Chapter 12

The Thief and the Butcher, and Ice Cream

(A/N: Thank you everyone for your unbelievable patience and your support. If you have enjoyed reading "The Petals Scatter Now", "The Patchwork Prodigy", or my interpretations of Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and/or Yang, please check out the first chapter my latest story "Remnants of Salvation". It is a RWBY/Supernatural crossover that follows a seventeen-year-old girl named Sarah and her little sister as they search for an end to their financial troubles in a city plagued by ghosts, infested my monsters, and crawling with even less savory fiends. It is an OC/AU, however it is heavily inspired and influenced by my interpretations of team RWBY, and contains elements from the earlier seasons of Supernatural. I hope you enjoy. God bless

Clashes of metal had been echoing throughout the campus since before sunrise. For nearly two weeks, every capable student had been using the impromptu school break to hone their skills and keep sharp. But by most it was seen as a way to scope out the competition, and perhaps even intimidate them.

It hadn't occurred to Ruby that the courtyards would be this rowdy when she suggested going for a walk around the dorm. All she had wanted was some fresh air and prove to her friends, and herself, that her injuries were in fact improving and that she wasn't helpless. Her babysitters had tried reasoning with her of course, but Ruby Rose had been in no mood to be reasoned with. She had said if they wanted to stop her they'd have to tie her down, and after convincing Yang to put the rope away her teammates gotten dressed and followed her.

Having spent much of her childhood at a combat academy, Ruby found the harmonic symphony of weapons almost relaxing. She had spent countless hours watching from her sister's bedroom window as Signalites trained in the courtyard below, and it was only a few short years after moving in with her that she began watching her dominate whatever challenge the combat instructor put in front of her. She had idolized her big sis then almost as much as she did now, and still had difficulty believing anyone could see them as being in the same class.

Those happy memories were but fleeting thoughts of nostalgia however. This was Beacon not Signal, and since taking her first steps this morning in her patted boots and socks, all she could focus on was putting one foot in front of the other and try to ignore the pain as best she could. And despite it being a chilly autumn morning, she had beads of sweat rolling down her brow, and her face was flushed due to being out of breath.

Beside her and walking with about as much grace, her hunchbacked partner muttered another string of curses directed toward Yang, who was walking a few steps ahead and conversing with Blake. Like them, the blonde was wearing long sleeves and jeans, but had also dug out of the closet a somewhat tight yellow pullover that her sister vaguely recalled was a neglected birthday present from a couple years back. And due to them being conspicuously missing from her dresser drawer this morning, she was also possibly wearing her bumblebee patterned pajama bottoms as thermal underwear. Their absence had been fairly noticeable to her current dresser-mate due to them being the girl's only sleepwear that covered her upper thighs, and Weiss had desperately wanted to call her out on this peculiarity but reconsidered as it meant at least she was wearing something today. And maybe she'd make a habit of it...

"Could we please stop discussing this!?" Blake cried, shaking her head as she tried to get a particularly obscene image out of her head.

"What?" Yang raised her hands innocently. "All I said was that Sun and I would have the best looking babies Remnant has ever seen. It was just a hypothetical fact, and it's not like I went into too many details on how it would happen. The two of you are going to have beautiful monkey-kittens someday. His tail coupled with that shapely Bellabooty-"

"And we're moving on," she said quickly, trying not to laugh or let her pink cheeks show. It would only encourage her.

"Don't worry, Blakey. Your boyfriend isn't my type."

At this the faunus finally couldn't hold back her snorts. "First, he isn't my boyfriend. Yet," she added after a brief hesitation. "And second, since when have tanned guys with abs and unbuttoned shirts not been your type? Especially the kind that like to get into trouble?"

"Alright," she relented with an extra bounce to her step. "So I'd probably let him buy me a drink or three if you hadn't called dibs and he wasn't already off limits. You don't have to worry about me getting involved with the two of you, unless of course the you two take me up on my offer for a-"

"No. It's never going happen and I know you're bluffing." Yang gave her partner a devilish grin but before she could say a word was interrupted. "But I know better than to call you on it..."

"Smart thinking. I for one could find a lot of uses for a guy that can make multiple copies of himself, which now that I think about it so can you..." Yang paused to give the blushing girl a playful wink. "But just so you know, if he ever makes my bestie cry, I can and will fit him into an ashtray. And I've watched enough cop shows to get away with it too."

"Um thanks, Yang." Her partner blushed even brighter. "We're still letting each other see other people, but that's really sweet of-"

"Hey is it just me, or do you have a thing for tall, gorgeous blonds with a tan that are named after the sun?"

"And there it is…" She rubbed her temples as the migraine finally set in.

"It is just me isn't-"

*smack*

"Someday you're going to learn when to keep your mouth shut," Blake grumbled, massaging her hand while Yang did the same for the back of her head.

"You know that's going to cause brain damage one of these days," she said semi-seriously.

"Humph!" The faunus glared at her. "I doubt that. And thanks to your antics on the roof last night, I have a giant, shapely bruise that hurts whenever I sit. So I don't want to hear a word from you."

"You want one on the other cheek so they match?"

*SMACK*

"Okay. I'm sorry," Yang whimpered. "I'll be good... in public. Can't make any promises for when we're alone though..."

They traded some playful nudges but were mindful to slowdown for their shorter legged teammates who had fallen behind a bit, and kept an eye on the limping caped-girl.

"I hate your sister." Weiss whined to her partner, just loud enough for the blonde to overhear. "I think she broke my spine and set my aura back at least a week."

Ruby nodded, barely listening as she shuffled along, biting her cheek with every meticulous step. She didn't seem to register why her friends had been standing on a roof on a chilly night of clubbing, or why Blake kept rubbing her backside and was walking a little funny this morning.

Yang turned her head and pointed an accusatory finger at her. "Hey, Rubes is the one who started it."

"And she's half your size!" Weiss shouted. "Congratulations, Yang X. L.! You pinned two girls whose combined weight almost matches yours!"

"Hehehe..." she chuckled darkly, cracking her knuckles as she slowed. "Now those are fighting words if I've ever heard them."

Blake shook her head and pulled her overeager partner along. "Please don't encourage her, Weiss. Ruby wanted a peaceful walk around the dorm." She paused momentarily as she noted the violence just up ahead on either side of the path. "So could you please save the rematch for when the two of you are healthy enough to kill each other?"

The pair narrowed their eyes and stuck out their tongues, but slowly their attention returned to the younger girl who didn't seem to be paying any attention to their antics. Her pace was slowing every few steps, and at this rate would collapse before reaching the end of the courtyard.

"You alright, Rubes?" her sister asked quietly.

