Chapter 2: New Challengers!


(Amity Colosseum)

In the stands of the cheering crowd, an elderly man was staring at the arena. He kept his eyes on Team JNPR, before looking over at Team BRNZ, carefully staring at the weapons that each teen was using. The elderly man had slick back gray hair, and was wearing a short-sleeved brown shirt and long pants. An elderly woman walks over to where the man was, and sat next to him.

"A sword and shield, two pistol blades, a hammer, and other useless weapons." The elderly man said." The new generation is a complete joke."

"You can't blame those children for the way they've been taught to fight." The elderly woman said." Their still in the beginner phase, Gammal."

"Beginner phase or not, this fight won't be entertaining."

"Hmm...Is that so, eh? I heard you're granddaughter Nebula is also fighting in the tournament. Aren't you going to root for her?"

"...Hmm, I rather not."

"Ooh, the match is starting." The elderly woman said, as the two look back at the arena.

Team JNPR readies themselves against their opponent, with the mountains to their back and while Team BRNZ had the forest on their side. A large holographic screen counts down with Boomstick over the crowd's cheering.

Boomstick:" 3...2...1...

"Come on guys!" Jaune yelled, raising his sword.

Boomstick:" It's time for a Vytal Death Battle!

All four members of JNPR charge forward, but only three fighters from BRNZ do the same; the beanie wearing May Zedong turns around and heads into the trees, cocking her weapon. In the center of the field, leader Brawnz Ni delivers a knee kick to Pyrrha's shield that sends her skidding back, right before she blocks the claws on his fist with her xiphos. She jerks her sword away and makes him leap back, just as the sniper jumps up into the branches of the forest with the bladed butt of her sniper rifle. Ren readies his StormFlower to attack Nolan Porfirio, who almost gets blindsided by Nora swinging with Maghild before he ducks under the attack and attempts to hit her with his cattle prod.

The sniper girl finally takes aim from her spot and manages to fire off two rounds near Ren, destroying the rocks behind him. Jaune manages to block the buzzsaw gloves of Roy Stallion with his own shield before he notices the bullets flying and sees the glint of the gun in the leaves.

"R-R-Retreat!" Jaune yelled, as his eyes went wide in horror.

Ren glances back at his leader as a shot hits the ground by his feet. He and Nora start running back into the mountains as Jane and Pyrrha cover their escape by blocking the bullets with their shields. The four leap over a rocky outcropping for cover.

"What do we do?" Pyrrha asked Jaune, as projectiles kept flying overhead.

Jaune looks over the edge to see the melee fighters closing in." Spread out! Try to keep moving!" His team follows this just as Brawnz lands a punch on Jaune's shield.

May jumps onto another branch and smiles from behind her scope as she looks at the fight below. Brawnz and Pyrrha continue to duke it out while Nolan slowly advances towards Ren when he slides into his path. The prod-wielding warrior looks back at the trees and nods to his hidden ally, who shoots at Ren's feet again, causing him to jump around while trying to dodge them. Just as he lands, Nolan hits him upside the head with his weapon, and is able to miss the retaliatory kick with another blow to the knee and a final hit to the chest using the business end of his prod.

Electricity shoots through Ren's body before he collapses to the ground besides his childhood friend.

"Ren!" Nora yelled out.

Scowling, Nora takes a swing at Nolan, who promptly dodges it and again unleashes his weapon's power into her corset, though this causes a quite different reaction from the grinning redhead.

"Oh-ho! Looks like one of my favorite students, Nora Valkyrie, is charging up to use her Semblance!" Port said, speaking from his spot on the giant hologram screen overhead with Oobleck, Boomstick, and the soldier in blue and white armor.

"What?" Nolan said, looking up at the screen with complete panic.

"Yes, Ms. Valkyrie's Semblance lets her produce, as well as channel, electrical energy straight to her muscles!" Oobleck said." This allows her to jump explosively into the air, wield her mighty hammer, or in this case, absorb Nolan's attacks and send the young man flying!"

Nolan looks back at his opponent." What!?"

Nolan finally takes his cattle prod away, but the damage is done: Nora flexes her arms as pink lightning courses through her body. Nolan attempts to lift his hands up in surrender, but thunder starts sparking from Nora's Aura as she rushes at him. Nora gives him a victorius smile, before hitting Nolan with her hammer, bouncing him back across the field, crashing through a rock and staying there when he's stopped moving.

