And now is the interlude. After this we'll go into 2v2 rounds!
I have finally gotten a few suggestions for the next part of the Vytal Tournament. Look forward to that in a couple of chapters.
Disclaimer: RDF1 doesn't own RWBY, WATCH THE SHOW!
Hope everyone is staying safe in the current day and age of the Global Situation.
(Chapter Begin)
(Recap)
Blake and Yang met up with Sun near the Infirmary, as Aura could only help so much from a shot below the belt. Sage was okay, and Neptune was listening to some tunes to get the battle out of his head.
"Congratulations Sun," said Blake.
"Thanks Blake," said Sun, fist bumping Yang before hugging her.
"Did you really have to dance like a fool out there, though?" asked Yang.
"Hey, don't diss a victory dance," countered Sun, in a teasing voice.
"So, think Scarlet will be okay for the next round?" asked Yang.
"He's bowing out, even if he didn't get hit there," replied Sun, "Neptune and I will carry on."
"Neat, look out for Ruby and me though, we're planning on winning this!" exclaimed Yang.
"So what's with Neptune flirting with INGO?" asked Blake.
"What?" asked Neptune, before noticing them, "Oh, sorry about that; that is my zen music after a fight."
"It's fine," Blake, "But what happened out there, and I don't mean your aquaphobia."
"I don't have aquaphobia," denied Neptune, "And what do you mean?"
"Flirting with INGO?"
"Oh... that," realized Neptune, scratching his head, "Would you believe me if flirting is a natural hobby of mine?"
"Weiss wouldn't see it that way," informed Yang.
"Look, Weiss is wonderful," said Neptune, "And I want to get to know her more, but... I don't know, flirting is what I do. It's just something I do. I will try and work on it. But it won't be easy, especially considering our Team's fangirls."
"He's got a point," said Sun, "Though it's more of an act for me. Being a Monkey Boy can be entertaining at times."
"Well, we better leave you to rest up," said Yang, "I'm gonna save my strength for tomorrow. I'm not gonna let Ruby do the heavy lifting."
"Sweet, we'll wrap up here soon," agreed Sun, "Scarlet's gonna be fine in a bit. Looking forward to seeing you in the final rounds!"
"Same here," smiled Blake, getting a smile from Sun in return, before she and Yang headed back to their dorms.
(Recap End)
Meanwhile, Ruby followed Weiss to where Winter's Ship landed, getting her attention.
"Winter!" called out Weiss, racing up to her ship, before stopping herself, "Welcome to Vale, and Beacon Academy, Sister."
"Weiss," said Winter in a very formal tone, "it's been a long time since my last visit to the Kingdom of Vale, and Beacon Academy. Though I must ask what Ms. Goodwitch is teaching you in combat class, for such a sloppy performance in that Arena!"
"Excuse you," frowned Ruby, defending her friend, team partner, and teammate, "That was Team RWBY's victory. In real battles, it doesn't matter how you look, victory is victory."
"Even a novice could pull off those rudimentary maneuvers, dolt," countered Winter, in a cold voice.
"Winter! That's MY Partner and Team Leader your insulting!" intervened Weiss, "And I would ask that you show some respect. Ruby has worked incredibly hard these last few months!"
"Leave us," ordered Winter to the robots escorting her, having them back away from her and Ruby and Weiss, before stepping forward to close the distance between her and her sister, "You have come a long way, little sister. Defending your teammates even against me. That speaks volume of your trust in her."
"She trusted in me far more than I deserved, and it's not like she hasn't taken me to task over a certain... incident with another of our teammates," replied Weiss, feeling a bit embarrassed, but appreciative, "She honors me with her trust, and I won't betray it."
"Thanks Weiss," smiled Ruby, getting Weiss to smile back at her.
"I formally apologize for my... harsh criticism," informed Winter, nodding her head in Ruby's direction, "Thank you for taking such an interest in my Sister, Ruby Rose, and for trusting her."
"I am honored by her friendship, Winter Schnee. We had a bumpy start, but Weiss and I have worked out much of our differences," replied Ruby, bowing back in a proper greeting.
Suddenly, Ruby's scroll rang out.
"Excuse me, I've gotta take this," informed Ruby, before stepping aside.
