Chapter Two: Moving Forward:
October 11th1462 of the Vytali Calendar:
It was another one of these days where Greta reaffirmed her lifelong dislike of Wednesdays. It had all started when she had actually sat down and read the schedule for the Vytal Festival. Despite being made aware of the information on Saturday she had procrastinated until Monday and then panicked when she saw exactly what would be expected of her and her team while they were in Vacuo.
She had then learnt that Peter, at the very least, had been aware of all of this thanks to talking with Adelheid but hadn't told her. He had instead assumed that she had already gone over it all which meant that when she told Rapture and Aurora they had to prepare not just for a dance or the tournament but for their first practical mission as well the two girls had gotten annoyed at her for waiting so long to tell them.
Despite a part of her feeling tired of the topic at all she had then sat herself down to try to plan just how much stuff they would need to buy and prepare before they left. They needed enough ammunition, spare parts for their weapons and assorted Dust items to complete a mission and fight in the Vytal Tournament, possibly up to the finals if they were lucky. The others had already drawn up their lists which would require more shopping trips down in Vale. Then, on Tuesday, she had noticed the limits the school was placing on participants when it came to luggage which meant they now had to prioritise what they intended to take.
Team TEAL had spared them any snide comments at the very least, not that she had expected Lach or Tom to be mean to them. Adelheid and Elizabeth, whilst rather deriding at first, had been kind enough to help her out in deciding what was best to prioritise and what would be better off being left behind.
Classes, at the very least, hadn't been too stressful for her though finishing homework on top of quickly organising things for their visit to Vacuo had been a pain. Greta had thankfully managed to stay on top of her workload and had been told that the professors would begin to reduce it in a few weeks in preparation for the Vytal Festival.
"I could do with that happening sooner," Greta thought as she slumped into her seat. It was time for combat classes once again and she felt exhausted. She had gotten very little sleep the night before and she didn't know why, had gotten up late and rushed her morning shower in order to get breakfast and felt rather lost through the whole thing.
'You alright?' Rapture asked her from two seats away, noticing that Greta looked tired.
'Huh?' Greta grunted as she turned to look at her teammate. 'Oh, yeah, I'm good. Just tired.'
'You look really out of it right now,' Rapture continued, concern on her face.
'Are you feeling ill?' Peter asked from the seat next to her own.
'No, no,' Greta replied, waving her hands in dismissal. 'I just didn't get much sleep. I don't know why though.'
'Here,' Peter then said, reaching into his bag and pulling out a plastic bottle of water. 'I got this from the cafeteria. I was going to drink it in class but you could use it. It should help.'
'Thanks,' Greta said in response. She grabbed the bottle, feeling it was still chilled. The prickling cold sensation did jolt her into a more wakeful mood which was increased when she took a swig and felt the icy water slide down her throat.
'You're going to need to be awake for these classes,' Peter continued.
'Indeed,' Aurora added, looking far more attentive than the others. 'We may have signed on to the Vytal Festival already but we really can't let our performance slip.'
"Gods she sounds like Adelheid," Greta thought as she sat up in her seat and blinked rapidly to get the glassy feeling out of them. 'Don't worry I get it. Maybe if I get called up I'll feel more awake.'
The class then turned quiet as Professor Smith walked into the room, fussing with his bowtie a little as he walked on to the platform in the middle of the room. Greta tried to focus on him and she shook her head to try to shake the last of her fatigue away. Professor Smith stood in the middle of the ring, his stance relatively casual and looked up to address the class.
'Good morning everyone,' Professor Smith said. 'I'm glad to see you all made it today because I have an important announcement to make.'
Greta perked up as the professor continued. 'I want to tell you all that, starting next week, we will be altering combat classes.' Professor Smith paused for a moment and took a breath, looking in front of himself to see if everyone was paying attention.
'After this weeks lessons we will be changing the system from one-on-one combat sessions to team fights,' Professor Smith explained. 'The usual rules will be applied to these lessons of course but I will assessing you on your coordination, ability to cooperate and leadership skills. This will all be especially important for those of you who have applied to participate in the Vytal Festival Tournament.'
"Good thing we've already started practising then,' Greta thought.
'I would also like to say that those who have applied for the Vytal Festival will not be given priority,' Professor Smith then said. 'I expect you all to get by on your own merits. These new lessons will begin on Wednesday a week from today and I expect all of you, especially our representatives for the tournament to attend.'
Despite the professor's presence the room began to echo with surprised mutterings. Greta could feel both excitement and nervousness in the crowd of students. She looked to Tom to see he was rather stoic and thoughtful in appearance, likely mulling over how to approach the new lesson format. Greta herself was trying to think about how to approach the group-combat sessions.
"Well if it's a full team fight then this shouldn't be too hard," Great thought as she turned back to look at the stage. "We already have a routine down."
