As Usual, I Do Not Own Any Part Of RWBY, Nor Have Any Affiliation With RoosterTeeth or RWBY.
Like any other day in Beacon, Pyrrha finds herself out matching every one of her classmates(the brave ones), dodging and countering every strike they attempt. To the viewers, it is a graceful and powerful show, but to her opponents, an infuriating struggle to land a single hit on the redhead warrior. Each thrown attack felt as if it tripped on its own, moving out of the path of trajectory from where it originally were to land, followed by a powerful clash of a spear, and a shield bash, sending them to the ground. Classmates around clap after each match, but Pyrrha takes no boast in this - she's only doing what she's trained to do.
"Excellent combat, Ms. Nikos, as always," Glynda remarks, making notes on her pad. "Would anyone else care to spar?" Silence ensues the whole arena. 'Just the typical response after facing 10 people in a row', Pyrrha says to herself. "Very well," Glynda says abruptly. "Before you are dismissed, I have a reminder. Next class meeting, a special guest will arrive and take over this class. They come from another Kingdom, and has personally requested to teach this class. You are advised to be well prepared, and well-combated. You are dismissed." She takes, and with so, leaves the arena. Everyone now begins murmuring, taking wild guesses as to who the mystery guest may be.
"Oh but what if it's-"
"No, it might be-"
"But, they're in-"
"Will Pyrrha still beat them regardless?"
Now the arena was filled with pure conversation of whether or not Pyrrha could win a match against the mystery guest. Pyrrha sighs, and walks out of the arena as well.
"H-hey! Pyrrha!" A voice calls out. Pyrrha stops and looks to see Jaune running awkwardly towards her, but she smiles regardless. Jaune was always a good friend to her, someone who liked her for her, and not for her title. He stops next to her, panting like an old dog.
"Gosh, it was so crowded back there! Everyone just talking, and not moving!" He says through his breath, hand on his knees. He gets back up, and asks Pyrrha a very, very agitating question. "Hey Pyrrha," he begins. "Are you really going to face off with the mystery person?" Pyrrha's faced twitched in frustration.
"Did you just assume that, Jaune? Did it just pop into your mind that I would automatically want to face off with the next person that shows up in the Arena!?" She says in a rage. Jaune takes a step back, beleaguered.
"Whoa, I'm sorry! I was just, curious, y'know!" Jaune says hastily, avoiding eye contact with Pyrrha. People begin looking at the two, making Jaune even more nervous. "I was gonna ask you, but it seemed kinda obvious, with everyone saying you're going to.."
"Oh, so you never bothered to even ask me personally, but instead chose to assume, by other's opinion, and not mine!?" She continues, jabbing a finger at Jaune. Jaune doesn't say anything, for he is absolutely ashamed of "realizing" what Pyrrha meant. More people begin looking, and whispers ensue.
Pyrrha looks at him angrily, then turns around and begins walking away. "You might as well do JUST that, Jaune." She says without looking back. Jaune looks up and wants to run to Pyrrha, when he feels a hard slap on his spine, causing him to lose footing.
"Heya, blondy!" Yang says heartily, her being the one that slapped him. Jaune regains his balance and sees Yang and the rest of RWBY, smiling at him. He half-smiles back.
"What's up, Jaune?" Ruby says with a slightly tilted head, attempting to align her head with Jaune's. "We just saw you talking with Pyrrha, and she just left in a flurry."
Jaune smiles vaguely, and stands upright. "I just wanted to ask her something, and she started yelling at me."
"Well, at least you of all people did. Everyone else is just too scared to even approach her, let alone ask the question you most likely asked her.." Weiss bluntly states, arms crossed, looking in the direction of which Pyrrha went. She notices people finally walking across the halls, once Pyrrha had left.
"It's still not right to ask such a thing, Jaune." Blake adds, eyeing the crowd as well. "Girls are sensitive beings, and the last thing we want is to be asked that kind of question."
Jaune didn't quite understood her meaning, but begins walking anyways. "Yeah…," he says in bland agreement. "Hey, uh, I'll catch you guys later," and walks hastily out the arena.
Yang puts a hand on her hips, smiling as if she was proud to see Jaune act the way he did.
"He's never gonna get it, is he?" She says jokingly.
"Nope." Ruby agrees.
"It's his fault for being so oblivious." Weiss adds.
"He's innocently clueless, but stupidly oblivious." Blake finishes. The team then begin walking as well.
