Chapter Ten: Never-Ending Tail, Part 2
Sora shot through the air on the recoil of Crescent Rose and landed in between the members of the latest team they encountered – squad of adolescent mutated reptiles trained in the ancient art of ninjutsu. When the spiky-haired scythe wielder touched the ground between them, his finger immediately went to Crescent Rose's trigger and shot at the ground, using the recoil to spin the scythe in a full circle. The purple turtle was the first to get smacked across the face by the scythe's blunt end and was sent over the edge of the walkway, but the other three jumped out of the way before it could connect. But what the humanoid reptiles failed to realize was that this had already been planned out. And so while the turtles were still in the air, Sun jumped out and kicked the orange turtle in the shell and Penny commanded her blades to fly at the red turtle, sending them both flying out of Sky Labyrinth. That just left the blue turtle on his own.
The katana wielding ninja landed and turned around to Sora, Sun, and Penny, who were forming a semi-circle around him with their weapons at the ready. The eyeholes of the turtle's mask narrowed, most likely because he was either glaring at them or was really focused. The ninja reptile took a step to the side –
SMACK!
He hit the ground face first with Neo standing over his crumpled form, parasol held out like a bat before she replaced it on her shoulder and unfolded the chute. She tapped the unconscious turtle with the tip of her boot as if he were something undesirable, pushing him across the floor until her rested on the edge and then kicked him in the shell to send him over. Neo then pulled out a handkerchief from her coat pocket and bended down to wipe her boot, making a disgusted look at the green spot that appeared on the pristine cloth, and threw it away. Sora and the others walked over to join her, replacing their weapons in their proper places.
"Either these guys are super weak," said Sora confidently, "or we're just that good."
"You say that even after we nearly got beaten by a drunken master," said Penny pointed.
"Hey, that guy sucker punched me!" shouted Sun indignantly. "In a real fight, I would have taken him out with both hands and my tail tied behind my back!"
"It was a good thing Neo was there to help," said Sora gratefully. Neo covered her mouth and looked away all shyly.
"Yeah, there was something about the way she fought," said Penny thoughtfully. "I know I've seen those moves somewhere before…. I just can't put my finger on in."
Neo started to get anxious again; her fingers drummed against the handle of her parasol ceaselessly and her eyes were looking pointedly away from the Atlesian android, taking a few cautionary steps backwards. And Sora couldn't help noticing this. This was twice now that Penny had brought up mentioning's of the past and both times Neo noticeably clammed up and tried to put distance between herself and the android. As far as Sora knew, the two had never met before…unless they have met before and didn't remember. And if that were the case, Sora's next question had to be: what happened between them?
Sora's musings were interrupted when the pumpkin man's voice echoed through Sky Labyrinth and said:
"Four teams have already crossed the finish line! Only two more slots remain in the Grand Magic Games! The majority of the teams competing have been knocked out of the competition, but that doesn't mean you should take it easy just yet! You never know what could be waiting just around the corner!"
"Only two more spots left," said Sun anxiously. "That's bad. There were a hundred and eight-seven teams when the Games started. Even if the rest of the competition knocked out the majority, there's still a bunch of them running around looking for the exit."
"Then we gotta get there first," said Sora determinedly. "Penny, which way do we go next?"
"Hmm…," Penny hummed; Neo looked relieved out of the corner of Sora's eyes. "We were walking west for at least three miles, and then started towards north, which should have put us in the center of the labyrinth. Based on our current level of elevation, I would have to say that the finish line might be…directly below us."
"Are you sure about that?" asked Sun, leaning over the edge. "'Cause it's a long way down from here."
"Absolutely," said Penny. "We'll need to go down at least fourteen levels before we reach the finish line. We should probably search for a stairway or – "
"Or we could just do this!" shouted Sora.
Before either Sun or Penny could have stopped him (Neo made no obvious effort), the boy from the islands leaped over the edge, flipped in the air, and dived towards the bottom. Both of his traveling companions howled in fright (Sun's tail was actually standing on end) and, without even thinking, jumped headfirst over the edge after him. Neo, on the other hand, stepped casually over to the ledge, brushing her chin thoughtful as if contemplating whether she should follow in their example. After a few seconds of thought, the heterochromia woman shrugged her shoulders and skipped off the walkway, popping open her parasol, and loftily descended to the bottom after her teammates.
Sora really didn't have a plan for how he was going to stop himself in freefall when he jumped, but he thought it was a good idea at the time. The many levels of the labyrinth were passing by at blinding speed, but Sora's eyes were sharp and fast enough to keep track of the numbers. He had just passed the tenth level…eleven…twelve…thirteen…. Right there – the fourteenth level! Quick as a flash, Sora whipped out Crescent Rose from the back of his belt, shifted to Gun Mode, and fired off a round to his left; the weapon's recoil threw him in the opposite direction. As the spiky-haired islander was headed towards the floor, Crescent Rose was shifted into Scythe Mode and Sora climbed the weapon to where he was standing on the base like a surfboard. The blade of the scythe was the first to hit the floor, slicing through the stone like a hot knife through butter and slowing down their momentum. The scythe had nearly sliced through the walkway completely before it finally stopped near the edge. Sora got off the weapon, pulled it out of the ground, folded it back to its inactive form, and replaced it on the back of his belt.
"Wow, that went a lot better than I thought," said Sora, sounding surprised.
