Flame and Crimson: OC x Ruby (DBXV x RWBY)

Hey guys, I'm back with another chapter! Hopefully, you guys enjoyed the last chapter... as short as it was. I apologize for that. This chapter I'll try and make a bit longer. It may cover 2 episodes of volume 3 of the Rwby story, but we'll see. It just depends on what's happening within the story and where I think is a good spot to end the chapter.

And... as i stated previously, the story will deviate a bit from the main timeline after the conclusion of volume 3. Let's just say the situation gets a little... "hairy" between certain races. Shallot and the other saiyans will come back into the story soon, don't worry. Then, there's the whole Beat and Note thing I have to figure out. Some of these are just subplots. Anyways... back to the story!

P.S.: I don't own DBS, Black Clover, or Rwby or any of the series characters. I'm merely responsible for the oc's that appear in this story.

Opening theme:

Opening: Song 4 U (Tales of Xilia 2)

Visuals: replace the tales characters with the characters in this story. Villains being Cinder and Emerald. Mercury caught in the middle between the fighting sides unsure of which side to go with. Odyn and Ruby fighting against Cinder and Emerald respectively with the other characters fighting off the Grimm. When the song transitions to the chorus, Mercury is seen to be fighting alongside team Rwby, team JNPR, and the Elves as they fight off hordes of Grimm. The scene then transitions to a split screen with Odyn, Ruby, and Pyrrha fighting Cinder and Roy, Yang, and Blake fighting Adam Taurus. As the song is ending, Odyn suddenly is transformed into a different form as he charges towards Cinder with the Villainess charging towards him. Ruby is seen charging towards Emerald.

The song ends as Mercury walks towards Khanna with her hand stretched out to him with the members of RWBY, JNPR, OHRF, and KDBNB behind Khanna as she smiles at him. Mercury then walks towards the group as the camera fades up into the sky.

Chapter 21: Beginning of the End; Cinder's Trap part 4

The camera comes up to a small village on the outskirts of mantle. Life is fairly peaceful there with elven children running back and forth in playful glee.

A certain dark elf girl with flowing crimson hair is seen to be sparring with her brother, her eldest brother in fact. She's knocked down onto her rear for what felt like the hundreth time already.

"Ow, geez! That smarts..," The girl said.

This girl or young woman is Sarai Albanar, the dark elven princess.  Reaching down with a hand to help her us her older brother, Odyn.

"Are you alright, sis? I didn't hit too hard, did I?," Odyn asked chuckling.

Sarai cutely pouted at this. Was he making fun of her?

"Geez... Odyn onii chan, I'm not like Roy you know! You can't hit that hard.," Sarai said pouting slightly.

Odyn chuckled before tusseling his sister's hair in apology.

"Right, right. Sorry about that, sis.," Odyn said in apology.

Sarai pouted at the action, but then giggled. She just couldn't seem to stay mad at her brother, she loved him too much. Sarai then remembered she had to go.

"I have to go now, onii chan. Gotta hurry back to the house and get dinner started.," Sarai said cheerfully.

Odyn smiled at her and waved before walking over the crest of the hill. She cupped her hands to call back to him.

"Please, make sure yourself and brother Roy don't come back too late okay?," She called back.

"Alright, we'll be sure to be home before too long. I may even see if Baron can come over, bet you'd like that.," Odyn said.

Sarai felt her face heat up at this. She started to fidget and blush when Baron was mentioned. In their village it was no secret that Sarai had a growing a crush on the young man from the Odarinath family. The Albanar family and the Odarninaths had known each other for many years. In particular, the children had been friends since they were very young. Sarai was always really shy, but during their childhood, Baron had taken the time to become her best friend.

He had even introduced her to his sister and some of her friends. Because of this, Sarai had begun to develop feelings for Baron once they became of marrying age.

"O-Oh.. I-I see.. we'll hurry then please.," Sarai said as she skipped towards the house.

Though her parents were the rulers of the elves, they lived in a small town on the outskirts of mantle to avoid drawing attention. Her parents were busy at the castle today, they'd be home later. Her focus was on preparing the evening meal for the family and the guests they'd have over. This would undoubtedly mean her extended family along with the Odarinath Siblings. She just had to stop in town to pick up some supplies for dinner first.

Time skip: early evening..

Sarai came from the market with what she needed for dinner that night. It took her a bit longer than she had anticipated to get things, but that was alright. She waved farewell to the store clerk and skipped down the path towards their house. She giggled thinking of having her family, friends, and.. the boy she liked in the house for dinner.

As she came towards the house she smelled something ... burning? That was odd, what could be burning out here? The young elf went to investigate only to widen her eyes in horror upon seeing not only the house up in flames but... her cousins all sprawled onto the ground. They were covered in blood! The dark elf maiden dropped the basket of food and immediately rushed to her cousins side.

As she came to them, she became even more horrified. They looked like they'd been stabbed by something, and none of them were breathing.

"Alek! Zephyr, Borhdak! No no no no! Come on, wake up!," She said shaking them.

Neither one of them responded. That... wasn't good. She quickly tried thinking of something, before realizing that 3 of her other brothers were home. Surely they'd know what to to do, right?

She quickly went to find them, only to discover... they were in the same condition as her cousins were. Her eyes widened in horror when she saw her brothers, laying face down, in pools of their own blood. Her kind brothers were... dead? No! She refused to believe that. She ran towards Banryu, one of her brothers who was still breathing.

"Banryu!," Sarai said running towards him.

He coughed, opening one eye to look at his sister.

"Hey.. (coughs) sis..," He croaked out.

"Oh my lord, what happened to you?!," Sarai asked with tears in her eyes.

Banryu coughed out blood and breathed heavily. Sarai tried to heal him with her magic until he shook his head.

"But why?!," She asked tearing up.

"It's... too late for me, little sis. Please.. you have to.. run! She's.. that witch... is coming!," Banryu said.

"Witch? What witch?," She asked.

Unfortunately,  Banryu fell still. Sarai let the tears flow, she had... lost her cousins and 3 of her brothers. The only thing she could think was...

"Why? What did we do to deserve this?!" Sarai thought upset.

As Sarai begin to let the tears fall, she heard foot steps behind her. Rising to her feet she saw a woman with black hair and amber colored eyes. She wore a red dress with black heeled shoes, matching gloves, and she had fair skin. She smiled darkly at the girl.

"Oh? There was another one?," The woman said.

Sarai balled her hands into fists and let her magic swell around her.

"Was it you?," Sarai asked her hair shadowing her eyes.

The woman said nothing, she just chuckled. That was the only answer Sarai needed.

"HOW COULD YOU?!!!," Sarai said in rage.

The young dark elf drew her sword and charged at the woman. The woman just smirked, but was taken by surprise by the force of the girl's blow. She blocked it, but was sent skidding back by the power behind it. This girl.. wasn't normal.

