A BIG shout out to everyone reading and reviewing my story. Your words and critique are greatly appreciated for future improvement. I know I say this a lot but it means so much to see you all enjoying my story :). I wish everyone all the best as we follow the journey of Team HERO and their friends onward through the world of RWBY...
The doubles round has begun…those who place the defense of the world above all else move to enact their long awaited plans…as do those they fight against…
Penny jumped for joy as the final opponent was sent flying out of the arena. The young man looked on in shock that a girl as small as her had sent him flying, sending his black hood fluttering away in the breeze. Clearly he was under the impression that his golden arm would be sufficient to defend against her attack…he was mistaken. Across the field his teammate slumped to the ground courtesy of a high drop kick from Ciel…his aura well into the red.
The two girls made their way out of the arena as the next fight was organized. Penny skipped merrily the entire way while Ciel walked tall and straight as a board, her military upbringing painfully obvious. She was disappointed in how little resistance there had been in their matches...was the competition just light this year?
"Pen-" Ruby started to shout, nearly running into someone else running from the opposite direction equally eager to greet them.
"Oh h-hi Ruby," Cameron stuttered, narrowly avoiding crashing into her around the corner. "How's it going?"
"Oh you know…same old same old," she smiled before spotting their orange-headed friend approaching. "Penny!"
"Cam! Ruby!" Penny called out joyously, rushing towards them with a smile on her face…rushing towards them…too fast.
Penny slammed into them, wrapping an arm around each and impacting with such force that all three slammed into the ground. Penny did not seem to notice their faces contorting in pain.
"Why…?" Ruby whispered hoarsely.
"Missed…you…too," Cameron groaned, certain his spine was about to break under the strain.
"Ruby! Cam!" Penny suddenly jumped to her feet and pointed towards the girl she had been accompanying. "This is my teammate…"
"Ciel Soleil," the girl introduced herself, bowing slightly. She had darker skin and bright blue eyes. Her dark black hair seemed to have a shade of blue also worked into it matching the beret on her head. She wore what looked like a student's uniform though a more casual variation as the sleeves were cut short with a custom blue skirt. She had elbow-length fingerless black gloves; Cameron could not help but notice the symbol on her forehead of a small sun standing out amongst the blue.
"Hi there," the red-hooded huntress started. "I'm Ru…"
"Ruby Rose, 15, hails from Patch," Ciel started as if she was reading from a file. "Leader of Team RWBY, above average intermediate skills in range and scythe combat, status…questionable."
Her head immediately snapped in Cameron's direction as he started opening his mouth to speak.
"Cameron Hunter, call sign Bolt, 18. Hailed initially from Atlas but was relocated to Vale's Capital at the age of 10. A member of Team KRCT (Cricket) focusing on aerial piloting and accompanying skills in combat situations. Currently engaged in early stage courtship rituals with Penny Polendina by her own admission, overall motives…questionable."
Ruby and Cameron just stared flatly at her as she concluded, neither quite certain how to proceed from such robotic yet accurate descriptions of them. The two immediately gave up and started talking simultaneously, both excited for Penny's victory and not wanting to wait a moment.
"You two were incredible out there!" Ruby gushed. "How do you control all those swords?"
"You aren't hurt are you?" Cameron looked her up and down and taking her hand. "How did your aura withstand a rock that size at point blank range?" Her touch was cold, no matter what he did Cameron could never seem to warm them up.
"Your concern is appreciated," she smiled as innocent and sweetly as ever. "But unnecess..."
"Penny," Ciel interrupted, clearly noticing that neither conversation would end in a timely fashion. "I believe it is best that we move on, the General will be waiting and you must prepare for the finals."
"Could we have a minute to talk?" She asked before turning to Cameron. "I need to speak with Ruby alone if that is acceptable."
"O-of course," Cameron replied with a smile. "I'll be right over here." The young man stepped to the side an appropriate distance alongside Ciel. "Sooooo," he started, finding the empty silence awkward as the girl stared intently at her watch. "Have you known Penny long?"
"Nine months and three days," she answered without lifting her eyes from the watch. "We were assigned to the same team back in Atlas."
"Ah," Cameron replied as the silence returned. "You must be proud; your team is the first guaranteed finalist!"
"It is a testament to our training." She replied flatly.
"Ah…gotcha," he could not have felt more awkward…but he had to try. "If you've known her so long…maybe you could tell me something Penny might enjoy?"
For the first time Ciel looked away from her watch, clearly perplexed by his question. "Elaborate."
"Well…I wanted to get her a present," he admitted finally. "I can't just ask her what she wants or that'll give it away…as a member of her team I was hoping…you might know."
Ciel rested her chin on a hand; she had not considered growing close enough to Penny to learn her interests. It was becoming obvious her knowledge in this field was lacking…she did not like the feeling.
"I have only observed," Ciel grasped at what she knew. "Ms. Polendina prefers to collect colorful accessories…bows specifically." With a glance she motioned to the pink bow atop Penny's head. "She also enjoys upbeat music…they are preferences unique to her among our team."
Cameron nodded as he looked over the bow, though his eyes did not linger long as they drifted to Penny's face. Ruby must have told her something funny as she was smiling and laughing, he felt his heart beat a little faster.
"Bows and music…gotcha…"
"Excuse me," Ciel stepped up to the laughing girls, ever serious once more. "It has been precisely one minute ma'am."
"I'll talk with you both later!" Penny called out, giving Cameron a quick but spine-snapping hug before walking off with Ciel.
"She's the best isn't she," Cameron sighed as he cracked his back. "The greatest girl in the world."
