Notes: This chapter was last updated on 03/07/2016

Round 1

The bright morning sun hung high in the sky bathing the forest below it in dazzling light. The forest itself was like an endless sea of red. Each tree in the forest was bearing the same dark red leaves that at first glance would appear to have been stained by blood. And the trees seemed to be in a constant state of fall, continuously shedding their crimson foliage as fast as it could grow back in an endless cycle. These process left large gabs in the tree canopy allowing the suns rays to pour in and reveal a set of ancient ruins hidden within. The ruins in question seemed to have been long since abandoned and have since been ravaged by natures grasp. The ruins were covered in vines and had started to crumble under their own weight. And at first glance the area around the ruins would've seemed like it hadn't been touched by man in decades if it weren't for one exception. Among the ruins stud a single structure that appeared completely untouched by both nature and time alike. Even though the building had the same architecture as the other ruins around it, it was clear that it didn't belong. The structure was made up of a large dome that was supported by massive stone pillars and it was decorated with bright red banners on all sides. While in the center of the structure stud a single bright red flag depicting the same design as the banners.

For the most part all was still in the ruins and the surrounding forest but a low humming sound soon filled the air as the wind picked up around them. In the center of the structure the red flag began to blow violently in the wind that was being funneled in between the stone pillars. And for several minutes the wing and humming continued to intensify until it finally reached an apex and began to die back down. As soon as the wind began to die down four figures appear at the threshold of the stone building and made their way towards the center flag chamber. Each of the figures was dressed in heavy combat gear with weapons at their side, backpacks on their backs, and grins wide across their faces.

Once inside the flag chamber one of the four figures, a young girl sporting a red hood ran into the center of the structure in front of the flag and spun in place to face the rest of the group before addressing them. "Well then, this is it you guys! We have about five minutes or so before the signal to start the first round will be fired, that gives us some time to talk strategy."

"Ready and waiting, what are your orders Ruby?" Penny announced while giving a salute.

Ruby gave the synthetic girl a bright smile before motioning to one of the other two members of their team. "Alright, Russel you seem like you are light on your feet. I was thinking you and I could be on the away team. We will be taking the fight to their door step." Then she motioned to Penny and the last member of their team. "Meanwhile I will have Sky Lark and Penny remain here to sure up are defenses."

Sky Lark and Russel exchange a glance before Sky Lark decided to speak up. "Hey wait a minute. Why should I get stuck here babysitting freckles while you guys have all the fun?" He asked while pointing a finger in Penny's direction. "I have a personal score to settle with that George fellow and there's no way I'm missing this change!" He complained.

"Oh, you know George Mister Lark?" Penny inquired.

Sky glanced over at the inquisitive red head and grunted an affirmative. "Yeah we had a…" He paused for a moment trying to think of what to call it. "We had a little chat with him yesterday. Isn't that right Russel?" He said while motioning to his teammate to collaborate with his story.

With missing a beat Russel picked up with Sky left off. "Yeah, you could say we really 'hit it off'. Unfortunately we had to cut the conversation short just when it was starting to get interesting. So we wanted to pick it up from where we left off." Russel explained while rubbing his jaw and grimacing, almost as if he was remembering something unpleasant.

Ruby gave them a nod of understanding before addressing them in the most series tone she could manage. "Sorry guys but this is a battlefield. Talking can wait until after we mop the floor with them." Though Ruby's tone was on point it was completely countered by her overly animated hand gestures.

Then Sky Lark made an audible grunting sound to display his displeasure. "Whatever, I'm still not staying behind with freckles and that's final!" He declared.

After Sky made his declaration Ruby felt her heart sink slightly but refused to falter. So she continued her attempts at convincing him. However Sky was just as determined and even after several minutes of pleading and poppy dog eyes Sky wouldn't give an inch. Feeling like she had no other choice Ruby turned towards Penny with an equally pleading look in her eyes.

Seeing her friends distress the synthetic girl instantly went into action by stepping closer to Sky and lightly tapping on his shoulder to get his attention. "Pardon me mister Sky Lark but I feel I should inform you that my name is not Freckles, its Penny. Also correct me if I am wrong but it appears as if you are questioning our commanding officer's orders. That is clearly in violation of protocol and if such behavior continues I may have no choice but to correct it myself." Penny spoke in a stern and almost threatening tone. Sky looked like he was a about to speak against her when her back panel opened up and her bladed weapons shot out and unfolded behind her.

