Remnant Rumble

by Curbizzle

In Remnant's Vytal Pro-Wrestling Company, Jaune Arc, a down-on-his-luck underdog forms an electrifying partnership with the spirited Ruby Rose. Together, they'll grapple with personal demons, forge unbreakable bonds, and eventually step into the ring of a high-stakes tag-team tournament, where their resilience and friendship will be put the ultimate test.

14. Chapter 14

Welcome back everyone! Man, it's been a bit of a minute hasn't it? Sorry for the wait. This month has been crazy. My job finally slotted me into the actual role and it's been a heck of an adjustment. Working from 9-6 suuuuucks haha. Motivation was a little low, but my boy Wolfy helped me get back on the horse and I churned out a crazy long chapter for you all. Just when I think I'm getting a little bored something happens that reignites the love and passion I have for this fic! That's just part of the writing process. Sometimes you churn out chapters and other times you need to take a little time. That being said lordy I really loved writing this chapter, and I hope you guys are ready for some peak! So without further ado...

Let's get it started!

Beta: Wolfy

Art: Gyanguirus

Chapter 14 - Out of the Frying pan

---

Jaune's hands were clammy.

Well, clammy was a bit of an understatement. His palms were sweaty. They had been all morning. Thankfully, that symptom of his nervousness wasn't alone. It was gratefully accompanied by his stomach doing flips and flops, his leg bouncing uncontrollably, and panicked thoughts popping into his brain at random intervals.

Thankfully, for once he truly did have reason to be anxious. No self-doubt or loathing here today, no, today was just classic jitters. He shuffled his jacket to one side as he approached the familiar building. VWC HQ was as it ever was, grandiose. The box-shaped building stood tall, the white letters beckoning towards him with the promise of a new future.

He'd talked plenty about the performance center being the place where he'd forge a new identity, but that had been physically speaking. Here he was quite literally creating a new identity for himself. Well, not exactly himself, but him and his partner. Today was the day they'd be cementing their union under a name, and a few other things he couldn't wait to get into.

Speaking of his team, only a few feet from the building's entrance was Ruby, tapping away at her scroll. He suppressed a snicker as he approached her, noting the familiar bulky scarlet headphones sat on her head. His tag partner seemed distracted, and it had been a little while since he'd snuck up on her. It had become a bit between the two of them, with them both trying to get one up on the other. She'd always hated it.

So naturally he was going to do it again.

Jaune crept closer, getting to the point where he was right behind her. Usually, it was around this time that she'd either feel some kind of presence behind her and jump a few feet into the air in surprise. But surprisingly, she didn't even seem to notice. No, now that he was closer, Ruby looked a lot more distracted than usual, fully engrossed in whatever she was typing on her scroll. He inclined his head. Whatever she was looking at, she clearly wasn't happy about it.

Ah, to heck with it, Jaune shrugged as he tapped her on the shoulder, earning a satisfying yelp as Ruby spun around.

"Dang it!" She exclaimed as she fixed him with one of her classic pouts. "I thought we agreed to stop doing this!"

She wasn't wrong. During one of their numerous morning runs during the buildup to their match, they'd finally decreed a truce. He'd maybe gone a little too far. In his defense it was the darkest morning of the year, and they'd decided to run right next to one of the bigger parks in his neighborhood. He'd jumped at the opportunity, and as a result, a very spooked Ruby had called an end to their little game. Under any other circumstance, he'd have respected it, but Ruby seemed like she needed something to take her mind off of whatever was rattling around in there.

Jaune laughed as he gave her a shrug. "Come on, you were wide open this time, I couldn't not do it." He explained gleefully as Ruby's brows drew down. Her stern look lasted about three seconds before it was replaced by a far more concerning one. Her silver eyes twinkled with mischief as she rubbed her hands together.

"But since you've violated the sanctity of our treaty, my dear bestie, that means jump scares are back on the table." She grinned menacingly. It didn't have the desired effect though, because Jaune instead surged forward and pulled her into a one-armed hug.

"You called me your bestie." He noted as he gave her a light squeeze. Ruby's eyes widened.

"Yeah, I guess I did." She replied before she flinched. "You better not tell Weiss that! She's very protective about her title as bestie."

Jaune sent her a questioning look. "You know, from everything you've told me about her, I kinda doubt that."

Ruby shrugged. "I don't blame you, but she's kinda weird like that."

"No worries, I won't tell your bestie about it." Jaune joked. Ruby went to giggle, but paused, electing instead to run a twitchy hand through her crimson tipped locks. Jaune caught it.

"Everything alright with Weiss?" He asked as he leaned to the side, a hand planted out to hold himself against the performance center's wall. Ruby gave him a nod.

"Yeah…remember that thing I told you might turn into something last night after we had dinner?" Ruby prompted, waiting for Jaune to nod. "Well….Weiss kinda, sorta, maybe…saw our match."

Jaune did a double take. "Really?! How the heck did that happen? I thought you said she didn't like wrestling."

Ruby let out a sigh so deep he could feel it in his bones. "She doesn't. Let's just say I'm super unlucky."

"You can't just leave me with that." Jaune said, leaning closer. "How unlucky could you possibly be?"

Ruby looked to the sky before she fixed him with a look that screamed oh come on. "Weiss just so happened to hang out with our friends at a sports bar, a place she'd never even dream of going to, at the exact time we had our match!" She exclaimed in despair as Jaune couldn't help but laugh.

"Do you ever consider it might have been karma for ditching her?" The words fell out of his mouth before he could think, resulting in Ruby fixing him with yet another fierce pout.

"Not helping." She grumbled as he sent her an apologetic wave.

"But seriously, what are the odds of that?" He asked incredulously.

"TOO HIGH APPARENTLY!" Ruby complained as she palmed her forehead.

"That's not too bad though, right? I mean you were going to tell her eventually…right?" Jaune replied as Ruby thunked her head with her fist a few times.

"Yeah, it's just that Weiss is kind of cagey about wrestling. After the whole mess after my last team, she's been pretty protective about this kind of stuff." She murmured, pressing the tips of her fingers together awkwardly, before fixing him with a guilty grin. "I also kinda promised her I wasn't going to tag team again."

Oof.

"And now she wants to meet you to make sure you aren't gonna stab me in the back." Ruby said, shrugging as if to say Sorry! Jaune shifted his weight from foot to foot. On one hand, he hadn't been expecting to be put on the spot by one of Ruby's friends, but at the same time, he couldn't help but feel some warmth bubble up in his chest, relieved that Ruby had someone in her corner that was looking out for her, just like he was. This was the first he was hearing about a promise though, and it meant the world to him to hear Ruby had bypassed it to give their dreams a shot.

"Ah well, I was always hoping to meet your friends anyway. How bad can Weiss be?" Jaune asked, doing his best to flash his classic dopey grin, anything to set his friend at ease.

"It's not Weiss I'm worried about." Ruby mumbled, glancing away. Jaune caught it of course but decided not to press. His eyes widened. She did say Weiss was out with her friends, didn't she?

"Well, it can't be all bad." Jaune suggested. "I mean, she's gotta be at least pretty excited that her roommate's going to be in one of the biggest sporting events of the year, right?"

Ruby's face was a mixture of excitement and dread. "Yeah…she is pretty proud of me. After she chewed me out for not saying anything she gave me a big hug and told me I was awesome. But her being involved makes things a lot more complicated."

"How?"

Ruby's face fell. "The second she heard I was going to be on international TV she told me she was gonna take me shopping!" She wailed. "She's gonna dress me up in those stuffy girly clothes she always wears!"

Jaune couldn't help but chuckle at her adorable show of dismay. Being on an international stage as large as the tag tournament was already something that Ruby was no doubt dreading, so her being that much more afraid of shopping with Weiss meant it had to be serious. Unfortunately, his own expression soured once he remembered what exactly she was talking about. That was right, the ceremony had a business professional dress code. He'd have to dress up too.

"Don't worry about it, we can tackle that later." He started as he laid a hand on her shoulder. "Now we're gonna be late if we just keep standing around." Ruby eeped as she swiped her scroll from her pocket to peer down at it, eyes as big as dinner plates.

"You're right! We gotta go!" She yelped as she reached out and grabbed Jaune's wrist, yanking him towards the doors. Jaune chuckled as he stumbled, trying to keep up.

"You're really excited, huh?" He said as he finally caught up and grabbed the door for her. The look Ruby gave him was practically a carbon copy of the ones his little sisters would give when his mom brought out the presents for their birthday. She looked like a kid in a candy store.

"How could I not be? This is one of the most special moments in a tag team wrestler's life!" Ruby crowed as she gazed at him, her eyes brimming with excitement. "The second we sign our name on that dotted line we sign ourselves up to be partners till the end! Well…that's how it's supposed to work." She trailed off, her expression beginning to crumble. To her credit, she didn't let whatever bad memories were going through her head stop her. "That's how it does work. Sure, I've done this twice already, but this is your first time! Heck, how are you not more excited?" she finished, sending him an accusatory glance.

Jaune spluttered before reaching a hand up to rub at the back of his head. "I-I'm a bit more nervous, than excited to tell you the truth."

Ruby inclined her head. "Yeah, now that I think about it, this is probably the first time I've ever had more experience than you on something that's not in the ring."

"Here we go–" Jaune began as he playfully rolled his eyes, hoping to get a word in before Ruby capitalized on their situation.