Instead of answering, their leader merely glanced up with a face dripping with sweat and a grimace that let them know just how sick of that question she was. Despite her never ceasing defiance however, her friends knew by the tired look of her dull eyes that even she knew she'd never make it all the way around the dorm.

"You know, sis," Yang said, facing her and walking backwards, "while we were out last night, I could've sworn I saw Glynda in the VIP room of the club we were at. Guess Qrow wasn't lying about the bookworm being a weekend party girl back in the day. The jury's still out on whether she actually entered any of Patch's world famous spring break t-shirt contests though. But if she entered, my guess is she would've won. Except that my mom would've entered too. A champion has to defend her crown after all..."

At the mention of their uncle, Ruby glanced up but didn't respond.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute." Weiss shook her head while mirroring Blake's startled expression. "Professor Goodwitch. Our Professor Goodwitch used to be your babysitter when the two of you were kids?"

Yang nodded, though seemed surprised by their reaction. "Yeah, a few times a long time ago. I've told y'all this before. She's an old family old friend and graduated a couple years behind our parents. And is that really more shocking than her competing a wet t-"

"We thought you were lying," Weiss said frankly while Blake nodded, though wishing she hadn't interrupted quite so quickly.

"Me lie?" She covered her heart as if hurt. "Never..."

All their eyes met and fell on the caped-girl who was beginning to have trouble even keeping up even at their snail's pace.

"Glynda was strict but not like the tyrant she is now," Yang continued. "'Brush your teeth, go to bed on time, stop sticking crayons up your nose and other orifices'. That kinda thing. She was still working on her master's degree after her four years with the huntsmen and being a private dueling tutor. Occasionally she'd be a guest teacher at Signal, and sometimes babysat us when Dad and Qrow were away at conferences. But that stopped around the time she was made Beacon's head combat instructor. It was great though, being able to break anything and have her fix it like magic, but man that riding crop hurt..."

She grimaced and began to walk a little funny as if remembering something unpleasant. "She could be a lot of fun though. Whenever she'd get done raiding Qrow's fridge, she'd tell us stories about our parents and what it was like being a huntress. She didn't talk about her field work very much though, just like Dad and Qrow. Most of the time she talked about being in the Vytal Festival and wanting to train champions. Her team never was never able to make it past the quarter finals, but-"

Yang cursed herself seeing how Ruby's eyes lit up before they quickly darkened at the mention of the tournament, and swiftly cleared her throat. "But 'little miss spring break' was celebrating last night that's for sure. And probably brought someone home worth celebrating too. But she still couldn't hold a candle to us, sis. It's a good thing we had all those CPR classes because we were taking guys' breath away left and right. Tell her, Weiss?"

"I thought we agreed never to speak of that day ever again," she muttered, refusing to make eye contact. "And that under no circumstances are we to ever preform CPR for each other."

"You'd rather die than let these luscious lips touch yours... again?" Yang asked feigning disappointment.

"As a matter of fact, yes."

While they continued their friendly banter with even Blake jumping in occasionally, their hearts weren't truly in it as their eyes were busy watching Ruby's every move. Weiss shared a knowing look with her teammates, and subtly patted the dust pouch attached to her belt. Inside she had packed her favorite chess set given to her by her late grandfather. For centuries, virtually every Atlesian whether aristocrat or commoner studied the game as it more in common with a sport in the northern kingdom. Weiss had been taught by the finest tutors money could buy and spent countless hours of rigorous training to be a junior champion, but in less than four months since learning the basics, her partner was quickly becoming her greatest challenger.

It had been astonishing to her that Ruby would even be interested in a game that was without blood and violence, but was even more astounded when the girl she claimed as having a head full of rocks began effortlessly mastering strategies that had taken her months or even years. At the time it had been as infuriating as much at it had been humiliating, but the more she learned about her partner and the more inseparable their souls became, the more she realized just how special she truly was.

Weiss had been called a prodigy since before she could remember due to her almost surgical skill with a rapier, the intermediate level glyphs she could create even as a child, and her cunning mind that outwitted chess masters almost as easily as business executives. She also had a voice that could make grown men cry, slender fingers that could make any instrument sing, and a gymnastics routine that had earned her perfect scores time after time. But she had never truly understood what a prodigy was supposed to be, only that was what she was expected of her. It was only after meeting and befriending a real prodigy for herself, and swallowing her pride, that she finally understood what that burdensome word meant.

At an early age she had taken to heart the saying that it took ten thousand hours of practice to become a master of anything, and so she had spent her childhood and teenage years trying to master everything she put her mind to or was put before her. Only perfection satisfied the people of her household, and more than anything Weiss had wanted to be perfect in every sense of the word.

Ruby on the other hand seemed to have difficulty concentrating on any subject other than weapons and fighting with weapons for any more than a few minutes. She was more scatterbrained than her ditsy sister and even more hyperactive, but it had been by teaching the young girl the fine art of chess that Weiss discovered the simple reason why.

Pure. Unadulterated. Boredom...

For Ruby Rose, ten thousand hours could pass in the blink of an eye. Despite being two and a half years younger, she had arguably spent more time honing her skills as a huntress than even Pyrrha and Yang, or even herself. And Weiss found that her relentless combat style translated even in chess, and that her unparalleled fast talking, fast thinking partner was the perfect match for the calculative, methodical mind of herself. She did like to take a smidgen of the credit however, as she believed her partner couldn't have asked for a better teacher.

Weiss' skills had been tested in the game as well as in combat like never before, along with her patience and sanity at times, but now just thinking about her best friend's suffering caused Weiss' soul to grieve horribly as though it was splitting in two. She desperately wanted to see the girl laugh or smile sincerely again, but for the time being would settle on just occupying her mind even for a little while. It was maddening for herself and teammates, but after taking cues from Yang on the best way to approach Ruby in her current situation, it was the best they could do.

Ruby did genuinely like the game, but truthfully it was mostly because she enjoyed her partner's company. With that said however, what truly kept the girl coming back for more punishment from the merciless Ice Queen was the promise of a year supply of chocolate should she ever be bested in a no time limit game, which had quickly become a condition when the heiress realized that there likely wasn't a person in all of Atlas that could beat the girl in speed or bullet chess.

It was like offering ice water just out of reach of a small girl dying of thirst in the vast Vacuoan desert, and Weiss relished every minute of their mind numbing contests. She enjoyed watching her partner's childish aggravation at losing, but found herself admiring her stubborn resolve to someday eat chocolate morning, noon, and night every day for a year. But it also made her sick to think about...

