Team CBLT V1

by rcon11

This is the story of my OC team and their adventures at and around Beacon. While it will centralize around my team, you will see appearences from the main casts of JNPR, RWBY, the teachers, and CRDL (silent booing). I will also introduce new story element including a new faction and city. Hope you enjoy.

21. Part2 What We're Made of

"Wow look at all these people" said Ruby "there's market stalls, little sparring rings, even games"! Team RWBY was walking through the city during the Jahrestag celebrations. "Let's not forget how good the food is" said Yang, biting into a snack "what is this stuff anyway"? "The wrapper you stuffed into my bag said candied rock root" said Blake "don't think I didn't notice". "Isn't that stuff like flavorless or something?" asked Weiss. "It's one of the few edible plants that can grow in this climate" said Blake "depending on how it is prepared it can taste a number of ways". They then noticed the noise was replaced with a pure silence, as they moved into a square without any stalls or games. The turned to see a crowd of people surrounding a statue in the center of the square; some were even praying to it. The group walked to the statue to get a closer look. They made out that it was a statue of two people. One was a tall imposing man in heavy armor, a short beard, semi-long hair, and a large hammer which seemed to be augmented with large speakers. The other figure was a woman in light scale armor, short hair, and wielding two hook blades. "What is all this?" asked Ruby. "This is the Midpoint Memorial" an old man answered. The old man looked like he had been through a lot, as his left leg was a prosthetic and he hobbled around with a cane. "You must be the outsiders the family let in" he said "the name is Bitter Mands, formerly Major Mands of the Conway military". "Nice to meet you" the girls shook hands with him "so what's the story"? "Years ago during the Faunus War Conway was sieged" said Bitter "this square was were the battle turned. I was here fighting tooth and nail myself, that is how I lost my leg. In this very spot was where the two people immortalized before you were butchered. Yet in this dark hour we found hope in one man, the present Viscount Castleton Conway helped us turned the tide and win the day. The two before you are former Viscount Cobalt and his wife Opal. They were wonderful people, why did those Schnee curs have to butcher our people and convince the world we are less than animals"? "Thanks for the story" Blake began to push Weiss away from the man "but we really must be going". "Well, have a good" Bitter cut himself off when Weiss turned away, revealing the Schnee insignia decorating her clothes. "You fascist!" he yelled "you family has murdered our people and branded us as savages, and yet you dare to walk among us as friends? You disgust me"! The old man spat onto the ground in front of Weiss and raised his cane to strike her. "Calm down Mr. Mands" Tuscan appeared and put his hands on the man "Weiss was invited by the royal family, so trust our judgment". "Schnees are nothing but lying scum" said Bitter "they took my leg and my friend; to hell with them"! Bitter hobbled away from the group in obvious frustration. "You four should get out of here" said Tuscan "many people here are veterans of the war or those who lost people during the war, and it would not be appropriate for Weiss to be seen here. It would only be worse if spat on my father's face and called him a coward". "They hate Schnees that much?" asked Yang. "The Schnees have been blamed for the siege during the war" said Tuscan "while it may seem very long ago its effects are still felt today in Conway politics with the outside world". "The Conway state is notorious for not being very trusting with other groups" said Blake "this is largely due to their history being riddled with foreign invasions and their failed bid for reparations at the end of the Faunus War". "So you guys have really gotten the shit end of the stick huh?" said Yang. "Conway isn't even legally a sovereign state" said Tuscan "Vale claims we are under them despite our independent government, but with that aside. I came out with my siblings to find you and bring you to the hall for the banquet". The group had begun to exit the plaza, leaving a few irritated veterans behind.

