A/N: Got this one up early, so let's call it even after the last one went up late. Quick note, I adjusted Ironwood's behavior in Chapter 2. As several people pointed out, the aggression he displayed was pretty uncharacteristic, so I dialed him back a bit and plan to maintain his respectful attitude moving forward.

Ruby stood ready with her team on one side of the impressive arena housed within Amity Colosseum. Finally, after months of struggle and suffering, of pain and loss, Ruby felt the stars aligning and returning her life back to the way it was. Except, she knew that she could never completely pretend the last nine months never happened. While the emotional scars of the Long War may eventually heal with time, there was no denying that Ruby, along with her team, had changed.

Gone was the 15 year-old girl who just wanted normal knees. In her place stood a war-weary veteran, ready to lead her tight-knit squad into battle. Although her eyes still sometimes shone with optimistic naivete, a certain degree of cold cynicism and calculated planning frequently took hold instead. Weathered hands gripped Crescent Rose while muscled legs dropped slightly into a combat stance. With Captain Rose at the helm, there would be no survivors in her team's wake.

Ruby glanced at her partner, Weiss, and noted the effects of war had not left her alone, either. Rather than carry herself with the persona of a perfectly-poised princess that she spent her whole life cultivating, Weiss looked aggressive. Months of training and fighting as a shotgun frontliner left its mark on Weiss, and Ruby's enhanced senses could hear the pounding of her partner's heart as the adrenaline began to flow. She still wore her same old heels and combat skirt, but many of the loose ends were trimmed or secured for the sake of efficiency, and Ruby recalled being approached more than once for advice on whether or not she should cut her hair.

Blake and Yang suffered the greatest changes, for obvious reasons. Out of the four, those two looked the most tired, and Ruby couldn't blame them. Though the conversation with Taiyang went better than expected, it still reminded Ruby's sister of what she and Blake had left behind on Earth. Blake, too, was forced to acknowledge loss. For months, she clung to the hope that returning to Remnant might restore her semblance, allowing the amorphous shadows to sharpen into perfect doppelgangers once more. When she tested the idea shortly after her team's arrival on Remnant, Blake finally had to admit that some things aren't easily fixed. And while some of what was lost had a chance to be restored, other changes had a distinct air of permanence about them, and the two partners had already spent many months learning to adapt to their new situation.

And because strolling into the arena with limbs of alien steel would spark more than a few questions, the two partners modified their outfits to completely cover their arms and legs. Blake only needed to expand the black ribbon motif in her design to extend along the lengths of her arms, but Yang needed to cover her arms, legs, chest, and midriff. Loose pants accomplished this goal for her lower half while a zipped-up vest, undershirt, and silk wrappings covered the rest of her exposed regions.

In addition to the changes meant to cover their limbs, Blake and Yang agreed to add a few aesthetic modifications to their outfits. Ruby suspected it was so that they could feel like they had some control over the changes in their attire, and again, Ruby didn't blame them. They both wore small defensive pauldrons on their shoulders and hips, partly to protect the joints of their prosthetics and partly to provide hard points for a well-timed shoulder check (a habit they picked up from their time as MEC pilots). They each had also decided to add the other's emblem to their outfit as a nod to the bond they developed during the trials and horrors of the Long War: Yang's burning heart on the left side of Blake's waist and Blake's white flower on the wrapping covering Yang's right bicep.

The most significant change for Blake was the distinct lack of her bow. According to Yang, Blake struggled for a long time with the decision, wondering if she should keep that secret hidden for another time. She spent months on Earth with her ears free without fear of judgment or cruelty, but she spent even longer on Remnant forced to hide who she was in order to see the light of another day. Something (or someone) managed to convince Blake, however, that nothing good ever happens unless people are willing to struggle and suffer to see it through. So it happened that she decided to take the monumental leap of faith with her identity, and felt that the Vytal Festival would be a good place to reveal her faunus heritage.