The spiky-haired islander turned back towards the edge and stared up curiously, wondering if his teammates were following or taking another path, when blur of orange and neon flew in front of him and he tumbled back. It might have been a mistake, but he could have sworn the blur just said "COMBAT READY!" when it flew by. Safe to say, that might have been his friend. And speaking of friends, Sun came sliding down a stray pipeline using the chain of Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang, dropped and landing on the ground next to Sora. The moment he landed, the monkey Faunus whacked his teammate over the head with his weapon.
"Ow!" yelped Sora.
"That was the single most stupid idea you ever had!" shouted Sun heatedly. "And you've had a lot of stupid ideas in the weeks I've known you."
"By the time we found a way down, someone else would have crossed the finish line before us," Sora argued. "I just figured it'd be a great way to save time. And it worked, didn't it?"
"Oh yeah?" challenged Sun. "Then where's Penny?"
Just as he said that, two of Penny's Marionette Blades flew up over the ledge and stabbed into the ground, pulling the Atlesian Android up to the level.
"There she is," said Sora. And then Neo gracefully descended next to them. "Now the gang's all together."
"Seriously, this kid is gonna be the death of me," grumbled Sun, massaging his forehead. "Penny, did Sora's little suicide plan work? Are we anywhere close to the finish line?"
"Why don't you take a look for yourself?" said Penny, pointing over the Faunus's shoulder.
Both men spin around and their jaws dropped in unison. Somehow, through whatever possible means, they had arrived not on another narrow walkway as they had expected, but in an open field of evergreen grass; a gentle breeze blowing through, making the pasture dance. And if that wasn't crazy enough, the Grand Magic Games committee somehow managed to wedge an entire sky that seemed to open to the heavens above their heads (it was Penny who pointed out that the sky and clouds were just painted on). There was a narrow path of dirt that cut through the grassland, curving over the slopes and into a large medieval stone castle; the front gate was left open and hanging above the entryway was a large, neon sign that said "GOAL" in multicolor.
"These people are insane," said Sun as he snapped out of his stupor, massaging the bridge of his nose. "Seriously, what's the point of putting a huge ass castle in the middle of a labyrinth? It's not exactly subtle…or makes sense."
"Maybe they wanted to make sure teams knew where they were going?" suggested Penny.
"Honestly, I stopped caring at this point," groaned Sun. "And Sora stopped listening two minutes ago…again." He added, pointing across the field.
Sun and Penny let out loud sighs from equal parts exhaustion and exasperation as the supposed leader of their party had already taken off ahead of them without waiting for the rest of his team to catch up. Despite calling himself leader, the kid sure didn't act like it, thought Sun. But nonetheless, the Faunus and the android followed after their spiky-haired teammate, moving at a calm even pace; the finish line was right in front of them, so there was no point in making themselves tired like Sora. But not everyone in their team was following. Neo, with a sinister smirk gracing her face, turned on her heel with her parasol propped over her shoulder, and started walking in the opposite direction.
Sora was nearly halfway there – he would already see the finish line up ahead at the castle gates. All he needed to do was cross the threshold and his team would be in the Grand Magic Games…for Neo, of course. Sora needed to focus on finding his friends and Team RWBY; he totally wasn't doing this because he secretly wanted to compete himself and win that big shiny gold trophy with his name on it. Yes, it was totally out of selflessness, nothing else. But as he reached the top of the final slope, the spiky-haired islander suddenly stopped, allowing Sun and Penny to catch up with him. The duo from Atlas looked at their partner strangely for a moment and then looked ahead, suddenly going into defensive positions.
A man was standing at the threshold of the castle gates, leaning against the wall with his head lowered and his arms crossed, frowning deeply. The man was tall and very masculine (his muscles had muscles!); a mop of messy blonde hair topped his head and extended down his face into a very handsome beard. An intricate black tattoo covered the majority of his right arm, barely visible through the combination of a metal shoulder guard, a leather armbrace, and a brown fingerless glove. He was wearing brown cargo shorts with a dark brown belt, black shoes, a red bandana on his left arm, and a brown leather vest over a tan dress shirt, which made him look more like a combination of a body builder and an explorer.
When the trio appeared over the slope, the muscular man raised his head and stared up at them, pushing himself off the wall to stand properly. Sora's hand immediately went to Crescent Rose, but he didn't release his weapon just yet. The guy may look dangerous, but he gave off a friendly sort of aura. Maybe he was the reasonable sort. That's what Sora was inwardly hoping for when the large man reached the bottom of the slope, tilting his head back to look at them standing above. By that time, Sun was swinging both Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang and Penny had unfolded all twelve of her Marionette Blades from her pack and left them hanging in the air above her.
The man leaned his head to the side, possibly trying to assess them, then turned to spit like one of those guys with the awesome hats in the old western movies; Sora couldn't quite remember what they were called. Cow-guys or something like that? Sora didn't really have time to think about that at the moment; the blonde man had raised his finger and pointed it accusingly at Sora.
"Hey, kid, what's your name?"
"Um…Sora?" said Sora, looking a little uncertain. "Uh…nice to meet you…I guess."
"The name's Taiyang Xiao Long," Taiyang addressed himself. "I have a couple of questions for you."
"Xiao Long?" repeated Penny with a surprised look. "Yang's last name was Xiao Long. Are you related to Yang Xiao Long by any chance?"
