OH MY GOD ALMOST 7000 WORDS! JESUS.

I blew off family and friends because I was on such a roll with this. Ok, I don't have any friends to blow off but my family was overly curious as to what I was writing for so long. Doesn't matter now.

This was awesome to write. I feel like I captured many many points in this, and although I do wish it was shorter in length, there was no place for me to cut it. It was either going to be too short or too long, so I figured "Eh, screw it."

So, without further delay, enjoy the sheer power and magnitude of over 6,800 words of writing!

It didn't take long for Yang to realize her teammates weren't actually going to wait for her, so she began to catch up. Ruby was following Blake and Weiss closely, not hoping to get lost anywhere.

"About time you caught up!" Weiss scolded Yang while still walking, "We were thinking you were going to skip out on dinner."

"Oh please, miss a meal? Me?" Yang laughed, "You really are crazy!"

"Who says I'm crazy?!" Weiss shouted, stopping in her tracks and turning to face Yang.

"I think you just did." Blake said simply, walking past Weiss. Ruby chuckled and followed Blake, while Yang stood with Weiss.

"I think you just got schooled, Weiss."

"Yeah..." Weiss said quietly, "Yeah, I think I did, didn't I? Hm, she wants to play like that, eh?" She turned back to catch up with Blake and Ruby, Yang in tow.

They made it to the cafeteria, one of the first teams in. 'Wow,' Ruby thought. Her teammates moved into the kitchen and she followed suit. The cafeteria staff served a ham steak dinner special that night, to which the team was more than gracious for.

"Oh hey!" Yang called after receiving her food, "I almost forgot, Team JNPR will be joining us."

"Who?" Ruby asked.

"Our sister team." Weiss answered, "Their dorm is right across the hall from ours. You'll find them to be as helpful as any of us." She assured. Ruby nodded and followed her team out to the tables.

They hadn't sat down for more than a minute before Nora came charging in, "RUBY!" She shouted. The younger girl turned, hearing her name, and was almost tackled out of her seat, "Your alive! You're alive you're alive you're alive!" Nora shouted, not intent on releasing Ruby.

"Nora!" Yang shouted back, trying to pry the girl off, "Bear hugs are my job, back off!" Nora refused to comply, her hug not really crushing Ruby, like Yang's, but were still tight.

"Nora!" Ren called, finally catching up to her, "Ah, get off, Nora. She's trying to eat."

"Jeez, Ren I thought you said you'd keep her on a tight leash?" Yang asked, still trying to pry the girl off of her sister.

"She chewed through it." Ren just tapped Nora on the shoulder and she snapped to attention, giving a mock salute. Ruby caught her breath, trying to recover from the ambush. Pyrrha and Jaune finally caught up to their teammates.

"Well, that's one way to re-introduce ourselves." Pyrrha said, chuckling. She extended a hand to Ruby, who was still a tad dumbfounded at what just happened. "Pyrrha Nikos."

Ruby shook her hand, "Nice to meet you... Again, I guess?" Pyrrha chuckled.

"I see you've gotten acquainted with Nora and Ren again." Nora waved and Ren nodded. Ruby returned the nod the both of them. Jaune finally found his way. "And where were you?"

"I- Aw forget it. I could tell you but you wouldn't believe me."

"Try it." Weiss challenged, not moving from her seat or looking away from her meal.

Jaune sighed, "Someone had to keep the dorm room locked, and with Nora bursting out leaving the room in shambles and you two going after her, I had to do a quick pick up and lock and go." He finally took a breath, completing Weiss' challenge.

"Oh?" Pyrrha said slyly, "So when we go back the dorm will be clean?"

"Nope." He admitted, then turned his attention to Ruby, who had been intently listening to the pairs babbling. "Hey there." He nodded. Ruby, again, returned the nod, staying quiet and reserved. Something that was currently bothering both teams.

"Well," Jaune said, breaking the silence, "I think we're going to get some food. Be right back." His team followed. As they left, more people started showing up, slowly but surely. Ruby took a seat between Yang and Blake and across from Weiss.

"Hey," Yang whispered to her sister, "What's up? You've been... different all day?"

"Oh? How am I supposed to be acting right now?" Ruby retorted.

"I dunno, differently? Not like this, that's for sure."

"You can say that again." Weiss said easily, still not looking up from her meal. Blake had pulled out a book and started reading and eating (something she did commonly.)

Ruby just shook her head and smiled, turning to her meal. "I understand your guys' concern, honestly. But you dont need to worry. I'm fine." She assured. Yang saw right through her but wasn't going to bring it up here. This was a private conversation for later.

JNPR didn't take too long to fetch their meals. They sat back down with the RWBY and began eating.