Tuscan led the group to the hall, stopping at the door to give a description on what's going on inside. "There are several long tables inside" said Tuscan "ours will be up on the stage next to a podium. Food will be provided and will be sitting on the table for you to get at your leisure and in a few minutes, my father will read the list of who will participate in The Circle tonight; any questions"? "How many people are in there anyway?" asked Weiss. "Hard to guess" said Tuscan "give or take a few thousand, now let's head inside". Tuscan pushed open one of the large double doors and let the group inside. When they entered they saw several huge tables spanning the length of the room, each filled with friends and families conversing over food about tonight's events. At the opposite end of the building was an elevated platform with another long table, and sitting at it was JNPR, the rest of CBLT, Azure, Sapphire, and Castleton. As the crew walked up the middle aisle, they noticed that some people appeared to recognize Weiss. Fathers and old men would stare in disgust while mothers turned their children away like she was some kind of monster. The negative attention ceased when the group sat down with the rest. "Wow Weiss" said Jaune "what did you do"? "She came that's what" said Azure "if she doesn't watch herself she'll start another war". "Enough Azure" said Castleton "it's okay Weiss, anti-Schnee sentiment is a way of life here. But if all goes well tonight than the healing may begin". "Hey Shogun Mansolillo" asked Blake "why are you up here, I thought this table was for the royal family"? "This table is reserved for the royal family, the family of the guard, honored guests, and foreign diplomats" said Azure "unfortunately my family cannot attend as my wife left tonight on assignment and my only son; left the city some time ago and has yet to return". You could see at this mention Bruna's expression changed to that of remorse. "Well now that we broke the ice" said Castleton "I got a list to read and announcements to make". Castleton rose from his seat and stood behind the podium, at that moment the building burst into applause as they cheered for their leader. Castleton raised his hands into the air and the people went silent. "Welcome to the Jahrestag Festival" boomed Castleton "today we celebrate the birth of our order, our nation, and our way of life. It is on this day that we take the time to reflect on how far we have come, but we should also take the opportunity to look to the future. We must look to ourselves and how we may better toe world we live in; and rid it of chaos, evil, and tyranny. Our children have the duty to carry our burdens when we are no longer able, and it is ours to give them the strength to do so. Today our children and young people will prove themselves to us; the best and brightest shall enter The Circle to show that they have what it takes to protect our future, but first a few announcements. This circle is very special as the sages proclaimed that the time has come. For those who do not know, the sages proclaimed that the time has come and a Wyvern was to be brought into Conway. After many decades it is that time again, it is now my son's turn to take the right of passage. This is a historic occasion as an heir was never tested at this young of an age in history, so we are all looking forward to my son showing the strength that has lead our people for generations. But before I read the list for The Circle, I must tell you why it will be the shortest we have seen in a long time. This morning one of the inner bases was raided by White Fang. I dispatched several of our best warriors to tend to the issue, they left after the list was made so the number will be minimal. Once I read off your name, please stand to show that you shall be participating. Cobalt and Lenna Conway; please rise". The sibling rose from theirs seat and the crowd let out a roar of applause. "Next we have an outsider" said Castleton "Pyrrha Nikos". Pyrrha stood up and waved to the crowd as they clapped for her. "Next we have one of the top students in their class and recent arrival from the prestigious Polaris Battle Academy" said Castleton "Rust Kindler". A young girl with short black hair rose from her seat; she was clad in bright red light armor. "And last but not least" said Castleton "another outsider who proved she has more than what it takes. She proved strength against all adversity, I present to you; Weiss Schnee". Weiss rose from her seat to an astonished crowd, her name was met with faces of shock, frustration, anger, and the purest of hate. "This concludes the listing" said Castleton "congratulations to those who made the cut and to those who didn't, now I shall hand of to Sapphire for closing remarks". Sapphire stepped up to the podium for the closing remarks. "Congratulations again to those who made the cut" said Sapphire "be sure to arrive at the coliseum before the end of the hour so we can begin as soon as possible and you can get good seats. I wish you luck". "Come on" said Cobalt "we need to get moving outside". Cobalt lead the group through a back door out of the hall. "Wow Pyrrha and Weiss" said Ruby "I can't believe you actually made it". "You guys will really kill it in there" said Nora "I wonder what you will be fighting"? "You will not know your challenge until you enter the ring" said Cobalt "the event is supposed to test your ability to adapt, to not only to the Grimm but to the environment as well. I have full confidence that both of you will succeed". "But I have a question" said Yang "why didn't Bruna or Tuscan get in"? "You can only do one Circle in your lifetime" said Tuscan "Bruna and I have already completed ours; Cobalt had to wait for the Wyvern and Lenna is new". As the turned the corner they ran into Rust, the other girl who was on the list. "Oh my god it's Cobalt Conway!" she squeaked "I never thought in all my life I would ever get to meet you, and here I am"! "Calm down Rust" said Cobalt "I'm no celebrity". "But your Cobalt" she said "son of Castleton and Sapphire, heir to the title of Viscount, and leader of team CBLT; you are my idol"! "I thought you only recently moved here?" asked Bruna. "My grandparents live here" she said "my parents kicked me out so I live with my grandparents. I enrolled in Polaris during the first semester and now I will be in the circle. And not just that, but so are you. Oh the time, sorry gotta run". "Where?" asked Tuscan "The Circle doesn't start for another hour and a half". "They put me in charge of the Grimm pens in the coliseum" she said "I did such a good job with the ones in the proving grounds they let me do it here too. I don't mean to brag but I was one of the people who helped pen up your Wyvern, well see ya"! Rust ran off to the coliseum with an extra skip in her step. "Well she seemed, nice" said Bruna. "With that out of the way" said Cobalt "let's head to the royal box in the coliseum before we get stuck in traffic".