"Don't worry, mister Arc, you're in great, experienced, capable hands." Ruby said haughtily at what Jaune guessed was her best Glynda Goodwitch impression. Had she been there, his stern mentor would not have approved.

"I'm just kidding." Ruby giggled. "But this is a big day, and it's going to be an awesome one, so let's get to it already! Like I said, I've done this stuff before, picking theme songs and graphics I mean. But that was a long time ago, and I was using Signal's tech. No offense but it's really old. The VWC's is state of the art!" She said before letting out a squeal. "It's like every dream I had had is coming true all at the same time!" She crowed as she threw her hands up, but only for a moment through as she froze, bringing them back to her sides.

"Weiss was right, I'm such a nerd." She said, putting her face in her hands as Jaune burst out laughing.

"Like I'm any better." Jaune flushed as Ruby giggled, flexing his fingers as Ruby's infectious energy flooded his senses. "Now let's get going, don't wanna leave them hanging." He finished as the two continued through the halls of the performance center.

/

"This is so cool!" Ruby crowed as her eyes roved over the various screens that lit up the VWC's design studio. Jaune shared her enthusiasm as he gazed at the many different designs and ideas that adorned the wall-to-wall monitors. There were various roses, shields, swords, and crescents as far as the eye could see. He let out a small sigh, his mind drifting back to the first time he was here, picking out his own graphics all those years ago. Thankfully, just like last time, he was in good hands.

"Not bad, huh?" Flynt Coal quipped as he strode up beside them, pointing out a few logos. "My fault if they're not real high quality, in my defense you two didn't exactly give me much time."

"Are you kidding, these are great." Jaune replied as he held his fist out to Flynt to bump it. "Thanks man, I appreciate you putting these together considering the deadline."

"For barely a day turnaround time, you better be thanking me." He replied with a sly grin, taking a second to adjust his dark fedora as he slid into a chair at a desk to their right. "Now lemme show you what I got. Narrowed it down to a few designs. You can't expect anyone to take you seriously if you don't have a titantron setup. Let's get that out of the way first."

Jaune and Ruby nodded their agreement. The titantron was one of his favorite parts about his entrance. The massive screen that spanned the width of the stage was the perfect backdrop for when he crossed the curtain, proudly displaying his family crest as well as a few highlights from some of his matches. The setup also included the various light shows that took place during his entrance. He always had a soft spot for the crowd spotlights himself.

"Alright, check number one out." Flynt said as he hit a few keys at his desk, directing their attention to the main screen in front of them. A loading wheel briefly replaced the classic VWC logo that adorned the screen before it was replaced by something new. His eyes widened as he took in the sight. The screen had a gray backdrop, but what immediately drew his attention were the logos front and center. Right in the middle of the frame stacked on top of each other were the arc crest, as well as an ornate rose design.

"It was pretty easy to pick your decal, Jaune." Flynt mentioned as he looked over to Ruby. "We didn't have anything on file for you, so I just grabbed your mom's old logo and threw it up there. That cool with you?"

Ruby let out a shaky breath as she looked at the image, letting her chest rise and fall before she answered. "I love it. I really, really love it. T-The logo I mean."

"Just the logo?" Flynt questioned as Ruby's hand came up to stroke her chin.

"I don't really like the gray. What do you think, Jaune?"

"Not really our color." he murmured, echoing her sentiments. "I'll second the logos though, they look great, but they're a little boxy stacked on top of each other like that."

"I think they look cool like that." Ruby protested.

"They're alright, it just doesn't seem eye-catching enough." Jaune explained.

"I guess that makes sense." Ruby shrugged as Flynt went to pull up the next one. It was more of the same unfortunately, which became a bit of a theme. They flipped through the various designs, not quite being able to come to an agreement. Some Jaune liked, but Ruby had issues with, and vice versa. Finally after about ten minutes, they settled on one.

It was cast on a black background that faded into red at the bottom, with the Arc crest on one side and the rose decal on the other. They were angled slightly away from each other, and as the titantron video began to play, they slightly vibrated. Jaune and Ruby had taken one look at it, then at each other, and the rest was history. That would be their titantron video. They'd split the colors for the light show too, half were red, half were yellow. Jaune couldn't help but feel a bit giddy as he pictured it on the big stage.

Unfortunately, their next step wasn't too easy either. He and Ruby hadn't really discussed much before they'd arrived at the PC, mainly because they only had a few hours of turnaround time before they needed to get these things set in stone. So, when the topic of entrance music came up, they hadn't quite seen eye to eye.

"It's gotta be fast." Ruby gushed. "Something really punchy, to get us in the mood to fight. I'm thinking of rock and roll, or something with some heavy guitar and drums."

"I dunno," Jaune began, "I don't really like heavy metal. I think we should keep the trumpets and guitar from mine, and add some stuff in."

"How can you not like heavy metal? Some of the best entrance music of all time was heavy metal."

"Because I don't think someone screaming lyrics at me hypes me up. It just kind of annoys me."

"And you think trumpets aren't annoying?" Ruby countered, "This is something for us to march down to the ring to fight to. Not one of Weiss' concerts."

Things continued on like that for a while. It was frustrating. He wasn't frustrated at her, and she wasn't at him, but rather the fact that they just couldn't agree on a theme had him pinching the bridge of his nose, exasperated.

"Ruby, we've got a day. We need to think of something, and sitting around squabbling isn't going to help." He hadn't intended it, but his tone was kind of sharp there. Ruby glanced away.

"Fine, you can pick something, and we'll go with that." she mumbled as she shifted her weight from foot to foot. Jaune cursed at himself under his breath as she relented. It wasn't out of exhaustion or frustration, rather she seemed like she didn't want to argue anymore.

"Sorry, didn't mean it to come out that way. We're being dumb." He said, stepping forward to lightly jab at her shoulder. She rolled with the soft blow, her lips quirking up a little bit. "Tell you what," He began as he looked over at Flynt, who'd been content to sit at his desk and flick through videos on his scroll as the two argued. "Why don't you pick something Flynt? Something that makes sense considering what we both want."

Flynt gave him a complicated expression that could only be described as a combination of annoyance and excitement. "With the deadline of a day you're asking me to come up with it? You're breaking my balls here, Arc. But hey, I'm not complaining about having some creative control. I'm on it. Any last-minute requests?"

Jaune flashed him a guilty smile. "None from me, thanks man."

"I-I have one!" Ruby said, her voice tentative. "Could you maybe make it so if people ever wanted to…they could sing along to it? It doesn't have to have lyrics or anything. It's just something I always wanted a chance at."

"You got it, red." Flynt winked as he turned his attention to the screen. "I'll get it sent over to y'all when it's ready." he said as Jaune and Ruby sent him grateful nods. Jaune wondered what he'd come up with. Maybe something punky, or something like ska. And what was that about Ruby wanting crowds to be able to sing along? It would be pretty amazing, Jaune mused as he pictured a crowd of tens of thousands of people singing along to whatever song they ended up with. Come to think of it, Ruby had mentioned that Mistralian crowds liked to sing and chant. Maybe that's what she was going for.

"Now last but not least," Flynt started as he stood, swiping a piece of paper from his desk. "Before I can set anything in stone, I'm gonna need your team name. It'll give me a lil inspiration for the music, as well as give me a name to put on your titantron video." he finished as he slid the paper over to them, tossing Jaune a pen. "Go and sign it right there and I'll get it to Miss G to finalize.

Jaune looked over at Ruby, sending her a nod.

"Yeah. We're going with–"

"The Crimson Crusaders!" Ruby cheered, throwing a fist pump.

"That's right," Jaune agreed. "The Crimson Crusaders." He said, savoring how the words rolled over his tongue. They filled him with a myriad of emotions. Pride in his new identity, excitement that it was a bold reminder of the tournament he was now a part of, and even a healthy dose of fear. He suppressed a chuckle as he recalled just how they'd picked out the name.

It was…a bit scatterbrained to say the least.

/

Having returned to his apartment after dropping Ruby off, the last thing Jaune had expected when he'd flopped down onto his bed was the vibrating of his scroll, the telltale sign of a call. He lazily thumbed the device from his pocket, tiredly gazing at the screen as he felt his newly sore muscles protest.

"What the?" He managed as he saw Ruby's name in bold letters scrawled across the incoming call screen. "Guess she forgot something in my car." He guessed as he slid his thumb across the screen to accept the call, ready to hear her inevitably goofy story about how she forgot something extremely important in his car. What he wasn't ready for was for her to scream–

"WE DON'T HAVE A NAME!"

"What?" He sputtered, bewildered.

"We don't have a team name! We were so busy with dinner and talking about our match and talking about our contracts and the tournament and–"

"Okay slow down." He urged as he heard her take a breath.

"Slow down? This is a big deal, Jaune. We can't just be Jaune and Ruby anymore. We've gotta have an identity and I was too busy eating flipping waffles to remember the most important thing we needed to do." She groaned through the receiver.

"So, let's think of one now." He began, sitting up straight, shaking the cobwebs from his skull to focus on the task at hand. "Did you have anything in mind?"

The pause on the other side of the line was all the answer he needed. In her defense, he hadn't exactly been thinking about it either. He'd been so focused on the match he hadn't even begun to consider the aftermath.

"That's okay if we don't have anything to start with!" He assured her.

