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[RWBY] The Great Temporal Step-Sibling War!

Reader mode
Meanwhile with Cinder and Iridescent... New
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    • - - -



    There was an old saying Cinder's stepmother had once related to her. Something that stuck with her even after she'd burned her, her horrific step-sisters, and the Glass Unicorn to the ground.



    "The bigger the smile, the sharper the knife."



    Iridescent was smiling a lot as she bustled around the safehouse kitchen, preparing tea and snacks for them. Neo, Mercury and Roman had run off to start making some preparations, leaving her alone with the new recruit.



    Cinder never stopped watching her, amber eyes locked onto her every move.



    Iridescent noticed, of course. She pretended not to. But their eyes met far too often for the white-haired girl to not know that Cinder knew.



    Iridescent's smile grew just a tad larger.



    "Calm down, Lady Cinder," Iridescent said with a girlish titter, "I'm not going to poison you before we've gotten to know each other! Besides, the Maiden Power would let you heal from almost anything I could carry with me!"



    "Your due diligence is impressive," Cinder allowed, eyes still narrowed. Iridescent giggled and practically flounced over to the table Cinder sat at. She set down a platter of snacks, and bounced into the chair facing her.



    "It's no less than what you have done, Lady Cinder," Iridescent gushed, already chowing down on cookies and tea, "Mmm... Snickerdoodles! Miss Neo has great taste in pastries!"



    "Yes, she does," Cinder allowed coldly. She took her own tea, and sipped at it slowly. She betrayed no fear, no anger. Just as she was taught.



    Iridescent then plugged her Scroll into the holoport, and projected a few screens. Rapsheets appeared, showing off four criminals. Cinder looked over them all thoughtfully as Iridescent launched into an explanation.



    "Headmaster Lionheart has gotten these four individuals to work for us," she said, "They will be arriving soon. Their extra power will allow us to counter the reinforcements at Beacon."



    "They've all lost to Teams AARN and STRQ in the past," Cinder pointed out, "And they will be outnumbered."



    "True!" Iridescent agreed, "Which is why we need to even the odds. Would you say that our enemies are now aware of the Breach plan?"



    Cinder nodded slowly.



    "They would have to be, given Emerald's betrayal," Cinder stated in a flat tone. Iridescent smiled almost sympathetically.



    "Aw. I've had followers betray me before. It's never fun, is it?"



    Cinder kept her temper in check through sheer force of will. The bubbly tone of Irisdecent's voice seemed like it was intended to piss her off.



    She wouldn't give her the satisfaction.



    "No," Cinder said. Iridescent beamed.



    "So! What are you planning to do now that they are aware of the Breach?" She asked.



    Cinder sucked in a deep breath.



    "White Fang is still going to execute the plan," she said, "It's too far along to be canceled. My plan is to have them make a few diversionary strikes to split Beacon's forces and still go ahead with it. One of these strikes will be at the Vale Capitol Tower, the center of government." She tapped a few buttons on her own Scroll, bringing up a holographic map of Vale. "While Watts' virus is no longer useful, we still have access to many key systems of Vale's security grid. We can initiate a shutdown of the system and ensure several bombings will be successful."



    Her children's faces flashed in her mind again. She pushed them down hurriedly.



    Iridescent nodded with a broad smile.



    "Ah! It is workable, Lady Cinder! However, I do have a... Critique or two?" She held her hands in front of her chest. "May I share them?"



    "By all means," Cinder replied, allowing a brief, tight smile on her face. Iridescent looked over the map of Vale and hummed, tapping her finger on her lips.



    "If they are aware of the Breach, they are aware of the final stage of your plan," she pointed out, "I believe we should execute it fully all at once, with a heavy diversion at Mount Glenn to lure as many of their forces there as possible."



    Cinder raised an eyebrow.



    "Oh?" She asked blandly. Iridescent nodded happily.



    "Yes! I believe if we show a large concentration of White Fang at Mount Glenn," she pointed it out on the map, "With a few attacks on the villages still near it? We can lure out a number of powerful teams!"



    "Probably not enough to meaningfully distract them," Cinder sniffed, "They likely haven't struck Mount Glenn now because they're still sorting out all the future knowledge."



    "We can ensure it if we unleash the large Grimm buried in Mount Glenn," Iridescent said with a cheerful smile. Cinder shook her head.



    "There's only a dragon Grimm buried in the mountains, and that is in Mount Kiboreia behind Beacon."



    "Oh no," Iridescent shook her head, "We'll be using that one as well! But there is a new giant Grimm. One created by Doctor Merlot's experiments."



    "How do you know that?" Cinder demanded.



    Iridescent beamed.



    "Because he told me so! He's joined our Queen's side, Lady Cinder. I'm surprised you didn't know!"



    Cinder felt an icy grip on her heart. She had known of Doctor Merlot, but she had not known Salem had recruited him. While Salem didn't tell her everything, she did at least update her on potential assets to rely on.



    What else don't I know?



    "I've been very busy," Cinder said quietly, "It is good to know we have him on our side."



    Iridescent beamed.



    "Isn't it? Anyway, I believe that unleashing that Grimm will lure enough forces out for a trap. A trap our four mercenaries will spring." She pointed to Mount Kiboreia. "At the same time as the bombs going off in the city, we will unleash the dragon upon Vale. This much chaos will allow us to get into Beacon through the underground tunnels."



    Cinder felt herself grimace. For a moment, she imagined her twins... The twins and Arc being menaced by the Dragon. It wasn't a pleasant thought.



    "Penetrating the Tower will be the greatest challenge, especially without the virus," Cinder pointed out, "And Raven is now held as prisoner."



    Iridescent grinned.