Both Sky and Russel were caught off guard by this sudden personality shift and physically took a step away from her. They weren't sure what had gotten into the polite girl that was with them up until a moment ago but neither of them really wanted to find out. So they both just agreed to follow their orders without further augment, at least for time being that is.

Meanwhile just past the forests edge was the mouth of a small box canyon. Tucked into the far back corner of this canyon was sat a second grouping of broken down ruins. These ruins were similar in layout but were far more modern in their design. Of course they were also in no better condition than the ancient ruins inside the forest. The only real difference was the fact that rust and broken wields took the place of vines and cracked stone. The landscape surrounding the ruins was also quite contrasting with it being almost completely barren of life. Only exceptions to the lifelessness being a few clusters of trees and patches of grass spread out across its expanse. The only other noteworthy features of the canyon were the large stones and boulders lining its edges. The stones looked as though they had been ripped from the surrounding cliff-sides with explosive force. And finally among these ruins was yet another structure that seemed vastly out of place. It was another large building that appeared to be in an unnaturally good condition. The layout of this building was like a perfectly mirrored image of the one in the forest with the exception of the materials it was made up of. All the stone was switched out for a mixture of wood and metal. And reds were swapped out for a set of blue banners that hung from all of its sides and it had an equally blue flag planted in the center of the structure to match.

Just like the forest had been the canyon was deathly quite and unnervingly still for the early morning sun that it was being bathed in. However also like the forest all the quite stillness was blown away when a heavy duty transport ship soared over the canyons cliff-side and into the clearing in front of blue marked building. Once above the clearing it kicked out its landing gear and quickly sat itself down before one of its side doors came swinging open to reveal another set of heavily armed young men and woman. The four young warriors quickly disembark from the transport ship and as soon as they all had stepped on the barren soil and closed the door behind them, the pilot wished the group the best of luck and zoomed upward and back over the cliff-side out of their sight.

One of the four student warriors a young boy with bright red eyes and blond hair stepped forward towards the building that would be their base and began scouting the surrounding landscape. "Wow what a dump." He declared in a dry tone.

In response to his words one of the boys teammates a young female monkey faunus stepped forward to speak. "You know that we're not here for site seeing right George?" She inquired.

George let out a light chuckle before responding. "Yeah I know Ember. I just can't help but feel like red base hast to be far nicer than ours."

"Well it's certainly not the most ideal place for an outing that's for sure. However Ember is right, we're here to fight not have a picnic. So the appearance of the arena is of little importance. Even less so when you take into account how much damage we're going to do to it." Another one of their teams cut in.

George looked back over his shoulder towards the white clad heiress who had just spoken. When he did he had to mentally slap himself because he had just realized his error. The error being that he had been so focused on the "black beauty" up until then that he hadn't bothered to get a good look at the girl. Her name was Weiss Schnee if he remembered correctly and she was dressed in a fashion one would have come to expect from an heiress of the Schnee family, well for the most part anyway. She was wearing her family's colors, a light blue and white dress with a matching bolero jacket that covered her arms and back. The jacket also displayed her family crest, a light blue symbol which resembled a snow flake. She was a platinum blond and her hair was long and pulled back into a ponytail. The striking thing about her hair besides its rare color was the ponytail's placement. The ponytail was ever so slightly off center, not so much to raise an eyebrow over but noticeable at a glance. Besides that she wore very little jewelry and what she did wear was very simple in its design. And of course at her side was the proof of her chosen profession. In other words it was her weapon. Her weapon was a long silver rapier sword which looked as though it was designed to store dust in its guard. The last thing George noticed about the girl was a mostly faded scar stretched across her left eye. He couldn't help but wonder how she got such a wound but knew from personal experience not to ask a girl about her imperfections.

Of course as always George's curiosity proved unshakeable as always and quickly got the better of both his better judgment and common sense and he asked the question anyway. "So Miss Schnee, if you don't mind me asking how did somebody like yourself end up with a scar like that?" He asked while pointing out the faded wound.

The moment the question left George's lips he was instantly pierced by icy glares coming at him from all sides. One from the heiress herself but she was also joined by Blake and Ember shortly after. George felt the sudden urge to jump back and drop the subject but he soon noticed an uncertainty in both Blake's and Ember's glares. It didn't take long for George to figure out that both Ember and Blake had been wondering the same thing but just couldn't bring themselves to ask such a question. So he decided to hold his ground.