'Alright, alright,' Professor Smith then said. 'Settle down.' the class quickly quieted down again. 'Until then we will still be doing lessons the same way but on the first day we'll be doing things a little differently. Next Wednesday's class will be in the main auditorium with the other upper years. It will still be at the same time though.'
His announcement complete, Professor Smith then called out the first combatant who would get to pick their opponent. Greta, meanwhile, sat down and tried to not think too hard about hypothetical planning. She wasn't concerned about her team's abilities since they had been preparing for tournament style fighting for over a week now. Now she could redirect her effort to making sure that the preparations for the visit would go smoothly. Come what may next week, she and her team were already ready for it.
October 18th1462 of the Vytali Calendar:
The first combat class of the week had everyone excited. Many students had gotten up early and prepared themselves carefully to see what exactly Professor Smith had in store for them. New team strategies had been planned, tested and refined by most of the student body and they were all ready to try them out on one another.
Greta felt somewhat the exception as while she had perfected her strategies and performed them with her team she wasn't as eager to test them just yet. She was instead hoping for the class to pass her by and focus on other students. Since the lesson was taking place in the main auditorium – which had set up temporary barriers for the potential combatants to safely fight – and also involved the upper years she was sure that she would be passed up for the large number of other teams that were present.
She had never seen the auditorium so full, even during her first day when the entire prospective freshman year had been present. The massive room was filled to capacity and then some by students that had come dressed in a wide variety of outfits. They all carried their weapons which made for a veritable arsenal that was on display. Greta wasn't a weapons nut or mech-head but she was still fascinated by some of the devices that the older students were carrying. There were some more obvious items that were some form of sword, gun, axe, or club but there were also devices that were less easy to figure out or discern.
The entire room echoed with the sound of teenage chatter as the students all discussed the current situation with one another. Some were speculating on what would happen, making playful bets on who would go up first and boasting about their own skills. Many of the upper years were derisively dismissing any year younger than them, claiming that they would probably be fighting one another or, if they did fight a younger year, that the experience would be both quick and boring.
'Anyone else beginning to have second thoughts about this?' Greta muttered to no-one in particular.
'I beg your pardon?' Peter said curiously from his seat beside her. 'I think you said something?'
'Oh no, no,' Greta replied. 'I'm just feeling a little nervous, that's all.'
'Well I can certainly understand that,' Peter said. 'I must say I'm a little unsure about our chances of taking on third or fourth years. Second years maybe but not anyone older than that.'
'Here's hoping we avoid that then,' Aurora then said, entering the conversation. She had to speak more loudly to make sure she was heard from her seat further down the row which drew a few looks from the people around them.
The crowd continued to talk even as the figure of Professor Smith finally appeared before them. He walked out of the alcove that most teachers entered the building through and calmly walked onto the main stage, stepping up before the microphone and then taking the time to adjust his bowtie.
'Alright that's enough,' Professor Smith, the noise in the room immediately quieting down by a significant percentage. 'We'll be beginning the lesson now.'
The first bout of the class was a terrifying spectacle for Greta. Two third year teams went onto the stage and laid into one another. The fight took a surprisingly long time and was disturbing as the older students showed off their skill and the massive gap between herself and them. Greta couldn't believe the kinds of moves the third years were pulling off and the coordination they exhibited. She felt her throat constrict a little as a dust-weaver let out a conflagration that bathed the transparent shields surrounding the stage in a bright yellow flare that caused the audience to either wince or avert their eyes.
"Please gods, don't force me to go up against that," Greta pleaded in her head, silently putting her hands together to try to strengthen her prayer.
The fight eventually ended when all of the members of a team had their Aura reduced to the red level. The winning team had also lost half their members in the fight as well and the stage, whilst undamaged, was covered in soot. The two teams walked off the stage, a couple nursing bruises or slight aches from blows that their Aura had not entirely repelled.
'Alright,' Professor Smith said as he returned to the microphone which had previously been retracted into the stage for the equipment's safety. 'A very good start from teams VRDN and PINK. Our next pair will be first year teams GRAP and SCLT. Please step on to the stage.'
Greta suddenly remembered what it felt like the last time she had stepped onto the auditorium's stage as her heart sank. It was their turn and whilst they weren't fighting upper years they were going to be performing in front of them.
'Well, what are the chances?' Peter said jokingly as he and the others stood up.
Greta sighed and then stood up. She didn't feel like she was about to burst into tears or tremble as she walked up to the stage but she was undeniably nervous. Even if the team they were about to fight was another first year group, they were going to be fighting in front of most of the student body now and judged by them accordingly.
She stood in line with her team, everyone standing to her left, Peter right by her side. Everyone was already settling into a combat ready stance, Rapture and Aurora bobbing on the balls of their feet as Peter stretched and limbered his fingers in preparation. Greta instead took a more stationary stance, holding Firebrand in its folded form as she waited for the signal to start.
