While the other students watched the fight below with great interest, Team KNNG looked upon the match between Lie Ren & Russel Thrush with discontent, boredom, and impatience. Ren's martial arts and weapons prowess were nothing short of impressive to the average huntsman, but they were far beyond such standards. At full strength, they could overpower and outspeed any huntsman, student or professional, that crossed their path. It was the reason Professor Goodwitch's combat course was held in such low regard by Team KNNG, they could never go all out in a fight. If they did, their cover would be blown almost immediately, and they weren't keen on alerting anyone in Otherworld about their presence by causing a mass panic. So, they made an effort to go unnoticed and run out the clock until it was time to move on to their next class.
As Lie expertly dodged Russel's wild sword swings, Noland squeezed his eyes shut and pinched the bridge of his nose while his monkey tail twitched in irritation. After letting out a sigh, he asked, "How much longer?" Out of all of them, Team KNNG's muscle & resident faunus despised this class the most. The pitiful excuse for combat he had to witness in this class made even the greenest of low-class Saiyan warriors look like veterans. As a seasoned mid class warrior who fought in the Saiyan/Tuffle War, the lack of power these huntsmen displayed in these matches frustrated him to no end.
"20 minutes exactly." Nigel, Noland's teammate, responded in his usual monotone.
"Well, seeing how this fight is going, there'll probably be time for one more match before class lets out" grumbled Nigel's partner, Gus.
"While that may be the case, please try to keep your mouth's shut for the duration of the class. I don't need your grating voices adding to all this annoyance," commanded Team KNNG's leader, Kalt. Noland shot a glare at his partner, clenching his fist in anger. Although the two were expected to be teammates, Kalt and Noland remained the bitter rivals they had always been. While their history spanned back into their past lives as King Cold and Nappa, the two's never-ending need to gain dominance over the other began shortly after their memories were reawakened during their childhood. This made teamwork more difficult than it already was, as Kalt and Noland would either separate to fight Grimm on their own or get into one of their infamous arguments.
Before Noland could retort, a buzzer blared in his ears, indicating that the match below had been decided. Team KNNG looked down to the arena below, and sure enough, saw Russel Thrush face down on the floor, his aura obviously depleted.
"That concludes the match." Professor Goodwitch announced. As she made her way over, she gave her scroll a quick look over, scanning the notes she had taken during the fight.
"Well done Ren," said Goodwitch, commending the young huntsman. "That was an impressive display. Just be sure to keep practicing, we wouldn't want your skills to slide just before the Vytal Festival."
"Thank you, Professor, I will," Ren replied. Goodwitch then turned his attention to Russel, who finally picked himself up off the ground.
"Mr. Thrush," Goodwitch began, "we've been over this before. If you let your frustration cloud your mind during battle, you will leave yourself open to retaliation. If you had remained calm, you might have fared better in this fight."
Goodwitch's words were harsh but true, and although Russel was frustrated by her comments, he knew better than to argue with her.
"Got it," Russel responded, and then made his way back up to the stands behind Ren. After checking the time on her scroll, Goodwitch then turned her attention back to the students above her.
"Alright, we have time for one more match before class lets out. Any volunteers?" Almost immediately, Cardin Winchester's hand shot up, no doubt wanting to make up for his teammate's humiliating defeat. While she wasn't exactly fond of Cardin, or Team CRDL in general, if they wished to participate in a match, she would not stop them.
"Alright, Mr. Winchester, let's find you an opponent." While Cardin was certainly one of the stronger first years students, there was no shortage of people who wanted to take him down a peg. The members of both Team RWBY or JNPR were the first to come to her mind. However, before she or any other student got the chance, Cardin spoke up.
"Actually, Prof," Cardin began. He then pointed his mace towards a certain oblivious individual in the stands. "I want to fight him." Gus had turned his attention towards Cardin, trying to see who he was pointing to. Suddenly, his face jolted in surprise and then turned to his teammate.
"Uh, Noland" he began nervously.
