RWBY Through Worlds

171: Conquerors

As soon as the Grimm was gone, Blake and Weiss, who'd been distracted by Emerald so that they were swinging at nothing, snapped out of it.

"Huh?" Blake looked around, dropping her weapon.

"What just happened?" Weiss rubbed her head. "I feel like I was dreaming."

Emerald sighed and sank to the sand. "That was brutal, for so long..."

"Why didn't you fry it?" Sun asked Ruby.

"Everyone seemed to have it under control," Ruby said. "Last time I did that with something this big it didn't really work. It was better to just kill it, right? If I just turned it to stone, we might not have gotten through to it."

"We've still got it," Qrow said to Raven.

"Don't fist bump," Raven said flatly. "I hate that."

"Wasn't gonna," Qrow said sullenly.

Winter landed next to them and looked distastefully at the water, then she ran towards Weiss.

"Are you all right?" she asked, taking her shoulders.

"I think so..." Weiss said. Her eyes were back to normal.

She suddenly looked at her arm, and she had a bruise. "Ow..."

Winter cast a look at Yang and Blake.

"I think we were fighting," Blake said. "I remember I was suspicious of the thing, but then it started talking, and I just got completely scrambled. Did I hurt anybody?" She seemed near tears.

"Nah, it wasn't bad," Sun said hastily. "I'm sure Yang could take a few marks."

Yang looked at her arms and rubbed her face. She had a cut along one cheek. Might have been from Weiss.

"It started off looking harmless," she said. "I don't understand why I wasn't suspicious immediately."

"Don't worry about it, Firecracker," Qrow said. "It clearly messed with our heads. Was probably part of its trick. At least you're okay."

"And I'm okay," Raven said pointedly. "I was almost eaten, you know."

"Ah, Raven, don't be so overdramatic," Qrow said. "I'm sure that wasn't the first time that happened to you."

Raven shoved him into the water.

Qrow spat water out and gave her a nonplussed look, but she flounced away.

"Mad skills, girl!" Sun was saying to Vara, who had landed on the sand, breathing hard.

"I haven't done that in a long time, on a real opponent," Vara said. "But I still got it."

"You looked really hot," Theo said. "I would have fallen for you all over again if I could."

"I see you haven't lost your boomerang arm," Vara said. "Good to know that age doesn't always take its toll."

"It was like you had eyes in the back of your head," Sun said. "How did you do that?"

"My sensitivity gives me a lot of spatial awareness," Vara said. "I could feel it in the air before it happened. It's hard to explain."

"Dang, I wish I could do that," Sun said.

"No, you really don't." She frowned.

Then she seemed tired. "That took it out of me."

She sank into the sand and winced.

Theo held her up gingerly.

"Mate, you did it." Meridian was talking to Neptune, who was scrambling as far away from the water as possible.