"In the meantime, you can show me your quarters. I can only imagine how you've... decorated it," suggested Winter, as the Schnee Sisters began walking towards Beacon's Dorms.
"Of course, catch up later, Ruby," replied Weiss, as she joined in stride with her sister, who which Ruby nodded in reply, "By the way, I assure you, the Bunkbeds only LOOK unstable."
"Bunkbeds?" asked Winter as they got out of hearing range, followed by the Altas Knights.
"Talk to me," said Ruby, answering her scroll.
"Reaper Ruby Rose, I'm sorry to inform you of this, but it seems that Reaper Neopolitan has reached her last chance," informed a voice from the office, "The next time you encounter her, if she does not take the life of Roman Torchwick, you are authorized to terminate her, permanently."
"I understand, Reaper Rose confirming mission parameters," said Ruby neutrally while ending the call, but inside she was rather disappointed, but not surprised. Neo was fond of Roman, and she and Ruby had been decent allies, borderlining on Friendship for awhile now. Sighing, she turned back towards Beacon, moving on with her day, "Neo, don't force my hand."
Weiss really had a good day going for her. Her team won the first round of the Tournament, despite being a bit sloppy. It was her first tournament as part of Team RWBY, so she was glad Winter gave her a bit of wiggle room there. Of course, all good things must come to an end, and that started when she heard the clang of an Atlesian Knight's robotic head hitting the pavement bare feet from her and her sister.
"Hey!" called out a gruff voice, belonging to a man who was a fair bit older than Winter, and gave off an impression of being drunk, which was definitely not good. Tossing aside the decapitated robot, he continued, "Yeah, I'm talking to you, Ice Queen."
And he was talking to HER!? Oh that was never good. Weiss walked over furiously, ready to tell him off.
"How dare you! Do you know who you are talking..." Weiss was cut off by the man's hand on her head.
"Not you, silly girl," said the gruff man, pushing her aside, before directly addressing Winter, "You."
'Wait, what?' thought Weiss, perplexed over this. Around Beacon, she was the one referred to as "Ice Queen", so hearing this man call her Sister that, while similarly appropriate, was quite the surprise to her.
"Saw that gaudy ship of yours, figured you'd be here too," informed Qrow in a devil-may-care attitude.
"I'm standing right in front of you," retorted Winter, just being around Qrow was enough to get her angry, given their past... interactions.
(AN1)
"True enough," admitted Qrow, having fun already.
"I could have you arrested for destroying Atlas Military Property," informed Winter, trying her best to reel in her anger.
"Oh, I'm sorry," 'apologized' Qrow, though no one believed he was sincere, "I mistook them for some sort of 'sentient' garbage."
"I don't have time for your immature games, Qrow," said a loathing Winter, done with him before they could started.
"Wait, you actually know this drunk, Winter?" asked Weiss.
(AN2)
"Geez, you Atlas 'Specialists' think you're SO Special, don't you?" teased Qrow.
"It's IN the title," replied Winter, not wanting to play his game.
"Well, you know what you REALLY are?" continued Qrow, "A bunch of sellouts! Just like your boss."
"I don't know what you THINK you are implying, but I know I don't like it... or you," grounded out Winter, seething on the inside about the slight to Ironwood.
"Here's another thing you won't like, the truth that Ironwood turned his back on Ozpin," pressed Qrow.
"Weiss, stay back," informed Winter, placing herself between her sister and Qrow.
"Listen to Big Sis, Weiss. She'll protect you. Just like Atlas will protect all of us," goaded Qrow, definitely having fun with this.
"If you won't silence your tongue, then I will remove it from you!" threatened Winter, insulting Ironwood and poking fun at her little sister was crossing a line.
"I'd like to see you try," smirked Qrow, pressing Winter's final buttons, flicking his hair back and gave the universal sign for 'come here'.
Weiss, for all she might boast, knows she's pretty fast, and that doesn't count Time Dilations; however, Winter's speed made her speed under Time Dilation look rather sluggish. In the span of a second or two, Winter had not only closed the gap, but attempted to attack Qrow multiple times. To Weiss's shock, though also begrudging impression, Qrow avoided all of them like a real pro and used his weapon to block Winter's last attack of the barrage, revealing it to be a Buster sword.