The coliseum was filled to the brim with people. The coliseum was dominated by four huge knight statues. The coliseum floor seemed flat and featureless while the walls surrounding it had iron doors and auto turrets. The royal box was separate from the other rows and was the closest to the ring. Sitting in the box were teams CBLT, RWBY, JNPR, Castleton, Sapphire, and Azure. Castleton rose to a podium in the center of the box, four huge screens around the arena portrayed Castleton as he prepared to address the people. "Welcome to The Circle!" said Castleton "I will now go over how this is going down. One at a time each contender will enter the arena and receive their challenge, on the projection screens will be the name, aura levels, a headshot of the contender, and live feed of what they are doing. If their aura get dangerously low than the auto turrets and drones will execute the Grimm and the challenge will be terminated. For those who are worried about Grimm in the stands a dome shield is activated after the contender enters the arena, observe". Castleton pulled a small pistol from the podium and fired into the arena; each shot was reflected off by an invisible force. "Now I will invite the first person into the ring" said Castleton "Lenna Conway, please enter". "Wait a sec" said Weiss "I don't see any stairs, how do you get down"? Her question was answered when Lenna simply leaped into the ring from the box. "Your challenge is a pack of Gharials!" said Castleton "prepare for arena shift"! On that word the coliseum floor began to change, plate on the floor began to shift as indents in the ground became ponds and the whole arena was reduced to a marsh. "Wow" said Ruby "that is so cool". "The whole arena is rigged to change shape" said Cobalt "each shift is programed to coincide with a certain challenge". Three gates opened and out of each came a large scaly form. They were large four legged creatures with smooth black scales and white plates along their backs. They also had elongated jaws filled with sharp teeth. Lenna drew her shotgun and blasted the closest one, but the pellets bounced haplessly off the thick plates. One lunged at her, but she leaped onto its back and landed behind it. She realized the futility of the gun and unsheathed her machete but put away her pistol. Another came in from the side, but she leaped over it. She landed on its back and jammed her machete in between one of the plates on the back of it's head. It let out a bellow of agony and fell silent. Another threw its body on top of her and took her into the water. Everyone looked to the POV screen to see her swing under it's soft belly and slice it open. She burst from the water and quickly swam to shore, with the final Gharial in pursuit. The turrets seemed poised to save Lenna when it opened it's huge jaws and in a single moment, a shot rang out. Lenna had drew her pistol at the last second and eviscerated the inside of it's mouth. While it was stunned she jumped onto it's head and shoved her blade through it's eye socket. The beast fell and Lenna sheathed her weapons, taking a bow on it corpse. "Let's hear it for Lenna Conway!" said Castleton. The whole crowd broke into applause, as Lenna scaled the wall back to her seat. "Anybody got a towel?" asked Lenna "I smell like swamp". "Next up we have Rust Kindler!" said Castleton. Out of one of the Grimm gates came Rust, as she was in charge of tending the Grimm. "Rust Kindler!" said Castleton "your challenge is Beowolf horde, prepare for arena shift". Once again the arena floor shifted, this time the result was several slabs of rock jutting out from the grown creating many ledges along with stone pillars. Out of the Grim gates poured dozens of Beowolves. Rust threw her arms out and from her gauntlets came an extremely long pair of flaming whips. She wrapped one around a pair of Beowolves and sent them into some of the others; she repeated the action several times until the rest got too close. The two whips then split into several shorter ones, which each attacked the Beowolves independent of each other's actions. The few that remained began to make a hopeless retreat. Rust's whips dissipated into several balls of fire which embedded themselves into the ground around the Beowolves. The area where they stood erupted into a geyser of flames, incinerating them where they stood. "Let's hear it for Rust Kindler and her masterful performance!" said Castleton. Rust bowed and blew a kiss toward the royal box. Cobalt hid his face behind his hand in order to mask his blush. "What's with Cobalt?" asked Ruby. "He's not very good with girls and feelings and junk" said Bruna. "That's not true" said Cobalt "I can talk to Ruby and the others just fine". "Because you're not into them" said Bruna "remember Gia, Azura, Crystal, Rain...". "Shut up" said Cobalt. "And Rain was actually into you" said Bruna "but you had to pull the "I'm not good enough for her" act". "Can we talk about this later?" asked Cobalt in embarrassed frustration. "Next we have Pyrrha Nikos!" said Castleton. "Good luck Pyrrha" said Jaune. "Thanks" said Pyrrha. Pyrrha slowly eased herself over the edge, in order to make a careful landing. "Your challenge is a Desert Death Stalker!" said Castleton "prepare for arena shift"! The arena floor began to disintegrate into a loose sandy surface. Pyrrha drew Milo in rifle form and watched the gates, waiting for her opponents to emerge from the gates. Out of one of the larger gates came her opponent, this one's tail was much longer than the one she faced back in the Emerald Forest, while it's body was slightly smaller. Without a moments notice it dug its tail into the ground and waited. Pyrrha began to circle and shoot the beast as it just stood there following with it's eyes. Pyrrha remembered the futility of shooting at range and stopped to change weapons. At that moment the stinger came up from the ground and reared up behind her and struck, resulting in a near miss that scrapped Pyrrha's side. The stinger retreated into the sand as Pyrrha regained her footing. Pyrrha than charged the Death Stalker from the side, and began to swipe at it's legs. The stinger cane up again and missed, but it hit one of it's own legs. Pyrrha quickly took notice of this and circled to the front. She was able to deflect the claws long enough to wait for the stinger to gain speed coming up. When it was the right time she rolled under it and ran it length until she was behind it. The Death Stalker had impaled it's head on it's own stinger. "Let's give Pyrrha a hand everybody!" said Castleton. The crowd erupted into applause as Pyrrha took a bow before scaling the wall and returning to her seat. "Where did you find that one?" asked Pyrrha. "It is a desert species" said Cobalt "while the use of the stinger is different, it's weakness is the same. Something you exploited perfectly". "I just remembered how we took out the last Death Stalker" said Pyrrha "of course that time we had Jaune's help". "How did tall, blonde and scraggly help?" asked Bruna "meat shield maybe"? "Shhhhh!" said Sapphire, gesturing that Castleton was going to speak again. "Next we have up is Weiss Schnee!" Castleton's voice carried through a silent coliseum. Weiss drew Myrtenaster and leaped over, using glyphs to stall her fall. When she hit the floor she noticed the turrets began to sag, as if not eager to care for her safety. "Weiss Schnee!" said Castleton "your challenge is a juvenile Nevermore; prepare for arena shift"! The arena changed once again, this time resulting in high peaks, valleys and cliffs. The large Grimm gate opened and her opponent walked out. Once it was clear it took flight and perched onto the highest peak. It's ear piercing screech echoed throughout the whole coliseum. Weiss used her glyphs to scale one of the other peaks around the same height. The beast made the first move and charged