In front of them stood their opponents, Team SCLT. Greta had never talked with any of them and didn't really think that her teammates had either. She also couldn't recall any of their fighting styles from class though she wasn't sure if that was because of them leaving little impression on her or because she often spaced out in those classes after the schedule had settled down.
In the middle of the group was a boy with messy brown hair that was brushed just enough to keep it out of his eyes. He wore a pair of dark jeans and a blue shirt that was covered by a slightly worn jacket. He wore boots on his feet and his right hand had a single fingerless glove on it. His eyes were brown and had a strange though not unfriendly look in them and he smirked as he looked her team up and down. In his hands was a bulky looking chainsaw that had visible barrels on either side of the body and a blade longer than one of his arms. He held it somewhat casually but his stance showed that he was ready to make a move at any moment.
'Yo,' he said simply, raising his free hand in a leisurely greeting, his smirk growing. 'Name's Scarlet Fumee, I'm in charge of this lot.'
He turned and indicated to the three girls who stood next to him. One of them, a girl with light blonde hair and with two small mouse ears sticking out of her head smiled shyly and waved in greeting. The other two girls simply nodded instead.
'Hello,' the mouse-eared faunus girl said, her tone a little hesitant. 'I'm Camilla Blanc.'
Camilla was a rather short girl with blonde hair that reached halfway down her back. She wore a long white one piece dress that had been adjusted to work as a combat-skirt that was covered over by grey uniform-style jacket. There was also a rather long scabbard attached to the belt that was placed over the waistline of her dress. Her shoes were closer to boots in appearance though and she wore tights over her legs. The entire outfit was simplistic and modest which seemed to fit her rather shy stance. She held a broadsword in her right hand that had a rotating Dust chamber incorporated into the hilt.
'Lynn Kimba,' the next girl said simply. Her face was locked in a rather indifferent expression as she scanned the stage and the team in front of her.
She was a girl of average height with a dark tan and hazel brown eyes that had a somewhat indifferent expression reflected in them. Her hair was dark and extended down to her shoulders with a pair of bangs at the front. She wore a pair of dark trousers with black, knee-high boots on top of them and a white shirt that stopped just short of her waist, leaving a small portion of her midriff visible. A long, black overcoat covered the rest and reached down to her ankles but was left open and swept behind her arms which were placed loosely on her belt. A pair of holstered pistols were visible as well, close to her hands.
'I'm Tsuna Yurei,' the last girl said in a friendly tone. 'It's nice to actually meet you.'
She was a rather tall and slightly lanky girl with tousled blonde hair that reached just past her shoulder blades and was held back at the front by a simple brown headband. She wore a greenish brown shirt covered by a sleeveless jacket and a dark combat skirt that reached down to her knees. She also wore boots that went up past her ankle and had visible steel caps at the end. Like Camilla, the ensemble was rather simplistic and modest but appeared sturdy as well. She had a long rifle with an axe blade on the bottom of the end of the barrel resting on her shoulder.
'I'm Greta Hexenpfahl,' Greta said in return and her teammates introduced themselves as well. 'This is a little intimidating isn't?' she then said, trying to ignore the crowd.
'Oh no,' Scarlet replied, his smirk turning into a grin and his weapon rising up into a guard position. 'I've been looking forward to this all day.'
'Alright, everyone,' Professor Smith said as he stepped off of the stage. With the click of a button the shields went up around the stage again. 'Now that we're all ready you can begin. You will fight until the entirety of one team has their members' Aura reduced into the red band.'
Not a single word was spoken as both teams charged at one another. Aurora immediately leapt back and span Dark Majesty around to target Scarlet who was barrelling down on the team, his chainsaw already turned on and revving angrily. Rapture folded Long Claw out, the gauntlets coming on just in time to block a swipe from Camilla's sword. Rapture snarled and activated the blades, extending them out to catch the blade and keep Camilla from pulling back. A tug of war ensued as Camilla tried to pull back and Rapture worked to keep the other girl close and in range of her fists.
Peter immediately teleported to the other end of the stage, bypassing the other team and appearing behind Tsuna who had also leapt back, her rifle raised to take shots at Team GRAP. Tsuna managed to notice and spin around just in time to take a hit from one of Peter's Adagios. She managed to recover but was immediately on the defensive as Peter began a graceful dance of blades and kicks that she struggled to block or deflect. Peter moved like a dancer as every strike and movement bled into the next one to ensure he never wasted a second.
Greta, meanwhile, had run at Scarlet. The other team leader grinned as he charged at her only to duck aside as a shot from Aurora just barely missed him. Greta saw Lynn, who had also been in the path of the shot also dodge just in time and the Dust round exploded harmlessly on the stage floor behind the fight.
'Come on baby,' Scarlet said as he rolled back into an attack stance and ran at Greta. 'Give me a reason to try hard.'