    "Yes! Which means once we get in there, we will have two Maidens on our side," she said with a happy nod.



    Cinder stared intently at her.



    "You haven't revealed how we're going to get in there," she pointed out. Iridescent giggled.



    "Oh Lady Cinder~! Where's your sense of adventure? Of mystery?"



    "Long gone. How are we getting into the Tower?" Cinder asked, tiny flames igniting around and above her shoulders. Iridescent smiled back and waved her hand.



    "Don't be cross, Lady Cinder! Here, I'll show you."



    Iridescent... Dropped. Sank away. Cinder rose and stared as she slipped into the floor and vanished into it, like she'd fallen into the water. Her magic-enhanced senses screamed a warning and she stepped out of the way as Iridescent rose out of the floor right where she had been standing. Iridescent's ascent slowed and then stopped as her feet now stood on the floor. She let out a breath, and panted for air briefly.



    "Whew! Always a bit of a rush," she admitted. She beamed. "I can control my density! I can reduce and control it so precisely that I can slip through solid matter... Or..."



    The floor creaked ominously and then splintered around her feet. Iridescent took a step, and smashed a footprint into the wood. Cinder didn't so much as twitch.



    "I can increase my density to become super dense and strong!" Iridescent continued, still in a cheery manner. "With our Queen's training and assistance, I can get us into the bottom of the Tower, kill Amber, free Raven... And anything else you would like to do, my Lady."



    Cinder frowned.



    "You have to hold your breath to do it, don't you?"



    "That's true!" Iridescent said brightly, "We'll have to take a break or two getting in, especially since I'll be bringing you along. But we'll manage!"



    "And you believe we can convince Raven to join us?" Cinder asked, "She's never been open to our entreaties before."



    Iridescent shrugged happily.



    "Well! She can either join us... Or we'll kill her, and make sure she's thinking of one of us at the time. I believe that will certainly motivate her! Along with a few magical tools Queen Salem gave me!"



    "You're going to share those with me," Cinder stated coldly. Iridescent nodded.



    "Of course! But... One small request?"



    Cinder's eyes narrowed.



    "Yes?"



    Iridescent put her hands together and smiled pleadingly.



    "May I see this Jaune Arc and your future children?"



    Cinder glared. Iridescent continued to smile innocently. Cinder sucked in a breath and let it go.



    "Fine," she stated. She held up her Scroll and flipped to the pictures Mercury was able to take of the twins. Iridescent cooed.



    "Awww! They grew up so well! The boy is handsome, the girl is beautiful! They both have the right look!"



    "Right look?"



    Iridescent nodded, a glint in her eyes.



    "They have known pain. They have known death. They have taken a life... Just like their mother~!"



    Cinder stayed calm. She slowly nodded, the action feeling difficult.



    "Yes."



    "Their father though... Hmm... He's handsome, kind, and brave. I can tell," Iridescent nodded, tapping her chin as she looked at Jaune's picture, "A true knight in shining armor!"



    She looked at Cinder with a small smile.



    "He must have done something right to win your heart."



    Cinder pulled the Scroll away and closed it. She shook her head slowly, as the icy grip returned to her heart.



    "It doesn't matter," she stated, "We're taking him hostage during this fight for extra leverage. Nothing more."



    "Oh? We are?" Iridescent asked, tilting her head curiously. Cinder nodded.



    "The boy with the time travel semblance is too dangerous to hold. He could use his abilities to escape and eliminating him might change the timeline completely. Jaune..." She shook her head, "Arc is safer to take."



    Iridescent beamed.



    "Of course! And perhaps you can break him. Make him join our side? That would be wonderful!"



    Cinder slowly nodded.



    "Perhaps," she allowed. "I have no feelings one way or the other."



    Iridescent pouted.



    "That won't make for a very good marriage, my Lady," she pointed out. She then shrugged. "But it is none of my business. Shall I begin drawing up the plans for the briefings?"



    "Yes, do it," Cinder ordered. Iridescent beamed.



    "As my Lady commands," she said, bowing before she took the tea and snack platter up and headed into the kitchen. Cinder watched her go, her grip tight on her Scroll.



    She wanted to look at the pictures. She wanted to stare at them, to try and read everything that happened in that future in her... In the children's faces.



    But the scars were all she would see. And Iridescent was still here.



    And still smiling.



    - - -
     
  • New
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    • It doesn't look great for your story when you mis-spell the second word.
     
    Anyway, Sift and I are working on the next fights: RWBY vs. Nick Arc, and Pyrrha, Arslan, Emerald, and May (PAEM? APEM? PAME?) against Nick Arc. Saia will be testing Winter out, mainly because Winter REALLY wants to fight the Witch Queen of Pandu (and Nick can trust Saia to be fair to another potential daughter in law of his... Mostly).

    While Nick was testing his son to see how far he's come, he'll be increasing the difficulty level for his son's would be wives. So, how badly will the fights go?
     
    Meanwhile with Sienna... New
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    • White Fang HQ was based out of an old Pathist monastery in the Pashru Mountains. This huge mountain range divided Pandu from Mistral, and was tall enough it effected the climate across all of Remnant. This monastery was high and away from one of hundreds of narrow passes through these huge mountains, and the isolation and territorial disputes between the sub-kingdoms that made up Mistral helped protect it. From here, the White Fang coordinated its efforts through several hijacks CCT booster towers, allowing them to maintain their crusade across the planet. Now it was the height of the spring, but among the mountain flowers snow still clung here and there from the harsh winter that preceded it.



    Here in the depths of the monastery, in her throne room, sat Sienna Khan. She scowled at the holoprojections from her Scroll as she looked over pictures from the Beacon airfield from this morning. Slang, her aged snaked Faunus attendant, stood at attention nearby, her tongue tasting the air but otherwise she was as still as stone. Another holographic window held the face of Vernal, Raven's second in command, from her bandit base.