"She's my daughter, and so is Ruby," said Taiyang; Sun and Penny gapped in amazement. "Hey, don't look so surprised. Then again, it is hard to believe that an incredibly handsome, young-looking man like myself could be the father of two women that should be in their thirties by now. But don't go getting the wrong idea, little lady, because no matter how it looks, you're simply way too young for me."
"Now I know where Yang gets her vanity from," said Sun dryly.
"I know it's probably pointless to ask," said Sora, "but do you know what happened to your daughters?"
"No, and I've been looking for them for the best part of ten years," said Taiyang, hanging his head mournfully. "After my girls disappeared off to who knows where, I was pretty broken up; I didn't even fight back during the Cataclysm that destroyed Remnant. I was hoping the Grimm would just kill me off…but apparently destiny had something else in mind. I wound up in a place called Twilight Town and just spent my days wandering around and drowning myself in booze. Well, at least until Torchwick showed up and got me to work for him."
"WHAT?!" Sun and Penny yelled incredulously; Sora jumped, his heart beating a mile a minute. "YOU'RE WORKING WITH TORCHWICK?!"
"That sounds bad, doesn't it?" said Taiyang, shrugging.
"Who's Torchwick?" asked Sora.
"Roman Torchwick is one of the worst kinds of criminals there is," said Penny, scowling. "He's not particularly dangerous or anything – honestly, he's more on level with a henchman – but he's still the worst kind of person. He lies, cheats, and steals to get his way and he doesn't care who he hurts as long as he gets what he wants. But…" – she turned back to Taiyang – "Torchwick died thirteen years ago. Ruby said she saw him be eaten by a Griffin."
"Apparently he's not as dead as we thought he was," said Taiyang, crossing his arms and frowning. "I was at the bar one night and he just walked up to me, taking about business opportunities or whatever. I wasn't paying attention – I was too hammered. Next thing I know, he has me signing a contract saying I have to help Sabertooth win the Grand Magic Games."
"So then…what're you doing here? All by yourself?" asked Sun suspiciously, spinning his nunchaku even harder. "Where's your team?"
"Sabertooth already crossed the finish line," said Taiyang, gesturing over his shoulder. "But my business is with you, Sora. You see, I just got a call from Torchwick saying something about you knowing where my girls are, and that you had something that belonged to Ruby."
"Wait…you mean Crescent Rose?" said Sora.
The spiky-haired islander reached to the back of his belt, unclipping the weapon, bringing it out in front of him, and unfolding the weapon into its full Scythe Mode. When he saw Crescent Rose, Taiyang couldn't hold back the surprised look on his face; his arms dropping to his sides, his eyes wide in shock, and his mouth agape. None of them said anything, though Sora really wished Sun and Penny would put their weapons away. Sora, personally, couldn't blame Taiyang. It's only been a few weeks since Riku and Kairi went missing and he would give anything to know what happened to them. This was a man – a father – whose only family has been missing for a full decade. Sora was almost sure that the bearded man was just holding himself back not to break down in front of them.
After a long, long moment, Taiyang closed his eyes and took a deep shuddering breath, hanging his head as his fists clenched shakily at his side. He brought one arm up and rubbed it against his eyes before lifting his head once more and staring back at them.
"Yeah…that's it…," said Taiyang in slow, somber tone. "That my…that's Ruby's scythe, all right. She loved that thing more than anything; even more than cookies – and believe me, that's saying something. I guess that means she really is…. Listen, thanks for taking good care of it. Ruby would've been happy knowing that someone was taking care of her baby, but I'll be take it off your hands now." He added, holding out his hand.
"What? You can't take Crescent Rose," said Sora possessively.
"That scythe doesn't belong to you, kid," said Taiyang, scowling. "That scythe was Ruby's most prized possession, and as her father – "
"You can't have Crescent Rose!" Sora repeated, tilting the weapon away from the older man.
"Listen, kid…," growled Taiyang heatedly.
"No, you listen!" snapped Sora. "Crescent Rose is the only clue we have to find my friends – I mean, our friends! If this really did belong to Ruby, then it might be the only thing left that can tell us what happened to them!"
"And have you found anything that can tell me what happened to my girls?" asked Taiyang angrily.
"Well…no…but – " said Sora hesitantly.
"But nothing!" shouted Taiyang, his teeth gnashing. "It's been ten years and no one has heard a word about them! It's time to face facts! My girls…my girls are gone…and there's nothing we can do to bring them back. I spent ten years wasting my hope that some shred of evidence would prove that my girls are still alive, but I don't have anything left to hope on. That scythe is the last thing I have of my daughters, so as a father; I'm begging you…. Please…let me have it."
"…I'm sorry," said Sora somberly. "I can't give this up just yet."
Taiyang lowered his head so that his hairline covered his eyes, arms fallen at his side; Sora could actually feel the depression rolling off of him in waves. The older man's hands clenched tightly. Sun and Penny each took a step in front Sora, standing between him at Taiyang. The spiky-haired islander gulped audibly and reloaded Crescent Rose's ammunition; he knew were this was headed.
"Roman told me to come looking for you hoping that I would destroy you," said Taiyang in a small voice. "I wasn't really planning on it – didn't think I'd have a reason to…. But you just gave me one."