_Ozpin's Office, Beacon_
Professor Ozpin is sitting in his chair, looking out the giant window behind his desk, coffee mug in one hand, and his cane in the other. Days like these don't appear where he can just sit, drink his coffee and reflect the past few days at Beacon. Especially not during these times, with the White Fang beginning to make their move, and all Four Kingdoms responding. Ozpin checks his watch.
"Ah, he should be just about arriving." He says softly.
"Professor, he's here." Glynda Goodwitch says immediately after Ozpin's mutter. A man is seen standing next to her.
"Ah." Ozpin replies, turning his chair around, setting his mug down and interlocking his fingers. "I honestly can say that this a surprise. I also find myself honored to have you back here after many years." A bit of silence engulfs the room. Ozpin feels rather nervous, but can't understand why. "Please. Sit." He says, gesturing at the chairs in front.
The mysterious person walks towards the chair, each step an almost confident, but humble approach to Ozpin. This person is wearing clothing that would seem odd for a professor or any sort of instructor - no, it seemed more along the lines of a pastor's outfit. A white robe and jacket, threaded in gold and red. Even as he sat down, he still looked taller than Ozpin, and much bulkier.
"It should be me thanking you for your time, Ozpin." The man says.
"No, no, I'm happy to accommodate for a former colleague. It's like they say, 'home, sweet, home.'" Ozpin replies. He feels as if he is shaking, and he can't seem to edge it off. Why was his body acting up? "Now, then, Pastor of the Red Earth Clan, Priest Ichor. What did you have in mind?" He begins.
Priest crosses a leg, and adjusts himself and his short, blonde hair. "I'd like to teach the Combat Class tomorrow, specifically when this," he says, revealing a small picture of someone with red hair, "particular student is attending."
Ozpin glances at the photo, only moving his eyes, as if he felt that he was being watched. "Pyrrha Nikos. She's been quite the talk at this Academy. I'd never would have thought that someone like you would also take an interest in her as well."
"It's not exactly an interest. More along the lines of a concern. It's about her Semblance." Priest says sternly.
"Her Polarity? What's there to be concerned about?" Ozpin asks.
"I won't go into detail, but I've gathered information about potential top-class Hunters and Huntresses. Nikos stands out as one of them, however, reviewing her battle data and her Polarity, it's some to my attention that she relies too heavily on that ability. It's honorable that she does not use it to its fullest and most destructive extent, but it bothers me to see a up and coming Huntress have such reliance on it. So much, that I feel the need to show her, and perhaps her classmates, not to depend solely on their Semblances." Priest explains. Glynda herself began listening carefully. After all, she teaches the class Nikos attends.
"Excuse me, Mr. Ichor, but how exactly do you plan on teaching my students to 'to not rely on their Semblances'?" She asks curiously, but felt a bit timid in asking, something she's never felt since she was a child. Priest chuckles.
"Ms. Goodwitch, trying using your weapon, right now." Priest says, getting out of the chair and facing her, arms open. Ozpin closely examines Priest's movements.
"I beg your pardon, but that would damage the property around us, not to mention you and the Professor, and most of all, alert the students around the campus. I will not do such a thing." She declines politely, the timid feeling intensifying.
"I get the feeling that you're just lazy to repair the damages, Witch. Or do you still carry your hard pride around like that diary of yours?" Priest mocks.
Glynda acts on impulse. As she is about to use her weapon, she feels a tremendous pulse emanating from Priest, and she sees her magic circle slowly fading into nothingness. She shakes it off, and attempts it again, but now the circle won't even appear. Once again, she tries. Again, she is denied it activating, now searing her hand in pain and burning flesh. Ozpin's eyes widen in shock as Glynda throws her weapon, glowing white and warping the tile it lands on.
"W-what have you done!?" Glynda says frantically, stepping back.
"Hey, your weapon fizzled and damaged the property there. I'm just here, completely unarmed." Priest says, lowering his arms, and then crossing them.
"Priest, I thought your Semblance was 'Purity', the ability to abolish any true evil. What did you just do right now?" Ozpin says calmly, but his heart racing in anxiety.
"What I did there, Oz, was something different from Purity." Priest responds, turning towards him. "Do you recall Professor Xander's Theory of Semblance and Semblance Network Complexity? Particularly, the topic of 'evolving one's Semblance'?"
Ozpin lifts an eyebrow. "Am I witnessing one of the few Hunters who underwent a metamorphosis of their Semblances, a excruciatingly rare thing to witness in the entire history of our existence?"
"The theory's true, Oz." Priest says, beginning to leave the room. Glynda falls to her knee, panting in fear and anxiety. "Hunters can take further steps into protecting everyone in this world, and that is something I wish to show the students here."