Jaune looks back at the mountaintop on his team's side as a dark storm cloud appears over it, cackling with lightning. He looks over at his energized teammate." Nora! Get the mountain!"

"You got it!" Nora said, while saluting to him. She sprints off towards the mountain, and starts her climb.

"Ren! Try and distract the sniper!"

Hearing this, Ren slouches." Sure... Why not." He said, in a sarcastic tone, as another shot nearly misses his head.

The remaining three members of JNPR run forward as Nora hops up and rapidly ascends the mountain. Roy throws the saws from his gloves into Jaune's shield, which still manages to bend the metal and slam the leader's own defense in his face before the weapons return back to their master. Pyrrha gets up close to him, and he delivers a series of spinning swings with his arms into the Akouo as Jaune shakes off his disorientation and charges into battle yet again.

"Yeah!" Ruby yelled from her set in the stands with the rest of her team." Go get 'em, Jaune!"

"Well, he's certainly improved." Weiss commented.

"Yeah, but he ain't got nothing on Pyrrha." Yang said, smiling.

Pyrrha takes on both Brawnz and Roy, delivering a kick to one as she deftly dodges and blocks the discs of the other, throwing her javelin to distract the latter while she somersaults back to use both feet in landing a blow on Brawnz. May attempts to shoot Ren while he dashes his way toward her position, leaping out of the way of her shots, the flying saws, and even sliding under Pyrrha before he runs at Nolan, weapons blasting until he's close enough to start swinging his blades away.

He ducks and deflects each of the cattle prod's attempted hits until he manages to hold it in the pistol's blades and double kicks his opponent, giving him the opportunity to catch Nolan's weapon in his own as the prod is forced behind Nolan's head and leaves him trapped. Ren hides behind the teammate of the sniper, who stops aiming at him and lifts her barrel up to another target.

"Nora!" Ren yelled, as he struggles to keep Nolan in place.

Jaune catches Brawnz's claws with his blade while Nora lifts herself higher and higher to the top." Pyrrha! Up!"

His partner rushes towards him, dodge rolling to avoid a launched saw until she bounds over Brawnz and lands on Jaune's s shield. He manages to throw her into the air with her own shield raised to block the kill-shot aimed at Nora. This gives the redhead just enough time to reach the peak, where she lifts her hammer up as a bolt of lightning hits the weapon directly.

She changes it back into a grenade-launching form and pops the front off to reveal six explosives that shoot out over the field in a heart-shaped formation onto the sniper. The poor girl barely has time to gawk before she leaps over to a nearby tree just as the one she was on goes up in pink flames, leaving only a giant scorch mark billowing smoke to block out the coughing sniper's view. She jumps down from the branches just as her three teammates look up and behind them at Nora coming down on them like a meteor, slamming her hammer into the ground which sends the enemies back towards their side of the arena.

"This is it, guys! Let's finish 'em with team attacks!" Jaune raises his sword into the air." Ren! Nora! Flower Power!"

Nora:" Wait, what?"

Jaune lowers his blade, as he looks back at his befuddled team." F-Flower Power." His lost teammates only shrugged at him." That's your team attack name!"

"Since when?" Ren asked.

"Guys, we've been over this!" Jaune said, gesturing to his teammates, not noticing the other team getting back up." Flower Power is Ren and Nora! Ren brings a flower, Nora brings the power!"

Ren rubs the back of his head with one of his guns." How do I bring a flower?"

"No, silly, not a flower!" Nora said." Flour, like in baking!"

"Why would I bring that?"

"I-Uh-No, it's your symbol!" Jaune said.

"Sooo, what are we?" Pyrrha asked.

"Pyrrha!"

"Sorry, I just want to make sure it's clearly defined.

Team BRNZ stares at the scene in confusion.

Jaune:" Pyrrha, you and I are Arkos. It's that thing, when we take our shields? Remember?"

Pyrrha:" 'Arkos'?"

Jaune:" Yeah! It's our names put together!"

Pyrrha:" Right, no, I get it..."

Jaune:" What, you don't like it?"

Pyrrha:" No, no! It's...good?"