For an old guy, Sora thought, he was pretty light on his feet, as Taiyang leaped forward and closed the distance between them in under a second. The bearded blonde man threw a punch at Penny when they were close in the air and the Atlesian android crossed her arms; the Marionette Blades intersected to form a shield. However, Taiyang's fist effortlessly broken through the barrier (shattering two of Penny's swords) and nailed Penny across the face; they could hear the sound of creaking metal. Penny was propelled backwards and collided with Sora, sending both of them gliding across the field. Sora was the first to recover, stabbing Crescent Rose into the grass to slow his momentum. Penny, however, crashed into the hill and created a large crater in the slope.
Sora pulled his scythe out of the artificial ground, looking back at Penny for a moment, then returned his attention back to Sun and Taiyang. Though the bearded brawler was unbelievably stronger, Sun was much quicker and agile – he was bending around Taiyang's fists and smacked the man across the head with his nunchaku when the opportunity presented itself. It looked like he had the situation under control. That meant he could check up on Penny.
The spiky-haired islander dashed over to the crater and kneeled down next to her. The android was lying face down in the dirt. He could hear the gears and servos and other fancy technical terms Sora didn't know working double-time to get her operational again. And, after a brief period of worrisome silence, Penny groaned, much to Sora's relief, and slowly climbed to her hands and feet.
"Penny!" said Sora worriedly, turning her around. "Penny, you think you can – AHH!"
The android faced Sora with one of her cybernetic eyes dangling from its socket y a narrow cord. Sora knew it wasn't a real eye, but that didn't make it any less creepy.
"What?" asked Penny innocently. Not trusting himself to speak, Sora pointed to his own eye. Penny felt around the area of her face that Sora was referring to and felt the dangling optic sensor. "Oh, that? Don't worry about that, it's fine. See?" – She pushed the eyes back in its socket and twisted it until it made a clicking sound; Sora felt his stomach rumble uncomfortably. "Good as new."
"Yeah, just…just don't do that again," pleaded Sora, shuddering. He offered a hand and pulled Penny up. "Think you're in good shape for a fight?"
"It wouldn't be the first time I was damaged in battle," said Penny optimistically. "After my battle with Pyrrha Nikos, father installed me with an experimental self-reconstruction program. Certainly comes in handy for these types of situations. Although," – she bent down and picked up the two swords broken by Taiyang – "the same does not apply to my weapons, I'm afraid."
"Taiyang just plowed through you like it was nothing," said Sora, looking back to the fight between the man and Sun; the Monkey Faunus was playing an excellent game of keep away. "This isn't gonna be another Red Man situation, is it?"
"Not likely," said Penny confidently, tossing the two useless swords away. "Mr. Xiao Long is monstrously strong; that's to be expected from the man who trained Yang. But we have three advantages. Firstly, there is only one of him and three of us ("Where is Neo, anyway?" asked Sora, looking around), so with have the numbers working in our favor. And as Sun is currently proving, while Mr. Xiao Long is stronger, we have greater speed. And thirdly…well, look at him…."
And Sora did. He watched as the bearded man lunged at Sun with both hands, but the Monkey Faunus effortlessly flipped over the older Hunter, using his head as a push off point, landed behind the man, rapped him in the back of the calf with his bo staff. Taiyang dropped to one knee; he was starting to pant and sweat was dripping from his brow, even though it had only been a few minutes. Clearly forcing himself at this point, Taiyang pushed himself back up, twisted around with his knuckles clenched, and threw a punch at Sun's head. The Monkey Faunus easily sidestepped the fist and hit Taiyang with a windmill kick, causing the older man to stumble.
"He's old, Sora," said Penny, sounding almost remorseful. "He may still be strong, but I assume he's only fight with half his strength. Time has already started to ravage his body, and he's spent the last ten years without training or maintaining his health. He's in a very bad state."
"Sounds kinda sad when you say it like that," said Sora.
"Yeah, yeah, a real tearjerker," shouted Sun, sliding to the bottom of the slope beneath them. "Now do you mind helping out here? The guy might be past his prime, but he's still built like a tank. My weapons aren't gonna cu – OOH!"
Taiyang tackled the Monkey Faunus with his shoulder; Sora could practically hear the bones cracking from where he stood. Though Sun was thrown back by the attack, he still touched ground on his hands and pushed off to land on his free, wincing slightly as he tenderly massaged his ribs. As Taiyang started another charge, Penny jumped down and launched herself at the bearded man, throwing a fist as his face when they were within range. Sadly, Taiyang saw this coming a mile away, blocked the punch with his bare hand, twisted his fingers around her wrist, and flipped her over and slammed her into the ground. The older Hunter lifted his foot over her head when a familiar bang took away his attention and he turned his head at Sora, who was gliding over the grass at him with the speed of a rocket. The spiky-haired islander passed Taiyang, but the hook of Crescent Rose caught him around the ankle and pulled it out from under him, making him fall on his back.
Taiyang didn't stay down for long; he flipped back up to his feet and threw a right hook at Sora's head. The new scythe wielder spun around the fist and used the momentum to carry Crescent Rose around to swing at the older hunter's back. Unfortunately, Taiyang only had to raise his forearm to block the scythe's blade. This left Sora open for the bearded blonde to grab him by the collar and lift him, one-handed off the ground. While the boy from the islands kicked his legs in fruitless struggle, Taiyang clenched his fist and pulled it back. Before the older Hunter could throw the punch, however, he felt something wrap tightly around his wrist and looked back.