    "So," Sienna growled, "She was defeated."



    "Impossible!" Vernal gasped. "Lady Raven is the most powerful, the greatest fighter-Your spy must be lying!"



    "For what purpose?" Sienna demanded, "We are allies! We both would have gained from ending the Belladonnas! Or is there another reason Raven would not return to you?"



    Vernal growled and glared at her. Sienna took a moment to compose herself, slowly shaking her head.



    "If Raven has been captured," she stated, "We must deal with it. And we cannot do that until we have more intelligence."



    "Intelligence only you can provide," Vernal sneered. Sienna nodded.



    "Yes. So we need eachother... Until our goals are met."



    Vernal grumbled a bit, but slowly nodded.



    "We'll start moving into Vale. We have some routes we can use that don't require Raven's Semblance."



    Of course Raven would put all her eggs in just one basket like that. It ensured her tribe would never turn on her. Sienna slowly nodded.



    "I will provide intel on some White Fang bases in the area," she said, "I will let Adam know you are coming to reinforce us."



    "See that you do," Vernal hissed, before she closed the communications channel. Sienna held in a sigh, and glared at the images.



    "If he ever responds," she muttered angrily. "Why must he always ruin things! We were so close to our goal!"



    "Bad enough he let Lady Blake go," Slang agreed, "But now he is ignoring our communications and is working with these human terrorists."



    "We will always use humans against humans, Slang," Sienna snorted, "They outnumber us, we must pit them against eachother. But this...? We could have had Blake Belladonna on the throne, Adam her consort, myself her advisor and...!" She growled, digging clawmarks into her throne, "Now he's gone totally rogue!"



    "Something must be done about him," Slang agreed, "But he is young and popular. And our best chance to control Blake..."



    Sienna stopped and stared for a moment at one holo-image. Slang tasted the air with her tongue and raised a green eyebrow.



    "My Lady?" She asked.



    Sienna studied the image of a blonde, bearded human, swinging a mighty railgun sword almost as tall as he was. He was fighting Raven, while the rest of the group of older Huntsmen fought her furiously.



    "Nicholas Arc," Sienna hissed, "And his wife, Isabel. And..." She zoomed in on a few other images, "King Arjun of Pandu with his wife, Saia... Qrow, Taiyang... Willow Schnee?"



    She shook her head in disbelief.



    "Why are all these people here, now?" She asked in disbelief. "Some of the mightest Hunters and most influential people on Remnant? All here? Why?"



    "The spy does not know," Slang responded, "But apparently this fight was after another one between several Huntresses."



    Several IDs of Huntresses-in-Training appeared via the projector. Slang hit a few more keys, and a blond young man's facial ID appeared as well. Sienna hitched a breath as she saw Cinder and Emerald, the human terrorists Adam was working with, among them.



    "They were apparently fighting over a boy... This boy, Nicholas and Isabel Arc's son," Slang went on, "With several other Hunters and Huntresses of roughly the same age... But with no known IDs."



    Thirteeen additional ID pictures appeared. Sienna frowned heavily, leaning forward. If she didn't know any better, she would swear that they all looked like...



    "Arc," she whispered, "They look like Jaune Arc."



    "You met his father, did you not?" Slang asked knowingly. Sienna scoffed.



    "That was a long time ago. The buffoon married that witch, and good riddance! But this..." She shook her head.



    "Have our spy learn as much as possible. Report directly to me, and not Adam."



    "Adam is closer," Slang pointed out, "And may do something rash-"



    "It is of no concern!" Sienna huffed, "We need intel, now! We need to know what's going on!"



    That many powerful people in one place with Ghira and Kali as guests? All these unknown Hunters and Huntresses? It could be anything, from a Menagerie-Vale-Atlas-Pandu alliance against the White Fang, to Adam's cell being led into a trap...



    They just didn't know! And they had to find out, now.



    "As you wish, Lady Sienna," Slang bowed, "Though it seems Nicholas Arc's son is even more the lady's man than his father was."



    "Please," Sienna scoffed, crossing her arms under her chest, "that moron had no idea what to do with female attention on him! He ignored every signal, every overture! That shape shifting witch he married practically had to force herself upon him before he got the message!" She glared at the image of Nick Arc grinning as he fought Raven blade to blade. "Dumbass!" She spat.



    "Ah yes," Slang spoke gravely, "He was far too pure for his own good. Especially given your motives were not."



    "Exactly," Sienna nodded... Before she blushed. "NOT THAT I LIKED HIM! It was a teenaged fancy, nothing more! I am completely over it!"



    "Of course, my Lady," Slang nodded with a knowing smile.
     
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    • So Blake being worst girl (jk(?)) stopped Sienna and Adam's plans?

    Wow clap clap

    I guess Blake being Blake actually did something good.
     
    Col'O'Knowl said:
    So Blake being worst girl (jk(?)) stopped Sienna and Adam's plans?

    Wow clap clap

    I guess Blake being Blake actually did something good.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    I know we keep harping on it but RWBY's worldbuilding was so barebones, and Blake's story was such a mess. The easiest way to make it so that Blake did make bad choices BUT was also a victim AND explain why the White Fang has been operating as terrorists without Menagerie trying to stop them is simple: Sienna and Adam did what any politically savvy people would do and essentially made Blake their hostage. Blake was unaware of this, but Adam and Sienna made clear to Ghira and Kali that if they tried to disrupt the White Fang's operations, bad things would happen to Blake. Their plan was to groom Blake to take over for her parents in the future with Adam as her consort and Sienna her chief advisor. This would ensure that Sienna and Adam would be the real power behind the throne and in control of Menagerie's destiny. Adam and Sienna would both have plans to kill the other off eventually when an opportunity arose so they would be the sole person holding Blake's leash.