Sarai equipped her armor, letting her opponent know that she wasn't getting away without a scratch. She rocketed towards the woman managing to cut her before the two began to exchange blows. The attacker expected simply sword strokes from Sarai, she wasn't expecting martial arts too. The martial arts, particularly the kicks the elf incorporated really threw her off guard. It allowed Sarai to perhaps get a few more hits in then she would have otherwise.

The woman dropped back, creating a bow made of fire with arrows. She expected the arrows to do damage, however they didn't. Instead of hurting the elf , the fire arrows seemed like they were just absorbed by the flowing magic surrounding the dark elf. The two clashed weapons sending wind gusts from their battle to the surrounding areas.

Because of this, Odyn, Khanna, Roy, and the Odarinath siblings knew something was wrong.  Khanna looked up and silently berated herself for not knowing something was up. They all figured it out when an enormous explosion occurred and shook the ground from where Sarai was.

"Don't just stand there, come on! We need to get to your sister!," Khanna said.

"R-Right!," Odyn said as the others then followed the elf guardsman.

Back with Sarai, the woman had unfortunately gotten the best of the young dark elf princess by stabbing her in the back. Even wounded, Sarai had managed to have enough power to leave a sizable gash on the woman's being. She also managed to sever one of her attacker's arms, much to the woman's displeasure.

Sarai's vision began to grow dark as her attacker was about to finish her off. She never got the chance as she had to quickly flee due, to the foot steps of Khanna and the other elves approaching. She quickly fled, but not before her eyes locked with Khanna's burning orbs. 

Odyn was shocked and angered to see not only their house up in flames, but his brothers and cousins were all... dead. He went up to each of them, checking their pulses just to make sure. Unfortunately,  none of them were left alive.

"Why?! What did we do to deserve this?!," Odyn said punching the ground in anger, nearly creating a crater.

"Unfortunately Odyn... This is just how humans see us. No better than monsters that deserve to be killed, or enslaved by them.," Khanna said.

They all made their way to Sarai, who was still breathing. Though she was barely breathing.

"Big.. (cough) br-brother?," Sarai croaked out reaching her hand up.

Odyn rushed towards Sarai and held her hand, Roy doing the same. Both had tears in their eyes.

"It's.. (coughs) getting dark... I'm scared!," Sarai afraid.

"Sis, it'll be okay. Myself, Roy, Khanna, Hailfire, and even Baron are here for you.," Odyn said.

Khanna heard Berethon's voice as he'd been monitoring what was going on.

"Khanna, is everyone alright?," Berethon's voice asked.

Khanna gulped and then answered.

"Unfortunately.. no my liege. The I'm the only one left of the Andross siblings, and 3 of your boys were.... ," Khanna said trailing off.

"I see... that is... rather unfortunate.  What about Odyn, Roy, and Sarai?," Berethon replied.

"Odyn and Roy are fine and perfectly healthy. Sarai is... well she was attacked and the woman who did the deed escaped. The princess is in critical condition right now though, it.. isn't looking good.," Khanna said.

Berethon was silent before talked to the princess Telepathically.

"Sarai?,"Berethon voice spoke.

"P.. pa.. Papa?," Sarai asked in between coughs.

"Yes, I'm right here sweetie...," The king's voice spoke.

"I..I'm s.. sc.. scared! Everything is going.. dark.," Sarai said.

"Well don't you worry. Everything will be okay, we'll bring you back.," Berethon's voice told his daughter.

Sarai smiled weakly before she looked to Baron.

"I.. I'm sorry b-Baron... I never got to tell you how much you mean to me..," Sarai said with tears flowing down her face.

Baron smiled at her before putting his hand on top of hers.

"It's... okay, Sari. I knew how you felt. I'm sorry I couldn't protect you.," He said apologizing.

She smiled at him.

"It's.. okay. You're a wonderful man, Baron. Please... find another girl to fall in love with, that would.. make me happy. I'm asking as your friend.," Sarai told him.

"I.. I'll.. try to Sari. You'll always be my best friend and...the first girl I ever felt this way about.," Baron replied.

"You needn't worry about not seeing each other again, Baron. You are best friends after all. We'll bring Sarai back, it... may just.. be a while before you see each other again.," Berethon's voice assured him.

"I.. understand, my liege.," Berethon answered.

"Khanna, if you would be so kind as to cast a small magic rune on Sarai... This will ensure her body will be restored upon her return to the land of the living.," Berethon instructed.

Khanna nodded.

"Of course, Uncle.," Khanna said.

She did as instructed, a golden magic circle enveloping Sarai's body. The dark elves surrounding her beagn to chant with Berethon, but it was more as a prayer.

"Oh.. weary soul.. we deliver you from this suffering body of yours and to a better place. May you find your life restored anew with a sense of purpose within a new vessel."

The spell finished as a golden light shot up into the sky, soon after Sarai's body began to disappear.  They knew she'd be okay though.

The one who attacked them would pay dearly for this. They'd show them Dark Elves were not to be messed with.

"That was when my world was flipped upside down. I had been killed by my people's worst enemy. Following my death, dark elves were treated even worse than they were before. The cycle of abuse and hatred towards our people had begun anew... and there were only two people to blame for this... Cinder Fall and... the one known as Salem."

Present Day: (it will be different because i replaced Cinder's personal flashback with one telling of why the dark elves hate her)

TV static cuts to the Vale News Network with the combined kingdoms' symbol and a caption reading "Tournament Tragedy"

"A terrible tragedy took place this afternoon in the one-on-one rounds of the Vytal Festival Tournament-," The reporter says before the feed is switched to another channel.

TV static switches the channels to...

" I don't know what Beacon's Headmaster is teaching his students, but that was disgraceful! Completely uncalled for!," A haven tourist said towards the camera angrily.

TV static switches the channel to... video of several Grimm – Goliaths, Ursai, Nevermores, Boarbatusks, and Beowolves – running across Mountain Glenn towards the city.

"Despite Atlas reinforcements, local authorities are still calling on any available Huntsmen to aid in suppressing the spike in Grimm activity.," a news reporter said into the camera.

The projected screen in the warehouse switches off entirely.

Mercury was sitting at a table with his mechanical leg on a table, a screwdriver in hand as he works on it.

"Aw come on Khanna, I was watching that..," Mercury said.

Khanna just sighs and chuckles before walking over to him.

"What am I going to do with you, Merc?," She said before putting a hand on his face in concern before continuing.

Mercury blushed slightly, due to how close the beautiful black haired dsrk elf was to him currently.

"But seriously though... are you sure you're alright, Merc?," Khanna asked concerned.

He nodded.

"I'll.. be alright. Not the worst hit I've taken before.," He said.

"You did a great job, mercury. Everyone was fooled.," Odyn said laughing.

Khanna looked towards her cousin.

"So.. what's next then?," Khanna asked.

"I think it's about time to start bringing down the curtain on our villains. But first.. I need to go check in with Ruby and her team.," Odyn said.

