A/N: I think I said this chapter would come out on the 15th of October... I took so long that Volume 7 came out. I feel bad that I can't give you an extra long chapter for the wait, but if I could write that much, this wouldn't be late in the first place. At least there are no signs of any pirates in Volume 7 so far, so I don't have to rewrite one of my chapters.

"Welcome, everyone, be sure you pick up some Team RWBY or JNPR merch! They will surely be the stars of this event!" Usopp called out.

He managed to get permission to set up a tent where he could sell all of the merchandise he had spent many hours creating. From t-shirts to coffee mugs, the raw amount of goods he prepared had shocked the people who knew him.

Before the tournament started, the only people who bought anything he had to offer were classmates of Teams RWBY and JNPR, as well as the parents of some kid who thought that Team RWBY's 'pirate flag' looked cool. After RWBY's first victory though, the business that came to his makeshift shop increased dramatically. There was even a bit of a line, and Usopp figured that it would only increase once JNPR won their first match.

Making this much money legally is certainly a strange feeling. I just hope I'll be able to protect it better than I did in Water 7.

When the line disappeared, Team RWBY approached Usopp.

"Want to join us for a meal?" Ruby asked.

"I can't exactly lock down a tent while I take a lunch break. Congratulations on your first match by the way, I watched from a TV and you all did great."

"Thank you," Ruby said, "But are you sure you don't want to have a quick meal?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. You should celebrate your victory, and even if I'm a reserve member, you all won that match without me. Besides, I don't want to miss out on any potential customers. Every Lien counts!"

They all laughed and then waved as they departed.

Compared to fighting Grimm and doing schoolwork, just selling things and watching other people fight is a breath of fresh air.

Later that day, when there was a lull in the amount of customers, Usopp had an unexpected visitor. "Greetings, Usopp. Do you have a moment?"

Usopp looked up to see General Ironwood standing outside of his tent. "Oh, ah Admir- er, General Ironwood, why did you come here? I didn't think you'd be interested in RWBY or JNPR merch."

"That is not why I am here. Rather, I'd like to ask if you'd like to work as a guard for the duration of the tournament. Of course, you would be allowed to bring your own weapons and tools."

"Is that… necessary? Why would I in particular be needed?"

"You do stand out amongst your peers. As for whether it is necessary, I believe the right question is 'could it be necessary'. On the off chance that it is, I would rather have someone in the audience who is prepared."

Usopp could agree with that sentiment. The Atlesian Airships patrolling the skies were formidable but not infallible. If something did get past them, then his friends would be in danger, while he wouldn't be in a position to do anything about it.

"I'll do it. I'll just need some time to close up shop-"

"That won't be necessary. I will be buying your entire stock as payment for your services."

"My… entire stock? Do you need help carrying everything?"

"Oh, no, I won't be bringing it with me. Rather now you can just leave it for others to take for free."

"I see… well let me just calculate the price real quick and then I'll get started immediately."

Usopp looked at the prices he set for each item, and he may have raised them a little before finishing his calculations. An extra couple Lien a piece adds up when your selling several thousand items at once.

While Usopp was allowed to watch the matches, he was tasked with patrolling and using his ability to check for familiar Auras that might have for whatever reason infiltrated the event.

During the first day, he could have sworn that Emerald was staring at him, but when he would check, she would look focused on the match. It made him a bit wary.

However, nothing of note besides the tournament fights happened for several days. The only thing that caught his notice somewhat was the pirate-like outfit that Scarlet wore into battle. It made him wonder if he was a fan of pirates, or if he just chose a look that matched his weapons of choice.

Yang's 1v1 match, however, turned out to be a disaster. His relationship with Mercury was neutral at best, but the extra punch at the end was so unnecessary that Usopp couldn't help but feel confused.

Atlesian robots surrounded Yang and aimed their weapons at her. Usopp, in turn aimed at the robots, having absolutely zero faith that they wouldn't be trigger happy.

