Caelum's battle with Ruby was as contradictory as one could see. The petite red-clad girl used speed and inertia to deliver crushing blows from her hefty weapon at every conceivable angle, seeking to strike a blind spot. Caelum meanwhile, wearing a mesh of grays, was a well-built individual using refined technique to parry or soften her hits.

While he did struggle to catch her movements with his bare eye he knew that the girl was an open book. She had refrained from engaging him at range since her rifle was intended fordistance and was bolt action operated. His MG, well known by her, would easily suppress and keep her on the back foot in this open area.

Knowing this, both worked it into their strategy. Ruby's intentions were as blatant as her sisters. She intended to wear him down and he had to admit, the seemingly boundlessly energetic girl would do just that if he let her have her way.

The two had been engaged in melee for minutes now neither getting a solid strike on the other. He would swing to only strike rose petals as she would appear behind him only for him to bring his MG up from behind and intercept the strike.

Ruby was smiling, energetically and enthusiastically engaging in their melee with fervor. His expression remained neutral, calm, if not outright disquieting to most Yet it went unnoticed by Ruby. This match was not how Caelum felt it, knew it should be. Not how they had been ordered to perform. He had caught glimpses of the other fights and each held damning fault in his eyes.

Yang was treating Raiden like a child, Blake was seeking to escape or avoid Niel's relentless pursuit. Lukas and Weiss both were spouting pretentious drivel at each other while taking turns beating the other. They were told to act like it were life and death, to that end, give their all, and struggle, to show no restraint or fear. To Caelum this match was not about fun or a thrilling bout, it was insulting to it's very core.

Ruby brought down another harsh, strike from her scythe, the blade close to his nape. She was panting, tiring herself from her excessive semblance use and movements. Seeing his opportunity Caelum relaxed his arms.

Unexpecting the lack of resistance, Ruby fell forward, nearly nose first into his chest as her scythe bit into his aura. Grimacing at the sting, Caelum firmly grasped the shaft of her scythe. Confused, she looked up into his indifferent eyes and felt a sharp pain in her chest as he drove the buttstock of his MG into her sternum.

Ruby's grip was perhaps the strongest thing on the girl as she fought to pull it with her as she flew back only for Caelum to shift his bipod's blade into its scythe-like form and use it to wrench the weapon away from her. Shifting his weapon into its carry mode he slung it on his back and pulled the large red scythe out of his shoulder where it had bit into his clothing and skin, lightly penetrating his aura.

On all fours, Ruby looked up in shock from being disarmed as Caelum examined her weapon. Grasping it with both hands he pressed a button and it shifted back into its rifle form. Another click and it was in its storage form. Ruby's silver eyes watched in confusion as he turned it back into its rifle form. With horror, she watched as he shifted a latch, pressed a button, and pulled a small rod. The weapon disassembled into two pieces as the bolt fell out.

As the weapon clattered onto the ground, he pocketed the small rod, ensuring she couldn't reassemble the weapon. Her silver eyes glanced from her weapon and up to Caelum. As he approached, his expression became more and more frightening with each step.

A meter from her, she dashed away with her semblance trying to seek help from her allies. Caelum was quick to act. Reaching into a pocket he threw a small cylindrical object in the direction of her rose petals and as the girl materialized she was blinded by a bright flash and bang.

As vision returned to her eyes and sound to her ears, the first thing she saw was Caelum. With a shrill sound, her feet were knocked out from under her as she was slammed onto the ground. She kicked his knee bringing him to the ground with her only to regret the action. Caelum drove a fist into her sternum again and spinning onto his side kicked her hard enough to send the small girl flying to the wall, her aura having sharply fallen.

Before Caelum could get to his feet a furious shout came from his side. "Ruby!" came the voice as a fist connected with his cheek. Rolling with the blow, he spun kicking upwards and catching the offender by the jaw. The girl backflipped away before engaging again, Brilliant red eyes and glowing hair drawing his attention to her.

A glance showed what happened. Yang had dispatched Raiden shortly before Caelum had disarmed Ruby. Once the flashbang had gone off, she had seen her baby sister get brutally incapacitated. A reasonable reaction for one's sibling Caelum's mind reasoned as he watched the girl rush at him.