"Do you have a name for your newly found Semblance?" Ozpin asks.
"I was going to call it 'Judgement', but after practicing and figuring out its works, I decided to call it 'Absolve' - the ability to weaken the surrounding area's Aura, including living things. It also has a nastier side effect - Dust reacts rather violently to it. If it's in a chamber of sorts, it'll overheat, burning its holder. If exposed to me for too long, or if I focus on it, it can blow up, and we know how dangerous Dust is when it comes to explosions."
"That is a rather dangerous Semblance. How did the Council take to it?"
"I told them, 'this is the Semblance that will reveal the Truth. I am going to show the future generation just that." And with that, Priest left the office.
_Evening at Beacon, JNPR's Room_
"-And then there was huuuuuugeee fish that came out of nowhere, and it starting puking PANCAKES, can you believe it, and then Jaune tossed maple syrup at it, and Yang was driving a motorcycle with PANCAKE wheels, and a PANCAKE helmet, and it was just, GAH!~" Nora squeals in ecstasy, flailing her arms as she continues babbling her not-so-obvious pancake nirvana dream to her teammates and RWBY, whom she invited as well.
"Okay, Nora, I think you've eaten one too many pancakes this morning," Yang says in an effort to shut her up, but Nora seems to have already knocked out, and is snoring on Ren's lap.
"She's...not gonna budge." Ren says in pure discomfort . Attempting anyways, but failing miserably, he sighs, and slouches his body to the wall, staring up at the ceiling.
"Aw, such an adorable couple," Yang says jokingly. Everyone giggles, and Ren turns his head away from the group. Nora's face turns red, giggling in instinctual response.
"Honestly, though," Weiss begins. "Who's going to teach us tomorrow?"
"What if it's my Uncle Qrow!?" Ruby says in awe. "He's such an awesome teacher, I mean, he taught me, and, well, here I am!"
"Ruby, Professor Goodwitch said that the teacher is coming from another Kingdom. You said your uncle lives here, in Vale, so that automatically rules him out." Blake points out. Ruby lets her head fall a bit.
"I can think of maybe, one person who'd wanna teach here..." Jaune says. Everyone, bar Pyrrha, turns to face him. "Well, actually...maybe two.." he murmurs, and everyone scoffs.
"I'm still thinking it's Captain Vermillio," Weiss says. "I mean, he was one of the greatest students of his time! And he attended Beacon!"
"How about we just wait for tomorrow?" Pyrrha says out of the blue. "It's just a different teacher. It'll be the same lecture, same spars, just different wording." She continues, not moving her eyes to avoid looking at him. Everyone else, excluding Jaune, got the message.
"Well, I guess it is past your bedtime…," Yang says, stretching and yawning. Everyone else gets up and stretches as well, and one by one, they leave, waving JNPR goodbye.
As the door closes, Jaune looks at Pyrrha. "Hey, Pyrrha, why do you sound so mad? Are you mad at something?" he asks her.
"Goodnight, Jaune." She responds, heading to her bed, and just laying there, facing the wall. Jaune remains there, staring at Pyrrha, shocked to hear her talk in such a way.
"Ok...'night to you, too..," He says softly, and shimmies to his bed, and lies down, facing the other side of the wall. A moment's silence pass, and then Ren speaks.
"...Who's gonna turn off the lights? I can't sleep with it on." Ren says in dull helplessness.
"Goodnight, Ren," Pyrrha and Jaune say in unison. Ren thumps his head on the wall, sighing.
Surprisingly enough, everyone slept well.
_Next Morning, Arena_
JNPR and RWBY sit in their usual spots in the Arena, looking about for the "mystery teacher". Well, not everyone. Jaune is too busy trying to say something to Pyrrha, who has been looking for something to stare at blankly, ignoring Jaune. Nora has been continuously hiding her ever so scarlet face from everyone since the morning, especially when Ren is nearby, and Yang and Ruby are horsing around. A couple of minutes pass, and the class begins filling up the seats, awaiting for either Goodwitch or the "Mystery Teacher". After what seemed to be eons, Goodwitch appears from the lower entrance.
"Hello, class. As you may remember from our previous meeting, a...special guest (she discretely shudders at the thought of Priest) who traveled from Atlas to here to teach this specific class on the topic of Semblances, Dust, and Weapon Usage. Please, give a warm, Beacon welcome to the Pastor of the Red Earth Clan, Priest Ichor!" And with that Glynda steps aside, while Priest begins walking towards the open Arena, and applause soon surrounds him. Oddly enough, Priest is not wearing his white-gold-red outfit Glynda had become accustomed to yesterday, but instead a outfit with a gray color, and azure and ivy threads. He waves around, smiling at the students, and once again, Goodwitch feels that same miserable feeling. Even her burnt hand replays the pain from yesterday.