    This does not absolve Blake of all the crimes she committed under White Fang, nor of breaking her parents' hearts, nor of her own personal flaws. But it would give her a place to recognize she's been fooled, she's been naive, and she made the wrong choices and to START MAKING BETTER ONES. It would also give more character to Adam and Sienna: Adam may think he loves Blake or cares for her, but she is part of his rise to power and becoming a liberator, a messiah-figure for all Faunus. And for Sienna, she is a canny political operator who is using a naive but connected young woman for what she feels is the greater good of Faunus. Both are doing bad things in service to what they believe is a greater good. There's a lot you can do with that narratively.

    And IMHO, is much better than Adam being obsessed with Blake just because he's a psychotic stalker.
     
    Image: Arjun and Saia New
  • Extras
    • And here are May's parents, Arjun and Saia Sarkara! By RogueSensei:

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    • Training Yard Tussle 3: Vs. Team RWBY (Part 1) By Sift Green New
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    • Cardin grimaced. Velvet looked over at him in concern, even as her hands continued to adjust her camera.

    "What?"

    "Just..." He sighed. "Jaune's progress..." He scowled a little at the blond he'd bullied. "He started at the bottom, the very bottom... And turns out he was this wunderkind. I feel..."

    Weak, his mind whispered. Pathetic.

    His father had been a Huntsman Captain before he had entered politics and become a Councilman. He had told his son 'The very blood of Vale runs in our veins, son. We must give our all to protect it.'"

    He'd been reduced to a whimpering child by a single Ursa while trying to bully a weaker student, abandoned by his team... And had to be saved by said weakling. What had he accomplished?

    He felt Velvet's hand on his forearm. He looked over at her. Her eyes were filled with a gentle compassion.

    "That just means you need to work harder," she said comfortingly, "I know you can do it. You've worked out a lot of other problems, right?"

    He smiled at his girlfriend warmly.

    "Yeah," he agreed.

    "Hmph!"

    Both turned to look over towards the stands. Sitting there, imperious as a king, was a rabbit Faunus boy. His features were sharp and handsome, his eyes and spiky hair black as coal, and his smirk as cutting as a knife. He leaned back on the bleacher, arms crossed, as a turtle Faunus boy held up a can of soda with a straw. The Turtle Faunus boy wore his hair in a green bowlcut that matched his shell, in contrast with his pale skin, goggles, and wide mouth. The Rabbit Faunus sipped contemptuously from it before he spoke.

    "Still hanging out with that ape, Velvet? There's plenty of room to sit over here," he sneered.

    Velvet sighed in barely restrained irritation. Cardin glared, and his arm went around Velvet's shoulders protectively.

    "Hex, I've told you a dozen times, I'm not interested," Velvet stated angrily. Hex scoffed, even as his turtle Faunus flunky dabbed his chin with a napkin.

    "Of course you are, babe. You're just playing hard to get," Hex sniffed. He elbowed the turtle boy. "Even Kupa here knows you belong with me, right Kupa?"

    "Yes, Mister Skvader," Kupa managed in a shaky voice. Cardin's eyes narrowed.

    "Back off, Bucktooth," Cardin sneered, "Or I'll get my girlfriend a new pair of rabbit skin mittens for the winter holidays!"

    Hex grinned devilishly.

    "I'd love to see you try, you big empty headed-!"

    "Ahem!"

    Both looked over. Saia Sarkara, the Queen of Pandu, stood there with an ominous smile as lightning crackled up and down her staff.

    "I believe all the fighting is occurring on the field," she stated, almost friendly if not for the dangerous edge in her voice, "So save it for later, you two."

    "Y-You're not-" Hex sputtered, but Velvet squeezed Cardin's hand tightly. Cardin nodded.

    "Yes ma'am," he said. Saia studied him for a moment.

    "You're Rufus Winchester's boy, aren't you?" She asked. "I last met him at a trade conference a few months ago. He said you'd gotten into Beacon-Cardin, was it?"

    "Yes ma'am," Cardin said with a nod, "He told me about you too, your Majesty."

    Hex blanched, but quickly recovered.

    "O-Oh! Um, sorry Queen Saia!" He said, getting up to bow his head. He elbowed Kupa, who stuttered then bowed as well, "I uh, I didn't recognize you! Your beauty overwhelmed me!"

    "Thank you," Saia said with a knowing smile, "Mister Skvader. Your parents have done well to invest in my kingdom's computer industry. It is appreciated. Now, do please keep things civilized?"

    "Of course, your Majesty," Hex simpered, though he shot Cardin a venomous glare. Cardin smirked back, but held his tongue.

    "Lovely!" Saia beamed. "If you'll excuse me."

    She headed back to fuss over her daughter some more. Velvet pointed to a spot on the other side of the training field near the wall.

    "Let's head over to get a better angle on the next fight!" Velvet suggested. Cardin was more than happy to agree.

    - - -

    "Jaune! That last maneuver was so cool!" Ruby gushed as she dove into the blond knight's chest and wrapped him in a tight hug. "The way you scooped and threw that dirt and then your shield was brilliant!"

    "It was inspired," Pyrrha agreed even as she scowled at Ruby for reaching Jaune first. Not to be deterred she immediately glomped onto Jaune's right side and squeezed tightly, "I'm so proud of you!"

    "It was a pretty smooth move shovel knight," Yang joked as she clamped herself on Jaune's left.

    "Yes, your execution was surprisingly refined for something you haven't practiced and- HEY!" Weiss exclaimed as she circled around to hug Jaune from behind only to find that Blake was already there, hogging all of his back grinning at Weiss like a cat that caught a canary.

