Those who have never fought will never know how it feels when those gates open.
First comes the rush of wind, a gust so powerful that it threatens to rip you off your feet as it blasts ferociously past the slight crack of the opening. Next comes the sunlight, flooding in to shatter the darkness of the corridor and your unadjusted pupils. And then, just as you are blinking back tears from the sudden light, the roar of the crowd envelops your entire being, and you feel crushed by its weight.
But you are not afraid. The jitters and goosebumps that had accompanied you for the entire past hour disappear completely. Your blood is boiling, and your head feels as if it may burst open – and yet you have never felt more focused in your life. The sound of the crowd always has that sort of effect. Before you know it, you are moving, and as soon as you step out of those gates and the world awakens around you, all becomes plain as glass. The noise is everything, and although your mind doesn't yet realize it, your body already understands. It moves in response to the noise. Like a puppet being pulled by its strings, the roar controls you. They are yelling, cheering, screaming… and it is all for you. They want you. They need you. There is no thought of retreating. There is nothing left but to go forward.
These are the emotions that Cardin Winchester felt as he led his team onto the battlefield of the Vytal festival.
Surrounded by thirty thousand spectators, and with dozens of cameras broadcasting to hundreds of thousands more, Team Cardinal (CRDL) was the first to make an appearance in this year's presentation of the largest tournament in all the world of Remnant.
With his teammates Russel Thrush, Dove Bronzewing, and Sky Lark following closely behind, Cardin strode swiftly, and with some measure of confidence. Though he was barely paying attention to it, Cardin still caught some of the commentary of Professor Oobleck being broadcast to the crowd.
"And here they come," the professor said, " - led by Cardin Winchester, of Beacon! Priding himself on his strength and mastery of the mace, he and his team will certainly be looking to make a good showing to head off Beacon Academy."
As Team Cardinal finished positioning themselves at the center of the arena, the ample voice of Professor Port took over the broadcast, picking up from where Oobleck left off. "With all the experience passed down to them from their very capable instructors, I'm sure they will Oobleck… I'm sure they will."
Slightly annoyed by the professor's indirect self-compliment, Cardin was almost distracted for a moment until the sound at the other side of the stadium pulled him back.
"Yes, but to do so they will need to overcome a dangerous opponent," continued Oobleck. "Hailing from Vacuo, this team appears to be rather new. Formed from students who have just recently transferred to their school of Shade, not much is known about these mysterious challengers."
New huh? Cardin thought, relaxing his grip on his mace a little. The knowledge would be useful. An unpracticed team would be more likely to make mistakes without knowing the capabilities of their teammates. Maybe this will be more fun than I expected, he thought, bullying tendencies surfacing.
Almost as if to voice Cardin's own thoughts, Professor Port followed up, "While it would seem an obvious advantage to face a rookie team, the fact that they were able to qualify for the Vytal tournament in such a short period of time suggests that it would be unwise to let down one's guard."
Suddenly, with a hollow thunk, the gates locked firm and fully open. Squinting, Cardin strained to see the faces of his opponents, but failed with the afternoon sun casting its shadows the opposite way. The crickety voice of Professor Oobleck rang once more across the stadium, "And now, without any further ado, let us announce the team who will face team Cardinal!" Boots began to emerge from the shadows as Oobleck continued, "Led by their captain Bizen Drow, and followed by Rey Mero, Ken Shamer, and Relia Storm, here comes –" Black letters spelling out BRKR flashed onto the giant screens above the stadium and Oobleck shouted, "TEAM – BREAKER!"
The roar from the crowd redoubled, and the members of team Cardinal were finally able to face down their opponents.
Elsewhere in the stadium, watching from the front row seats provided complimentary to all participating fighters – teams RWBY and JNPR observed the fight half-heartedly.
"You know guys, is it bad if I say that I'm not necessarily rooting for Beacon on this one?" asked Jaune Arc uncertainly. "Not really," replied the redheaded Pyrrha Nikos sitting next to him, "I'm sure we all feel the same way." Just then, Yang Xiao Long arrived, a giant tub of popcorn clutched snugly in her arms.