"Ah yeah, wouldn't want your lover thinking you abandoned her or anything.," Khanna grinned mischieously.

Odyn blushed slightly angry.

"H-Hey! I never said I'd do that!," Odyn said slightly offended.

Khanna just chuckled.

"Yeah, yeah We know. Now go on, lover boy. Your girl's waiting on you.," Khanna laughed.

"Oh ha ha, laugh it up will ya?," Odyn said as he exited the room.

"Hey.. uh.. wait about me?," Mercury asked.

"You get to lie low for awhile, Mercury. We'll let you know when it's time to come on out again. Besides, I don't think my cousin wants you to be moving around much right now.," Odyn said waving as he left.

The closed as Khanna sat down beside him again with a smile.

"He's right you know, mr hero. We wouldn't want people to see you on your feet and have this all be for naught, now would we?," She said.

Mercury sighed before he relaxed.

"Alright, can do. If you say so, Khanna, I know it'll work out.," Mercury said.

Khanna leaned forward, putting her hand on his forehead.

"How's the memory coming?," She asked.

"Mm... it's still a little fuzzy. But it's starting to come back. Should be back by the time we spring this trap on Cinder and Emerald.," He replied.

Khanna sighed. She was a bit disappointed, but she knew his memory was coming back.

"Something wrong, you sound disappointed Khanna?," He asked.

She smiled at him and blushed.

"Oh it's nothing really. I.. I just want to have a proper reunion with you is all, with your full memory back. It.. it doesn't really change how I feel about you though.," Khanna said.

Mercury blushed and rubbed the back of his head nervously.

"O-Oh.. y-yeah.," He said with a bit of a red face.

Khanna then leaned forward with her eyes closed and kissed him on the forehead, surprising him.

"I need to go now, but try and get some rest. Try and keep a low profile for now, okay Merc?," Khanna said.

Mercury nodded wordlessly as he watched the girl exit the room. He had his hand on his forehead as he blushed in embarrassment. He... had it bad for Khanna, didn't he? But... did he really? He couldn't quite remember her fully, yet anyways. One thing he did know was this... he needed to remember his relationship with Khanna and fast. Otherwise, he was going to go crazy if a dark elf as beautiful as she was kept doing stuff like that.

He goes back to screwing his limbs back to perfection, smiling, and the blue area under his artificial knee lights up right before the scene changes.

Outside of Team Rwby's dorm...

Two dark elven guards are guarding the doorway to the room while the teens were inside the room with the mysterious elf commander.

"I'm sorry, miss Xiao Long, but you've left us with no choice. Due to ... the humans rather.. grisly opinions of yourself, we'll need your team to withdraw from the Vytal tournament."

Yang was wide eyed and confused.

"But he attacked me!," Yang said angrily.

She was sitting on a bed inside of the room with her teammates.

"Video footage and milions of other viewers say otherwise I'm afraid."

Weiss is seen gesturing to her teammate, clearly upset.

"That is absurd! Yang would never do that!," Weiss argued.

"Yeah!," Ruby said standing up beside her sister.

The elf commander then smiled and laughed?

"Why are you laughing?!," Weiss asked offended.

"Ahem! I apologize for that, ladies. You all seem like good students and the staff along with my men know you would never lash out like that. "

"So why is Yang being punished?," Ruby asked.

They then heard knocking at the door, the elf commander turned and without hesitation spoke.

"Come in.," he said.

The girls were then surprised that it was Odyn who showed up.

"What the...," Weiss began

"Odyn?," Ruby asked.

"Hey. Sorry I'm late you guys.," He apologized.

Ruby was about to speak when Odyn turned to the elf commander.

"Alright, you can drop the act now. I'm sure you want to get out of that stuffy armor, right Roy?," Odyn said.

The elf smirked and snapped his fingers, dispelling the armor. Roy stepped out of the magic in his normal attire.

"Whew, thanks bro! I was starting to roast in that armor! Honestly I don't know how valvahdern does it.," Roy said.

Team rwby was now shocked. The whole time, they were talking to... Roy?

"Wait.. a second... does that mean...," Weiss started to ask.

"I'm embarrassed to admit, but yeah.," Roy nodded.

"This whole thing was a ruse.," Odyn said.

"A... Ruse, you say?," Yang asked.

Roy walked up to Yang and surprised her by hugging her.

"I'm... sorry Yang. Truly.," Roy said.

Yang began to flush bright red as she didn't really know what to do in this situation. 

"Uh.. umm... R-Roy? Uh wha- what are you?," Yang said blushing and fumbling for words.

Roy broke the hug, much to Yang's disappointment before the Albanar brothers began to explain what happened.

"It... a was ruse to draw out those we think are planning to steal power which isn't even theirs.," Roy said.

"We even had Mercury and Khanna help us with this.," Odyn explained.

The girls were shocked.

"So then Yang can..," Ruby began before Odyn interrupted her.

"No, little Rose... Yang has to bow out of the tournament unfortunately.," Odyn said interrupting Ruby.

"Huh, why Odyn?!," Ruby asked upset.

"Too many people think what they saw was real.... Sorry about this Yang, but we had to do things this way to fool Cinder and Emerald. And...," Roy trailed off.

"And?," Yang asked.

Roy blushed slightly before speaking again.

"It uh... was to protect you, Yang.," Roy said.

Yang felt her face go red.

"Besides... I believe Yang wouldn't ever do something like that without a good reason.," Odyn said.

"I believe her too.," Roy said.

"Here, here. You're hotheaded Yang, but not ruthless.,"Weiss replied.

Yang then looked to Blake when she realized she'd not spoken yet.

"Blake?," Yang asked.

Blake turns her gaze away, earning a shocked look between Ruby and Weiss.

"I want to believe you...," Blake trailed off.

"Huh?!," Ruby asked shocked.

"What's that supposed to mean?", Weiss asked.

Yang's eyes widened and she even sounded a little hurt with tears in her eyes.

"Blake?," Yang asked in a hurt voice.

Blake looks up at Yang, but then puts her head back down.

"How can you say something like that? Yang would never lie to us!," Weiss said upset.

She glances at Weiss, then takes a deep breath before starting.

"I had someone very dear to me change. It wasn't in an instant, it was gradual - little choices that began to pile up. He told me not to worry. At first they were accidents, then it was self-defense. Before long, even I began to think he was right. This is all just... very familiar. (Tears begin fall on Yang's face, prompting Blake to continue) But you're not him. And you've never done anything like this before. So... I want to trust you. I will trust you. But first, I need you to look me in the eyes and tell me that he attacked you. I need you to promise me that you regret having to do what you did.," Blake said looking Yang in the eyes.

Roy is seen to be wiping the tears from Yang's eyes as she then speaks.

"I saw him attack me, so I attacked back.," Yang said.

Blake let out a deep breath as she closes her eyes and then smiles at her partner.

"Okay, thank you.," Blake said.

She then looked towards the elves.

"Even if it was a ruse, that was still a horrible thing to do to Yang.," Blake said serious.