"Thank you! Truly, I am grateful to be here!" Priest yells, acting as if he was...well, preaching. "Now I guess the formal way to do this would be to introduce myself, tell you a bit about me, and perhaps thrown in a cheesy joke, but I'm not gonna do that!" He continues. The class looks at him oddly. What kind of teacher does that anyways?
Priest takes a deep breath, exhales, and begins eyeing around, looking for the redhead. "Where to begin…" He says, his tone much more intimidating and authoritative, turning a few degrees every so often. "..Well, I can start with this. I am very disappointed in the way you have been taught here at this academy." Glynda lifts an eyebrow, but dares not to say anything. Everyone else begins murmuring. Priest now begins walking slowly.
"I say this because I too, was taught at this top-class Academy. I, too, sat in this very Arena, perhaps on this very day, and probably in that specific chair," He says, pointing at a random girl in the crowd. She looks at him with a disgusted face, and turns away.
"However, while the teachings were as mundane as they may be today...what separates my generation from yours, children, is how we taught ourselves to fight under virtually any circumstance." Priest babbles on, using his hands as a means of catching everyone's attention. "Little known fact - this Academy once allowed students to use the Arenas as a 'study hall' of sorts, where teams could spar continuously, under the given time limit, and this was a simple promotion of diverse fighting ethics. However, one specific incident that happened during my years here, forced the Academy to revoke such law."
Whispers go on in the crowd. "What's he even talking about?" "What does this have to do with Semblances or even Combat?"
"I say this because of the sheer freedom Hunters and Huntresses once had here. You all spar here every day, and I know that almost every one of you has experienced being disarmed, yes?" Priest continues, receiving whispers of agreement, and the occasional name of the girl.
"And by the rules established, once you have been disarmed, you are to automatically give up, yes? Well, what if I said, that in my time, disarming an opponent's weapon meant as little as staring down an Ursa, and hoping for it to go away with its tail between its legs?" Priest asks, hoping for someone to say something. Just whispers. Priest felt the need to amp the lecture.
"I guess these days, it's easier to teach something by showing it first. Do I have any volunteers?" Priest demands, extending his arm outward, as if he was expecting someone to grab onto it. Everyone shifts positions, and begins avoiding eye contact with him - they were more terrified of Priest molesting them than beating them to a pulp. Priest makes a "tsk" noise, and then points to his left, right around JNPR.
"You there, with the pink extension," Priest says bluntly, looking at Ren, who doesn't make any reaction visible. "Come on, no one else wanted to, so I had to pick. Spar with me. You look like you could handle your own."
Ren gets up, and casually launches down into the arena. Glynda begins setting up the screen to record the two's Auras. Priest takes a crane-style stance, perfectly balanced on his right foot. Ren takes his stance, Stormflower in hand. He notices that Priest does not have his weapon out, nor does it look like he's concealing it.
"You're not going to use your weapon, Professor?" He asks.
"I hate to shatter your ego, but this is not the first time I've had a gun pointed at me." Priest retorts. Ren felt agitated, however he showed no facial expressions for it. He lunges forward, and begins shooting at Priest. Priest jumps high into the air, landing behind Ren, back to back. Ren tries to turn around, but as he does, he feels an incredible sense of pain on both his hands.
"Gah!" He shrieks, throwing his weapons aside, and then backs away from Priest
"Too hot to handle, kid?" Priest chuckles. Ren's eye twitches. He tries to feint Priest, by moving from his left side, then pivot back to his right side in order to be behind Priest. However, Priest drops to the ground, rolls backwards, and does a helicopter kick, forcing Ren back to his starting position. Furiously, Ren runs at him again, preparing his palm for a strike. Priest beams upon viewing his action, and immediately charges forwards as well. As Ren is about to thrust his palm, Priest grabs Ren's wrist with his left hand, counter palm strikes him in the mid torso, subsequently twists his arm, putting Ren to the ground. Ren yells in pain as Priest twists his arm too far, causing some small fractures inside his bones. Jaune, Pyrrha and Nora, and Team RWBY jump from their seats, feeling the urge to help Ren. When was torturing students a thing in this Academy?
"Like I said, too much reliance on your damn weapons!" Priest yells out, holding Ren down. "A real Beacon student would've easily figured out a way to get out of this!"
Ren immediately pushes himself up, doing a maneuver that forces Priest to flip to the side, while Ren recovers, holding his somewhat useless arm.