"T-That's right!" Ruby replied. "We just beat a decent team, we can do this, easy."

"How about the Red Knights?" Jaune ventured. "I've kind of got a Knight theme going on with my signature, the Arc Blade."

"Eh." Ruby replied halfheartedly. "Kind of basic don't you think?"

"Fair." Jaune chuckled.

"Ooh! What about Steel Rose?"

"That sounds like the name of a mechanic in your family." Jaune deadpanned as Ruby giggled over the line. "Crimson Crescents?"

"That one might be a little too edgy." Ruby remarked softly, her tone turning cautious. "Any particular reason you picked crimson for the first part?"

"Yeah," Jaune smiled. "You and Yang were the Crimson Dragons, right? I was thinking I'd pay homage to that. We could keep a piece of your original tag team alive. If you're okay with it, I'd like that to be a part of our name."

He waited as silence came through the other side of the line. It only took a second before he flushed red. "S-Sorry, that might've been overstepping, we can just scrap–"

"I…I think that's really sweet, Jaune." Ruby confessed over the line, cutting through his next words. "I love it. The Crimson Somethings it is!" she joked as he chuckled over the mic.

"Come on, there's gotta be something good we could use there. Maybe some alliteration. Something the crowd could really sink their teeth into. Do you know any other good words that start with C?"

"The Crimson Clowns?" Ruby volunteered, snickering over the line as Jaune rolled his eyes.

"Anything else rattling around in that empty head of yours?" he quipped back, earning an indignant squawk.

"What about the Crimson Crusaders?" Ruby ventured. "It's got the alliteration thing, and it ties in your knight stuff with my main color!" Jaune's eyes widened.

"That…that sounds really good." He said, feeling his chest surge with an emotion he couldn't quite name. "The Crimson Crusaders it is."

/

"The Crimson Crusaders, huh?" Flynt repeated as Ruby and Jaune faced him with expectant smiles. "I dig it." He followed up as his fingers began to fly over his keyboard. "Now I've got a hell of a day ahead of me, so tell you what, I'm gonna get this done and get it ready for Friday. Sign that paper and I'll make sure it gets to Ms. G."

Jaune leaned down, scribbling the words down on the dotted line, his heart beating faster as he wrote his new team name.

"Thank you!" Ruby exclaimed as she sent Flynt a grateful look that Jaune shared.

"Really man, we can't thank you enough."

"It's what I do." Flynt shrugged. "I'll catch y'all later. Peace." he finished as he turned back to his screen. It was as good a message as any that it was time to head out. Jaune nudged Ruby with his shoulder as they began to make their way out of the studio.

"So, was it everything you hoped for?"

Ruby rolled her eyes playfully. "Shouldn't I be asking you that? You're the one who's never done this before."

"Yeah yeah," he said as she bumped his hip with hers. "But to answer your question, yeah, it was. It still doesn't really feel real."

"Well, it's about to get really real." Ruby snickered as they closed in on the entrance. "Just a few more days till the ceremony."

"I can't wait." Jaune grinned. "I mean, the food alone is gonna make it worth it. Ms. Goodwitch told me some pretty awesome stories about it. It makes our catering seem like a joke."

"Good," Ruby began, sticking her tongue out. "Because I've had more than enough VWC catering to last me a lifetime. No more please."

Jaune reached over and jabbed her on the shoulder. "Yeah, those days are long gone. You're in the big leagues now, and you're here to stay."

"That's right!" Ruby cheered.

"So, what are you doing after this, you wanna grab some lunch?" Jaune suggested. Truth was he could go for something to eat, anything to get his mind off the next couple days. Ruby went to give him a nod, then froze, her triumphant expression crumbling to terror.

"I just remembered…I can't. Weiss is taking me shopping for those stupid ceremony clothes!" She finished with a wail. She then turned towards him. "Save me. Give me some kind of excuse to get me out of this."

Jaune couldn't help but laugh as he rubbed at the back of his head. "Ruby, I blew up Weiss' plans by stealing you before when we teamed up against Yuma and Perry. If I do it again, she might kill me."

"But since you're my teammate that's a risk you're willing to take, right? RIGHT?!" Ruby exclaimed as Jaune pulled her in for a hug.

"I'm sure you'll live. Say hi to your bestie for me!" he crowed as he gave her a wave, heading back towards his car.

/

The day of the opening ceremony had finally arrived.

Tugging at the trap that squeezed his neck, Jaune couldn't help but feel out of place. He meandered forward, his stomach finally setting from the bullhead ride he'd taken as he pondered his situation.

If his sisters could see him now, they'd no doubt call him dramatic, staring at him with their classic deadpan expressions. The imagery made him chuckle as he adjusted the neck trap once again.

Sorry.

Tie.

His mom would probably swoon, calling him the most handsome son in the world, probably darting forward to pick some lint or dust off his jacket. And his dad probably would…his dad probably wouldn't give him the time of day. He was getting all dressed up for a wrestling occasion after all. He sighed, trying not to think of his father. What if he saw the match? Does he even know I'm in the tournament? He ruminated, flexing his fingers agitatedly as he wondered what his father thought about him. It had been so long after all. Sure, he'd called, but just like the previous times, Jaune hadn't picked up. If he really wants to talk, he could do it in person, he huffed as he shook his head, trying to clear the thoughts of his own inadequacy in his father's eyes from his mind.

He elected instead to look down at the luxurious suit he'd found himself in. Sadly, that luxury had come at a cost. The rental was quite expensive. But for the first time in a long time, he actually had the funds. He was on salary with the VWC, but that didn't account for the bonuses received for winning a match. The VWC had a bunch of different ways to compensate their wrestlers. Everyone usually elected for a flat salary. Some wrestlers who prided themselves on their workhorse workrate demanded to be compensated per match. But regardless, everyone benefited from a nice win bonus, with some wrestlers even getting massive ones for pulling off the rare five-star match. Gotta get one of those one day, Jaune mused before directing his attention back to his suit.

It was a deep charcoal, with a crisp white button down underneath. The long dark pant legs flowed down to crisp black shiny shoes that wouldn't have looked out of place on a sleazy salesman like Alexander Nikos. The highlight of the outfit though was also what was causing him the most agony, his tie. The garment was a deep crimson.

Perfect for one half of the Crimson Crusaders.

Speaking of the other half, Jaune tried hard not to laugh as he continued to walk down the busy sidewalk, trying to keep his eyes facing forward. Unfortunately, his attempt at preserving his partner's dignity failed as he snuck a look to his left, watching what could only be described as a disaster waiting to happen.

"I hate these stupid shoes!" Ruby wailed, tilting to one side as she failed her arms wildly, searching desperately for something to anchor herself with as her petite high heel adorned foot wobbled dangerously. Jaune threw his arm out to steady her, latching onto her shoulder and pulling her upright. "T-Thanks." she grumbled as she began taking larger steps, lifting her legs almost as if she was tip toeing like a cartoon character, delicately continuing forward.

"Your bestie really did a number on you, huh?" Jaune said a little too innocently. Ruby fixed him with a glare.

"You're enjoying this too much."

Now he really did laugh. He was. Other than Nora, Ruby was one of the biggest tomboys he'd ever met, and seeing his kickass partner walking around like she was on stilts had a surprising amount of comedic value.

"Sorry." He apologized as she gave him a satisfied nod. "I just didn't think I'd ever see you wear something like this."

"You and I both." Ruby complained, her hands balling into fists in her hair.

"I have to admit, Weiss did a great job. You look awesome." he said, the words slipping out. Ruby gave him a quick look, her eyes wide before she blushed beet red.

"T-Thanks."

He was about to question the reaction before his own eyes widened, realizing how that may have come out. "S-Sorry! I meant the outfit did! Not that you–ugh you know what I mean." he finished pitifully as Ruby descended into giggles. He wasn't wrong though, Ruby wore a sleeveless red dress, littered with black accents. The dress gave way to dark leggings, finally capped off by her dark heels. He hadn't met Weiss, but it didn't take a genius to guess that when he finally did meet her, she'd be looking sharp.

"Sometimes I forget you're almost as awkward as me." Ruby laughed, bringing him back to the present.

"You must've forgotten it after I went out there and killed it during our match." Jaune teased. "I was a pretty cool guy, right? Too bad that's not who I am 24/7." he lamented with a grin as Ruby shook her head.

"Don't worry Jaune, I think you're pretty freaking awesome outside the ring too."

He went to thank her, but didn't quite get the chance to as Ruby stepped awkwardly on a broken piece of stone tile and nearly took another tumble.

"Gah I can't do this anymore!" She exclaimed angrily as she glared down at her feet.

"I getcha on the outfit stuff, this necktrap is slowly cutting off oxygen to my brain." Jaune commiserated. Ruby sent him an offended look.

"That's nothing compared to these." she said, gesturing at the heels. "You don't know what it's like." Desperately searching for a way to distract her from her three-inch death traps, Jaune drew on a library of forbidden knowledge. His own past.

"Right," he scoffed. "Like you're the only one here who's worn heels."

