Round One:

After our mission a few days ago, I don't think I've ever been more thankful to kick back, relax, and enjoy watching some fights than I was today. RWBY might've had to deal with Torchwick and the full force of what the gang's investigation was eventually going to discover anyway, but when the train they needed to stop busted through into the city, at least they had reinforcements to fall back on. The four of us had to fight hundreds of Grimm multiple times over and make sure none escaped, whereas the rest of the gang just had to plug a hole in the wall to emerge victorious.

Anyway, I think that out of all the fights in the opening matches, RWBY's must have been the most impressive. Who could've guessed that I'd be the most excited to see my friends' match above all others, huh? They were up against ABRN too, which made things even more interesting since Aurora and I'd met them back home. If there's one thing you learn when you're in the same class as them, its that they're no pushovers, especially where Arslan is concerned. I don't think I'd say she's stronger than Tenebris where brute force is concerned, but she has refined her skill in martial arts enough to be evenly matched with anyone you pin her against – within reason, of course.

For the first few minutes of the fight, RWBY looked dead-even against ABRN too. It wasn't until Yang froze three of Arslan's teammates that things started going downhill, even if her team being frozen in of itself wasn't an issue. After Arslan broke them free of the ice with one shockingly focused punch, Blake didn't miss a beat, flinging Yang into the four of them for the knockout. Even though I only approached Arslan for the first time in months just to congratulate her on the valiant effort despite her defeat, I think she did appreciate seeing a friendly face give her some praise before they left the colosseum. Speaking of leaving, I think I ended up sprinting to catch up with RWBY and my own team before the last airbus to Beacon left for the next hour. I guess hunger is more powerful than the basic human decency to wait for your friend before booking it. At least Lux and Aurora were kind enough to stick around and make sure I didn't fling myself off the docks to catch up with them if the airbus left before I got there.

Come to think of it, once we were all situated with copiously large bowls of noodles – courtesy of both Pyrrha and myself contributing to the celebrations after Weiss' card was rejected (for some reason) – I think I understand why everyone was in such a hurry to leave. Not only were the portions big enough to quell even Tenebris and Nora's appetites, but the food was just amazing in general for noodles made in Vale. They were certainly no Mistral noodles, but they were good enough that I couldn't bring myself to do anything but enjoy the afternoon and rest up for our own upcoming match. If nothing else, we've found a new place to enjoy ourselves after the colosseum's matches conclude each day, rather than all of us wandering around looking for some good food like we would otherwise.


The First Hurdle:

Seeing as I was so adamant about writing how I felt after our big first match as soon as I could that I brought my journal with me to the arena, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised I've ended up scribbling down my thoughts while we're waiting for the airbuses to get back from offloading spectators in Vale, and yet I am. Not that I'm regretting it though. Knowing me, some of the details of the fight or how I felt during it would probably be lost if I let myself mull over my thoughts for too long, so better that I write now rather than later, even if that means not celebrating with the gang until we get back to Beacon – and more specifically, the fairgrounds.

Anyway, there was only one fight other than ours (obviously) that I think I should scribble my thoughts down about before I get on to our matchup against SSSN – JNPR vs BRNZ. I swear when I saw that team come out onto the playing field I didn't expect JNPR to win, Jaune's leadership or no, but I have been (and will continue to be, it seems) wrong before. When Nora's Semblance started coming into play, that's when I knew my thoughts of JNPR not winning were dead wrong, what with her literally climbing a mountain and charging herself up with lightning. Even though they obviously leaned a lot on Nora when it came to knocking BRNZ out of the arena in one fell swoop, I will say that the only reason she was even able to do so was because Jaune came up with the idea and bought her enough time to do so. A part of me likes to believe that me helping him cope with stressful situations allowed him to remain clear-headed enough to do so, but another thinks that the win was all him.

Not only was the idea of sending Ren rushing into a sniper's line of fire obviously something only Jaune would come up with, but him calling an impromptu team meeting in the middle of the fight made it clear he was still as much of a goof as ever. I think they were discussing the names of their team attacks, which makes me thankful my team hasn't seen any point in naming elaborate attack routines that anyone could pick up on after they're shouted out for the first time in a fight. Anyway, while me and Lux were debating whether to be impressed or sad to see Jaune forget they were in the middle of the tournament, Nora just rushed BRNZ and knocked all four of them out of the arena with one swing. I will admit though that I am curious what JNPR's 'Arkos' and 'Flower Power' team attacks are – Jaune certainly seemed excited at the idea of using them before he decided to have Nora finish things off. Something to ask Jaune about later, I suppose.

I would've been down to congratulate the gang on their win once they started moving back to the stands, but I didn't really have much time to do anything but give them some high fives before it was Iridescence's time to shine. I think that despite the fact we were facing Sun and his team, the spirit of competition was still alive and well, even though one of us were going to be out of the tournament by the end of the match. Neptune was as borderline cocky as ever, Sun was as wrapped up in witty banter with Lux as he was anytime they're together, and Sage and Scarlet seemed to be the only members of their team that were more focused on preparing themselves for the match rather than making showmen out of themselves before the fight even started. Speaking of, when our desert half of the arena was revealed I didn't think much of it even though the twins looked forward to some familiar turf to fight on, but once SSSN's ocean half of the arena was selected… I don't think I'd ever seen Neptune freeze up so quickly. I knew he was afraid of the water, and that with an ocean being his team's half of the arena it'd be tough for him to really be in the right state of mind, but I did not expect him to blaze past everyone and climb up to the top of the desert's plateau in the first three seconds of the fight.