"Yeah, I hope they get their asses handed to them!" She announced. Bouncing to her seat with the rest of her team just behind JNPR, the buoyant blonde cheerfully added, "Anyone want popcorn?"
"Ooh! I want some!" exclaimed Nora Valkyrie as she reached over excitedly. She quickly began eating scoop after scoop of the buttery popcorn as if her life depended on it. Beside her, Ren sighed. "Don't you think of anything besides eating?" Ignoring the chastisement, Nora scarfed down a handful of popcorn, extending another handful to Ren as she did so. Ren considered his partner, speechless for a moment before finally rolling his eyes and taking the offering peaceably.
"Think of it as in fightentertainment." Said a smirking Yang. "Get it? In-fight? Like, in-flight? Huh? Anyone?" The seven other students collectively groaned in horror. A moment was spent in silence as the young warriors recovered from the terrible joke by their peer.
Finally, it was Weiss that broke the silence. "I'm sure everyone wants to see those jerks Cardinal get beaten – badly. But do we even know if the other team is up to the task?"
"Yeah," added Jaune, "They said Breaker was a new team right? They might not be that good. I mean, sure Vacuo is a pretty tough place, but…." He trailed off.
"Hey Pyrrha, you've got the most experience out of us all, what do you think?" Asked Blake, sitting on the back edge of the group.
"Hmm…" Nodded Pyrrha as she considered team BRKR carefully for the first time. At first glance, she saw nothing out of the ordinary. The person at the front of the group, whom Pyrrha could only assume was the team's captain, was tall and well-built. His attire was simple and combat-efficient, and his only weapon seemed to be a single straight sword that he carried in a scabbard slung over his back. What really stuck out about him was his hair, which was dark, red, and spiked. A tiny silver cross necklace hung from his neck. There was nothing that was outwardly intimidating about the captain, but Pyrrha could somehow sense a feeling of confident power emanating from the leader. He's no novice, she decided, moving her gaze to the next combatant.
Compared to his leader, the next member of BRKR was of relatively average height. Again, there wasn't much that stood out from this fighter. He was not big, nor was he particularly muscular. He wore a simple black jacket that covered his arms and long trousers that ended at his boots. His hair was black and short. Interestingly, the boy didn't seem to carry a weapon. A melee fighter? Considered Pyrrha. With that thought, her eyes were drawn to the boy's hands, and there she noticed something that caught her eye. Two black diamonds, like tattoos or stickers, decorated the boy's otherwise bare hands. What are those? She wondered. Pondering this, Pyrrha absently begun considering the boy's face more closely – and she stopped.
What in the world?
The expression on the boy was like nothing Pyrrha had ever seen before. On a face that at first glance had looked disinterested and aloof were eyes that shown with a ferocity that would put a wild Grimm to shame. As soon as she noticed this aspect of the boy's character, Pyrrha's entire perception of him changed completely. Suddenly, she saw the wolf underneath the sheep's skin, and all of the little details that she had thus far missed came to her all at once, causing her entire body to shiver in what might have been fear.
Turning to her companions, her voice now totally serious, she said, "This looks like it could be really, really bad."
"For Cardinal?" Jaune asked, sensing the hint of unease from Pyrrha's voice.
Pyrrha nodded slowly. "Those people, especially that guy with black hair – they're good. You can see it in the way they move. It's not normal. That's not something you can get just from training some years at combat school. "
Hearing this from their veteran companion, the rest of team JNPR and RWBY now watched the stadium with redoubled interest. Blake, Weiss, and Ren seemed focused and serious, whereas Yang and Nora looked almost ecstatic.
"Great!" exclaimed Yang, "Looks like we get to see some Cardinal booty being kicked after all." She reached down for some popcorn, but her expression transformed from overjoyed to confused when she realized that there was nothing left in the tub.
"NORA!" she yelled, "YOU ATE EVERYTHING?!"