Ruby went to tease back, then paused, her eyes like dinner plates as her retort died in her throat. "Wait WHA–"

"Oh look, there's the entrance!" Jaune cut her off, pointing down the path of paved cobblestones to remind her of the sole reason she'd been forced into her professional attire. Just a bit further down the path was the VWC's largest Vale based arena, Beacon. Jaune had always wanted to end up at the Beacon arena. Not only did it function as the largest stadium in Vale, but it was also the home to an academy of the same name, one that Jaune considered the finest wrestling school on Remnant. Beacon Academy had tutored some of the greatest wrestlers to ever grace the ring. Figures like Qrow Branwen, Raven Branwen, and even Jaune's dad had finished up their wrestling education there.

It had never even crossed his mind to go there. Not that he ever would've been able to. Heck, if he had wanted to go to a school like Beacon, he probably would've needed to buy some fantastic fake transcripts if he even wanted a chance.

Like that would ever happen.

"We're here!" Ruby crowed as she raced forward, her sour mood long forgotten as she attempted to traverse the uneven stones. "Come on, Jaune!" He followed suit, her infectious energy bringing a smile to his face. I thought she couldn't run in those; he thought incredulously as he finally caught up with her, the two only a few feet from the doors.

Two men in black suits stepped forward, one in front and one a few paces behind. The latter held a clipboard tightly in his right hand, while the former greeted Jaune and Ruby with a pleasant smile.

"We're here for the wrestler's lunch." Jaune began.

"And the ceremony!" Ruby squeaked from beside him.

"Excellent," The man uttered as he gave them a warm look. "And your names?"

"Jaune Arc and Ruby Rose." Jaune replied swiftly as the man in the back's eyes roved over his clipboard. He stopped about halfway down, then gave the man who greeted them a nod.

He turned back to them, stepping aside and waving his hand towards the door in a grand gesture. "Welcome Mr Arc., Ms. Rose, please, enjoy the event."

"We will, thank you!" Ruby replied cheerfully as they stepped through the glass double doors and into the arena. Jaune almost did a double take as he took in the vast main entrance hall. It was a far cry from the average VWC arena. It was probably twice as big, concrete walls spanning out in all directions adorned with flags and banners. There were a few he recognized. The VWC's was front and center, with Vale's flag to the right. To the left was the Vytal festival logo. Sure, Amity colosseum was the current arena for the Vytal Festival, but in the days before it had been built Beacon had served as the popular event's home.

In the center of the hall was a massive stone statue, the VWC's logo, with a bronze plaque in front of it. There were a few people gathered in front of the sculpture, excitedly chattering and pointing with their cameras out.

"Must be a VIP tour." He observed. The VWC had plenty of small events at arenas before big events and shows for fans to meet their favorite wrestlers. Can't wait till I get to do one of those one day, he thought, hope filling his heart.

"I went on one of those when I was a kid. Perks of being the niece of the greatest of all time." Ruby said, beaming with pride.

"Me too." Jaune replied as they strode across the grand hall. Thankfully there were a few signs with directions to the ceremonial lunch. The signs took them down a few hallways until they were finally in front of another set of double doors, this time they were wooden, and far more luxurious than the front doors. The two stood shoulder to shoulder. He sent Ruby a glance.

"You ready?" he said quietly. Sure, on paper it was just a lunch, but it didn't have a ceremonial reputation for nothing. This was the first time they'd get to meet their competition. The first time they'd get a good look at what they were up against, and just how realistic their dreams of winning the tournament were.

She sent him back a determined nod. 'Ready."

"I should hope you are, it's finally time." A familiar voice called from behind them, causing Jaune to jump and Ruby to practically leap forward. Jaune whirled around, and blue eyes met curious hazel as he came face to face with Ozpin, who sent the two a pensive smile.

"I apologize, I didn't mean to startle you."

Jaune's hand came to stroke at the back of his head sheepishly. "No worries, sir. It's good to see you."

"Likewise, Mr. Arc. But it's not just good to see you, or you Ms. Rose." he began, sending her a warm nod. "It's a blessing to get to see all of you here, future warriors of the squared circle, eager to battle it out for one of the sport's greatest prizes. I've never missed one of these lunches, and I plan to never change that fact."

Jaune took a shallow breath. Future warriors of the squared circle, huh? It was no wonder Ozpin was considered one of the most charismatic wrestlers to ever live. He was a wordsmith. But the last part of the older man's sentence intrigued him.

"Will you be joining us sir?" Jaune inquired as Ozpin lightly shook his head.

"While I'd love nothing more than to share in this monumental occasion with you all, I shall only be able to interact from a distance. Frankly Glynda and I are swamped with the logistics for the ceremony. I'll have to settle for greeting you all here."

"Why isn't Ms. Goodwitch here too?" Ruby asked.

Ozpin directed his attention back towards the way they came, a strange mirth in his eyes. "I fret she's experiencing the stress of being a host. It's her first time after all."

Jaune's eyes widened. "Ms. Goodwitch is going to be hosting the opening ceremony?"

"Co-hosting." Ozpin amended. "She's done such marvelous work this year in my stead, and I saw fit to reward her. She's always wanted to be a bit more involved." Jaune couldn't stop the grin that spread across his face, overjoyed that she was getting a chance like that.

"That's amazing. Give her my best before the ceremony." Jaune asked as Ozpin sent him a nod.

"I'm sure she'll be thrilled. But this old relic has stalled you long enough. Enjoy the festivities you two. Your ring gear shall be in locker fifteen in both the men and women's changing rooms respectively. I'm eager to witness your first entrance together as a proper team." he finished as he turned away, slowly pacing back down the hallway.

"I can never get a read on that guy." Ruby murmured as Jaune echoed her sentiments.

"Yeah," he trailed off before taking a deep breath. "Let's do this." he said as he grabbed the handles and pulled the doors open, the two of them stepping through to finally greet the competition.

And more importantly, get lunch!

On the other side of the doors was another large room that he could only describe as bountiful. The floor was made of crisp white marble tiles, with the occasional pillar stretching to the ceiling. The vast party room was dotted with round tables, each draped with a deep scarlet tablecloth. There looked to be eight tables in total, with four chairs at each. At the other side of the room was an arrangement that could only be described as a banquet of buffet tables. They stretched the width of the room, and while Jaune couldn't see what was there, the smell was incredible.

But that wasn't what got Jaune's attention. No, what got his attention was the crowd of people that filled the room. There had to be at least thirteen teams there, if his math was right. That meant they were waiting on a few more. It was a relief, at least he and Ruby hadn't been late. One thing that wasn't a relief was the way everyone in the room turned to look at them once the doors swung shut behind them.

"H-Hi everyone." Jaune said awkwardly as Ruby sent them an unsure wave.

While he and Ruby had been able to see who from the Vale side of the VWC had been selected to be part of the tournament, they hadn't had that luxury for the international teams. He recognized some familiar faces. Particularly a pair of unamused faces that stared him down as he and Ruby crossed the hall.

"Miltia, Melanie!" he greeted, desperate to break the ice with someone. It was fun to be stared at by crowds of fans. The competition? Not so much. "Good to see you two."

Miltia gave Melanie a sly look, the two dressed to the nines as usual. "Mel, do you hear something?"

Her sister, who wore a breathtaking white dress, looked back, equally unimpressed. "I don't think so, Mil. Must be the wind."

"Oof." Ruby murmured beside him as he flushed red.

"Good to see you two in the tournament." Jaune said, attempting to switch the subject, but it was clear the Malachite twins weren't going to let him off the hook that easily.

"Told you he'd come crawling back, Melanie." Miltia purred. "But I don't think I'll give him the time of day."

"Are you two still mad about me not forming a stable with you two?" Jaune asked, already knowing the answer.

"Ding ding ding." Melanie cut in, leaning on her sister's shoulder. "Maybe you're not as dumb as we remember, and as we've seen, that threshold is vast."

"Hey, he's not dumb!" Ruby protested as she stepped forward. "Who even are you two, anyway?"

Jaune winced. Wrong thing to say. The two Malachites' teasing expressions dropped, replaced by malice.

"Who are we? Who are you?" Miltia spat.

"Ugh, I can't even deal." Melanie uttered as her hand clamped down on her sister's shoulder. "Mil, let's bounce."

"Sounds good." Miltia agreed. "Later, Jaune. Maybe if we're lucky we'll get to take you for a spin."

Jaune blanched as Ruby let out a confused eep, the pair watching the twins fade back into the crowd, which had formed a sizable line since they'd gotten there. Jaune guessed the lunch rush had begun.

"Jaune…who were those two?" Ruby said, her face red.

"Two girls I met when I first started wrestling here." He admitted. "They were pretty wild and used to tease me a lot. They wanted to form a three-person team with me at one point so they could climb up the card, using the Arc name and all that. I wasn't really ready for a team, so I turned them down."

"That explains why they were kinda mean to you." Ruby noted. Jaune inclined his head.

"They're not really mean to me. To be honest, I don't really know what my relationship with those two is at this point."

"I don't think I wanna find out."

"Me either." he said, shuddering at the thought. "You wanna find a spot?"

Ruby nodded, and the two headed towards the rows of tables. Out of the corner of his eye, Jaune spied a familiar face at a table in the corner, one that was far from friendly.

Cardin.

He and his partner Dove were posted up at the far side of the room, a stark reminder that the Malachites weren't the only team in the tournament that had an issue with him personally. He made sure to lead Ruby in the opposite direction, aiming for a table in the leftmost corner. As he crossed one of the tables to get through, he felt a hand grasp onto his pant leg, dragging him back. He sputtered as he looked down, regaining his balance and was met with a face he recognized, mostly because of how fantastic it looked.

