AN: I have to give credit to The Inner Hollow as I used his story, White Knight, as reference for the Pyrrha vs. Mercury fight. I apologize for "cheating" and looking to a better author for help, but the fight is so important that I wanted to make sure it was clear and concise. Also, just so you're aware, I went back to some of the early chapters of this story and edited out the step-mom character I created before we knew the whole Rose/Xia Long family situation. The character was pointless and her absence will affect nothing except for placating my OCD. Also, I went back and deleted the first announcement which screwed up all the reviews so...oops. If you can't review this chapter, just send me a PM and we'll sort it out.
As always, a huge thank you goes out to Ryan Roach, Nape181, "Nobel" Petrol Oil, Jess, and all who have followed and favorited this story. You all rock my socks off.
(Garnet POV)
I winced as Cardin was, for the fifth time during the match, launched across the stadium. The match was a bloodbath despite the uneven numbers.
"Time check." Jaune tore his gaze away from the fight and snuck a peak at his scroll.
"Two minutes fourteen seconds," he informed the rest of us, eyes snapping back to the redhead in the arena. Ren sighed despondently and placed five lien in Nora's waiting hand. "Looks like Ren's out. Garnet what was your bet?"
"I think I said about four minutes. Cardin's team should be able to last against Pyrrha for at least that long." Based on the way the fight was going, my bet was way too generous.
Every single blow Team CRDL threw at my team's resident warrior was artfully dodged, parried, or countered with a type of elegance that only comes from repetition and hours upon hours of practice. As if to accentuate that point, Pyrrha danced out of the way of a devastating overhead strike from the larger boy.
The kicker, literally, was Pyrrha's finishing move.
Off balance from his previous strike, Pyrrha knocked the boy into the air with a swift kick and strung together a mid-air combo that any video game nerd would have been proud of. With one final kick she sent the massive boy speeding into the ground, his head connecting with the floor with a resounding thud.
I winced, feeling a dull pain in my head from just watching Cardin smash into the ground. It was times like those when I was glad the redhead was on my side.
"And that's the match." Goodwitch stepped forward to the center of the arena, declaring the end of the bout.
"That…was just…a lucky shot." Having said his piece, Cardin toppled over and his team quickly picked him up and carried him off the stage. Right, lucky shot. In a four against one match. What an ass.
"Now, I know it's hard to follow an act like that, but we have time for one more match. Any volunteers?" The professor scanned the stands, eyes glossing over each student before stopping on a very silent Blake.
The girl had her nose in hidden between the pages of a book, a handwritten notebook from the looks of it, and was completely oblivious to everything around her. That is until Goodwitch cleared her throat, demanding her attention.
"Miss Belladonna, you've been rather…docile for the last few weeks. Perhaps you would like to-"
"I'll do it." The interruption can from the boy sitting beside me. I vaguely recognized him as one of the transfer students for the festival. Mercury was his name, if my terrible memory was to be trusted. He ran a hand through his grey hair, tossing it off his face, and stared down at my teammate lazily.
"Mercury, is it?" Goodwitch lowered her glasses to inspect the boy. "Very well, please choose an opponent."
"Hmm." The grey haired boy made a show of inspecting every student in the room. Whoever he was, he liked to put on a show. "I'll pick…her." I followed the path of his pointed finger down to the arena. He wanted to fight Pyrrah.
Bells and whistles started going off in my head. Bad man, very bad man, my subconscious screamed. My immediate aversion to the boy was strong, instantaneous, and almost completely irrational. It was entirely based on the past two minutes and- I snuck a peak at the stopwatch displayed on Jaune's scroll- fifty three seconds.
He had just witnessed the destructive force that was Pyrrha Nikos. He SAW her demolish four hunters without breaking a sweat. And he still wanted to fight her? This lead me to three conclusions.
One, he had a death wish. Two, he was a beowolves short of a pack. Three, he had an ulterior motive for fighting the girl.
I seriously hoped number two was correct.
"I'm afraid Miss Nikos has just finished a match," Goodwitch said with a stern gaze. "I suggest you select a different partner." Goodwitch to the rescue.
Pyrrha shook her head. "No, it's fine. I'd be happy to fight you."