Qrow twisted himself a bit, keeping Winter's blade off of him, as he adjusted his style to a lefty fighting stance, not quite taking Winter seriously just yet. Winter responded in kind by taking her own stance, her sword tapping against Harbinger.
(AN3)
What came next made the battles at the Colosseum look like child's play indeed. Both Qrow and Winter moved at blistering speeds, swiping at each other in a flurry of strikes, each only hitting the other weapon. It was at this point, Ruby came to join Weiss in the crowd.
"Weiss, what's happening?" asked Ruby, having caught up after taking her call.
"Some crazy guy just started attacking my sister!" informed Weiss.
"Geez, can't even get to the Dorms without a fuss breaking out?" quipped Ruby, smirking in a way that reminded Weiss of Qrow earlier.
"This isn't funny Ruby!" frowned Weiss.
"Well, who would be stupid enough to..." started Ruby, before getting a proper look at the fighters, "And it's my Uncle! Nice! This is the level of a True Hunter!"
"Are you kidding me? He's RELATED TO YOU!?"
"Not by blood," assured Ruby, "He just happen to have trained me in wielding a Scythe."
"Why does that not reassure me in any way?" wondered Weiss.
"Because Qrow is toying with your sister," informed Ruby.
Meanwhile, the battle had progressed fairly quickly, using a bit of surrounding terrain for Winter's more agile style of fighting. She is a light style fighter compared to Qrow's Heavy style, even if Qrow has the speed to keep up with Winter's movements. Eventually Winter unleashed her second blade and used a murder of summoned Nevermores to keep Qrow occupied. Qrow managed to counter with a blade beam, which speaks highly of his skill, since it took Blake under Time Dilation to accomplish that. Qrow, enjoying himself way too much started to change Harbinger into its Scythe Form, only to notice a few familiar faces and realized he didn't have to continue this facade any longer. Qrow reversed his transformation and put away his weapon in its inactive form.
Winter was confused at first, but Qrow pressed the matter with that unbearable smirk and 'come hither' finger twitch, which blinded Winter in her anger as she launcher herself at all speeds towards him, ready to end it.
"SCHNEE!" called out a commanding voice, one which broke through Winter's anger.
Fitting to the expression 'stopping on a lien', Winter used all her training to stop herself from actually connecting her last attack against Qrow. Everyone turned to see General Ironwood and Penny approaching the group, the crowd parting to let them through.
"General Ironwood, Sir..." responded Winter out of honed instinct, composing herself.
"What do you think you are doing?" questioned the General.
"He started the altercation sir," promptly explained Winter, in an attempt to avoid trouble.
"That's actually not true," corrected Qrow casually, leaning over to be seen, "She attacked first."
"Is this true," asked Ironwood, trusting Winter to be honest with him.
"Yes, sir," said Winter, looking rather ashamed of herself.
"And you..." said Ironwood, addressing Qrow directly, "What are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same thing," retorted Qrow.
"I..." started Ironwood, only for a familiar voice to cut him off.
"Now, now, everyone," addressed Ozpin, speaking to the crowd at large, "I know seeing fights are an amazing pastime, but the Arena fights will be available shortly for those wishing to rewatch or indeed watch the fights they have missed. I know they are best enjoyed with Popcorn."
"Break it up people," ordered Professor Goodwitch, who accompanied Ozpin, before going about to fix the damages from Qrow and Winter's battle.
"Let's go," ordered Ironwood, and Winter and Penny fell in line behind him while the remaining, functional, Knights followed.
"Uncle Qrow!" called Ruby, tackling Qrow lightly. Given her own lightweight for her age, Qrow was able to lift her with just his arm with her grip like this, "I'm glad you're back!"
"Good to be back, kiddo," replied Qrow, rubbing Ruby's head while setting her back down.
"Qrow," said Ozpin, getting their attention, patiently waiting while Glynda finished repairing the area, "A word, please."
"I think I'm in trouble," said Qrow needlessly.
"You fought on school grounds, and broke Beacon Property," added Ruby, "By the way, you've managed to meet my partner, Weiss Schnee."
"Sorry about that, Ice Princess," apologized Qrow, "Your sister and I have had... prior encounters you're better off not learning about."
"Ice Princess?" asked Weiss.
"Well, Winter is Qrow's Ice Queen, so he's gonna call you Princess since you can't have two queens," explained Ruby.