"Oh, you're getting it, ain't you?" Priest says proudly. He goes into a much more awkward stance, his left leg stretching as far as possible, while his right knee is bent, and his hands are pointed at Ren, almost like a gun shape. "C'mon now, let's continue." He taunts.
Ren shakes the pain off, and runs at Priest again. This time, he goes for a flying kick, hoping to surprise him at the last moment. It didn't. Priest leaned slightly to the right, removing himself the kick's trajectory. He then thrust his gun fingers directly into Ren's left side, making him slam into the arena floor. A second passes, and suddenly Ren begins screaming in hellish pain, holding the area where Priest had struck. Priest turns around upon hearing this.
"Oh c'mon, it wasn't that hard. It was just a poke to your floating rib." He says sternly. Everyone in the crowd begins talking in panic.
"Stop this match!" Pyrrha yells out. Glynda looks at her worryingly. Priest wanted this to happen, and she can't do anything about it. "Professor Goodwitch, this is outrageous! He's seriously injured!"
Glynda hangs her head in shame and utter helplessness. "Look at his Aura, Ms. Nikos." She says, pointing at the screen. Despite the immense amount of pain dealt to Ren, his Aura has barely lowered, only by about 15% at best. Pyrrha's eyes widened, as well as the other students who had just realized this. No one notices Ren's screaming stopping, as he apparently faints from the pain.
"I won't let this continue!" She blurts out, and jumps into the arena, her weapon and shield at the ready. Priest averts his attention to the enraged Pyrrha, who has Milos in its rifle form, pointed at him.
"Ms. Nikos, you know you're not allowed to enter the arena during a spar! Return to your seat, NOW!" Glynda says angrily on the outside, but desperate on the inside.
"I'm sorry, Professor, but I will be breaking some rules here. I cannot allow one of my friends to be hurt and humiliated like that." Pyrrha says in tension, keeping her eyes on Priest.
"I won't ask again, Pyrrha." Glynda says with an extreme tone. "Go. Back. To. Your-"
"She's right, Professor." Ruby says, appearing behind Pyrrha, Crescent Rose in hand. "This isn't right."
"Sorry, Prof, but we're still young. We're gonna break some rules. Might as well be this." Yang says, walking up to the two girls, Ember Celica ready.
"I'm not going to hold myself responsible for this, either." Weiss says, in hand, Myrtenaster at a fencing position.
"This is cruelty. I don't stand for cruelty." Blake says.
"I-I.. I was sorta dragged into this…" Jaune says out the blue, standing next to Pyrrha. Nora appears as well, but doesn't say anything, holding Magnhild with both hands, head down. Pyrrha turns and sees the rest of JNPR, and RWBY supporting her.
"Guys, we're breaking a big rule. Are you sure about this?" Pyrrha says.
"Pyrrha, look out!" Ruby says abruptly.
Pyrrha turns around, and sees Priest up and dangerously close to her, his palm aiming to strike her. As she tries putting her shield up, Yang dashes in, and guards the oncoming attack, but pushing her back against Pyrrha, who holds on to her to stop them from hitting the wall. Priest remains in his position, his eyes now on Yang.
"Hey, blonde gal. You got a real bad hair problem. That'll get in the way in real combat." Priest says, eyeing Yang's hair with a fierce stare. Yang stares right back, readying her fists. "Trust me, Professor, my hair's the last thing anyone would be worried about," she says, and advances towards Priest. She raises a fist, and Priest holds his hand out, blocking her punch, including the bullets expelling from Celica. Priest then trips Yang and then grips her hair from middle, and yanks it. Everyone in the arena braced themselves. No one, touches the hair.
"YOU PIECE OF-", Yang yells, attempting to perform an uppercut with her right arm, which lands, however, Priest remains in place, not even reacting to her punch. Yang tries hitting him in the rib cage, hits him, but Priest remains gripping her hair, his face slowly getting angrier. He then stops her last punch, and headbutts her, and she is knocked out, now being dangled from her golden locks.
"You're in Beacon, young lady. It's about time you showed it. We'll start with this hair!' Priest lifts a hand again, in what looked like an attempt to karate chop her hair off, but is blown back by Ruby's bullet. He flies a few meters away, but does not fall.
"Oi...oi." He says madly, standing up straight again. "You think a cape and a skirt is a professional attire? And what is that, black jumpers!? They allow kids in here, too!?" He begins bellowing.