"Pyrrha," I called out, cursing myself for not keeping my stupid mouth shut. "You sure you wanna do this? I'd be happy to fill in for you."
Mercury faced me, lips upturned in a sneer. "Hey, kid. I want to fight a real huntress. Not some half-pint."
The tips of my ears were suddenly infernos, and I had to fight to keep my fists at my side. Who the hell did he think he was? Sure I wasn't as formidable an opponent as Pyrrha, but I wasn't a push over either. After all, my extra "lessons" with Goodwitch, which were usually just me getting beat up and praying that my second aura decided to throw me a bone, hadn't been for nothing. I was getting faster, more tactful, and it felt like I was getting closer to getting that damn aura to work with me.
Cool it, I scolded myself. Who are you, Yang? Get your temper under control.
"Garnet," Jaune warned, tugging at my elbow. With a sigh I turned away from the gray haired boy who stood from his seat and strode down the stairs to the arena.
"Thanks, kid." The tone in his voice was everything I hated. Condescending, cocksure, obnoxious. Another wave of anger rolled over me, and again I had to fight to keep my mouth shut.
Mercury continued his cocky stride toward Pyrrha, keeping his eyes locked on his opponent. He approached the outer edge of the arena and lifted his arms in a loose guard, a smirk plastered to his face.
For a moment the room was silent, everyone eagerly awaiting the match. Then the two combatants charged, Mercury striking with a blindingly fast kick that Pyrrha managed to deflect with her shield. She swiped at his other leg in response, knocking him to the ground, where he recovered with a spin and a backflip to gain some distance.
The boy shrugged, unconcerned and confident as when he had challenged the girl. Then it was Pyrrha's turn.
She lunged forward, her body protected by Akoúo as Mercury let loose a barrage of kicks, the weapons on his legs increasing the force of each kick. Pyrrha seemingly miraculously blocked each kick and knocked the boy with her shield.
The boy shrugged and made a face as if to say "not bad".
"That guy's no push over," Ren muttered beside me, but I only grunted in response. I was too focused on the fight. Something about it seemed off, but I couldn't quite tell what it was. That feeling drove me insane, like an itch you just couldn't reach. But without any palpable evidence, I couldn't request that the match be ended. I sighed in frustration, resigned to the fact that the match would have to play out as it would.
Back in the arena, I noticed Pyrrha changing the grip on her sword to a backhand grip, hiding it from her opponent behind her shield. The new sword position would be good for quick strikes, but for defense it would be much weaker.
Mercury rushed Pyrrha and with one of three rapid kicks loosened her grip on Miló , sending it spinning in the air. Pyrrha reached for her weapon, but a quick kick sent it skittering out of reach. Now my teammate was stuck, standing before an opponent who was much faster than her with no way to counterattack.
Mercury's smirk widened as he turned into another spin kick, moving so fast his leg was a mere blur. His leg rocketed toward Akoúo, likely trying to move it out of the way of his true target, when he suddenly swiped at air. He had missed, landing awkwardly on one knee.
Not missed, I corrected myself with a curt shake of my head. I can't believe he pushed Pyrrha to use her semblance.
Pyrrha dove to retrieve her sword and quickly charged the boy, shield raised in preparation for impact. The boy casually picked himself off the ground, his smirk even larger than before. It was unnerving, to see someone obviously losing but grinning so maliciously.
And Pyrrha kept charging, getting closer and closer to the boy. But his guard was still non-existent. Then, only moments before Pyrrha's shield rocketed into the boy's chest…
"I forfeight." Mercury shrugged and turned to address Goodwitch, unperturbed by Pyrrha's ongoing charge.
I shared in Pyrrha's confusion as she gasped slightly and quickly adjusted so she ran past the gray haired boy. Mercury had just given up. He hadn't been in too sticky a position that he couldn't have countered with his incredible speed, and he didn't even look tired. It was like he'd just gotten bored of the fight.
"You don't even want to try?" Pyrrha demanded, almost not believing her ears.
Mercury just shrugged nonchalantly. "What's the point? You're a world class fighter, so we're obviously leagues apart."