(AN4)
"I have no comment," stated Weiss plainly.
"Qrow. Now!" urged Ozpin.
"I better get going. We'll have a more formal meeting soon," finished Qrow, as he started after Ozpin, "See you soon, Kiddo!"
"Sooner than you think, Uncle," whispered Ruby as Qrow got out of earshot.
"Wait, you're not thinking of..." started Weiss.
"Crashing the impromptu meeting?" smirked Ruby, "Why wouldn't I? When do I get a chance to have all five of them there? Plus, one of my contacts informed me of Ironwood's... bug that I need to bring to his attention. I'll meet you back at the dorm."
With that, Ruby followed after Qrow and the others, just long enough for them to start their meeting.
As Ruby rode up the elevator to Ozpin's Office, she thought about why she was bringing Winter in this early. There was no reason to do so, but she was going to do so. She needed more allies, and Ironwood alone wasn't enough, even with her other connections in Atlas.
As the Elevator started slowing down, she heard voices from the other side.
"You see this, that's the 'Send' Button," snarked Qrow at his 'friends'.
"They had reason to assume you had been compromised," informed Winter.
"And I have reason to assume you don't need to be here!" countered Qrow, turning back to the others, "Seriously, who invited her?"
This was when the Elevator 'dinged', getting their attention.
"That would be me, Uncle Qrow," said Ruby, "I invite Winter to stay."
"Ruby? Don't tell me..." gasped a surprised Qrow, before turning furiously at Ozpin, "SHE ISN'T APART OF THIS! IF YOU..."
"QROW! DOWN!" barked out Ruby, getting his attention, "I'm here on my own terms. Representing my side of this alliance."
"Alliance? Ruby, you don't mean..." said a bewildered Qrow.
"I must admit, I am curious by what you mean as well, Ruby Rose," proposed Winter.
"Miss Rose, I did not expect you to be here," said Ozpin.
"I know. I crashed intentionally," replied Ruby, "I believe it's time we shared intel in order to properly plan the next few days."
"I see, and you feel it would be beneficial for Specialist Schnee to be briefed on our mission?" asked General Ironwood.
"How much do you trust her, General?" asked Ruby in return.
This got looks from the other members in the room, curiosity peaking from Ruby's question.
"I have worked with Specialist Schnee for years," informed Ironwood, "I would say I trust her with my life."
"Then, I propose she be briefed on what we aim to achieve over the next few days," replied Ruby, turning to Qrow, "What say you, Uncle?"
Qrow was silent for a few moments, before smirking, "Yeah, Ice Queen's earned my vote too. Though I do wish to reiterate that you are sellouts."
"Qrow, I would like to say, on the record, that my actions are meant to help and support Beacon and Vale. If you feel like I've turned my back on Ozpin, I haven't. I made a move that our enemies expected, so that they would let their guard down."
Ironwood move to place his scroll on Oz's desk, which also served as his computer, but Ruby rush over and stopped him.
"I wouldn't recommend doing that," informed Ruby, "Remember the woman I faced off with at the Tower? She planted a virus on the network there. It's in your phone too. One of my contacts in Atlas managed to discover the virus was on your Scroll and contacted me to inform you before it could spread."
"I see," said Ironwood, changing tactics and instead using the Scroll's smaller image projector for his explanation, "Considering the Breach, we needed to shut that down hard. If not for that, lives could have been lost."
"And I thank you for that, Ironwood," said Ruby, sincerely, since she could imagine what could have happened without Atlas's intervention, "However, the public will see this and begin to question, 'what more is coming?'"
"Ruby's right," said Ozpin, "The Public does need defenders, but an Army suggests conflict is approaching. We need a different tactic, a Guardian if you will."
"Guardian? What Hunter would be powerful enough to be the equivalent of an army?" asked Winter.
"That's right. It's the reason why Ruby wanted you here. She wanted you to learn of the Guardian we need to find," said Ironwood, "Glynda, you might be better at explaining this than I am."
"Do you remember the story of the Four Sisters?" asked Glynda.
"Yes, I remember my mother reading it to me multiple times when I was young," replied Winter.