"So," Pyrrha began, "How have the tests been, so far?"

"Meh." Ruby said easily, "The written one was boring. I thought it would be a challenge in some way but it was more common sense stuff. 'What to do if there's an open wound?' 'How do you deal with a crime before authorities arrive?', stuff like that."

"Hm," Pyrrha nodded, "So how about the physical?"

"It went well. We got it done in a faster time than Ozpin intended." Yang answered for her sister, who was currently chewing. Ruby nodded in agreement with Yang.

"I see. And you have more later on?"

"Yeah," Weiss cut in, "It will be the three of us against Ruby with the next physical test."

Nora's eyes lit up, "Oh! This I absolutely have to see! Can we go? Can we? Can we? Canwecanwecanwe?!" She tugged on Ren, shaking him back and forth in his seat.

"No-ra, stoooooop!" He pleaded, being thrown around rather easily. The others began laughing at Ren's misfortune. Eventually, Nora agreed and stopped. "It's Ruby's test. If she wants an audience then fine. If not, then no big deal." He replied calmly.

Nora turned to Ruby, still with a lit up face. Eyes asked the question. Ruby stared into her eyes and chuckled. This girl had so much energy and intensity in her gaze. She shrugged, "I'm ok with it. How about you guys?"

"I think an audience would be fun." Blake said.

"Yeah!" Yang added in, "We need someone to cheer the underdogs on!"

"Who said we'd root for you?" Pyrrha challenged, "I have my bets on Ruby this fight."

Yang just stared at her, "Um... She was the underdog." Pyrrha almost fell out of her seat from laughing, causing Yang to frown. The others started to crack up too.

Seeing her sister physically shaken up by the comment, Ruby decided it was her turn to play the caring role between the two. "It's ok, Yang," she said, "If you're lucky maybe I'll go easy on you." Yang's head turned so fast Ruby could swear she would have whiplash. This caused everyone else to finally lose it.

"I can't even-!" Jaune tried, "I can't breathe!"

After a few moments, everyone regained their composure and sat back down. They were lucky that almost no one was in the cafeteria still. The group made enough of a racket that others would think they were insane.

The silence within the group didn't stay for long, as Pyrrha piped up, "So, Ozpin decided to give you all the week of again?"

"Again?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah. He wanted us to try and help Ruby through this." Weiss replied, "Do you guys mind if we-?"

"Not at all," Jaune replied, interrupting her. "Just drop by whenever you have the work." The team nodded and finished their meals. Ruby, beating Yang by almost a full minute on their meal. Blake had been done before everyone else (much to their amazement), and Weiss was the last one done.

"I'll give you call again when we're going to fight, ok?" Yang asked. Pyrrha nodded and gave a thumbs up, still eating.

With that team RWBY left. Yang noted how they had some time to spare before they needed to go back to the classroom. Not enough time to run to the dorm (to Ruby's dismay) but enough time to walk around the campus a bit more. It was Yang's hopes that something would jar Ruby's memories a bit.

They went around the CCT building, and even cut through the library to get to the class. It was mainly a silent trip on Ruby's part. She let her team do much of the talking, almost as if this was a tour for her.

Ruby looked on to many of the buildings and felt a sense of déjà vu. Everything around felt so... familiar. She could definitely say she had been there before but she doesn't recall ever being there.

And she hated it.

She hated everything about this. Her lack of memory, only having everything be familiar. She hated how everyone is treating her, too. They think she can't do anything, even though it's only one year she's lost.

'I'm only hesitant because I don't know the extent of my abilities.' Ruby thought to herself, 'If I could get an understanding of what I can do, then there really wouldn't be too much of an issue.' This wouldn't stop anything though, and she knew it.

They finally made it to the class and walked in. Peach, again, wasn't there yet, so they all hung around.

"According to Ozpin," Weiss began, "This next written test is only forty questions, so it shouldn't take too long." Ruby nodded. "Do you want us outside again?"

"If you don't mind?" Ruby asked, "I still don't want to take a chance on underestimating this." Her team nodded in understanding. Then, the silence entered the room once more. Ruby hated it, too. She wasn't going to stand around this time, either. "So... Is, what was her name? Nora?" The others nodded, "Is she always like that?"

"Oh yeah," Yang said, "She's generally the life of the party. If there isn't a party, then there will be." Ruby nodded.

"And is John always so... I don't know, foolish, at times? He seemed so flustered?"

"First, it's Jaune. Next, it- well," Weiss began, "He's always been like that. He's not exactly the smoothest guy out there."

Ruby let out a quiet 'ah' in understanding. She was about to ask about Pyrrha and Ren, but then Professor Peach entered the room. "Ah, good, you're here!" She exclaimed, "We thought you'd all be down in your dorms."