Ruby liked to think that Blake's decision encapsulated the idea that there was more to the war than bitter sorrow. For every friend that the huntresses of RWBY lost, they gained ten more. Every sacrifice they made came with a multitude of opportunities for positive change. The people they worked with, trained with, and fought with all helped Ruby realize the importance of having a vision and having something worth fighting for. Vance, Zhang… the friends that she lost stayed with Ruby, reminding her with the weight of their pistol or the jingle of their tags that she was their living legacy. So long as her friends and family, living or dead, still believed in her, Ruby knew she could never lose sight of what she believed in.

She rolled her eyes as she recalled MacAuley trying to quote some show to her several days ago, saying that, "Even though Zhang is dead, he's right there on your back and here in your heart!" Sadly, the Irishman wasn't entirely correct anymore: after spending the last month on Earth growing accustomed to her new cape, it almost felt strange to be wearing her old one again. As much as she wanted to proudly wear XCOM's emblem across her shoulders, she understood Bradford and Ozpin's decision for secrecy until the conclusion of the Vytal Festival. At least she could still carry Aureate Mercy.

Across the center of the combat arena, Ruby assessed her team's opponents with a critical eye. Team ABRN, comprised of Arslan Altan, Bolin Hori, Reese Chloris, and Nadir Shiko, hailed from Mistral and looked ready for a fight. To the untrained eye, they appeared to be a competent and cohesive team. To RWBY, however, they were as green as grass.

"They don't look so tough." Yang commented.

"Neither does a Thin Man." Blake answered, eyes focused on the opposition, "Don't count them out until we've seen them fight."

Weiss nodded in agreement, "Yeah, the white-haired girl… Arslan? She carries herself with an air of confidence. Guess that's why she's their leader."

Ding. The randomizer icon behind ABRN halted on an icicle-shaped icon.

"So are we tagging her as the HVT?" Blake asked.

"Sounds like a plan to me." Ruby agreed, "Though I'm not sure how I feel about Hoverboard to her left. She can probably do some real damage if we leave her alone and she gets the drop on us while we're busy with the rest of the pod."

"Team." Weiss reminded her, an amused smirk crossing her face, "They're a team, Ruby."

Ding. And the randomizer selected a volcanic biome for the other half of the field.

Ruby groaned, "Right. Team. Blake? Can you keep tabs on Reese and shut her down if she gets too close?"

"Easily."

"Good." Ruby glanced back at the volcanic field locking into place behind them. While the assortment of crystallized Fire Dust and active lava geysers had the potential for some interesting tactical shenanigans, the XCOM Captain in Ruby wanted something that offered more in the way of defensive options, "Lava doesn't make for very good cover. Ideas?"

"Lots of high walls on the other side." Weiss observed, "Plus, my ice glyphs will be more effective in the colder environment."

"Three." Port's voice boomed over the speakers.

"We could try a blitz." Yang suggested.

"Two."

"Throw a bunch of firepower at 'em and rush past into the terrain?" Blake asked.

"One."

"I like it." Ruby grinned.

"Begin!"

RWBY readied their weapons and began to sprint across the field. Blake unloaded a flurry of bullets with her pistol while Yang rained explosive rounds down upon the huntsmen of ABRN. Ruby jumped into the air and fired Crescent Rose behind her to rocket into the sky and across the field. As soon as the first bullets echoed across the arena, Ruby was no longer in Amity, or even on Remnant. As she watched Resse take off to seek shelter behind an ice formation, the sounds of cheering and music faded to silence and Ruby's mind shifted into fight-or-flight, kill-or-be-killed. The white-haired martial artist fell into a defensive stance and channeled her Aura to deflect Blake's pistol fire while a third member twirled his staff to achieve a similar result. The fourth hunter on ABRN opted to drop back behind his teammates and take aim with his rifle at the charging huntresses.