"Yo, Jaune, right?" The woman said, her head lolling up lazily to stare at him.

"Y-Yeah, and you're–"

"You're The Fashionista!" Ruby cut in; her voice high. "Coco Adel!"

"That's the name, don't wear it out." She quipped, extending her hand to Ruby. "And you're the Rose kid. Nice to meet ya."

"N-Nice to meet you too." Ruby exclaimed, eagerly shaking it. Jaune couldn't help but beam down at the two of them. He remembered a time not too long ago where Ruby could barely make eye contact with a new person, now she was introducing herself to Coco Adel, someone even Jaune got a little excited around. I mean, how could you not. Coco had a winning attitude, and she was one of the best on the mic. There wasn't a single VWC fan that didn't know her. Jaune spared a second to glance at the rest of the table. There were two men he vaguely recognized from the locker room, and Velvet, a rabbit faunus that he'd seen wrestle alongside Coco.

"Sorry to jerk you back like that, but I just wanted to tell you that that match you two had on Monday? That was pretty damn cool." She said, turning to Ruby. "That moonsault of yours was tight. Where'd you learn moves like that?"

"T-Thank you!" Ruby gushed. "My mom taught me."

"Cute." Coco replied, before turning back to Jaune. "You weren't bad yourself, Arc. Real crowd pleaser."

Jaune tried not to make it obvious just how much he preened at the praise.

"Coco! You're embarrassing them!" Velvet groaned from her seat.

"Relax bun, I'm just complimenting the competition, is that a crime?"

"No, but it's weird when you do it after yanking them back for no reason. They're clearly looking for a table."

"What's the rush?" Coco shrugged as she put a hand out towards Velvet. "In case you haven't met her, this is Velvet, she's my favorite bunny buzzkill."

"Coco! I'm not a buzzkill." Velvet flushed as Coco and the other wrestlers at the table chuckled.

"And those two are Fox and Yatsuhashi, but you can call him Yats." Coco said, ignoring her friend. Jaune sized up the other two, Ruby no doubt doing the same. The one she called Yats was tall, like freakishly tall. And the other one, Fox, didn't seem to be too interested in the conversation.

"I would prefer Yatsuhashi." Yatsuhashi asserted, his voice a low rumble.

"Yatsuhashi it is." Jaune grinned as he waved at the two of them. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise." The tall man replied as Jaune turned his attention back to Coco.

"I've seen you four wrestle together, are you all competing in the tournament?"

"Why else would we be here?" Coco quipped and Jaune glanced away, embarrassed. "Me and the crew are running twos for this one. I'm with bunbun and the boys are shacking up."

"Aren't you worried about facing each other?" Ruby asked, her expression curious.

Coco shrugged. "Nah, if we're lucky enough to take on those two we might just end up with a performance bonus from the match we're gonna have. If I win, me and Velv here advance, if not, I get to watch my boys go for the gold. It's a win win."

Jaune found himself agreeing with her. He'd been pondering the same thing ever since his weird conversation with Ren. The way Coco was looking at it was exactly how he felt if he ended up against the pair that were practically his siblings. He'd love to take on Ren and Nora. If he won, he and Ruby would continue to fight in the tournament. If he lost, he'd have lost to the best and left it all out there. The idea filled his chest with warmth.

"But hey, Velvet here's right. I shouldn't be keeping you two for too long. Just wanted to let you two know we thought your fight was fire. I wouldn't mind mixing it up with you two in the ring, we'd do numbers for sure."

"That would be amazing." Ruby agreed. "I-It was nice to meet you too!" The two said their goodbyes to Coco's crew, finally claiming a table in the left corner.

"Coco Adel just talked to us!" Ruby hissed. "This day just keeps getting better and better!"

"I know!" He whispered back. "She's gotta be one of the most over people on the roster. They love her, and she likes us!" he said before he paused. "What if we get them in the first round? You think we could take them?"

"Heck yeah we can, it would just be really hard." Ruby said, that battle ready confidence of her bubbling to life. "Not a great way to start the tournament." She giggled. "We could definitely do better than getting them first."

"You could do worse, too." someone called out from behind them. The expression, while usually meant to lift people up, didn't sound quite so supportive. Nope, it sounded pretty hostile, and when looking over at who said it, it wasn't hard to see why.

"Hi, Ilia." he said, hoping the friendly tone in his voice held as he stared up at the group that had formed around their table. In hindsight, he should've expected that after beating part of the White Fang in a match to get into the tournament would land him and Ruby in some hot water with the rest of the group.

"Arc." She replied sternly. She was dressed in dark grey fatigues, clearly not business professional. But he wasn't gonna be the guy to tell her that. The other three with her seemed to follow her lead. One was a girl with short gray hair, but what got his attention were the dark purple veins that stretched up from her palms. There was another girl beside her, she looked a lot more friendly, sending him a slight wave. She had mousey brown hair and antlers. The last guy was the one Jaune was worried about. He looked to be as tall as Yatsuhashi, his suit was so snug on him it looked like if he flexed the sleeves would bust right off. Another set of men stood behind them, who Jaune recognized as the Albain brothers.

How many White Fang members were in the tournament?

"You uh, just going to stand there, or do you have something to say?" Jaune asked up at them, staring Ilia in the eyes.

Ilia flushed red, and by that he meant she literally turned red, but only for a moment before her skin returned to normal. "We just wanted to wish you good luck."

"That sounds uncharacteristically nice of you." Jaune quipped back. "What's the occasion?"

"It's the last nice thing one of us is going to do for you for this tournament." Ilia grit out. "Because if you end up in a match with one of us, you're going down."

"Is this about Yuma?" Jaune began, "Because if you're mad about not having another White Fang team in the tournament, I'm going to laugh at you. You've got like six people. That's almost a third of the competition!"

"Of course it's about Yuma, human." She growled. "And it's perfectly legal, check the tournament rules. One way or another, those belts are coming back to the Fang. I'm just hoping we're lucky enough to crush you on our way to get them."

"Been brushing up on those mic skills I see." Jaune shrugged, his chair scraping back as he made to stand. "But tell you what, we've already taken down one White Fang team, what do you think, Ruby? How about adding another few to the list?"

"Sounds good to me." Ruby replied as she got up, standing beside him to fix Ilia with a glare of her own. Ilia sent them both fierce glowers before she turned on her heel, stomping away with the rest of the Fang in tow.

Ruby turned to look at him. "That was so cool! You really showed them."

Jaune fell back into his seat. "A trick my dad taught me for dealing with arrogant heels. All you need is a little confidence."

"Sounds like a pretty smart guy."

"Yeah…he is." Jaune said, once again trying to shake away thoughts of his dad. "You wanna get in line?"

Ruby nodded, and the two took their places in the back of the line. Thankfully, it moved quickly, and before he knew it, he was in front of the buffet trays. They were loaded with perfectly medium rare steaks, lobster tails, pasta, and all the crab he could eat. He greedily scooped as much as he could onto his plate, watching as Ruby did the same. He didn't recognize the people on either side of him. One was a tall man with dark skin, but what drew Jaune's attention was his deep green hair. On his other side was a girl around Ruby's height, with white hair so fluffy he almost reached out to pet it. She had to be a sheep faunus. Once he and Ruby had gotten their trays, they met back up at the end of the table.

"So, what do you want to hit next?" He inquired.

"We have to hit the dessert station." Ruby practically begged. "I mean look at it! I think there's a s'more buffet! What even is that?!"

"It's awesome is what it is!" A voice cheered from beside them. For the second time that day Jaune's head whipped around to find the source of the familiar sound, but unlike the first time with Ozpin, this one had him grinning ear to ear.

"I was wondering when we'd find you two." He beamed as he set his plate down on the edge of the table, rushing forward to scoop Nora into a tight embrace, one she returned in kind. Almost a little too kind as he felt his spine shifting.

"Not fast enough." Nora said as she got on her tiptoes to wrap her arms around his neck. "We almost thought you weren't going to make it. Renny was getting so stressed!"

"I assure you I was perfectly healthy, Nora." Ren said, stepping forward to stand beside his partner. "It's good to see you two, we're glad you could make it."

"Right back at you, man." Jaune said as he stepped forward to draw Ren into an embrace, hoping their bizarre interaction from Monday had been forgotten. "You guys have a table already?"

"Yeah, but it's with Fiona and Joanna and they're just so boring. Nebula and Gwen too." Nora complained. "We'd be happy to move over to hang out with you guys."

"Nebula and Gwen are wrestling in the tournament? I thought they were referees?" Jaune said, unable to keep the surprise out of his tone.

"They're striking it out on their own." Nora beamed. "I'm proud of em, dropping the black and white shirts for actually cool colors. They're gonna do great. Now about us coming over to your table–"

"Sounds like a plan–" Ruby yelped as Nora drew her into a quick hug. One that Jaune was a bit annoyed to say didn't look as boneshiftingly painful as the ones she gave him. "We'll meet you over there." she finished as the two of them returned to their tables with their bountiful plates, eagerly awaiting Ren and Nora's arrival.

Right on cue, the duo arrived, Ren's plate was stacked modestly, while Nora's was anything but. "So, don't skimp out on me, what's the team name?" His bubbly friend inquired as she practically fell into her seat, slamming her plate on the table.

"The Crimson Crusaders!" Ruby crowed.