With a loud boom, another figure rushed past Caelum. Niel shot forward and exchanged fists with Yang. He hid his pain from the strike with an excited grin as Yang furiously roared and began increasing the speed of her strikes. The two went into a flurry of fists, Yang seeming to gain the upper hand as her temper flared. Niel fought courageously but it was clear his semblance could not shift accordingly with the girls rapidly increasing speed and strength.

Caelum looked back and saw Blake out of battle, defeated by Niel. The same with Raiden, Ruby, and unfortunately Lukas. To his credit as his peer lay beat on the floor, the Schnee was in nearly as bad shape, panting raggedly and propping herself atop her Rapier. She struggled to maintain a black and white glyph simultaneously, preparing herself to aid Xiao-Long.

Seeing this, Caelum left Niel to his own devices, His aura growing a dull black as he fought Xiao-Long, strength against strength. Weiss was sweating profusely as she looked up to fire her attack only to see the piercing eyes of Caelum, bayonet affixed in front. She dodged instinctively to see him release his weapon. Still slung on his arm, it flew forward before swinging back harmlessly as he brought an elbow forward and crashed it into her forehead.

The blow was harsh, knocking the petite girl off her feet as Caelum slammed a fist down atop her torso into the ground. Hands clutching her forehead and chest in pain, Weiss was no longer a combatant.

Caelum twisted his head to see Niel still holding against Yang. Their blows had stopped in favor of a grapple. Hands and fingers interlocked the two tried overpowering each other with faces of grit and strain. Hands locked atop, the two would occasionally strike each other with knees and kicks. One would take a blow and use the opportunity to gain leverage over the other, both adamant and too proud to concede a contest of strength.

Caelum watched as the two were inches from each other faces enduring the pain. Caelum's calm remained as he stealthily approached the two, neither noticing him.

Niel smiled mischeviously at Yang, his competitive spirit luring him towards a feeling of kinship if not affection for such a powerful woman. Unfortunately now was no such time to lament these romantic thoughts as another enraged shout emerged showing her contrasting mindset. Witheach blow she received, her strength seemed to grow. It was at the point even with his semblance, Niel could no longer maintain the facade of being her equal in the moment. Then suddenly, the force exerted on his wrists and body lightened slightly as Yang reeled her head back.

To be precise, she was still locking hands with Niel as she was bent over backward by Caelum. Appearing behind Yang with a pistol in his right hand and Yang's long locks of fiery blonde hair intertangled in his left. Wrenching her head back he looked down into a set of burning vermillion eyes that returned to their usual lilac and full of surprise at seeing him.

With a harsh downward strike, Caelum's arm glowed a bright translucent gray as aura flooded his arm and he pistol-whipped the hilt of his sidearm into Yang's throat, smashing the girl head-first into the ground as Niel let go in shock.

Yang began grasping at her throat in pain, wheezing for air as her aura flickered and burst from her shattered concentration. Her burning hair dimmed and smoldered while her eyes shot around wildly, flickering from vermillion to lilac in anger and pain before settling on the latter.

Immediately after the strike, a loud buzzer rang as team CFVY ran down from the observation seats and a series of uproarious dissent arose from a battered Weiss and Blake. Ruby having gained the strength to stand once more rushed to her sister's side, tears stinging the corners of her eyes. Niel stood by unsure of how to act as Caelum nonchalantly holstered his pistol and stepped away.

Coco was the first of her team to arrive on the scene and together with Niel, who had snapped out of his stupor, began assessing Yang's condition. Though exhausted, Weiss and Blake continued shouting at Caelum.

"What is wrong with you!" yelled Blake.

"Are you crazy?! You could have killed her!" added the Heiress.

Despite their shouts and Yatsuhashi himself approaching seemingly to restrain him, Caelum remained unphased. Instead of submitting, his hand wandered to his weapon, causing Yatsuhashi and Fox to tense, prepared for a fight.

The subtle movement drew everyone to a deafening silence. Lukas and Raiden stood furthest away watching the scene unfold as Velvet held her hands to her mouth in exasperation. The brutality of the strike was horrific to most but the suggestion of further violence left an air of anxiety.