Nora:" Mmm, I sense hesitation."

"Hey!" Brawnz yelled, finally calling them out. Team JNPR looks back with a collective 'Huh?'" What do you think you're doing!?"

"Trying to have a team meeting, thank you very little!" Jaune said.

"Yeah!" Nora yelled, pointing to her own ears to demonstrate." Team ears only!"

Brawnz looks back at his shrugging teammates before he goes back to..." WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF A FIGHT!"

"AND WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF A CONVERSATION!" Jaune screamed, somehow being even louder than Brawnz." WHAT DON'T YOU GET ABOUT THAT!?"

"Um, Jaune?" Pyrrha said.

"(annoyed)Yes, Pyrrha?"

"I think he means that we're all in the middle of a fight."

The sound of the crowd around them help Jaune come back and remember the real situation.

"Ugh..." Jaune puts his sword up to his forehead in exasperation." Nora, just...hit them with the hammer."

"Got it!" Nora said, giving Team BRNZ a evil smirk.

"Wait, what!?" Brawnz asked in surprise and fear.

Before anyone can react, Nora jumps over in front of Team BRNZ, then brings her hammer around to collide with all four screaming fighters as they soar straight into the forcefield surrounding the arena's rim, sliding down to the ground with arms and legs in bent positions they really shouldn't be.

Boomstick:" And with that, Team JNPR wins by death count!"

Soldier in Blue and White armor:" Uh...Can someone go make sure they're okay?"


(Vale)

At the appropriately-named Crow Bar, a gray-haired figure in a tattered red cloak is siting at the counter with a collection of empty glasses to his side. He takes a swig from another drink as he looks up at the screen above, displaying an image of the victors with the caption" Team JNPR defeats Team BRNZ!"

"Huh, those kids weren't half bad!" The Bartender said, as he wipes the surface of a glass in his hands.

The familiar stranger merely lets out a "Meh" as he raises the beverage back to his lips.

The screen above flashes to a blue background with white particles gathering into the united tournament symbol of the four kingdoms as it revolves to the left of Oobleck, back in the announcer's box.


(Amity Colosseum)

"Ah, well, Vacuo fans are sure to be hurting after that one, but this next one will have them on the edge of their seats!" Oobleck said, as an image of Team BRNZ at the moment they all felt the force of Nora's hammer.

The camera switches over to Boomstick, while displaying a picture of the four new challengers to his right." Team NDGO of Shade is definitely a crowd favorite, but these little ladies are gonna go up against some of the toughest, testosterone-filled teammates we've seen so far! I think it's...Team SSSN, right Wiz?"

Wiz:"(spectators were in the stands holding up signs with each male's face decorated with hearts, the exception being a simple image of certain set of abs)That's right, Boomstick! Sun Wukong and his team are certainly a force to be reckoned with, and although he'll be representing the Mistral Academy of Haven, I'm sure his friends and family back in Vacuo will be cheering for him!"

Team SSSN walks into the center of the field, waving to the cheering crowds as they do so.

"Good luck, Neptune!" Weiss called out to him, in a sweetly tone.

Neptune continues to wave until he spots his four beautiful opponents, which causes him to develop a confident attitude as he addresses them." Ladies."

Weiss, shocked at this simple word turns to her shaking with rage until she angrily gets up and points towards the arena." Break his stupid face, NDGO!"

"Ah, it looks like Nebula's team is going to fight." The elderly women said.

"Hmm..." Gammal sat back in his seat." Wake me up, when the match is over."

"Ugh, stubborn old man."

"Alright, girls, try and remember: hands above the waist." Neptune said, as the crowds get ready and the teams stand on opposite sides from one another.

"Ignore him, for he... Yeah, he's dumb." Sun said, grasping Neptune's arm as he apologizes.

Neptune simply gives a sparkling wink to the disgusted females as the holographic roulette shows up again, landing on a yellow image of sunny dunes and stone formations until the real thing emerges from below. A small circular light even appears overhead, causing most of the crowd to don sunglasses.

"Alright! Home field advantage!" Nebula Violette said, laughing as she looks back at their selection.

"Don't get too cocky! That's my turf, too!"

Scarlet looked down at his attire as the roulette begins again on the other side." I hope I don't get sand in my shoes."

