Heroes and Monsters

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The Wyvern flies past the hijacked Atlesian Airship, as Ruby looks on, with the surrounding Griffons roaming the skies. A Griffon lands on the airship, but Ruby easily cuts it down with Crescent Rose, causing to disintegrate into black particles. But suddenly, she hears a snap, turning to see Neo, now changing into her standard attire with a wave of light washing over her from bottom to top, as she winks after taking a picture of Ruby, sending it to a certain crime lord with the following text:
"Guess Who?"

"Oh, you can not be serious!" Roman told himself, having realized his old foe is interfering yet again, the wanted criminal quickly picks up Melodic Cudgel and walks up to the top of the airship.

The battle commences as Ruby performs a low swing, with Neo somersaulting over it, and ducking the next swing, before performing another backflip to dodge the third. Ruby then twirls Crescent Rose before attempting another low sweep, only for Neo to backflip away from her consecutive twirls. Once Ruby finishes spinning her weapon, she lodges Crescent Rose on the hull and fires a shot, only for Neo to shatter in an illusion. Revealing Roman as he fires a shot back with Melodic Cudgel, sending Ruby flying several feet before she lodges Crescent Rose to grip herself from the surrounding gales safely. At the same time, Roman walks up to her, "Little Red, Little Red, you are just determined to be the hero of Vale, aren't cha?"
"What are you doing!? Without these ships, the Grimm will destroy everything!" Ruby shouted.
"That's the plan!"

Ruby then swats aside Melodic Cudgel just as he attempts to fire it at her, causing him to move a few feet off-balance, before Neo returns and leaps over her, kicking Ruby's left cheek, and using the momentum to flip her over and send Ruby tumbling on her back. Neo then follows up with a roundhouse to the face, and a rear horse kick to nearly send her careening off the hull of the airship.
"But why!? What do you get out of it!?"

"You're asking the wrong questions, Red! It's not what I have to gain; it's that I can't afford to lose!"

As Ruby charges, Neo vaults over Roman for a powerful kick. She then leaps up, grabs Crescent Rose, and slides under, flipping Ruby once more with the hook of her parasol. As Ruby spins midair, the pint-sized powerhouse finishes with a roundhouse to the abdomen, as Roman slams the barrel of Melodic Cudgel to the ground and fires, causing the cane to ricochet and hit Ruby, before catching it and firing the weapon once more over his shoulder. The blast is enough to send Ruby holding on for dear life, with the embedded blade of Crescent Rose the only thing preventing her from falling.

"I may be a gambling man, but even I know that there are some bets you just don't take."

Neo then extends her blade and drags it on the surface, as she holds Ruby at swordpoint, "Like it or not, the people that hired me are going to change the world! You can't stop 'em; I can't stop 'em! Once the Saint is with us, their plan will be fool-proof."

As Roman continues, Ruby kicks away a Nevermore and notices the button on Neo's parasol, "You know the old saying, 'If you can't beat 'em-'" Suddenly, Ruby reaches for the umbrella, causing it to open and send Neo flying off the airship, leaving her with a frightened gasp as she is silently left at the mercy of the Grimm roaming the skies and the raging winds, "NEO!"

"I don't care what you say! We will stop them, and I will stop you! BET ON THAT!!"

As Ruby charges at top speed with the use of her Semblance, Roman grips Melodic Cudgel with both hands, the left hand holding the shaft, as he quickly catches the projectile with the hook end and hurls it at Ruby, knocking her away, before smacking her with the business end of the cane, ramming the weapon in her stomach, and firing another shot, sending her on her back once more, "You got spirit, Red. But this is the real world!"

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