"What?" Noland angrily said. He saw Gus was pointing over his shoulder, and so, begrudgingly, decided to turn and see what his teammate was trying to point out. What he saw surprised him. Cardin Winchester was pointing his mace right at him.
"Yeah, I'm calling you out monkey" Cardin announced in a maliciously cocky tone. Glynda, though initially surprised by Cardin's choice, saw right through his plan. In an effort to assert his team's dominance, he planned on beating one of the largest students in his class. While it seemed more akin to something one would see in prison than an academy, she honestly expected this kind of behavior from the resident bully.
On the other hand, this was also a chance to have at least one of Team KNNG's members actually participate in her class. She had given the four boys plenty of time to volunteer for matches, but by now her patience ran thin. She would have been forced to put her foot down, but thankfully Cardin's decision provided another avenue for which she could include them.
"Very well, the match will be Cardin Winchester against Noland Planter. Gentlemen, if you would please make your way down to the arena." Glynda instructed the two. She saw Cardin began to make his way down, but then turned and saw that Noland was still sitting in his place, a look of shock and anger on his face. He almost looked insulted that Cardin had even challenged him.
"Mr. Planter, please join us," Glynda repeated. Cardin took notice of this as well and took this chance to belittle the faunus.
"What's a matter monkey? Afraid I'll send you home crying or did I just hurt your feelings?" Noland then abruptly rose from his seat, starring rage-filled daggers at Cardin.
"I'm coming," he said through gritted teeth. Noland then made his way towards the stairs to the arena as Cardin continued his descent.
As the two boys made their way down to the arena, both Team RWBY and Team JNPR became quite interested to see how this battle would unfold. None of them had ever seen any member of Team KNNG fight before. If the rumors surrounding the enigmatic team were to be believed, they usually trained somewhere off campus. Ruby Rose, on the other hand, was interested in the fight for another reason.
"Oh, I can't wait to see what his weapon is!" Ruby excitedly said. The young weapon fanatic had been eager to see what kind of arms other huntsmen possessed, and Team KNNG was no exception. She knew that the team's leader, Kalt Norden, carried a long sword that always remained in the sheath on his back, but she wanted to see their entire arsenal in action. In response to her childish behavior, Weiss, Ruby's partner, just rolled her eyes.
"Ruby, whatever his weapon maybe, it has to be small. It's also possible he may not have one at all," Weiss interjected.
"Pffft. Come on, Weiss," Ruby said while nudging her partner, "there's no way he doesn't have a weapon. Being a huntsman without a weapon is like having cookies with no milk." Before Weiss could retort, Blake decided to cut in.
"Well, it looks like we're about to find out," She calmly pointed out. Ruby and Weiss, along with their friends, returned their attention to the arena. Cardin and Noland were standing on opposite sides, facing each other down. As Cardin raised his mace, Noland reached down into the pockets of his cargo pants. Pulling his fists out, Ruby could see he was grasping onto something tightly. Unclenching his fists, Ruby could see the thick knuckle dusters as Noland slid them onto his hand.
"So he's a brawler, huh," Ruby's older sister, Yang said. "I could have guessed that even without him showing us those dusters."
Ruby didn't respond, as she was more preoccupied examining Noland's knuckle dusters as he prepared to face off against Cardin. They weren't mechanically complex like her Crescent Rose or fancy like Weiss' Myrtenaster, but she noticed how well they were kept. Noland obviously took time making sure they were well polished, she could tell by how the light reflected off of the dark bronze metal. Looking a little closer, she noticed small red crystals on each knuckle and smiled.
"Looks like he's packing some fire dust in those knuckles," Ruby said aloud. Unannounced to Ruby, her sister smirked.
"So what your saying is," Yang began, and the rest of her friends grimaced as they prepared themselves for one of Yang's puns, "he's really gonna light this match up!" While Yang smiled with pride at her clever pun, her teammates sighed as they returned their attention back to the arena.
"Really, that's all this freak has. A pair of hand-me-down brass knuckles. Well, I guess that's all I should expect from faunus," arrogantly thought Cardin. "So what if he's a little bigger, that just means he's dumber and slower than the rest of his kind. I'll be wiping the floor with this worthless monkey in no time."