"Stand down Yatsu" ordered Coco. The tall boy seemed surprised at the directive until Coco gave a commanding glare from behind her glasses. With a nod, he stepped back. Following suit, Caelum loosened his grip on his weapon.

Seeing the lack of hostilities, Coco stood and raised her hands, signaling everyone to calm down. "She's hurt but not lethally. It's not something aura won't heal after a couple of days. She's breathing and depleted of aura, nothing more."

"What?!" shouted Weiss in surprise.

Blake was equally distressed. "He acted out of line! How could you-"

"That is enough" declared Fox. "Coco's decision is correct." Though he defended his leader, Yatsuhashi seemed displeased while Velvet was too panicked to take a side. Despite this, he began to explain their reasoning. "You train for the day you fight with your lives on the line. This is what you will be taught in your later years."

"I got it from here Fox" Announced Coco patting him on the shoulder, taking the burden of team RWBY's ire. "You girls may not like it but this is a lesson. You won't be first years forever. And you may sustain injuries or losses worse than this in the future with this career." Weiss and Blake stared in disbelief before averting their eyes, Both knew the pain of losing loved ones and the irrefutable truth their senior told them. They knew, they just wish they could have kept it to the back of their minds.

Seeing their acknowledgment, Coco turned to Caelum, a fierce and unrelenting glare in her brown irises. "That being said, it was excessive force and will be reported to the headmaster. Before we submit this report is there anything you would like to say in your defense?"

All eyes turned to Caelum, even Lukas was worried about his leader's response as Coco, usually so lenient, now showed no sign of her usually carefree self.

Caelum remained calm and looked down at a painfully rasping Yang cradled in her little sister's arms. Ruby's eyes looked up at him in bewilderment, the silver irises asking the question she was barely able to get out. "Why?"

Caelum reached into his pocket and retrieved the pin from her weapon that he had hidden away. Tossing it at her, it landed softly atop Yang's bosom as he turned to his seniors. "She's not dead nor permanantly wounded. I acted according to orders and eliminated my target without restraint."

Perhaps no one had expected an apology but such a callous response left all slightly baffled. Yet there was no protest to his claim as it was true. Even Coco seemed displeased with the factuality of his statement.

With nothing left to tie him around, Caelum turned to his team and rallied them. "Grab your kits and return to the locker room. Clean up and be back to the dorm by nine for debriefing." His voice seemed monotone and emotionless as if he had repeated the same line dozens of times. Lukas and Raiden did as instructed, happy to be out of such a menacing atmosphere.

Niel on the other hand protested. "She's hurt, I can help take her to the infirmary at the least-"

"Do as instructed Taklashin, or else" demanded Caelum.

Niel was shocked into silence as Yatsuhashi stepped in. "Or what?" he demanded to know seeking to defend his junior.

Caelum shot a glare at the senior, neither afraid of the other as Caelum sneered. "I'll submit a report for insubordination in regards to my teammate. As for my senior who is adamant about disobeying courtesy and protocol, I will report you to the highest authority in the academy and see to it that you are punished appropriately.

Yatsuhashi became indignant at the claim. "What are you-"

Caelum talked over him. "Interfering with other teams and their personal matters as well as utilizing seniority to enforce unjust practices such as previously mentioned."

Yatsuhashi planted his foot down, showing frustration for the first time to many as Coco raised a hand, patting his chest. A quick exchange of glances between them showed that she would take the lead and he trusted her to do so. She looked at Niel and gestured for him to follow. "It'll be alright don't worry" she assured him.

With that, Niel stood and followed his teammates. Caelum remained behind and bowed his head slightly. "With that, team Cerulean will take our leave."

"Hold on" called Coco. Caelum stopped mid-turn to look back. "Are you sure this is how you want to leave things Cae?" she asked hiking a thumb at team RWBY who had gathered around their downed teammate.

None of them looked at him as they worriedly watched after Yang. He then looked at his seniors all with frowns except Velvet who still seemed to be too shocked. With another nod he excused himself. "If that will be all Ms. Adel."

As the door closed behind the boys, team CFVY went to transport Yang to the infirmary as Velvet walked up to Coco. The rabbit faunus was the only one who could see how irritated she was.

"Coco?"

