way.
The girl turned to him, pulling back an arm and letting flames build around her as she took one step forwards, and then the next thing he knew Melodic Cudgel was at the end of a swing and there was a fist in his gut. His Aura softened the blow, But he was still sent flying back. What the fuck had just happ-
Roman was suddenly guarding with Melodic Cudgel, the girl's flaming fist crashing against it. The next second the girl was coming up beneath him and punching him in the gut. Roman wheezed at his help, "Get her!"
The girl reached under the red cloak that flowed beautifully with her moves, unfolding a scythe coated in burning, bloody red Cursed Energy. As she turned to the help, Roman ran for the Bullhead, only to suddenly find time glitching again and a red bullet launching past him into the air. Finishing climbing the ladder and rolling under the scythe swing, Roman rushed for the exfiltration point as fast as he could, pushing as much Aura and Cursed Energy into his legs as possible. Even then, he had to make last second dodges of the scythe every few seconds. Finally leaping onto the bullhead, he jumped onto it, turning as Cinder began to raise it, "Well, Re-"
Roman was suddenly dodging flaming bullets from the girl, biting back a swear as they took off, a Huntress joining the fight a moment later.
—
Ruby Rose would admit she had a strange perception of the world. Sorcerer's on one side of the family, the rare silver eyes trait on the other. It lets her withstand the strain of having two Cursed Technique, but that just made her more different.
It didn't matter because she was staring, transfixed as she was being berated by Glynda freaking Goodwitch!
Suddenly, the door opened, letting in the Strongest Sorcerer in History, Headmaster Ozpin, holding a plate of strawberries.
"Glynda, could you step out for a few minutes?" Ozpin asked.
"Sir?"
"Please, Glynda."
The door shut behind her, and Ozpin stared at Ruby. This was a man who was thousands of years old, something Jujutsu families knew. Somehow, when Oz died, he was shifted to another body, who often took two or three years to show back up, but was clearly too familiar with Jujutsu Society to be anyone but Oz. It had let him refine his technique to a point where he was only considered a Special Grade Sorcerer by virtue of there being no rank. The difference between Ruby, a 1st Class prodigy edging ever closer to Special Grade as she mastered Mythical Beast: Crimson, and Ozpin was as wide as the ocean between Sanus and Solitas.
"What can you tell me about the fight tonight?" Ozpin asked, pushing the plate towards her.
"Roman is a Curse User," Ruby said, absolute certainty in her voice, "He reinforced both his weapon and body with Cursed Energy. And he added Aura on top of that, we both know how hard that is.
It was an act equivalent to that of a 1st Grade Sorcerer. Most lower Grade Sorcerers (though there were exceptions like Yang) couldn't maintain both at the same time. Ozpin nodded, cupping his chin, "And his partner?"
"I don't know, she did stuff that was like a Sorcerer, but I didn't sense any Cursed Energy from her. Sir, can I ask you why you're here? Surely this could be handled by a lower ranked Sorcerer."
"I wanted to personally invite you to Beacon this upcoming year," Ozpin said, "I have a distinct feeling that we're going to need all the Sorcerers we can get there soon."