NO YOU'RE NOT, I wanted to shout. He had been keeping up with, hell, overpowering Pyrrha! It was almost as if…
"He was testing her," I gasped. Why hadn't I seen it earlier? The precision of his strikes, his speed, all of it had gotten better and faster as the fight progressed. He hadn't actually wanted to win, he just wanted to size her up, see how she fought and how to beat her. "That dirty little-"
"Hey, Garnet?" Jaune snapped me back to the real world. "What's up? Mind sharing with the class?" Like the rest of us, he seemed confused at what just happened.
"Later," I assured him. He shrugged and turned back to the arena in time to see Pyrrha making her way up to us.
The bell rang, signaling the end of class, and everyone started stampeding the door. I couldn't blame them; it was taco day at the cafeteria and those things disappeared fast. They were practically gone by the time you could turn to your friend and ask what was for lunch.
"That is all for today," Goodwitch declared, officially bringing class to an end. "And remember the dance is this weekend, but I expect you all to be ready for your first missions on Monday." The rest of my team stood up chattering between themselves quietly, trying to cheer up Pyrrha, but I stayed put for a moment.
My brain was still too concerned with Mercury. Why would he want to figure out Pyrrha's abilities? It wasn't like she really hid how good she was. After all, she had been on tv multiple times during various tournaments. It didn't make any sense.
"Mr. Rose, is everything alright?" I looked up to find Professor Goodwitch examining me over her glasses, her gaze something between concern and amusement.
"Huh? Oh, I mean of course, professor," I assured her, somewhat embarrassed.
"Then I suggest you catch up with your teammates." I quickly followed her advice, shooting out of my seat and heading for the door.
Don't mention the training session. Please don't mention the training session.
"Oh, and Mr. Rose?" Well, crap. "Don't forget about your extra lesson. Perhaps one or two more and you will begin to drawn on that extra aura?" The way she said it made it sound like a threat. "Figure out the aura or suffer more fireballs to the chest." "Well then, until tomorrow afternoon, Mr. Rose."
I swallowed heavily and practically sprinted out of the classroom, barely noticing the small upturn of Goodwitch's lips.
"So, you ready to tell us why you flipped out after Pyrrha's fight?" Jaune demanded through a mouthful of delicious, meaty, cheesy, greasy taco goodness.
"Sure." I eyed his plate of tacos covetously. I had arrived at the cafeteria only moments after the last plate of tacos had been sold. So instead of the delicious Mexican morsel, I was stuck with a boring turkey sandwich. "Pyrrha, how would you describe Mercury's progression during the fight?"
Pyrrha took a moment to contemplate my question before answering. "It was odd. His fighting became more and more precise and impenetrable as he fought. It was almost as if he wanted to see the extent of what I could do." She trailed off in realization.
I nodded. "Exactly. He might have just been doing it for the Vytal Festival, but I would watch out for that guy. Besides," I shivered. "He gives me the creeps."
"Anyway," Nora burst, trying to liven up the table. "Are you guys excited for the dance? Team RWBY's planning it, so it ought to be good. Right, Reny?" The quiet boy shrugged passively, earning a disapproving glare from his pink-haired counterpart.
"Are you guys going to ask anyone to go with you?" Jaune scanned the rest of us, waiting for our answers.
"I thought Ren and I could go together!" Nora jumped up, dragging a reluctant Ren up by his arm. "But not together together," she amended with a quick blush.
"You guys already know my answer," I declared, pointing out the obvious. I hadn't asked Velvet yet, but she had already expressed her excitement about the event, declaring that we had to go out to buy new clothes. I had tried to assure her that no matter what she wore she would look stunning (earning at least a few brownie points), but she had insisted that I at least buy a suit so I didn't have to wear my hoody. Honestly, I didn't see the point, but there was no arguing with a determined Velvet. "Anyway, I'm gonna head back to the room." I cast one last envious look at my teammates' lunches. "Enjoy your stupid tacos. I didn't want any anyway," I muttered bitterly as I stood up to leave.
Ren grinned and took a large, slow bite of his food. "Sure you didn't."
Jerk.
