Disclaimer: See last chapter.

Ripples within Ripples

For the first time, Ruby was in an extremely uncomfortable seat, but whether that was because she was in the stands for this fight, or because it was two people that she knew fighting each other.

Probably the first ones, because Uncle Qrow didn't stop complaining for this fight. And she'd always been stuck in the Weaponsmith's forge, making sure that everyone's weapon was prepared and ready to go. Well, it was. She'd succeeded at most of her job, now there were only a few bouts left.

It was the last day of the Vytal Festival tournament. The previous day had seen fourth and third years at the one on one fights. It had been a thrilling day of action, scandal, and more than a slight bit of drama.

And the fact that Port and Oobleck were still commentating meant that once again, Ozpin let his influence on the show go. He really didn't approve of it, did he?

It was easy to think that the third and fourth years should be better than the first and second, and they were. Anyone could tell that was probably the case. However, they weren't nearly as 'flashy' or 'incredible' as the first and second years. And that's what the show wanted.

"Welcome back to the final day of the Vytal Festival Tournament!" Oobleck's voice rang out. It was really loud in the stands, and Ruby was used to the more subtle voices of those coming from her scroll. "We have an excellent array of one on one entertaining bouts of fighting in this merciless blood sporty game!"

"Now now Bart, just because you don't approve of it doesn't mean that everyone else doesn't. I most certainly do! I remember when I was just a lad in Beacon, getting ready for my first Vytal Festival Tournament-"

"Oh no he's starting quick someone make sure that he doesn't get far," Oobleck said into the microphone. Despite that he was the closest one to actually do something about it.

The seats were biting into her backside, and she felt a distinctively uncomfortable stare coming from behind her. Uncle Qrow was around, and Ruby could see his hair on the other side of the stadium.

Ruby waved her hand around in the air, trying to get his attention. There was a scoff behind her, and Ruby turned around. "Oh, hi! Uh...Emerald, right?" Ruby asked the green haired girl.

Amber's last words reminded her that Ozpin and Ironwood were definitely 'keeping an eye' on Emerald and Cinder, as those two were the only two that had the distinctive emerald green hair and the fire Semblance with black hair that Amber had described. The last one was thought to be Mercury, but Ruby wasn't completely sure. There were a lot of people with grey hair, Ozpin among them.

Although she did doubt that Ozpin would kill anybody, let alone a Maiden, and then turn around to try to keep them alive. That didn't seem like him. He was much more of the 'convenient plan to turn everyone against everyone else' kind of guy.

Qrow's words, not Ruby's.

"The Weaponsmith, right," Emerald sighed. "I'm surprised to see you out of your shop. It's the last day, I'd think you'd be stuck inside still."

"So would I, but the rules are relaxed a bit on the last day of the tournament. The Festival goes on for another week anyways. There's always the Grimm Hunt, too."

"You have to help that one too?"

"The entire festival. I was surprised too when Professor Ozpin told me," Ruby answered. "I only see your one teammate around here, where are the other two?"

"Oh, they're around. You can see my leader over there, by the exit," Emerald pointed out far to the side. Cinder stood there, her eyes narrowed.

Ruby nodded. "...And that was how I won the forty second Vytal Festival Tournament using only a swordfish and a kebab!" Port was finishing up.

"How long. Can he. Go on for..." Oobleck's voice was almost crying for relief. "Oh, sorry about that folks. Let's get this match off to the best start of all time! Pyrrha Nikos, the undefeated champion of Beacon, and Mercury Black, the also not quite undefeated but at least undefeated in this tournament champion from Haven!"

"How can someone be not quite undefeated?"

"Headmaster Lionheart has not once mentioned that Mercury Black is the undefeated champion that Pyrrha Nikos is! On the other hand, Headmaster Ozpin is also asking me to not actually say that Pyrrha Nikos is undefeated, because she's at least been beaten by her trainer at least once when she was six. Although...how does he know that?"

"Oh that's a rather famous one actually! And no, Pyrrha Nikos did in fact beat her trainer, because the rule wasn't to aura break, but rather to first blood! The trainer forgot this, and Pyrrha Nikos scored a rather unheroic hit accidentally when they had their aura down," Port answered.

Pyrrha's face was red with embarrassment as the two commenters continued to both appease her and tease her at the same time. Mercury was standing on the other side of the field, his hands behind his head as he looked bored. "Can we fight now?" He asked loudly.