"Ruby?" she asked casually. "Would you care for a game of chess? I saw that your cookie supply was getting fairly low this morning." Her partner may have given a slight nod, but the way her weightless head wobbled side to side it was difficult to tell. "Ru-"

"Sure..." she cut in, blinking moistness out of her eyes every few seconds. So long as no one admitted why they were really sitting down and played along, so would she.

"And while y'all are doing that," Yang drawled. "I suppose Blakey and I will keep discussing our 'Sunny Bumblebees' dilemma."

*smack*

Yang turned, holding the back of her head and shivering as she saw the ice glyph dissipate. Facing around, she saw the heiress with a hand in her dust pouch, grinning wide while the girl beside her sighed deeply due to the cool, refreshing air. Or perhaps from feeling her partner's aura brush against her skin.

The blonde did her best to hide her grin and the appreciation in her voice. "Why is it always the head?"

"Because it's not like you have much to lose," Blake answered dryly, like them trying not to laugh. "We've seen you headbutt an Ursa to death, Yang."

"And we're just taking after our wise, illustrious leader, whose first interaction we saw with you involved her punching you in the face as hard as humanly possible. Which didn't even phase you by the way."

"Good times," Yang agreed. "But you left out the part where I sat on her chest and tickled her afterward."

"And it's not like we don't already beat the hell out of each other in training," Blake added. "Or when we're fighting over showers, the last bottle of hairspray, which of the Achieve Men looks best without a shirt... and pants, or something even more mundane."

"Like when the heavyweight champion suddenly decides to dive off the top bunk onto the two hapless corgi-weights, and nearly causes both of them to suffocated because of her inflatable-"

"I assure you that I am in fact a bantamweight, but I get your point," the blond relented. "How about while y'all are busy playing smart people checkers, Blake takes me to where she gets her cat-scans?"

The monochrome pair cringed at the terrible pun but their leader still didn't react. Even Yang's repeated usage of 'y'all' and mocking her sister's slight rural accent was lost on her, which was normally a sure fire way to start a fight between them.

"Come on, sis," Yang said quietly. "That was a good one."

"Huh," Ruby looked up. "Oh, yeah. Good one, sis..."

She mustered up what little laughter she could but it came out more like a wheeze. Lifting her pullover up a bit, Yang retrieved a bottle of water from her ammo belt and offered it to her. A few seconds later Ruby handed back an empty bottle and gasped for breath, but gave a weak thumbs up in thanks.

During this time the sounds of battle had become more like a roar, and as they began walking through the parted sea of armed students, the caped-girl couldn't help but notice people gawking at them. Or more specifically, her.

"Um, why are they staring?" she squeaked.

Blake and Yang aware of the unwanted attention, dropped back with the now vertical standing Weiss so as to make a perimeter around their leader, with the blonde taking point and the other two flanking the vulnerable girl in the middle, just as they'd trained.

"Well let's see now," Weiss murmured. "After two grueling days in the lost city we thwarted a terrorist attack, killed over a thousand Grimm together with you doing most of the slaughtering, killed an Alpha Deathstalker and an Alpha King Taijitu, heroically saved countless civilians, and captured the most wanted criminal in all of Vale. Perhaps they simply know excellence when they see it."

"Oh..." came a hollow sounding voice.

"Let them stare," Yang cooed, grinning confidently as she walked with her hands atop her head and sultrily swaying of her hips. "They're looking at this year's champs. And they look good if I do say so myself..."

While the heiress and the knockout blonde had no qualms with being the center of attention, Blake looked as though she was desperately fighting the urge to tighten her bow, and it felt to Ruby as though every eye was burning through her. Through some fortitude she didn't know she possessed, Ruby's feet picked up the pace to what was perceived by the other students as a slow, assertive trot. Weiss having preformed at countless concert recitals was used to standing in front of hundreds if not thousands of onlookers, and due to her status as celebrity had learned to ignore or at least tolerate scathing eyes. Yang however was savoring the attention, winking at any sweaty guy and enjoying their starry-eyed expressions afterward. She was just disappointed she was wearing such unimpressive and criminally unrevealing clothes, but assured herself that the pullover hugged her figure nicely and only gave the boys more room for their imagination.

Most of the attention had gone from herself to her more compelling sister as well as her teammates, but Ruby still felt burning in her cheeks, that is until something resembling ice water entered her veins. The suddenness of the sensation caused her to give an involuntary shiver, but the more the familiar sensation spread throughout her body the warmer she felt. With eyes still glued to the sidewalk, she blinked as her shadow gave a subtle wave and her body began moving almost on its own. Looking out the corner of her eye, Ruby realized she was matching Blake step for step as though she were now the faunus' shadow. A warm hand then reached back and pulled her precious hood over her face, and three different yet inseparable feeling auras wrapped around her so that she lost herself momentarily in them.

Her head turned on its own to face her partner, who again had quietly reached into her dust pouch, and whose radiant smile would've been invisible to anyone but herself. With the unseen flick of the heiress' wrist, Crescent Rose activated and Ruby's lethargic limbs moved without her volition as though she were a puppet and Blake her puppet master. She caught the rifle with ease and began twirling it until an unfurled, six foot scythe landed graceful on her shoulders. She tried not to let her surprise show, but then realized it didn't matter with her hood down.

Again her teammates flared their auras and marched through the legion of future huntsmen as though they didn't exist, and who had all gone quiet. Their eyes no longer felt assaulting to the caped-girl, in fact she couldn't feel them at all despite every single one of them looking through the girl of unparalleled beauty, Yang Xiao Long. The richest girl in all of Remnant, Weiss Schnee. And the mysterious girl in black who rarely if ever said a word, Blake Belladonna.

All they could see was little Ruby Rose, the faceless prodigy that was supposedly as unmatched in tenacity as she was in skill and strategic cunning. Having just turned fifteen shortly before school began, she was by far the youngest leader in Beacon's illustrious history and had already led her team to hell and back. And it would seem the rumors of her hideous injuries were either overblown or she was frighteningly resilient as she looked willing to make sure none of her team's competition even made it to the tournament herself. Most were willing to agree with the latter, and those that had gotten a glimpse of the intensity in her silver eyes or focused too closely on the newly sharpened Crescent Rose were finding it difficult to breath.

Feeling her friends' unbridled confidence and pride flowing through her, and the weapon across her shoulders that was like family, Ruby forgot about her feet and her other aches, and the agony of every step was replaced with purpose, no longer having to rely on Blake's aura for reinforcement of her limbs. She felt her face become passive as it always did before battle, and suddenly the world around her dissolved into nothing.

She continued down the path but it wasn't until her hood was lifted that she noticed training had resumed, and at a much more hectic pace than she remembered.

"Good job, sis." Yang ruffled her damp hair, taking deep breaths. "I doubt Jaune will be the only one wetting his bed tonight."