A soft bed, a good book, a killer pair of headphones, and a playlist of my favorite artists. Aside from the less than satisfactory lunch, this was how life was meant to be lived. A sigh of pure bliss escaped my lips as I sank back deeper into the pillow I had propped up against the wall behind me.
I looked across the room to Nora who was mirroring my actions on her own bed, a pink pair of headphones seated over her ears. The girl smiled goofily and stuck out her tongue before pointing to the pink device and taking it off. She proceeded to stare at me expectantly until I finally took the hint and removed my own black cans.
"S'up?" I asked with a yawn.
"Any idea why Jaune kept insisting we listen to music?" I could only shrug. "Oh! Maybe he's forming a band and doesn't want us to hear them practicing."
As amusing as that would have been, I highly doubted it. "I saw him walk into the bathroom, so maybe he…" My words trailed off as I suppressed a shudder. The implication of things Jaune COULD do in the bathroom that he wouldn't want us to hear were just too gross to imagine. Sure, I had joked about that stuff with my friends back at Signal, but it wasn't quite as funny associating those thoughts with my team leader.
Wait, wasn't Ren already in there taking a shower? And yet another layer is added to this onion of discomfort. "Noses for who has to go in there." Nora's index finger was already pressed to the tip of her nose by the time the words left my mouth. She grinned apologetically despite the fact that she was obviously more amused than sorry. "Why can't you have reflexes like a normal person?" I moaned bitterly, eliciting a giggle from the pajama-clad girl.
Luckily for me (or unluckily for Nora) the bathroom door opened and Jaune marched out, fully clothed, with a less clothed Ren in tow. Our poor martial artist was clad in only a small pink towel that barely covered his knees.
I snorted at the absurd scene before me, earning a withering glare from Ren. It was the kind of look that meant "you will say NOTHING."
The opportunity was too good to pass up.
Before I could stop myself a two-toned whistle escaped my lips. It was the type of whistle a sleazy middle aged male at a bar might direct at an attractive woman after having one too many. In other words, I cat-called at Ren.
If looks could kill, I would have been face-down in a ditch with Stormflower sticking out of my back as Ren jovially wiped my blood off his hands.
And thus my work as the team's resident younger sibling is done. Directling a cheeky grin at the murderous Ren, I once again donned my headphones. However, something compelled me to not hit the play button.
"Ren," Jaune began sounding more serious than your average conversation. This outta be good. "I'm just come out and say it. You are one of my best friends. I feel like over these past months we've really bonded. Even though you don't say much," Jaune added as an afterthought. "I mean you're really quiet, and honestly, I don't know much about you. But darn it, I consider you to be the brother I never had!"
Ren sat there awkwardly hands in his lap as he stared longingly at his robe, hanging tantalizingly close but just out of his reach. He stiffly turned to face Jaune. "And I you." He wanted to be anywhere else on the planet from the looks of it. Or at least he wanted to put some pants on.
"Which is why," Jaune continued, hunching over and resting his forearms on his thighs, "I wanted to get your advice on…girls."
"Girls?" Ren repeated as if unsure why Jaune choose him to confide in.
"Um, I just…don't know…how to…" Jaune cleared his throat. "Girls, um, I guess what I'm asking is," he cast a quick glance over at me and Nora as if to confirm that we couldn't hear him. "How did you and Nora…" He trailed off, leaving Ren floundering.
"Ahem." The two older boys jumped as Nora subtly, at least subtly for Nora, called for their attention. She forced an awkward laugh as her cheeks turned a shade of red. "We're not actually together together."
"Nora, I said headphones on!" Jaune cried hysterically. The girl released a quick "oops" and covered her ears once more.
For a moment longer the dorm was silent, Jaune seeming to have lost his earlier gusto. Ren took it upon himself to forge onward. "Jaune, what's this really about?"
The blonde sighed despondently and slumped over further. "It's Weiss." And the guy finally admits it. Geez, he's almost worse than I was with Velvet. Almost. "I'm totally head over heels for her and she won't even give me a chance. She's cold, but she's also incredible." Jaune stared off into space and smiled, as if lost in his own world. "She's smart, and graceful, and talented." His eyes seemed to light up with each word. "I mean, have you heard her sing?" Suddenly, all that built-up joy seemed to leave him and he slumped over once more. "I just wish she'd take me seriously, y'know? I wish I could tell her how I feel without messing it all up."