"Probably!" Port answered. "Bart, were there any other rules for this one?"

"No, nothing in particular. Just the usual, first to aura break, but also remember that whoever wins this does go on to the second and third rounds, generally without much of a break! Remember, competitors, that you still have the rest of the tournament to go, so don't get yourself too tired out!"

Emerald's scroll rang out loudly behind Ruby, and she turned around to give the green haired girl a glare. "Sorry..." She murmured in apology as she quickly silenced her scroll. Ruby wasn't the only one to do so, especially the people besides Emerald and behind her.

"That everything, Peter?"

"I believe so. Competitors ready?" Port asked as Pyrrha pulled out Mio, and Mercury got into a fighting stance. "Alright, then...Vytal Festival Tournament final day! Begin!"

The arena was a plain arena, with no place to hide. Only the skill of the competitor was supposed to be shown. And instantly Pyrrha showed that she was the superior combatant easily.

Mercury came in for the usual quick trade of blows, only for each to be expertly dodged by Pyrrha. Each of her strikes came in just as quick, and they were either dodged or deflected.

It was almost unbelievable just how quick they both were. Ruby saw nothing but lines denoting each strike. A kick here, a dodge there, a deflection here, a lashing there. Mercury was acting almost like Yang in a way, each punch or kick just as devastating.

But he was also against Pyrrha Nikos. Ruby could hold her own, but she was nowhere near beating the girl yet. And it was obvious from the beginning that neither was Mercury. His strikes were just a tad bit slower, a bit easier to deflect, a bit less strength behind them.

Also Ruby also noticed a few other things. For one, he never once shot out of his prosthetics. He was also over encumbered, making his metal legs stick out a bit more. They normally fired .45's, but Ruby could guess they were more filled with .38's. It could work, but it definitely wouldn't have the same amount of kick to them.

But he hadn't fired once yet. Pyrrha had started with her usual array of rifle shots, and it was obvious she was confident in her martial ability.

Ruby's eyes narrowed. Something was wrong with this situation. "Pyrrha! Remember that thing you can do!" She shouted out. Mercury's legs were too heavy, far heavier than they should be based on the way he didn't dodge enough.

A step back should be a complete step, not a half step with a minor overreach. Ruby stood up, trying to get a better view. "Oh, come on!" Emerald shouted from behind her.

Mercury had started to head towards the left, and Pyrrha had almost made a massive mistake by aiming for the right. She corrected at the last second. "Oh, an unusual mistake from Pyrrha Nikos!" Port commented.

"Indeed, that kind of behavior will see either someone get hurt or Nikos lose for the first time!"

The dance of duels continued, each strike from Pyrrha getting closer and closer to Mercury now, who was seemingly expecting something else to have happened by now.

"Sit down!" Emerald said from behind Ruby. Ruby glanced behind her, seeing an angry Emerald there, and she gave a muttered apology as she sat back down.

Ruby gave a glance down just as she did so, seeing Emerald's hands white as they tightened into fists. One was almost on her weapon, as if she was alert and ready for a fight.

Ruby's scroll came out, and she made sure it was silenced but she could still see it. 'Keep an eye on Cinder, I think Emerald is trying something' she texted over to her Uncle Qrow.

It took a moment but she saw him look down at his scroll, before he took a wild look around the audience. His eyes settled on Ruby, and she gave another full wave. Emerald recoiled as if Ruby had hit her physically. "Come on, stop that!" The green haired girl responded.

Pyrrha was back into attack mode now, and she was slowly whittling down Mercury's aura. While she was down to eighty percent aura herself, mostly from swift dodging at an unpredictable pace that Ruby was sure even she could barely get to.

Mercury himself was down to fifty percent aura. And Ruby expected that he had yet to use his Semblance. He also hadn't fired anything yet. That was unusual.

Pyrrha started behaving erratically again, aiming for the left instead of the right. Mercury was gladly taking advantage of the mistakes. "Ooh, those are uncommon mistakes from Nikos! I wonder if the pressure is starting to get to her!" Port commented.

Pyrrha was noticeably confused for a moment. "Pyrrha! Keep going!" Ruby shouted with hopeful encouragement. The red haired girl just long enough to see her, before she nodded, and her eyes shut.

Mercury darted in, keeping advantage of her shut eyes, before Pyrrha somehow miraculously dodged every strike. Her eyes were still closed. "Oh wow, Pyrrha is dodging with her eyes shut! What does that say about Mercury Black then!?" Port commented.