Weiss, ramming into her peak and smashing it apart. Weiss leaped from the falling debris onto it's back, she struck several times to pierce it's hide but to no avail. The Nevermore than turned itself over and rammed it's back into one of the cliffs. It pealed itself off and left Weiss to fall to the bottom with the debris. When Weiss returned to her feet she saw the beast coming back around for another pass. The Grimm shot it's sharp feathers at Weiss, but she was able to avoid it and scale another peak. She noticed the repeated attacks on the cliff behinds her had caused the overhang to sag and begin to crumble. She turned to her opponent again and fired a barrage of glyphs to agitate it. It flew in again and rammed her peak in anger but carried too far. It rammed itself underneath the cliff and it started to crumble. The beast was crushed under the debris, its entire body covered in rock. The crowd was stunned in silence, most not expecting a Schnee to know her way around a battlefield. "Let's give a hand or Weiss Schnee!" Castleton cheered "for her tactical use of the environment"! The crowd let out a reluctant and confused round of applause. Weiss leaped back up to the box and stopped by Cobalt before she sat down. "How did I do?" she asked. "It is a start" said Cobalt "and good fight by the way". "Thanks" Weiss returned to her seat. "Now we have seen some wonderful and surprising performances" said Castleton "but now we move on to the main event". Castleton reached for a wooden box under the podium and drew the blade from last night from inside. "This is The Sword of a Thousand Burdens" said Castleton "made out of some of the heaviest metals in the world, it is a symbol of what it means to be Viscount. It was first forged by Viscountess Terra more than four hundred years ago to make sure those after her would understand what it takes to rule our proud kingdom. All these years later, it is still the symbol it was forged to be. It is now my greatest pleasure to hand this weapon to my son, as my father did when I myself was tested". Cobalt rose from his seat and retrieved the weapon from his father. "I now present for you, my son; Cobalt Conway!" Castleton boomed. The whole arena erupted into applause, as Cobalt jumped into the arena. "I also present to you" said Castleton "the unquestionably most dangerous Grimm to ever inhabit our world, as if spawned from the deepest pits in all of Hell; the Wyvern"! The arena shifted once more into a mostly flat plateau with a circular pit in the center. A loud bellow echoed from the pit as stream after stream of flames poured from it. Out of the pit slowly rose a beast none in the group had ever before seen. Chained to steel disc was a beast dragon like in every sense of the word. It's head was almost serpentine and anointed with a large boney crown. It's neck was long, slender and dotted with white plates. It's forearms doubled as a pair of black, nightmarish wings. Spikes dotted the length of its neck, to back, to the tip of it's tail. It's hind legs were like that of an eagle, able to grab victims in a nightmarish grip. As it's maw opened it was pronounce by row after row of razor sharp teeth. In the face of a beast straight out of a nightmare, Cobalt kept a tough act and pointed his blade directly at his opponent. In that moment something unexpected happened; the power cut out. When light returned to the stadium the Wyvern's chains had begun to break and it was slowly being emancipated. "The barrier is down" said Castleton "Attention everyone, I need you all to evacuate the Coliseum; this is not a drill the barrier is down"! People everywhere hastily made their ways to the nearest exit, but the worst had yet to come. The Grimm gates had begun to burst down and Grimm after Grimm poured into stands. Castleton turned to the rest in the royal box "we need to help them evacuate before the automatic lockdown can complete. And take these ear pieces, they will allow us to communicate and stay in contact; now move"! Without a second thought everybody dove into the fray in order to protect those trying to escape. Weiss made it to one of the exits in order to protect those escaping. In that moment the Wyvern flew above her and the crowd she was protecting, its maw blazing in crimson red fire. Then Cobalt leapt from the stands and threw himself onto the beast. They crashed into the stands not far from a crowd of people that Pyrrha and Jaune were escorting out of the stands. The Wyvern regained it's footing and took to the air again. Cobalt followed it on the ground to keep it occupied. Weiss looked up and noticed the open-air ceiling was slowly closing as airborne Grimm began to escape. "Weiss" said Bruna "I'm all set over here, how bout you"? Weiss turned to see that her crowd had safely exited the building. "I'm all set over here" said Weiss. "Good because the lockdown is almost done and we got to move now if we want to get out of here" said Bruna. "Just let me grab Cobalt" said Weiss, she ran to the edge of the stands overlooking the arena and Cobalt and the Wyvern were fighting. "Cobalt!" she yelled "time to go"! Cobalt quickly scaled the wall up to Weiss and ran towards the exit. Cobalt checked to see if the Wyvern was following them, but it was not. The Wyvern shoved it's claws in between the small crack in the ceiling and began to pry it open. "Come on!" Weiss was barely holding the gate open. Cobalt ran to Weiss and grabbed her by the collar "no matter what happens next I want you to know one thing". "What?" asked Weiss "we have to go"! "I'm glad you and I became friends" Cobalt shoved Weiss through the door as it slid and locked shut. Cobalt returned to the inside and saw the Wyvern had begun to make a crack in the ceiling. "Hey!" he yelled "we're not through yet"! Cobalt chucked his sword as hard as he could at the Wyvern. The heavy blade lodged itself in the beast's neck and sent it crashing down. Cobalt leaped onto its body and removed the sword, then quickly dismounted before it could get up. They both regained their balance and stared each other down. The beast reared its head and let out a stream of hellish flame. Cobalt dove to the side only to be caught in it's hind claws as it took flight. The beast dragged Cobalt across the stands through row after row of seats. It then threw him into the royal box and left him beaten and battered. Cobalt felt a stream of warm blood falling from his face and lost all feeling in his right leg. Cobalt felt he had no other option "would I be able to keep control?" he thought to himself. He turned to his mother's gift, a bracelet needed only for emergencies. He put his hand over the Ying-Yang symbol and focused, a cool darkness surrounded him. "I will always be a part of you" said a whisper "let's show her how much more powerful we have become". A light pierced the darkness and the stadium was once again in view. Cobalt looked down at himself and saw he had transformed into the form he hated more than anything. He grabbed the sword, the handle was long enough to use as a dagger and returned to the field. The Wyvern had returned to the making a hole in the ceiling. Then as if by habit, Cobalt let out a blood curdling howl. The Wyvern turned instantly and saw the Balroth in the ring. It became filled with a clear look of disgust and anger and dive bombed Cobalt. Cobalt jumped up to it and mounted it's neck, hacking with his sword through scales and flesh. The Wyvern could not handle the weight and floored into the stands. Cobalt climbed onto it's head and prepared the deliver the finishing blow, but was bucked off and the Wyvern took flight and landed in the arena. Cobalt was standing from the most elevated row of seats. "It's time to end this!" he yelled. He charged from the stands and leaped towards the beast for one last attack. In that moment the whole coliseum was ripped apart in a massive explosion.

