SAPR

by Scipio Smith

We Believe in Ourselves (New)

We Believe In Ourselves

Pyrrha quickened her pace, and Jaune did likewise, walking briskly across the promenade, ignoring the flashes of photography from the press and the public, ignoring — or at most, begging a polite 'excuse me' of — the public too as they caught up with Penny.

Penny herself was not moving quickly, but she was moving with a certain … a certain dignity, Pyrrha might have called it, with her back straight and her chin up and no shuffling or shambling in her step at all.

Perhaps she really was taking it all that well. Perhaps she really wasn't troubled by it at all.

Good for her, if so, but if not, then at least they could let Penny know that she didn't have to affect insouciance, at least not around them.

Just because she was their team leader—

Their new team leader. Was that not a marvel? Was that not a very thunderbolt from a clear sky? Who would have guessed, nigh-on a year ago when they had met, or even more recently as last week, that Penny would be their leader?

Pyrrha would not have predicted it, and much though she mourned the circumstances that had brought them to this point, nevertheless, she was pleased for Penny.

Pleased for herself, too, if truth be told. She knew — she had known ever since Sunset's close encounter with a White Fang bomb — that she was Sunset's intended successor, but knowing it was not the same thing as desiring it.

She did not desire it at all. Nikos though her name might be, long though she might boast a line of royal ancestors, leadership was not a destiny she sought for herself, nor was it honestly one to which she could call herself suited. Mother was right; what kind of leader would stand silently by while a friend was in need of defence, would allow the sentence to be passed without a word pleaded for so much as moderation and mercy? No, Pyrrha was not such stuff as leaders were made of.

But Penny … Penny had already made a good start to proving that she was made of such, and Pyrrha had high hopes that she would show much more if the times permitted. Penny had already grown so much, after all, shining brighter each day like a sun that was rising inexorably up over the horizon and climbing towards its zenith. Who could doubt — who would wish to doubt — that her best days were yet to come, that she would vindicate Professor Ozpin's faith in her tenfold or more?

And yet, for all that, just because she was a team leader did not mean that she needed to hold her heart behind a wall. For all that she knew that she had unburdened herself to Sunset more often, nevertheless, Pyrrha flattered herself that Sunset had known that she had a sympathetic heart in Pyrrha if she wished it. Now, she wished Penny to know the same, if she had need of such.

"Penny?" Pyrrha asked gently as she and Jaune caught up with their new team leader.

Penny turned her head one way, to look at Pyrrha, and the other way to look at Jaune. "Hey," she said. "Did Rainbow Dash or Blake say anything after I left?"

"Only that there was nothing to worry about; it's all been taken care of."

"Right," said Penny. "That's good to hear, thank you."

"How … are you, Penny?" asked Pyrrha. "How are you feeling?"

Penny was quiet for a few moments, even as the general hubbub of conversation all around them meant that it could hardly be said that they passed the time in silence. Their feet tapped lightly on the arena floor, and the smells of hot popcorn wafted into Pyrrha's nostrils.

"I," Penny began. "I don't regret a single choice that I've made, and that means that I don't feel too hurt by what Neon said; she doesn't know who I am or why I did what I did; why should I care what she thinks or if she hates me?" She paused. "But, at the same time, maybe it would have been better to have stayed away just now?"

"To what end?" Pyrrha asked. "To what purpose?"

"To not upsetting Neon?" Penny suggested.

"That's her problem," Jaune said.

"But mine too," Penny said, "because I … isn't she right, that I should run away from Atlas and then—"

"Pretend to care?" Pyrrha asked. "But you do care, do you not? There is no contradiction between wishing to be free of the control of Atlas and not wishing for the death or injury of your old teammates. Should Jaune and I have stayed away because we're not Atlesian? Do our other bonds count for nothing? Neon was too harsh by far."

Penny looked at her. "Thank you, Pyrrha. But all the same time, I can understand why she was upset."

"You are very mature," Pyrrha said, a smile blossoming upon her face. "For all your youth, you may be the most mature of any of us."

Penny gasped. "Really? You—" She cut herself off. "Well, I mean, I am the team leader now; I can't let my feelings run away with me. At least, not too often."

"'Not too often' doesn't mean never," Jaune pointed out. "If you ever … if things ever get too much for you, you know that we're both here for you, right? All three of us are."

“I know,” Penny assured her. “But I’m really — and I’m not just saying this because I’m the team leader or because I think I should — not upset. Neon … I didn’t fit in at Atlas; that’s why I left, after all, but at the same time, it means that even if I wanted to get upset, I really couldn’t get mad at someone telling me that I didn’t fit in at Atlas. I’ve made my choice, and Neon can think what she likes about that. I hope that saying it made her feel better.”

Pyrrha suspected that it wouldn’t make Neon feel better to hear Penny speaking so sanguinely — in her experience, graciousness was not appreciated by the angry when it was offered to them: the first time she had defeated Arslan in the arena, she had thought that being graceful in victory might mollify Arslan somewhat; instead, Arslan had called her some names which had rather hurt at the time — but she wasn’t about to tell Penny that for obvious reasons.

Instead, she said, “You really have grown up a great deal, Penny.”

Penny beamed at that, but was prevented from actually replying to Pyrrha by the voice of Professor Port, echoing across the entire Colosseum.

“Ahem,” he said. “We’re ready to begin the semi-finals of what I’m sure you’ll all agree has been a Vytal Tournament to remember! I hope our fighters are rested and recharged, because we’re about to announce the first match.”

If there is any justice or good fortune, it will be my turn first, Pyrrha thought. Rainbow needs a little more time to rest and recharge, I think.

The promenade had small screens mounted on the walls, not in the least large enough that watching the fights from here would be anything like as satisfying as watching in the arena itself — they were smaller than most televisions — but nevertheless, Pyrrha could look around and see on the screen, the four faces of the remaining fighters spinning around and around. With only four busts, and with three of the four each having, in their own way, quite distinctive hair, it was much easier to keep track of herself, her portrait appearing and then disappearing before reappearing on the other side of the screen.

And then finally disappearing altogether.

“Our first semi-final match is between Rainbow Dash of Atlas and Weiss Schnee of Beacon!” Professor Port cried. “Please take your seats as we invite our two contestants to make their way out onto the battlefield!”

---

Blake stood at the edge of the docking pad, watching as the prison airship flew away, gliding off into the blue, diving down below the Atlesian cruiser stationed just off the Colosseum.

“Where are they being taken?” she asked.

“Down to Vale,” replied Winter Schnee. “We’ve agreed to turn them over as a gesture of goodwill. Likewise, as a gesture of their goodwill in turn, the Valish have agreed to allow us to sit in on the interrogation and learn more about their intentions and purpose.”

“'Intentions'?” asked Blake, looking towards Weiss’ older sister.

“You’ll forgive us if we don’t take their word that they were here to kill you and Dash,” Winter said. “Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

“Ma’am,” Rainbow said, one foot slamming down onto the floor as she saluted.

Winter returned the salute casually, almost off-handedly, before turning away, clasping her hands behind her back as she stalked off Blake knew not where.

Blake returned her attention to the prison airship that was growing ever more distant from her sight.

“Do you think it made any difference?” she asked. “Do you think they paid any attention to a word we said?”

“I think, from what I could see, that you might have gotten through to Gilda,” Sun suggested. “Maybe. I mean, I don’t know her like Rainbow does, but she seemed to be listening.”

“You think?” Rainbow asked.

“She’s your friend, you tell me.”