At the apex of her arc, Ruby double-tapped Crescent Rose before pulling Aureate Mercy off of her hip and firing several Dust rounds from Zhang's hand cannon into her targets below. With shots coming from two different directions, the members of ABRN lost their focus and devolved into minor panic. As Ruby landed atop one of the icy plateaus behind her targets, she decided to… encourage the feeling of mayhem. Focusing on Nadir, reached into her psionic reserves and sent a small burst of energy at her victim while following up with a few more shots from her pistol. After some experimentation with her teammates since their return to Remnant, Ruby learned how to pull her psychic punches just enough to disorient (or panic) an Aura-wielding opponent instead of completely cripple them. She grinned as the gunner spun around in a circle while firing wildly at anything that moved. A few shots clipped the staff-wielder, who yelped in surprise from the friendly fire.

"Brace yourselves!" The white-haired leader shouted, trying to rally her allies as the remaining three huntresses of RWBY closed the final few steps to their targets…

… before dropping between their legs and into a power slide on a patch of ice expertly deployed by the team's resident Dust master. Yang fired a few parting shots and tripped the dizzy huntsman before grabbing onto Blake as the duo used Gambol Shroud's anchored ribbon to swing around into the safety of cover. A few glyph platforms later, and Weiss followed her teammates into the miniature labyrinth.

"An interesting opening by Team RWBY!" Port shouted from the commentator box, "Will they manage to pick off the members of ABRN one by one from the safety of the ice? Only time will tell!"

"An astute observation!" Oobleck chimed in, "While a direct approach tends to work well against Grimm, it's an excellent idea to employ more creative tactics against intelligent opponents. In this instance, I think it's safe to say that RWBY's gambit paid off."

A small bark carried out over the stadium's speakers, followed quickly by Oobleck exclaiming, "No! Down, Zwei! You're not even supposed to be up here!"

Ruby dropped down from her perch and landed next to her partner, exchanging an amused look with Yang, "I guess that's one mystery solved. Now let's see if we can't finish this quickly. Blake? You wanna take point up top and keep track of our targets?"

Blake prepped her kusarigama and nodded, "Gladly."

"Weiss, you're on crowd control with your glyphs while Yang and I supply the muscle. Our opening bought us some time to get into a good position, so let's not waste it. Move out, but stay within range of covering fire."

Like a well-oiled machine, RWBY started their hunt. Blake hooked the end of Gambol Shroud onto Ruby's original perch and pulled herself up while the other three stuck to the canyon walls and advanced with a purpose. Ruby heard the sound of footfalls on ice a few seconds later and tried to key in on the direction of the source. Blake was still getting her bearings, and so Ruby couldn't expect any information from her Scout yet. She held up a hand, and her teammates took cover among the cliff walls and piles of snow and ice. Sure enough, the staff-wielder barreled around the corner and found himself face-to-face with three grinning huntresses. Yang blasted her way into melee, and when the huntsman managed to redirect her momentum with an impressive block from his staff, Weiss launched herself at their target to join the fray. The two huntresses quickly fell into a rhythm, tag-teaming the huntsman with slashes, punches, and well-timed platform glyphs.

With both Yang and Weiss locking down the target, Ruby had a chance to settle in and prepare for additional contacts. She touched a finger to her ear and was about to ask for a status update from Blake before she remembered she didn't have a comm piece anymore. Even so, Ruby found the answer to her question when Blake flung herself off of her perch and into the canyon with her teammates. Before Blake could even offer an explanation, Ruby saw ABRN's leader in hot pursuit, a white string tethering her to the ice formation as she arced through the sky and after her prey.

Ruby snapped her rifle up to her shoulder and fired off a quick shot. The Dust round connected with the huntress, throwing Blake's pursuer off of her original trajectory and sending her skidding into a three-point landing several paces away.

"Contacts." Ruby called out as the gunman vaulted over a low ice wall and helped his teammate to her feet, "Blake, find that flier and lock her down. I really don't want her to pick and choose when she gets to jump in and join this battle."

"On it."