Weiss shook her head, "Nope. We didn't want Ruby to be late for this."

"Oh please," Peach admonished, "You don't need to worry about that, your about forty five minutes ahead of schedule. You can take as much time as you need!"

Yang hung her head, "Wish we would've known that..."

Peach laughed. "Ok, same deal as last time?" The others nodded, "Good! Now get out!" They left and Peach closed the door behind them. "So," She began, looking at Ruby, "You don't want them in here with you?"

"No." Ruby replied, easily and quickly, "I don't want to feel rushed."

Peach chuckled. 'Smart. Given what kind of test taker you are.' She handed Ruby the scantron and gestured to the seat behind her. Ruby sat and began to take the test. Peach noticed the speed Ruby was taking it on. She wasn't going too fast, but wasn't sticking to one question a minute. Constantly re-reading the question to make sure it was right.

Ruby, on a few occasions, had taken a quick look at the clock above the doorway. Peach thought it was because she heard her teammates, but then she realized she was timing herself. Peach sighed, and moved to Ruby. Slamming her hand down on the girls test, Ruby let out a small yelp in surprise.

"You don't have to do that, you know?" Peach said. Ruby gave a quizzical expression, "Looking at the clock? Timing yourself? I'm here for a reason, you know. It's not stand and look pretty. Don't rush yourself. Don't worry about the time. Your ahead of schedule anyway." Ruby nodded in understanding, and sighed.

Peach shook her head and moved back to the front of the classroom and waited. Still watching Ruby ever closely, she noticed the girl seemed more relaxed, and was taking her time properly. 'I think that's just what she needed.'

It was with that that Peach had a thought. "Miss Rose?" Ruby looked up, "Would you be ok if I stepped out for a moment?" Ruby nodded, and Peach walked out. 'Maybe her team can help her a bit.'

The girls walked out of the class and Peach closed the door behind them. Each one went back to their respectful seats from the previous test. "Well," Yang said, "I guess this is starting to be a thing, now?"

Blake shook her head, "Let's hope not." Weiss agreed.

A few minutes of silence brought the girls some much needed time to themselves. Each one thinking about their leader. She had clearly been acting strange since the hospital. Actually, she's been off all day. Each one was trying to think of their own theory on why this was. But neither could make one that made sense.

"So," Weiss started, "Are we actually going to talk about this? Or will we just stay silent and pretend it's not happening." The other two looked at each other, then to their interim leader and nodded. "So, let's talk then. Why is Ruby acting like this?"

The other two shrugged.

"Well she has to have a reason?"

"Maybe," Blake thought out loud, "Maybe she had a nightmare last night? She does seem to be hiding something and may not be comfortable with talking to anyone." Weiss nodded, but Yang shook her head.

"She would have talked to me at some point today. Don't you think?"

"When, Yang?" Blake asked, "At what point did she have a moment where it was just you two and you weren't concentrated on fighting?" Yang sat back and thought. She knew Blake was right.

"She could also just be a bit overwhelmed with today?" Weiss added, "With everything going on these last few days... I don't know." She sighed, burying her face into her hands.

"No, no," Blake patted Weiss on the back, "That's a good thought. She hasn't had a lot of time the last few days to digest everything. It may just be a case of being overwhelmed is all." She assured the heiress, who reappeared from her hands and nodded.

Before Weiss could give a retort, the door opened. Each of the girls looked in surprise to Professor Peach, who was standing in the doorway. "I'll be right back, now!" She assured Ruby, then closed the door. "Whew. Ok, I don't know about you all, but something is up with her."

"Yeah."

"We know."

"So what are you doing about it?" Peach asked. All three looked to each other, then to her and shrugged. "Uh huh." Peach took the last empty chair. "I can tell, you know? She's very... Off."

"What is she doing in there?" Yang asked, mildly concerned.

"Oh, she kept looking back at the clock. I think she was trying to time herself or something. I don't know, but I had to explain to her that she wasn't being timed."

"And?"

"She calmed down. I think she's just excited is all. Or nervous. probably both." Peach shrugged it off. "That's actually why I'm here right now. I was hoping any of you knew what was up or what you would do about it?"

"Well," Yang thought, "I was going to talk to her later. Maybe when we had some free time?"

"Ok," Peach said, "That's good, but what do you think the issue is?"

Blake spoke up, "We think it's a nightmare. That or she's just overwhelmed by all of this and is acting the way she is because she's annoyed." Peach nodded, accepting this answer. But she knew there was more to it. "We just don't know though. We haven't had a moment to sit down with her." There it was.