"Be cool, man." Neptune whispered, leaning over towards his teammate.

Dew Gayl:"(as the spinning images stop on a blue symbol of tidal waves)Hey! The ocean!"

"Huh?" Neptune turns to see the random pick for himself, eyes dilated at his goggles reflect the terrifying image, a slight whimper escapes him.

"Uhh, what's wrong with Neptune?" Ruby asked her teammates.

"Oh, no." Blake said, holding her face in her hand, unable to look as the sandy beach and pirate ship wreck rises into the arena while Neptune stiffens up with fear, until she looks over at a confused Yang." Neptune's...afraid of the water."

Wiz:" 3, 2, 1, BEGIN!"

As soon as the word is said, Neptune zooms through the enemy team and skids up the mountain behind them.

"Neptune, what are you doing?!" Sage yelled, calling out to the fleeing teammate.

"Uh, you know, just gaining the higher ground!" Neptune yelled, now standing on a ledge near the top of the formation.

"On the enemy's side?!" Sun asked.

"They would never expect it!"

"He's not wrong." Dew said, turning to her allies.

"Open fire!" Nebula shouted, calling out her first order.

Team NDGO goes forward into their turf as Team SSSN follows them, Sage with his sword raised and Scarlet having ditched his coat. He comes up on Octavia Ember emerging out from a nearby arch and tries to slice her with his cutlass. She ducks under the swing and continues sliding away, past the middle of Dew and Sage getting ready to rumble. Sage hefts his giant blade overhead, only to get knocked back by Dew's spear. He glances up in time to see the blonde wave her weapon over the sand to create three small twisters that kick up dust in Sage's face.

He looks around as they surround him, but doesn't realize the danger until they coalesce into one big tornado that picks him up off the ground. With his weapon torn out of his grip and screaming in panic, he's completely helpless as the winds throw him and his blade out of the arena.

Oobleck:"(as Sage slams the ground with fist upon seeing his image now crossed out on the holographic board)And NDGO gains the advantage!"

Octavia slides in front of Sun and Scarlet, who ready themselves to fight her just as she spins her sword around and produces a wave of flame that kicks up dust in their face. Sun manages to jump out of the cloud just in time for his replacement in fighting the redhead.

"Neptune!" Sun yelled.

Seeing his leader run from the duel, Neptune leaps down from his position and cocks his gun. Octavia attempts to use another fire attack to blind Neptune, but he simply puts on his goggles and fires a bolt as his opponent, who blocks it with her blade right before seeing Sun leap out of nowhere to deliver a neck-snapping kick to her face. Now furious, Octavia brings her blade onto Sun's Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang in its staff form as he spins it all around his body while hitting several parts of hers. He ends it with a jab that knocks Octavia on her back in the sand.

Port:" Oh! And we're down to 3-on-3!"

Sun looks at Neptune fighting with Gwen Darcy as she circles him with her flying knives and Scarlet attempting to go weapon-to-weapon with Dew. She merely calls upon another sandy cyclone to lift Scarlet up, and he revolves around the spiral until it launches him over the shipwreck. It seems like he's about to be eliminated as well, but he extends his arms and manages to dive onto a part of the mast, almost losing his balance once the pole's under his feet. He eventually finds his balance right when Nebula closes in and launches an arrow with her crossbow at the mast, using it to jump right up to where Scarlet is.

She folds up the sides of her weapon into a blade to cross swords with her opponent, the both of them ducking and missing or getting hit by the hilts until Nebula slams her metal over Scarlet's and forces him to lean back on the post. Luckily, he manages to get his sword back out from the trap and feign a swing at Nebula's feet before knocking into her with his elbow, causing the NDGO leader to fall into the sand below.

From his position, Scarlet sees Gwen continue to throw her knives, and he smirks before whipping out his pistol and shooting the hilt guard as a grappling hook to get her by the ankle.

"Gotcha!" Scarlet said.

He uses the cord to lift Gwen into the air while he slowly comes down to the ground, only to land directly beneath her as she attempts to protect her modesty while knives start raining down from her dress. Scarlet quickly adopts a pose that somehow allows him to miss every single blade that comes crashing down into the sand at his feet, which he gives a sigh of relief to.