“It’s because she’s my friend that I don’t trust myself,” Rainbow replied. “I’d like to think that she was listening, sure. I’d like to think that … I mean, not that it matters now, so much.”

“You don’t think it matters?” asked Blake.

Rainbow made an almost shrug of her shoulders that didn’t quite get there. She ran one hand through her rainbow hair, over the top of her head. “The reason why I would have liked to get through to Gilda, the reason why I would have loved it if she’d done what you did and walked away from the White Fang is so that I wouldn’t have to kill her in the future. But now … whether she sees things our way or not, she’s still going to rot in a cell for years. There’s no walking away now; that chance is done.”

“But when she gets out of prison, at some point, even if that is years from now,” Blake said, “if she remembers what we said, if we got to her, then … then maybe she won’t leave jail the same person that she went in, maybe she won’t walk out of prison and go straight back to the White Fang.”

“You think what we said made that much difference?” asked Rainbow.

“Not to turn someone’s whole life around, but…” Blake hesitated. “If what we said, if it even causes so much as a spark of introspection, of thinking about things differently … maybe Gilda can educate herself in prison, do the work herself, change herself; maybe she just needed a little push to start the process.”

She paused and could not stop her head from bowing forwards a little. “Neither of you thought that I reached Ilia, then?”

“Well … do you want us to be honest or supportive?”

Blake sighed. “That’s a no, then.”

“She’s a lost cause,” Sun said. “I know that you wanted to help her, but she’s too far gone.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Okay, maybe I don’t,” Sun replied. “But I know what I heard her say, and it didn’t sound like the words of someone who was keeping an open mind.” He paused. “I get why—”

“No,” Blake said. “No, you don’t understand.”

“Then help me understand,” Sun said, reaching out to her, putting his hands upon her arms. “Explain it to me, please. Because … maybe it’s just the fact that I never had White Fang friends like you—”

“Well, when you say it like that,” Rainbow interjected, “I mean … Gilda and I were friends before she joined the White Fang, and we weren’t really friends afterwards.”

“But you are friends, right?” Sun said. “That’s why you didn’t want to kill her. That’s why you wanted to talk to her.”

Rainbow scratched at her neck with one hand. “It wasn’t my choice to stop being friends,” she said. “Except maybe it was. Maybe I could have handled things better. Maybe if I’d been willing to talk to Gilda instead of throwing her out, then things would have been different; maybe I could have talked her out of joining the White Fang at all. Maybe if I hadn’t been such a stuck-up little jackass with her head up in Atlas who thought she was better than everyone else stuck down in Low Town, then Gilda would have listened to what I had to say. Or maybe not. I don’t know. I guess I’m worried that I made mistakes when we were kids that pushed Gilda this way, and if I could make up for those mistakes … well, I’d like to do that.”

“Some might say that’s itself a sign of arrogance,” Blake murmured. “It’s not your fault.”

“But this is your responsibility?” asked Sun.

“I didn’t just have White Fang friends,” Blake reminded. “I was White Fang. And Ilia was my friend, and for our friendship, I would like to help her, but not only for our friendship but also … because if things had been even a little different, then I could have ended up just like Ilia. Just like Adam.”

“No,” Sun said. “That’s not possible.”

Blake smiled at him, gently lifting the edges of her lips. “Sweetly said,” she murmured. “But you can’t know that.”

“You walked away,” Rainbow reminded her. “On your own. Nobody had to save you, nobody had to lecture you, nobody you’d tried to kill had to put themselves out there to lead you to grace like Ciel’s Lady writing all those epistles to everyone under the winter sun.”

“That’s right,” Sun said. “You did that all on your own.”

“If someone escapes from slavery, don’t they have an obligation to help free others left in chains?” Blake asked. “Or do they walk away, saying ‘I freed myself, so can they if they have a mind’?”

“An obligation? No,” Rainbow said. “A choice, sure; you can want to save Ilia, but nobody gets to demand that you do it. Nobody can demand that you even try.”

“But you have tried,” Sun said. “Isn’t that enough?”

“It had better be enough,” Rainbow remarked. “It’s a long way between here and Atlas.”

“Ahem,” Professor Port cleared his throat, interrupting their conversation as his voice echoed out across the promenade. “We’re ready to begin the semi-finals of what I’m sure you’ll all agree has been a Vytal Tournament to remember!”

“Hopefully for the sanctioned fights,” Rainbow said, looking like she was on the verge of smirking.

Professor Port went on. “I hope our fighters are rested and recharged, because we’re about to announce the first match.”

As the faces spun on the nearest screen, and on all the other screens mounted on the walls of the promenade, the portraits of the contenders turning and over one another as though someone had managed to catch Rainbow, Weiss, Pyrrha, and Umber Gorgoneion and stick them in a washer like stuffed animals, Blake looked at Rainbow. “Are you rested and recharged?” She suspected that she already knew the answer.

Rainbow laughed as she scratched the back of her neck with one hand. “Not exactly, but maybe if I’m not up first—”

“Our first semi-final match is between Rainbow Dash of Atlas and Weiss Schnee of Beacon!” announced Professor Port. “Please take your seats as we invite our two contestants to make their way out onto the battlefield!”

There was a moment of silence.

Rainbow rolled her shoulders and cracked her knuckles. “Right,” she said. “Okay, let’s do this.”

“Can you?” Blake asked. “Do this, I mean?”

Rainbow snorted. “Come on, Blake; it’s not like I’ve got no aura left.”

“How much aura do you have left?”

“Some,” Rainbow said, which wasn’t much of an answer at all. “I’m out of the red, and unlike Neon, I’m not going to die in the arena. I’m only up against Weiss after all.”

“Weiss is pretty capable,” Blake reminded her.

“I know, but she isn’t going to murder me,” Rainbow replied. “Is it ideal? No. But, you know, the reason they don’t give us time for our auras to recharge all the way is because this is supposed to be a test of endurance.”

“Except that you didn’t lose your aura in the arena; Sun barely took any off you,” Blake said. Hopefully Sun wouldn’t take offence at her stating that truth.

“Yeah, but so what?” Rainbow asked. “What am I going to do, forfeit the match? I can’t ask for a longer break, or for the draw to be re-run, or … Weiss’ aura won’t be full either — Neon gave her a tough fight — she’s probably in the same state as I am right now. I might still have more than she does.” She grinned. “And if I don’t, then I still made the semi-finals of the Vytal Tournament, and that’s more than most people can say.”

“I guess so,” Blake said, because there really wasn’t a lot else to say, was there? What else was Blake supposed to say, that she was sorry that Rainbow had burned her aura trying to help her? She wasn’t, really; she’d rather be alive, and she’d rather that Applejack be alive than that Rainbow be better placed in the tournament.

It didn’t matter that much in the scheme of things, although it would be a pity if Rainbow got knocked out by Weiss — poor Weiss, eternally pitted against faunus; at least if she made it to the finals, then she wouldn’t have that problem — because of the White Fang.

A pity, and a little ironic, too.

Not that she was going to say that to Rainbow Dash either.

“Good luck,” was all she said. “I’ll be watching from the box, with my mother and everyone else.”

Rainbow nodded. “My aura might not be all the way up in the green, but I’ll put on a good show for you all anyway. I should probably get down there, huh?”

“Take your time,” Blake said.

“To let my aura recharge a little more?”

“No, to give everyone time to buy their last minute popcorn and candyfloss,” Blake replied. “But maybe also to help your aura, too.”