"We know. And to all of you, we apologize for tricking you.," Odyn said with his head bowed.

Roy then bowed his head to Yang.

"I apologize for that, Yang. The fault is our own. We.. will make it up to you, promise.," Roy said.

Yang smiled at the elf before forgiving him. Truthfully, she couldn't even stay mad at Roy or the elves since they did all that to protect her.

"You better.," she said hugging him this time.

She decided to have a little fun at Roy's expense by whispering into his ear.

"Cuz i'm not going to let you go until you do make it up to me for this, handsome~," Yang whispered into his ear making the dark elf blush.

Odyn cleared his throat. Most likely to distract himself from the fact that he heard what Yang just whispered to Roy.

Yang still looked down as she spoke again.

"I... think I'm going to rest up for awhile.," Yang said.

The other teens then began to leave along with the elven soldiers.

"Alright, we'll get out of your hair then.," Blake said standing up with the others.

Ruby is seen to be closing the door behind the others. Roy goes to walk out when he feels Yang tug on his shirt.

He looks back at the blonde.

"Is... everything alright, Yang?," He asked.

Her hair then shadowed her face as she spoke. This was to hide the blush on her face.

"This might be selfish... but... coukd you.. stay with me for a while?," Yang asked.

Roy smiled at her, putting his hand on her shaking one.

"If that's what you need to calm down, sure thing. It was kinda my fault anyways.," He said.

Outside the door, Odyn heard the brief conversation and smirked. Yang would be fine, Roy was with her. He nods to Ruby to close the door completely, which she does with a smile seeing Roy with her sister.

They rejoin Weiss and Blake in the hallway.

"Well.. this is a mess..," Weiss said.

"🤦‍♂️ I know... please don't remind me. I still feel like an idiot for doing that.," Odyn said facepalming himself.

Ruby rubbed her boyfriend's back to comfort him as she smiled.

"You did what you did to protect Yang, you didn't know it would backfire like it did.," Ruby said.

"She's right, you just made an honest mistake.," Blake said.

A door then opens as he peaks out of his team's room.

"Is... she alright?," Jaune asked.

"She's doing the best that she can right now.," Blake answered. 

"She'll be fine Jaune, Roy's with her right now. I'm sure she'll recover in no time from this.," Odyn said.

"I heard mercury and his team rushed back to Haven to be with his family. No one can really question him about what happened until they land though.," Ruby said.

Odyn glanced at his girlfriend and winked, he knew she was trying to keep Mercury's involvement with them a secret. She winked back.

"If there's anything at all that we can do, we'd love to help.," Ren said.

"Alright then. If that's the case.... (she spots Pyrrha) Pyrrha?," Ruby said.

Pyrrha then looks towards the younger girl as she gets seated onto her bed.

"Hm? Yes, what is it Ruby?," She asked.

She holds her clenched hands up as she tries grinning.

"You becsure to win one for beacon, okay?," Ruby asked before looking towards her boyfriend.

"Oh and uh... of c-course you too O-Odyn...," Ruby said blushing.

The dark elf smiled at the girl.

"I know, I know. No need to worry, little rose. I'll be sure to win one for Beacon.," Odyn replied.

Pyrrha smiled as she witnessed the bond between ruby and odyn up close.

Yang and Weiss smiled sadly.

"It's what Yang would want.," Weiss said.

"I'll... do my best.," Pyrrha replied attempting a confident look.

Odyn narrowed his eyes slightly, he could tell something was wrong but chose not to say anything.

"I'll make sure to watch tonight, in case you're picked!," Ruby said excitedly.

Pyrrha's smile dips down into worry as she looks away.

"Sorry but, I think I've had enough fighting for one year.," Blake said.

"Ditto. Coffee?," Weiss said agreeing.

"Tea.," Blake replied.

"Careful Weiss. Better not let Daikon hear you say that.," Odyn said.

Weiss blushed angrily.

"Wha?! What's that ruffian got to do with this?," Weiss asked blushing.

"Interesting reaction there Weiss, you sure you don't like him?," Odyn asked teasing her.

"Like him? I couldn't care one twit about that.. faunus!," Weiss said arguing.

The 3 members of rwby and Odyn walk down the hallway. The dark elf and weiss arguing like any good friends do, jaune closing the door when he sees Ruby disappear behind the corner.

Pyrrha continues to look a bit down until a certain teammate of hers speaks.

She suddenly gets up in Pyrrha's surprised face, grinning madly.

"You heard the lady! No more moping around!," Nora said.

Bleach ost: margot's Dance (this plays during this sequence)

It then cuts to Nora suddenly on the other side of the room now clad in pink workout clothes and sweatbands, as she points to Pyrrha.

"We gotta get your butt in shape for the big fight! It could be today, it could be tomorrow, it could be the most important fight of your entire life!," Nora continues as she starts doing random exercises as she speaks.

This included her running in place, doing jumping jacks, and randomly doing pushups as she is talking. She finishes her random demonstration by lifting a barbell tipped with 1000 pound weights on each end, holding it in the air and sweating profusely before falling backwards.

Pyrrha is seen to be smiling in bewilderment at her teammate's random and silly actions. Then again.., That was kinda Nora's thing.

"Um..," She said somewhat confused to what her teammmates were doing to cheer her up.

"Nora's right.," Ren said from another part of the room.

Pyrrha looks to him in his pink apron reading "PLEASE DO NOTHING TO THE COOK"

"You can't let your concern for Yang hold you back. You need to focus. You'll be defending the honor of Beacon Academy.," Ren said.

Pyrrha nods as she tries speaking.

"Of course. I-," she started but us cut off by Ren again.

He holds a glass filled with a green liquid making bubbling noises in front of her face.

"This blend of herbs and vegetables is filled with nutrients vital to your body's well-being.," Ren said holding out the glass for her to drink.

"Oh, That's-," She started but is cut short again.

"Please, there's no need to thank me.," Ren said as he steps away, smiling.

"Thank you? Ugh, that looks like slime from a lakebed!", Nora said looking at her partner with a disgusted face.

Ren turns away from her, cradling his creation.

"Algae contains numerous spectacular properties. See for yourself.," Ren said as he lifts it towards her mouth.

Nora sips it down like ren said, and immediately regrets doing so. Her face turns the same sickly green as the healthy sludge.

"BLEGH!," Nora croaks before she goes straight over to the waste basket and dunks her head in, getting all of the liquid out while continuing to make disgusted noises until she turns back around to Ren.

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!? Ugh...," Nora said irritated.

Ren gestures to himself as he speaks.

"Me? You're the one that wasted perfectly good juice.," Ren said.

"We're supposed to help Pyrrha, not poison her!," Nora argued.

"There was absolutely nothing wrong with that.," Ren argued back.

Nora then has her hands on her hips as she speaks.

"If it looks the same coming up as it does going down, then there's something wrong!" Nora argued again.