45 minutes ago:

"Everybody move!" yelled Castleton "get the old and young to safety"! "Where's Weiss?" asked Ruby. "She's getting Cobalt" said Bruna "watch those Ursa"! Bruna went off to assist some soldiers dealing a group of Grimm. "We need to get the civilians out of here" said Blake. "Haven't you forgotten something?" said Castleton "in a time of crisis there are no civilians in here other than those who can't fight". The group noticed everyone capable of fighting did have a weapon and was engaging in the fight. "Conway has mandatory military service" said Sapphire "everyone has a weapon and knows how to use it". "Hey look there's Weiss" Jaune called out. Weiss emerged from one of the exits, alone. "Where's Cobalt?" asked Yang. "He's still inside" said Weiss "I think he's fighting that thing". "He made a brash decision" said Tuscan "but if that thing escaped it would make things infinitely worse, he made the right call". "We can discuss this later" said Castleton "right now we need to regain control of the situation. Ruby, take your team and go with Azure. Jaune, go with Sapphire, we need to regain control of the situation, understood"? "Yes sir!" said Ruby and Jaune. "Good move out!" yelled Castleton. A screech echoed through the square and a Nevermore dived towards the group. Castleton drew his weapon, a huge single edged sword with a gatling gun mounted on the other side. He griped both handles and leveled his weapon toward the diving Grimm and cut loose. The Grimm was deterred and turned away. Azure led team RWBY towards a group of Grimm. Azure drew the collapsed pole from his back and it snapped together into a jointed spear. "Tip of the spear huh?" joked Yang. "Not now Yang!" said Weiss "we got to deal with these Grimm"! Azure's spear shot outward and lodged in an Ursa Major's back and pulled him toward it. Ruby shot herself into the fray with a recoil shot and shot again to send herself into a spin. Weiss set up a glyph and flew through a Beowolf. She turned to see and Ursa bearing over an old man, prepared to end what life he may have had left. She vaulted onto the Ursa's back and switched to maroon dust. She swung several times as she flipped over it to give Yang the opening she needed to send it through a wall. She turned to help the man to his feet to see it was the man from the square, Mr. Mands. He was at fist too hocked for words but was able to choke up a "thank you" before getting away. Blake wrapped her ribbon around a Death Stalker's tail and used her momentum to nail it into the ground, while ruby cut the stinger loose. Azure jammed his spear into the open wound on the tail and channeled an electrical wave from his body and into the Death Stalker, frying it's insides. Before Weiss had time to pick a new target, the Nevermore came back and swept her from the ground into it's talons. As the gained altitude the Nevermore began to slow down, it then reversed it's direction and dived toward the ground. Weiss knew what was going to happen next as the ground came closer and closer. Out of the blue several rifle rounds penetrated the Grimm's hid. It was knocked off balance and pulled up at the last second. She felt it drop a bit as if somebody had mounted it. In an instant she watched the beast's head become removed from it's body and she was pried from the limp talons. "Thanks Ruby" she said as she composed herself. "Not quite" said a mature feminine voice. "She opened her eyes and saw she was in Sapphire's arms and Castleton was right next to her, both covered in black feathers. "Look out!" said Sapphire. She pushed Weiss aside as and Ursa scaled the building they were on. She pointed of all things her umbrella and; fired. The rounds tore through the beast's skull and it fell back to the street. "The situation in the square is clearing up" Azure rose to the roof "but this feels off". JNPR, RWBY and what was left of CBLT followed them onto the roof. "Indeed" said Sapphire "it seems like this may have been an inside job". "Only somebody inside the Coliseum would have been able to cut the power" said Castleton. "We may need to consider that it may have been a Schnee setup" said Azure. "That's not true!" yelled Weiss. "She is right" said Castleton "despite his twisted morals; a father would never put his daughter in harm's way". "Viscount Castleton!" somebody yelled over Castleton's radio "please answer sir"! "Talk to me soldier" said Castleton. "This is lieutenant Coral of the royal guard" she said "an unidentified Bullhead had landed in the palace courtyard. The occupants were believed to be White Fang. I sent a squad to investigate but they have not yet reported back". "Thank you Coral" said Castleton "I'm on my way". "Azure, Sapphire; your with me" he said "the rest of you need head to the Proving Grounds, the Grimm there have also been released". "Yes sir!" said Bruna "come-on guys let's go let's go let's go"! The teams followed Bruna towards the Proving Grounds. "So" said Azure "just like old times"? "Just like old times" said Castleton.