Blake leapt away once again while the rest of RWBY squared off with the newcomers. A protective wall of ice shot up in front of Weiss just as the gunner fired off a controlled burst in her direction. Ruby fired the last two round from Aureate Mercy at Nadir to draw his attention before readying her main weapon. She jumped up and let the recoil from Crescent Rose propel her at the two open targets. Her rifle folded open into a scythe just in time to take an opening swing as she flew past them. Although the martial artist deflected the swipe with a practiced palm strike, the force of Ruby's assault kept them off-balance. Ember Celica continued to ring out in the background as she landed on the cliff wall behind her targets. With a kick, Ruby came in low and fast for another pass at Arslan and Nadir. Her attack caused the gunman to trip (again) while Arslan deftly hopped over the swipe.

"Weiss! Platform!"

A glyph appeared in underneath Ruby, angled to allow the huntress to once again strike from the sky. As Nadir struggled to pick himself back up and Arslan kept her eyes trained on the immediate threat, Weiss prepared another glyph for a surprise attack from the ground. In between trading blows with Yang, Bolin managed to catch a glimpse of the plan and tried to warn his teammate before it was too late.

"Arslan!"

ABRN's leader glanced at Bolin, which had exactly the opposite effect of what the staff-fighter intended. Both Ruby and Weiss landed solid hits on the martial artist, knocking her off balance. Arslan threw her string into the nearby wall to avoid falling over, and Weiss threw a few Dust bolts at Nadir before moving to regroup with Ruby.

"This is almost too easy." Weiss muttered.

Ruby nodded in agreement, "If we can keep up the pressure, we'll have this done in no time."

Another explosive report from Ember Celica indicated that Yang's fight with Bolin continued to rage on. Ruby shared a nod with her partner before kicking off the wall and racing to her sister's aid. Yang looked over Bolin's shoulder at Ruby and grinned. Unsure of whether his opponent was bluffing or not, Bolin took the safest option and launched into a flurry of defensive swings and swipes with his staff. Ruby unfolded Crescent Rose into its war scythe position and held it out as she slid past her target on the ice. Her weapon clashed with Bolin's, leaving the huntsman open for a haymaker from Yang.

"Oh, that looked like it hurt!" Port called out, "A direct right hook from Xiao Long is not something I would wish on my worst enemy."

"But you would wish it on an Ursa." Oobleck said.

"Obviously."

"I can finish up with this guy, then help Weiss with the other two." Yang told Ruby, "You go and back up Blake."

Ruby glanced at her partner and watched Weiss use her glyph-borne mobility to keep Arslan and Nadir occupied by dodging from cover to cover within the canyon while unleashing icy missiles from Myrtenaster if either opponent tried to divert their attention to Ruby or Yang.

"Yeah, okay." Ruby agreed

She decided to leave another psionic gift for Nadir, who dropped to one knee and clutched his head, muttering, "Oh no, not again…"

Satisfied that her teammates had the canyon fight well in hand, Ruby raced off through the canyon to support Blake. The speed demon pounded down the open trench before planting her scythe into the ice to rapidly round the corner and shoot out into the open center field. Her supernaturally-enhanced instincts kicked in, and Ruby easily located both her ally and enemy weaving through the active lava geysers on the far side of the arena.

"What an impressive game of Cat and Mouse we have unfolding away from the main fight!" Port called out, "Belladonna and Chloris are really going at it."

Port's comparison to a cat chase was indeed accurate. An airborne Reese hounded after Blake, who managed to evade her assailant through a combination of the burning geysers and clever use of her shadow clones. Even though the situation looked grim for Blake, Ruby knew better: her teammate's evasive actions were meant to keep Reese distracted and away from the main fight. Rather than risk a lucky hit from her opponent, Blake played to her own strengths and led the huntress on a merry chase until backup could arrive.

Reese, to her credit, displayed a great deal of skill with her weapon of choice. The fancy footwork, the aerial control, and the ability to seamlessly switch between a hoverboard and a pair of handguns… Ruby had to admit she was impressed. Of course, that didn't mean she would let the huntress continue to freely chase after Blake. Clear of the slippery ice, Ruby put on another burst of speed and moved to assist Blake. Once she was close enough to her target, Ruby slammed Crescent Rose into the ground and used it as an anchor to swing her around into a high kick at Reese.