Ruby switches back to her scythe, then activates her Semblance, flying towards Priest. Priest throws his hand up, and a sudden pulse is felt throughout the room. As soon as she is about to strike,Ruby felt as though she had slowed down. What she didn't realize was that her Semblance was not working, and Priest could see her again. Priest immediately grabs Crescent Rose, and hammers her to the floor with it. He then maneuvers it around, slamming the handle on Ruby's back.
"Gah!" Ruby shrieks as she hits cold floor, her own weapon forcing her to remain in that position.
"A scythe….who taught you to wield a dangerous weapon?" Priest demands, applying more agonizing pressure on Ruby's back.
"M-my uncle Qrow…," Ruby breathlessly, tears forming from the unbearable pain and fear she feels from Priest. Priest raises an eyebrow.
"And here I thought the guy was nothing but brittle bones….to think he has a niece that fights like him…." Priest mutters to himself. Suddenly, Blake and Weiss come charging at him, both enraged at the sight of Ruby in harm. Blake creates a Shadow Clone, the two attempting to flank Priest, while Weiss uses her Glyphs and Myrtenaster, attempting to thrust at him.
Priest releases Ruby from the pressure, then uses Crescent Moon, blocking and then striking Blake's doppelganger with the handle, and then suddenly uses the trigger on the weapon, shooting a bullet to Blake, who could not dodge it in time. She and her clone slam into the walls, Blake receiving a concussion from the bullet hitting her in the head. Weiss was left face to face with the preacher. Nonetheless, she continues, activating a glyph and as she attempts to strike, Priest drops Ruby's weapon, wraps his arm around Myrtenaster, with his hand gripping on the chamber.
"Your skirt's too short, it looks flammable, and not to mention, looks expensive! Unpractical, and unacceptable!" He then pulls her in, landing a palm strike to her forehead, sending the Ice Queen flying across the arena and into the stands. The classmates around scream in terror, and begin fleeing the arena. Glynda does not think to repair the damage - Priest would involve her in this too, and she does not want a do-over of yesterday, especially not in front of her students.
Nora immediately dashes in with Magnhild in its grenade launcher form, and begins launching grenades at Priest, while Jaunes charges in awkwardly, Crocea Mors in his hand. Priest stands upright, and holds out his right hand in front of Nora, Jaune and the grenades. A sudden pulse, and the grenades almost seems to float in air, however, the duo does not take notice. As soon as they are ready to strike, another pulse is felt, and the grenades that were suspended, blow up, and a cloud of pink smoke encloses Jaune, the only one to have been caught in the explosion radius.
"Jaune!" Pyrrha screams out, attempting to join the fray, rushing to the smoke.
"Be a bit selfish - protect yourself!" Priest says, running at Nora, who was distracted by the explosions. She changes Magnhild into its hammer form, and attempts to swing at Priest, which he easily dodges, pivoting 90 degrees around Nora, appearing at her right side.
"I wasn't gonna say anything until I saw that big excuse for a weapon.." Priest says, grabbing Nora's arm. She tries to swing back, but Priest uses his Semblance, causing Nora to scream and dropping Magnhild, it steaming profusely.
"I knew a girl who could fight without her weapon, and she was much shorter. What a damn shame." Priest scolds, making Nora face him, and does a flying knee kick to her stomach. As her body doubles over, Priest grabs her legs, and then begins spinning in mid-air for a second, before landing on the ground. He continues spinning Nora around in a hammer throw like manner, and then releases her, sending Nora into the smoke.
"Oof!" goes a voice, and Jaune appears out of the smoke on the other side, Nora's head bashed into Jaune's breastplate. They both crash in the wall, and no other sound was made from them.
"Woulda look at that. Everyone that challenged me, gone within 10 minutes! Everyone, except for…." Priest turns to face Pyrrha, who was standing there with her eyes widened, traumatized at the sight of all her friends beaten by this man.
"Ms. Nikos." Priest says, returning to a normal standing position.
"I don't even know if I can call you Professor anymore. Why did you do this?" Pyrrha asks, entering her stance as well.
"Goodwitch didn't tell you all the exact truth. This is not a lesson about Weapons, Dust, or even Semblance." Priest says, maintaining eye contact while circling around Pyrrha. "You see, I'm aware of the problems Vale is going through. I've heard of the circumstances. But my problem is, none of you realize that this is only common, weak issues."
"You're from a different Kingdom." Pyrrha says.
"Atlas." Priest responds. "It's not my home Kingdom, but that is where I now reside, for reasons I shouldn't say, but will." Priest stops moving. Nothing happens for a moment, and then he finally talks.