"That's so cool!" Nora gushed. "Renny, why couldn't we have a name like that? We just have boring ol' Renora."

"Nora…you picked the name yourself." Ren deadpanned.

"Oh, right." Nora giggled. "But it's just so sweet, it's you and me forever, Ren!"

Jaune and Ruby laughed at their shenanigans before they descended into small talk with Ren and Nora. Ruby and Nora bonded over their choices in desserts, with Jaune occasionally jumping in to chime in with his own takes. Ren was quiet as usual, distracted just like he was when they last spoke. He'd answer when Nora roped him back in, but Jaune's usual dynamic with him obviously hadn't recovered fully. He'd ask later, now wasn't the time. That being said as he looked over at the two friends that he'd met at his lowest, he couldn't help but sigh, this time lovingly.

"We went from waiting tables far worse than this to eating at one in preparation for the second biggest sporting event on Remnant." He began wistfully. "We didn't do too bad, did we?"

Ren gave him a curt yet warm nod, while Nora picked at a hunk of steak, her expression for once pensive. "We really did get here. I mean, this is really happening, right? This isn't just a dream?"

"Nope, all real." Jaune assured her.

"Then it just means we're one step closer to realizing our dream." Nora said, her cyan blue eyes shining with emotion. "To show the world we can do it. I mean, that's why Ren and I are doing this, Jaune. To prove that people like us, like you, me, and Renny can start by bussing tables in a dirty, gross restaurant and end up champions of the world." she finished, her voice tapering off towards the end, ending in barely above a whisper.

"To show the little guy out there that they can make a difference, no matter where they came from. No matter how much they've been looked down on."

"I…I think that's beautiful." Ruby said from beside him. Jaune couldn't agree more as he swallowed past the lump in his throat.

"Me too? Even though my dad–"

"We don't give a hoot about who your dad is, Jaune. You were a busser, just like us. You're family." She said, leaning over to tweak his cheek. "So, when we win, we'll be winning for you too."

Jaune went to say something, to thank them for loving him the way they did, to assure them that even though they had come from humble beginnings, they had every right to call themselves world championship material. But unfortunately, he didn't get to because just as he opened his mouth, the sound of raucous laughter from behind him sliced through his good mood like a hot knife through butter. He spun around in his chair to face the wrestler he despised the most.

"God, that's just too precious. One big happy family." Cardin Winchester mocked as he strode forward, his little stooge Dove in tow. "Sure, it makes me want to throw up in my mouth a little, but even I can admit it's hilarious. You're like a little support group, the VWC's Jobber Division."

His brows drew down, unsurprised to see similar reactions from the other members of his table. Nora scowled up at Cardin, poised to stand at any moment. Ruby was no different, her silver eyes like chips of steel as they glared up at the unwelcome visitor. Ren sent his own look of disdain at Cardin, and the slight exhale through his nostrils was enough to let Jaune know he wasn't playing around. As much as Jaune hated himself for it, he couldn't help but shrink slightly against his chair.

Old habits died hard.

"Jobber's division, absolutely cooked 'em Cardin." Dove snarked.

"It wasn't that clever, but I've learned not to expect too much from you, Cardin." Ren retorted.

"Fuck's sake," Cardin began, gazing over at Dove, "Have I really fallen that far that even nobodies are trying to talk shit to me now?" he quipped before turning his attention back to Ren. "Go back to whatever crumbled hut you stepped out of, Mistral boy."

Jaune went to stand, but Nora beat him to the punch, getting up so fast she knocked her own cup over. "Say that again and I might just have to break your legs, birdie." She snarled up at him.

To her credit, Cardin flinched, backing up slightly before he regained his composure, puffing his chest out. "You think you're so scary Valkyrie, but chances are, you'll be out of this tournament long before I have to worry about you, so I think I'll just chat as much shit as I want. But hey, if you want to get kicked out of the tourney for putting your hands on me outside the ring, I'm not going to stop you. Hell, I'd expect nothing less from a streetrat like you." He finished as Nora bristled.

"But hey, even if we do end up in the ring together, at least I'll have a family that's watching me. Can't say the same for you two."

Nora lunged forward, having heard enough, but just before she could go airborne, Ren's hand snaked out, latching onto her bicep and keeping her grounded. "He's not worth losing this opportunity." his friend growled.

"I think I'm pretty fucking worth it, actually." Cardin protested, giving a sarcastic shrug. "I mean, laying a hand on me is the closest you'll get to touching world champion material."

"Keep thinking that," Ren growled up at him. "We'll show you soon enough."

"And that right there's your biggest problem." Cardin continued. "You're delusional. To think that gutter strays like you could ever touch one of those belts." He said, throwing a hand to his chest. "As far as you two are concerned I'm VWC royalty. To win championships you need pedigree, you need history, you need skill. Sure, you might have one of those things, but you're worthless without the other two, and when I win those belts and bring them to the Winchester family, maybe you'll finally get that through your thick, empty skulls. Then you can watch me win the big one."

Jaune scrunched his eyes shut as the words hung in the air. He wanted nothing more than to stand, get right up in Cardin's ugly face and tell him exactly why he was wrong about Ren and Nora, but he just…couldn't.

Thankfully, he didn't have to.

"Do you ever stop talking?" Ruby gritted out next to him. Jaune's eyes widened as she stood, unsure if he'd ever seen her this angry. Gone was the adorable puppy dog pout and awkward squeaky voice, replaced with something far more intense, sheer determination. "I mean, what's wrong with you?"

Cardin inclined his head, brushing off her words. "Not surprised to see you here, Rose. I mean, I know some people are, but I always knew you'd end up here. Catering is your second home after all."

If he'd said that to the Ruby from a few months ago, Jaune was sure she would've hung her head and made a swift exit, but he'd had a front row seat to how Ruby had changed, and now he was getting to see the fruits of her labor. Ruby stood up, her chair scraping back as she stood barely a few inches from Cardin.

"That's not going to work, Cardin. I'm not that person anymore." Ruby spat up at him. "But I'm tired of listening to you talk about my friends like that. All you ever do is talk, talk, talk. What have you actually done since you've been here?"

Cardin frowned for the first time since he'd stepped up to their table, her words clearly having an effect. They also earned a snicker from Nora. Turns out when she didn't have an entire arena of people watching her, she wasn't half bad at talking after all, especially against someone like Cardin. The righteousness probably helped too.

"Well that's–" He began to retort but Ruby cut him off.

"You're doing it again! And you know why? I-It's because you're a jerk, and a bully who loves to hear the sound of his own voice. I don't care what you say, you're wrong." She said, throwing her arm towards Ren and Nora. "They deserve to be here, a lot more than you at least!"

"When the hell did you get so mouthy you little brat?" Cardin growled, his smug grin long gone. "Last I checked you could barely string two sentences together."

To Jaune's shock, Ruby just rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to listen to you. Your words are just as dumb and empty as your accomplishments here. Sure, we haven't won any belts but neither have you! And I'll tell you this, I hope we end up going up against each other, because I've had to listen to you mock and hurt people since we were at Signal, and it stops now." she finished, her head held high and defiant as she gazed into Cardin's enraged eyes.

"I told you you'd never share a ring with me, Rose. But tell you what, I'll make an exception just this one time. I'm going to break you in that ring."

"We'll see about that." Ruby shot back. "Isn't that right Jaune?"

"Yeah, that's right." He gritted out, finally facing Cardin himself. To his dismay, Cardin's infuriated demeanor slipped away, that arrogant grin he despised so much returning.

"And just like that, you lost me. Hell, you kinda had me going there for a second, Rose. But bringing Arc into it? You just sealed your fate." He mocked, turning his attention from Ruby to Jaune. "How many times do I have to plant you face first into that canvas until you'll finally learn? If we cross paths in this tournament, I'm going to bury you."

Jaune could feel himself shaking, if it was from rage or stress he wasn't quite sure, but Cardin didn't let up.

"And when I finally put you down for good, I'll tell your daddy he doesn't ever have to worry about his legacy ever again, because it ends with you. As if he didn't want you enough already, what's he gonna think when his son is exposed for the pathetic, weak, failure he is for all the world to see? I for one can't wait to find out. Who knows, maybe he'll ask me to represent his name."

Jaune clenched his fists so hard they hurt. His breathing out of control as he felt his chest rise and fall, faster and faster.

"Cardin if you say one more word, you're going to regret it." Ruby gritted out.

"His dad couldn't care less about his legacy!" Nora practically screeched from her position behind the table. It didn't take a genius to know why. She, Ren, and Ruby all knew about his history with Cardin. His jabs at them were his own sick twisted view of business, with Jaune, they were personal. "He loves Jaune. So just leave him alone!" Every muscle in her body was tensed, fully ready to throw her shot in the tournament away to finally shut the bastard up.

"Whatever makes you feel better." Cardin shrugged. "Only guy who knows what ol' Nick thinks of his son is the man himself, and last I checked Jauney boy, you two weren't exactly on speaking terms. I bet he's–" he said, then he suddenly cut off, hunching forward, a look of surprise scrawled across his face as Ruby skittered back.

Trying to avoid the sloshing white liquid that poured over Cardin's head.