    The other potential brides showered their own praises even as they jealously glared at the girls currently monopolizing physical contact with Jaune, who's eyes had grown larger and larger in surprise with each new point of contact with the female form, his cheeks growing more and more crimson by the second. Yet through all of this, a soft voice tinged with concern and confusion managed to cut through.

    "Umm... are you in pain Jaune?" May asked, causing everyone to take a second look at the young man.

    "I am, actually," Jaune choked out with a strangled voice an octave higher than his usual tone. The girls holding on to him jumped back with worry on their faces, and now that they were clear of him they could all feel how his aura was flaring in a valiant effort to prevent the formation of bruises. "When Dad said he was going to match my speed and strength I didn't realize I could hit this hard, and now that the adrenaline is wearing off I'm really feeling it."

    The collected brides all winced in understanding sympathy. Adrenaline plus aura could really skew how you felt pain the the heat of the moment; a boon in a do or die fight, not so much anywhere else. All of them could remember one or two spars where they only realized how much they were hurting after the fighting was truly over.

    With concern creasing her brow Winter pulled out her scroll and used it to check Jaune's aura levels, "According to this the fight took out a third of your reserves..."

    "A whole third?" Yang let out a low whistle as she remembered her own spars with Jaune and his other fights in combat class. Most of their classmates tried to beat Jaune via ring-out as opposed to making his aura hit the red since the blond knight's reserves were so ridiculously high, once he'd learned how to fight from Pyrrha. Yang was on the shortlist of students that who tried to make him hit the red in their spars, so she knew how much work it took to put a real dent in his aura. "Your old man packs a punch."

    "I noticed," Jaune chuckled before groaning as he felt around the edges of his sorest spot.

    "I know a few aura techniques that help deal with bruising," Arslan offered, "Just a few easy to learn breathing exercises that aid in redirecting your aura's flow can help immensely."

    "That sounds great," Jaune gave her a grateful smile before shifting his gaze to Ruby. "Dad's ready to face your team, are you guys ready?"

    "More or less," Ruby replied with all the confidence she could muster, "Any last minute tips?"

    "Dad's giving himself a handicap for fighting you guys, like he did with me," Jaune explained, "He'll be fighting you with his sidearm Nogg, and if you can force him to use his primary Blont Joyeux? You win."

    "Are ring-outs and making his aura hit the red still win conditions?" Blake asked.

    "Yes," Jaune confirmed, "But you should really take advantage of the handicap."

    "Don't worry stud, we got this," Yang boasted as Team RWBY turned to leave the stands.

    As the four girls made their way to the field they did last minute checks on their weapons and other gear, while Ruby did a tactical rundown.

    "Alright team, I have a plan!" The silver-eyed girl announced as they exited the stands, "Mr. Arc's sidearm is just a bastard sword with no mechashift capabilities, meaning he has no ranged options unless he starts busting out aura blade techniques! So as long as we keep him from doing that, we have a clear advantage we can exploit. We're also a pretty mobile team so we're going to do hit and run tactics," Ruby turned to look her teammates in the eyes as they reached the edge of the field.

    "One of us will dart in, exchange a few blows to keep him from using any aura blade techniques, and then dart out for somebody else to take your place in melee. When you're not the person in melee keep your distance and pepper him from range. We spread out, hit from as many angles as possible, always approaching him from a new direction when we switch out who's in melee." She grinned in triumph.

    "We keep up that pressure and he'll have to draw his primary sword before he gets overwhelmed, giving us the win!"

    "Or, how about we put his aura in the red instead?" Yang suggested as she crossed her arms with a serious look on her face. Ruby's triumphant look fell into one of confusion.

    "What?"

    "Think about it," Yang explained, an edge in her voice that made Ruby frown, "If we put him in the red this will be his last fight of the day, meaning none of them," She gestured behind herself with her thumb while grinning, "Will get the chance to fight him. We'll have done something that will impress Jaune and nobody will have the chance to show us up."

    "A high risk high reward idea," Blake mused with a raised eyebrow.

    "One we could pull off," Yang reasoned with the conviction of someone throwing down a gauntlet. "Jaune's old man packs a punch. I let him land a few solid hits on me and my semblance will turn that into the power we need to take him out." She slammed a fist into an open palm.

    "Yang, Jaune's dad will see that coming from a mile away," Ruby objected with a frown. "He went to school with our parents and trained with them, remember? You learned how to fight from Dad, I learned how to fight from Uncle Qrow, and on top of that your semblance is only a little bit different from Dad's and mine has a lot in common with Mom's. He's trained against our basic tricks."

    Yang scowled as she tried to come up with a counterpoint, but Weiss spoke up before she could find one.

    "Perhaps we could use my semblance to get a ring-out?" The heiress ventured, her tone hauteur then it had been during their first few weeks together as a team. "A line of acceleration glyphs could launch him clear of the arena, all we'd need to do is make him take one or two steps in the direction we want him to."

    "Maybe that could be Plan B," Ruby allowed with a frown, "But he was your mom's bodyguard for a while so he's probably seen your family semblance in action before, and knows what to expect from it. Your family's semblance is also pretty well documented, and your specific variation on it is basically the vanilla version anyone who's read up on your family would know about."

    Weiss scowled.

    Ruby sighed before standing straighter and putting on her best team leader voice, and if it was more on edge than normal she didn't care, "So if we keep all of that in mind the only wildcard we have in our deck is Blake's semblance, and Shadow works better in my plan than either of yours."