"There's a war going on, everyone." He says, raising his voice so that anyone else left in the arena could hear. "Everyone in every Kingdom knows and feels it. Something big is about to happen again. People will get hurt. People will die."
Glynda turns her head away, gripping her digital pad. Ozpin has mentioned this before, especially when Ironwood began showing up in Vale, with his high and mighty military prancing about.
"Everyone here needs to understand - the peace is over. We're going to lose more if we don't take this seriously. And that is where our future Hunters and Huntresses fail to understand." Priest continues. "Pyrrha Nikos, I want you to know, that if the time comes, and there is a major crisis, you amongst hundreds of other, what would be considered top-class Hunters, will be…drafted, if you may, to fight against any enemy, Grimm, Faunus, or Human, that threaten the balance of the Four Kingdoms. I know your Semblance. The Council knows it. They now how destructive it can really be, and to them, you are a most valued asset."
"Is that what I am to the Council? Just an asset? And what about everyone else here? All the other Hunters and Huntresses? What are they to the Council?" Pyrrha demands.
Priest begins walking towards the exit, almost shambling. "The truth is, they're just the next casualties." he says bluntly.
Pyrrha lets out a scream, and using her Polarity, lifts all of the weapons in the arena, each one aiming at Priest. As she is about to launch them, Goodwitch steps in, and conjures up a giant magical shield, blocking Pyrrha.
"Professor!" Pyrrha says in shock.
"I'm sorry, Ms. Nikos." Glynda says, watching Priest walk away. "Please - do not provoke him any further." Her voice hints tears being held back.
Pyrrha lets the weapons fall down, each to their respective owners, and herself to the ground.
"Drafted? War? What does he mean? Professor, what is he talking about?" She demands.
Goodwitch says nothing, and continues to look at Priest walking away.
'The peace is over.' Priest's words echo across everyone's minds.
_Midnight, Infirmary, Beacon_
Nora and Jaune are sitting in the infirmary, the only two out of the 7 who regained consciousness after being dealt by Priest. Nora is watching over Ren, who now has a cast over his arm, the result of a fracture near his joints. The doctors said if not careful, Ren could be incapacitated for life. Everyone else suffered more fortunate, but horrible injuries. Blake received a concussion from the shot to the head, and Weiss lost her air and almost broke her ribcage, as well as a bleeding head. Ruby will have temporary back pain, from excessive pressure from Crescent Rose, and Yang has a partially cracked skull. Nora and Jaune were the lucky ones, as Jaune defended himself from the grenade blasts, but crashed with Nora into the wall. If it wasn't for him, Nora would've suffered heavier injuries than a minor concussion. Pyrrha was not to have been seen ever since the incident.
"Who was that guy, anyways…" Jaune says to himself, his head down. He never felt so humiliated, nor did he ever felt such fear before.
"Ren…" Nora says softly, holding the casted hand of Ren.
Jaune suddenly remembers an old tale told from his father, from his father, from his father.
"The sun rises and all that was seen was Red Earth, and the son of Light standing amongst the desolate space. The Light will always reveal the Truth, and will set thee free, said the son, as he walked away." He shakes it off, but it remains in his head for some odd reason.
_Professor's Oobleck Classroom, After Hours_
Professor Oobleck is about his usual routine, writing up papers, grading, and keeping everything in order, when Pyrrha walks in.
"Ah! Ms. Nikos!" Oobleck says in his uppity voice, and blazes towards her. "What can I do for you?"
"Professor, you know about history. You know that history means even what had happened yesterday, and what has happened today. I want to know what's been going on these past few months."
Oobleck lifts an eyebrow. "How humourous of you to mention that.." He says in a normal tone. Whoosh, and he appears at his deck, searching through a stack. "You see, Ms. Nikos, the same question has been asked by every student that attended your little spar yesterday. They ask, 'What war was he talking about?' 'We've had peace for so long, not even the White Fang could disrupt it. What was the man in grey talking about?'"
"Those are the same questions I'm going to ask, only this time, there will be answers." Pyrrha says sternly.
"And there are!" Whoosh, and Oobleck stands in front of Pyrrha. "Once more, mankind is facing yet another struggle, with the same opposition, the same issues and in the exact same areas! It's remarkable and yet very alarming!"
"It can't be just the White Fang, can it? That's all we ever hear about, but there's no way a up and rising resistance can start a world war like what happen-" Pyrrha begins, but is cut off.
"History will repeat itself, Ms. Nikos. It could be now, it could be then, it could thousands of years from now. From trends, to lifestyles, to issues and wars, history will always replay and replay. The only difference is the outcome, and the number of casualties." Oobleck says sternly.