"Errr… it was Ren!" replied Nora, edging away nervously from the furious blonde. But it was to no avail, and flames erupted as Yang jumped up to begin chasing down the snack thief.
Sigh. Pyrrha shook her head, though she was smiling as she considered the foolishness of her friends. This smile disappeared though, as her gaze once again fell upon the arena, where the two rival teams had now both arrived at the center.
I hope everything will be alright. She thought.
…
At the center of the arena, Bizen Drow was enjoying the cool draft of fresh air from being outside. This island weather is really nice. He thought to himself.
In front of him, some angry looking mace wielding boy seemed to be glaring at him – but he paid him no mind. This day was really too nice to be spent fighting, he decided. Looking behind him, he saw that the rest of his team had taken their positions already. Ken and Relia looked ready enough, and Rey was… well – Rey. Suddenly, he had an idea.
Nodding towards Rey to catch his attention, he asked, "Hey, Rey, you want to take this one?"
"Not interested." the raven-haired boy responded almost immediately.
"Aww, come on man." Bizen prodded, hopelessly. "Just this once?"
When his companion still made no response, Bizen looked down, dejected.
Suddenly, the spark of a memory came to him, and turned to Rey once more with his smile returning.
"You know Rey," he said temptingly, "I heard these guys got soloed by Pyrrha Nikos some time ago in a practice match. You interested now?"
The change in Rey was immediate and overwhelming. As soon as the name of Pyrrha had passed Bizen's lips, Rey's expression had completely transformed. Even though he had been prepared for it, Bizen still stepped back automatically. A familiar chill crawled up his spine as he looked into the piercing, hate-filled eyes of his teammate.
There it is. He thought. Making a motion to Ken and Relia, he led the rest of his team back and away from Rey, making a final glance behind him as he did so.
The very essence of hatred seemed to have possessed the raven-haired warrior. Rey's pupils dripped with venomous animosity. His lips snarled with a demonic energy, and underneath them you could see the force with which the boy was clenching his teeth.
Without a single word, Rey moved forward, taking off his jacket and throwing it on the ground behind him as he did so. The jacket landed with a heavy thump from the force with which the boy had thrown it, kicking up a small cloud of dust.
From high in the stands, professor Oobleck's voice rained down once again.
"And I don't believe it! It seems like team Breaker is going to send only one of their members to face down Cardinal alone! We really must ask whether they are simply that confident in their abilities, or if they are making a grave and foolish mistake."
Just then, the massive stadium screens started spinning as the landscape of the battlefield was randomized. Rey paid no attention to them, and seemed to be busy touching the two black diamonds on the backs of each of his hands each in turn. He seemed oblivious to team Cardinal as well, who were all wearing expressions of anger at the humiliation of being looked down on at such a degree.
I'm going to kill this guy, thought Cardin through his injured pride. "Hey kid!" he shouted, pointing his mace at the opponent. "You think you're tough huh? You're not gonna look so cool after I break your legs. And then we're coming for the rest of your team next."
Rey looked up, and Cardin froze.
Did I just shiver? Thought Cardin. His unease was replaced quickly by curiosity as the black diamonds on his opponent's hands suddenly expanded with a sharp click. The tattoo-like blackness spread like canvas over the backs of Rey's hands, quickly covering all of the area – including his fingers. The dark covering didn't stop at the wrists, but rather snaked a bit further than that – melding into vambraces. When the transformation was finished, Rey's hands and forearms were armored in black. At this size, the dark covering could be seen to reflect a little of the sunlight, as if it were metallic.
Just then, the spinning of the screens stopped, and the arena was decided.
"It looks like forest and desert have been chosen as the land-elements for this bout," announced Oobleck. "It will be interesting to see how our fighters take advantage of this terrain in planning their strategies."
"Also," he continued, "it appears that Rey Mero has activated his weapons. From first glance, they appear to be some sort of strange gauntlets. It's hard to say what sort of powers they hold." In the background, terrain of the arena had finished shifting. At the back of team Breaker, a lush green forest had sprouted from nowhere, adding an earthy smell to the air. Meanwhile, on the side of team Cardinal, rolling dunes of sand appeared, amplifying the brightness of the afternoon sun. The preparations were done. There was nothing left to do now but fight.