Rainbow chuckled. “I’ll see you later.” She turned around and began to jog lightly — not at all fast; she was moving barely faster than a walking pace — down the promenade, looking for one of the routes that led out onto the battlefield.

Blake was left alone with Sun — and the crowds who moved around them, paying them little notice. Not even the little girls in their Blake Belladonna wigs paid her any mind, all too busy making their way quickly — some of the younger, fitter people ignoring the ‘Do Not Run’ signs to dash along the promenade, as did some of the children, who, unlike the young people, got yelled at by their parents for it — back to their seats before the match began.

“Would you like to join me up in the Councillor’s box?” she asked Sun.

“Well, it’s either that, or I go back to the contestants’ area and listen to Scarlet tell me what a loser I am, so…” Sun held his hands up in the air, as though she were balancing a set of scales. “It’s a tough choice, but I’ll go with you.”

Blake chuckled. “Is Scarlet really that bad?”

“Oh, he’s way worse.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Blake said, wrapping her hands around one of Sun’s impressively wide arms.

“Ah, it’s okay,” Sun assured her, as they started to walk together in the direction of Councillor Cadance’s private box. “I’m sure he’ll mellow out once he becomes team leader and I’m not around to bug him anymore. At least I hope he will, for Neptune’s sake.”

“You think that he’ll be made team leader, and not Neptune?” Blake asked.

“I think so,” Sun said. “I mean, he wants it badly enough.”

“Just because you want something doesn’t mean that you’ll get it,” Blake replied. “Or that you should.”

She thought about Ruby, and the ambition that she had shown last night; how long had that lain hidden, that desire to lead, to replace Sunset? Had it sprung out of the revelation of what Sunset had done, or had she kept it locked away inside for much longer than that, and only that aforementioned revelation had given her the leave to let it show?

Either way, she had not been granted her desire. Professor Ozpin had decided that to want something was not the same as being suited for it, and for whatever it was worth, Blake thought he was probably right, Penny was the better choice. She was … less dogmatic, but without Sunset’s accompanying vice of straying into a sort of solipsism. No, not solipsism, that was the wrong word; Sunset’s flaw was not selfishness but rather…

It occurred to Blake that Sunset’s flaw was one that Neon might have appreciated: she stood shoulder to shoulder with her comrades to a fault.

Even to a great fault.

Blake found that that was not a line of thought she wished to consider travelling down.

She was grateful when Sun said, “I guess you’ve got a point. I mean I never wanted to be team leader, and Professor Lionheart picked me anyway. I wonder what he was thinking with that?”

If what General Ironwood had said about the accusations made against Professor Lionheart were true — that was to say, if the accusations that Cinder had made against Professor Lionheart were true — then Blake thought that she might have an idea what Professor Lionheart had been thinking with his choice of Sun as team leader. For that matter, it would explain some of his other team leader choices as well: Arslan Atlan, for another; and Pyrrha had remarked that it seemed to be Medea Helios who was the driving force behind Team JAMM, not their putative team leader Jason. Had Professor Lionheart been deliberately making the wrong choice for team leader, so as to … produce worse huntsmen?

Had Salem commanded him to do so?

Well, she wasn’t going to tell Sun that he might have been chosen because he was a bad choice, so she simply said, “I’m sure that Professor Lionheart recognised your courage and resolve.” She paused. “You know, before I spotted Ilia and got drawn into this business with the White Fang, I was actually on my way to console you about the fight.”

“Really?” Sun asked, his voice rising a little.

“Yes,” Blake said. “Is that really so hard to believe?”

“Not really, it’s just … you don’t need to do that,” Sun told her. “Me losing a fight in some tournament doesn’t really … you’ve got bigger things to worry about, right? Like that stuff with Sunset?”

Blake was silent for a moment. “You know about that,” she whispered.

“Well, yeah, I think everyone knows about that, whether they believe it or not,” Sun replied. “I didn’t have a chance to talk to you about it earlier … I wasn’t sure if you’d want me to.”

Blake didn’t respond to that. Does he want me to tell him the truth? What does he think the truth might be? Am I allowed to tell him anything? It doesn’t directly touch on Salem, or Maidens, or anything like that, but all the same… “Sun—”

“I don’t know if you know what really happened,” Sun told her, “And if you do know, then I don’t want you to tell me.”

Blake’s eyebrows rose, even as her ears pricked up. “You don’t?”

“No,” Sun said. “I choose to believe that this is all nonsense, just like Sunset and everyone in her corner said it was, just something that someone got ahold of and decided to make a big deal out of.”

“You … choose to believe?” Blake repeated.

“Yeah,” Sun declared. “Because if I didn’t, if it was true, then … then I’d have to decide what I thought about it, and that would be really awkward because…” With his free hand, he reached out to Blake and stroked his fingertips ever so gently across her pale cheek, making a tingle run down Blake’s spine as he did so. “I’d just rather not. So I choose to believe Sunset.”

"Just like that?" asked Blake. "It's that easy?"

"She's a friend of yours," Sun replied. "So I trust her."

Blake couldn't help but smile. "There are times when I envy you."

"Sure you do," Sun said. "I'm very enviable."

Blake chuckled. "Speaking of envy, I understand that you impressed Shining Armor last night."

"Yeah, yeah, I did," Sun said. "I'm not sure that he'll stay impressed after the way that Rainbow Dash tore me apart earlier—"

"I wouldn't worry about that too much, if I were you," Blake told him. "I admit that Councillor Cadance did have second thoughts about the whole thing, but Shining Armor fought your corner."

"He did?"

Blake nodded. "He said that you getting caught out by Rainbow Dash doesn't reflect on how well you'd do against more regular opponents. For what it's worth, I was going to tell you the same thing: Rainbow's very good, and the fact that you struggled against her doesn't reflect badly on you so much as it reflects well on her. Basically, you'll still get accredited." She gave him a nudge with her shoulder. "You'll be a huntsman before anyone."

"When you put it like that, it sounds really weird," Sun replied. "A little cool, I've gotta admit, but … kinda weird, all the same."

"I'm sure you'll get used to it," Blake assured him. "Have you … have you thought anymore about where you'll go, any plans?"

Sun nodded. "I think I might have found a place: guy advertising a room, no rent, just someone to help out around the place. Sounds perfect, right?"

"Sounds a little too good to be true," Blake murmured. "Are you sure that they're … safe? I wouldn't want you to end up like Leaf."

"That's your friend from that SDC thing, right?" Sun asked. "Maybe I can meet her someday?"

"That would be nice," Blake said. "But don't change the subject."

"Okay, on the subject, I'm sure that if I did end up in that kind of trouble, then you'd rescue me, just like you and Rainbow did her."

"Sun!" Blake cried, punching him lightly on the arm. "I'm being serious!"

"Okay then, seriously, unlike your friend, I can handle myself," Sun said. "I'm going to Mantle because I can handle myself. If this is some kind of trap or something, isn't it better that I walk into it than someone else who can't get themselves out of it?"

"That sounds nobler than it is; it would be better if you looked into a suspected trap from the outside," Blake pointed out.

"It's not like I can afford rent," Sun pointed out. "And if I get a job, then doesn't that defeat the point of me going to Mantle? Who am I going to help if I'm working all day?"

That was a good point, so good a point that it was rather difficult to refute. "I … what kind of place is this?" Blake asked. "This free room?"

"It's in the back of a barber shop," Sun explained. "I'd have to, like, sweep up sometimes, run errands for the guy, but it doesn't sound too bad."

"The room might not be too good either," Blake suggested.