As these thoughts continued to ooze out of Cardin's head, Noland kept giving him a deadly serious glare. Of course, Cardin only took it as a challenge and an extra reason to remind this faunus of his place in the world.
Finally, Professor Goodwitch spoke. "Alright gentlemen, since we only have so much time left, let's get this battle underway," she said as Noland and Cardin's pictures appeared on the screen above the arena along with their aura levels. Goodwitch then announced, "Begin."
Without hesitation, Cardin aggressively charged at Noland, who remained motionless. When Cardin came into striking distance, he swung his mace down towards Noland's head. Before the mace reached his scalp, Noland pushed off of his left foot and dodged the attack. As his mace seemingly plummeted through the air, Cardin's face showed no distress but retained his haughty smirk.
"Ha, monkey boy fell for it," Cardin thought as he swung his mace to the left, towards Noland's face once again. However, he was surprised when his quick swing did not land, as Noland had ducked under the blow. "What? Why you little," said Cardin said under his breath. After following through with his attack, he immediately attempted an angled backhand swing but was once again greeted by open air. He looked up and saw Noland moving away from his blow, and noticed a smirk appear on the faunus' face. Enraged, Cardin shouted in his head. "Are you looking down me!" He brought his mace over his head, gripping it with both hands and jumped forward. As he brought down his mace with his full strength, Noland stood his ground. Seeing this, Cardin's confident smile returned to his face."Got you NOW!" he yelled triumphantly.
BAM!
The sound of the impact reverberated throughout the arena, causing many of the students to wince and cover their ears. While Cardin's strike had brought the power, his confidence immediately turned into shock. Noland stood before him, blocking his strike with his left hand, which was firmly holding onto his mace. Not wasting the opening, Noland launched his right fist into Cardin's stomach. As the air was driven out of his lungs by Noland's punch, Cardin gripped his stomach as he stumbled back. After regaining his breath, Cardin looked up to the screen and saw that he had lost 20 percent of his total aura. More importantly, he had let go of his mace when Noland punched him. Getting into his fighting stance again, Cardin raised his fists and prepared to take his weapon back. Then, he heard Noland chuckling to himself.
"What's a matter? Does baby want his rattle," Noland tauntingly asked. The students in the stands could hear Cardin's knuckles cracking as he clenched his fists in frustration. Then, to everyone's surprise, Noland lobbed Cardin's mace over to him, which he caught by the handle. Caught off guard by Noland's action, Cardin couldn't determine if the faunus was being overconfident or just plain stupid. However, that really didn't matter, because he was still going to bash Noland's head in for insulting him. Noland, on the other hand, wasn't finished infuriating his opponent.
He looked Cardin dead in the eye and said, "Come on, birdbrain, give me your best shot." After that, Cardin, his face twisting in anger and he activated the dust in his mace. As he let the charge build, Noland returned to his fighting stance, a look of furious excitement in his eyes.
"COME ON," Noland shouted. At that provocation, Cardin obliged and struck the arena floor with his fully charged mace, sending a cascading explosion in Noland's direction. The explosion engulfed Noland, and Cardin's arrogant smile returned to his face. Noland's aura would have had to have taken serious damage, and now he was going to finish the job. Charging through the rubble of the arena floor with his mace held high, Cardin shouted, "What do you think of that, monkey bo-." Before Cardin could finish his sentence, Noland shot out of the smoke and planted his fist into his mouth. As Cardin flew back from the punch, Noland launched himself above his opponent, flipped upside down, and kicked him back down to the floor. For the second time, the air rushed out of Cardin's lungs as he hit the ground hard, his aura flickering as it rapidly dropped to 30 percent. While Cardin was getting up, Noland flipped and land feet first a few meters away. Although he was battered and beaten, Cardin found the strength to stand up and face his opponent.
"This can't be happening," Cardin thought. "I can't lose to this freak!" Cardin had planned to dominate Noland and show Beacon Academy that he was a force to be reckoned with. Now, with Noland beating him into the dirt, this fight only served to make him look like subpar trash.