"Well," Peach sighed, "I'd suggest you do that as soon as possible. I'm not sure if I enjoy seeing this Ruby. She seems more... Depressed? No. What's the word?"

"Distant?" Blake asked.

"Quiet?" Weiss added.

"Meh, either of those would work."

"Peach, wait!" Blake quickly stood up, stopping peach from going back into the class. "You're good with Alchemy, right?" Peach nodded slowly, "Is there any kind of formula from a drink that would help her in this scenario?"

Peach thought about it for a moment, then looked Blake dead in the eyes, "I don't know. I'll check though. If there's anything at all, you'll be the first person I call." She assured, then walked back into the classroom.

The silence returned to the group. Each one going back into their own minds.

Blake was currently reading one of her psychology books. She had read somewhere in that very book that there was a serum that would sooth the mind, allowing hypnotism to take place easily. If she could hypnotize Ruby properly, then there would be a chance that all memories could return to her at once, bringing her back to normal. Or it could have drastic effects and scar her for life. Blake was trying to figure out how to do this without scarring the girl.

Yang's mind was all over the place. She was trying to think about her sister and her new attitude. Yang was concerned about whether or not it was something they said or did. Ruby hadn't acted like this in a while, but it wasn't Yang's first rodeo. She knew how to talk to Ruby better than anyone, so getting the issue to rise to the surface wouldn't take long. At least, she hoped.

Weiss was concerned for Ruby, but not in the way one might expect. Weiss had decided to take this issue one step at a time. Amnesia is a tricky ordeal, and trying to force memories to light seemed like a bad idea. So instead, Weiss decided that she wouldn't annoy Ruby, rather let it take its course, and when the time comes, then they will deal with it.

No, instead Weiss was more concerned about the three on one that was about to happen. Pyrrha was right, Ruby was going to absolutely destroy them. It didn't take her long to dispatch the Grimm on her own, so they probably wouldn't last long either.

'Uhg,' she thought, 'Ruby would have a plan for this! Come on, Weiss! You've been waiting for a true leadership position for months now! Do something about it!'

"Hey," She said, quietly. It was loud enough to spark the attention of her teammates, at least, "I think I have an idea about the fight later on."

Yang's eyes lit up at mention of the spar. Blake just nodded and gestured Weiss to go on. "Here's the plan:"

By the time Peach got back into the class, Ruby was just over halfway done. There wasn't any big issues, just leadership and tactical decisions one had to make on the fly. It was intriguing to the girl the kind of issues that she might face (at least, the kind of issues that are described there).

Peach silently sat down at her desk in the front of the room. Ruby didn't see any drinks or snacks in her hands, which made her wonder why she left in the first place. 'Was she talking to Yang and the others?' Ruby thought, 'Hmm...' She wasn't sure what to do, but she wasn't going worry about it just yet. 'I will ask Yang about it later.'

Ruby wasn't sure how long she was at it for, but by the time she made it to the end of her test it was rather dark outside. She finished up her test, finalizing the essay question (which she had no idea would be a thing, but whatever.) She looked to Peach, meeting her hawk-like gaze.

'How closely was she watching me?' Ruby thought, rather panicked. 'Jeez.' She walked up to Peach and handed her the paper. Peach nodded, "Ok. Ozpin will be expecting you." Was all she said. Ruby nodded and walked out of the class and closed the door behind her. Turning, she, again, met the gazes of her teammates.

"Hey," She said, sheepishly. "I guess I'm done."

Yang nodded, "Ok. Let me call Pyrrha and get our gambling audience in there. Weiss, Blake, think you could take her?" Blake and Weiss nodded and guided Ruby out.

"Does team... Jupiter?-"

"Juniper." Blake and Weiss both corrected simultaneously.

"- Juniper, right! Do they... Gamble, a lot?"

"Not as much as you and Yang." Weiss corrected quickly. Ruby didn't understand at first, "Over the last year you and Yang played poker with other students, put bets on Grifball games-"

"How much did we win?" Ruby asked, interrupting Weiss. Weiss just stared at her, confused, "How. Much. Did. We. Win?" Ruby repeated slowly.

"Quite a bit." Blake said easily. Ruby smiled and nodded. 'Old habits die hard!' She thought.

After a few moments Blake, Ruby and Weiss made it to the arena. Once again, it was closed for a "Private Match". Professor Goodwitch was outside waiting for them. "Ah, there you are. Professor Peach informed us of your completion." She examined the group more thoroughly, "Where is Miss Xiao Long?"

"Oh, um," Weiss began, "She is calling some... Friends."

"Friends?' Goodwitch asked.

"Team JNPR wanted to watch." Blake said, honestly and quickly, "Ruby didn't mind it and neither did we. Is that a problem?"