Biting the inside of her cheek, Coco muttered in frustration. "I hate it when he calls me that."

Inside the locker room, the boys cleaned and dressed themselves without a word being spoken. It was as the four of them awaited each other to finish dressing that Niel had had enough.

"Why did you do that?" he asked of Caelum from behind.

Tying his shoelaces, Caelum gave an indifferent shrug. "It was the quickest route to victory."

"I had it handled-"

"Did you?" shot back Caelum. "You and I both know she was beginning to overpower you. Just be grateful I didn't let you fight alone and embarrass yourself as Xiao-Long did with the Schnee."

"You don't know what I am capable of" defended Niel.

"I know when someone's in over their head." snapped Caelum. "You've dug your heels in too deep with us, with me, and a little show of force has you scared?" Caelum suddenly stood, turning to see Niel, displeasure evident on his face. "Guess what, this, us" he gestured to the school around them, Raiden, and Lukas who kept their eyes averted. "There is a lot more pain in store. You had your chance to quit and you said you'd stand as a huntsman, with us. Even if you leave us, what do you think huntsman do?"

Niel stared angrily, a quiet fury in his eyes. Caelum gave a patronizing laugh. "Childish delusions, Huntsman kill beast and man alike. Sometimes your fellow graduates if they work for the other side. Sometimes innocents if the information is wrong or the wrong person is giving orders. It's time for you to reassess if you really belong here Taklashin and if you don't, then disappear and forget you ever met us."

Niel's defiant expression remained stagnant and unspeaking. Lukas stepped in raising his arms for both to simmer down. "Alright lads, I think that's enough. Team leads got a point here Niel. Our futures ain't sunshine and smiles, especially when you're mixed in with us." He turned to Caelum, raising a finger.

"But, we also deserve to know why you did that out there. You never acted like that in class so why now?"

Caelum turned and grabbed his belongings, loathing laced in his voice. "Ozpin's not the only one who's going to hear of my performance today. Any less than this and I'd be considered compromised." Leaving them with the cryptic answer, Caelum left his team in silence.

Raiden gave a sympathetic smile. "Well, at least we'll only have to see them in class. It's not like we have to go out of our way to see them any time soon."

Later that night once the matches video and CFVY's report had been submitted to Ozpin, the headmaster made a personal call. The dial rang twice before it was promptly picked up as usual. "Can I help Ozpin?"

The headmaster sipped his coffee as he paused the combat recording before him, placing the mug atop his table. "Yes James, I presume you received the recording?"

"Of course"

"And your thoughts?"

"He performed as expected. Decisive and without hesitation."

"You mean without remorse?" scowled Ozpin. There was no response from the monitor. Ozpin sighed as he leaned back in his seat. "James I accepted a troubled youth that you insisted could become a valuable ally in the future. Instead, I received a soldier. One who has 'no mercy' ingrained into his very being."

"I must disagree Ozpin"

"Oh, how so?"

"I never claimed the boy would be an ally. He and his lineage are a tool for redemption and nothing more."

Ozpin groaned internally at his friend's persistence in referring to the boy as such. The fact of which reminded him of an ironic matter. "Speaking of which, I even made an exception for the girl, Ms. Polendina I believe.

"And I thank you for accepting Penny's presence despite your misgivings. All I ask is that you believe me when I say that I make no unnecessary requests."

Ozpin hummed, disbelieving of the claim. "Just be sure not to try my patience old friend. Trust is not something so easily gained and nearly impossible to recover once lost."

Ironwood momentarily remained silent on the other end. "Of course Ozpin. Penny's stay will only be for the vytal festival and the boy will transfer to Atlas once cooler heads prevail after the last incident. I have to go now, take care."

There he went again, keeping secrets about his little military. Ozpin allowed it so long as he cooperated with him and maintained order but he couldn't help but shake the feeling he had accepted trouble along with Ironwood's suggestions as of late. 'The boy' as he would refer to him, also seemed to host personal troubles. As it was related to Atlas's internal affairs he had no insight into it and could only hope the Hyalus boy could find some hope in his vast issues.

As Ozpin was preoccupied with his own affairs and the training of the next generation to fight against the dark, he could not look after every student, especially one whom even he could not access records to.

-Chapter End-