"Maybe not, but I've lived in Vacuo," Sun reminded her. "There's nothing Mantle can throw at me that I can't deal with."

"Well, if you're sure, then go for it," Blake said softly. "And make sure to send me the address once you get there."

They reached the stairs leading up from the promenade to the box, the same stairs that Blake had descended not too long ago with Twilight and Scootaloo — before she had seen Ilia, and her day had gotten a lot more exciting.

It was a little surprising to Blake — although considering their injuries, perhaps it should not have been — that they caught up with Applejack and Neon on the staircase, albeit near the top.

"Howdy, you two," Applejack said, with a bit of a grunt in her voice. "How did it go with, uh, with—?"

"With your and Dashie's old White Fang buddies?" Neon asked. "You know, I had an old friend in the White Fang too, but I kicked their ass and let them rot in jail; I just thought I'd point that out."

Blake frowned. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did you point that out, for a start?"

"Because it's fun being morally superior to you, Princess," Neon said with a grin. "You may be up on your high horse, but today, I'm riding a mammoth."

"Are you?" Blake asked dubiously. "You … you didn't care about them? Afterwards? You didn't … you didn't want to—?"

"To what?" Neon asked. "Change their mind? Show them a better way? Lead them into the light of salvation?"

"You're mocking me, but yes," Blake said. "Aren't you religious?"

"So?" Neon asked. "You think that means I should be preaching or something?"

"Um … kind of, yeah?" Blake said, even though it sounded very stupid as soon as she said it.

Neon snorted. "If we did that, we'd be even more endangered than we are now. Although with Ciel as your example, I can see why you might think that."

"I heard that," Ciel said, emerging out onto the top of the staircase.

Neon's tail twitched as she turned around, looking up at Ciel. "Hey, Ciel; you know I love you, just like you know that you … letting other people know when they've stepped out of line is a you thing, not a faith thing."

"We are commanded to keep righteousness in our own hearts and let other people concern themselves with themselves, for good or ill," Ciel allowed. "At least in the modern day. There was a time when the faith did proselytise — the epistles were not written merely for the edification of the converted — but as the cold winds blew in, the Lady revealed to the later fathers and mothers of the church that it was more important to … preserve that which was good than to seek to purify that which was rotten."

"Plus, you know, nobody likes someone too self-righteous," Neon added. She looked back at Blake. "Something you should maybe bear in mind." She winked.

Blake struggled not to scowl at her.

"The point is," Neon said, "that Molly made the choice to go setting off bombs for the White Fang, so why is it my job to stop … okay, I did actually physically stop her because she was trying to kill people, but after I did that, why is it then my job to put myself out there and do the hard work over something she did and decided to do for herself?"

"Because she's your friend?" asked Blake.

"To be honest, I never really liked her that much," Neon replied.

Ciel began to descend the stairs towards them. "Are we talking about the girl who—?"

"Ruined your party dress for your fourteenth birthday, yes," Neon said. "Molly always had a nasty jealous streak; I think that's why she ended up with the White Fang."

"And you gave her a black eye over it," Ciel remarked. "You were always very protective of me. I probably … should not have appreciated the way that you went at her like that as much as I did, but … I did, as I say, I was very grateful."

Neon laughed lightly. "Personally, I think you had more fun fixing up that dress afterwards than you did at the party once we actually made it there."

Ciel did not confirm, though the way that a smile briefly played upon her face did not deny it either. She glanced from Neon to Applejack and finally to Blake. "I must say, you look to be in a better state than those who went to aid you."

Blake looked away from Ciel's gaze. "I was … trapped for a while, rather than injured. I was still very fortunate that they were there."

Ciel raised one hand to Neon's temple, almost but not quite touching it. "You're hurt."

"You're not going to give me a lecture on how I shouldn't have fought with low aura, are you?" Neon asked.

"No, I am going to ask you what happened?"

"I kicked the asses of the first two guys, including the one holding Blake prisoner," Neon explained. "Then the third one jumped me from behind. Blake helped me out before she could do too much."

"For which you have my thanks," Ciel said, bowing her head in Blake's direction.

"Neon did the same for me," Blake observed.

"Nevertheless, I am grateful," Ciel said. She paused. "What were the White Fang trying to do, could you determine?"

"Trying to kill Blake, accordin' to them," Applejack said. "And Rainbow Dash too."

"WHAT?"

The shout of exclamation came not from Sun, or from Neon, and certainly not from Ciel. It came from Blake's mother, who emerged into view at the top of the stairs, just as Ciel had done not long ago.

"Mom?" Blake said. "Were you … were you standing up there listening just out of sight?"

"Well, what was I supposed to do, since you wouldn't hurry up here and come speak to me?" Mom demanded. "You've been standing down there on the staircase, and I've had to listen to you chattering away — now ordinarily, I'd just be glad that you were talking to your friends, or even that you had friends to talk to—"

"Mom!"

"But ever since Twilight came back to tell me that you'd seen the White Fang and had run off to fight them, I've been sitting here worrying about you, and your dillying and dallying down here hasn't helped!" Mom declared. "And now you say that … Applejack, did I hear you right, they were there to kill Blake? And Rainbow Dash? Is that right, sweetie?"

"That's … what they said, yes," Blake murmured, bowing her head. She felt Sun put an arm — she might have called it a protective arm save for the fact that she had never felt really in need of Sun's protection — around her. "They were here for us. Gilda said that … we'd been making the White Fang look bad."

"Wow," Neon said. "Petty, much?"

"Gilda admitted that," Blake murmured. "Applejack broke through the door before she had a chance to rephrase."

"Applejack may have spared her the embarrassment of admitting that such a sentiment could not be rephrased," Ciel suggested.

Mom descended the stairs, one hand resting lightly upon the polished metal bannister. Her steps were slow, each one landing with a tap that, light though it might have been, nevertheless echoed in the corridor. "They came to kill you," she whispered.

"I'm fine, Mom," Blake assured her. "I was … bound, for a little bit, but then Applejack, and then Rainbow Dash, and Neon after that, they came to help me."

Mom nodded, and a smile crossed her face, even reaching her eyes after a moment's delay. Ciel stepped aside as Mom walked by her, reaching out to put her hands upon the necks of Applejack and Neon, stroking them gently up and down.

"Thank you," she said, "for helping her."

"We're all Atlesians, ma'am," Neon said. "All for one and one for all."

Mom looked at Blake. "I suppose you were onto something with this."

"I'd like to think so," Blake said quietly.

Mom nodded. She paused for a moment, sighing, although Blake wasn't entirely sure what she had to sigh about. Then she said, "I ought to kill Sienna for this."

Blake blinked. "Mom?"

"On the day," Mom began. "On the day that your father and I left for Menagerie … and left you behind; on that day, I begged Sienna to take care of you. You were just a girl, and though you were determined to stay, I wanted to make sure that you were in good hands, as best I could. And so I begged, I pleaded with Sienna. 'As my own daughter she will be, to me,' she said, and now … now this. Do you really believe that she wasn't involved? Do you really believe that they would dare try and kill you without her sanction?"

"They've tried to kill me before, albeit less explicitly," Blake observed. Although it would require the High Leader's order to send someone from the Mistral chapter, like Ilia, to Vale to accomplish a mission like this.

But at the same time, Sienna? Sienna Khan, who had been as a mother to her after her parents' departure, Sienna who had taught her and mentored her, at whose feet she had sat and listened and learned? Sienna had ordered her death?

"One day, if I am any judge of men, and my voice has any weight at all in my succession, you will sit where I sit and lead the White Fang when I am gone."