Goodwitch thought for a moment, then turned to the team, "I'll allow it. An audience would be nice." The others nodded. Yang and Team JNPR came in quickly and followed Goodwitch inside after exchanging pleasantries.

Team RWBY departed to the locker room, and team JNPR went to the stands. Pyrrha held a piece of paper that held bets from multiple people, Team CFVY, Team SSSN, and, of course, themselves. Each member bounced in their seats as they anxiously awaited what they thought would be the spar of the year.

Team RWBY all entered the locker room together, but stayed apart for the most part. WBY had taken to themselves, discussing the battle plan further. Ruby had found this rather odd. She wasn't expecting the fight to be as much of a blowout as everyone else was saying, but she did find it interesting that her teammates had to discuss an actual battle plan in order to win.

'I guess it'll make things interesting.' Ruby thought, 'I guess I'm going to have to keep on my toes, here.' As she completed her preparations, she concentrated more on her team, trying to keep up a makeshift huddle between them. They were far enough away and had their voices quiet enough to make her really concentrate.

She noticed how every now and again Yang would look over her shoulder at her. Eye contact would be made, but every time they met each other's gaze, Yang would only smile and nod. This didn't concern Ruby, rather it intrigued her.

After a few minutes she realized it was futile to try and listen in on her teammates, so she stood and announced to them to hurry. They had an audience outside. Her teammates nodded and watched Ruby exit the locker room.

"So," Weiss said, standing up, "Are we all ok with this plan?"

"I don't know," Blake said, "This is definitely a long shot, Weiss."

"It'll work," The heiress assured, "Now come on! We have a fight to win!" Blake and Yang, in unison, sighed and followed her out. The plan wasn't so simple. It was to stay on defense, mainly. Triangle formation.

Weiss would be in the back, providing support using her spells. Blake and Yang would take Ruby head on, hopefully being able to distract her long enough for Weiss to get some good shots in. That or they tire her out, thus causing a win by default.

The three walked out to the arena floor. A cheer came from their small audience (mainly Nora). They found Ruby talking with Professor Goodwitch, who appeared to be giving the younger girl a few pointers. The three didn't mind this, mainly because they just didn't know. Both of them were smiling, which confused them more.

"Ah, speak of the devil," Goodwitch said, "Are we ready, now?" All of them nodded, "Perfect. Miss Rose, please take your corner. Miss Schnee, Miss Belladonna, Miss Xiao Long, please take yours."

Both parties went to their respective sides. Pyrrha and Jaune cheered Ruby on, who only responded with a thumbs up, not taking her eyes off of her competition. Nora was the only one who cheered for WBY. Ren stayed his usual quiet self.

"Well," Yang said, "At least we have some support." The other two just shook their heads. "We just might be the underdogs, here."

"Ahem," A voice called over the P.A. systems, "I suppose we are ready?" All parties nodded, "Very well. Here are the rules for this fight. Professor Goodwitch will be calling it as the official. She will remove you when your Aura gets too low to take you out of danger of serious injury. When you are out, that is it." Ozpin said very sternly, emphasizing the "You're out." portion. "This fight will be one round, no time limit. Does everyone understand the rules?"

Again, all nodded, "Very well. Professor Goodwitch, whenever they are ready." Goodwitch nodded, and stood in between both sides.

"Draw your weapons," She demanded. Everyone did as they were told, "You may begin when I have left the ring." She began taking a few steps back, stopping just before she stepped out. Ruby never took her gaze off of her competition. Blake stayed steadily trained on her young leader, as did Weiss. Yang was watching Goodwitch and her sister, moving her eyes back and forth between the two. "Begin!" Goodwitch finally stepped out, and WBY took their positions. Ruby sat back and watched.

Yang and Blake jumped about ten, maybe fifteen meters ahead of Weiss, who prepared herself for combat. Ruby had only a few seconds to think.

'Tri formation? Really? I thought Yang would've learned.' She laughed to herself, 'Weiss in the back, she'll provide long-range support, given what I've seen of her. The other two will be a distraction for me? Gutsy.' Ruby made up her mind in a second, 'Gotta take Weiss down then wear those two out. Watch out for striking Yang, that won't end well.'

She pointed Crescent Rose behind her and shot, activating her speed semblance too. She moved past Blake and Yang, neither given a chance to react. Ruby turned Crescent Rose's blunt side up and fired off, giving her enough force to smack the unsuspecting heiress backwards hard, sending her to the wall.

Still not giving a chance for Blake or Yang to react, Ruby shot forward, sending herself backwards. 'Good job,' she thought to herself, 'Now you've forced them to the offense. Keep an eye on Weiss, though. She gets up at any point and it's over for you.'