Ruby blushed as emotion returned to her while Blake and Weiss clasped her shoulders lightly, both also out of breath and wiping away sweat. Blake looked especially tired as manifesting her shadow in such a manner was something she was still practicing and had a long way to go before she perfected. And expending that much aura wasn't something she was accustomed to even in combat much less that quickly.

"There's nothing more terrifying than a fifteen-year-old dolt with a six foot gardening tool." Weiss winked, and the faunus nodded in agreement. "Just take our word for it. And I assure you that the stories about our mission aren't half as crazy as you are."

Her face continued to redden, and just as she was about to chide her friends for wasting their aura she noticed four students training off to themselves almost as respect and who had only briefly paused to acknowledge them before getting back to sparring. And at a pace even Ruby had difficulty following.

Team CFVY. Third years. A team without blemish and virtually everyone's favorite to win the Vytal Festival. They were celebrates as far as their fellow students were concerned, but their latest triumphant return from a nearly four week mission hadn't received the pageantry they'd gotten accustomed to. They had captured a rogue scientist from Merlot Industries, who up until a few months ago had been Vale's most wanted criminal. Instead they had been welcomed by a city full of Grimm, which they reportedly had reduced by nearly two thousand. But of course nobody was talking about them...

Their leader, Coco Adel, was the only daughter of world famous fashion designers that were rivals and occasional business partners of the Schnee Dust Company's clothing outlets. And since their father's hated each other, it had only been natural for she and the heiress of the SDC to become fast friends and occasional shopping comrades that tried to out do each other. But just because she was outfitted in the most fashionable and expensive clothes her family's company had to offer, with her beret and aviator sunglasses being her trademark, Coco was first and foremost a warrior born to lead.

The chocolate haired girl wore a bandolier as the strap for her oversized handbag, which thanks to the finest Atlesian engineering contained her faithfully destructive mini-gun. She once bragged that the weapon had cost her parents over ten thousand lien and engineers several hundred man hours to complete, but Ruby knew that wasn't entirely true as it was actually just based on an AA-14 scout ship turret, which was relatively light but highly effective at Grimm control. But while someone as petite and wiry as Ruby could barely carry the weapon much less be reasonably accurate with it, Coco at just a hair taller than her sister was nearly just as strong and could fire the mini-gun with ease and accuracy that made even the prodigy blush.

Squaring off with her in vicious-looking hand to hand combat was her partner Fox Alistair. A redheaded Vacuon blind from birth, he could see the world clearly due to projecting his powerful aura almost like sonar. His absolute mastery of aura manipulation allowed him to seemingly copy and use his opponents strengths against them, or augment his teammates' already formidable arsenal. Like most other upperclassmen, Fox was also a student aid, occasionally assisting Professor Goodwitch and instructing younger students on how to use their auras for more than just combat. Such as healing minor injuries of their teammates without being an aura match, or using their connection with each other to know their exact position on the battlefield and current situation even while blindfolded. Although quiet, he was a natural in the classroom, and had taken students like Ren under his wing who like himself generally preferred aura manipulation over weapons and semblances for combat.

Next was Velvet Scarlatina, a rabbit faunus that practiced a rather unorthodox form of summoning glyphs. A method that Weiss admitted was mildly clever, but considered it inferior and almost a mockery to classical traditionalists like herself. Using a specialized camera, Velvet could create holographic projections of anything she photographed, like weapons for example, and using her unconventional glyphs could animate them with aura to use herself. Weiss wasn't aware if she could use elementals like she could, or create any glyph other than counterfeit summons, but conceded that to do such a strenuous task properly meant the upperclassman's aura was likely more powerful than her's would ever become. She also had to admit that her ability to mimic fighting styles and quickly master any weapon as she did meant she was the perfect support fighter for her teammates, and probably put her in the same league as her prodigious partner who always marveled at the rare sight of Velvet's glyphs, but always with a sad smile.

In private Yang had said this was because her little sister had never actually gotten the chance to see Summer in her prime, only heard stories. Her mother hadn't just been an expert at aura manipulation, but also traditional summoning glyphs that she used in a similar manner to Velvet. After realizing why her partner appreciated glyph practitioners and generally seemed to admire them so much, she vowed to bite her tongue about the fake summoning used by the rabbit faunus. And that someday she'd show her something that would truly make her marvel.

But despite Weiss' clear distaste for substitute glyphs, she did enjoy their short conversations together before heading to the mall with a limitless credit card and Coco. Velvet was kind and always very polite, but due to her meekness and childlike appearance she was often mistaken for a freshman and targeted as easy prey. It didn't help that she was an aid in Professor Oobleck's history class, and was usually forced to sit in with the freshman as the professor could do the job of ten aids even with one hand tightly clutching his thermos. In actuality however, she was the oldest member of her team by almost a month, and instead of sending bullies to the hospital like she easily could've, she preferred a non-confrontational approach in letting them realize their horrible mistake on their own. Namely in seeing her partner...

Standing against her and absorbing every single one of her brutal strikes was the mountain of a young man named Yatsuhashi Daichi. He had gotten the nickname 'Ursa Minor' due to his immense size and unfathomable strength, and the only reason he wasn't referred to as the 'Ursa Major' was because that reportedly had been his father's title during his time in the Atlesian military before retiring in the east with his family.

The twenty-year-old giant was arguably Beacon's most dominant student, but without question its most intimidating force. In the Vytal Festival two years prior, after they had mowed through four matches in the team and doubles rounds, his teammates had unanimously nominated him for the single's tournament. He went on to win his next two fights almost flawlessly, but finally fell in a decisive match to a third year Beacon student who would go on to win the entire tournament. To this date it was his only loss, official or otherwise, and during the first week of school the tales of his dominance had peaked the interest a certain blonde freshman who'd been looking to get a little bit of that attention herself.

After catching the Mistralian juggernaut and his team practicing in a training room with dozens of spectators watching, Yang had brashly proclaimed to the world that she could take anything Yatsuhashi could dish out, and sized up the seven foot tall soon-to-be huntsman barely reaching his breastplate, and told him to give it his best shot. Her teammates had tried talking sense into her and the gentle giant had vehemently refused, saying he didn't wish to hospitalize a pretty girl such as herself. But after much goading, and assuring that Signal's favorite party girl was also its strongest, he had drawn his massive orange dust imbued blade that was just as large and menacing as we was, perhaps as a way to call her bluff and scare her away. It hadn't worked. It had only gotten her excited, and to everyone's chagrin and horror caused her to wryly ask if there was any particular reason he wielded such an impressively oversized weapon.