Jaune only had a moment to ponder what exactly was going on until he watched Cardin begin to drip, his arms awkwardly splayed out as he shuddered. Jaune's eyes roved over the taller man, taking in the sight. Cardin's once well groomed and put together appearance was ruined, courtesy of what looked like a gallon of yogurt that was now dripping from his hair, arms, and back. A discarded tray and bowl laid right behind him.

"What the fu–" Cardin began, but he only made it that far before a familiar voice from behind him called out.

"Oh man! I'm so sorry, I didn't see you there bro."

If Cardin was mad before, he was incensed now. His lips peeled back in a snarl as he whirled around, nearly knocking Dove over as he turned to face the two new faces.

"You just ruined a thousand lien suit." Cardin seethed.

"It was an accident, dude." Sun Wukong shrugged. "But hey you can always replace it, right? You were talking all about pedigree earlier. Your family's loaded, you'll be fine. Plus, it's not that bad." he said, punctuating his statement by reaching out and half heartedly swiping a bit of yogurt off of Cardin's shoulder.

"Okay, it's that bad." He grinned as Cardin could only look at him with a mix of shock and fury. "In my defense, my eyesight isn't too good at detecting walking, talking, assholes. It's no wonder I bumped into you."

"It's true." Neptune Vasilias said helpfully from beside him. "This kind of stuff happens all the time with him, but usually only with jerks and nepo-babies."

"See?" Sun said a little too innocently. "Just an accident."

"You're going to pay for that, monkey."

Sun put his hands up. "We're going right to the racist stuff? Man, don't you heels have any better way to get hated than the low hanging fruit?"

"Do better, man." Neptune chimed in with a shrug.

Cardin stormed forward, towering over Sun. "Do you think this is a joke?"

Sun put his hands up. "I mean, it is kinda funny, in a cosmic sort of way." he followed up quickly.

"You know what's going to be even funnier?" Cardin growled, jabbing sun in the chest with his finger. "When I beat you till you cough up a thousand lien to replace this."

"A thousand lien? That shabby little outfit is three fifty at best." A voice joked from behind the two men. Cardin and Sun both let out a yelp as they were dragged together, their heads pulled in under the arms of a wrestler he recognized. Jaune let out a sigh, sitting back and preparing for the hijinx to continue as Roman Torchwick gave Cardin and Sun a slap on the back. "I can't believe you wanted to ditch this, Neo. I mean, look at all the free entertainment! Thanks boys." he finished as he pulled back, letting his two new captives go.

He waved his arms, letting the napkin he'd used to protect jacket from Cardin's ruined suit fall as he flourished his hands. "Couldn't help but notice you two barbarians butting heads, and knew I just had to throw my hat into the ring." he said, tipping his black bowler hat gracefully. "I figured I'd at least get a look at the competition, I mean, that's what this little soiree is for, right?"

From behind him stepped out one of the shortest people Jaune had ever seen, and that was saying something considering he knew Ruby and Nora. She had multicolored hair, swaths of pink, white, and brown colored her appearance.

"Well, what do you think, Neo?" Roman inquired, glancing over at the petite girl who was eyeing them not unlike how a predator would prey. She looked upwards, a small hand coming up to stroke her chin, before she threw a thumbs down, sticking her tongue out.

"My thoughts exactly." Roman summed up. "If this is who we're up against, the belts are as good as ours. Two children playing dress up with their daddies legacies, a couple of orphans, a stowaway, a blue haired side act, and a catering's very own Ruby Rose." He said, counting off on his fingers. "Man this roster has seen better days."

"You were there for them right? I mean, you have to be at least forty." Sun quipped back, earning a flash of irritation from the master thief.

"Forty? I'll have you know I'm–" He squawked, but didn't make it through the full sentence as his partner poked him in the side. He gazed down at her as she signed a few things to her, her hands moving almost as quick as Ruby's. He sent her a nod. "My dear partner here makes a fantastic point, we've got plenty of time to get into it, but now's not the time. Just wanted to put you little brats on notice that the VWC's Master Thief is back in town, and I'll be claiming that prize."

The words hung in the air for a moment as Jaune exchanged confused gazes with his friends, even Cardin seemed a bit puzzled by Roman's entrance.

"Cool." Sun finally said, earning an eye roll from Roman, who uttered something about philistines under his breath before finally taking his leave. Neo sent them a sweet smile that only lasted a few seconds before it morphed into a look that was far more sinister, sending them a wave as she trailed after her partner.

Cardin soon followed suit, sending them a dirty look as he too retreated, probably to clean himself up. The ceremony had to be starting soon, and Jaune guessed it would take a decent amount of time to get the dairy out of Cardin's hair.

They waited for a few beats before Sun finally spoke.

"Man, that Cardin guy was a dick. Torchwick too."

"That's what I'm saying!" Nora exclaimed, mashing her fists together. "But watching you nail him with a bowlful of yogurt was well worth it! If there wasn't that stupid no contact before the tournament rule I would've played his spine like an accordion."

"No argument there." Ren said, his voice low. Jaune was surprised, Ren didn't usually advocate for Nora's violence, Cardin really had touched a nerve.

"That Roman guy was kind of weird too." Neptune said, scratching his chin. "He just kind of showed up, talked, and left."

"He does that a lot." Ruby grumbled. "I've seen him in catering a few times, that's how he knows me. Never missed a chance to make fun of me for it."

"He's pretty flamboyant though, I kinda like it." Nora grinned, her mood beginning to recover. It was a feeling he didn't share. Sure, Roman's bizarre entrance had provided a great distraction, but he just couldn't get what Cardin had said out of his head.

"You okay, man?" Sun said, giving Jaune a guilty smile. Jaune sent one back, but he didn't quite feel it. Sun always knew when he was going through something, and was never one to leave Jaune out. It was one of the things he respected about him.

"Better now that I've seen you." He said as he got up, pulling his old friend into a tight hug that Sun returned eagerly.

"Dude I've missed you so much! It has to have been like, what, three or four months since we got that last minute training in?" Sun said, his excited energy so infectious it helped Jaune recover his own mood a bit. "You've been cooking since I left, don't think I didn't see that match of yours." He said, throwing a fist pump.

"You were fantastic in there, man, I'm so freaking proud of you!" He continued, turning his attention to Ruby. "And I saw you too in there, your moves were insane! You're gonna have to teach me those."

Ruby flushed the way she always did when she got compliments from strangers. Sun gave her a pensive look before he turned back to Jaune.

"Hey, isn't she the girl I saw you talking to back at the gym?"

"Yep, that's the one." Jaune said,

Sun scratched his head. "Who would've known you two ended up as a team."

"That's right, we're the Crimson Crusaders." Ruby crowed.

"Cool!" Sun replied. Ruby looked like she appreciated the compliment.

"So, you ready to fight for the belts?" Jaune asked as Sun gave him a half shrug.

"It'd be pretty sick to win them, that's for sure." He began as he dragged Neptune into a headlock. "But me and Nep have another goal in mind. We're chasing that sweet, sweet brand deal."

Jaune could only shake his head. "You're still on about that? I respect the dedication." he quipped as Sun let out an indignant squawk.

"Hey! You're saying that like you don't believe it's gonna happen."

"I mean, it hasn't happened yet." Jaune teased as Sun laughed and slugged him in the arm.

"That's because we've never been on this big a stage." He said, gesturing to the hall around them. "Just you wait, bro. Nep and I are gonna have a crazy match and be wearing some company's logo by lunchtime. I promise you that."

"I'm rooting for you." Jaune grinned.

"I hope it's Cardin I get to stunt on. That guy's been disrespecting my boy way too much." Sun said, his face stern.

"Thanks, man. I appreciate it." Jaune said, his joy forgotten as his mind drifted back to Cardin's earlier interruption. After a while, he stood, the sound of his chair scraping against the tile drawing the table's attention.

"I'm going to go for a walk, I need to clear my head." He said softly.

Nora was the first one to pick up on his mood. "You're still upset about what Cardin said, aren't you? Jauney you know he's wrong, right?"

"It's not just about that." He said softly. "He stood there and said horrible things about all of you, and I just sat there. Heck, Ruby was the only one who stood up to him. I'm sorry guys, I just sat there like an idiot and let him talk. He's wrong about all of it." he said, his voice strained, gazing over at Ren and Nora. "You two deserve to be here more than anyone, never forget that, and I'm sorry I couldn't have told him that, I just…" he trailed off as Ruby gave him a light punch to the shoulder.

"It's okay." She said, her voice soft. "I know what it's like. To freeze up like that in front of someone, I mean. I don't think it's your fault for not standing up against him, and I doubt anyone else here does." She said, gazing over at his friends.

"That's right." Ren agreed.

"That guy's had it out for you since the jump, man. I don't blame you." Sun shrugged before his expression turned mischievous. "Just means you've gotta kick his butt when you two finally end up in the ring together."

"Oh we're gonna kick his butt alright." Ruby grinned. "Right Jaune?"

"Right." He replied, his mood finally beginning to turn. He let out a brief chuckle, laying a hand on Ruby's shoulder. "Who knew you'd be the mouthpiece for this team, sticking up for me." He joked lightly as she stifled a giggle.

"Just this once. You've done it plenty of times for me." Ruby shot back, sending him a brilliant smile. He sent her a nod back before he turned towards Sun. "Sorry, I know you just got here, but I think I'm still gonna take that walk."

"Hey, it's not like I'm going anywhere." Sun said, flashing him that signature grin. "We'll catch up when you get back."