Returning his attention towards Noland, Cardin saw that the dust on his right knuckle duster glowing faintly. Noland then extended his right index and middle fingers as energy began to rise off of them. Cardin didn't know what he was doing, and he didn't care. All that mattered was taking this faunus down, and he would do it with his bare hands if he had to. Letting his anger take over, he started to charge towards his opponent.
Seeing Cardin lunge at him with reckless abandon, Noland couldn't help but smirk. Swiftly, he brought his right arm over to his left shoulder and then swung his arm back over to his right. As Cardin took his next step, the space around him began to combust. Before the light and fire engulfed Cardin, Noland grinned with satisfaction as he saw Cardin's furious expression transform into one of terror.
KABOOM!
The fiery explosion shook the room, deafening those closest to the arena. It was followed by the sound of stone cracking, as Cardin's singed form slammed into the wall. As he hit the ground, Cardin's aura finally shattered and the buzzer sounded.
"That… concludes the match." Glynda said, her shock evident in her tone. The surprise could be seen in the eyes of every student in the room, as they looked down upon the devastated battlefield. There were dents in the floor made by Cardin's mace, a smoking crater where Noland's explosion had erupted from, and a large crack had formed on the wall Cardin had crashed into. Regaining her usual composure, Glynda walked between her students as the battered Cardin began to lift himself off the ground.
"Mr. Winchester, did you pay attention to what I said Russel before your match?" she questioned with an air of authority. Cardin was leaning heavily on his mace for leverage but managed to look up slightly.
"Y-yes," he managed to force out.
"No, you didn't," Glynda retorted. "Like your teammate, you allowed your anger dictate your actions, giving Mr. Planter an ample amount of openings to attack you. Next time, choose your fights more wisely & control your emotions. The Grimm won't give you an opportunity for you to regain control." Cardin nodded and slowly began to limp towards the stairs.
"Also, I suggest you go to the infirmary before your next class," Glynda said to Cardin.
"Will do," he responded as he made his way up the stairs to his team. With that taken care of, she turned her attention towards Noland.
"Now, Mr. Planter, that was a good match," Glynda complimented. "However, next time, please refrain from taunting your opponent. It is unbecoming of a professional."
"Aww come on, that's half the fun." Noland retorted. Glynda gave the young huntsman a disapproving look, which sent a shiver up Noland's spine.
"Uh, I mean… Yes ma'am," Noland said whilst trying not to make eye contact with his professor. Before she could continue, the bell rang, and she sighed.
"Alright everyone you are dismissed, but remember that we will be focusing on team battles for the next two weeks. Be sure to get in some practice before next class, and I expect everyone to participate." Noland and the rest of his teammates felt that last part was directed at them. Professor Goodwitch was letting them know that there would be no excuses moving forward, and they would be participating. However, Noland didn't let that put a damper on his good mood and he rejoined his team as they exited the classroom.
"Hahaha, his face was priceless," said Gus while laughing. "He actually walked right into that explosion! What an idiot! Hahaha!"
"Well, Nappa, I'm surprised you held back at all against that oaf," Kalt said, trying to get a rise out of his underling. "You Saiyans always let your feral urges fuel your little squabbles." Kalt expected Noland to snap back at him but was surprised when he only heard the former Saiyan chuckle.
"What would be the fun in that," Noland responded with a wicked grin on his face. "Running his mouth with a power level like that? What an absolute joke! Nah, I just wanted to have some fun playing with that weakling before I put him in his place. Plus," his glare intensified, "I needed to make him pay for those insults."
"Nevertheless, we still gain nothing practical from participating in those fights," Nigel interjected.
"Ahh, give it a rest, ya clown," Noland responded. Irritated, Nigel gave him a look of contempt in response to his insult. "It's not like we can just sit on our butts anymore. That old bat is gonna be on our case now, so we might as well suck it up."