Yatsuhashi had promised to expand his aura outward so that when the blade cut through her gauntlets it wouldn't be fatal or even break skin, which had made the perky girl giggle and promise she wouldn't hold it against him if he somehow managed to scratch the paint. Raising the blade high into the the air, the crushing blow had knocked all nearby students off their feet as the terrifying auras crashed like tidal waves atop of each other. The ground had crumbled leaving a smoking crater where the blonde's was found still standing, albeit on unsteady legs. With a roar she had parried the blade back and caused the startled giant to stumble slightly, which earned her the respect and admiration of the entire school, and broken the ice between the two teams.

Because since that day, Yang was no longer been viewed as a lost beach bunny just looking for a good time or someone who didn't belong with Remnant's finest warriors. Now she was credited as one of Beacon's toughest, but she made it a prerogative to show that her unbelievable toughness and strength did nothing to diminish her femininity, which she was exceedingly proud of and routinely flaunted. She exuded both, something that her admirers and future competition were very well aware of.

What no one but her teammates knew however, was that the second Yang stepped into the locker room without any unfriendly eyes watching her, she had collapsed from exhaustion and had to be carried in secret back to the room where she slept for the rest of the day and most of the next. With just a single strike, Yatsuhashi had completely overwhelmed her semblance and drained her aura, and she'd merely been standing upright out of sheer stubbornness and pride. But since then she had only gotten stronger and better at regulating the damage her semblance absorbed, and had been itching to repay the favor...

Seeing the four upperclassmen train as they did, Ruby couldn't help but feel like a child in comparison and watched in horror as any slim chance they may have had in the tournament was quickly slipping away. Everyone was training but themselves. Even their sister team, JNPR, had requested a private training room for multiple days a week until the tournament, and to no one's surprise the freshman had gotten what they asked for. Pyrrha Nikos could've requested one the larger dorm rooms that upperclassmen got the privilege of residing in, and likely gotten it along with a fully stocked fridge too. Being the combat instructor's clear favorite came with certain privileges, but no one could objectively call it unfair. Beacon's best were expected to be the best, and were nurtured accordingly to someday become legends.

Ruby's breathing stopped as she noticed Coco giving her a slight nod, almost in approval before nearly knocking Fox's head off with a kick so swift it had almost been a blur to her eyes. A familiar sharp pain returned to Ruby's feet as well as her stomach causing her to wince, but her body froze as she realized Yatsuhashi was staring like a statue at her team. His stony eyes seemed to look through herself, Blake, and even Yang, but lingered on the heiress for a moment or two. Even if it had been unintentional, being nearly two feet taller than herself and her partner, and at least two-hundred pounds heavier made his intimidating presence that much more unnerving to the more petite girls. But especially when he was ignoring bone crushing blows from Velvet that made Yang's throat exceedingly dry.

The sisters respectfully may have been the fastest and strongest of the freshmen, but to the upperclassmen they were merely above average. And team CFVY were carving a place for themselves alongside legends...

"I don't feel so good," Ruby said suddenly, the world becoming slightly dim.

Yang quickly grabbed hold of her. "That'd be our aura, sis," she explained, removing the scythe from her shoulders and hooking it back on her belt. "You were Blake's shadow puppet, and Weiss and I used a fair amount too. We basically gave you a mini aura transfer, but since you don't have any left for ours to connect with your body's rejecting it. It gave you a nice little high but it's gone and your coming back down. And if you weren't so used to them you'd probably be puking right now, or worse... Just take deep breaths, or else Weiss is gonna have to do CPR."

"Y'all shouldn't have done that..." she mumbled. "But thank you..."

Yang kissed the top of her head. Since their auras first unlocked as children they had wished they were matches so they could share even more of themselves with each other. But alas Yang had inherited her mom's semblance and their Dad's aura while Ruby had gotten her mom's aura and a nonhereditary semblance. But while Ruby simply wanted their souls to be more in sync than they already were, for Yang it was maddening that she couldn't even attempt to heal her baby sister's injuries. Even for an aura match or expert aura manipulator with as a strong connection as they had, it could be dangerous to heal someone as undeveloped and low on aura as Ruby, but it wouldn't have stopped her from trying. She wasn't even willing to admit what little she and her teammates had done was as stupid as it was reckless. And she didn't really care if it probably didn't help matters.

Her Rubes was suffering every waking moment and even in her sleep. She wasn't getting better, if anything she was getting worse which only made her try to look stronger. Yang felt she only had herself to blame, but at least this way her baby sister got to look like the caped-girl of old again in front of the school and forget about her injuries at least momentarily. And maybe it'd send them back to the room that much quicker without any more damage being done.

"Can we sit down?" Ruby asked, then barely audible. "Please..."

"Lead the way, sis." Yang pushed herself close so the girl could lean on her as they walked. "I hear the school's got a new swing set. I could push you if you'd like. It'd be just like when we were kids with that old tire swing. I think Qrow's still mad that Summer borrowed it from his motorcycle when he wasn't looking."

Ruby didn't respond. Either too exhausted or enjoying her sister's presence too much to care where they went. Weiss and Blake however exchanged nervous glances, and had an argument whether this had been a good idea or not. Eventually though it was decided Yang had the right idea about tying the girl down.

As they walked further up the hill and approached a small grove of trees, Ruby's barely open eyes noticed two students standing alone in the shade, casually eating ice cream while they watched team CFVY train below.

"Hi Emerald." Ruby waved halfheartedly. "Hi Mercury."

The pair glanced over at the team then at each other, possibly wondering who the girl was or how she knew their names. They smiled and waved back politely, but the caped-girl's teammates couldn't help but feel as though she may have interrupted something private between the two. Yang tried veering her sister away but to her surprise the visiting students walked toward them, practically blocking their path.

"Uh, hey there, um..." The Vacuoan girl with green hair and red eyes rubbed the back of her neck uncomfortably.

"Rose," the boy with silver locks falling in his eyes finished, noticing the symbol everywhere on her red and black clothes.

"Where'd you get the ice cream!?" Ruby demanded, with Yang smiling ear to ear as though she had won a bet with herself.

The partners blinked at Weiss and Blake who were silently apologizing behind the sisters.

"Just outside the main courtyard." Emerald pointed behind the row of trees where a small crowd had gathered nearby in the neighboring field. "A couple booths have been set up for the festival. They're selling all kinds of sweets and souvenirs."

"Already!?" Ruby raised a brow and followed her finger. "But the tournament isn't for another month! And there isn't even a date yet!"

Emerald smiled awkwardly while Weiss nudged her practically hyperventilating partner's side. "It's called the Vytal Festival, dunce. Emphasis on 'Festival'. The kingdom's been celebrating it since the first month of school, and it'll officially end during the fourth years graduation ceremony. How do you live in Vale and not know that? This is your second festival after all."