Penny gave him an intense glare; she was still pretty peeved about earlier. Knowing that he was way stronger than her, the android grabbed Taiyang's arm with both hands and twisted it down before he could prepare. Sora heard the bones in his arms cracking and Taiyang let out a pained yelp, unconsciously loosening his grip on the islander. When Sora landed back on the ground, he jabbed Taiyang in the stomach with the end of Crescent Rose. It didn't do anything to hurt him, but Taiyang's abdomen was pressed against the scythe's muzzle. And Taiyang knew that too, based on the brief look of panic. The older Hunter reached out to grab Sora, but the boy had already pulled the trigger; Penny let go of his arm at the last moment.
Taiyang hit the ground once…twice…three times before he reached out with his hand and clawed at the grass. His hands ripped through the dirt, leaving a long trail in the ground, but he succeeded in slowing himself down and finally righted himself back onto his feet. The older Hunter stood up straight, panting heavy, wiping the sweat that was dripping from his brow. A moment later, he grimaced and held a hand to his stomach. The shot had made any physical wound, but Taiyang looked to be suffering all the same. Even if he was trying to hide it, Sora could see that Taiyang was fighting against more than just a few young Huntsmen; he was struggling with against an enemy that he stood no chance of defeating: Time.
Sora and Penny looked to each other with saddened glances, and for a moment, Sora considered putting Crescent Rose away and helping the poor man to a doctor. But while their attention was turned away, Taiyang suddenly caught a second wind and started another charge after them before either of them could think to pick up their weapons. Luckily, when the older Hunter was hallway from meeting them, Sun suddenly flew in from nowhere and kicked Taiyang from the side. The bearded blonde did stagger sideways but he did not fall.
Taiyang turned to face Sun, but when he looked over, the Monkey Faunus threw himself in the air again and kicked Taiyang in the chest…and again…and again…and again nonstop without touching the ground. With each blow, the older Hunter was pushed further back, his face twisting with pain, until Sun finished with a flying spinning kick to Taiyang's face. The older hunter was knocked off his feet and sent flying through the threshold of castle; they heard a loud crash inside.
Sun took slow, deep breaths, holding his hand over his heart, which was beating a hundred miles a minute. The guy was old, but he was built like a mountain – it took a lot more strength than Sun had just to push him back. Sora and Penny rushed down the hillside to join him soon after; Sora patted the Faunus on the shoulder in a silent congratulation. Then they heard another loud noise coming from inside the castle and, exchanging meaningful glances to one another, stepped inside.
The inside of the castle wasn't as fancy or as grand to look at as they had been expecting. At the most, it was just a really high ceiling hallway with a flashy red carpet and suits of armors lined up in a row on either side. They found Taiyang underneath a pile of armor parts that had fallen over when he landed, tossing some aside and others he simply crushed out of frustration. When he was finally free from the pileup, he stood across from Sora and his group, panting and holding his chest, glaring at the three of them. Sora couldn't stop the look of pity on his face.
"Tai, that's enough," said Sora softly. "It's over. We won. Let's…let's just calm down – "
"Don't tell me to calm down!" snapped Taiyang. "I just – I just – just please give me that scythe back…please…it's all I have left of my girls! Look," – He bent over, using his knees for support – "I know, I get it. I'm old and out of shape. You guys are a lot younger and fitter than me, and you guys definitely have experience fighting tough opponents. No matter how I look at it, I can't win this fight. Honestly, don't know why the hell Torchwick ever thought I'd be of any help in winning the Games. But…but that's not the point I'm trying to make here.
I…. My girls have been lost for ten years. I don't know whether they're alive or dead. I'd given up hope ever finding them, and then, out of the blue, you show up with Ruby's scythe. It sounds pathetic, but I'd do anything to get that scythe back – anything. I just want something that can help me through this; remind me of the old days before everything went to pot and y girls were taken away from me. Kid…please …. It's the only hope I have left…I…I need it."
"Tai…," murmured Sora, closing his eyes sadly. "I'm sorry…but my answer is still no."
"…why?" asked Taiyang, his voice starting to quiver. "Why…?"
"Because it chose me," said Sora. Taiyang stared at him like he was crazy. "I know it sounds weird, but it's true. A few weeks ago, my island was attacked by the Grimm; destroyed by them, really. They would have destroyed me too, but then Crescent Rose showed up out of nowhere and saved me. This scythe came to me for a reason. I still don't know what that reason is, but I owe it to the people who came before me to find out. And if there's a chance I can find out what happened to Team RWBY, I'll find it."
"You stupid kid…," murmured Taiyang. "You don't understand – "
"I do understand, and that's why I can't give it up!" snapped Sora. "I lost my best friends on the island. I watched as two people I loved were taken by the darkness. I don't know where they are or if they're even alive, but I have to hope that they're out the somewhere, waiting for me to find them. And who knows, maybe they're out there looking for me too. So, until I find my friends and Team RWBY, I can't give up Crescent Rose."
Taiyang went silent after that; the only sound coming from him was the soft pants of exhaustion. The older Hunter stared at Sora with his head tilted, as if he were some strange new lifeform that he had never seen before. Taiyang opened his mouth to say something, but instead made a "Gurk!" sound as a narrow blade pierced through his chest; Sora's team screamed in fright. The blade retracted through Taiyang's chest and the older Hunter dropped to his knees and fell sideways. And standing over him, reattaching her blade to the main piece of her parasol, was –
"Neo!" shouted Sora, shocked. "What did you…why did you do that? He was already beaten?"