"He'll have to find some other way to use her sensory disadvantage to assist him!" Oobleck said congenially. "But the question is can he do it!? Pyrrha's only at seventy five percent aura, while Mercury is at forty!"

"I have six hundred lien saying he can't!" Port answered.

"We aren't supposed to tell them that part!" Oobleck said with just as much fervor. Ruby glanced up for a moment. Why would they...the teachers had bets on the students in the tournament too, didn't they?

"No way, that's impossible!" Emerald was saying from behind her. Ruby wanted to tell her that no, it wasn't. Pyrrha had that ability as part of her Semblance...because she was using it as an extra sense.

She was dodging masterfully with each strike. Mio came out and flashed out whenever she had a clear shot, and Mercury was too focused on trying to take advantage of her closed eyes that he forgot to dodge or deflect. "Come on!" He shouted as he jumped back a bit.

Mercury glanced towards Ruby, before he turned back to Pyrrha, going in for a final kick and strike. It would be easy for Pyrrha to knock his foot away, and go in for the aura breaking blow.

She brought up Mio as to start the deflection, before she dodged instead, leaving Mercury to land harshly on the ground. He gave a loud yell of pain, despite the fact his aura was up, and Pyrrha's eyes opened up in shock.

He was holding his foot as if she'd hit it anyways. "Argh!" He shouted. "My foot, you broke my foot!" He was shouting, holding it tight against his chest.

"And it looks like Mercury Black is accusing Pyrrha Nikos of hitting a limb directly!" Port was saying.

"Let's take a look at the replay, shall we!?" Oobleck said, before the screen turned to show that Pyrrha had clearly dodged it rather than deflecting it. "Hmm...I'm not seeing it!"

"No..." Emerald said from behind Ruby. "You were supposed to..." She was muttering. Ruby nodded. It was hard to watch someone resort to cheating rather than simply trying to get better.

"I'm sorry!" Pyrrha was saying. "But I know that I never did."

"Alright, so we're having a quick ten minute break as the judges review the footage, and while Mercury Black sees someone for his foot," Port was commenting. "Looks like the match is over for now!"

Ruby's head was tilted. That didn't make sense either. Mercury had prosthetics...she quickly pulled out her scroll and texted Ozpin with it. Had...she forgotten to mention that fact to everyone else? Oops...

Something was fishy.

Taiyang

'Nothing yet. No sign of anyone,' Qrow's message said. Of course it did, Taiyang thought. No one who had the brilliant idea of going against Ozpin was going to let something as simple as being seen get in their way.

Oh, he knew. Qrow wouldn't tell him everything, but he had enough figured out. Ruby had told him everything else. And to have half the Maiden's power now...?

He and Summer had been offered a few extras by Ozpin, as proof as to what he was saying, way back when. Qrow and Raven both took him up on it, and now both of them were closer to their names than ever. As in, they could turn into birds.

Summer had refused. Raven probably could have talked him into it, if she'd bothered, but she hadn't. And watching both Qrow and Raven try to get used to their flying abilities was absolutely hilarious, and not something Taiyang would want Qrow or anyone else laughing at.

No...his job was a little bit more important. Why Summer had taken Ozpin up on the offer, to guard the Crown of Choice, Taiyang didn't know.

It was difficult at the best of times to raise both Yang and Ruby up while doing his duty at the same time. But Yang had been an accident on his part, an outright lie on Raven's. Ruby had been no accident on either his or Summer's part, and he had a better idea of what he was getting into at the time.

To hear that someone was gunning after the Maiden's was nothing new. It happened every few years, whenever the rumors about the powers started to circulate again. They were fairy tales, after all, stories that everyone had heard as children. It was really no surprise.

But Amber had been trained. She was still new to the powers, sure, but Ozpin had at least given her the illusion of free will. She could go outside the boundaries of Vale, but anything outside of Sanus was out of the question.

Not that it did much to save her, it seemed. Qrow hadn't gotten the best look at the attackers, and his attention had been more on Amber than on the attackers. Tai didn't blame him. But Ruby had reported as much that it had been Cinder and her ilk. Which was why he was keeping an eye on Emerald, and he assumed Qrow was with Mercury, or looking out for Cinder directly.