The huntress, taken off guard by the sneak attack, barely managed to swing her board up in time to block the kick. The force of Ruby's strike sent Reese careening backward through the air. Ruby and Blake made to pursue, but a gout of flame shot up from the earth and temporarily blocked their way forward. After the flame cleared out, the two looked around, but found no sign of their prey.

"Well this is mildly embarrassing." Ruby muttered as she carefully advanced with her teammate.

"Tell me about it." Blake answered, "I can feel her presence, but all the heat and noise is throwing my senses off.

Another explosion of flame, this time at their rear, came from one of the fire crystal formations. Ruby and Blake spun around in time to see Reese, her board now a burning red, sail out of the fire towards them. At the apex of her arc, the hoverboard split into two, and the huntress grabbed one half in each hand. Reese fired a few burning rounds from her handguns to put Ruby and Blake on the defensive before bringing the spiked ends of the weapons to bear as she careened through the air at her foes. As Reese continued to fall, the back of Ruby's brain started to tingle. Even though Ruby didn't have Annette's ability to pick out surface thoughts with her psionics, she did have an easier time gauging emotions. And the one she felt coming from Blake felt wrong. It felt like…

Absolute panic.

Oh no…

Ruby and Blake rolled out of the way of Reese's surprise attack, and the latter immediately launched into a flurry of blows as a direct counteroffensive. A sound strategy, to be sure, except Ruby knew that Blake's instincts had associated Reese's ambush with a certain Chryssalid leaping out of a shark and ratcheted up the intensity of her attack to match the perceived situation. With Blake's kill-or-be-killed mindset, Reese didn't stand a chance.

Blake! Stop!

The crowd cheered as Blake chained an impressive string of attacks together. She practically teleported around her victim, landing blow after blow with fury in her eyes.

Blake! Calm down!

With a final kick to the back of the head, Blake sent Reese skidding across the floor. Ruby checked the scoreboard and saw that Reese's Aura had dropped below the knockout value, but that didn't stop Blake from charging forward to deliver the Coup de Grace. Telepathic words weren't registering with Blake, so Ruby did the only thing she could think of: she launched herself at Blake with both arms poised to tackle, and her mind revved up and ready to send a surge of psychic energy at her friend if necessary. The two went tumbling across the fire field and rolled to a stop as Port announced over their heads.

"Looks like Miss Belladonna got slightly carried away with the fight. Thank goodness for teammates!"

"Well that was certainly an interesting trick." Qrow commented, knocking back another mouthful of brandy as he watched the video screen in the bar.

Bradford slammed his own glass onto the counter and cleared his throat while the liquid fire burned his stomach, "Yeah… I'm concerned about Blake's reaction, but if there's anything I've learned about your niece, it's that she's extremely resourceful."

"You think I don't know that?" the grizzled hunter smirked before washing more alcohol down his throat, "I taught that kid everything she knows."

"Everything?" Bradford asked, amused.

Qrow shot him a mild glare, "Yeah, everything."

"Squad leadership?" Bradford asked, "Encoding orders? Target prioritization? Asset allocation? Flight contol? Joint strike coordination? Psio-"

"Alright, alright! I get it." Qrow grumbled.

The Central Officer shrugged, "Eight months is a long time. That's all I'm saying."

Apparently enough time to develop some serious PTSD, it seemed. Vahlen never said anything about Blake cracking from stress, but it look like something triggered her just now. He'd have to make a note to talk to her about it later.

On the screen, the arena camera panned back to the icy half of the stage while Port continued to commentate, "With both Chloris and Hori out of the match, things aren't looking good for ABRN! Can they pull a win out of this situation? Only time will tell!"

"Weiss!"

"On it!"