"Jaune," I finally interrupted, pulling off my headphones and giving up the farce of pretending to listen to music. "As the only one in here with a girlfriend, I need to speak up. How do you think I got Velvet to agree to go out with me?"
The team leader scratched the back of his head pensively, eyes scrunched up in concentration. "I dunno." Another pause. "A lot of begging?"
He couldn't be serious. That could not be a serious answer.
My unimpressed stare should have been enough, but with Jaune you could never be sure. "No." Seriously Jaune. "I was honest with her. I told her exactly how I felt and just prayed that she felt the same way."
"Really?" Jaune asked incredulously, presenting Ren with the perfect opportunity to grab his robe and slink back into the bathroom unnoticed. "What did you tell her?"
"Well, um—I—it's kinda like…" I stammered, unable to hide my embarrassment. "I can't just tell you," I protested. The things I had told Velvet had been hard enough to stumble through the first time, and the thought of having to repeat it for an audience was absolutely mortifying. "Look, all I wanted to say was that you should tell Weiss how you feel." Jaune began to protest, but I quickly cut him off. "No weird gimmicks, no pick-up lines, no corny songs." I stared pointedly after saying that last one, referencing the blonde's most recent ploy to win over the Ice Queen.
"That song almost worked!" Jaune argued.
"Garnet's right, you know," a new voice cut in. Pyrrha stood in the doorway, eyes trained on Jaune. It was barely noticeable, but there was a hint of something akin to defeat or resignation in the girl's voice. "Be honest and tell Weiss how you feel. You can't be wrong if it's the truth." Without meeting the blonde's eyes, Pyrrha trudged toward her bed. It almost seemed as if her feet were stuck in mud the way she was walking, each step labored and deliberate.
Jaune stood up, glowing with renewed energy. "You guys are right." He clapped his hands against his cheeks and took a deep breath, puffing out his chest. "I'm going to go talk to Weiss!" He declared confidently before striding toward the hall. "Thanks Ren!" He called out, receiving a muffled "sure" from within the bathroom. Without another word, Jaune disappeared through the doorway, the sharp click of the door echoing in the now silent room.
Nora exhaled heavily, fixing the other girl with a look of…disapproval? Whatever was going on between the two girls, the implicit meaning was lost on me. "Practice what you preach, Pyrrha." Pyrrha's silence only helped to harshen the quickly declining atmosphere.
My bewildered gaze flickered between the two older girls. What exactly was I missing? Suddenly, I felt very out of the loop.
"Hello!" My older sister's cheery voice cut through the harsh silence as she invited herself into our room. Subtlety was never one of her strong points, but for once I was thankful for that. "Wow, it's quiet in here."
"No, you're just loud," I countered.
Yang shrugged off my comment with that signature "older sister superiority." "Maybe you're just too quiet." Can't argue with logic like that, I thought sarcastically. "Dad sent us a package." My eyebrows raised in surprise. Dad almost never sent us anything. "Ruby wanted to open it without you so you'd better hurry up." She spun on her heel and I rushed to follow her.
A package from Dad? Our father could be pretty scatterbrained, so remembering seemingly mundane tasks was not one of his fortes. This included things like remembering to buy milk, paying the rent on time, picking his three children up from school when we were younger, and sending packages to let people know he hadn't forgotten about their existence. So any type of letter of package from home was not something any Rose or Xiao Long kid wanted to miss.
Not to mention that for Yang's birthday he sent her an exotic book he found in one of the Eastern Kingdoms. It had been a small orange covered book called Icha Icha. At first glance it didn't look like much, but seeing Ruby crack it open and read the first chapter had been brilliant. The sheer concentration of smut in such a small package had my twin red in the face and scolding Dad for even sending such a thing. Needless to say, I was hoping for something equally entertaining.
"I got him, Ruby. You can open the thing now," Yang said as we entered her team's room.
The four girls were standing around in a circle with Ruby holding a small cylindrical package about a foot and a half tall by a foot wide.