Greta span around, bringing Firebrand up to counterstrike the chainsaw that was being swung at her. Just as she was about to finish her swing and clash with Scarlet, she pulled Firebrand's trigger and blasted him with a shrapnel round. Scarlet was thrown off balance as his Aura took the brunt of the shot and his chainsaw went off course. Great extended Firebrand out and swung it over her head like a quarterstaff, bringing it down on Scarlet's head. Suddenly his chainsaw came up and blocked Firebrand. Struggling, Greta tried to hold her ground as Scarlet pushed her back and twisted Firebrand down and around until the tip of his chainsaw blade was pointed at her.
'Boom!' he then shouted and pulled another trigger. The two barrels attached to the chainsaw fired, sending a pair of shotgun Dust shells into her face. Greta was sent flying backward from the force and crashed onto the floor of the stage. Scarlet ran forward to hit Greta again but was forced to twist out of the way of a shot from Aurora, the round just missing him.
Greta looked to see Peter was being double-teamed by Lynn and Tsuna. Tsuna was trying to hit Peter with her axe but he would constantly either dodge or teleport out of the way. Lynn had drawn her pistols, which it seemed had blades on the ends of the barrels, and alternated between shooting at him and thrusting with the blades. Neither girl was landing a hit on him but Peter was also struggling to strike them instead and was twisting his body as much as he could to keep out of the path of their shots and strikes. Peter blocked a strike from Tsuna's axe by crossing his Adagios in front of him, a scowl of exertion on his face as he tried to keep the weapon from actually touching him. Lynn smiled as she aimed her pistols at him only for Peter to suddenly teleport away, leaving Tsuna overbalanced and trying to right herself. He then appeared behind Lynn. Swinging both blades savagely. He rained blows down on Lynn, alternating his swings and walking forward to force her away from him.
Rapture had finally lost her grip on Camilla's sword and was trying to hit her but the girl had revealed her semblance, a form of telekinesis, which she was now using to catch and repel Rapture's blows. Rapture, in return, was dodging Camilla's attempts to give return strikes, trying to exploit the possible distractions these attacks offered in order to try to punch through the girl's barrier. Camilla then took a leap back from Rapture and swept her hand up grandiosely, a determined look on her face.
Rapture was hit by a burst of energy, forcing her back, her shoes squealing on the floor as she tried to brace herself. Her face stuck in a grimace, Rapture opened her mouth and let loose with her semblance. A loud roar echoed through the room, jarring everyone and hitting Camilla with a blast of compressed air. Camilla's concentration broke and Rapture immediately charged forward, crashing into the other girl.
Greta meanwhile had to roll out of the way as Scarlet made a brutal swing at her as she was prone on the ground. Aurora was still lining up shots onto him but he seemed to move to erratically for her to aim properly. With Greta still on the ground Scarlet smirked again and aimed his chainsaw at her. He fired off another pair of shots, forcing Aurora to dive out of the way. The threat to him now distracted, Scarlet returned his attention to Greta.
Greta lashed out at Scarlet's legs barely a second after he had fired at Aurora. Firebrand, still in its folded form, struck Scarlet's shin just as he turned to look at her. Scarlet let out a cry of pain as he felt the impact on his leg even through his Aura.
Rapture had collided with Camilla whilst this was happening and grabbed the girl. With a grunt she lifted Camilla up and threw her at Scarlet. The other girl squeaked for a second as Rapture held her over her head and then tossed her at the other boy. Camilla hit Scarlet hard and the two of them were thrown to the floor, landing on the floor in a disoriented pile, their limbs splayed in all directions.
'Aurora,' Greta barked, 'use a high impact round. Electricity Dust.'
Aurora took the clip off of her sniper rifle and slotted in a new one, drawing back the bolt in one fluid motion. She aimed and fired at the two downed members of Team SCLT as they tried to stand back up. Scarlet and Camilla were engulfed in a ball of lightning that crackled over the stage for several seconds before dissipating. When it cleared both of the other students were slightly charred but still in the fight.
'Rapture,' Greta then said. 'You're with me. We've got to take them out quickly. Aurora get in close with us, both of them are good against ranged attacks.'
'What about Peter?' Rapture asked.
Greta looked over to see her partner still tying up Lynn and Tsuna, desperately spinning and pirouetting desperately to keep them at bay. He was on the defensive again and this time the girls were pressing the advantage though they still hadn't managed to actually hit him. He executed a series of strikes that saw him move almost at a blur as he dodged one attempted blow after another and then teleported out of both girls' ways in order to appear behind Tsuna and deliver a vicious kick to the back of her neck. This, unfortunately left him open to another volley of gunfire from Lynn who advanced on Peter, forcing him to keep moving to narrowly avoid her shots.
'He'll be fine,' Greta said. She then extended Firebrand into its fire-pike form and charged forward.