Behind him, Cardin sensed his companions shift forward, eager to charge in as soon as the gong sounded. Like their leader, the group hated being looked down on. They were too used to bullying others, never having experienced the same sort of ridicule for themselves.
However, instead of brazenly getting ready to lead the charge, Cardin instead surprisingly held a hand out behind him, calming his team. "Move back." He commanded.
Surprised by their leader's uncharacteristic show of restraint, the rest of team Cardinal paused at first, uncertain.
"Move back!" Cardin commanded again, this time more forcefully. At this, the four fighters finally began retreating a few paces back to the desert.
Better safe than sorry. Cardin thought.
"And it seems that team Cardinal is actually making space between their opponent!" Oobleck said excitedly, "What a tremendous show of restraint! Cardin Winchester is proving to be a far more patient leader than expected."
Patient? Heh. Every bone in Cardin's body was still itching to destroy the cocky brat in front of him, but a year of experience at Beacon had shown him that being reckless could often lead to failure – his defeat by Pyrrha had proved that. Regardless of the fact that Cardin was a bully and a jerk, he had still been accepted to one of the most prestigious warrior academies in the world. On top of that, he had even become a leader of one of the teams. There was definitely some talent there, and experience had gradually built up a form of what might even be called heroism in the callous young man.
"Spread out," Cardin said, when the team had backed up to the first of the sand dunes. "Dove and Russell, you guys take that high-ground over there. When the battle starts, we'll fire everything we've got at that cocky little prick. There's no way he'll be able to dodge everything on his own." Together, the four readied their weapons and faced Rey, who had not yet moved a single muscle.
Just then, the gong rang with a deep Thonggg and the battle began.
"And here we go!" bellowed professor Port.
Immediately, team Cardinal began firing their ballistics. Unfortunately for them however, the range proved to be too far for any decent sort of accuracy. Very few bullets even came close to the motionless Rey. Even so, there were some shots that had the possibility of hitting their target. These, Rey blocked casually with his armored hands.
"Keep firing!" Cardin said to his teammates. "Make him come to us." Yet in his mind, he thought – This guy would have to be stupid to run into a barrage like this. But still…
In the time that they had been shooting towards their immobile target, team Cardinal's aim had gotten progressively better. Now, nearly a fourth of the bullets were hitting Rey, who was moving faster and faster to block the shots. Still, there was not a hint of hesitation on his face, and rather than retreat – Rey began moving forward.
Walking at first, and then picking up to a jog, Rey steadily advanced against the hail of oncoming bullets. With each stride, his pace quickened, until he was almost sprinting. As the distance decreased, the danger from team Cardinal's bombardment became more and more apparent, and Rey had to make adjustments to keep himself from getting hit. At thirty paces he tucked his arms to his chest and lowered his stance to provide a smaller target. Ten strides later and sensing blood, Rey began dashing in a zig zag – now moving almost too fast for team Cardinal to follow.
Seeing their enemy almost upon them, Cardin realized that defense was over. He stopped firing. It was time to fight.
"GET HIM!" He shouted, readying his mace. From his position, he and Sky would be the first to meet their foe. He would have to trust the rest of his team to take advantage of their position and surround the boy. His muscles coiled and tensed. His head began to feel hot as blood rushed through his veins.
He's coming….He's coming…
He's….. HERE!
With a tremendous roar, Cardin sprang forward and unleashed all of his strength in a devastating horizontal swing, closing the distance between him and Rey instantly. The speed and force of the mace was enough to cause even the air to shriek – and it certainly would have crushed Rey instantly had it connected. - Had it connected.
Milliseconds before the mace would have caught his face, Rey Mero dove downward, snaking the ground like a shadow. Cardin's blow missed completely, forcing Cardin himself off balance and primed to be counterattacked. Rey didn't hesitate to take the opportunity, spinning around instantly to charge his unsteady opponent.