*ost end*

Neither of them notice Pyrrha's smile at their antics fade once more, though their leader does from the doorway.

"You have good friends, Pyrrha who care about you. You're worrying them with that forlorn look on your face...," Sarai said from inside of her.

Jaune makes his way over to them and places his hands on their shoulders.

"Why don't all of us get some fresh air?," Jaune said.

Pyrrha looks up at Jaune, who grins at his troubled friend.

Back with Yang...

Yang is finished crying as she then sits up on Blake's bed. She looks at Roy, who smiled at her.

"Better now?," Roy asked smiling.

"*sniffs* Y-Yeah... I think so.., thank you.," Yang said.

She looks out the window at the members of JNPR walking in the courtyard outside, Nora marching alongside Ren with Jaune and Pyrrha in the back, all of them looking happy to be with each other. Roy noticed she sighed again.

Yang was still hanging onto Roy's shirt looked up at him.

"Oh.. it's nothing.," Yang said.

Roy gently turned her head to face him.

"Liar. You miss your teammates, don't you?," Roy said.

Yang nodded.

"Don't worry, you'll get to be with them again. Promise.," Roy said.

Yang then looked up into Roy's blazing eyes. She... felt her heart.. thumping, no, it was beating really fast. For some reason she fell into a trance after looking at Roy's eyes. Roy noticed Yang was... moving closer to him and was about to ask her to snap out of it when...

"Ahem!," a voice sounded.

Both teens stiffened when Roy saw that it was Qrow that had saved him, he didn't know what Yang was about to do.

Qrow was slightly blushing when he saw the position the teens were in as he spoke.

"I... do hope I'm not.. uh.. interrupting anything?," He asked.

Yang then quickly pulled away from Roy, her facing burning bright red. The dark elf got up and cleared his throat, his face also bright red.

"Um.. I'll just uh... go get us some waters.," Roy said subtly excusing himself.

"Ahhhh!!! Oh my oum! What was I just- no no no no me and Roy? No, that wouldn't happen.. yet. I was so close.. no Yang, calm yourself.." Yang inwardly thought.

She then recomposed herself after Roy went to get them some waters.

Qrow was revealed to be leaning against the door, arms crossed and a small smile on his face.

"Hey there, firecracker.," Qrow greeted his niece.

Yang just sighs, staring at the floor when she greets him.

" Hey, Qrow.," Yang replied.

"So uh... is the elf your boyfriend now.. or what?," Qrow asked.

Yang flinched before she responded, not how Qrow expected her to.

"N... Not.. yet. At least I don't think so.," Yang said.

"Yet? Ah... I see. You haven't told him yet, have you?," Qrow responded.

"N.. No, of course not.," Yang said still a little embarrassed. 

Qrow snorts like her response was funny before becoming serious.

"So.. why'd you do it?," he asked.

Yang didn't turn around when she answered him.

"You know why.," Yang replied.

He uncrosses his arms as he leers at her.

"All I know is that you attacked a helpless kid. So either you're lying or you're crazy.,"Qrow said smirking.

"I'm not lying.," Yang said staring resolute at her uncle.

"Crazy, got it.," He said making a disappointed noise as he shoves his hands into his pockets and walks towards the center of the room.

"Who knows? Maybe I am? It's what everyone out there seems to think of me.," Yang said.

"That's... not entirely true and you know it. Certainly that young elf who was here a few minutes ago doesn't. And here i thought your dark haired friend was the emo one.," Qrow said as he paced.

"I saw my mom. [she looks at Qrow's sudden stop and shocked reaction from the corner of her eye] I-I was in a lot of trouble. Took a pretty hard hit. But when I came to, the person attacking me was gone... thanks to Roy anyways.  And I thought I saw... her. Her sword, like the one in you and dad's old picture.," Yang said.

He laughs as he speaks.

"You're not crazy, Yang.," He said turning and nodding before smiling sadly and continuing.

"That was your mom, all right. Let me guess - she didn't say a word, did she?," Qrow asked.

"No.. she said some stuff to Roy, i think. How did you know that?," She replied looking up to him as he walked up to her between the bunk beds.

"I don't see my sister very often, but she does try to keep in touch... whenever it suits her.," Qrow said.

Yang shook her head at this revelation before she spoke.

"Wait. You mean you talk to her? That was real?," Yang asked.

"Yeah, she found me. Had a tip from my most recent assignment and wanted me to give you a message.," Qrow told her.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner!?,"Yang asked slightly upset.

Qrow lets out a sigh as he goes over to the window, not looking at his niece.

"I was tryin' to wait for the right time, and this sure ain't it. But I guess you deserve to know. (He looks at her gravely solemn this time) She wanted me to tell you that she saved you once, but you shouldn't expect that kindness again. Raven's got an interesting way of looking at the world that I don't particularly agree with. And she's dangerous.," Qrow said before pointing back at Yang with a smirk and continuing.

"But you're a tough egg, kiddo. Shouldn't let this tournament thing get'cha down. You had a slip-up, sometimes bad things just happen. I say it's time you move on.," Qrow said.

"Move on? Move onto what?," Yang asked.

Qrow looks back at Yang again.

"Well... Raven let some info slip before she took off. If you ever wanna track her down, I think I might be able to help.," Qrow said.

"And... of course your dark elf ... boyfriend er.. friend I'm sure will be willing to help ya too.," Qrow said.

Qrow turns around to leave before putting a hand on Roy's shoulder.

"I've done what I can to cheer her up, she's all yours now, kiddo.," Qrow said walking out of the room.

Qrow was seen whispering some thing to Roy briefly before he left. Roy then brought Yang some water as he sat back down on the bed with her.

"Are... you going to be okay, Yang?," Roy asked.

Yang stared at him and nodded.

"I'll... be okay, eventually.," Yang said.

Roy then went to leave, only to have Yang tug on his shirt again. He sighed and smiled at the girl.

"Need me to stay with you longer, Yang?," Roy asked.

Yang blushed and nodded.

"Y-Yeah... If you don't mind.," Yang said.

Roy chuckled and nodded in agreement. He could tell Yang wasn't quite her normal self yet, she was still... subdued. An effect of what happened with the Vytal tournament, no doubt. 

He resolved to give Yang his full attention and support for as long as she needed him to.

Time skip: with Pyrrha.....

In the twilight, Pyrrha sits alone outside the dining hall, head bowed as the wind rises. She sees the air blow a single orange leaf onto the cobblestones at her feet, and she looks at the fall colors with a face of total fright, remembering the sight of Amber in her comatose state and the choice weighing her down.

She then heard Sarai's voice.

"Still having trouble with it, Pyrrha?," Sarai asked.

Pyrrha nodded.

"There's no shame in that. This is a big decision that could even further alter your life. Whatever your decision, I'm here for you.," Sarai said.

"Thank you, Sarai.," Pyrrha said.

"You're welcome, Pyrrha.  We are one in the same after all.," Sarai replied.

Jaune then comes towards her, gaining her attention.