The caped-girl could only grin sheepishly while her face blushed. "I forgot..."

Yang hugged her sister a little tighter. "Don't worry about it, Rubes. You probably don't remember much about the last time the festival came into town, and it's not like you've been getting out much lately." She turned and gave the heiress a dirty look, whose face turned scarlet as she realized her partner couldn't exactly see this side of the campus from their window's perspective, and how the tournament obviously outshined the actual festival in her eyes.

However, horror struck and Weiss scolded herself for not realizing sooner how old her best friend would've been eight years ago the last time the festival was hosted in Vale. The age she had lost her mother...

The partners caught eyes and a silent apology begging for forgiveness was given, along with a smile that made it clear Ruby could never hold anything against her. Weiss sniffed and made a show of adjusting her partner's hood, stealthily letting out just enough aura to tickle the back of her neck and cause goosebumps to travel down her spine. Watching Ruby's reactions to her chilling aura was a guilty pleasure of sorts, and seeing her fight the shivers and pretend as though she wasn't enjoying the sensation of her body becoming slightly numb only made Weiss ruffle the hood and start again as though she were unsatisfied with its appearance.

"And with everything that's happened, Rubes," the blonde continued, pretending as though she didn't know what the perfectionist was doing or the effect it was having on her sister. "Ozpin thought it'd be a good idea to let the vendors on the campus a little early. Sorry we forgot to tell you."

"That's okay." She gave her a subtle elbow for making Weiss feel bad, and possibly for forgetting, but laid her head against her chest as protective aura wrapped around her, though it was noticeably lukewarm. It wasn't invasive like it had been earlier, trying to strengthen her limbs and dull the pain. This was comforting and like snuggling with a blanket, one that had been made by her sister's soul.

"So where have you guys been?" Yang asked suddenly, her sister barely stirring. "Haven't seen too many Haven students around lately."

"Neptune did just kinda disappear didn't he?" Weiss commented, sounding as though this was her first time thinking about it. "What was his team's name again? And his teammates' names for that matter? Besides your boyfriend's of course. I hear it enough when you talk in your sleep..."

"Moaning more like it," Yang quipped.

"SSSN," Blake answered between her teeth. "S-S-S-N. They're Sage and Scarlet, and they were flown back to Mistral after the breach. Sun, who's not my boyfriend and who I've never dreamed about, messaged me while they were on the airship."

"He ever call just to tell you goodnight?" she asked, winking suggestively. "Or send any pics Rubes isn't allowed to see til she's older? Oh wait, I already know the answer..."

Blake narrowed her eyes but couldn't hide her blush or keep herself from smiling at the sheer approval and pride in her partner's voice. "Those are taken by the school, and they're for recruiting purposes."

"Yeah well sign me up. They're hot as hell, especially the team pics in the locker room, and I'm definitely at the wrong school and on the wrong team..."

Her partner huffed and the blonde ignored the fact that she, and Weiss, practically condemned all the girls that modeled for the school's recruitment magazines, which admittedly were perhaps a little risque, but didn't seem to mind the guys doing the same. They called it objectifying and demeaning of the school to take advantage of lower income girls, but Yang called it paying for tuition and having some fun. And in her mind having been raised in a huntsman family, it was a recruitment method that the lesser academies desperately needed to help fill their ranks.

"Naming a team after its leader isn't very creative if you ask me," Weiss said, glancing over at Ruby who took a few seconds to understand what she was inferring.

"I would've pronounced it team 'Sin' personally." Yang grinned. "That's all you and Blake think about when you're around Neptune and Sun anyway. And I'm sure Sage and Scarlet have similar thoughts and could be fun too..." She glanced down at the dark, red-highlighted hair. "Rubes, do as your big sis says and not as she does. You can have fun when you're older, and when I'm dead."

"You sound like Dad," she wined.

"Alright fine. You can't have fun unless it's the best fun anyone having fun ever had in the entire wonderful history of having fun. And then we immediately have to have girl talk and you have to share in detail exactly how much fun you had."

"Deal. What kinda fun are we talking about?" It seemed she may have tuned them out while fantasizing about ice cream.

"Don't worry about it, sis." She ruffled her hair happy she didn't have anything to worry about for seemingly another decade or two. "Weiss will explain it to you later, but if not I'm pretty sure Blake's got one or two hundred books you could borrow. And I've always got videos we can watch."

"Yay! Movie night! I'll get the popcorn and chocolate syrup!"

Emerald stared blankly at the four girls, seeming not knowing who or what any of them were talking about. That is until she recalled the magazine and exact page number of the boys locker room shoot titled 'Campus Life'. "Wait! You mean the guy with a tail who doesn't know how to button a shirt right?!" From her tone it didn't seem she minded much either.

Blake nodded, though it seemed she couldn't decide whether to be embarrassed or defensive, so she settled somewhere in between. "Actually, Sun ripped the buttons off so the teachers would stop asking him to."

"Smart move," she said in a husky tone, with Yang purring in agreement. "And good going girl. He's not bad at all to look at for being a... well you know."

The team grew quiet and nervously looked toward Blake as she stared at the girl with a cool expression. "For being a what?"

"For a freshman..." Emerald laughed, then addressed them all. "Visiting students normally get flown back and forth between kingdoms every couple of weeks, especially Shade and Haven's. Neither of us can really afford to be missing hundreds huntsmen for too long, even if we are still are in-training, so we rotate each other out. Just earlier this year there was a pretty big Grimm uprising in western Mistral, and we're lucky none of the villages were wiped out, this time. The four of us actually caught the tail end of it..."

"Sounds exhausting," Weiss said, while the pale-faced blonde swallowed something bitter down her throat at the way she had emphasized the four of them. And Ruby either sensing her sister's discomfort or understanding what Emerald had just said about western Mistral leaned in closer.

"It is," Mercury cut in, a humorous curl on his lip, "and in two years you'll be doing the same thing when the tournament is held in Mistral."

"Looking forward to it because we're gonna win there too!" Ruby shouted.

"We're just trying to enjoy the festival as best we can," he laughed, staring at the caped-girl, "but unfortunately we're under a lot of security now. Can you believe someone actually broke into the CCT and tried to blow it up? All those poor soldiers..."

Ruby bit her lip and slowly shook her head. Ozpin had kept her involvement with the incident quiet, and she wished to keep it that way. As far anyone nosy enough was concerned, she had been walking around the CCT the night of the dance when the top floor of the CCT exploded, and she twisted her ankle trying to run away in her 'stupid lady stilts'. Razor sharp, heated glass rained down shredding her skin, and she had merely been in the wrong place at the wrong time and lucky to be alive.