Yang wouldn't do that for no reason. She likes fighting, not picking on the weak. Maybe she felt threatened? No, only I would feel threatened by someone who's already defeated. But, if not that, what happened?

The crowd's reaction was predictably extreme, although Yang just looked just as confused as Usopp felt.

I'll just have to ask her about it.

By the time reached Team RWBY's dorm room, he caught a suspicious old man who was just about to open the door to their room without knocking. "Stop that. Who are you, old man?"

"I'm not that old! What do you want? Just let me check in on my Niece!"

"Niece, huh? Sorry, but I'm not just going to fall for that so easily."

"Listen here, I'm a professional Huntsman. I'm not some thief snooping about to see if anyone left their rooms unlocked."

"You sure look professional. But even if you show me your license, and even if that isn't a fake, there's no guarantee that you haven't turned to shadier jobs. But more importantly, I can tell that your Aura feels more intense than the Aura of an average student. I don't know if that has anything to do with strength, but I don't feel like taking chances since one of my friends is in that room."

Qrow raised an eyebrow. "Ok kid, how about you just knock, and then Yang can tell you that you're just being paranoid."

"I'm not going to turn my back to-"

"Fine, then I'll kno-"

"Then there will be nothing between you and Yang should you decide to kill her. I won't be able to stop you in time."

Qrow twitched. "I don't have time for this."

The two stared each other down before the door just opened itself. Yang looked tired, but there was a small smirk on her face. "I could hear you all, you know. Chill, Usopp, this drunk old man, for better or worse, is my Uncle."

"Hey!" Qrow retorted.

Usopp let out a sigh. "If you say so… but I'm still keeping an eye on him. He could have a memory altering Semblance or something."

"Right…"

"Well Yang, are you doing alright?" Usopp asked.

She shrugged. "I… don't know. Maybe?"

"If you don't mind me asking, what happened?" Usopp asked.

"I saw Mercury attack me, so I attacked back."

"All I saw," Qrow said, "was that you attacked a helpless kid. So either you're lying or you're crazy."

"I'm not lying," Yang said.

"Crazy, got it," Qrow replied.

"I don't think those are the only options, considering superpowers seem to be a dime a dozen if you practice enough," Usopp said.

"You mean that you think it was someone's Semblance that made me hallucinate?" Yang asked.

"We already know that someone who has some sort of malicious intent can use illusions to some extent."

"If you're talking about the person who helped Torchwick escape jail, then those seem to act as physical copies that shatter. And it wouldn't only be visible to one person," Qrow said.

"I'm not talking about that person. I'm talking about the night of the Dance, where Ruby fought someone that I couldn't detect with my ability. I thought she might just have some ability to hide her Aura, but what I was actually under some sort of illusion? Or maybe Ruby was under an illusion."

"If an enemy does have that sort of power, that would be extremely troublesome even if they had nothing to do with this incident. It's certainly worth looking into, but we don't exactly have many leads right now," Qrow said.

"Yeah, but I don't think Yang is crazy, nor is she lying, so what else could it be?"

"I think Usopp's right, it's the first time I've ever hallucinated anything," Yang said.

"It's plausible enough."

"Well," Usopp said, "I'll be going back to the Colosseum now. Since it seems that you actually are Yang's uncle, I'll let you two be. See you later, Yang, and I'm sure everyone will change their minds when we catch whoever caused this."

"...Thanks."

On the way back to the Colosseum, he saw Ruby who in turn was chatting with Velvet.

"Most people don't know what it's like on the battlefield. I mean, even experienced fighters can get scared and start seeing things. If it happened to Coco, it can happen to anyone," Velvet said.

"Coco?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah. She swore she saw Yatsu with her in the forest during the fight with Emerald and Mercury, but he never even made it out of the geyser fields. Stress-induced hallucinations, apparently."

"Something seems strange about that," Usopp interjected.

Velvet took a picture of him.

"Oh, Usopp, how have you been doing?" Ruby asked.