A platform appeared beneath Yang's feet, which the brawler used in combination with the recoil from her gauntlets to launch herself high into the air. At the apex of her arc, another glyph winked into existence just below Yang's body. She pivoted herself around and blasted through the glyph, her body's temperature dropping from the symbol's chilly effects. Half a second later, she slammed her fist into the ground and an ice nova struck her two foes and blasted them off their feet.

Without giving them a chance to rest, Weiss brandished her rapier and sent a small swarm of Dust projectiles flying at her stunned targets. Nadir had enough situational awareness to realize the danger and threw himself in between Arslan and the attack. The bolts slammed into his abdomen and chest, sending the huntsman skidding across the ice. The sound of an overhead buzzer indicated that his aura had dropped below the knockout value, leaving his team leader as the final contender for ABRN.

"Weiss, brick me." Yang said. Weiss knew what she meant (somehow) and a tire-sized chunk of ice rose up from the ground in front of Yang. The huntress grabbed it, twisted it free from its mount, and looked over her shoulder at the recovering form of Arslan.

"Hup!" With a heave, Yang chucked the block of ice into the air before leaping up and sending the projectile hurtling at her foe with an explosive punch. The ice collided with the huntresses chest, shattering into a thousand little pieces and knocking her to the floor once again. Yang was about to follow up and finish off the martial artist with some hand-to-hand combat, but a curious sight stayed her fist. Arslan sat on the floor, making no effort to get back up. A taunt caught itself on the tip of Yang's tongue when she saw the huntresses eyes glisten. In that moment, it dawned on her that the complete and utter beatdown of ABRN had broken Arslan's pride, and Yang realized that she needed to finish the fight quickly and painlessly.

Her teammate, however, seemed to have a different idea. With a small voice in the back of her head reminding her that "It's not dead until it's dead," Weiss seemed to believe that Arslan's actions were a feint. She needed to be sure that the target stayed down, and the heiress just so happened to have the perfect tool to accomplish that goal. With a flourish of her weapon, a large and intricate glyph materialized behind Weiss, and a Boarbatusk charged out from the aether and barreled straight into a very surprised Arslan. The two bodies slammed into the canyon wall, where the summon vanished and the huntress crumpled into an immobile heap. The buzzer overhead once again rang out to declare Arslan's elimination and RWBY's victory.

"A rather brutal finisher from miss Schnee results in the elimination of the final member from Team ABRN!" Port exclaimed, "That one looked like it definitely hurt!"

Weiss looked back at the sound of two pairs of feet hitting the ice behind her to see that Ruby and Blake had returned from dealing with Reese.

"Was that necessary?" Ruby asked, eyebrow raised.

"I-." Weiss looked over at the cavity in the ice wall, then at Arslan's body just below it. She sighed, "No… no, it wasn't."

"Well that was… extremely aggressive. Even for a Schnee." Ironwood said.

"An effective way of finishing the match." Ozpin commented, "Though I agree that it might have been a bit much. I think a talk with her team leader is in order. While they've been through quite a bit over the past few weeks, we do need to keep public opinion in mind "

The two men continued to watch the arena below from their private box high above the primary stands. With the match decided by a rather embarrassing shutout, RWBY quickly left the field while the members of ABRN picked themselves up and meekly followed suit.

"Changing subjects…" Ironwood started, "Our mutual friend, mister Polendina, would like to know if you intend to ever return the copy of his… ah… daughter to his possession. Now that I've been made aware of your Bradford, I'm assuming that he was the one who requested the use of Penny."

"He was, and I do." Ozpin said, "But not yet."

Ironwood raised an eyebrow, "Are you holding Penny hostage? Because that's what that sounded like."

"A rather serious accusation, James." Ozpin answered, clearly unfazed by Ironwood's tone, "But no, I am not holding her hostage. I have been advised to keep the alternate Penny safe for the duration of the festival, for two separate reasons." It wasn't entirely untrue: while Vahlen's primary reason for requesting more time with Penny was rooted in science rather than safety, she did point out the possibility of complications during the reintegration process.