    Silence hung in the air for a moment, and Ruby nodded in satisfaction that there were no more objections to her plan. The red cloaked girl turned again and took the last few steps onto the field with her team following close behind. Ruby hoped they looked epic with the way the light breeze was making her cloak billow a bit behind her with Weiss on her left and her sister and Blake on her right, all of them marching in sync with each other as they approached the center of the field.

    She would see the footage from Velvet later. They did look epic... but if Ruby had seen the looks in her teammates eyes as they glanced her way at that moment she would have noticed that the respect for her position as leader that she had earned over the last few semesters was absent, replaced with a subtle annoyance not seen since her second week at Beacon.

    "Hello girls!" Nick Arc greeted with a jovial grin, "You know the rules of this match?"

    "Standard ring-out and broken aura rules, plus we win if you pull out your railgun sword," Ruby summarized as she deployed Crescent Rose. Yang checked the rounds loaded into Ember Celica one last time while Blake pulled Gambol Shroud from its cleaver sheath and Weiss artfully twirled Myrtenaster in a fencer's salute.

    "So you're all ready to go then?"

    "Yep." "Yes." "Yeah." "I am." Team RWBY confirmed.

    "Alright! NORA! GIVE US A SIGNAL!"

    Nora cheerfully saluted, as Ren stood by with his usual stoic expression.

    "GOT IT DAD!"

    The gong was struck a second time that day, and as its' brassy sound echoed across Training Field 12 the combatants exploded into motion.

    ------------------------

    "...And breathe out slooowly through your nose counting down from eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, zero. There, that's better isn't it?" Arslan instructed from his left, "Now breath in again through your mouth counting up til you reach twelve: one, two, three.."

    The breathing exercise was soothing, and Jaune could feel how it was redirecting his Aura around his sore spots and helped them fade away far faster than they normally would have. Focusing on the breathing exercise also helped distract him from his current... placement...

    Arslan's right arm was looped around his left with her fingers interlaced with his. Pyrrha was on his right looping her left arm around his right and interlacing her fingers with his. May was behind him messaging a sore spot on his back per her mother's prompting and following her mother's instructions. Emerald was sat in front of him leading back so her head rested against his stomach while she used his legs like armrests. Winter stood slightly off to the side, her eyes darting back and fourth between the other girls like she was trying to decide which one she was going to make leave and replace. Each of them would toss suspicious glances the others' way every once in a while.

    How did his life end up like this? The question was rhetorical because he remembered every moment leading up to this point, but still, he had to ask: How?

    Just how?

    Ever since he arrived at Beacon the quest for feminine affection had made him feel like a dog chasing a car, but he had never expected to be like the dog in not knowing what to do with it once he had gotten it!

    It wasn't like he was completely clueless. If he was dealing with only one girl he'd know exactly what to do: go on some dates, hold hands, be supportive in her day to day life then maybe kiss a little bit, and when they reached that point the two of them would see where they wanted to go from there. If they deepened the relationship, well, marriage and a family would be the next step. If not? Break up amicably and move on.

    But he wasn't dealing with only one girl, and they were all being spurred on by each other to move quickly lest they get left behind if another girl managed to move faster (Arslan and Pyrrha had only grabbed his hands in such and intimate manner after Emerald had so brazenly leaned back against him after all, and May had only started her message after them grabbing his hands). All this affection being sent towards him all at once was kind of overwhelming.

    He needed to take Penny up on her offer to draw up a schedule, that way he'd have some alone time with each girl to figure things out without playing favorites.

    Yes, one on one time was something he could see himself managing.

    He focused on his breathing, which was slowly becoming a less and less viable distraction.

    Fortunately the gonging sound of the match starting gave him something else to focus on.

    ------------------------

    "Weiss! Jungle Gym!" Ruby called out as she twirled her scythe into a striking position, "Yang! Dextral Twain! Blake! Sinistral Ternate!"

    Team RWBY sprang into motion with Ruby rushing down the middle of the field to cross blades with Nick Arc as quickly as possible. Yang curved her run to approach Nick from the right while timing it to reach Nick after Ruby, while Blake veered to approach from the left while timing her dash to hit after Yang.

    Nick proved himself quite capable of handling the odd angles of attack a scythe could provide as he deftly deflected the first, second and third strikes Ruby attempted before he jabbed at her with the opening his third deflection created. Fortunately for the silver-eyed girl she was already leaning back to disengage so the first thrust missed, and a one second petal burst created the distance she needed to be out of the way for Yang's opening shots from Ember Celica.

    Jaune's father swept the shotgun blasts from the air with the flat of his blade before flipping Nogg around in a reverse grip to block Yang's punches with the other flat side. An uppercut, a haymaker, and two quick jabs were blocked before Nick kicked out forcing Yang to dance away. During the few seconds the two blonds were in melee Ruby had sifted Crescent Rose into its' rifle mode and she fired off two shots as soon as Yang was clear. The elder Arc deflected the first bullet with Nogg while dodging the second by leaning slightly out of the way.

    Then Blake was upon him and Ruby shifted Crescent Rose back to its scythe form in anticipation of entering the melee again. Blake struck out with Gambol Shroud's blade in sword form while holding its' cleaver sheath in a reverse grip to block any counter attacks. And there were many counter attacks as Nick flipped back to a normal grip and expertly deflected each of the cat Faunus' strikes, then struck back with his own slashes as soon as her sword was out of the way. Her cleaver managed to block three, four, and then five of his counter slashes before he bisected one of her shadow clones and Blake disengaged just in time for Ruby to charge in again.

    During all of this Weiss set up the jungle gym.

    Acceleration glyphs stretched out before her letting her glide down the path they made at speeds only Ruby could exceed. She used that speed to visit several key points on the training field like all four corners plus a few more, where she paused for a moment to channel Dust through her Semblance.