He sent them a nod as he made his way back to the entrance, before pushing through the wooden double doors.

/

The peace and quiet the hallway provided him did wonders for his mood, he found as he continued to pace down the concrete corridor. He didn't want to leave his friends, but he just needed a minute. It was all too much. There were so many teams competing in the tournament, and it looked like a lot of them didn't exactly dig the Crimson Crusaders.

I mean, between Torchwick, the White Fang, the Malachites, and Cardin, I might as well throw the towel in already, he thought to himself as he let himself fall onto a nearby bench.

What the heck am I doing, he wondered, happy to chastise himself as he sat back. He shouldn't still be letting Cardin into his head so easily. He'd just won a heck of a match, he should be over the moon. He felt confident, and he'd shown it when he stepped up to Ilia, but with Cardin things just got…complicated.

"Guess there's still some old wounds there." He muttered, shaking his head.

"I hear time's pretty good at healing them." Someone said from beside him. His head snapped up, trying to hide his irritation at being surprised by someone for what felt like the twentieth time that day.

His gaze landed on a girl around his age. She was beautiful, with tan skin and a kind expression scrawled across her face. Her most prominent features were her mint green hair and her startlingly red eyes. A few feet away from her was a guy with silver hair, who seemed content to lean against the concrete wall. He'd never seen either of them before.

"Sorry, is this a bad time?" The girl said, tilting her head to the side. "We didn't mean to disturb you."

Jaune shook his head. "It's fine, I just needed a break from the craziness in there."

"I hear ya." The girl laughed, "When Merc and I heard there was going to be a lunch with the competition, we decided to skip. Judging from the look on your face, seems like we made the right call."

"Definitely." Jaune agreed. "Are you two in the tournament?"

"Yeah. You're Jaune Arc, right? Great job on that match the other day. You guys killed it."

"Thanks." Jaune replied, a warm feeling bubbling up in his chest. "And you are?"

"Emerald, and that big lug over there's Mercury." The man in question sent him a nod, before he went back to playing on his scroll.

"Nice to meet you both." Jaune said as he watched the silver haired wrestler continue to game.

"Sorry about him, he's kind of…awkward." Emerald apologized.

"No worries, my teammate's the same way." Jaune said, trying to dissuade Emerald from feeling embarrassed. "She's not too big on people. She loves wrestling, and sometimes when she talks about it she kinda zones out a bit. "

Emerald cracked a smile at that. "I can only imagine."

"So," Jaune started, eager to learn more, "Where are you guys from? This is my first time meeting people from the VWC's other divisions."

Emerald rubbed at the back of her head. "Funny story, we're actually not from the VWC, we're from Evernight."

Jaune hunched forward, eyes wide as he thought of something to say. That was right! Ren had mentioned there'd be a team from the VWC's rival promotion taking place in the tournament.

"Wow, that's crazy. I mean that's pretty cool." He spluttered, "Sorry, I've just never met anyone from there. How are you guys liking it here in the VWC?"

Emerald looked around, her eyes taking in the hallway. "I don't think I've ever been in a stadium this big, this side of the business sure is grand. Almost makes it worth the clawing and struggling I had to do to get here."

Jaune could only imagine, he'd heard plenty of stories about Evernight, none of them good. "Well, I'm glad you're here now." he said, earning a smile from the green haired girl.

"Thanks, we plan on staying a while." She said, looking around, her expression turning almost wistful. "It's amazing, isn't it? Know that all that hard work is about to pay off."

Jaune found himself nodding, impressed by her assertion. Somehow it didn't really seem like bravado though. No, her words were far different from Cardin's. "You seem confident." He observed. She looked over at him and shrugged.

"It's half the battle, isn't it? I have to be confident if I'm going to have a shot at winning this thing. We only get one chance." She said, before she chuckled, letting her eyes drift shut. "That's what I like about this tournament. It gives us all a chance to finally get what we deserve."

"How so?" Jaune replied, confused. Emerald gave him a warm look.

"Let's look at you for example. The only thing I ever heard about you before I got here was that you had a middling record and a few tough losses."

"Ouch." He winced as she waved her hands to cut him off.

"But look at you now! Your match sent ripples through the tournament. It's not just a competition for you, it's your comeback tour. Now's your chance to show the world you're a changed man. That you really can live up to the hype."

Jaune gave her an understanding nod. She was right, wasn't she? He had one chance here to show what he was made of. Sure, he'd said that about the fight against Yuma and Perry, but that was just the start. It wasn't enough to just win once, he wanted to show the fans that he could be the star they'd always wanted him to be.

"Looks like you're getting it." Emerald joked. "But hey, it's not just you, I plan on getting what I deserve too. So just know if we face off in the ring I won't hold back."

"I wouldn't ask you to." Jaune grinned.

She went to reply, but paused as she glanced at the vacant spot on the bench beside him. "Where's your teammate?"

"She's back in the main room with my friends." Jaune replied.

"I heard some stuff about her online. I hear she's pretty good in the ring."

"You heard right." Jaune said, beaming with pride. "She's one of the best wrestlers I've ever met."

Emerald chuckled as she sent back a smile of her own. "That's great to hear. She looked fantastic during your match. I didn't get to see her on the mic though, how're her promo skills?"

Jaune inclined his head. The question was a bit bizarre. Usually people didn't really ask about stuff like that. 'She's pretty good. She's gotten a lot better than when I first met her." he settled on as Emerald sent him a quizzical glance, almost as if she didn't believe him. But it was only there for a second before her pleasant expression returned.

"That's good to hear, we'll have to be doing quite a few promos during the tournament after all. You think she'll be ready for those?"

That was right, in order to hype up the matches, there were usually segments in the middle of the week where competitors would engage in a war of words. He was looking forward to laying the smackdown on the mic. But once again Jaune found himself a bit confused by Emerald's question.

"Yeah," he started, brushing off the weird vibe he was getting. "We'll both be ready by the time the matches begin. You can count on that."

Emerald gave him a warm nod. "Well, I'm looking forward to seeing how you guys do!"

"Thanks." Jaune replied as Mercury finally pushed himself off the wall with his foot, jerking his head towards Emerald. She gave Jaune an apologetic glance.

"Well, looks like my partner over there's ready to go. He gets pretty cranky when he sits still too long." She said with a roll of her eyes. "Good luck in the first round, I think you're going to do great!" she exclaimed.

"Thanks." Jaune said, sending her a grateful nod as she began to walk away.

"Oh, and Jaune?" Emerald said, looking back over her shoulder.

"Yeah?"

"Best of luck teaming with Ruby. I'm sure she'll get what she deserves too." she said, before turning back towards Mercury as they made their way down the hallway.

As Jaune watched them go, he couldn't help but feel weird as he reflected on the last part of Emerald's sentence. It didn't sound particularly friendly.

It…it almost sounded like a threat.

He shook his head. He was probably just overthinking again, chalking it up to being so overwhelmed by the lunch. Emerald was nice, and seemed pretty respectful. She probably meant well, maybe it was just because she was from Evernight, they all were kind of weird. That place was a breeding ground for heels and cheaters, where any wrestler who fought there would do anything it took to win.

Yeah, that was probably it.

Regardless, Jaune didn't have time to dwell on her words, because a quick glance at his scroll confirmed that the VWC's opening ceremony was almost upon them, and he had some preparing to do.

---

God it's good to be back! Okay wow, it feels like 800 things happened this chapter. In the least self aggrandizing way, I'm proud of myself that I could write 15k words of pure character interaction. I was always more of an action guy, but this chapter was so fun to write! The first part of the chapter is pretty key to understanding Ruby and Jaune's team dynamic. They're on the same page for sure, but they might have a lil teething issues to sort out.

Writing these two together has been my favorite part of this story. I wish we could've seen more from Ruby and Jaune's friendship in canon. They're just so adorable. And wow we got to meet almost everyone in the tournament today! And as we can see, not everyone is a fan of our dear Crimson Crusaders. They're all going to get proper introductions in the next chapter, but since we got to see so many of them already, I'm happy to drop the list of tournament contenders here now.

Jaune and Ruby

Ren and Nora

Sun and Neptune

Cardin and Dove

Roman and Neo

Arslan and Reese

Coco and Velvet

Fox and Yatsuhashi

Miltia and Melanie

Ilia and Trifa

The Albain Brothers

Banesaw and Deery

Fiona and Joanna

Scarlet and Sage

Nebula and Gwen

Emerald and Mercury

Now rest assured they're all going to have team names and theme songs which I'm happy to drop next chapter. But let's talk about the teams real quick. Jaune and Ruby could be in some trouble here. Things are getting personal. Poor Jaune just can't seem to shake Cardin no matter how hard he tries. Plus with wildcards like the Malachites, Coco, and the looming threat of Emerald and Mercury, looks like our heroes aren't going to have it easy.

I really hope you enjoyed getting to see our cast. In the first arc of this story it was easy to manage with only a few characters. But now I've really expanded the amount of characters, so the one thing I want to know more than anything from you guys...

What fights/matchups do you theorize are going to happen for our heroes? What fights do you want to see? Most importantly, who do you think they'll be taking on in the first round? Let me know in the reviews or the DM's!

Lastly thank you as always for the favorites, follows, and reviews. You guys make me love writing, and I always love to see your thoughts, comments, and critiques. You guys mean a lot to me.

Always a pleasure,

Curb