"As much as I hate to admit it, you have a point." Kalt begrudgingly agreed. As they neared their next class, Kalt turned around to face his subordinates. "While we cannot use our full power in Goodwitch's class, she's going to expect us to participate in those matches. However, that doesn't mean they are completely useless to us. So, let's think of it as less combat and more," Kalt said as his expression darkened, "an opportunity to dominate."
In response, Noland, as well as Nigel and Gus, grinned. They could definitely get behind that.
"I know Cardin probably had that coming, but that looked like it really hurt," said Jaune. While he had not forgotten the days when Cardin bullied him, or how he continued to treat the faunus students on campus, Jaune couldn't help but feel some concern for Cardin after he basically dragged himself out of the arena. As they left the classroom, he saw the rest of Team CRDL supporting their leader on their way to the infirmary due to Cardin's injuries. Nevertheless, he continued, "I'm actually surprised Professor Goodwitch didn't call the match."
"Yeah," began Yang, "but come on, Vomit Boy, you have to admit it was just a little satisfying seeing Cardin get his butt handed to him." Ignoring the use of his hated nickname, Jaune had to concede to that point, if only just a little.
"Cardin's aura only dropped into the red after Noland's explosion, so it was still fair game. Plus, that explosion was pretty epic" Yang finished just as Nora jumped in.
"Yeah! That was AWESOME," she excitedly spoke, "It was big and loud and there was fire everywhere! What didja think Ren?!" Ren sighed at his childhood friends hyper antics, and said, "Yes Nora, I thought his attack was impressive."
"Really, you all thought that was impressive? Honestly, I think his entire strategy was absolutely brutish." Weiss scoffed disapprovingly.
"Really, and Cardin's wasn't," questioned Blake, raising an eyebrow. This response offset Weiss a bit. She didn't want to insinuate that Noland's violent strategy was tied to his faunus heritage, and was worried Blake had taken her comment the wrong way.
"N-no," she stuttered, trying to get her words out, "Of course not." Blake noticed how her teammate was feeling and put a hand on her shoulder.
"Sorry about that," she said and Weiss seemed to relax. "I'm just worried. Cardin's not gonna take this loss well, and I'm afraid of how he's going to react to it." While Blake hid her cat ears beneath her bow, other faunus at Beacon weren't able to hide their traits and suffered from Team CRDL's constant harassment. His devastating loss to Noland might cause him to up his cruelty, and she didn't want to think about how others would suffer.
"Well," began Ruby, "then we'll just have to help them however we can." The confidence shining in her silver eyes seemed put Blake at ease, for the moment. Then, she spotted the topic of their conversation conversing with the rest of his team. While not the best in social situations, Ruby decided it would be good to congratulate him on his win.
"Hey, Noland!" she called out. Noland turned his head, surprised and confused at who was calling his name. Ruby then waved to him, catching his and the rest of Team KNNG's attention, as they were perplexed at what she was doing. She walked over to them with her friends following behind, some of whom were relaxed while others were a bit apprehensive.
"That was a really great match in there," Ruby said in a friendly tone. Processing her praise, Noland's confusion gave way to a sense of pride and confidence at her adulation.
"Haha, thanks Red, but that was nothing," his pride evident in his voice. "If I had gone all out on that little bird, he'd be needing more than a trip to the nurses' office. Hahaha!"
"Oh really," Yang chimed in, a competitive flare in her eye. "Well, that sounds like a challenge to me, Big Guy. Maybe we could see if you can back that talk up, next class."
Noland conveyed some surprise at Yang's challenge but was not annoyed like he was with Cardin's. Instead, his eyes came alight with the same fire that was in Yang's as he pounded his right fist into the open palm of his left hand.
"Bring it on, Blondie. I'll be ready whenever you are. Just don't get your hopes up." Excitement seemed to spark between the two brawlers, eager to test their skills against one another. Ruby giggled at their interaction, while Weiss just rolled her eyes at the gung-ho muscleheads.
Worried his barbarian of an underling would actually start the match immediately, Kalt quickly tapped the back of Noland's head. At this provocation, Noland whirled around and growled at his partner.
"Hey! What gives," he said in an agitated voice. Kalt just gave him a small, condescending smile.