"But, what war, Professor!?" Pyrrha says desperately, remembering her friends being beaten to a pulp. "My friends lost to one man, and then he's telling everyone that a war's coming! If just one man could do something like that, I want to know how to be able to protect myself and the ones I care about!" Tears began forming in her eyes, but she makes no attempt in stopping them anymore.
Oobleck approaches her, and places a hand on her shoulder. "That is why you're here, Ms. Nikos." He says. "You are at Beacon, to not only learn to protect the Kingdoms from the outside, but to keep order in the inside as well."
Pyrrha begins sobbing without control. She quickly turns around, and leaves, hiding her face. Oobleck watches her leave, then turns to the seats. There, Priest was sitting, all the way in the back.
"I hope you realize the amount of trauma you've done on her and the rest of this Academy, Ichor." Oobleck says.
"I saved Ozpin and the Council the trouble. At least your reputations' won't be stained like mine." Priest returns. "They need to know the Truth, Bartho. No better way to show them than I what did."
Oobleck dashes back to his desk, and continues writing. Priest gets up, and casually walks out the room.
"I see history has its grips remained on you, Ichor. 13 years, and you're still worried that another one like her will emerge." Oobleck says. All that could be heard then was the scribbling of the Professor.
_Later that Evening, Statues of Heroes, Unknown Area in Vale_
Priest is seen standing in front of one of many statues of what appears to be Hunters and Huntresses in various poses. The one he is looking at is in a pose exactly like the one he performed in yesterday's class. This statue resembled a person wearing martial art clothing, all for one odd detail - he was the only statue wearing a hood.
"You couldn't stop yourself, could you, Priest?" Ozpin says, appearing behind him. Priest says nothing, and remains looking at the statue. "Going above and beyond the normal lesson standards. I don't know how well the Council will take to your actions here."
"Like I give an Ursa's ass." Priest blurts. "I got permission, therefore I could do as I wish."
Ozpin gazes at the statue as well. "That wasn't the only reason you came here, was it? All this time, and not once have you returned to pay respects."
"How could I have done it before, Ozpin?" Priest responds quietly. "Have you ever seen your own teammate being forced to kill their loved ones, without anyone being able to do anything? Did you ever have to live with that for 13 years, day and night, that the cause of the war was of my doing, provoking someone I never understood?"
"Now, now. We know that Azure was already falling into the God Complexity long before you or your team arrived. It's better to say, you delayed it from becoming worse at an earlier age." Ozpin tries to comfort Priest.
"And it failed, didn't it? She wound up causing a worldwide panic, a war, and forced us Hunters and Huntresses to think about teaching the future generations." Priest continues. "I know for years, people have been saying, it wasn't my fault. I know it wasn't, but the fact that I was directly involved in this makes me feel responsible. Responsible for everything my teammates went through.."
"Speaking of your teammates….have you been able to find Ivy?" Ozpin asks kindly.
"Why do you think I'm in Atlas, Oz?" Priest says rhetorically. "I know she's there. It's where she grew up, and where she said she would want to die, but she would've wanted to, with her partner..," His voice seems to break down a bit, and he no longer says anything.
"I'm leaving in a few hours." Priest says, after holding back tears. "Back to Atlas. Remind those damn kids to learn real combat, or I'll have to come back again and teach them." He turns and begins walking away from the statues. He stops and says one last thing. "I don't want them suffering losses like we have, Ozpin. Please. Teach them to protect each other." He says, tears flowing down, and voice breaking. He begins walking away.
Ozpin looks at the statue that Priest was standing in front of. It read;
"Here Lies Taupe, A Faunus Who Died In The War, Saving Hundreds Of Thousands Of Lives, In Exchange For His Own. A Faunus Who Knew Nothing Of Discrimination, Nor Hate. A Faunus Who Wished Nothing More Than Man And His Own To Hold Hands In Unity."
THE END
Author's Comments - Hi, I am TCG Preacher, and I have an ironic name for a FanFic writer. But that's not what I want to talk about. I want to pay my respects to Monty, who had recently died. He was a great man, who died at such a young age, and left many things behind. I wish the best for his family, and his co-workers. I thank him for inspiring me, and giving me and hundreds of thousands a show that we love, and will treasure throughout our lives.
Other Notes - I stopped writing this story roughly a few days before the tragedy, stopping around when Weiss and Blake began attacking Priest. Ren's instant loss is not in any way, an insult to his voice actor. I chose him because he seemed like the one to spark the battle royale.
RIP Monty Oum, 1981 - 2015. Thank you for your dedication.