"Hey.," He said smiling.

Pyrrha turned and saw her blonde haired friend with a large cone of cotton candy.

" I-It's no green goop, but I think it still might do some good.," Jaune said handing the treat to her.

Pyrrha stares at the offered treat while she comes back to the real world before hesitantly taking it.

"Um, right. Thank you, Jaune.," Pyrrha said accepting the offered treat.

Jaune's beam fades as he sees her still-tormented face, and looks to the far end of the building as Nora and Ren come around, the latter carrying a cotton candy, a tub of popcorn, and a drink to sip on.

Nora knowing what's happening right as she sees it and gestures to her distracted friend.

"Uh... come on, Ren. Let's go back to the fairgrounds. I'll win you another stuffed animal.," Nora said as she drags him away from Jaune and Pyrrha's private scene.

Jaune looks back to Pyrrha and takes a seat next to her.

"You were the first person to ever believe in me, you know that? (he manages to get her to look at him as he laughs in sadness to himself) Even when I told my parents I was going to Beacon, they told me not to worry if I ended up having to move back home. How depressing is that?," Jaune said.

Pyrrha's eyes briefly change as she speaks.

"I don't think they meant that as a bad thing, Jaune. Parents are sometimes just worried for their children, good parents anyways.," Sarai said through Pyrrha.

Pyrrha then regains control as she speaks for herself.

"I'm sure they didn't mean-," Pyrrha says but then drops the fluffy snack.

Her sorrow then becomes surprise as she realizes Jaune's hand is placed upon hers.

"I guess... I'm just trying to say that... you've always been there for me... even when I didn't deserve it. And I can tell there's something on your mind, so... I don't know. How can I help?," Jaune said.

Pyrrha's surprise and astonishment then melts away into a feeling of content. Pyrrha was now relaxed, having the boy she was falling for comfort her. She leans over and places her head in a startled Jaune's shoulder, closing her eyes.

"You're already helping me, Jaune.," Pyrrha said.

Jaune quickly matches Pyrrha's smile with his own, and the two stay there for a long moment, but as an additional autumn leaf joins the first, Pyrrha's expression darkens once more.

Pyrrha gets up after her moment of nestling with Jaune, taking her hand away from his.

"Jaune...," Pyrrha starts.

"Hmm?", He asks.

"There's... something I need to tell you first, before I tell you what's on my mind. It's something I've been keeping a secret for... a long time now.," Pyrrha said.

"Okay. What is it?," He asked.

"There's... someone who's helped me for a while and I wanted you to be the first to meet her.," Pyrrha said.

"Someone's helped you?", Jaune asked not quite understanding what she meant.

"Here, I'll just introduce her to you.," Pyrrha said closing her eyes.

When Pyrrha's eyes opened again, the eyes changed from green into fiery orange.

"Greetings, Jaune Arc. My name is Sarai Albanar.. I am the other soul inside of Pyrrha.," Sarai said through Pyrrha. 

Jaune's eyes widened in surprise as he was not at all expecting a dark elf to be inside of Pyrrha.  And did she just say her last name was Albanar?

"Wait.. if your last name is Albanar, are you related to Odyn, Roy, and all of our other dark elf friends?," Jaune asked.

"Why yes, I am related to Odyn and Roy, thise two are my brothers. And Khanna is my elder cousin. How do you know them?," Sarai asked.

"They're good friends of ours. If you're odyn and Roy's sister... would that make you... uh.... the elven p-p-pr-princess?," Jaune asked.

Sarai nodded.

"Yes, yes it would. I can see why Pyrrha likes you, you're quite smart.," Sarai said.

Jaune was a bit surprised by Sarai's comment, but he needed to hear what Pyrrha had on her mind.

"Worry not Jaune, I return your friend to you.," Sarai said as she closed her eyes.

Pyrrha opened her eyes, back to herself.

"What did you think of Sarai?," Pyrrha asked.

"She's... nice. Though i had no idea she was a dark elven princess!," Jaune said.

"Oh.. I suppose i did forget to mention that...," Pyrrha said laughing but then turned serious.

"I don't know what to do, Jaune..," Pyrrha admitted.

"W-What do you mean?," Jaune asked confused.

She glanced towards the sky as she wondered how to put what she wanted to say in a way Jaune could understand.

"Do you believe in destiny?," She asked.

"Um... I-I don't know. I guess that depends on how you view it.," Jaune answered.

Pyrrha then begins to explain her opinion on the subject as the wind blows the leaves away.

"When I think of destiny, I don't think of a predetermined fate you can't escape. But rather... some sort of final goal, something you work towards your entire life.," Pyrrha explained.

"Okay. Uh, yeah. I can see that, sure.," Jaune answered.

Pyrrha is trying to find the right words to say but is struggling to as she glances at Jaune.

"Well... what would you do if something came along that you... never expected? Something that had the potential to stand between you and your destiny?," Pyrrha asked.

"Like what?," Jaune asked in question.

Not expecting that answer, Pyrrha posed the question another way.

"Or what if you could suddenly fulfill your destiny in an instant, but at the cost of who you were?," She asked somewhat stressed.

Jaune leans over and attempts to place his hand on her shoulder.

"Pyrrha, you're not making sense right now.," Jaune said.

She stands away from Jaune's touch, even though she wants to feel his touch. Pyrrha holds herself in on the verge of tears.

"None of it makes sense! This isn't how things were supposed to happen!," Pyrrha said nearly in tears.

Jaune gets up as well and spreads his arms in confusion, trying to understand what was wrong.

"I'm sorry! Please, I-I'm just trying to understand what's wrong.," Jaune said.

"I know Jaune... It's just... I've always felt as though I was destined to become a Huntress - to protect the world... (sighs) and it's become increasingly clear to me that my feelings were right. But... I just don't know if I can.," Pyrrha said as she turned to look at Jaune.

"Of course you can. The Pyrrha Nikos I know would never back down from a challenge. And if you really believe it's your destiny to save the world... (he's then seen moving towards her, confident his answer will cheer her up) you can't let anything stand in your way.," Jaune told her.

Despite Jaune's intentions, this doesn't bring relief. Instead, Pyrrha looks absolutely shattered, covering her mouth as she begins to sob.

Jaune then realizes his mistake as he moves towards to comfort her.

"Pyrrha?," Jaune asked.

"Stop...," Pyrrha said turning away with her face still in her hands.

Jaune raised a concerned eyebrow.

"Did... I say something wrong?," He asked.

"STOP!," Pyrrha says unaware of what she was about to do.

She holds her hand out, a black energy surrounding it as she unintentionally uses her Semblance to push Jaune's armor and its wearer into the dining hall column. He weakly watches her from his spot above until she opens her eyes and realizes what she's done.

" Jaune! I... I'm so sorry...," Pyrrha says rushing to him and lowering her hand towards him.

Jaune then falls to the ground, weakly. Pyrrha now finally let the tears flow as the blonde looks up from the ground. The red haired girl then runs off, ashamed of what she just did to her friend.