"I was just checking in on Yang to make sure she's alright, and now I have to go back and do my job. But what I thought was strange was how I never have had any stress-induced hallucinations even though I'm always stressed in fights."

"Hmm..."

But knowing that it happened in Coco's fight too is good info.

After a rather short airship ride, Usopp and Ruby made it to the Amity Colosseum. Usopp helped her find an empty seat with his ability, but once they got there, Usopp had to go.

"I'll see you later, Usopp. Good luck with… patrolling," Ruby said.

"It's not as bad as it sounds. It's about time I did my job"

Ruby looked across the Colosseum and saw Emerald sitting across. She seemed to glare at them. "Emerald's… here?."

Usopp's jaw fell a little, and then he narrowed his eyes. "Now that you mention it, I see her. But I can't see her Aura for some reason."

"Something's wrong. Could you follow me?" Ruby asked.

"Of course."

Emerald is just getting too suspicious. Even Ruby believes something is up, so I'm not just overthinking things. But if it really is her, then that means that she might have even taken some of my Pop Greens without me even knowing! I should have known better than to let people into my room when Semblances are far more common than Devil Fruits… But if she really can have people hallucinate, then she might have just been able to take the ones I carry around from me. Or she could have entered no matter what I said. She could even-

Usopp paused at the moment that he followed Ruby out of sight. Besides being able to sense Emerald's Aura now, he could also sense Mercury's Aura ahead of them. "Mercury is here too."

"What?"

Mercury walked into the same tunnel at that moment, confirming Usopp's words.

"Mercury? What are you doing?"

Mercury stayed silent, although when Port and Dr. Oobleck announced who the next competitors would be, Ruby looked pale. Usopp wasn't sure why the competitor's names made her pale, but her being pale in the first place was concerning enough.

"Ooh, polarity versus metal. That could be bad," Mercury said.

Ruby glared at him.

"Metal? What does he mean, Ruby?"

"It's.. not my secret to tell. Just know that Penny could be in danger!" She reached for Crescent Rose only to find that she didn't have it with her.

"Understood, just let me deal with him then. I can fight just fine!"

"As I'd let either you get through!"

Said words aged like fine milk as he was blocked off by a wall of bamboo that gave Ruby the cover needed to escape. He kicked through the bamboo, but it was already too late by then. "Dammit."

"Don't even think of pursuing her, or you will face instant death. Poison landmine Pop Greens have been placed throughout this area, so there is no escape."

Mercury laughed. "Nice try, but you don't have a Pop Green like that."

Usopp held his hands up. "Then why don't you try?"

Mercury grunted, but he did not hesitate to chase after Ruby despite Usopp's warnings. After a single step though, dozens of Humandrakes sprouted from the floor, walls, and ceiling to pile on and restrain Mercury. He tried kicking some away, but it was rather futile.

"Little shits!"

"You're right, it's not poison, but it's good enough. Since it seems like you and Emerald stole my Pop Greens, I figured you'd at least know about those. Did you forget? Or maybe you dismissed them as not a threat?"

Emerald silently cursed when she saw Ruby reached the entrance to the fighting area. Dammit, what are you doing Mercury? Handling two is such a pain.

She made Ruby see Penny get sliced to shreds, causing her to fall to her knees.

Ugh… time to pick up the pace on this fight.

Mercury laughed. "You think that we don't have a Plan B? You should have gone with your friend instead of worrying about me. I wonder if sending her alone with no weapon was really that smart..."

Usopp grimaced.

"Or maybe, you know, that brat will be drawn into the crossfire due to being under an illusion..."

"You bastard!"

"What? I'm just giving sound advice."

Usopp kicked him in the gut, but then ran in the direction that Ruby went. He knew that Mercury might be able to escape while he's gone, but his mind was running wild on what might happen to Ruby. From what he could sense, Ruby seemed alive, but it was very hard to even trust his own ability at this point.

He arrived to see Ruby on her knees, crying. But Pyrrha and Penny were still fighting.

There might have even been a chance to save Penny, if she wasn't torn to pieces only moments later.