"First, there will likely be, for the lack of a better term, 'growing pains' when the two versions of miss Polendina attempt to become a single entity." He swirled the contents of his mug and looked directly at Ironwood, "As I understand it, our mutual friend intends to demonstrate Penny's prowess by entering her into the tournament, correct? There is a non-trivial possibility that she would have to withdraw if we attempt to upgrade her now."

"Upgrade?" Ironwood asked, slightly incredulous.

"If you've read the reports I have regarding Penny's combat actions under Bradford, you would be agreeing with me whole-heartedly." Ozpin clarified.

"May I see them, then?"

"No."

Sigh, "Your second reason?"

"We have already met in the past to discuss some of the more concerning events leading up to and surrounding the Vytal festival." The headmaster continued, "I won't insult your memory by repeating them here, but suffice to say that nobody -civilian or huntsman- is immune to the potential dangers that may arise should some sort of attack actually happen. Penny is in the unique situation where she does possess a degree of immunity, as her digital copy currently resides in a safe location."

"You are assuming that all mister Polendina needs to restore Penny is a digital backup of her memories and programming." Ironwood answered.

"Is that not preferable to the alternative of 'absolutely nothing?' "

Ironwood had no response. Ozpin took his companion's silence as evidence that their conversation had reached its end, "If you don't mind, I think some combination of congratulations and admonitions are in order for the latest victors of the tournament."

Ozpin stood up, grabbed his mug and cane, and gave his companion a courteous nod before heading for the door.

"Ozpin." Ironwood called out. Beacon's headmaster stopped and tilted his head to indicate he was listening, "This is a dangerous game we are playing. If you are withholding anything, anything, that I could use as the head of security for the festival, please reconsider your silence. The safety of our students may depend on it."

Ozpin briefly hesitated before answering, "Of course, James."

With that, he left Ironwood alone to his thoughts.

"Hey."

Arslan looked up from her locker to see four faces poking in through the doorway. Team RWBY, the freshman huntresses that made her team look like a bunch of incompetent kindergardeners, had apparently stopped by to gloat. Arslan noticed that Bolin and Nadir had also halted their usual locker room routine to watch the unfolding scene.

"What do you want?" Arslan asked as she returned her attention to her locker.

Ruby stepped forward, hands behind her back and head slightly bowed, "To apologize."

That got Arslan's attention. Still, she tried to act casual and disinterested, "Apologize for what? It's a tournament. You're supposed to give it your all."

"There's a difference between giving it your all and humiliating your opponents, especially in a tournament that's supposed to promote unity and friendship across the kingdoms." Ruby said.

"Glad you finally noticed." Arslan quipped. Silence ensued as the Mistralian continued to busy herself with her locker. One of Ruby's teammates (the Schnee, which did not surprise Arslan whatsoever) grew impatient with the lack of conversation and spoke up.

"Look, I understand that you're upset. I'm sure you trained extremely hard to compete in the tournament. But being petty and refusing to accept an apology is childish!"

Arslan glanced at Weiss and raised an eyebrow, "Just as childish, apparently, as someone who seems to think that saying 'whoops, I'm sorry' will magically make everything better." She finally dropped the locker facade and shut the door to give her full attention to RWBY, "You're right, we worked our asses off to earn a spot in the tournament. And while I know we aren't amazing, that was the single most embarrassing loss of my entire life. Right off the bat, you make us look like fools, and then you proceed to pick us apart like we're some sort of plaything. Reese is getting treated for multiple lacerations and a concussion as we speak, and I'm still trying to figure out why you decided to finish the match by hurling a block of ice into my face and smashing me into a wall with a Boarbatusk." A small part of Arslan felt satisfaction when she saw the stupid princess wince, "I was on the floor, waiting for a quick end to my nightmare, and you decide that an unnecessary show of force was the best way to cap off the match."

"That… was a mistake." Weiss admitted.

Arslan threw up her hands in frustration, "Understatement of the century, right there! So no, I will not forgive you simply because you decided to stop by and say some words. And besides, there's more."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Yang asked, a tinge of annoyance in her voice.