Cardin himself felt his mistake sharply. Crap, crap! He thought to himself as he gritted his teeth and prepared to take a devastating counterstrike.
But the blow never came.
Eyes half-open, the brawny team leader peered to see what had happened. It was Sky who had saved him. As soon as he had seen his leader miss his strike, the pale warrior had stepped in to cover for him, catching the attention of their opponent with broad sweeping strokes of his halberd.
Thanks Sky, Cardin thought before rejoining the melee with a snarl.
"And now it seems to be a two on one against Mr. Mero!" announced Professor Oobleck. "With this we'll finally be able to see whether team BRKR's confidence has the ability to back it up."
On the floor of the shifting sands, Cardin and Sky were unleashing a barrage of blows against their isolated opponent. From a year of practice together, the teammates had obtained a great sense of timing regarding each other's attack patterns. Their strikes were accurate and well timed, flowing together perfectly so that their target had no chance to retaliate.
"What a display by the members of Cardinal!" exclaimed Oobleck, "They aren't letting Mr. Mero catch a single breath with their assault!"
Oobleck's words seemed to be proving quite true. From standby, Rey looked like a puppet being forced to dance in the face of a torrent of blows. He ducked and dodged, twisting and turning to avoid swing after swing of deadly metal. Each strike looked as if it were barely missing by a hair's breadth. And yet… nothing was hitting.
As time went on, Cardin began to feel it. With attack after attack coming up empty, a creeping sense of unease began seeping into his mind. Damn it, why can't we hit him?
"Dove! Russell! Start shooting him!" Cardin shouted, "but aim carefully." On top of their dune a few meters away, Dove and Russell nodded.
Now, with all four members of CRDL on the attack, the equilibrium finally seemed to be breaking. With carefully aimed shots by Dove and Russell woven into Cardin and Sky's ground attacks, Rey finally seemed to begin to give ground. The raven haired boy was forced to move faster, and faster. His shoulders narrowed, and his stance lowered further and further, turning from crouch into a near crawl. Though he succeeded in making himself a smaller target, the endless onslaught only seemed to get closer and closer to finally bringing the battle to a close.
We've got him. Thought Cardin ecstatically. We've finally got him! Eager to catch the face of his opponent in the moment of defeat, Cardin searched for the face of Rey. What he saw shocked him.
Rey was smiling.
And suddenly, everything changed. Strikes that had seemed like they were just barely missing moments before were suddenly missing by miles. The pinpoint accurate shots of Dove and Sky now looked completely amateurish as they landed completely off their target.
"I don't believe what I am seeing!" blasted professor Oobleck, "Rey Mero looks like an utterly different fighter! His movements have completely changed. In all my years I've never seen such a spectacle!"
It was true. Rey was moving differently. Before, his style had seemed robotic – impeccable and clean – but predictable. Now, he seemed nothing short of a beast. One moment swaying backwards far enough to touch his head to the ground, the next dashing forward like a missile – Rey became an impossible target.
In desperation, Cardin and Sky swung erratically, giving their all to hit their enemy. The carefully timed team play had devolved into chaos. But it was too rushed, and with one single badly-timed swing by Cardin – everything stopped.
In one metallic hand, Rey Mero enveloped the head of Cardin's mace tightly in his fingers.
Panicking, Cardin struggled to free his weapon, but it felt as if it were encased in concrete.
All was silent for a moment, and then the silence was broken as the smiling Rey whispered a single line.
"The End."
Suddenly, with a tremendous sound like lighting hitting a mountain, Cardin's mace shattered into a million pieces.
As shards of solid metal flew through the air, Cardin's frozen face spoke plainly to his shock and disbelief.
"That's impossibl-" were Cardin's final thoughts right before his entire world spun and crashed into darkness.