Perhaps Ilia wasn't the only one who felt personally betrayed.

"You have learned from me in Mistral, now learn from Adam in Vale. See how he commands men in battle, see how he wins their loyalty in the camp. See it, absorb it, and soon, I will give you a chapter of your own. The Atlas Chapter must be rebuilt; it has been shattered and leaderless for too long."

Perhaps Sienna didn't appreciate the irony, either.

"Even if that's true," Blake said. "And I'm not saying it is … I'd much rather that it wasn't. But even if it is true, then you shouldn't, you mustn't make anything of it. Sienna Khan is too powerful and too popular; you'd only hurt yourself, maybe literally, by making an issue out of this. If something happened to you because of this, because you were trying to stand up for me, I don't know if I'd be able to forgive myself. It's best to let it lie."

Mom was silent as she looked at Blake. "You sound like your father," she said, sounding sadder about it than Blake thought the comparison warranted. "Shrugging off the hurt and the insults, turning the other cheek. If he were here, he'd be so proud of you."

"And you?" Blake asked.

"Right now, I'd rather skin Sienna alive and make a throw rug out of her," Mom said airily. "But I suppose I'll do as you say if it will make you feel better. But we should probably get back to … but what were you talking about earlier?"

"How far earlier?" asked Sun.

"Oh, all the way, when we first heard you," Mom replied. "Something about … it's Neon Katt, isn't it; we watched you fight this morning?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Commiserations, dear," Mom said. "And, if you don't mind me asking, do your parents still live in Mantle, or—?"

"They haven't gone to Menagerie, if that's what you're asking, ma'am," Neon said. "I don't think Mom would ever move. Yeah, she still lives in Mantle, with my nana; Dad is…"

"I'm so sorry," Mom said. "I didn't mean to stir up—"

"It's fine," Neon said quickly. "It's fine."

Mom's brow furrowed for a second. "But you said something about a friend in the White Fang?"

Neon smiled with one corner of her mouth. "Actually, what I said was, that unlike some people, she was never really much of a friend in the first place, so it doesn't bother me that she's gone away to prison."

Blake sighed. "One of the White Fang operatives up here was an old friend of Rainbow Dash's, Gilda—"

"Gilda Swiftwing?" Mom asked. "But Rainbow's letter to her parents—"

"You read Rainbow's letter to her parents?" Blake asked.

"Rainbow wrote to her folks?" Applejack said. "Boy howdy, never thought Ah'd see the day."

"Yes, she sent me a letter to give to them," Mom replied. "And I didn't read it; Rainbow's father read it out in my presence. And then he cried. But the point is that Rainbow's letter mentioned a Gilda; she implied she was employed here in Vale."

"I … think Rainbow was probably…" — Blake searched for a polite way of saying 'lying,' but all the synonyms seemed rather inadequate, as though they didn't quite fit the circumstances — "lying for Gilda's sake. Maybe her parents don't know that she's in the White Fang and Rainbow didn't want to tell them? Anyway, she is a member of the White Fang, and she was here, and so was a girl I knew from … the old days; her name is Ilia, we met in Mistral. After they were arrested, Rainbow and I went to talk to them."

"To interrogate them?"

"No, Mom, to talk to them," Blake declared. "To … try and make them see that it doesn't have to be this way, that we can have equality without violence if we're just willing to … as Sienna herself wrote, the road may be long, but we will walk it because we walk on two legs, not four. We can. We must."

"It's a little late to be telling that to two people who just tried to kill you, isn't it?" Mom asked.

"I don't believe so, no," Blake replied. "Not while they're still alive, and while I am."

"So like your father," Mom said, even as she shook her head, as though a comparison to Blake's father was not something to be proud of. "I remember one time, when we'd been ambushed in the woods by these rednecks, and they were…" She stopped. "You know, we really should get back to the box before the match begins."

"That's probably a good idea," Blake said.

They all mounted the last few steps, walking back into the Councillor's box — although it had gotten so crowded now that to call it a 'private box' seemed almost oxymoronic.

"You're back!" Pinkie cried. "And you're okay." She stopped, looking at Applejack. "Are you okay?"

"Applejack, what happened to yer face?" demanded Apple Bloom, aghast.

"Ah just had a little bit of a disagreement with the floor, that's all," Applejack said. "It made some pretty solid points."

Apple Bloom crossed her arms and grumbled. “I hate it when that happens.”

"But everything's taken care of now, right?" asked Twilight, standing up and looking back at them all. "Hey, Neon, what are you—?"

"I helped out," Neon said. "And I was kindly invited up here with you fancy folk as a reward."

"Everything is taken care of," Blake said. "The White Fang are in custody—"

"Or in hospital," Neon added.

"Yes," Blake murmured. "Or … that."

"What were they after?" Twilight asked. "Do you know?"

"Let's talk about it after the match," Blake suggested. "I'm a little worried about Rainbow Dash."

"She wasn't hurt, was she, darling?" asked Rarity.

"No, but she lost more aura fighting the White Fang than … before," Blake said delicately, to spare Sun's blushes. "I'm a bit concerned that she won't have enough left to face Weiss and everything that she's capable of."

"Speed won't be enough," Neon said. "It wasn't enough for me; it won't be enough for Dash. But, Dashie has more options than I do, then I'd say she's still got a chance. Don't forget, Weiss' aura isn't full up either, I banged her up pretty good before she managed to throw me out of the ring."

---

Leaf clapped — almost slammed — her hands together. “Yes!” she cried. “Now she is going down!” She pointed downwards, with both hands, to emphasise her point.

Veil sipped on a cup of tea. “You’ve said that three times already,” she pointed out.

“Yeah, well … this time!” Leaf declared, her voice rising at the end. “This time she is going up against Rainbow Dash, and Rainbow Dash will not let me down. No, the only person who is going down—”

“Is Weiss Schnee,” Veil said tiredly.

“Yes! And don’t say it like that; this time it’s going to happen,” Leaf insisted. “Rainbow’s going to kick her from one end of the arena to the other, you’ll see.”

“And I thought you were warming up to her a little bit,” Veil remarked. “Weiss Schnee, I mean.”

“I … maybe I am, a little,” Leaf admitted. “But that doesn’t mean I want to see her beat my actual friend. And she won’t. Just watch and see.” She settled back on the sofa. “This time, I’m right for sure.”

---

Rainbow rolled her shoulders as she walked into the arena, moving her arms briskly back and forth as she walked out of the darkness and into the light.

They cheered her on. Of course they did. All that cheering rising up like Atlas rising up into the sky. Rising up and then falling on her like a rain.

Rain falling on you could actually feel quite nice under certain circumstances, provided that it wasn’t too strong. Refreshing, like.

Speaking of refreshing, she wouldn’t have minded having a little bit longer to recharge, what with the White Fang having interrupted her break. She wouldn’t have minded if it had been Pyrrha called up instead of her; Pyrrha fighting Weiss would have been a thing to see, even if it did mean that Rainbow would have had to fight Umber Gorgoneion and her overpowered semblance.

Pyrrha versus Weiss might still be a thing to see.

No. No, Rainbow couldn’t let herself think like that. She couldn’t be defeatist before the fight had even started. Yes, it would have been good to have had a real breather, but duty called. She had to fly the flag for Atlas. She was the last person left flying the flag for Atlas after Weiss had knocked out Neon, and unlike some academies whose names began with an H, they weren’t going to just cheer for Weiss because she’d been born in the north kingdom. Atlas was Atlas, and Beacon was Beacon, and while you could move between them, as Blake and Penny had in opposite directions, you couldn’t keep a foot in both.

