A/N: Because I'm referencing what happens in season 3 of the show, I'll be slow updating. Well, for two more weeks. I'm only going to chapter 13 with the tournament before the main plot gets into action.
Also, for those of you who hate how things go too fast and hate that the chapters are only 1k+ words, I'm writing these on a phone and can't write a lot before my finger starts cramping. Sorry.
The next day, the tournament opened with a fight that none of us saw coming. Red and Crimson were up against Penny and a girl that let Penny do all the work. Due to this, Red and Crimson lost the fight. Ruby left the stands, to talk to Penny, and I looked to Yang and Weiss.
"Good luck out there!" I said with a smile. Yang gave me a thumbs up while Weiss... I think Weiss smiled? I couldn't tell, because she and Yang left a bit too quickly.
Their opponents were Flynt and Neon, who were pretty good at fighting the two. Weiss tried to knock Flynt out of the game, but she was the one who got knocked out instead. Oddly, at this point, Pyrrha left the stadium for something.. And it confused me. But I couldn't tail her because my match started in fifteen minutes once Yang eliminated Neon and Flynt from the tournament.
"Let's go get ready, Zephyr," I said, getting up. Zephyr nodded, following after me as we got ready to face Cardin and Sky. I was nervous, mainly because I didn't think I could come out of this alive.
"Use your sword as your old weapon? I can see how that would work... but be careful, don't accidentally knock yourself out of the tournament," Dainn had warned me when I proposed this strategy to him. I wished he hadn't incinerated my staff, but what was done was done.
Our field was forest, ocean, mountain and volcano. Cardin and Sky were at ocean and mountain while Zephyr and I were at forest and volcano. The signal for us to fight began and, as predicted, Cardin came straight for me and Sky went after Zephyr.
"You're not getting lucky again!" Cardin said. I looked behind me. Volcano, just my luck..
But if I used it to my advantage, then Cardin will get knocked out and will finally stop bullying me. He was just like... Just like that man I despised with all my heart. Standing up to Cardin meant that I could stand up to him when I returned home.
"My luck hasn't run out yet, Cardin," I said calmly. He swung his mace, and I blocked it like Dainn had blocked my hits. Good. I was learning, finally. He didn't seem too happy that I blocked his attack and, so, he started attacking again and again. I jumped out of the way just in time as a spurt of lava burned Cardin's aura away.
Hey, my plan worked a bit!
But, as predicted, Cardin got mad and went on the assault. If I learned anything from watching the fights, it was moves that I couldn't execute. Not yet, at least.
But one move came to mind as I dodged his attacks. A risky move, since it would leave me open but... I had no other choice.
I did a downward slash, followed by a sideways slash and an upwards slash. Cardin dodged them easily, smirking, and raised his mace as I hit him twice with an X-formation slash. Playing video games paid off for something, at least. Zack's Cross-Slash attack had given me a good start to chipping away at Cardin's aura and eliminate him.
Just then, we heard a buzz and looked at the screen. Sky had been eliminated by Zephyr, who only had 50% of his aura remaining. Cardin actually cursed, and swung his mace. He hit me across the face, sending me flying into the forest area and made me break a couple trees.
"It looks like Azura is in a pinch. She's held out against Cardin, but will it be enough to defeat him?" I heard Doctor Oobleck say.
"It will.." I muttered, getting up and swapping my sword into gun mode before spinning the lens, which was located above the area the safety was. Inside the lens was different forms of Dust, and my lens stopped at red, which then filled the empty areas of the gun with red dust.
"Eat flame bullets, Jockstrap!" I yelled before unleashing shots of dust-infused bullets at him.
The buzzer sounded.
As my bullets hit Cardin, Zephyr had come up from behind and used his brute strength to bash Cardin into the ground, effectively depleting his aura as he got blasted by lava.
We had won.
I stood there in disbelief. Wecd actually won. Zephyr walked over and patted my back with a small smile on his face.
"That... was... AMAZING!" Ruby said at dinner that night. We were all sitting together at a table, talking about the matches. "You and Zephyr kicked major butt!"
"Yeah, but I couldn't have done it without Zephyr," I admitted, being honest. "I also learned a bunch of cool moves! Too bad I can't skate like Neon."
"She might say you're too top heavy," Yang said, fuming.
"I can't balance worth a damn on skates. Trust me, I've tried. I have terrible balance," I grinned sheepishly. "But you're not top heavy, Yang. You could probably skate if you wanted to."
"Thanks, Azura," Yang smiled and returned to her food just as Pyrrha arrived at the table. She put a hand on my shoulder and I looked over at her.
"Professor Ozpin wants to talk to you," she said. "I was told to bring you to him."
"Alright. I'll see you later, guys." Getting up, I waved at them as I left with Pyrrha. Unbeknownst to us, Ruby had gotten up to follow and, when we were halfway there, Pyrrha noticed her.
"S-sorry. It just seems like every time we sit down to talk, Azura has to leave. I'm her friend, can't I know what's going on?" Ruby asked.
"The headmaster did ask for you, too. But Azura was supposed to bring you after meeting with him," Pyrrha said. Ruby's eyes lit up.
"Really?! I'll save you a trip and come with you, then!" Ruby said enthusiastically. Giving up on changing her mind, Pyrrha and I went to the elevator and she was humming as she entered it.
Ozpin and Qrow were waitimg for us, and Qrow was drinking... coffee? Huh.
"I see that Ruby has tagged along. No matter. You three must be curious as to why I called you here," Ozpin said. "I assure you that once Neo gets here, I will explain everything."
"Neo?! Torchwick's lackey?! Ozpin, she's a criminal!" I said, outraged. Ozpin merely shook his head as Ruby opened her mouth to confirm it.
"She is an undercover agent from Beacon, and only a year older than you, and has been helping us with intel," he said. The elevator chose that moment to open, and out came a black-haired girl. Her eyes, however, were pink and brown.
Neo.
"Ah, good. Now that all of you are assembled, I can tell you what this is about," Ozpin took a sip of his coffee. "There is a force at work that brought both Azura and Red here. From what Red told me, they were friends in the world they came from before ending up here in Remnant. I assume that you have no idea how you got here, Azura?"
"No, I actually don't. All I remember is... well... being.. hurt." That was right. That man had smacked me with something. But why was that my last memory before I ended up here?
"Cinder and her gang brought you here through Dust usage and with the help of an organization that we don't know the name of yet," Qrow stated. "Both you and Red."
"But, why did you call us here if just to tell us that?" I asked.
"The three of you will be training under both Dainn and Qrow to hone your skills and make sure you're ready for what is to come. Amethyst will provide you new battle equipment. This will keep you prepared for the inevitable."
The inevitable...
Ruby, Pyrrha and I were being trained for the inevitable. The only thing was that I didn't know if I could take it. They both looked apprehensive, but..
We had no choice.
No choice but to march to our deaths.