He was at the top of the Festival Tournament stands, in one of the more unused areas. Not because it helped him hide, because it didn't, but because it gave him the room to be able to put his feet up on the chair ahead of him without having to worry about pissing someone off. It was always important to be comfortable when on a watch. He learned that lesson quite well out in the wilds. Also when Summer was determined to keep watch while standing, because 'standing watch' was a term she'd heard the leaders had to do.

He thought she was just being silly at the time, but no, it honestly seemed she didn't know. So he got a front row seat as Summer sat down and complained 'never again' as she did so.

Especially as Qrow and Raven had overslept, so Summer had to stand watch the entire night. Tai had been injured at the time, so he got off.

He could see Qrow, much older now than in his memories, in the far side of the stands. He was looking towards where Cinder had been standing, but the girl was gone now. Ruby was on the other side from Qrow, and together they created some kind of wacky triangle, even if Ruby didn't know that's what they were doing. James then, had to be searching for her. Atlas did have a lot more agents than what he publicly proclaimed.

Tai was nothing if not proud of his youngest. And his oldest, for that matter. Yes, Yang was also currently the runner up for most detentions in the first year of Beacon, with Team STRQ just barely ahead of Team PABY, but really, he was expecting that.

At the end of the day, she was a solid sister, a good friend to her team and to other teams, and a great huntress-in-training.

Ruby was too! Maiden not by being made as such, or luck, but rather by choice. The choice to go in with an experiment that had never been done before, to help someone who was beyond saving. And with the shop, too!

That had been something completely out of left field, but look how well she'd done! From a small store owner to the Vytal Festival Weaponsmith. That was not something easily done. No, Tai was very, very proud of his daughters.

They had worked hard, and while they had help to get where they were they took that momentum and ran with it themselves. He couldn't have asked for more.

Well, okay, he could have asked if Yang hadn't blown up Junior's bar trying to ask for Raven, or if Qrow's Semblance would stop randomly blowing things up near him, or if Ruby would stop having a penchant for massive explosions that would just hinder her out in the field.

On the other hand, Yang could blow up a bar without getting injured, Qrow's Semblance was constantly sharpening his instincts, and Ruby's explosions had essentially saved Vale even if she didn't know it.

So gotta take the good with the bad. That was something he'd taken far too long to learn, but it was a lesson that only experience could teach.

"And now the last match of the quarterfinals! Neptune Vasilias versus Penny Polendina! Hailing from Vacuo, Neptune is a master of the Trident, which holds a sparking surprise! Penny Polendina is from Atlas, and her Floating Array is a massive ten swords that she controls! Ten points versus three points here!" Peter's voice called out.

Why Glynda was still allowing those two to commentate, Tai didn't know. It was kind of humorous though how they'd constantly talk back to each other. Tai didn't think he could do better up there.

He glanced up towards the window at the top, seeing Ozpin and Glynda on one side, with Winter Schnee and James on the other. The two headmasters plus Ghira and Kali Belladonna, as both Theodore and Leonardo had said they couldn't come to this one, for one reason or another. Tai believed Theo more than anything.

The last time he went out to Vacuo, the sandstorm had been kicking up something fierce, and that of course brought out Grimm by the horde. Theodore usually went out personally for those ones.

Although why he thought it was a good idea for a headmaster to go out dealing with Grimm personally...that was another question. Even James and Ozpin usually stayed back if they could.

The two competitors walked out onto the field. Tai felt bad for the blue haired one. He was going to be a heartthrob, he imagined. He had the looks, the exoticness...he should probably warn Yang away.

On second thought, Yang didn't need to be warned away, because Tai was sure she'd be the first one in line to beat up anyone who hurt her.

The less said about Ruby on that front, the better. Tai knew that Qrow liked to tease her for her friendship with various people, but Tai also knew there was nothing going on that he'd have to worry about. For one, she was focused highly on her weaponsmithing. For another, Yang would do the warning off for her. For a third, he wasn't actually sure if Ruby thought of anyone that way. Oh, he knew the jokes, but he'd never partaken in them. What she did on her own time was up to her.

She probably did, he just didn't see it. He'd just have to trust them to know what they were doing, and to know to come to him if they needed help.

The Floating Array was an odd weapon choice. Ruby had complained about it once, ten floating weapons shaped like swords that were made out of dust. They were connected through small data wires to Penny's back, and each one had to be maintained using specialized dust cloth.

She usually had a bunch of extra so it hadn't been too bad but most people wouldn't have any just lying around in their maintenance kits.