My twin squealed in delight and ravenously tore off the top. We all watched as a pair of pointed furry ears magically sprouted from the newly created opening. Then came a snout.
Not a word was said as the rest of a furry brown and white body slid out of the package and landed at our feet with a soft plop.
For a moment nobody said a word, we all just stared at the small creature that had come from the package. Then Ruby squealed again and scooped up the small brown and white corgi, lifting him above her head as if we were in the Lion King. "Zwei!"
The dog barked happily in reply and showered my twin in licks, tail swishing back and forth furiously. Zwei then jumped from Ruby to me and gave me the same treatment.
"Good boy," I praised, happily scratching him behind the ear.
The fact that I wasn't surprised by my dad sending us our dog in the mail had to speak volumes about our family. If I'd had to bet, I would've guessed that my sister where having the same exact thought as me.
How the hell are we supposed to explain this one?
AN: I know, I know; I took FOREVER with this thing. But I can offer an excuse. I'm taking the SATs next week (anyone want to trade places with me and take it instead? No? Ok.) and I've been spending WAY too much time studying. So I'm really sorry, but trying to get into college has been eating most of my time.
A little about this chapter, yes I made a Naruto joke, so sue me. I watched the show until it got too insufferable, but I love reading Naruto fics. It's a guilty pleasure. Also, I know I'm introducing Zwei a little earlier than the show, but I really love him and it give Ruby, Garnet, and Yang a reason to interact more often.
Anyway, I have some big news. I've written the part of the epilogue for Garnet Rose: Another Side. Yes that's right, there is a written ending to this story. So far I only have about 2,000 words, but I'm aiming for 6,000 by the time I'm done with it. That being said, don't worry about said ending coming too soon. I'm nowhere near done with Garnet, but this gives me something to aim for, some direction.
Finally, with the passing of Monty Oum the future of RWBY is in limbo for the time being. My guess is that Miles and Kerry (the main writers) will continue the show and all will be good. However, if Rooster Teeth decides to stop production on RWBY, I will attempt to pick up the pieces that have left us and continue the overarching plot until the defeat of the main villians or main characters. This plot may not be as complex or involved as Monty's masterpiece, but I'll try put every fiber into making it something the writers would be proud of. Now for the reviews.
SkyGirl24: Jess, please don't kill me.
Nape181: I say this every time and it is still true, you rock my socks off dude. Thank you so much for all your help and advice. Not sure if I told you about the sequel idea, but if not, hit me up and I'll tell you the plan.
Piemaster981: While I will avoid cursing, yes I agree. Coco is a boss.
ghostorigins: You've read this thing three times? You, sir (or m'lady) are crazy and I love it. Thanks for the support. Oh, and to answer your question about a sequel; yes, but it's far too early to give any information.
TheTypeWriterV (guest review): Did something happen to your account? Well, I hope you get it all sorted out. And yes I can finish that joke for you. My stress was (and still is) over 9000.
BearNotGrylls: I know I already replied over PM, but your review really made me smile, so I'll reply again. Thank you so much for all the kind words, and while I don't agree with your generous opinion about this story's flaws (or lack thereof) I'm very grateful. I'll try to drag myself out of the abyss of school work and studying a little more often (I kind of get trapped down there), but I'm sorry if that's not as often as you guys would like.
ReploidCat: Thank you for the multiple reviews, it's greatly appreciated. I hope you're enjoying the story and it seems that you like Garnet (I can't really tell though). But yeah, I made Garnet weaker than Ruby on purpose (I think. I don't really remember). There are a few reasons for that. 1) Ruby is the main character of the show. 2) OC's that are too strong are really boring. It's much more fun to knock Garnet around and have him be a punching bag for when I'm annoyed or stressed (but I'm trying to do that less often now). Finally thanks for pointing out some flaws in my writing, it really helps. I tend to use superfluous language to fill space, but I really need to stop doing that. Again, thanks for the constructive criticism! It's always greatly appreciated!
A big thank you to everyone who reviewed, it really means a lot. So (as always) until next chapter, guys. Read, Rate, and Review. Rinse and Repeat.
Your impatient and stressed out author,
-Ventusblade