    Pillars of ice and stone rapidly grew from each point she visited, each one optimized in shape to be hooked onto by either Crescent Rose or Gambol Shroud in a way that would allow the wielders of those weapons to change directions without losing speed.

    It was a solid enough game plan, Weiss reflected as she placed the final pillar. It maximized the speed and options of the two most maneuverable members of the team while also creating places the two less maneuverable members could hide behind to either recover or mask their approach to the target.

    "Weiss! Catbird Seat!" Ruby called out as soon as the final pillar was finished, firing more shots at Nick as she disengaged from melee a second time.

    Weiss complied, using her Glyphs to quickly jump up to the top of the ice pillar that gave her the best view of the training field. From this elevated position, she could clearly see Yang replacing Ruby in the melee with Mr. Arc, while Blake got into position to strike from behind. The bearded swordsman slashed at Yang only for the blond brawler to block it with the left half of Ember Celica, then firing a shot with the right half that Mr. Arc twisted around to avoid. The older man then turned his twist into a full on spinning kick that caught Yang in the side sending the brawler sprawling on the ground, before she front flipped up and out of the way. Gunfire from Crescent Rose covered her retreat and gave Blake the opportunity to attack.

    The heiress narrowed her eyes at Yang's tumble.

    That sneaky bimbo...!

    The blonde brawler didn't need to take that hit, Weiss had seen her dodge attacks like that before quite easily. Yang was allowing herself to get hit to build up the power of her semblance Burn, meaning she was only following Ruby's plan as a vehicle to enable the alternative she had proposed right before the match started!

    Weiss couldn't find it within herself to call the brawler out. After all, she was also using Ruby's plan as a vehicle for her own as well. The younger Schnee sister summoned an array of glyphs around her and began to infuse them with Dust.

    Blake's attack from behind only managed to land a single hit on Nick before he turned around and pressed the cat faunus back with the fury of his thrusts. The young Belladonna managed to deflect most of those thrusts, but she still had to sacrifice three shadow clones to properly disengage before Ruby came in swinging her scythe in wide arcs.

    The blond swordsman ducked under the first swing, deflected the second and outright parried the third with Ruby using a brief Petal Burst to let Nogg pass through the space she had been. That Petal Burst also let her relocate herself behind the towering man as Crescent Rose sifted into its' riffle mode. The diminutive team leader they cried out as she leapt backwards while firing, "WEISS! THUNDERBIRD!"

    It was a call to fire off lightning dust with her glyphs. If the situation on the ground was slightly different Weiss might have followed it, but with the way things were going, she could see a way to enact her own plan: the fight had moved Mr. Arc closer to one of the field's edges and Ruby's Thunderbird call had caused her teammates to pull back and fire at range instead of closing in to switch out who was in melee.

    She fired off an intense barrage of icicles from her glyphs. Some were as small as bullets, others as large as chairs, while most were the size of swords. The larger icicles stabbed into the earth creating barriers that Weiss didn't expect to contain her opponent but their placement did mean the path of least resistance was in the direction she wanted the fight to go. Coincidentally, the barrier would also delay her teammates from joining in on what she was about to do.

    Victory will be mine!

    As her barrage came to an end Weiss created a launching glyph behind her and leaped onto it, shooting herself forward with Myrtenaster stretched out before her as the crescendo of her final salvo.

    Jaune's father had not been idle during the bombardment. He had spun his sword around like a propeller deflecting or outright blocking most of the medium and smaller icicles sent his way while sidestepping the larger ones. Only a scant handful had gotten past his defenses so he was ready when Weiss launched himself at her to sidestep again.

    Weiss for her part managed to land gracefully behind the blond swordsman, using another glyph to catch herself before she stabbed the ground. She then twirled around and launched a complex series of thrusts and slashes with her rapier that Nick expertly deflected with the efficiency Weiss expected from a veteran warrior.

    "Your swordplay's pretty good!" Nick observed with a tone of voice that reminded Weiss of more than one of her kinder combat instructors. His blade danced with hers in a symphony of steel clashing against steel as he continued, "But why'd you come down here? You were perfectly fine at range!"

    "I needed to make sure this next part was done right," Weiss grunted as she channeled her semblance and created an acceleration glyph behind her opponent, all she needed to do was force him back a single step and he'd be sent hurtling out of the arena. "Besides most of my training was in fencing, I can't show that off at range."

    "WEISS! GET OUT OF THERE!" Ruby's panicked command cut through the air.

    "True," Nick allowed in answer to Weiss, "But if you had kept your distance, I wouldn't be able to do this!"

    The ease with which he slipped past her guard and grabbed her right wrist with his off hand was so unexpected Weiss almost didn't process it happening until he had pressed his thumb against a nerve. The sudden pain made her lose her grip on Myrtenaster, sending the rapier clattering to the ground. Nick then jerked her arm up over his head before letting go, tossing the heiress into the air before catching both of her ankles in the same hand.

    "Wha-?!"

    At the same time, Blake vaulted over the ice while Yang smashed her way through another ice barrier. Nick responded to their arrival by swinging Weiss through the air like a flail, smashing Yang into the ground and playing wack-a-mole with Blake's shadow clones. The next few moments of Weiss' life consisted of a rhythm that went something like this:

    Smashing into Yang to keep her prone on the ground, popping a shadow clone, smacking into Yang as the blonde tried to role over, popping another shadow clone, slam into Yang, shadow clone, shadow clone, Yang, shadow clone, Yang, shadow clone, Yang, Yang, the actual Blake, Yang, shadow clone, Blake, Yang, Blake, Yang, Blake, Yang, Yang-

    "UWAH-URK-ARGH-EEP!"