The heiress's glare soon fell away. She didn't seem angry or sad just annoyed now. When she finally spoke her voice was as cool as ice. "It's just Weiss, not Miss Schnee. I am not here to represent my family after all. As for this scar…" She paused for a moment to let out a sigh and run her fingers over the blemish as if trying to call the memory forth. "It's a bit of a long story and I believe we have more important things to do at the moment."

Realizing that Weiss was right George quickly decided to change gears. "Alright I guess that's fair. And I guess we do need to come up with a plan of attack. Anyone have any ideas?"

"You're the leader aren't you? Is that not your job?" Ember retorted.

"Yeah I suppose that's true, I am the leader aren't I? Guess your right for once Ember. This is a good chance to put my brilliant mind to the test. With that said I can't properly utilize my team members without knowing what they can do. So tell me girls what are your talents?" He inquired in an enthusiastic tone.

The girls turn to each other and began to smile before speaking in unison. "Where do we start?"

Sometime later a set of flares were launched up into the sky above the two bases to signal the start of the battle. Of course nothing happened right away. Rather than the roar of battle or the ringing of explosions and gunfire that you would expect from the start of a battle there was only silence. It was a long almost deafening silence that fell over the battlefield almost like a cloak and for the first several minutes there was also little sign of any movement on either side. And it held that way for about ten minutes before the silence was finally interrupted by the rattling of bushes leaves. The bush in question was located at the far edge of the red forest's tree line. And the cause was a pair of binoculars being poked through bushes and being pointed towards the mouth of the canyon.

The binoculars were held by the dagger wielding member of red team otherwise known as Russel Thrush. He was staring intently down at the canyon, likely looking for any traces of moment. And he held this position for about a minute before the voice of his pint sized leader interrupted him. "Hey Russel do you see anything?" She asked.

"No Ruby, but It looks like we're getting close to blue base. However haven't seen anyone around." He responded in a slightly annoyed tone.

After listening to Russel's response Ruby lifted an eyebrow and gave him a strange glare as if she was trying to tell him something with her eyes. "Umm is something wrong Ruby?" He asked which only caused her glare to intensify. Finally realizing what she wanted he quickly corrected himself. "I mean Ruby sir!"

When he did Ruby's glare faded and was replaced by a satisfied grin. "That's more like it." She declared before letting out a laugh and reaching up to place a hand on a small headset which she was currently wearing. "Now then, I think it's about time for us to check back in with the home squad and let them know that we're closing in on the blue base's location." Ruby stated before flicking a switch on the side of the headset to turn it on before she started to speak into the microphone. "Hello Penny this is Ruby, do you read me?"

Without missing a beat the sound of Penny's voice came into Ruby's headset. "This is Penny I read you loud and clear. What is the situation Ruby sir?"

"We've found what we believe to be blue base in a box canyon at the edge of the forest. However it looks like nobody's home. I would suggest you be ready for company." Ruby responded.

"Do not worry Ruby sir! I have placed motion sensors around the perimeter and they have yet to be tripped so they should not be in our imitate vicinity. However I will keep an eye out for any abnormalities just in case!" Penny responded cheerfully.

"Nice, keep up the good work Penny, Ruby out!" Ruby responded as she flicked the switch on her headset to deactivate the microphone.

"So, what do you want us to do now Ruby sir?" Russel asked.

In response to Russel's question Ruby scrunched up her lips and began to hum in thought. "Well, we haven't seen anyone yet but it could be a trap. I think for the time being we should just hold our position and wait to see if they make a move." She finally instructed.

"Roger that sir." Russel responded before refocusing on his binoculars.

Meanwhile high above the tree tops covering Ruby and Russel's position was a lone hominoid figure that seemed to be floating weightlessly through the air. That figure was none other than Ember Wieldings with her trusty thruster pack carrying her aloft by flaring its thrusters lightly. Ember smiled down at her unwitting opponents before reach a hand up to press a small button on the side of her helmet. When she did it caused the helmet to retract into the back of her thruster pack revealing her face and releasing her hair to be swept up in the strong wind currents that plagued high altitudes. She quickly swept her hair out of her face before speaking into a headset she had been wearing under her helmet. "Ember to HQ, I have spotted two hostiles about two clicks due west of your location." She announced.

A short moment later and the voice of her teammate George Bolt responded to her. "Good work Ember. Can you tell what their up to?" He asked in a serious tone.

"Well they seem to just be standing there and talking." She responded.

"That's it, their just standing and talking?" George asked.