The three had just arrived in front of the Royal Palace; the front yard was littered with the bodies of royal guard soldiers. "Stay sharp" said Castleton "don't let them get the drop on us". "Castleton!" said a voice; Rust Kindler ran around the corner of the palace. "Rust?" said Castleton "what the hell are you doing here"? "I saw the bullhead land back here while I was fighting some Ursa" she said "so came here and killed them all". "Castleton" Azure pointed to one of the bodies; it was charred. Castleton turned back to Rust, whose eyes were burning an all too familiar color. "I told you they would not buy it" Roman came around the corner with a White Fang group in company. "But he's so easy fool" her voice became more mature "am I right Castleton, so easy to play around with". The disguise simply burned off as Cinder assumed her true form. "I mean, you let me into your city, participate in your precious Circle heck you even let me flirt with your son" she laughed. Castleton drew his sword and slammed it into the ground, shaking everyone of balance except for Cinder. "You two" he said "deal with these pests. I got a score to settle". Azure drew his spear while Sapphire opened her umbrella; the cover fell sideways and the edges became serrated as it spun faster and faster. "Well Castleton?" she mocked "I'm waiting". Castleton charged and brought down his sword over Cinder's head. She merely put her hand up and stopped it when it made contact; the ground slightly cratered as the impact was absorbed. "Ohhh" she laughed "did I make you mad"? Castleton cut loose with a punch to the gut that sent her across the yard. He came in again and swept across, but she blocked the strike but not the impact as it threw her through the yard fence. Castleton charged through the fence after her only to be met by a geyser of flame. When he burst through and fire ball careened into him and sent him down the street. "You really have only yourself to blame for this" said Cinder. "You cursed my son, attacked my home, and wasted three years of my life!" said Castleton "you just expect me to leave it alone"? "If you had been less persistent I may have been less; tempted to do all this" she said "but then again; there was one thing I didn't have to do". "You gave me no choice!" he yelled "it would have been that or annihilation"! "It wasn't your only option you know" she said "you could have nipped it in the bud eighteen years ago. Would have saved yourself the trouble and foiled my plans; but like I always knew, you didn't have the guts to do what was necessary". "Silence you cur!" he yelled. He leveled the barrels of the gun toward her and unloaded on her. She put a barrier up but the knockback pushed her further and further down the street. He charged full speed toward her and swung across. She blocked the strike and a geyser shot his weapon clean from his hand and it landed on a nearby rooftop. Castleton grabbed his scorched hand as it seared and burned. He turned to see another large fireball knock him off his feet and he hit the ground. The giant of a man struggled to bring himself to his feet when another person joined the field, it was Adam. "I got what you asked for" he handed her a katana in a black sheath. "Good" she said "but we still need to know how to get what we really need, now go and deal with them back at the palace". "I see" he said "so you stole Ramsious. Too bad for you that it has not done a miracle in a thousand years; and even if it did work, such a fine blade would never serve one with such a tainted soul". "I don't want Ramsious" she strapped it onto her back "I'm after the real prize; The Mad King's Razor, and you will tell me how to get it"! "Such an act would be impossible" he said "the first Viscount made it damn sure that it would never surface; and even if I knew how than why should I tell you"! "Because" she said "haven't you done enough to your precious son"? She pulled out a detonator and pointed at the coliseum behind them. Castleton looked back to Cinder in fear for his son's life. "I don't know how to get the razor" he said. "Talk!" she flipped open the button cover "or your kingdom's future is turned to dust"! "I don't know how!" he was nearly crying now "I am not lying when I say I don't know"! "You sound genuine" she said "but too bad I'm not". She pressed the detonator and the building rumbled in a massive explosion. "COOOBAAALT!" Castleton screamed; he fell to his knees and broke into tears. Cinder put a fireball in her hand and walked towards the grieving father. "One more thing before you join him" she said. All of the sudden a black mass was thrown through the coliseum wall followed by a roar. "Oh perfect" she said "take a good, long look at the monster you turned him into. And remember that it was all; you". Out of the hole in the wall flew a golden blade as it dug into the ground a few inches away from Cinder; it was The Sword of a Thousand Burdens. The dust dissipated around the black mass to reveal it was the brutally removed head of the Wyvern. "And that was a warning shot!" Cobalt yelled from the hole "now get the hell away from the old man"! Cobalt leaped down from the wall, beaten and bruised but somehow unharmed. "Like father like son I guess" she said "never keeling over when you want them to". "Yeah we're awesome like that" said Cobalt "so here's the thing; you're going to give me the sword, get off my dad, and let me beat to near death with my bear hands". Cinder simply giggled at Cobalt's statement "you truly think you can beat me, haven't we been through this before"? "I don't know" said Cobalt "but that won't stop me". "Well" she threw him Ramsious "show me". Cobalt unsheathed the family sword with care; the blade seemed to beckon its new master by reflecting the light of the setting sun. Cobalt charged and swiped Cinder with a swift strike; she blocked it but was sent backwards by the impact. Cobalt came in again and rammed her with his shoulder, pushing her back further but she scorched his arm. He came down from above and was stopped by a shield of embers, sparks danced around the two as they tried to overpower each other. "After everything you have done" said Cobalt "the fact you have the balls to walk in here is both admirable and stupid". "After all I have done?" she said "oh no no no; blame your father for that. He is such a coward". "Lies!" yelled Cobalt "take that back"! "I'm just saying that despite all his big talk" she said "there is one thing that if I target, he is putty in my hands; you". "A Viscount" said Cobalt "put all ahead of themselves; the fact my father would crumble because I am targeted is ludicrous to say the least". "Then why did he stop hunting me?" she asked "why am I standing here"? "Because you ran away" he said "tail between your legs like a coward"! "Your father has a way with words" she said "but here is the truth; before you were even born, I told him what I could do to you. I never saw a man so worried for a life that wasn't even his own. And that lead him to make a pretty tragic choice; your father made you the monster you are"! "SHUT UP!" the sword glowed a bright silver and caused a flash. The shockwave knocked them away from each other. Cinder put her hand up to her ear "yeah we're out of here, but don't worry; it was not a total failure". She took her hand away and watched as Ramsious switched between black, silver, and white auras. "I enjoyed our chat Cobalt" she said "hope to see you again". The ground under her erupted and she was catapulted into the air and caught by an airborne Bullhead. Cobalt sheathed Ramsious, watching as Cinder escaped. "Cobalt!" he heard a voice. Bruna was up on a nearby rooftop. She ran down and embraced her brother, nearly crying. "You dumb bastard" she said "when we saw the arena go up I thought..". "Shh" Cobalt grabbed her back "relax, I'm still breathing". The rest of the group followed over to see that their friend was okay. "You had us pretty worried" said Yang "I'm pretty sure I saw Weiss cry when we saw the explosion". "I did not!" said Weiss "I wouldn't cry for him". "And back to the "Weiss queen" Yang joked "get it"? The joke was followed by silence coupled with a few face palms. "And how did you get out of there without a scratch?" said Jaune "I mean it was massive". "Guys relax" said Cobalt "I'm fine, you did a great job defending the city and we all made it. And I got one thing left to do".