    That rhythm was brought to an end as a flurry of rose petals raced through the area and scooped up Blake and Yang, depositing the two of them at the far end of the training yard. A new rhythm began where Weiss found herself meeting all of the little ice barriers she had placed around Nick, and after twelve high speed impacts all of those barriers had been shattered into inconsequential pieces.

    It was at that point Nick spun about and let her go like a professional track and field hammer thrower. Weiss sailed through the air and might have landed out of bounds if she wasn't caught by a cloud of rose petals which redirected her momentum and carried her to the same end of the field that Blake and Yang were at, bringing her to the ground as gently as possible.

    "Weiss, are you alright?" Ruby fretted as Weiss scrambled to her feet.

    "I'm FINE you dolt," Weiss woozily snapped before she took a step forward, tripping over her own feet and face-planting in the dirt, which ended up breaking her aura.

    "Ow..."

    - - - - - - -

    "...And that's the basic overview of how my father solved the power consumption issue," Penny cheerfully explained as she lead Whitley to the training field and towards the stands where his mother was sitting. "Any further detail involves proprietary information I am not at liberty to divulge barring the signing of non-disclosure wavers or a very specific list of emergency circumstances."

    Whitley was looking at her with an expression her databanks classified as wonderment. The sound of his voice registered as awed as he spoke, "Every part of you is a revolutionary masterwork; body, mind and soul."

    An unidentified surge of emotion flashed through her systems at the young man's proclamation. It was similar to happiness in many ways, but it was also different. It was like seeing a unique shade of a favored color for the first time, the similarities and differences were fascinating. This would require further examination, and the study of this new feeling was greatly aided by how the Schnee boy was making it stir within her every other time he spoke.

    Of course the sheer quantity of this feeling flowing through her systems had started to prove distracting from her current mission of guarding Friend Jaune, as attempting to process the emotion was taking bandwidth away from remotely monitoring the young Arc.

    And so Penny had decided it was time to join the others so she could reduce the number of runtimes necessary to keep an eye on the Vital National Asset that was Friend Jaune. It would also be an opportunity to meet Friend Whitley's mother Willow Schnee, which was becoming a prospect of increasing importance the longer she talked with Friend Whitley.

    "T-t-thank you Friend Whitley," Penny stammered as a cooling system kicked into high gear. A new subroutine started trying to see if the new verbal tick was connected to the new feeling she was analyzing. "Do you think-"

    The question Penny was forming stopped at the same time the pair of them rounded a corner and saw Training Field Twelve in its' entirety. By sheer coincidence they had turned the corner at the same moment Friend Jaune's father Nick Arc had grabbed Friend Weiss by the wrist and tossed her into the air, and the two of them were treated to the sight of the blond swordsman swinging the young heiress around like a rag-doll.

    "Is she alright?" Whitley asked while taking a step forward once the ordeal was over, his voice raised an octave above his normal.

    "All available data suggests that Friend Weiss has simply had her aura broken, she is otherwise fine," Penny concluded after quickly reviewing what she had just seen.

    "Okay, good," Whitley sounded much calmer before his face morphed into an expression Penny's databanks classified as scheming. "I really hope someone recorded that."

    "There are currently seventeen students live-streaming this event," Penny informed him, "Five of them in high-definition." When Whitley started to rub his hands together and chuckle in response to that Penny shifted her own face into an inquiring expression, "Why do you ask Friend Whitley?"

    "If I put those videos into a compilation set to the right musical score, I'll never lose an argument with her ever again," The Schnee boy's expression became outright devious.

    Strange, why did her primary pump systems increase their tempo when he did that?

    - - - - - - -

    Theodore sighed and slapped his forehead.

    "Aunt Weiss, why?"

    "She's still working on fixing her habits!" Nicholas said defensively.

    "How many knocks to the head did she need to finally figure it out?" Theodore demanded.

    "Apparently not enough," August deadpanned.

    "They're only down one teammate," Amethyst observed. "They should still be able to win, right?"

    Xia grimaced. Nicholas nodded grimly.

    "You saw it too, huh?" He asked.

    "Yeah," Xia sighed. While they couldn't hear what was said on the field it was fairly obvious that Ruby didn't call for and Icicle Crash.

    "They're not fighting together well at all," Julian murmured. Leander and Leandra nodded in agreement.

    "I've never seen Team RWBY so out of sync before," Xander murmured. "I don't like their odds if they don't get their act together."

    "Well, we know what they will be capable of," Petra observed, "They could still find some of that today."

    "Hopefully," Leander and Leandra murmured in sync.

    On the grownups' part Willow Schnee had become very tense upon seeing her daughter getting used as an improvised weapon.

    "She's fine Mistress Schnee," Klein reassured her, his voice a bedrock of confidence, "The young mistress has only had her aura broken, and her pride bruised, the only thing rushing to her now would accomplish is further bruising that pride."

    "Her aura did its job," Logos rumbled his own assurance, "And Mr. Arc only used the force necessary to break her aura. He was in complete control the whole time, and your daughter was never in any real danger."

    "She'll be able to walk it off in a few moments," Basara added, her voice colored with experience.

    "Yeah, all three of us walked off much worse hits at one point or another," Athena agreed. "If all our stunt partners had as much control as Mr. Arc displayed right now I don't think any of us would have gotten injured on set."

    "Right, she's fine, she'll walk it off, she's fine," Willow repeated as she relaxed. As the tension left her body a new thought suddenly entered her mind, and her face flushed crimson as that through found its' way out of her lips: "Breaker above, I wish he would manhandle me like that."

    Several heads whipped around at that declaration.

    "Brain bleach," Julian moaned, "Need brain bleach!"

    "Oh, you think you have it rough," Leandra and Leander snorted in unison.
     
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