Blake and Yang recognized that the plan has gone down the drain, now positioned themselves to move to the offense. Using a strategy that both of them came up with together, Blake positioned herself to get behind Ruby, while Yang stayed to her focal point. Ruby recognized this, and rolled to keep them both in front.

Ruby kept Weiss in her view off the corner of her eye, making sure the Heiress stays down. According to the monitors, Weiss' Aura wasn't anywhere near gone, and Goodwitch hadn't called her out. She turned her attention back to Yang and Blake, who kept up their attacks.

Yang brought a big right hook, to which Ruby ducked under. While ducking, Ruby swept her leg, tripping her sister, causing Yang's legs to kick Blake. Disoriented, Blake met the wrong end of a body check by Ruby, who had used Crescent Rose to give her a boost. Ruby, again, rolled away, admiring her work.

Neither Yang nor Blake were staying down, and Weiss began to stir. Ruby was about to be in trouble soon and she knew it.

"Oh!" Nora exclaimed, "This is soooooooooo good!"

"I will admit, Ruby is fighting very well." Ren stated, "Given her condition, her fighting doesn't seem to have taken a hit."

"No," Jaune said, "But I can tell the others have." With that comment, Ruby brought the blade end of her scythe crashing between Blake and Yang. "Man, she's doing a good job of keeping them separated."

"I'll say," Pyrrha said, admiring the younger girls fighting, "If her weapon wasn't so massive I'd like a shot at her."

"I wouldn't regardless of weapon." Ren admitted.

Weiss began to come to, trying to figure out what the hell just happened to her. Ruby came almost out of nowhere, striking her like a freight train. One second she was on the other side of the room, the next, Weiss is in the wall. 'I guess I should have expected that...' She thought, trying to get to her feet. She watched on as Blake and Yang struggled to keep Ruby at bay.

'Now's my chance.'

Weiss prepared some glyphs, drawing her blade. Blake did a good job of distracting Ruby, but it wasn't long before she was dispatched by the scythe wielder. 'Damn, she's a machine!' Ruby turned her attention to Weiss and smiled. Weiss knew what was coming and hastily made a shielding Glyph in front of her. Using her free hand, she gestured her spells, sending stars forward towards Ruby.

What the heiress didn't realize was Ruby's positioning. The younger girl had kept Yang and Blake together, but distanced. She dispatched Blake right next to Yang, and positioned herself right in front of them. With Weiss' spells on the way, she pointed Crescent Rose to her side, jumping away, leaving Blake and Yang right in the line of fire.

"Oh shit!" Yelled Yang, just before getting leveled. Ruby took a look to the board, both Blake and Yang had taken a dip into the yellow. 'Well, it's something.' She turned to Weiss, and planned to finish her.

Weiss, keeping a shielding glyph at her front also summoned some to her back and sides. Ruby recognized this, thinking the heiress feared her. Pointed her gun downwards, Ruby shot herself up, coming down right in the hole Weiss left at the top of her little shielding circle.

Ruby landed right next to her interim leader, who was too busy holding up the glyphs to react. "Interesting, Wi- Weiss!" Weiss caught Ruby correcting herself, quickly dropped the shields and motioned to strike Ruby with Myrtenaster. Ruby, however, kept her semblance up, and dodged it easily. "Close, but no cigar." Ruby continued to taunt Weiss, who got slightly annoyed.

"You dolt!" She growled, "You could've ended this long ago! Why taunt us?!"

"Simple," Ruby responded with a slight smile, "I need you all up to finish you. If not then you have time to recover and go again." Weiss absorbed this information, and just relished in the thought.

'Oh my- It's genius!' She thought. No sooner did Ruby take the opportunity to kick Weiss towards her fallen teammates. 'Damn! She's walking all over us!' "Get up you two!" Weiss commanded, "We have one chance!" Blake and Yang brought themselves back from their stupor, rising with Weiss.

"Form up! Close now!" The three moved back into their triangle formation, only tighter than before. This was exactly what Ruby was looking for.

Not wasting a minute, Ruby shot forward, body checking Yang, who bumped into Weiss, causing a spell to hit Blake. Ruby jumped onto Blake, who stumbled slightly from the spell, and bounced off of the girls back, causing her to face plant.

Ruby back flipped in between Weiss and Yang, smacking them both down with the blunt end of her weapon. All three combatants dipped into the red, but neither began to give up.

Yang was the first to rise, her eyes turning as red as Ruby's cloak. 'Shit.' Ruby cursed to herself, realizing her mistake. 'Better avoid that, leave her for last.' Weiss was slow to get up, but spun Myrtenaster chamber, coating the blade in Burn dust. Blake just stayed down, not sure of where she was at that point.