The city had assembled in what was left of the Grand Hall, waiting for their future leader to speak. Castleton rose to the podium and cleared his throat, as the mic was broken. "First I would like to say how proud of each and every one of you" he said "those who defended the city and escorted the wounded to safety, I personally thank you all; you were all heroes today and made our ancestors proud". The crowd erupted into a self-congratulatory cheer for their part in defending the city. "Now onto present event's" he said "this will be the first time he will speak to you, but definitely not the last. My heir, son, and treasure; Cobalt"! Castleton reseeded as Cobalt took the stage. "I had a speech all planned out on paper" he said "unfortunately the Wyvern did not make things easy for me". He reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of ashes; the crowd laughed a little. "On Jahrestag we reflect on the past, and look to the future" he said "today showed that the future, looks uncertain; and Conway unfortunately stands alone. How much longer can we trust in our walls and armies alone to protect us, it is time for us to reach out. Those in power you deny us things from liberty, independence, and even a seat at the world's table are dead, dying..". He turned to Weiss "or going to be replaced. Yesterday's enemies are not those of today, in fact they can be tomorrow's greatest allies. They say you are capable of loving someone as equal as to how much you can hate them, and I know one group nobody here hates more. The Schnees may seem to be the least likely of friends, but proof otherwise was more than evident today; as one fought alongside us in the defense of our homes, our businesses, and our way of life. My point is that we must not make decisions based on what seems comfortable to us, but because they are the right thing to do and necessary for us all. We must do things that benefit us alone, but are necessary for us all. It is time for us to break the shackles we gave ourselves and move back into the world we until now despised. And I am the person for the job; thank you all". Cobalt bowed to the applauding crowd. Castleton rose back to the podium with Ramsious sheathed in his hand. "It is now time for the honoring" he said "Cobalt shall call up those who he believes are the best examples of those who will defend our future". "Bruna Conway, Lenna Nera Conway, Tuscan Conway, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, Yang Xiao Long, Jaune Ark, Pyrrha Nikos, Lie Ren, and Nora Valkyrie; please come forth". The group stepped forward in a line facing the crowd. "Please kneel and bow our heads" said Cobalt. The group went down on one knee and bowed their heads. "Do you swear to defend the innocent from all harm?" Cobalt asked. "I do" they said in unison.