In less than a second, Rey had grabbed Cardin's still outstretched arm with one hand, shot his opposing shoulder underneath the arm, and flipped Cardin like a ragdoll over his back. Cardin's armored body hit the sand like a sack of boulders, knocking out the tall warrior instantly. Even then, Rey had not let go, instead swinging Cardin's limp body as a club to hit Sky Lark, who had been coming over to help his fallen leader.
Dazed, Sky couldn't even react before he too felt the iron grip of Rey's gauntlets and fell victim to another flurry of throws – ending with his face buried deep in a sand dune. The entire exchange happened so fast that Oobleck hadn't even been able to provide proper commentary.
And now, what would Russell and Dove do, seeing their teammates dispatched with such ruthless efficiency? Would they run and try their best to kite, or would they stand and fight?
As it turned out, it didn't matter. With blistering speed, Rey had dashed up the dune on which they stood. Russell barely had time to get a shot off before an armored hand crashed into his face. Grasping Russell's head as if it were an apple, Rey lifted the entire body of Russell along with his head in an incredible display of strength.
For a while, Russell kicked and writhed in a desperate attempt to release his face from Rey's vicelike grip. But as his flailing arms and legs hit nothing but air, his situation looked more and more hopeless. The thousands of spectators found themselves holding their breaths as it soon became apparent that Rey's hand was blocking off Russell's air supply, suffocating him. Within seconds, Russell had stopped squirming as he was choked out, three feet in the air.
Finally, Rey released his grip, and Russell's body collapsed with a dull thud before beginning to roll down the side of the sand dune. All was silent as everybody watched the seemingly lifeless body tumble over and over before finally coming to a stop at the bottom of the dune.
It was only then when Professor Oobleck finally resumed his commentary.
"Incredible! It appears that Mr. Mero has just finished off three of Cardinal's members. Now it is up to Dove Bronzewing to avenge his teammates!"
Thousands of eyes transfixed on Dove, who, standing just a few meters away from Rey, had been completely paralyzed for the entire time his teammates were getting destroyed. His mouth agape, Dove looked down at Russell's body, then turned back to check Cardin and Sky, who had been equally devastated. Then, Dove looked back at Rey, and found no mercy in his chilling eyes.
Closing his mouth, Dove took a gulp before anxiously choking out his sentence,
"Uh…. I surrender."
Immediately, the stadium erupted in noise as Oobleck's voice blasted out from the speakers.
"AND HERE WE HAVE IT! TEAM BREAKER HAS DEFEATED CARDINAL AND WILL BE GOING INTO THE NEXT ROUND! WHAT A FIGHT!"
Surrounded by cheers and shouts, Pyrrha sat uncertainly as she contemplated the fight that had just ended. Behind her, Yang and Nora were exploding in rambunctious joy – their previous quarrel completely forgotten.
"OH MY GOD! Did you see those throws?" exclaimed Yang as she shook Nora by her shoulders. "I've never seen anything like that!"
"And his gauntlets!" added Ruby – always the weaponophile, "How were they able to crush Cardin's mace so easily?"
"He was fast too." Said Blake, who had remained calm, but still looked slightly impressed.
In all their excitement, only Pyrrha looked like she wasn't having fun. The others, too busy gushing over the fight, didn't notice the worried expression on Pyrrha's face. It was Jaune, sitting right beside the redheaded warrior, who finally noticed that something was wrong with his friend.
Not wanting to make a scene, Jaune leaned over to his troubled leader and whispered,
"Hey Pyrrha, you don't look too well. Is something wrong?"
"I don't know Jaune. I just… I mean… It's probably nothing, but –"
Pyrrha froze.
For the past minute, the victorious Rey Mero, who was still standing on top of the sand dune, had been scanning around the arena. It was as if he were looking for something, or in this case, some one. And now, he had found her.
As Rey's eyes locked onto Pyrrha's, the noble warrior felt a very real tendril of fear clasp around her heart.
Holding her gaze with his abyssal black eyes, Rey opened his mouth to speak a silent message.
Though Pyrrha had no way to be sure, she could have sworn that it read –
"Hello Pyrrha. Prepare to die."