Weiss quickly charged to Ruby, gliding her way before Ruby had time to react now. Slashing the air, Ruby easily dodged her attacks, but still felt the intensity of the dust alone. Yang jumped in, punching, firing of Ember Celica rounds. Ruby bounced back, finding one chance. and fired her scythe behind her again, sending the end of the shaft right into Yang's gut. The older sister flew back and into Weiss, sending the heiress back with a hard thud.

"Miss Schnee is out of the match!" Goodwitch called.

'One down,' Ruby thought. Yang kept up her attack. Ruby did her best to avoid her sisters onslaught of fire and vengeance, but it wasn't good enough. Yang, taking a page out of Ruby's book, body checked her sister, sending her flying and causing her to drop Crescent Rose.

Ruby recognized one option only: Operation Supersonic.

It was a plan Uncle Qrow helped her devise. She would, in an event of emergency, Use her semblance to its max potential, pushing the limit. Ruby readied her stance and charged.

She kicked up dust, dirt, debris, anything, and just ran. She ran off of the walls, around Yang, around the arena! Yang tried to keep up, but Ruby was just too fast.

Before even having a moment to react, Yang heard a primal shout. Looking up, she saw Ruby, who somewhere down the line picked up her scythe, coming down with the blunt end of said weapon. 'Well, shit...' Yang thought, bracing for the worst. Ruby, however, decided to spare her sister, and moved the blade slightly to the left. Still had enough force to knock Yang away.

"Miss Xiao Long is out!" Goodwitch called.

"Two down." Ruby said, catching her breathe, "Now, where's-"

"Here" Blake said, drawing Gambol Shroud around Ruby's neck.

"Wow," Ruby admonished, "You really are quiet." Blake gave a quiet 'mhm.'. "Well, you don't exactly have me yet..." Ruby positioned Crescent Rose on her would-be assassin, putting the blade to her back.

"Ruby," Blake said, her mind racing, "Yo- You know... If you pull that trigger..."

"Yup..." Ruby said, "It's a risk I'm willing to take, Blake." Ruby smirked, allowing Blake to think for a moment. After just that, the faunus dropped her weapons and raised her hands.

"I forfeit, Professor."

Professor Goodwitch nodded, a shocked look on her face, "V- Very well, Miss Belladonna. Congratulations, Miss Rose. You have won today's spar..."

Ruby bowed. Team Jaune and Nora began cheering again, Pyrrha and Ren stayed in stunned silence.

"Very interesting, Miss Rose," Ozpin said over the P.A. "You have indeed won today. Please, take a moment with your team before heading back to your dorm. Get some rest, and tomorrow we shall have our evaluation complete." Ruby nodded and turned to Blake, who was already helping Yang up. Ruby turned to Weiss and began helping her up.

They disappeared into the locker room shortly after.

"That was very... Interesting." Ren said.

"I'll say." Pyrrha added, "I'm happy Ruby won, believe me, but that stakes she went to... She pushed herself very far. Did you see how low her Aura got?"

"Yes. I don't think she was paying attention. But at the same time, I don't think she cared. She moved as if she wasn't fatigued at all. It was like her Aura didn't matter to her."

Jaune and Nora nodded with the discussion, neither having anything to add.

"You think the limits she went to will affect her evaluation?" Jaune finally asked.

"Not out place to say, Jaune," Ren said, "But it is definitely a possibility." Jaune nodded.

Not a moment later, Team RWBY arrived from the locker room. Yang holding Ruby in a headlock, one that was damn near impossible to break from. Weiss and Blake were close behind them.

"Great fight out there!" Pyrrha said, "You all looked good!"

"Yeah," Yang said, out of breath, "But Ruby did way better."

"Thanks for that, too." Jaune said, "You helped Pyrrha and I win some Lien."

"How many people bet against me?" Ruby asked curiously.

"Not too many. But there was enough bets made that we still won something." Jaune smiled, so did Pyrrha. Nora pouted next to Ren, neither had chosen Ruby to win. "So, now what?"

"What's now is that we go to out dorm and sleep." Yang said, drawing out the 'sleep'.

"Well good night then."

"Shhh, sleeeep."

"Whatever." Jaune shook his head, still laughing.

JNPR led their sister team back to their dorm in silence. No one wanting to talk to the others about the fight yet. They themselves weren't sure what to make of it.

Both teams got to their respective dorms and said their good nights. It wasn't too late, eight thirty five to be precise, but after one of the most brutal spars they've had to go through, Team RWBY was worn out.

"Ok, team," Weiss said sluggishly, "Tonight, we rest. Tomorrow, we rest." With that, she toppled over, barely being caught by Yang before hitting the ground.