"Well, I can't have you going on a rampage right now, could I?" Noland growled at his partner some more, but finally relented and just crossed his arms in annoyance. Yang's laughter caught his attention as he turned towards her once more.
"Hahaha, don't worry about it, Big Guy, we'll find out who's stronger soon enough." She said with a smirk.
"While I hate to interrupt," Weiss said, "we should be heading to our next class." Ruby then checked the time on her scroll, recoiling a little.
"Oh no, we're going to be late," she said in surprise. "Sorry guys, but we gotta go. Maybe we can all meet up for lunch sometime?" While Team KNNG usually sat by themselves, this invitation intrigued them for some reason.
Kalt stepped forward and said, "We'll think about it. However, I do not believe we caught your name?"
"Oh," Ruby said realizing her error. Before they ran off to class, she should tell at least their names for the next time they meet up. "I'm Ruby, and this is my sister Yang."
"Been nice talking to you guys, but we gotta run!" Yang called out as her teammates raced down the hall. As the group rounded the corner, Gus decided to speak up.
"Sir, are you really going to think about joining them some time." Gus thought it was unlike his king to consider such a proposition from those he usually viewed as beneath him. Without looking at him, Cold gave his response.
"Excluding ourselves from our peers, both RWBY and JNPR possess the strongest power levels out of the entire crop of first-year students. It would be a waste to not start some correspondence with other strong warriors. Perhaps, they could even be of use to our goals." He then looked down towards Gus, a smile on his face but glowering look in his eyes. "Were you insinuating that I did not have a plan?" Gus shuddered in fear at the possibility of facing Kalt's wrath.
"N-N-NO Sir," he stammered out. "Of course you had that in mind. I apologize for questioning you, sir!
"Tcch, little brown noser," Noland said under his breath as he glared down at Gus. However, Gus still heard the insult and shot the former Saiyan an angry look from behind his green goggles.
"If you're all quite done, we must be on our way," Nigel spoke out, catching his teammates attention. Nigel was so quiet sometimes that Kalt, Noland, and Gus often forgot he was there. "We must not be late to Professor Peach's lecture, considering we have a test next week." Kalt then pulled out his scroll to check the time. They weren't far from the professor's classroom, and there was still plenty of time. He assumed Nigel just wanted to be done with this conversation, a feeling he sympathized with.
"Very well, Nigel. Let us be on our way." Kalt declared as he began his way down the hall, his underlings following behind him.
While Noland didn't let any of his teammates know, he actually did enjoy Professor Peach's botany course. Talking about the varieties of deadly flora that existed on Remnant excited him, as well as remind him of when he took care of his Saibamen back in his past life. It also made him reminisce about the farm he grew up on in this life. He had a feeling his Remnetian parents were getting ready for the autumn festival in Old Harbor right now, but he couldn't let these thoughts distract him. As a Saiyan warrior, he should push these feelings away and focus on the battle ahead. As he thought of his true goal, his reason to become stronger, his fist began to tighten and his Saiyan soul burned with anger.
"Somehow, someday, I'm gonna make him pay for betraying me!"
Kalt's cough brought Noland back to reality and he noticed they were at their destination. Opening the door, Noland saw that they were one of the first groups to arrive. Soon, a small woman wearing an ill-fitting lab coat and glasses noticed their arrival.
"Well, good to see you gentleman," Professor Peach greeted them. "Take a seat wherever you like, we're just about to begin." Noland, relaxed a bit, as his team took their seats at the front of the class, and waited for the lecture to begin.
Thank you for reading this! RWBY: Remnant Souls has been little idea I have had in the works for quite some time. However, I came up with so many ideas for teams, I couldn't immediately decide which one to use. So, I decided to start writing these vignettes to get a feel for how I would write each team and member to determine which one I will be writing about long term. If your thinking about subscribing to this story, I must warn you that the updates may be intermittent considering my current schedule. If you enjoyed it, feel free to leave a comment! If you have any questions in regards to this story, I would be happy to answer them. Until my next update, I wish you all well!
Next Time: Team KNNG [Gus]