Unless you were Mistralian, and your people were so desperate for a win, they’d take any excuse to claim one as their own, apparently.

Since representing Atlas meant putting on a decent show for the crowd, Rainbow waved to them as she walked out. She waved to the north, to the south, to the east, and she even turned around and waved to the west, bouncing up and down upon the balls of her feet before she turned around again and made it the rest of the way to the central hexagon.

The crowd kept on cheering.

They even carried on cheering when Weiss came out; although there were still a few jackasses out there booing her, there seemed to be less of them than there had been. Rainbow hoped so, anyway; she hoped it wasn’t just one of those things where noises sounded different in the arena compared to outside.

She may be the villain of this tournament, but villains can be cool, right? They can be popular.

Sometimes, they can be so popular that they get to become good guys.

Weiss strutted out onto the battlefield, the epitome of poise, back straight, chin up, one hand on the hilt of her sword, the other held out by her side as if for balance, her eyes … Rainbow was sure that her eyes weren’t actually closed, but she was looking down in such a way that they kind of looked closed, and it combined with the pout on her face to remind Rainbow of nothing so much as a catwalk model, strutting her stuff in the latest fancy fashion.

Rainbow wouldn’t be too surprised to learn that Weiss had had to do modelling at some point, or something like it. Or maybe singers learned to walk like that as well.

Either way, as she walked out, crossing her legs as she walked to put some extra sway in her hips, Rainbow couldn’t deny — wouldn’t deny, didn’t want to deny — that she was impressed. From the way that she was rocking it, you’d never guess that she’d started this tournament as the most hated fighter in contention, or even that she was still getting booed as she came in.

Rainbow found herself smiling as she watched her opponent come closer.

Weiss reached the hexagon at the centre of the stage. She half-turned away from Rainbow, presenting her side to her — the side on which she didn’t have a scar — before she looked at her out of the corners of her eye.

“I understand you had some trouble with the White Fang not too long ago,” she said softly.

Rainbow stretched her arms, raising them up into the air. “It’s all wrapped up now, nothing to worry about. They were taken care of, Blake’s fine, everything’s fine. It was handled.”

“I’m certainly glad to hear that Blake is alright,” Weiss murmured. “She could have got into trouble by herself.”

Rainbow snorted. “She’s learning. One day, she’ll learn to wait for backup.”

The corner of Weiss’ mouth rose. “How’s your aura?”

“Not as good as it would have been if the White Fang hadn’t stuck their nose in,” Rainbow said, dropping her arms down by her side.

At that moment, the aura levels of the two of them appeared on the boards on the north and south of the stage: Weiss’ aura, partially recharged from her fight with Neon, was in the moderate yellow; Rainbow’s aura was also in the yellow, but closer to the red than Weiss had to deal with. Rainbow had Ilia to thank for that.

“Yes, I can see,” Weiss said dryly. She raised her free hand, as though she were inspecting her nails. “If only you’d had some additional backup.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “I had backup, and anyway, you wouldn’t have been fast enough to keep up with me and Neon.”

“Maybe the two of you shouldn’t have rushed on ahead,” Weiss suggested.

“If we hadn’t rushed on ahead, Applejack would be dead,” Rainbow declared.

Weiss looked at her, the smile fading from her face. “Who?”

“Applejack, a friend of ours,” Rainbow explained.

“I don’t think I’ve met her.”

“She’s not a student right now; she’s interrupted,” Rainbow explained. “She went to help Blake too, got to her before we did. Then we got to her before … I’m sorry you felt left out, but—”

“I’m faster than you might think with my glyphs,” Weiss said.

“Not fast enough,” Rainbow replied.

Weiss lowered her hand. “Well,” she said, “we’ll see about that, won’t we?”

“I guess so,” Rainbow murmured. “Are you gonna try and make me pay because you’re mad at me?”

Weiss raised one eyebrow, the eyebrow that was intersected by her scar. “Do you think that I ought to be mad at you?”

“No,” Rainbow said. “But then, Neon did just accuse me of acting like her mom, so I guess other people might see things differently.”

Weiss chuckled. “I understand why you were worried. Were the White Fang after me?”

“Not according to them,” Rainbow said. “They said they were after Blake.” She didn’t add that they were also after her, because in the circumstances, it might have felt like she was bragging.

“Really?” Weiss gasped, her voice rising. “After Blake? But Blake…” Her voice trailed off. “My word, that’s petty.” She coughed into her hand to clear her throat. “That is quite something, but still … I understand why you were worried about me; I understand the thought that my name might make me a target. But though I am a Schnee, I am also a capable huntress, and if there are any threats to my life, I would rather meet them head on than hide behind you, or Blake, or anyone else who wishes to protect me, however well-meaning they may be. If anyone wants to take my head, they’re welcome to try.”

Rainbow grinned. “I’ll bear that in mind.”

“Do so,” Weiss commanded. “For I intend to show you just how capable I am.”

“Now that it looks like everyone is seated, and our two contestants seem more than ready, we’re ready to begin!” Doctor Oobleck announced. Rainbow guessed that the live television feed was coming back after the commercials — she wondered what people watching would make of the fact that her aura levels had dropped so much; maybe they’d get the news about the White Fang; maybe they weren’t paying attention enough to notice things like Rainbow’s aura — as the floor of the arena all around them rolled back and Weiss and Rainbow descended into the pit below upon the floating hexagonal platform.

“Weiss Schnee of Beacon!” Doctor Oobleck declared, prompting a mix of boos and cheers, but thankfully more cheers than boos.

“Rainbow Dash of Atlas!” Doctor Oobleck added, to yet more cheering and fewer boos.

“I hope you’ll live up to your reputation,” Weiss said. “As I shall endeavour to live up to my name.”

“I try not to disappoint my friends,” Rainbow said.

Weiss made a gesture that was halfway between a nod and a bow of her head.

“Three!” Doctor Oobleck cried.

Rainbow Dash unfurled her Wings of Harmony, the metal sprouting from her jetpack with a series of metallic clanks and clicks until they were spread out on either side of her.

“Two!”

Weiss tightened her grip upon the hilt of Myrtenaster. Rainbow’s hands hovered over her machine pistols.

“One! FIGHT!”

Rainbow kicked off the ground, the Wings of Harmony carrying her upwards into the air. Weiss hadn't seen that coming; immediately after the word 'fight' had been called out, she had drawn her slender sword and started conjuring her black barrier glyphs in front of and beside her. No doubt, she'd been expecting Rainbow to rush her, just like Neon had rushed her — and, also, the way that Rainbow had rushed Sun, in fairness — and she had meant to be ready for it this time.

The fact that Rainbow hadn't rushed her thus caught her by surprise.

Rainbow soared, drawing Brutal Honesty and Plain Awesome from their holsters on her hips as she soared across the battlefield, flying straight over Weiss, who had no barrier directly overhead.

Rainbow fired, the muzzles of her machine pistols blazing, but Weiss had already moved to protect herself from that quarter, conjuring another barrier directly overhead; if any of Rainbow's rounds snuck through in time and struck Weiss, then they didn't do much to her aura. She didn't even flinch.