His luck doesn't hold when Dew leaps near Sun, causing the monkey Faunus to find his new improvised weapons in the form of two coconuts he knocks out the palm tree beside him, which he throws at his opponent only to get them knocked right back at him, now spontaneously catching fire as they travel. Sun narrowly misses them both, but Scarlet gets one straight to the face, and the other lands in a place that makes him squeal in unimaginable pain while dropping his Aura levels into elimination.

"(sighs)Nuts!' Sun said, as he looks from Scarlet to Dew while she summons a few water blue tornadoes that he tries to dodge around." Uh, Neptune? Could use some help buddy!"

"Uh, you know, uh, it would probably be better if you came over here! Yeah, I can guard this...sector! We're in lockdown mode!" Neptune said, calling back to his leader with excuses.

Sun looks around infuriated as Nebula manages to shoot the cord holding Gwen up in the background." What are you talking about? There's nothing to lock down!"

"Lockdown! Right! You got it!"

Sun jumps out from Dew's attempt to pierce him with her spear as he calls out to Neptune." Dude, I know you're afraid of water, but you gotta-" He stops yelling when a blue shot knocks an attacking Dew out of midair and into the water.

"There! I helped! Are you happy now!?"(pause)...Also, I am not afraid of water, and I have no idea what you are talking about!"

Dew manages to get back up as Nebula and Gwen join their comrade, lifting their weapons and ready to fight once more.

"NEPTUNE!"

"Okay, fine! Just get out of the water!" Neptune jumps over to a spot near the coastal line next to Sun, and he unfolds his weapon into its trident form before tip-toeing forward and, eyes closed, plunges the sparkling prongs into the water. The energy surges through the deep until the remaining members of NDGO are electrocuted and kneel in the water, smoking and defeated with the sound of the buzzer.

Wiz:"(while Sun and Neptune chest bump each other in celebration)And with that, Team SSSN moves on to the doubles round!"

"You know what I call that victory?" Port asked Oobleck.

"Shocking?" Oobleck said.

"No, well earned. What you said is stupid."

Oobleck turns away, frowning.


(Crow's Bar)

"Now that was a match!" The Bartender said, whistling at the screen.

"Heh, that was a mess!" The man said, with a light slur in his words.

"Come on man, you didn't like them, the Vale kids, or any of the rounds before that? What fight are you here for?"

The man sees a Pelican airship, that was on fire, fly past the bar behind him." That one."

"W-Was that an Atlesian Pelican!? Why was it on fire?!" The Bartender asked in a panicked tone.

"Don't ask me." The man finishes his drink." But I can tell you one thing...we're about to see a real fight happen."


"Aw, that was so close!" Ruby said, leaning back in her seat while sighing. Team JNPR had already joined the four girls, and were seated in the chairs next to them.

"Looks like the dorks made it to the next round!" Yang said.

Blake looks down in the arena where Sun and Neptune are dancing like fools before the fellow Faunus gives her a special double-gun gesture, eliciting a smile from his target." Emphasis on 'dork'."

"Aww...your granddaughter and her team lost the match." The elderly woman said." You must be disappointed, Gammal."

"There is always next year." Gammal said." As long as she doesn't lose hope, there is still room for victory."

The arena returns to its normal form, as Sun and Neptune stop dancing. The two walk off of the arena, while Wiz announces the next match.

Wiz:" Now then, it's time for the final match of the day!"

"In our right corner, we have the Champion team of Mistral's Haven Academy; Team RARE." Oobleck said, as the said team walked onto the arena, towards Sun and Neptune.

"Dude, its them." Neptune whispered to Sun, as Team RARE walked up to them.

"I know, I know!" Sun whispered." Play it cool."

"Good job, you two." The girl with black long hair said, while smiling.

"Hehe, thanks." Neptune said." It was a really tough fight! We're you impressed, Abri?"

"Hmm...Not at all." Abri said.

"R-Really?!"

"I thought the fight was kinda sloppy." The young man standing next to Randy said. He was a dark-skinned boy with a short-sleeved shirt, green pants and large brown boots. His right arm was steel, while having several metal bands around his other one. His hair was in dreadlocks, while wearing a pair of thin glasses.