"Funny you should ask." Bolin answered, "Because it's actually about you."

Yang raised an eyebrow as the huntsman stood up and leaned against his locker, arms folded with a look of disgust on his face, "You think you're pretty clever wearing those sleeves, don't you? You think nobody will ever suspect you're augmenting your strength with hidden servos and reinforced steel. I knew something was up when you landed that first punch to my face -thanks for that, by the way- and then when my staff started to ricochet and vibrate whenever you raised an arm to block it? I didn't need any more evidence after that." He nodded his head at Blake, "Bet your girlfriend over there has some mods, too. Can't see a single patch of skin below her neck."

Yang was already slowly boiling over as Bolin laid his accusations at her feet, but his jab at Blake caused the huntress to completely flip her lid. Her eyes turned red, she drew herself up to her full height as she stepped towards Bolin, and Ruby saw her hair begin to smolder. She needed to intervene, and quickly. Blake, however, diffused the situation first.

"Yang." One single word was the only thing that came out of Blake's mouth, but its purpose and meaning took immediate effect. Yang clenched her fists, took in a deep breath, and stepped back.

"Do not speak that way about Blake ever again. You have no idea what we've been through." She whispered dangerously, glaring daggers at Bolin.

Heavy silence fell across both teams before Arslan made an amused noise in the back of her throat, "So you see why we're maaaaaybe not in the mood to simply forget the last twenty minutes and be all chummy with you. After spending an entire year training to prove that Haven can put out competent huntsmen, my teammates are left wondering what the hell we're doing with our lives."

Something in Arslan's last statement must have struck a nerve with Ruby, because her eyes grew wide, then furious, "What are you doing with your lives? What are you doing with your lives? Have you forgotten that there's more to being a huntress than a stupid tournament? How about protecting the people? Stopping criminals? The Grimm? So what if you suffered a shutout in a tournament? You shouldn't be 'working your asses off' just for bragging rights, you're doing it because people's lives are at stake! If you don't think your team is as good as it can be, then by all means train! But do it for the right reasons!

"Yes, Blake's reaction to Reese's ambush was bad, but let me tell you this: she didn't pick that up from fighting training dummies. When you've seen the enemy, when you've found yourself in some seriously bad situations, your survival instincts are forced to adapt. Our team is in the middle of dealing with some issues right now, and I'm really sorry that you and your friend were on the receiving end of the unfortunate collateral damage, but welcome to the business of being a huntress."

Ruby took a deep breath and locked eyes with the stunned Arslan, "So here's the way I see things: you and I are on the same side. When it comes to a threat like the Grimm, there's no such thing as too many allies. Even though you probably remember our fight a little differently, I saw a match against a team that demonstrated adaptability and the potential to improve. A team that I would like to call my friends, that would have my back when things really mattered, knowing I would do the same for them without hesitation. Are you willing to drop a petty grudge and recognize that we both want the same thing? Or are you going to be a child and continue to nurse your wounded pride?"

Arslan bit her lip. As much as she still had no warm feelings for RWBY, their leader clearly spoke with a passion that came from the heart. Ruby's words weren't some phoned-in apology, and Arslan knew that the kid wasn't even obligated to apologize in the first place. She glanced at her two teammates, who could do little more than shrug at their leader. She closed her eyes, sighed, and nodded at Ruby, "Yeah. I am."

"Glad to hear it." Ruby answered , "I don't expect us to be friends anytime soon. I understand that what we did was awful, and it will take time for that wound to heal. But I hope that over time, you'll realize that we didn't do what we did out of malice. Honest mistakes happen, and I hope we can be on friendlier terms when we prove to you that today was an honest mistake on our part."

Silence met Ruby's statement, though it wasn't cold like before. Ruby tried to feel the surface emotions from the huntsmen of ABRN, and all she could feel was fatigue.

"We'll leave you to finish up in here." She finished, "But if there's ever anything I can do to make things right between us, I'm one scroll call away."

She placed a scrap of paper on the bench next to Arslan before leaving with the rest of her team.