Rainbow circled overhead, her wings and jetpack carrying her close to the top of the arena, up above the spotlights, up out of sight of the cameras, maybe — no, no, there was a camera there tracking her movements — up to the top of the forcefield that enclosed the opening in the ceiling, admitting sunlight in but keeping rain and snow out, as well as stopping any stray grenades or rockets from flying clean out of the arena and landing on some poor guy in the host city. Rainbow flew as close to the top of the sky as she could get within the confines of Amity Arena, circling once, then twice, like an eagle who knows there is a mouse somewhere but doesn't quite know where it is.

Though in Rainbow's case, she knew where the mouse was; she just didn't want Weiss to know that she knew.

She dived down, descending through the air, soaring down, hair yanked back by the air resistance, dropping down behind Weiss, firing as she did so. She managed to hit Weiss at least a couple of times before her opponent, knocked back against the wall of her own barriers, conjured up another one to protect her.

Weiss was now completely surrounded, protected by a hedge of her barrier glyphs. Rainbow dropped down, flying beneath the battlefield, her feet almost skimming the floor that would knock her out of the competition before she flew back up under the central hexagon.

She lurked there, legs tucked up, back hunched, lying in wait like … some kind of fish, probably. Or a seal. A seal lurking for a penguin to come in the water. Either way, Rainbow was lurking, hiding underneath the battlefield; the central hexagon was almost completely flat, with only a gravity dust crystal sticking out of the bottom to control its elevation, glowing dark purple as a charge ran through it. Rainbow waited there, in the shadow; she was in the blind spot of the cameras, nobody could see her: not the crowds, not the people watching at home, and certainly not Weiss.

Rainbow could decide when and where to emerge and attack.

Of course, Weiss could just stay where she was, playing turtle with all her bulletproof glyphs, but — and leaving aside the idea of just smashing through them, since Rainbow's aura wasn't whole enough for her to like the idea of throwing around a ton of aura booms like that, and anyway, she was a little wary of closing the distance with Weiss in her condition — that would drain Weiss' aura, and Rainbow would win the fight anyway.

Not that she really wanted to win like that, but if it absolutely came to it, and Weiss decided to spend the entire fight surrounded by her glyphs until her aura hit the red, she'd take it all the same.

But Rainbow didn't think it would come to that. Weiss wouldn't just sit there, waiting for her aura to run out through use of her semblance. Nor would she stand there blindly, waiting for Rainbow to attack her from any direction.

Weiss would come down here to get her, and when she did … then it would just be a matter of knocking her off her perch.

Rainbow waited. If Weiss didn't come down here, then she would go up, but for now, she waited, guns out, pointed on either side of her as Rainbow turned in the air, spinning slowly around and around, eyes scanning in all directions, waiting for any sign of Weiss.

She couldn't hear anything from up above; if Weiss was moving around up there, then her footfalls were too faint, especially with the noise that the crowd was making. The crowd … did the crowd just gasp? Rainbow thought that she heard the crowd gasp, but she couldn't be certain of it; she might have misheard. Because what could they be gasping about, nothing was happening?

Nothing that I can see.

But what could Weiss be doing that I can't see? Is she drilling a tunnel through the floor?

A white glyph appeared directly in front of Rainbow Dash. Rainbow watched it, Plain Awesome aimed straight at it, as it hovered in the air for a few seconds, five seconds, seven seconds before it faded away into nothingness, like it had never been at all. There was no sign of Weiss.

Another glyph appeared, about twenty or thirty degrees rightwards of the first; Rainbow trained Brutal Honesty on this one, her hand perfectly still as she watched the glyph, and waited. Still no sign of Weiss.

That glyph, like the first, disappeared. Another white glyph appeared, and then another one after that, glyphs glowing bright white, smoke seeming to rise off of them as though they were hot, but no Weiss to leap onto them, no Weiss to use them to suspend her in the air.

Rainbow smiled. Nice try, Weiss. She was trying to distract Rainbow, to make her jump at glyphs that she herself had no intention of jumping onto, and then once she had succeeded in distracting her, then she would come down somewhere else and try to hit Rainbow from behind.

But Rainbow wasn't going to fall for just a glyph with no—

There! On her left! Rainbow saw movement on the glyph, a flash of silver-white clothing; she spun towards it, training both her pistols on it. Brutal Honesty and Plain Awesome erupted, bullets flying to tear—

To tear through the empty bolero that floated gently down to land upon the glyph.

I've been had! Rainbow began to turn, searching for—

Rainbow was hit from behind by a great force; she felt the point of Weiss' blade on her back, but she also felt the explosion too as she was hurled forwards, banging her head against the central hexagon in the process. Alarms blared from the Wings of Harmony, red warning lights flashing on both of Rainbow's shoulders, and the jetpack felt heavier on Rainbow's back as she started to descend towards the ground.

Ice dust! That had been what Weiss had hit her with; she'd struck with the sword and offloaded some ice dust onto Rainbow at the same time. The Wings of Harmony had a heating system that would melt the ice, but it would take a little bit of time to work, and the ground was very close already.

Rainbow cranked the thrust all the way up to full, hoping to buy herself some time that way, and as she did so, she twisted in the air to see Weiss Schnee, bare armed and bare shouldered without her bolero, standing on a black glyph angled downwards towards Rainbow Dash.

She was only there for a split second or less before the glyph launched her like a silver spear straight towards her enemy.

Rainbow fired at her as she came on, both her machine pistols blazing; her bullets struck home, but not enough to halt Weiss’ momentum as she soared across the distance between them, blade outstretched for a thrust.

Rainbow let Brutal Honesty fall from her fingers and clenched her hand into a fist.

Weiss flew straight and true. Rainbow twisted in the air as best she could with ice still weighing down the Wings of Harmony and freezing up the engine, letting Weiss fly past her.

And as she flew, Rainbow hit her hard upon the cheek.

It was weird, but in the moment that her fist struck home, Rainbow could have sworn that Weiss was smiling.

Rainbow hit her all the same, denting Weiss' remaining aura if not her face, knocking her sideways — into another glyph that stopped her before she hit the wall of the arena, before she landed on another glyph that kept her balanced off the floor.

Rainbow—

Rainbow was stuck. A black glyph surrounded her wrist, holding her in place.

Weiss had known. She had known how Rainbow would respond; she was smiling because she'd already planned for everything.

Two more glyphs appeared around her ankles, securing Rainbow even more firmly.

Do I have enough aura to break them, like Neon?

Is Weiss going to give me the chance?

That question was answered when Weiss launched herself at Rainbow Dash again; this time, she fired at Rainbow as she flew, blasts of fire dust leaping along the length of her blade to fly at Rainbow Dash, hitting her on the thigh, in the chest. Rainbow fired back, getting off what shots she could with Plain Awesome because this match might be over, but Rainbow wasn't going to let it go without fighting to the finish. She fired; she prepared to pistol whip Weiss as she came past.

Weiss fired another burst of fire dust as she flew by, lashing Rainbow with the edge of her slender sword.

"Rainbow Dash's aura has dropped below the limit!" Doctor Oobleck announced. "Weiss Schnee is the winner!"

"I'm sure that was an exciting match," Professor Port added. "If only we could have actually seen it for ourselves."

The crowd erupted. Some of them booed, but more of them cheered, a lot more.

It seemed like the villain had won the crowd over after all.

Weiss' glyphs vanished, and Rainbow — most of the ice melted from the Wings of Harmony — glided down to the ground to recover Brutal Honesty. As she slipped the pistol into its holster, she saw that Weiss had also landed, to pick up her bolero which had landed nearby once the glyph that had supported it had vanished.

"How is it?" Rainbow asked.

Weiss stuck three of her fingers through bullet holes in the fabric. "It … has seen better days," she murmured.