"You…," said Taiyang weakly, glaring up at Neo. "Did Torchwick tell you to do this? That wasn't part of our deal."
"Wait, she's working for Torchwick?" said Sun in realization, and then turned to Sora. "You made a deal with Torchwick? Why would you make a deal with Torchwick?"
"I didn't know who he was!" shouted Sora defensively. "He said that he wanted to help me get into the Games! Plus, he was a really good negotiator!"
"I knew she seemed familiar!" said Penny triumphantly.
"Kid, you gotta get out of here," said Taiyang, gritting his teeth. "She's no ordinary girl. She's Roman Torchwick's right hand lady and a seriously deadly assassin. She'll kill you."
"She wouldn't be the first one," said Sora jokingly as his team moved into battle stance. "Don't worry, Tai, it's three against one. We can totally take her."
Taiyang looked like he was ready to argue, but Sora had already taken the lead in the charge against Neo with Sun and Penny following shortly behind, leaving him with no room to speak.
Sora swung Crescent Rose around to the ice cream colored woman's head, which Neo easily ducked up, then carried with the momentum for a full swing at Neo's leg's, which she jumped over and kicked Sora in the face. The spiky-haired islander fell on his butt, quickly rolling out of the way when Neo brought down the pointed tip of her parasol on top of him. Sora rolled into a crouch and shifted Crescent Rose into Gun Mode, firing off two shots. Neo unfolded her parasol and deflected the bullets; Sora cursed under his breath.
At the same time, Sun jumped in close to her ex-teammate, bringing down Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang with an overhead strike. Neo casually turned her body and allowed the staff to smack the ground instead. Sun quickly pulled back for a moment before jabbing Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang at her head; the heterochromia woman listlessly tilted her head left and right to dodge with little effort. The Monkey Faunus grunted in frustration, spun his staff around with one hand, then attempted a side swipe to the woman's ribcage. Unfortunately, Neo twirled her parasol around to deflected the staff, causing Sun to stumble, then grabbed the Faunus by his collar and threw him at Sora, who had taken another shot at Neo when her shield dropped, only succeeding in hitting Sun back.
As the Monkey Faunus went flying overhead, Penny leaped forward with the remaining ten Marionette Blades gliding in a circle around her. The android motioned her hands to the left and the swords twirled in accorded direction. Though Neo popped open her parasol and was fending off the repeating assault, the ice cream themed woman was noticeably sliding back. And while her back to him, Sora reloaded Crescent Rose, peered through the scope until her head lined up with the crosshairs, took a deep breath to steady himself, and then pulled the trigger with a loud bang!
And, naturally, Sora never seems to hit his intended target.
The moment she heard the gunfire, Neo instinctively dropped to the floor and the bullet glided over her head, nailing Penny between the eyes. The Atlesian Android wasn't too badly damaged; her thick metal shell combined with aura shielding provided enough of a buffer; the most it did was make her dizzy. However, Neo took advantage of Penny's momentary distraction, flipping over the android with one hand on Penny's head to keep herself balanced. While she was in mid-flip, Neo suddenly turned her body and Penny's head twisted in the same direction; snapping metal and wires followed with flying sparks from the neck. Neo landed behind Penny's now-headless body, which dropped to the ground instantly, and held up the android's head with a smirk.
"Penny!" shouted Sora.
"I'm all right!" yelled Penny in return. "Sora, watch o – AHH!"
Neo lobbed the head and kicked it at Sora. The spiky-haired islander instinctively dodged it; Penny let out a yelp when she connected with the wall. When he straightened up, he found Neo to be standing over him. He didn't have a chance to bring up Crescent Rose since the dual-colored woman had kicked it out of his hand. And now she had pinned him down the needle tip of her parasol pressing ever so gently against his throat. Though this was not the best moment, Sora couldn't stop himself from glaring at Neo, wanting her to know just how much he hated her. And Neo smiled mockingly in return.
Neo pulled back her parasol ready to stab when –
"Open, Gate of the Goat! Capricorn!"
What sounded like a doorbell rang throughout the castle and when Neo looked over, someone kneed the bi-colored woman in the face. Neo bounced for several feet on the ground, sliding on the carpet for the final few feet. When blinked as he looked up at his rescuer, almost certain his jaw had gone through the floor. A goat. A human goat dressed in a butler's outfit, just kicked the tar out of Neo. And if that wasn't strange enough, the goat butler picked up Sora and Sun, dusted them off, reattached Penny's head, then bowed.
"Uh…thanks?" said Penny awkwardly.
Meanwhile, Neo lifted herself to her hands and feet, tenderly massaging the bruise that was developing on her cheek –
"Requip! Heaven's Wheel!"
Neo quickly leapt to her feet aty the voice and skipped backwards by several paces, barely dodging the hailstorm of swords that were flying down from the ceiling –
"Ice-Make: Ice Geyser!"
A tower of icicle spike exploded through the ground underneath Neo, sending the dual-colored woman sailing into the air –
"Fire Dragon Roar!"