They set upon Scarlet and Camilla as the two of them were finally getting up and reorienting themselves. Greta struck first, hammering Scarlet in the chest with Firebrand's haft which was followed up by a right hook from Rapture that sent him back onto the floor.
Scarlet, however, despite being dazed by the attack, wasn't helpless anymore. Rolling as he hit the ground, he brought his chainsaw up again and fired both barrels in Greta and Rapture's direction. With both girls still close to one another after attacking him, they received the full force of the shot together. As they reeled from the dust rounds, Camilla gathered herself and hit them with her semblance. Greta and Rapture were viciously shoved by a wave of force that sent them flying back.
'Uh, where's Aurora?' Greta groaned as she lay on the floor, trying to push herself back up with her hands.
Her question was answered by the sound of a single loud gunshot firing. A second later Camilla was hit in the side of the head by a swift flying kick. Aurora had flown across the stage, Dark Majesty having been switched into its glaive form. The blade was pointed behind her, the gun-barrel of the rifle form still deployed, situated in the head of the haft behind the blade.
"Di… did she just use her recoil to give herself a boost?" Greta pondered for a moment as she saw Camilla crumple under the strike from Aurora's shoe.
Both girls crashed onto the ground and rolled. Camilla came to a halt completely stunned and unmoving. Her Aura had also finally fallen into the red band and she was officially taken out of the fight. Aurora, on the other hand, managed to control her roll and came up again in a crouch, Dark Majesty still in her hands and pointed out to her side. She directed the blade at Scarlet and pressed down on the trigger still present on the haft. A shot fired from the barrel but Scarlet once again demonstrated his inexplicable ability to dodge his opponent's fire.
Rapture then charged forward and, with a loud roar, tackled Scarlet. The boy was, unfortunately, unable to avoid Rapture and was wrapped in her arms as she bore him down to the ground. Hitting the floor hard, Scarlet was left prone with Rapture looming over him in a mount position. She then proceeded to pummel him with her fist, one punch after another raining down on him.
It felt like it had taken a painfully long time for Rapture to finish beating Scarlet into submission but his Aura finally dropped into the red band and he was taken out of the fight. The faunus girl stood back up, breathing heavily and wiped her hand down her face, grimacing as she realised she hadn't folded her gauntlets up and had scratched at her own face.
'Gods his Aura was tough,' Rapture said.
'What about the others?' Aurora suddenly asked. All three of them turned to the other side of the stage to see what had happened to Peter.
Peter was still holding his own but both of the other girls were still in the fight. He looked flustered but also undamaged and a quick glance at his Aura showed that he hadn't actually sustained much damage to it. Greta even guessed that the drainage it had suffered was probably from using his semblance rather than blocking any hits.
'Back him up,' Greta ordered. 'We might as well finish this quickly.'
Aurora took action first, switching Dark Majesty back into its sniper-rifle form and firing at Tsuna who was trying to hit Peter and getting all of her attacks parried by him. Aurora fired and managed to hit Tsuna in the back of the head. The girl dropped to the floor and her Aura descended into the red. Groaning, she managed to sit back up again but knew she was done and resigned herself to simply watching the end of the fight.
'Alright,' Greta said brightly to Rapture as they ran to support Peter. 'Just one more to go.'
Lynn had noticed the situation she was in but decided to keep fighting. Most students would have surrendered but it seemed Lynn had resolved herself and made the choice to go down swinging in defiance. Unfortunately, without support, she now had Peter's undivided attention.
Peter became a whirlwind of blades as he leapt at Lynn, teleporting behind her when she tried to fire her guns at him and delivering a kick to the back of her head. Dazed, Lynn fired a spray of bullets where he had come from only to find Peter had spun out of the way and was positioned on the other side of her body, spinning on the spot, his blades held out. The first Adagio struck her in the shoulder, knocking her off balance and the second struck in the chest which was now exposed. Peter stopped his spin and lifted a leg up high and then brought his heel down hard on her collarbone, forcing her down to the ground and winding her.
'And Lynn Kimba has fallen into the red taking Team SCLT out of the fight and leaving Team GRAP the winners,' Professor Smith said as a buzzer went off and the shields dropped. 'Thank you for a good display of skill. Would Teams OPAL and PUCE now come onto the stage please.'
Greta walked off the stage, feeling somewhat worn out from the fight. She did her best not to flop into her seat but did let out a fatigued sigh and lean back, letting her head loll slightly until it began to ache from the awkward position. Sitting up straight, she leant forward and put her head in her hands, ready to tune out the rest of the lesson.
"Well that could have gone so much worse," Greta thought despite her efforts to just relax. "But did I do that well? We barely talked or coordinated, we just picked targets."
Greta sighed, annoyed with herself and the fact that, whether she liked it or not, she was going to have to improve their training regimen again and develop their teamwork. The Vytal Festival and Tournament were getting closer and she had finally decided they were going to win it, now she needed to put in the effort.