Rainbow winced. "Sorry about that."

Weiss smiled as she shook her head. "If I didn't want it to suffer any damage, I shouldn't have used it as a decoy, should I?" She started to pull it on.

"You're still going to wear it?" Rainbow asked. She had a feeling that Rarity would have a fit if she could see this, wearing bullet-riddled clothes.

"It's not completely ruined," Weiss pointed out. "And even with the bullet holes, it still covers more than doing without." She paused, taking a step closer to Rainbow Dash, and then another. She looked away, looking up at the crowd which had booed her yesterday and now seemed to be mostly cheering her on. "They've changed their tune, haven't they?"

"Your skill is winning them over," Rainbow said.

"My skill," Weiss murmured. "Or the fact my latest faunus opponents don't seem to hate me?"

Rainbow smirked. "A little bit of that too," she said as the arena began to drop down to pick them up. "Congratulations."

Weiss still didn't look at Rainbow. "If your aura hadn't been so low—"

"But it was," Rainbow said.

"Indeed, but I can't help but feel that I've taken advantage."

"The only thing you took advantage of was knowing what I'd do," Rainbow said. "You won because you were three moves ahead at the end; that's all there is to it. If I'd had more aura … you'd have come up with a different plan, I'm sure." She hesitated. "So … how does it feel to be a Vytal finalist? To have victory within reach? To know that your name will be remembered for this?"

"I hope to be remembered for much more, in my time," Weiss said softly. "But this…" Now, she looked at Rainbow Dash, a smile playing across her face. She spread her arms out on either side of her and twirled on her toes, her long side-ponytail flying around her. "This feels pretty marvellous, I must say."

Rainbow grinned. "I'll bet it does." She held out her hand. "Congratulations, Weiss Schnee."

Weiss took her hand, her small, pale hand fitting neatly into Rainbow's larger, darker palm.

They shook hands warmly as the crowd cheered on.

Comments

[AngelicTitan]

Yooooooo I wasn’t expecting this! Rainbow loses a fight for the first time to Weiss, and the final will be (probably) Weiss vs Pyrrha. Huh, things are becoming interesting now. I am loving this Arc because of how Weiss is being portrayed, tbh; she’s my favorite RWBY character and I’m liking the direction you’re taking her.
The battle was interesting as well, how it passed all in the air, and how the Auras were the main factor in it. I am also excited to see how things will unravel from now on; I suspect next chapter is Umber vs Pyrrha, maybe 1 or 2 chapters in the downtime then the Final, and then we will have the aftermath, and the chapters leading up for the fireworks. I am super excited to finally get to see the new Fall of Beacon, having a 1v1 of Sunset and Cinder, see Amber’s betrayal and how it will affect Ruby when she realizes but that Amber now hates her, and how things will change on Part 2.

[Stet709]

Huh... Weiss won... Nice!
Sorry, Leaf, Weiss is just too good.

Now... the real kicker is Pyrrha vs Umber.

It occurred to Blake that Sunset’s flaw was one that Neon might have appreciated: she stood shoulder to shoulder with her comrades to a fault.

I would argue that would make Sunset an ideal Atlesian, but then again, she didn't flee to Beacon for nothing.

[Doge of Venucci]

Love this. Rainbow dash should really invest in some melee weapons. Mayby kukri or Bowie knife.

[Mastermind4892]

Even though she won't actively seek retribution, Kali won't be taking this attack on her family by doing nothing.

And what an outstanding match! Rainbow Dash was right; Weiss deserved to win because she studied her opponent and planned accordingly. Knowing is half the battle. And even better, both Weiss and Rainbow's good sportsmanship and comradery with each other worked well in winning over the crowd. They are good friends and for good reasons. And anyone who can't see that, or wishes not to, doesn't know Rainbow Dash well enough to call themselves a fan.

I hope we'll see how proud Winter will be of her sister, and maybe Gilda will feel ashamed of working her friend's aura down before her match with a Schnee. And on a more long-term note, the loss of Rainbow Dash (and thus Atlas' final contestant) against a Beacon student will actually be good for Ironwood. In canon, a major factor in how Ironwood deteriorated by V7 was because his forces handled everything in Vale, especially during the Breach, and so he began wondering if Ozpin's people were even up to the task.

[Plotbuster]

Great chapter

Even with all this talk of Blake's father turning the other cheek to a fault, I wonder how sanguine he'll actually be after hearing that Sienna put a hit out on his daughter. As the high chieftain of Menagerie, can he actually afford to take no stance? Wouldn't that be seen as tacit approval? I don't think the fallout from this is going to end up being so politically simple.

Anyway, Weiss vs. Rainbow was a great fight. I really didn't have a horse in this one, I would have been happy with either outcome. At this point I really have to wonder if there's actually some kind of skullduggery going on with the matchups, though. I will say that if Umber beats Pyrrha I'll be pretty dang disappointed, but that's kinda just the expectation talking. It's just engraved in my brain that Pyrrha will be the Vytal champion. With Umber in the picture that's at least partially in doubt. Honestly, if Pyrrha really wants to beat Weiss, with her semblance that's pretty much a given. Which brings me to the speculation segment. I wouldn't be half surprised if Pyrrha ends up losing to Umber, but in such a way that Weiss figures out her semblance enough to take the championship in the end. Don't get me wrong, I want Pyrrha to win, but this kind of upset would definitely be interesting. I just can't see Weiss beating Pyrrha without her letting Weiss win, so I feel like that would be kind of a letdown to end the tournament. It would, of course, be a VERY interesting bit of development in Pyrrha's character if she DID let Weiss win. Then again, things could pop off right in the middle of their match, which might be a tactically sound decision on Sonata's part.

Can't wait to see how things go. There's a lot of things coming to a head in the near future, and I'm very much looking forward to it all.

[Zer0prototype]

11809097
Not just that amber hates her. That Ruby's attitude, actively drove her to her ultimate betrayal. Dove will likely use his semblance to protect himself and amber from ruby using the very trick she taught him.

[Dark one]

Sometimes I really miss those author's notes at the end of chapters. Even when they were only there to highlight changes for the rewrite they were always ever so fun to read.

[Scipio Smith]

11809826
Well... I could tell you that part of the reason the White Fang stuff in the preceding chapters played out the way it did was to give Rainbow a degree of cover to lose to Weiss without looking like a chump?

I don't say that to do down Weiss, by any means, I think Weiss is - or ought to be - the strongest member of Team RWBY (my personal rankings are Weiss, Blake, Yang, Ruby at the bottom) but, at the same time, Rainbow is also supposed to be really tough, and really good at what she does, and so having her lose a fair amount of aura and start the fight at a disadvantage was a way to preserve her dignity while still giving Weiss a deserved win.

That's a note from the author, isn't it?

[Dark one]

11809837
It certainly is and is very much appreciated (unless of course the border around your name is lying and you are in fact not the author but instead an imposter )
In all seriousness though I always love reading people thought processes when they write anything. It is both fun to read and often very educational.

Like here your thoughts reflect choices made not just here but earlier too. Like how Neon was allowed to shine against Weiss without then guaranteeing Weiss lose the next fight simply due to lower Aura. In addition to making Weiss not fall for the same trick at the start of the fight. And it doesn't just highlight who is most powerful when the scales are even in terms of aura. The forethought also made all the fights better as when both parties are low on aura they can't do many things or need to be way more careful in a way that dictates the feeling of the fight. That made this fight in particular stand out from the other 1v1s so far.