Neo uttered her first sound (a gasp) when she opened her eyes and saw a jet of intensely hot flames flying at her. The ice cream-themed woman popped open her parasol and safely guarded herself from the flames, but the pressure behind the heat stream pushed against Neo until her back hit the large, making a small indentation in the stone. Neo, cringing in pain, tilted forward and landed on her hands and knees on the ground. She shakily lifted her head up with an angry glare, which quickly shifted into a look of panic when looked up to the team of four newcomers that were standing between her and Sora's Team.
From left to right the was a very muscular man with spiky pink hair and a scaly scarf, a blonde woman with an enormous bust (no, it's not Yang), a dark-haired man that seemed to have lost his shirt, and a scarlet-haired woman with a sharp glare and wearing a dress made of a ton of metal feathers. It was apparent to Sora that Neo recognized these people; otherwise she wouldn't look quite so fearful in their presence. The pink-haired man slammed his fist into his open palm loud enough for everyone to hear and Neo winced slightly, only adding on the fact.
"Hey, ice cream head, what d'ya think yer doing, huh?" growled the pink-haired man. "Sure looks like you were about to turn your teammate into a shish kabob. That doesn't sit right with us."
"And attacking a weakened man while his back is turned," said the scarlet-haired woman, looking at Taiyang. "Disgraceful! You should be ashamed of yourself!"
"We have a saying in our guild," said the dark-haired man. "Treat your partners like your family. That's what Nakama means for us. Though I guess that don't mean anything coming from a literal backstabbing traitor."
"Anyone who would hurt their comrades doesn't deserve to be called Nakama!" said the blonde woman furiously.
"You said it, Lucy," said the pink-haired man. He raised his right hand behind him and, to Sora's surprise, the limb suddenly caught fire. "People like you really burn me up! So I'm gonna return the favor. Fire Dragon Iron Fist!"
The pink-haired pyro launched forward and Neo's expression turned into absolute panic. Though the dual-colored woman managed to push herself up and jump away in time to dodge the flaming fist, it was clear that she had no desire to go up against these four. She let out one final shuddering breath before she popped open her parasol over her shoulder, jumped backward into the air, and vanished in a brief flash of white light.
"What?! What do you mean we're disqualified?!" shouted Sora, Sun, and Penny in unison.
It was long after the preliminary round in the Sky Labyrinth had ended as Sora and his team found themselves back in the reception area along with the pumpkin headed man and the team that had saved their butts. While they were waiting for the ceremonies to close, both teams had introduced themselves. It turned out that the people who saved them was from Fairy Tail, a very famous and popular guild in Fiore, and their members were the best team of the guild: Natsu "The Salamander" Dragneel, Lucy Heartfilia, Gray Fullbuster, and Erza "Titania" Scarlet. Neo could understand why Neo had been so afraid of them if they're reputation was anything to go by.
When Fairy Tail had been the last team to cross the finish line, Sora thought that was the end of it. But then the pumpkin head mascot had pulled them off to the side to give them the bad news: They were eliminated from the competition.
"But why?" asked Penny.
"While your whole team did cross the finish line," said the pumpkin man, "the committee received word that your partner, Neopolitan, has dropped out of the running. That makes you one teammate short of qualification. I'm sorry, but that's the rules."
"That's not fair!" said Sora, stomping his foot.
"Mr. Referee, there has to be something you can do," said Lucy pleadingly. "They worked really hard to make it, and they technically crossed the finish line with their whole team like you said."
"Yeah, it's not their fault their teammate turned out to be a psychopath," said Gray defensively.
"I'm sorry, but rules are rules," said the pumpkin man, crossing his arms.
"Hey, tell ya what?" said Natsu, kneeling and grin at the short mascot. "You let them in and – "
He leaned in close to the pumpkin's nonexistent ear and whispered the rest of the sentence. Almost instantly, the pumpkin man's eyes were wide and his mouth dropped in a clear mixture of shock and fright. The mascot turned his head mechanically to Natsu, who grinned and nodded his head; sweat started running down the pumpkin's head.
"Do we even want to know what he said?" Sun muttered to Lucy.
"Probably not," whispered Lucy in return.
"W-w-well, when you put it that way, I suppose they deserve a chance," stuttered the pumpkin judge. "It will take a while before the Grand Magic Games first round officially begins, so I'm willing to make you a deal: if you can find a replacement for your missing teammate, you'll be allowed to compete in the Games" – Sora, Sun, and Penny cheered – "But! If you don't find someone by the time the first round starts, you'll be disqualified and we'll give your spot to the next team!"
"That sounds fair," said Penny.
"Hey, where're we supposed to find another teammate," Sun said to Sora in a hush tone. "We're kinda on a mission, and we can't just tell people we're from another world."
"We'll worry about that later," muttered Sora.
"I wish you all the best of luck in your endeavors," said Erza praisingly. "I look forward to when we face each other in the Games."
"We won't go easy on ya!" said Natsu, flexing his muscles.
"That's what we're afraid of," said Sun jokingly.
The two groups shared a small laugh before Penny pointed out that it was time to go (I.E. they needed to move on to the next world). Sora, Sun, and Penny said their good byes to the mages of Fairy Tail and walked outside to the front entrance of the coliseum. The massive stadium had already been cleared out for a while; everyone had already gone hoe for the day. Everyone except a blonde man sitting on the stairway to town, elbows resting on his knees, his hands folded together, and her forehead resting on his hands; they could practically see the cloud of depression hanging over his head.
Sora shared a look of pity with his teammates. They couldn't just leave things like this. The trio silently communicated with a couple of nods and slowly walked over towards the man, stopping just a short distance from him.