"Hehehe...Maybe you might do better in the next round." The young girl standing next to Abri said. She had short-messy brown hair that reached down to her shoulders, and dark green eyes. She wears a light-brown vest, and a pair of short black khaki's. She also wore a white headband around her head, and a pair of black boots." So, don't lose hope, alright?"

"Uh, yeah. We won't." Sun said." A-Anyway, good luck in your match. Then again, I'm pretty sure you guys are gonna win it."

Randy stared at the two boys for a few seconds, before nodding to them. He wore a brown sleeveless shirt, dark blue pants, a silver gauntlet on his left arm with his shield attached to it, all while carrying a longsword on his back.

"We better go check on Scarlet and Sage." Neptune said to Sun.

"Right." Sun looks back at the four with a smile." Good luck, you guys!"

Sun and Neptune run off of the arena, as Team RARE walks further into it.

"Ross, Erela, can you two try not to sound like idiots next time?" Abri asked.

"Hey, I wasn't trying to sound like an ass." Ross said." I was just voicin' my opinion."

"Same here." Erela said, while smiling." Don't be so grumpy, Abri."

"Ugh..."

Port:" The brave members of Tea RARE originally derive from the slums of Mistral, where you must fight for your survival!"

Oobleck:" Leading this team of warriors is Randy Liontari. He is the type of man that lets his actions speak for him. Entering this tournament has been seen as a shining achievement by his family back in the slums. I'm sure he and his teammates are making their kingdom proud."

Boomstick:" Did we forget to mention that their in the top class of Haven Academy!

Wiz:" That's right, Boomstick. Team RARE is here to win the tournament for Mistral, and I'm pretty sure they might actually do it.

The four stand in the center of the arena. Abri looks around the area for their opponents.

Oobleck": Well, good luck to them, because Team RARE is taking on the young troublemaking group of idiotic boys, Team HIRO of Beacon Academy!"

The audience cheers on the oncoming team...the only problem was...they were nowhere to be seen. Soon, the cheers began to die down, as it was soon replaced by confused glances.

Ruby and the others started to look around for the four boys.

"Their not here?" Neptune asked Sun, while helping up Sage.

"I don't know..." Sun said.

"Where are they?" Weiss said, while looking back and forth.

"If they don't come, they'll be disqualified." Ren said."

"Well, they did go on that one mission and never came back. So, maybe-" Jaune said.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha stopped him.

"S-Sorry!"

"We can't assume the worst, everyone. I'm sure the boys are on their way here as we speak."

A soldier from the Vale Military walks over to Team RARE in the middle of the arena.

"...I regret to inform you all, but Team HIRO has been disqualified from the Tournament!"

"What!?" Ruby said in shock.

"You can't do that!" Yang yelled while jumping up from her seat.

This news caused the audience in the stands to grow angry as they start to boo at the soldier.

"What? We're not gonna fight?" Erela asked, looking disappointed.

"Hey look, don't blame me!" The soldier said." Their the ones who haven't shown up!"

Oobleck:" Excuse me, my good sir? Who was it that told you to deliver this news?"

"It was General Ironwood, sir."

Port:" Ironwood?"

"Still, you haven't given them a chance to arrive yet." Abri said.

"Look lady, I don't make the rule. I just follow them." The Vale soldier said.

The audience continued to grow more angry and impatient.

"Oh dear, this does not look well." The elderly woman said.

"Yeah, it doesn't." Gammal said, as he turned to face the elderly woman." So...where are they?"

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb with me. I know you and Merlin have something to do with this...Jupiter."

The elderly woman stared at Gammal for a few seconds, before letting out a small sigh. She pulls out a small hand-mirror and holds it in front of her face." Mirror, mirror in my hand, reveal the truth behind the mask." A bright light shines from the mirror, and engulfs the elderly woman. Gammal covers his eyes, while the people around them did not flinch or run away in fear. The light fades, as Gammal looks up to see...Jupiter, in her true form.

"You...fool..."

"I suppose long time no see is out of the subject?" Jupiter asked, while smiling.

"W-What the hell are you doing!? Using Magic out in the open like that!"

"Correction, my dear Gammal; I was only using Magic on you." She points the hand-mirror towards him." The audience around use saw me in this state, while you witnessed the appearance of an old elderly woman." Jupiter used her 'Semblance' to make the mirror disappear.