"The Sister Maiden story is actually true. In fact, many fairy tales are more legends than folklore," continued Glynda, "The Wizard was real enough, with Magic to spare to give to the Four Sisters who renewed his faith in humanity. The Maiden's powers pass on after the previous bearer loses their life. The Transfer method usually goes to that of a young lady, one who is usually in the thoughts last to the previous holder. If that is not the case, then the powers pass on at random to another candidate. The Fall Maiden was recently attacked some months ago, and half of her power was stolen. We currently have her on life support in a secret location, hoping to prevent the power from going to the girl's killer."
"That's horrible," said Winter, "Someone should get the rest of the power, in order to combat said killer."
"I believe that's my due," said Qrow, "The enemy that's here. Her name is Cinder Fall and she's responsible for attacking the last Fall Maiden, known as Amber Autumn."
"Then why haven't you done anything yet?" asked Winter, to Ozpin this time.
"I'm afraid it's more complicated than that. James will fully brief you, because there is more than just Cinder out there. Given Ruby's statement about the virus, Cinder isn't working alone, and as such we cannot be hasty, lest we give the advantage to our enemies," explained Ozpin calmly.
"I'm afraid I can't take on the Maiden Power," added Ruby.
"Why not? If it requires a young lady, you would indeed fit the criteria?" wondered Winter.
"What color are my eyes?" asked Ruby, looking directly at Winter.
"Silver," said Winter, "but I don't understand what that has to do with..."
"Silver Eyes have a special property about them that makes them incompatible with Maiden Powers," interrupted Ruby, "Besides, I wouldn't accept the power anyways. It would undermine my own power that I'm trying to obtain."
"She has a point," said Qrow, "My team was powerful without any power ups, because of years of training and hard work."
"I see," said Winter, "This has all been very informative."
"I believe this is where we will take our leave, Oz, Glynda," said James, "I will brief Winter on what's to come in the meantime. I'll also send this," James held up his Scroll, "to the Tech Labs to get scrubbed. I'll have to copy the data from scratch to avoid anymore compromises."
Ozpin nodded and let the Atlas General and his Specialist leave.
"Ruby, I want to meet your team, then we need a serious talk ourselves," said Qrow, taking another drink before heading to the elevator, "Oz, Glynda, Cinder Fall is not to be underestimated."
"I encountered Ms. Fall the day I met Ms. Rose," said Glynda, adjusting her glasses, "Indeed a formidable foe for anyone."
"Thank you, for allowing Winter to be brought in, Headmaster Ozpin," said Ruby.
"Ruby, it's not easy for me to let people in without them earning my trust," stated Ozpin, "But if you feel like Winter could help turn the tide of the battles to come, then I will trust you this time."
Ruby nodded and she and Qrow left Ozpin's office, heading towards the Dorms.
(Chapter End)
And this is a nice little fight between two graduated Hunters, one with considerable more experience through being roughly 15+ years older than the other. Again, age is a bit weird. I think I said STRQ would be at least 39-40, so with Winter in her 20s, presumably lower-mid 20s, that would make Qrow about 15-ish years older than Winter. I know it sounds creepy like that when you think in terms of romance, but they doesn't exclusively apply in this fight. Just saying.
Also, the reason this chapter is so long is that this is one of the points that inspired story, at least as far as changing things up. Will Winter become a mainstay? Not necessarily, but she will be more involved in defending Vale and Beacon from the upcoming invasion, so that counts... maybe? Also, another reason it's so long is conversations. If a conversation is long enough, my rewrite for that conversation will definitely increase the word count by a good margin! Don't expect all chapters to get this long, not on conversations alone.
Author Notes...
AN1: I thought about doing a joke here, but thought better of it. It would have been in poor taste in this context.
AN2: Ya'know, I don't believe Weiss knows who Qrow is at this point in time. Sure, Blake knows, and maybe, just maybe, Ruby could have told Weiss at one point, but I think I left that out intentionally, but also unintentionally for this moment.
AN3: Looking at his later fights, Qrow wields Harbinger in his right hand. The fact that he uses his left here means he's not actually going all out. Sure, Winter isn't either, but that's beside the point.
AN4: This doesn't really apply outside of just being a statement, which can be wrong. You do you.
Next Time: The Doubles Round takes off and two teams that RWBY knows face off against each other. Will Cinder's Plan come to fruition? Stay Tuned and Find Out!
Thanks for reading.
Until then...
Later,
RDF1