Not that I was complaining. It might've been the worst thing to happen to SSSN in terms of strategy, but I wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. As soon as Sun sent Sage to try and save Neptune, I sent Aurora and Tenebris to try and intercept him as Lux and I charged the rest of SSSN, so they couldn't take any more ground. When I think about it, I'm sure that those calls are what helped us win the match, even though we did hit a few... speed bumps along the way that Lux's probably never gonna let me hear the end of.

While Aurora was tangling with Neptune atop the plateau to try, and eventually succeed at, wrapping a cable around him to fling him out of the arena, Tenebris and Sage were duking it out at the base of the rock formation. From what he and Aurora were able to tell me, the two heavy-hitters of our teams ended up triggering a rockslide that knocked them both out, which is no surprise considering both of them walk around with enough strength to bench press themselves ten times over. Thankfully, Aurora had more luck in her half of the fight. It might've taken a while thanks to how precise Neptune was with his rifle, but mobility overcame his refusal to move from the dry half of the arena, and as the plateau that made his footing came crumbling down thanks to Tenebris and Sage's fight, she was able to fling him like a ragdoll out of the ring.

Lux and I were having good luck on our end of things too, at least for a while. We managed to push Scarlet and Sun back to the boat that was in their half of the arena, and I sincerely thought that they were on the ropes. I should've known that the two of them were just looking for some terrain they could take advantage of – which they did. While Scarlet kept me busy deflecting his blade and his pistol's attacks during our duel on the mast, Lux was having his ass handed to him on deck. Lux might be an absolute legend with Wiz when he has the range – or makes the range with his Semblance – but against opponents like Sun that can close the gap and specialize in melee combat? I probably would've been better off having Lux provide cover fire from afar, but when I made the call I just didn't want to give Sun any more time to think of a better strategy, and so I sorta doomed Lux to desperately trying to fend off Sun as his contribution to the fight. At least Lux didn't seem too bothered by the fact he sorta got the short end of the stick in our part of the match after the fight was over. In fact, once he got over giving me some half-hearted sass in the immediate aftermath of it all, he was kind enough to still give me a hug and congratulate me on pulling through – but I'm getting ahead of myself.

I'd just finished off Scarlet by swiping his legs out from under him and destroying his Aura with a clean strike when Sun's spectral clones overcame Lux's bayonet. Before I could even close the gap to try and save Lux, he was knocked out cold by Sun. Lucky me, Aurora arrived shortly into my fight with Sun – which was remarkably even all things considered – and we overpowered him; but not before we apologized for Neptune jeopardizing their chances at making it into the finals. Sun took the loss really well, after that. He never let his charisma drop even at the bitter end, and he was way less pissed at Neptune for running off on his own because of a little water than I thought he'd be. I expected Sun to flip in some over-the-top way when the match was over, but somehow him staying supportive and upbeat towards Neptune after the loss seemed more shocking.

Once Oobleck and Port were done yelling about how everyone should file out of thecolosseum in a "calm and orderly fashion," the group decision was made to hold off on the celebrations until we could make it back to the fairgrounds. So here I am, waiting for an airbus amongst a sea of people, wondering which two of us are going to be sent on to the doubles round while the gang's busy showering each other in unending praise. Lux and Tenebris seem adamant that, since we're more flexible in close-range combat than them, Aurora and I should move on; and maybe we will, but that decision can wait until we're all done celebrating the win. After all, it isn't every day you compete against old friends inbattle for both fame and the honor of your kingdom, especially in an arena as grand as Amity Colosseum.


Authors Note: If you're wondering, I sorta figured it'd be for the best to give Opal a chance to have a short but sweet journal entry in the aftermath of the chaos that was Iridescence's run-in with the Greater Cerberus. Besides, I don't think Opal would have much involvement with Emerald – the person – since it seemed like in the show they were only interested in RWBY. Are they keeping tabs on everyone in the school? Probably, but the canon story never really specifies that, so ye.

Also, I debated making a – minor spoilers – third OC team as Iridescence's first hurdle, but I figured I'd have more fun writing about and thinking through how SSSN would fare against Iridescence. All things considered, I think it'd be pretty even. Sage might be more measured with his strength than what we've seen from Tenebris, but with Boomstick on the battlefield, it's not unlikely they'd end up destroying part of the arena – taking themselves with it. Aurora's cables would likely run circles around Neptune thanks to the rocky terrain long enough for her to see an opening, and though Neptune can use electricity on her metal armor, I sorta figured Aurora wouldn't be foolish enough to let him pin down one of her cables to turn them into live wires. As for Lux and Opal's fights? I think my decisions for those outcomes hold up rather well. Lux sucks at close-range combat, and Opal is a ninja catgirl who's just more mobile than Scarlet – who seems to rely on his pistol to get up and down from what we've seen.

Man, I babble on a lot in these author's notes huh? Dang.