"Damnit princess!" Yang almost shouted, "I'm too tired for this crap!" She picked Weiss up and dropped her in her bed. Weiss barely made a sound, let alone move. The only thing that stopped Yang from worrying whether or not she was dead was the fact that her chest was moving up and down, symbolizing that she was breathing.

Yang looked back to the door and saw Ruby leaning against the wall, getting an eyeful of the dorm. "Sis?" Yang called quietly, "You ok?"

"I... I dunno." She replied. Yang was concerned, "I know I've been here and it seems familiar, I just... I-"

"Stop." Yang said, putting a hand on Ruby's shoulder. "Don't worry about any of that now, ok? Sleep now and tomorrow we'll work anything and everything out."

Ruby nodded, "So... I take it the hanging bed is mine?" Yang nodded, "Just like home, huh?"

"You couldn't get away from a hanging bed if your life depended on it, sis!" Yang nudged Ruby slightly. It was enough to push Ruby onto the floor in her weakened state, however. "Oop! I'm sorry!" She tried to pick Ruby up.

"Ah, it's not your fault," Ruby assured her tiredly, "Honest, your good..." She was about to fall asleep on the spot, when Yang took it upon herself to throw the younger girl onto her bed.

"There," She called, "Now don't get down from there until morning."

"Shouldn't I change into my pjs though?"

"Don't worry about it!" Yang assured, disappearing into the bathroom.

Ruby nodded and finally fell asleep, rather quickly, actually. Blake had been sitting in her bed the entire time, enjoying the display by the sisters. Yet, she still found herself concerned and rather traumatized by Ruby's actions earlier.

'That's a risk I'm willing to take,' Blake remembered Ruby's words clearly, finding it tough to shake them from her thoughts. Blake didn't like this Ruby at all. After a few moments Yang emerged from the bathroom and checked on her sister, smiling when she found Ruby asleep. Blake saw her chance.

"Yang," She called, "I need to talk to you."

"What's up?" Yang asked, sitting next to Blake.

"In the spar... Ruby was, different. I know she's been different all day, but..." She caught herself before dragging on, "Yang, Ruby put Crescent Rose's blade to my back, she said she's be willing to take the risk of being cut down herself."

Yang just stared at Blake, her eyes growing big in concern. Yang knew that Blake couldn't have been making it up, the horrified look in her eyes said it all. "I- Wow... I don't..."

"Was she like this at Signal?"

"No, of course not. I don't know where she's got this attitude from, Blake. I'll get to the bottom of it though, don't worry."

"Just... Just bring back our leader, ok?" Blake almost pleaded, "I don't like this new Ruby."

Yang wrapped Blake in a hug, "I know, Blake. I know..." After a moment, Yang pulled herself away from the embrace, "Ok, Blake, enough of that. We need to rest. I'll talk to her tomorrow and see what's up. When I'm done you can have at it with your psychology mumbo jumbo. Deal?" Blake nodded, "Great."

Yang pulled herself into her bed, and rested her head on her pillow. It wasn't long before she found sleep, but in the time she had before drifting away, she realized how much concern Blake had for her leader, her sister.

Just after Yang fell into her slumber, there was movement in the bed opposite to hers. Ruby had stirred, adjusting herself slightly in her blankets. She couldn't find sleep right away however.

'Blake... doesn't like me?' Ruby thought, 'Did I do something wrong? Did I say something? Was it the fight? I thought we were friends?'

'Was I wrong?'

Uh Oh. Well, that's awkward.

So, this was... really really long. I enjoyed writing it, but don't anticipate more than 4k words from here on.

Ok, now, I feel as though I should mention something. Pyrrha also picked up some bets from Team CDNL, but I didn't throw that in there as they aren't viable in the story (maybe later... maybe).

So, how was it? Really long, yeah. Probably staggered the reading. If you didn't you're a trooper. Honestly. That or you have some wicked free time on your hands. Will I be getting into even MORE development next chapter, which will pretty much take up the entirety of the weekend for team RWBY (This chapter takes place on a Thursday because that's how I roll.) Chapter 9 (Chapter after the next) Ruby will be back in classes. Oh boy, that'll go over nicely.

So tell me how it was, what you think I could change (if anything) and how well you enjoyed/disliked it. I get the 6,800 words won't get me much brownie points, but it'll offer a nice sturdy plot point to start from.

Lastly, I'm really sorry this is up later than I wanted. I've spent the last few days with a bad case of Midterm exams that are now over and I have time to myself, which I presumably used to edit and tweak this further. Yay actual free time.

So, now that all of that is over, I hope you enjoyed, I'm going to go work on the next chapter. Thanks for reading.

Until Next Time.