"Yep." Ember responded dryly.

"How long have they been doing that?" George followed up.

Ember rolled her eyes before responding in a slightly annoyed tone. "How should I know? They have been talking for awhile if I had to make a guess."

"Gees, sorry I asked miss grumpy pants." George retorted.

"Whatever, do you want me to engage the target or what?" Ember asked.

George shook his head despite knowing full well that Ember couldn't see him before responding. "No not yet, just let them come to us. We will be ready for them when they do. In the meantime why don't you go find their base for us?"

Ember's eyes widened and a flicker of excitement ghosted over her feature. The idea of facing the enemy head on seemed to appeal to her enough to get her motivated. "Roger that George!" She responded before quickly flipping the switch on her thruster pack to redeploy her helmet and switch her pack from its hover mode over to its flight mode. A moment later and her aura began to flare up as her thrusters fired violently. Then she became a blur of motion as she zoomed across the forest's skyline at a blinding speed.

Once Ember was out of sight the two members of red team scanned the horizon to make sure the coast was clear before turning to one another to speak. "It seems like she's gone Ruby sir." Russel stated.

"It's a good thing that Penny gave us a 'heads up' about that Ember girl. A flying opponent won't be an easy one to deal with so we will have to be careful. Anyway check the sound amplifier. Maybe she left us with some useful information." Ruby said excitedly while she motioned for Russel to look in a nearby bush.

Russel quickly walked over and reaches into the bush to retrieve a small device that resembled a gun with a radar disc attached to it. The strange device was also attached to a recording device and a set of headphones. Once he had the device in hand he put on the headphones and presses the play button on the recording device and listened quietly to the recording.

After a moment Russel pulled off the head phones and sat the device aside before turning back to Ruby. "Ruby sir, it seems that the enemy is about two clicks due east of us. However they will be ready for our attack."

In response to this news a devilish grin appeared across Ruby's face before she started to speak. "Don't worry Russel, I know how Weiss and Blake fight and I know how they think. Also you know that George fellow right? We have the speed advantage so we shouldn't have any trouble slipping through. Now let's get moving, they already know are location now anyway." Ruby stated before Russel and her quickly gathered up their equipment and made their way towards the mouth of the canyon.

Meanwhile back at red base. Penny stud guard in the center of the base almost completely motionless. Her eyes were unblinking as she focused on the reading the information she was getting from the many sensors she had placed earlier. All of the information was displayed directly in front of her eyes visible only to her. This was about her one-hundredth check since she last spoke with Ruby and they all still read as clear with no activity detected but she kept looking. Though this task was repetitive she delighted at the thought of being able to test her skills in live combat with real huntsman (in training) and so she was content. Sky Lark on the other hand was sat on a nearby stone step with an expression of nervousness, annoyance, and some how even boredom all rolled up into one. His eyes kept glancing over to the motionless girl standing in silence as if expecting something to happen. He felt uneasy about her, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was very off about the Penny. And he had no idea what made the girl tick and would much rather be anywhere else at the moment but since he was stuck here he figured he should at least try to easy the boredom. So he turned to face Penny and called out to her. "Hey Miss Penny, I have a question."

Penny's eyes flicked for a moment as she pushed aside the motion sensor data and then her body snapped into motion, turning to face Sky. "Oh, what could it be Mister Sky Lark?" Penny asked while giving him friendly smile.

"Well I was just wondering, what made somebody like you choose to become a huntress? You don't really look the part is all I'm saying." Sky Lark asked while gripping his weapon nervously.

"Somebody like me? Choose?" Penny was very confused by this question. She had never really thought about it before. Penny was created to defend the people against those that would harm them. And with the Grimm being such a large threat as they were a huntress just made since. "Well I suppose it was just what I have always been meant to do. I believe it is what you would call destiny." She replied.

"It's your destiny huh?" Sky said with a scuff. "Well let's hope you're good at it then because we have incoming." Sky Lark announced as he pushed himself up onto his feet and readying his weapon, then he began gazing up at the sky as if searching for something.

"What do you mean my sensors haven't picked up any..." Before Penny could finish her response a warning message appeared across her retinal display. "Missile lock!" Penny screamed in surprise before she began deploying her blades.

Then Sky's eyes finally found what they were looking for. A small female figure hovering above them with her sights set on Penny. "Sorry about this Penny, I will just have to make it up to you later!" Ember said before she launched a missile from her thruster pack aimed directly at the synthetic girl.