The class finally ended after three more bouts. Professor Smith didn't offer criticisms or advice but he was making notes and a few students were able to read his expressions figuring out, at the very least, whether or not they had done a good job or a bad one. When the professor dismissed the class, everyone filed out of the room, the chatter conveying a mixture of thoughts and opinions on the lesson.
'Well that was certainly interesting,' Peter mused as Team GRAP walked out of the auditorium, getting Greta's attention.
'Sorry, what?' Greta asked.
'Oh nothing really,' Peter replied. I was just commenting on the lesson.
'I thought it was interesting too,' Aurora added. Greta turned to see a thoughtful expression on the dark-skinned girl's face. 'So,' she then said, turning to look at Greta, 'Greta, are we going to be changing our schedules again?'
'Uh, probably,' Greta replied. 'I haven't really figured anything out yet though.'
It was then that another group of students walked forward from the crowd. Greta didn't recognise them from any of her classes and hadn't seen them go up to fight on the stage. They carried themselves with a lot of confidence and swagger and the leader, a heavily armoured boy with brown hair and a broad figure, wore a large mask that covered the bottom half of his face and had several moving parts that looked like a respirator.
'Peter,' the boy said jovially, giving Greta's partner a wave in greeting. His voice sounded strange, loud but with an artificial tint to it, as if it was reverberating.
'Jedd,' Peter replied with a cheerful smile. 'It's good to see you again. How are you?'
'I'm fine thanks,' Jedd replied. 'I was certainly impressed by how you did on the stage there.'
'Oh thanks,' Greta said, seeing that a conversation was probably going to begin. 'Um, uh,' she floundered, now feeling lost. 'Who are you?'
'Ah,' the boy, Jedd, exclaimed, his eyes lighting up. 'I,' he said in a loud and somewhat bombastic tone, 'am Jedediah Nechten, leader of Team JETT, first and finest of the second years.'
Greta looked to the other members of his team, seeing two other boys and a girl. The girl had dark skin, white hair and a long, glittering silver dress with a long slit on one side that led from the hem up most of her left leg, presumably to allow greater mobility. One of the boys was the exact same size as Jedd and had a similar bodyshape. Greta thought for a moment whether or not his face looked similar to the parts of Jedd's that she could see. This boy was dressed in a rather simple outfit with a long overcoat covering a leather shirt and trousers. The last boy was a giant with darkly tanned skin, incredibly broad shoulders and thick muscular arms. He wore a pair of red trousers and a shirt that had been left open most of the way, exposing a muscular chest. A round mask that would have encompassed his entire face was also raised and lay over the top of his head, ready to be pulled down at a moments notice.
'Hi,' the girl said with a confident smile on her face. 'I'm Egeria Patch, this dumbass' partner.'
'Egeria,' Jedd growled, glaring at his partner.
'Tobias Nechten,' the first boy said, his expression looking somewhat bored. He did wave in greeting but seemed disinterested in meeting anyone. 'Most call me Toby, I don't care if you do.'
'I am Thaba Trahern,' the giant boy said, nodding his head and introducing himself in a tone similar to Jedd's.
'Nice to meet you,' Greta replied. 'I'm Greta Hexenpfahl, uh, the leader of Team GRAP, though you probably all saw us on stage earlier.'
'Yes we did,' Jedd said. 'And a fine display you made. You left a good impression on this class and will probably get more attention because of it.'
'Um, great,' Greta said in response, trying not to groan as she thought about what it might mean for older Huntsmen and Huntresses to find her interesting. "Gods help me," she thought, fixing a desperate smile to her face.
'Oh yes, it is great,' Jedd replied, his cheeks rising over the top of his mask to indicate that he was smiling. 'As I've said before,' he began.
'Oh not this again,' Egeria mumbled, rolling her eyes.
'Impressions are the first thing you have to consider in this place,' Jedd continued. 'Once you've established a reputation you then have to defend and improve it. I set out to make this team the finest of our year, no matter what year we are in, and I have done so. Our team rose from anonymity to the heights of notoriety.'
'Really?' Rapture asked. 'We've never heard of you. In fact needing to introduce yourselves to us kind of ruins the whole notoriety thing.'
Jedd raised an eyebrow in response and his cheeks relaxed. The rest of the team also looked rather surprised at Rapture's point, or at least the logic behind it. Even Egeria and Toby, despite their previous disparagement of their leader's attitude, looked a little annoyed at what Rapture had just said.
'So I guess these means more "trying harder" then?' Toby asked sardonically, turning to address Jedd.
'Yes,' Jedd shouted with bombast before beginning to chuckle, the mask making the noise sound a little unsettling.
'So who's ass are we gonna kick to prove we're better this time?' Egeria asked. 'Team VRDN looked like they were trying to move in our turf with their performance.'
'I would recommend Team VILT instead,' Tabha said, finally speaking for the first time since his introduction. 'Victor has been talking about knocking us all down a peg for a while now.'