"Tai," said Sora gently. "Are you all right?"
"…yeah, I'll be fine," said Taiyang slowly, raising his head to meet their eyes. "I don't suppose you came back to hand over that scythe, did you?" – Sora shook his head sadly – "Yeah, I didn't think so…. I must be cursed. First I lost both the loves of my life, I lost my best friend (even if he was a stupid drunk), and then I lose my girls. And then you show up with my baby girl's precious weapon and say you won't give it back. It's like the universe is going out of its way to make sure I never find happiness."
"That's not true!" said Sora suddenly. "I know things seem bad now, but everything will turn out all right in the end. You just have to keep holding on to hope that Ruby and Yang are still out there, waiting to be found. As long as you don't give up on hope, there's always a chance for the better."
"That's a nice sentiment, kid," said Taiyang. "But the real world isn't the same as a fairy tale. You don't always get your happily ever after.
"Well, that's why we're here," said Sora. "To make it better."
Taiyang's eyes went wide briefly when he heard these words and looked up at Sora properly, staring up at him as if he were seeing him in a new light. The older Hunter's eyes, which had previously been drooping with eyes of depression, had a sudden glint in them, as if new life had been breath inside him.
"You are so much like her…it's almost uncanny," said Taiyang; Sora tilted his head in confusion. With a loud grunt of effort, Taiyang slowly stood up, cracking the bones in his spine. "All right…I'll trust you with my baby girl's scythe for a little while longer. But if you're going to be using Crescent Rose, you should learn to use it properly. Here's a little trick to might wanna know – "
The older Hunter leaned in and whispered something into Sora's ears. The spiky-haired islander gasped and looked at Taiyang.
"Crescent Rose can do that?" asked Sora.
"If you know how to use it properly," said Taiyang, clapping the boy's shoulder. "Good luck to you, kid, and don't ever give up on hope."
"All right," said Sora as Taiyang started walking away. "How about a rematch sometime! Only this time, let's not have the criminal mastermind and the quiet assassin, okay?"
"Forget that, kid," said Taiyang, chuckling. "I'm way too old for this sh – stuff. I was totally gonna say stuff. What you kids are doing is for young people. I think it's time for me to hang up the gloves for good. But hey, if you need a personal trainer, feel free to look me up. I have a feeling you're gonna need one for when the Games start."
Sora grinned and shook his head as the bearded man disappeared. The boy from the islander felt good about himself. For the past few weeks, he had doubted himself and had little faith in his ability to help people, especially since he had Ganta save them back in Deadman Wonderland. But even though they clearly lost to Neo this day, he was able to inspire hope in a man who had given up on hope for nearly a decade. It felt good to know he was making a difference in someone's life. This fluttering feeling carried with him on his trip back to the Gummi ship when Sun pointed out the goofy grin on his face.
But as Sora and his friend disappeared down the stairway, Roman Torchwick was glaring at them from a distance behind one of the coliseum pillars, gritting his teeth so hard that he bit through his cigar.
"Lucky little brat," said Torchwick, stamping the cigar piece with his cane. "It's always been stupid lucky. That huntress showing up on the roof, that freaky robot girl on the docks, those useless White Fang thugs on the train, that damn Griffin, and now Fairy Tail comes to the rescue. Dumb luck! That's all it's ever been! DUMB LUCK!" he yelled, stamping his cane repeatedly into the ground. "….What do you want now?"
For Zeref had appeared behind Torchwick; a smug smirk gracing his pale complexion.
"I just came to see your progress, Torchwick," said Zeref. "But it seems you haven't made any."
"That's what you think," said Torchwick confidently. "A brilliant criminal mastermind always has a Plan B. When the Games start, I'll get rid of that kid and those brats from Fairy Tail in one fell swoop. So stay out of it. I don't need some high and mighty, overbearing, son of a – GAK!"
Torchwick's cane clattered to the floor as his hand went straight to his throat, chocking for air. His skin started to turn a sickly gray color and blue veins crawled across every inch. The self-proclaimed criminal mastermind turned to Zeref with rattling breath and stared into his master's eyes, which had turned a bloody shade of crimson.
"You will be wise to show respect, Torchwick," said Zeref dangerously. "Do not forget who it was that gave you life. Just as you should not forget who can take it away just as easily."
Zeref closed his eyes and Torchwick dropped to his hand and knees, taking deep breaths; his skin turned back to its natural shade of peach. The criminal sneered at the black wizard as he walked away into the darkness.
And that brings about the end of the first part of the Grand Magic Games. As I said before, I will be incorporating all five events from the original Fairy Tail series because I think this new cast of characters could make the Games much more interesting than the originals. The first round of the Games will start after the second visit to Traverse Town, which means Sora's team will have to find their fourth member within that span of time. I know some people would want a hint to know who the new member is, but I can't really say anything without making it obviously, so all I can do is ask you to wait patiently.
The next and final world of the original groups in Yamatai. Rather than follow the same plot where Sora and someone else has a fight, I want to focus on developing Sora's character, more particularly when the reality sets in that his adventure isn't all fun and games and that there are monsters that will kill him if given the opportunity. It will be Sora's first true experience with life-and-death situations and a chance to see whether he will be able to overcome them.
Until next time, please read and review.
And be sure to check out my original story, We are SHDO, which is currently in the trailer stage.