The Neptune kid though was doing pretty well considering he was against ten swords. He wasn't the best with his Trident, though. Tai saw plenty of opportunities that Penny could have used to punish him for overextending, but she was doing a decent job nonetheless.

Passable, for a huntress-in-training. Neptune, too, was passable. Grimm wouldn't take advantage of the openings, instead just barging through.

Most Hunters forgot that little fact, so rather than focusing on strength and speed to deflect, they closed the openings they did give off, until they fought against a Grimm that it didn't matter to. If the Grimm was big enough, it didn't matter if someone had no openings. Size was a strength all of its own.

'Still nothing,' Qrow texted him. 'Got anything?'

Tai rolled his eyes. 'She's probably getting something to eat. What makes you think it's happening now?'

'The whole thing with Pyrrha and Mercury. It smells.'

It probably did. But Mercury had been disqualified afterwards, not surprising since he'd lost, for trying to take advantage of something he didn't have. Pyrrha was pushed forward to the semifinals. His foot tapped on the ground impatiently. Emerald was accounted for. Mercury was...hopefully accounted for. Cinder...he grit his teeth. The fact that no one had eyes on Cinder right now bothered him. Or at least, no one was letting him know that they had eyes on Cinder.

He took a deep breath. Pyrrha was doing well. The leader of Yang's team. At least for the first and second years. It would be difficult for a first year to go against a fourth year. Although he'd never forget the time when Raven did exactly that, and got the beating of her life.

Then Summer joined her, and together they beat them. Team STRQ stood together, even if Tai wasn't sure that was the best way to show they were unified.

The field that Neptune and Penny was a flat circle, useful to determine who was the best and who wasn't.

The two kept exchanging blows. It took Tai a few extra moments before he noticed the really odd things about the match. For one, Neptune had yet to use the lightning dust his trident held. Ruby had kept complaining about it for one thing or another. For another, neither had used their Semblance.

Useful, certainly, for determining who was best in the martial components. But Penny wasn't down even fifteen percent aura while Neptune was down to thirty five. He wasn't doing too well against her.

And then there was his face. He was attacking random places as if expecting Penny to be there, only for her to be elsewhere instead. Penny, too, did the same thing, often attacking with more ferocity than necessary. This was just a harmless duel...wasn't it?

Tai's eyes narrowed. Qrow was right. "Anyone on Cinder yet?" he texted to Qrow, Ruby, and Ozpin. He wasn't expecting an answer right away. His scroll gave a shrill alarm, and he was fortunate that he was up in the stands where no one was. He quickly checked it, expecting to see Yang or Ruby. But no...Ruby was down there, also checking her own scroll.

He'd silenced it before he sat down, as he always did. A single face appeared on it just as Neptune threw his Trident, the lightning dust discharged, into Penny's torso directly. He wasn't the best at lightning dust, and that didn't look like the small amount that Ruby had complained about. That looked like all of it.

And she wasn't bleeding, but rather being shocked as if she was made of metal. The floating array crashed down onto the field. "This is what they protect you from!" The voice called out from every scroll in the stadium. Penny stood up a moment later, shaking out her head. Neptune immediately was next to her, having the trident thrown away from both of them, one hand held out as the stadium started to shake.

It came out of the speakers in the stadium too. From every possible networked entrance, the voice rang out. "They expect to protect you, but they can't even protect themselves. Have you forgotten the breach!?" The voice continued.

Taiyang glanced towards the CCT. It was the only way that anyone could get access to so many scrolls at once, to get into the network directly. James had it covered, right? The CCT had someone there all hours of the day. The only time had been at the dance, and even then Ruby had ensured that no one would have had time for it. She had launched fireworks directly into the windows on accident.

He looked around the audience, and noticed that most people were actually fairly calm about it, despite Cinder's best attempts, because it was obvious it was her. So that means that this was...a deliberate attempt by Salem.

"You think, citizens of Vale, that the Hunters can protect you!? They most certainly can not."

And Taiyang watched as blobs of black started to appear in the sky above. Nevermore of massive size, with lancers also attacking the glass above. Definitely a Salem attempt. This was the most bold that she'd been in a long time. It's quite likely that Cinder appealed to her directly then.

It took him only a second to come up with a plan. He stood up, and went straight for the exit. He was needed to clear it out to help the evacuation. That's what team STRQ had done, always back then. He was the front line, the first line and last line of defense.

While not nearly as impromptu as the Breach was, Cinder is very, very angry, and very, very disappointed that this is how she has to use her plan.

Until Next Time!