"Are all second years like this?" Greta pondered in her head as the other team continued to banter. 'So are you guys going to be in the tournament?' she then asked.
'Oh certainly,' Jedd answered enthusiastically, breaking away from the other conversation. 'We wouldn't miss this opportunity for the world. The first Vytal Festival Tournament in thirty years, and in Vacuo no less, who wouldn't want to take part in such a historic occasion.'
'Good point,' Greta conceded.
'Well if you are as good as you say you are,' Peter suddenly cut in with a smirk. 'I hope we don't have to go up against you.'
'Oh trust me,' Toby then said with a leer, 'we are.'
'Well it was nice meeting you,' Greta began looking at her scroll as a small beeping signal went off, 'but we had a meeting scheduled. 'I hope we run into one another again.'
'Sure, sure,' Jedd said, his hands up and an understanding look in his eyes. 'We'll definitely see more of one another in these classes. Who knows, we might finally get a chance to show you all what we're capable of.'
'Here's hoping,' Peter replied.
'Come on guys,' Greta then said, nudging Peter's arm. 'TEAL's already left. They're probably at the training ground already.'
The two teams said their goodbyes and then left the auditorium. By this point most of the teams had left the building and so the halls and corridors were empty as the students had moved on to wherever they had planned to go after the class was over.
'Well they seemed nice,' Greta commented as they walked out into the courtyard. 'Where'd you meet them?'
'I only met Jedd and Egeria,' Peter said as he walked up to her side. 'I ran into them in the music-room during the thing with Rapture.' He then trailed off awkwardly and glanced at Rapture. The faunus girl, already listening to what he was saying and noticing his look shrugged.
'If we're lucky, I guess we'll get to see how they do in class,' Aurora pointed out. 'Maybe we'll pick up some pointers.'
'If they're anything like the other upper years we saw we've got a lot to learn then,' Peter added.
'You're right,' Greta sighed. 'Gods help us this is going to be hard.'
'Come on,' Rapture said in response. 'We're training to be Huntresses, and a Huntsman in Peter's case, and applied for the Vytal Festival Tournament. What part of that doesn't scream extra effort?'
'You're right,' Greta repeated herself as they headed off the campus and in the direction of the nearby woods where Team TEAL had set up their impromptu training ground. 'Well we'd better get started then.'
Benedict Cache had never felt more nervous in his entire life. He had done many questionable and outright illegal things since he met Iseabal Beathas. He had stolen secrets, broken the confidence of people who relied on him to advice them spiritually and helped Iseabal's supporters gain advantageous positions in the government. What he was about to do, however, was a new and terrible line that he was being told to cross.
Now he stood in Councilman Li's office, waiting for his appointment with the politician. Li Meng was one of the prominent members of the Council and had nearly won two seats in their entirety. He had also collected his fair share of scandals over the years, some manufactured and others genuine. Benedict had listened to Meng's concerns whenever he called for him and had done his best to assuage the man's fears whenever the topic of his own conscience and the judgement of the gods came into the Councilman's mind.
"I need to be inconspicuous," Benedict thought. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small digicard. It had been nearly a month since Iseabal had given him the card and the important mission that came with it.
Clenching his fist, he then pocketed the digicard again and sat down in the visitor's chair in the office. He needed to do this quickly but he also needed to give the card time to break into the government servers. The moment the program was in it would be almost impossible to find and would even be able to penetrate the CCT servers and spread even further. Getting the program in, however, would require time.
"The desk would be too obvious," Benedict pondered, keeping a calm expression on his face as he thought. "Li keeps his scroll and combook on his person at all times and the digicard would be too obvious attached to them anyway."
Benedict glanced at the clock as he went over his options. Meng was late but that wasn't abnormal when it came to their meetings. As a high ranking Councilman he was incredibly busy and would always prioritise his work. Benedict wondered if Meng really valued their talks or if it was just a placebo for his conscience. He was quite sure that it was the latter really, few politicians really took spiritual advice that seriously, instead using it for psychological assistance or for personal relations reasons.
"The desk is my only option," Benedict decided, rubbing his face in exasperation. "I'll have to find a place to hide it where I can easily retrieve it when we're done."
He looked over the desk, maintaining his composure so that the room's cameras didn't pick up any suspicious activities. The desk was largely clean and clear with the exceptions of a couple of orderly stacks of papers and a few framed photos.
"He rarely moves the photos," Benedict thought as he leaned back in the chair. "It would probably be best to place it behind them. He probably won't notice it there."
The cameras were still on him though so he couldn't just reach forward and touch the desk while he was on his own. Instead Benedict sat down to wait for Meng to arrive and start their conversation. Then he could make his move.