"Argh...Nevermind, just tell me where those boys are."

"Calm yourself, Gammal." Jupiter said, as she sat down." Our allies are on their way as we speak. Courtesy of our dear little Ozpin."

"Ozpin? What are you-no. What is Merlin up to, Jupiter?"

"Watch the stadium, and see the truth for yourself."

Gammal looked back at the stadium, as the Vale soldier continued to speak.

"Give them more time!" Nora yelled.

"Damn it, I'm just saying what Ironwood said!" The Vale soldier said... As a shadow began to form around him." Besides, their labeled under MIA! So, those guys are probably dead!"

"Uh..." Abri raised her hand." Sir?"

"No! I ain't gonna stand here, and let you assholes put all this s**t on me!"

The shadow begins to form into a larger shape. Randy sees this, and slowly steps back along with Ross and Erela.

"Yeah, I know that. Bu-"

"No buts! If you all wanna fight me, then bring it on! Motherf***ers!"

"Alright, your funeral." Abri said, before stepping back to where her teammates were." Hope you enjoy your final moments of life."

The shadow continues to grow larger, as the soldier kept ranting.

"Fine! Fine, I'll fight you! I'll fight all you fu-"

Before the Vale soldier could finish...an Atlesian Pelican ship lands right on top of him...The audience went silent, as many gasped and jumped back in shock and awe.

"...Uh, w-what just happened?" Jaune asked, completely confused by the scene.

"I-I don't really know..." Blake said.

"...Well, he's dead." Erela said, smiling."

"Yeah, we know Erela." Ross said in annoyance.

Abri looked back at Randy, who only shrugs at her in confusion, as the ship's door starts to open behind them. Randy notices this, causing Abri to turn around and see the door herself.

The door hits the ground, as silence falls over the arena.

?:"...aaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"H-Huh!?" Abri jumped back, surprised.

A strange figure comes running out of the ship. This figure was...Oliver Panterra, who's clothes were on fire.

"I'm on fire!" Oliver yelled, as he continued to run around the arena.

Ilivane runs out, and unsheathes two daggers." Oliver! Hold still!" He throws the daggers to the ground, causing a tornado of water to emerge. The tornado flies towards Oliver and traps him in the water." Got him!" Ilivane said, as Riku and Hero ran out of the ship.

"About time." Riku said." His yelling was starting to annoy me."

"Ilivane! Make sure Oliver doesn't drown!" Hero said.

"Don't worry, Hero." Ilivane smiled." He won't drown." He snaps his fingers, causing the water tornado to break apart, with Oliver hitting the ground." Oliver! Are you alright?"

Oliver coughs out some water, before looking up at his teammate." You ass! You could have killed me!"

"I was just trying to help you."

"F**k you!"

"Hehehe..." Hero nervously laughed, before looking up...and noticing the area they were in." U-Uh...you guys?"

Riku looked up and saw the audience."...Oh crap."

Oliver was shaking Ilivane by his shirt, while the latter continued to laugh." I am going to kick your-"

Hero:" Ilivane! Oliver!"

"What!?" Oliver looks over at Hero, only to slowly notice...that they were in the middle of the arena. The audience was staring at them, as Oliver slowly let go of Ilivane, who only waves."...Where the hell are we?"


And that's another chapter! Team HIRO is back in time for their tournament match, we can only look forward from here. In this chapter, we were introduced to Team NDGO and BRNZ, as well as the other two members of RARE.

We were also given a new character in this chapter: Gammal. Not much is known about this character, except he seems to know Ozpin, Jupiter, and Nathan/Merlin.

However, this chapter marks a special occasion in the series. Today marks the One Year Anniversary of the HIRO Fanfic. Yep, I actually survived a whole year of making a fanfic, and I will continue to move onward for many years to come. I want to take this moment to thank you all for sticking through it all with me. I know HIRO is not the best or original RWBY OC story out there, but I want to do the best I can for all of you. I intend to continue HIRO for many years to come, and I hope you all will be there along with me, as we continue this journey together. The next two chapters will be a PSC and a special chapter. After these two, we will return to the big battle of the Team Round.

Thank you all for supporting this series, it means a lot to me, I truly mean that, Thank you...All of you.

Comment and let me know what you all think. Until then...Always Keep moving forward!