Seeing the uncomfortable looks the team was giving one another, the green haired girl smiled reassuringly.

"We love your school though. Vale is beautiful and full of the nicest people," she gushed. "Mercury took me on a walk through Forever Fall awhile back, and it's just as romantic as the poets make it out to be."

The sisters grinned, happy to hear their kingdom being praised and even Weiss and Blake seemed to share their partners' pride toward the place they now called home.

"And we're really sorry for what happened." Mercury shook his head. "It's terrible what that maniac and the White Fang did to it."

Their eyes fell to the ground and an awkward silence fell between the two teams only to be interrupted again by Mercury shifting his weight, which was unusually loud due to his metal boots.

"Say, how about you girls get some ice cream? My treat."

"Really!?" Ruby's eyes widened.

Weiss was suddenly reminded of all the times she had said something similar to the girl. Literally paying her to go away and stop bothering her, and suddenly felt embarrassed and ashamed. "Thank you, but we could never accept."

Blake nodded while Yang went so far as to lift her hands up as if pushing the thought out of her mind.

"Ice cream has been ruined for the rest of my life," she said sounding slightly nauseated. "At least on trains rides..."

Mercury took an expert lick of his and grinned, his eager eyes lingering on the blonde's figure. "That's too bad. We're practically addicts now. Lolita, our teammate, she can't get enough of the stuff."

Emerald's red eyes that were common among native Vacuoans lit up, and she moved to her partner's other side keeping an arm wrapped around his waist as if to remind him she was still there. "Neapolitan is her favorite."

Yang's face soured and paled while Ruby bounced on the balls of her feet, which were barely touching the ground at this point.

"I love all kinds," she stated earnestly. "But where's Lolita? I don't think I've ever seen her. Or her partner now that I think about it."

Emerald turned to her partner nervously who gave the girl a curious look. "She died on a mission," he answered bluntly. "So it's just the three of us now."

Ruby covered her mouth fighting back tears as her teammates perhaps subconsciously moved closer together, and Yang's arm tightened around her while the other played with her highlights.

"We're sorry for your loss." Weiss lowered her head in respect as was the custom in Mistral and her teammates followed suit. Though, the thought of being the lucky guy on a team with three girls did briefly pop into the blonde's mind, which it and its inverse wasn't allowed at Beacon. Unfortunately.

"Lolita's shy and mostly keeps to herself these days," Emerald murmured, her eyes sparkling as she looked directly at the caped-girl, who was strangely staring where she'd formerly been standing even while she spoke. "She still hasn't gotten over what happened, and neither have we really, but I guess no one would. You're all freshmen but I'm sure you know what that bond's like by now." They nodded and wrapped an arm around each other. "Seeing the two of us together probably doesn't help. We try to be her partners now, but she's been feeling lonely a lot lately, and so she's visiting her..." She trailed off trying to think of the word.

"Uncle," her partner finished. "If you can really call him that. He's in jail, and she spends most of her free time visiting him."

"Way to stick both of your feet in your mouth," Weiss breathed, semi-impressed with her partner but still feeling a painful sense of loss in her chest. If she lost her Ruby... She didn't even want to think about it.

"I'm sorry..." The caped-girl looked up with misty eyes, but again she stared into thin air which caught Blake's eye.

"What'd he do?" Yang asked curiously, receiving duel slaps to the back of her head. "I mean... if Lolita wouldn't mind-"

"Stealing women's underwear," he answered dryly, causing the scarlet faced girls to blink, shift their weight uncomfortably, cough, and clear their throats. "Then wearing them out the store. He's not a handsome man, and pink isn't his color. And it wasn't his first time..."

Yang did her absolute best not to lose it, going so far as to hide under her mane before she finally cracked. "Been there, done that! WAY different reaction though!" She raised a hand looking for high-fives that wasn't there, momentarily letting go of her sister in the process. "Pssh, that was funny."

"That's because the store probably saw you as free advertising," Weiss muttered, trying not to laugh.

"People would totally pay me to wear their clothes," the blonde whispered to herself as if having an epiphany.

"I'll pay for you to wear clothes if that's what it takes. But I honestly wouldn't have guessed you'd consider putting clothes on for money before of taking them off..."

"So about that ice cream?" Just as Mercury had spoken, the caped-girl lurched forward only to plow directly into Emerald, sending them both sprawling on the concrete.

"RUBY!" Weiss cried. "Watch where you're going!"

"Are you okay Emerald?" Mercury asked, squatting on the ground. She grimaced but quickly nodded. "Yeah, I'm good. My ice cream's not though." Luckily it hadn't landed on either of them, but the sidewalk had been painted a minty green color.

Ruby stared, pointing back and forth between the fallen girl and the other side of the boy where she had been standing earlier. Weiss knelt down checking on her, and Ruby turned to Blake who watched impassively, slowly moving her eyes back and forth as if trying to see something that wasn't there.

"But- I- She- How- What?!"

"Way to go, Rubes." Yang carefully helped her sister to their feet and patted the dust off her while Mercury did the same for the other girl, who was now holding her head as though she had a migraine. "You didn't hit your head did you?" she asked worriedly, studying the girl for any hint of a knot or bruise.

"No, I'm fine. Just a little dizzy."

"OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD!" Ruby seeing the ice cream on the ground looked as though she had committed an unpardonable sin worthy of death. "I'm so sorry! I'll buy you another one! With five scoops! Pistachio right!?"

She wrestled away from her sister and took off again, which was painful to watch but was held back by her cape.

"Don't worry about it, but I think you'll be needing this." Emerald held out her hand and she jumped.

"My wallet! How-"

"You must've dropped it," she laughed.

Ruby stared at the rose symbol on her wallet wishing nothing more than to go back to the dorm and hide under her hood.

"Thanks..."

"Why don't we go get you some ice cream, sis." Yang ruffled her hair and resumed their embrace from earlier.

"Before you choke on your tongue," Weiss added only semi-seriously. Uncharacteristically, Ruby didn't say a word as she was led away practically being carried. It seemed she had given up on her earlier goal of proving to them and herself that she could walk a lap around the school. "Coming Blake?"

The girl in black nodded, and brushing past Emerald bent over to retrieve something off the ground.

"Looks like you dropped something too," she said in a flat voice.

Emerald's mouth fell open and her now dull eyes widened, and Mercury's breath seemed to catch at the sight of the tiny brass object with a red devilish face on the side.

"My lighter!" she cried, her body freezing as Blake held it up for a closer inspection.

The others turned and Ruby cocked her head to the side. "Is it just me or does that look kinda familiar?"

She scratched the back of her neck in thought and her teammates said the same.

