Chapter 2

"Hmm, I wonder where Pyrrha is," Nora said, sitting on her bed in her dorm.

Lie Ren nodded, "she needs to start training."

The team leader, Jaune Arc, stood by a window. He turned his head to look at everyone before saying, "didn't you say Professor Ozpin wanted to see her?"

Nora nodded, "I thought he just wanted to talk about our match. I guess it's taking longer than expected."

Ren sat next to Nora. "Perhaps she's getting press coverage. She is famous, after all."

"Hey, if she's seeing cameras, I think all of us deserve to be on TV too!" Nora pouted. "We're a team, after all!"

Jaune replied, "I just hope nothing bad happens. I've been feeling uneasy lately."

"How so?" Ren asked.

Jaune walked to the rest of his teammates. He sat on Ren's other side, and explained, "I'm not sure. I mean, we had that Grimm attack a while ago, and the festival is still being held. Plus, when was the last time any of us saw Ozpin in person?"

"I heard he broke up a fight in the courtyard," Ren said.

Nora stood up. "There was a fight outside of the arena and nobody told me?"

"Oh yeah," Jaune said. "I think Ruby told me it was her uncle and Weiss's sister fighting."

"I heard about this uncle, but never see him," Nora said, "what do you think he's like?"

"He's a teacher at Signal," Ren said, "so he may be a professional huntsman."

Jaune shifted his position, asking, "have any of you been to Signal?"

Nora shook her head. "Ren and I were travelling to Vale when we were that young."

Jaune looked down. Nora, Pyrrha and Ren knew his secret: he lied his way to get into the school. He came from a family of huntsmen, but he felt like he was a disappointment. His only training before Beacon was taught to him by his family.

"Maybe we can meet him!" Nora exclaimed. "I mean, Team RWBY tells us everything! Like how Blake is a faunus!"

Ren gave Nora a look before asking, "and we are the only ones that know, right?"

Nora nodded, "I may talk a lot, but I can keep a secret."

Neon had finished her fifth lap around Beacon's campus before her scroll began to ring. She picked it up and said, "Neon here! Where's the party?"

"Katt, it's Flynt."

"Heya! What's up? Oh wait, you are! In the arena!"

"Very funny, Katt."

Neon sat down on a bench. "How's the fight?"

"It's cool, man. But I'm hearing strange stuff from a previous match."

"What do ya mean, strange?"

"Remember that Team CFVY vs Team CMEN fight?"

"Yeah," Neon said, "what about it?"

"I was chatting with the faunus on Team CFVY, and she claims her leader saw her teammate in the forest."

"That's weird, he never was in there."

"I know, Katt. I think it's strange."

"How close are we to the finals?" Neon asked.

"Very close. I think there's one more fight before the singles."

Neon stood up. "Sweet! I wanna see my new friend's teammate fight."

Nora made her way to the seats of the arena. Jaune and Ren had already taken their seats, making her the designated popcorn fetcher. She had plenty of time before they announce the first match.

As she arrived at the snack booth, she noticed a familiar tail.

"Neon? Is that you?" she asked.

Neon turned around, grinning. "Hey, girlfriend!"

"You here to see the first match too?" Nora asked.

Neon nodded, "I'm rooting for Pyrrha, the blondie I fought, and Penny."

"I think I know Penny," Nora thought, "she's from your school. My friend, Ruby, hangs with her a lot."

"Yup! Penny is such a sweet girl, but very quiet. We rarely see her in classes."

"Odd...ooh, maybe she has a secret class that trains her to be an assassin!"

Neon laughed, "Atlas isn't THAT evil!"

Nora giggled with her. "Hey, wanna sit with me and my teammates?"

Neon shrugged, "ok! Flynt and I love meeting new people."

Neon sat down between Nora and Flynt. JNPR's leader, Jaune, was in conversation with Neon's leader, while Nora tried to get her friend, Ren, to talk. Neon switched between conversations, learning new things about the Beacon students.

Suddenly, the announcers cleared their throats. It was time to randomly decide the first fight.

The screen shuffled between the eight finalists' pictures. The first picture on the screen was one of the Haven students that fought CFVY. The second picture was the blonde girl Neon teased.

"Mercury Black and Yang Xiao Long!"

"GO, YANG!" Nora stood up and cheered. Neon stood as well, clapping her hands rapidly.

Yang and Mercury got in position before the announcers yelled, "BEGIN!"

The fight began! Yang and Mercury began hand-to-leg combat. Mercury seemed very active on his feet, literally. It wasn't long until they began firing bullets and fireballs, Yang punching with her gauntlets, and Mercury firing off with his boots. The Haven student shot bullets into the air, and they swirled around the fighters. All at once, they fell and landed where Yang stood. Mercury stood up and brushed himself off.

Neon and Nora looked at each other. Did Yang just lose?
They got their answer from a flame bursting as soon as the dust cleared. Yang was covered in flame, as if she were glowing.

"Here she goes!" Neon practically bounced in her seat. She loved seeing Yang's semblance in action!

Yang fired ball after ball of flames at Mercury until she got close enough to punch him in the gut, lowering his aura.

JNPR and FNKI jumped out of their seats, cheering. What a way to kick off the singles tournament! Everyone cheered around them.

But the moment didn't last.

Neon watched as Yang punched Mercury in the leg, sending him flying back.

Her jaw dropped. She knew Yang had an issue, but to attack someone right after a fight?

She turned to Nora, who looked just as shocked.

The crowd began to boo as Atlesian guards surrounded Yang.

Neon turned to Flynt, unsure of what to make of the situation.