"Pyrrha, wait!," Jaune called out.

Unfortunately,  his outstretched arm does nothing to keep Pyrrha from running away. He then faces the ground in bewilderment, the dropped cotton candy on the ground next to him.

"What did I say?," Jaune asked wondering what he did wrong.

Time skip: Beacon docks...

At the cliffside docking bays down the main alleyway and under the floating Amity Colosseum, Ruby walks up to the end of the line waiting to get in the transport up to the arena. She turns her head to see Brawnz Ni and Nolan Porfirio talking outside the line, and beyond that, Sun Wukong walking away, Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang over his shoulder, with a familiar rabbit Faunus snapping photos of him. Ruby steps out of line and approaches her from behind as she continues taking pictures with her camera until she notices who's behind her.

Odyn chuckled at his girlfriend's reaction, before telling her to look behind her. She did so and found Velvet Scarletina from CVFY taking a picture of her.

"Ruby, how you going?," The rabbit faunus asked the girl.

"Hi, Velvet! What're you up to?," Ruby greeted raising her hand up.

The Rabbit Faunus rolls her eyes happily as she speaks.

"Oh, you know. Just working on my photography. Do you wanna see?," Velvet replied offering the camera for the girl to see looking extremely delighted.

The first thing Ruby noticed was that Velvet didn't even get all of Sun in her picture, cutting out his head and feet.

"That's... better.," Ruby said as she steps away grinning in forced approval.

Odyn decided to take a look at it and had a very similar reaction to Ruby.

"That's... certainly... creative? Yeah, creative!," Odyn said with a forced grin on his face and sweating nervously.

He never like seeing girls upset so he tried making them feel as good about themselves as he possibly could.

Velvet then dons a concerned look as she addresses Ruby.

"I'm... sorry about what happened to your sister, Ruby. Is she doing okay?," Velvet said in concern.

"I wouldn't worry about Yang, Velvet. Roy's with her, so I'm sure she'll be fine.," Odyn said smirking.

"Odyn's right. Roy will get her back to normal in no time.," Ruby said.

"Roy? (Looks at Odyn) You mean your brother?," Velvet said in question.

Odyn nodded.

"It may not look like it, but... I think having Roy with her is just what Yang needs right now.," Odyn said.

she puts Anesidora away in the box on her back.

"I think it's just awful what people are saying about her. Yang's such a nice person.," Velvet said.

"I think Yang would appreciate you saying that, Velvet.," Odyn said.

"I'm glad at least some people think so.," Ruby added laughing as she rubbed the back of her head.

Velvet shakes her head and crosses her arms as she speaks again.

"Most people don't know what it's like on the battlefield. I mean, even experienced fighters can get scared and start seeing things. If it happened to Coco, it can happen to anyone.," Velvet explained.

Ruby cocks her head to the side in confusion with visible question marks above her head.

"Coco?," Ruby asked.

"Yeah. She swore she saw Yatsu with her in the forest during the fight with Emerald and Mercury, but he never even made it out of the geyser fields. Stress-induced hallucinations, apparently.," Velvet said.

"Yeah....," Ruby said turning her head away in thought only to quickly turn back towards Velvet after a quick flash startled her.

"Oh, sorry!," Velvet said lowering the camera from her face and smiling apologetically.

What Ruby didn't know was Velvet managed to get a snap shot of Odyn as well. The rabbit faunus lowered her camera and spoke up again.

"Hey.. Ruby?," Velvet asked.

"Hmm? What's up, Velvet?," She asked.

"Can I ask you something?," Velvet said.

"Sure?," Ruby said uncertain on what the faunus wanted to ask her.

The rabbit faunus then whispered into her ear.

"So... are you an Odyn... an item like a heard?," Velvet asked in a whisper.

Ruby blushed and nodded before whispering back to the faunus.

"Y-Yeah... we are. O-Odyn is my boyfriend now.," Ruby admitted through the whisper back to Velvet.

The faunus then was wide eyed at the info she received from Ruby.

"I.. see.. when did that happen?," Velvet asked hesitantly.

"After the whole mess with the Grimm in the middle of Vale.," Ruby told her.

"Ah.. okay. S-So.. about a few days ago?," Velvet asked.

"Yeah... I uh... kinda was in love with Odyn for a long time before I could confess to him. Then it.. just kinda... happened.," Ruby admitted.

Velvet smiled. Although, she was hoping to get to know the dark elf better herself... She was happy for Ruby. Ruby and Odyn were cute together and she could tell that they were perfect for each other.

Odyn sensed the Faunus's thoughts and decided to speak.

"Velvet, I'm sure you'll find someone like that someday soon. It may even be sooner than you think.," Odyn said.

"You really think so?," the faunus girl asked.

Ruby smiled at her and nodded.

"I know you will, Velvet.," Ruby told her.

Odyn looked to Ruby.

"We'd better get going, Ruby.," Odyn said.

Ruby nodded, recognizing they needed to continue on. She waved to the Faunus, who waved back before the duo continued walking back towards the arena.

Time skip: back at the amity colliseum...

Back in the Colosseum, people are back in the stands cheering and ready for entertainment as Ruby and Odyn descended down the steps to a pair of open seats.

Despite everything that's happened, she's smiling widely, looking around at the assembled crowds...

"You seem happy, little rose.,"Odyn said.

She looked back at her boyfriend with a smile.

"Only because you're here with me, Odyn. I couldn't be happier about that.", She said.

Ruby became worried when she saw a certain familiar, glaring face on the other side of the arena.

"Emerald's... here? I thought Baron took care of her..," Ruby said worried.

"Not to worry, Rubes. This is just part of the plan. I had Baron wipe put her memory of what happened yesterday so she wouldn't be suspicious of us.," Odyn said.

"Wait... so you want her to do something?," Ruby asked.

Odyn nodded.

"Uh huh, it's part of our prey taking the bait before we catch them.," Odyn said before continuing.

"Even Mercury's here to help us out. If you're really that worried, I'll come with you.," Odyn said.

Ruby smiled at him.

"Thanks, dyn. I.. uh... really appreciate it.," Ruby said slightly blushing.

As if sensing she's being watched, Emerald leans forward to glare at Ruby, until she sees Odyn darkly glare back at her making her her look away in a cold sweat. Ruby and Odyn then got up and walked towards the exit tunnel.

Checking to see if no one was around, they enter a door labeled with a yellow maintenance sign and find themselves inside of the Colosseum. They continue to make their way forward with determination as the announcers' voices are heard, muffled behind the brick walls.

"All right, it's now time to begin the randomization process for our next fight!," Oobleck announced.

The sound of the roulette is heard faintly, but what makes Ruby stop in her tracks is the sight of another unexpected "friend" stepping out from a nearby tunnel, completely unharmed and definitely not going home.

She squints just to make sure it's really him.

"Mercury?," She asked surprised.