"Do you swear to hunt evil, wherever it may lurk"?

"I do".

"Do you promise to never turn a blind eye to those who are suffering"?

"I do".

"Do you swear to be more than willing to lay down your lives, even when defending a seemingly hopeless cause"?

"I do".

Cobalt drew Ramsious and walked up to each person, tapping each shoulder with the blade. "In the name of Conway and the Viscounts who came before me, I bless you with the strength to overcome all evil" he said "whether in life or in death". The group rose to their feet as the crowd cheered for them all. "Now go and fight for your noble cause!" he said "and make a better world with your victories"! Cobalt pointed the sword out and it flashed bright silver light. The crowd erupted in an even greater applause. "Wow what a ceremony" said Ruby "how did he make it glow"? "I don't know" said Castleton "that has never happened before". The applause eventually ended and everybody began to file out. As Castleton descended the stage, Cobalt grabbed his shoulder "we need to talk".

The two were alone in the palace shrine, Castleton and Cobalt were clearly distressed. "Well is it true or not!" yelled Cobalt. "I don't know!" said Castleton. "You've never lied to me before" he said "so why start now"! Castleton went silent for a second "I was hoping this day would never come. Cinder was right, she never made you a Balroth; I did". "And here is what I want to know" said Cobalt "why did you make me a monster, why did you ruin my life, why did you let me kill all of those people; why did you have all this happen"! "To protect you!" he said "being a Balroth gives one unprecedented power. Let me tell you something about being a Viscount; you face threats every day. Attempt after attempt on your life and those around you is an everyday occurrence. Cinder was a sign that your life will be far more dangerous than mine ever was; so I wanted to give you and edge. When I heard you learned to control it I was elated, but I hoped you would never learn the truth". "You know I almost killed my friends during one turn" said Cobalt "not very much later they formed a mob and came for me and I nearly died". "But you didn't" said Castleton. "No thanks to your "gift"!" he said "I lived because a friend showed mercy, and I fixed your mistake myself". "I didn't mean for all this to happen" he said to Cobalt as he was leaving the room. "You should have thought about that before" he replied.

Cobalt was up in his room, packing a few belongings; Bruna came in through the door and interrupted him. "Why are you packing?" she asked "we are not going back to Beacon until tomorrow". "I'm not going back" he said "nor am I staying". "Okay" she said "I know Cinder kinda spooked you about this whole "curse" thing but...". "It's not some "curse" thing" he said "Cinder has some interest in me and I don't know what; I'm gonna do some solo work on this one". "Maybe we can do this together, hunt her as family" she said. "No" he said "this sounds pretty damn big. If I stay with you guys and in her view; it's her benefit". "Well you just can't leave!" she said "you're our leader, we need you". Cobalt turned abruptly and embraced his sister "don't make it harder than it needs to be". "But where will you go?" she asked. "Where she can't find me" he said "or anybody for that matter". "But we can find a way" she said. "A way will be found" he said "but until then I must stay away". "But what will I tell the others?" she asked. "You can tell Tuscan and Lenna the truth" he said "father has a plan for the rest". Cobalt went into a drawer and pulled a necklace from it and handed it to his sister, a small brown stone set in a silver circle was hanging from it. He pulled the stone out to reveal a little chip underneath. "This is the GPS chip I put in my bike so I would not lose it" he said "whenever you have this on, I will know where you are. No matter where you go, I'll be near you". He put it around his sister's neck. "But who will lead the team?" she asked. "That's easy" he said "you". He hugged her one more time before grabbing his bag. "Oh and one more thing" he threw her a set of keys "take good care of my Hunter". He walked out of the door, leaving his sister alone; perhaps for good this time.

Author's Note:

Well that's the end of Volume One lads and Gents. Yes you heard me right Volume #1 of Team CBLT. I will keep this story running for as long as I can alongside Lord Monty as he completes RWBY. To all my readers I thank you for sticking with the story and thanks to those who joined late. I would also like to thank some of my real life friends (you know who you are) for keeping me going even during my periods of writer's block. For #2 I am really going to crank things up. What will happen with Cobalt gone, will he be replaced? Will Weiss remain friends with the team? Will Bruna find her friends from her failed mission? Will Cobalt even come back? All of this and more will be revealed in Volume #2 of CBLT. In the meantime I may right some prologues for some of my characters to give you guys an idea of what their deal is. Anyway guys and gals, thanks for reading and catch you later.