"Probably," Mercury said coolly. "It's from a circus that closed down a few years ago. 'Perry Winkle's... something or another'."

"I've heard of them," Yang said. "That was the circus Dad and Summer took us to when we were kids, Rubes." She glanced up at the boy. "Wasn't there some kind of accident with the fireworks? I remember it being a big deal at the time."

"Yeah, a lot of people got caught in it. The cops thought it might've been arson but there wasn't any proof. Emerald and I were actually lucky enough to see them on one of their last tours of Mistral. They were great. Before Perry died and the place burned up, they supposedly they had some of the best acrobats in the world."

"They had the best," Weiss corrected emphatically, then seeing everyone staring she glanced down and kicked at the sidewalk. "I never got to see them myself, and I suppose I never will now, but being a gymnast I can appreciate a good acrobatics show. And elephants..."

"I can't..." Yang muttered under her breath. "At least not on trains..." She shook her head and started walking off. "Come on, Rubes. Let's get you some ice cream and head back to the room."

"It was nice seeing you two again." She waved, with her sister and Weiss saying their goodbyes as well.

Blake had been quiet throughout the conversation, but handed the lighter back before saying a brief farewell and turning to follow her leader, who hollered as she was lifted onto her sister's back for an impromptu piggy back ride.

"I'll get you another ice cream, Emerald!"

"Don't worry about it!" she called back, watching as the younger sister attempted to choke the life out of the elder with no success.

Once the team was behind the trees and out of earshot, Mercury stomped over. "That was entertaining and a nice trip down memory lane, but you need to hold onto your stuff better," he growled. "Next time you could screw everything up, and Cinder won't be happy..."

*twitch*

Emerald glanced at her ammo belt in disbelief. "It m-must've fallen out."

The pair stood in silence listening as a sing-song voice filled the air.

"I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!".

"Ruby!" her partner screeched. "If you eat that you're going to be sick. I'm getting sick just looking at it, and you still have Professor Oobleck's field report to write!"

"Yang! Let me down! You're gonna make it melt! Then it's gonna get in your hair and you're gonna get mad and kill Weiss!"

"Me? Why me?"

"You want me to go down the list, princess? How about for starters calling me a heavyweight and calling these inflatable! Hey, you over there! This is a nice pullover thank you for noticing! Do these look inflatable to you? Didn't think so!"

The pair continued to argue while the girl in black stayed quiet, perhaps unable to get a word in or simply had words of even less value to contribute. Mercury leaned toward the latter personally. He smiled and turned to his partner who was still in disbelief.

"I guess you don't have anything to worry about. They're even dumber than we thought. The princess might have the top grades in her class but she's about as dense as the bimbo blonde if you ask me. 'Team Daddy Issues' as I like to call them."

"I thought you liked girls with daddy issues," she muttered airily, still staring at the lighter.

"They're all a little too touchy-feely for my tastes. And the emo girl with the dorky looking bow seems about as interesting to talk to as that rock over there. That Sun guy can do a lot better than her. He's probably using her some fun while he's in town, or he's trying to get touchy-feely with her perky friend. Blondie seems like the type who'd go behind her best friend's back and steal her guy, but what she lacks in brains and virtue she more than makes up for in other areas. It's just too bad Lolita called first dibs. I wouldn't have minded having my own kind of fun with her.."

He turned toward the row of trees and spied out the annoying red cape fluttering in the wind. "But they're not important right now. You get an idea of what someone's mind's like when you use your semblance. What all did you see in the village idiot's head? Seems like a pretty spacious place from the looks of it..."

Emerald's eyes softened as she watched the young girl stand on the tips of her toes as the ice cream vendor handed her a cone with half a dozen scoops of all different colors. From there she led her team a little ways before her legs seemingly just gave out beneath her and she fell gracelessly onto her rear with everyone rushing to her side.

"Just the opposite..." Mercury turned to look at her. "Her aura shield's down but it's like her brain was so full of junk that I couldn't get a very good read on her. There's a lot of darkness in her though, and I mean a lot. But she's happy, and it's almost disgusting how much she loves those idiots. Even with everything trying to pull her down she's still optimistic and believes the best in people."

His smile turned wicked and he watched as the team gathered around their leader as if having a picnic. "Well, in about another month, that's all going to change. Her little fairy tale isn't going to end well..."

*twitch*

(A/N: Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed. First I just want to say that "Lolita" is indeed Neo and the name is inspired by her "Gothic Lolita" outfit/disguise from Volume 3, and that you should probably take everything Emerald and Mercury say with a grain of salt. There's some truth in what they say, but for now that's for you to piece together and decide. Torchwick stealing ladies underwear and his fascination with naming people "Perry" for example. I also wanted to explain in this chapter that there's a difference between "sharing aura" and "transferring aura". Transferring has its uses but it's like a big band-aid that eventually falls off and doesn't necessarily fix the problem. And as we've seen, sometimes has unforeseen complications.

I also just want to thank everyone for reading "The Patchwork Prodigy", which has been very character driven rather than by its story. I fell in love with RWBY because of its characters, and I wanted to write a story with them and their relationship(s) at the forefront. I want you to love team RWBY like they love each other, and I want you to feel comforted by their triumphs in tragedy together. I'm sorry that I don't always respond to your kind reviews, but please know that I deeply appreciate each of them, and I appreciate each and every single one of you.

If you have enjoyed reading "The Petals Scatter Now", "The Patchwork Prodigy", my interpretations of team RWBY, and/or just want to read another story about teenage girls killing monsters, then you may enjoy my newest story "Remnant's of Salvation". It's heavily inspired by RWBY and Supernatural, and you'll likely find some similarities between it and this story. It's main characters have actually served as the main inspiration for my interpretations of Yang, Ruby, and Weiss for quite some time now, and it's probably fair to say all of team RWBY are fairly different from their show counterparts at this point. I hope you enjoy, and thank you for making this dream come true.

I want to make it clear though that will NOT be abandoning "The Patchwork Prodigy". Updates will be infrequent, as they have as of late, but the story will continue. Honestly it's possible you won't notice a difference. I'm terribly sorry with how this story has been sluggish with its updates, but it honestly can't be helped. Writing has become a great passion of mine, and this is a story that the Lord has blessed me with that I feel I must pursue. I hope my love and respect for Monty Oum's creation speaks for itself, because I carry that same love for "Remnants of Salvation". Thank you, Monty, and thank you readers. I wouldn't be where I am without the Lord blessing me with you.

As always, thank you for your incredible support as well as for all of the followers, favorites, positive reviews, PMs, shout outs, and humble readers. All credit goes to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who has made this story possible and blessed me with all of you. God bless)