Mercury walked out of the shadows with a nervous chuckle rubbing his hand behind his head with a grin.

Ruby looked confused, not sure what was going on.

"It looks like our first contender is... Penny Polendina from Atlas...," Port announced.

Ruby attention from the broadcast to the fraud, still confused.

"What are you doing? I thought you were injured?," Ruby asked in confusion.

"Yeah... about that. It's uh... complicated.," Mercury said.

Ruby raised an eyebrow before seeing Mercury waving his hands frantically.

"But, don't worry! I don't plan on fighting you guys, in fact I'm here to help!," Mercury said.

"You.. are?," Ruby asked still confused.

Odyn patted Ruby's shoulder with a smile.

"Everything will become clear soon, little rose.," Odyn told her.

They then hear the announcement,  making the three teens blood run cold.

"And her opponent will be... Pyrrha Nikos from Beacon!," Port announced.

"Ooh, polarity versus metal. That could be bad... ooh boy..," Mercury said in realization.

Ruby dips her head as she realized the awful truth of what was happening. Mercury widened his eyes in panic as he looked towards Odyn.

The dark elf nodded.

"No...," Ruby said running towards the stands.

"This wasn't part of the plan!," Mercury said as he and Odyn ran after Ruby.

"Agreed Mercury, we need to stop that.," Odyn said.

Outside, the arena's center is lifting back into the air, and an oblivious Penny is grinning wildly, with her fellow redhead Nora cheering excitedly from the stands, even getting Ren to let out a reluctant "Yaaay..." The screen fades to black as Pyrrha, face and body still filled with depression, looks to the ground while the stage finishes being set up.

With Sybyrh, Zero, Valvahdern, and Tarro...

The group notices Cinder walking away from the colliseum and towards the docks. Sybrh then signals to her brothers with some movements of her her fingers. That alerted them as to where they should go before they snuck off without making a sound.

"What was that about?," Tarro asked quietly.

"That was so they'd know where to go. We're used to communicating like that as elven soldiers. We can do so without having to speak a word to each other.," Sybrh explained .

"Must be pretty handy to be able to know what the other is thinking without having to say anything.," Tarro said.

"Well, it does help that we're siblings.  We all know each other inside and out.," She admitted.

"Makes me wish we had a relationship like that.," Tarro said.

Sybrh looked at him.

"Ah sorry, not during a mission. I get it. It was a slio if the tongue, won't happen again.," Tarro said slightly panicking.

Sybrh shook her head and smiled at him.

"No, Tarro... I was just... surprised you felt that way. I value our friendship, but we can talk matters of the heart when this is over.," She said.

The saiyan nodded and refocused.

Sybrh would draw Cinder's attention before signaling for her brothers to come out.

The dark elven vanguard came out of the shadows, making sure Cinder knew she was there. Cinder stopped  and turned to see no one was there.

"Hm... curious.," She said before noticing a blade held to her throat.

"End of the line, human witch!," Sybrh said stepping out of an illusion.

She held her blade to the woman's throat as she glared at her. Cinder was surprised she never noticed her. Then again, elves were masters of stealth. So she probably wouldn't have picked up on the fact she was being followed even if she wanted to.

"And what makes you say that, forsak-..," She started to say before being quickly backhanded into the ground.

"Say that foul name again human scum, and I really will end your life just as quick as you came here!," Sybrh said snarling at the woman.

The guardsman allowed Cinder to stand , but still had her her blade trained on her.

"My apologies then, elf. I can see why your kind despise that name.," Cinder said after healing her wound.

"No thanks to you and your master.," Sybrh said.

Cinder was caught off guard by that.

"Oh.. what makes you think I work for anyone?," Cinder asks.

"Don't delude yourself,  human... no ..  You're part Grimm, aren't you?," Sybrh replied catching another reaction from Cinder.

"We know.. Don't think we dark elves don't know who you are a slave to. You're a pawn for Salem, the one who thinks she owns this world. But trust me, you haven't seen true face of horror yet. Not by a long shot.," Sybrh said.

"The true face of horror? Whatever do you mean by that?," Cinder asked.

"Don't play dumb, girl. You know. Creatures wrapped in shadow with beady red eyes and their presence makes you feel sick to your stomach. I'm speaking of the denizens of the underworld..., Devils.," Sybrh said.

The other elves ready their weapons, just in case Cinder tries anything.

"We know you're planning on taking over,  Beacon and stealing the remaining power from the Fall Maiden. What I'm wondering is.. why do you need that power? That power, that magic was never meant to be possessed by hands like yours. Hands filled with darkness. Perhaps you could.. enlighten us as to why you need that power.," Sybrh said.

Valvahdern then came forward with his blade pointed forward before he sticks it into the ground.

"Don't think you can go anywhere, Cinder Fall. We've got a few questions that we'd like to have answered.

Cinder looked up and realized that a powerful magic barrier had been put in place. She clicked her tongue and cursed, she had fallen right into the middle of the elves trap.

To be continued...

Ending theme: Koukai no Uta (MHA season 4 ending 1)

Visuals: Ranges from the characters introduced so far before turning to a dark screen split between the heroes and villains. Mercury struggles to choose a side until hands from the lighter image reach out to him and shatter his dark background. It then shows stills of each character in range of importance in the story before ending with the forces of light behind Team Rwby and Odyn looking up to Cinder and the forces of darkness.

Hey guys! Sorry if I ended the chapter on a cliff hanger. I figured Cinder getting trapped by the dark elves was as good of a place as any to end the chapter. I know I skipped most of the episode called "Beginning of the End", that was due to me changing the flashback. Cinder's original flashback and the original dialogue don't make much sense for this story since well... Mercury is a good guy now. For that reason, I had to skip over parts of the dialogue between him, Emerald,  and Cinder.

I tried keeping Cinder's character in tact, i hope i did a good job of that anyways lol 😂.  Plus, I figured more clear development for Roy x Yang couldn't hurt anything. Next chapter will be a bit of a doozy because of what's happening in the story currently. Also because Pyrrha has a dark elven soul inside of her, it will impact what happens to her. Will she still die? I can't exactly say yet, you'll just have to find out. I'm writing Ironwood different so he.. doesn't ultimately end up becoming a bad guy like what happened in.. actually nevermind because that's spoilers for volume 6-8 in the cannon story.

This version of ironwood will be a little different. Before we go, here are the pairings I'm considering:

Hailfire x Sun

Blake x Shallot

Beat x Note

Baron x Flare

Jaune x Pyrrha/Sarai

Zero x Jinjer

Scarlett x Yatsuhashi

Giblet x Velvet

Sybrh x Tarro

That's what I'm thinking for pairings excluding the main ones, which can't be changed at this point. Let me know in the comments or leave a review on which characters of the above list should end up together and if you feel like it tell me why they'd be a good match.

Anyways, that's all for now. See ya in the next one!

Next time: Chapter 23: PvP; Cinder's Trap (Finale) part 6 (VI)