Five more minutes went by with Benedict remaining in his silent introspection before the sound of the doorknob turning brought him out of his thoughts. Benedict turned to see the door opening and a new figure entering the room. Councilman Li Meng was a man of average height and eastern complexion, a holdover of his Mistrali ancestry. His hair was dark and cut professionally short and his eyes were sharp and striking. The Councilman was dressed in a plain dark suit with a red stripe along the hem of the collar of the jacket and a dark red tie as the only forms of personal ornamentation.
His middling years were apparent in the lines on his face but on the whole he appeared strong and energetic and he had a calm presence when he was in a room. To Benedict he had been a man perfect at projecting capability without standing out too much, a brilliant combination for a politician.
'I'm sorry for being so late Benedict,' Meng said casually as she shut the door behind him. 'I was held back by some of the other chair holders.'
'It's no problem Meng,' Benedict replied, addressing the Councilman informally. It often helped with the atmosphere of their discussions. 'Now,' he continued as Meng walked across the room and saw down in the large leather chair behind the desk, 'how can I help you today?'
Meng sighed, bowing his head a little and then rubbing his eyes in frustration. When he uncovered his face Benedict could see there was a tiredness in the other man's eyes. His posture had also dropped and he appeared so much more vulnerable and fatigued.
'You obviously know about the proverbial war going on in the Old North of Vale don't you?' Meng asked though Benedict could tell it was rhetorical.
'Yes,' Benedict replied, nodding a little and putting on a look of mild concern.
'Well the Council is already debating the continuation of the police's deployment in the area,' Meng continued. 'It's been a month since we began and there's been barely a glimpse of the Red Fang. The costs of this campaign are already astronomical but,...'
'The people still want you to continue,' Benedict interrupted, seeing where the conversation was going. 'Don't they?'
'The polls last week say that the majority of the population still support the purge of the district,' Meng replied. 'I, however, am concerned about the casualty rate that's already present. There have also been reports of Grimm concentrations increasing along the border nearby.'
'I understand,' Benedict said in response. He had been told confidential information before and knew how to talk around it.
'I'm sure you've already guessed what I'm about to ask,' Meng continued. 'I've heard every argument presented about this conflict and I've deliberated the topic of the war but I have yet to make an actual decision. I want to hear your opinion on this matter. What do you think the gods would have to say about this?'
'Well Meng,' Benedict said, leaning forward and putting his hands on the desk. As he did this he placed the digicard on the surface, behind the picture frames. He kept his hand in that position to cover the card and make his movements seem less suspicious. 'The world of politics is something that religion normally doesn't work that well within anymore. These kinds of situations, however, are much more pertinent. The gods would normally tell men like you to avoid hasty conflict, such actions, as you said, bring down the Grimm upon us.'
Meng nodded, his eyes shut and a contemplative look on his face. Benedict wondered what higher power was guiding him this day as he pulled his hands back but realised that the digicard was still safe from notice. His body was obscuring the little device from the camera and Meng's choice of stance left him blind to what was going on.
'I would have to say,' Benedict continued, thinking carefully about the correct response, 'that you listen to your conscience. The gods guide us through such things and if you truly feel such doubt around this war then you should oppose it. The people may not like it but the gifts the gods gave you ensured your position and it is your responsibility to act on the people's behalf even if they do not know your decisions are to their benefit.'
'I see,' Meng said. 'Thank you Benedict. I needed something like that.'
'My purpose is to guide those in need,' Benedict replied with a smile. He felt terrible about what he was doing but he needed to complete his task.
'Yes, well,' Meng then continued, his composure becoming somewhat impatient, 'thank you for the advice. I'm sorry that this meeting has to be so short, especially since I was so late. I just needed a little bit of extra assistance on this matter.'
'No I understand perfectly,' Benedict replied. He got up out of the seat and as he rose he feigned stiff joints to let him grab at the desk. As he pulled himself up he lifted the digicard out from behind its hiding place and then pocketed it when he put his arms back down by his sides. Throughout the entire action he only put a grimace of exertion to make his act more convincing.
'Thank you my friend,' Meng said. 'I'll call you for my next appointment soon.'
'I will keep an ear out then,' Benedict said in response. 'I hope I've been of some help today.'
'Yes, I hope you have a good day,' Meng finally said, a politician's smile on his face. He then swept his arm forward, indicating the door to Benedict.
Benedict bowed and then turned towards the door, opening it and exiting the room. Though he kept his usual calm expression on his face, Benedict felt ill inside. He had never done anything this severe, this treacherous before. He had done countless acts that would qualify as treason in the past few months but this was the worst. Now Iseabal had access to all of the government's secrets and he knew full well what she would use them for.
The thought of Iseabal changed his mind from guilt to a perverse excitement as he realised that succeeding in his mission meant he would finally get his reward as well. Sighing at the turn his thoughts had made, Benedict began to walk out of the Council Building. Iseabal should have received access to Meng's server and would be coming to visit him soon and he needed to prepare for her arrival.