"She sure is," Ruby agreed. Despite her cheerful exterior she worried for him. He had no idea what Penny was, she had told Ruby the general wanted no one else to know. Would he care as little as she did…and how would he react if he found out?
"Maybe General Ironwood will be in need of some transfer pilots in Atlas," Cameron was already thinking of the future, as far as he was concerned the Vytal Festival couldn't be long enough.
Amity Coliseum…
Pyrrha and Nora were standing across from their opponents…the last team from Vacuo remaining in the tournament. The biomes for the match had already been selected. A barren desert stretched across Team JNPR's half of the field while a line of mountains loomed behind their opponents.
Team ALMD (Almond) led by Durian Aramys, the young man wore a white suit shirt under a brown leather sleeveless vest. A single gold armor guard protected his right shoulder. His brown hair was pulled up into a single ponytail beneath his wide brimmed hat capped off with a single green feather. A lone rapier was present at his hip similar to Weiss'; his was a noticeably dark bronze coloration with an odd tube design wrapped around the lower portion of the blade and a wide guard encircling his hand completely.
He had chosen his teammate Morrigan Azura to join him in the doubles round. She was a tall Faunus girl towering over her partner with black flowing hair, a thick green lizard tail protruded from her lower back swaying lazily behind her. She was muscular, wielding her greatsword easily with a single hand and wore banded armor from head to toe.
"Ooooo, dibs on the tall one," Nora whispered to Pyrrha giddily.
"And today we have the final competing team from Shade Academy!" Dr. Oobleck called out. "They will have tough competition against Team JNPR."
"Indeed Bartholomew," Professor Port agreed. "These two teams have fought long and hard to make it this far…but alas…only ONE may emerge victorious!"
Floating above the arena, a bell rang signaling the combatants it was nearly time…both sides crouched down in preparation.
"3, 2, 1 BEGIN!"
Durian rushed forward in tandem with Pyrrha, the two colliding at the center for a split second before parting. He was quite fast with his sword but Pyrrha was always a step ahead of him, dodging a riposte at her head she spun, striking him in the gut with her shield. He gasped in surprise but quickly rebounded, kicking aside a follow-up assault with her spear.
Morrigan and Nora's fight was far less elegant; the pink warrior of JNPR had already drawn her hammer and started swinging. The crocodile Faunus had answered in kind, bringing her greatsword down with a mighty stroke. Each hit sent shockwaves across the field felt by their teammates. Were it not for the protective barriers the first row of attendees could have enjoyed the cool yet titanic breeze.
Ren watched Nora's movements, ever stoic and calm yet no one saw his right fist tighten slightly each time she took a hit. Changing it up, Morrigan swung her blade sideways hoping to catch her off balance. Nora expertly blocked the attack yet was immediately lifted off her feet…being so focused on the sword she missed the large tail swiping to clip her legs right out from under her. With a savage follow-up Nora was sent flying across the field, crashing through the side of one of the mountains.
Pyrrha glanced over to her fallen teammate; the hesitation was noticed by her opponent who stepped forward with a thrust. The red-haired Spartan raised her spear to parry the attack, only for the blade to bend mid-strike as if it the metal were razor thin, feinting below her weapon. Pyrrha barely had enough time to adjust his strike with her polarity, causing it to miss beneath her armpit by the slimmest margin. With a spin she swiped her shield…but the agile musketeer ducked beneath and spun away to a safe distance.
Pyrrha fell back to the mountainside just in time to greet Nora who was in the process of dislodging herself from within. Durian had similarly fallen back to Morrigan and the two stood side by side ready to continue.
"They aren't bad," Nora smiled gleefully at the Faunus girl's strength.
"He is…quite fast," she admitted, even with her polarity assisting he was keeping up with her every move.
"Please, he looks like a small breeze could take him out if you could hit."
The two looked at each other, simultaneously getting the same idea. With a simple head nod they turned to continue the battle.
Durian twirled his sword as they drew nearer, focusing on Pyrrha. In a flash the odd tube surrounding the base of his blade popped out, revealing its purpose as a gun barrel. Squeezing the handle he fired a shell squarely at her.
The red-headed warrior deflected the shot with her shield harmlessly; with a push off her back foot she lunged forward…flying past the musketeer who had stood ready to evade her attacks again. He looked utterly confused. Pyrrha had leapt past him, slamming her shield into the stomach of Morrigan who had similarly been prepared to deal with Nora.
"And Ms. Nikos and Valkyrie have switched opponents!" Professor Port had been narrating the fight but shouted so loudly that even Pyrrha could hear it over the combat.
"That's the way to go!" Jaune cheered from the stands, grabbing Ren in a bear hug despite his teammate's flat look of restrained embarrassment. He had surmised that Team ALMD's fighters had practiced to fight against the members of JNPR with similar skill sets. They wouldn't be as prepared swapping mid-fight. "Keep them off balance!"
Nora slammed her hammer down with incredible force, shattering the ground and forcing Durian back…fully aware he could not hope to parry HER blows. Conversely, Morrigan was getting angry, bringing her mighty sword down again and again…yet she could not keep up with Pyrrha's speed. Her heavy armor was not helping matters as Pyrrha could manipulate any part of her body, resulting in slower movements and missed swings she was certain should connect.
Spotting her frustration, Durian wanted to rush to her aid…but he could not get past Nora. She was slower than Pyrrha…but with a much wider kill zone. Risking it all he rushed her, easily ducking beneath her titanic hammer swing…it was too late at that point.
It happened so slowly to him…despite his phenomenal speed, he was not fast enough to stop it. As Nora's hammer passed harmlessly over his chest he noticed it start to rotate…the head of the hammer facing AWAY from him.
Nora's smile was absolutely terrifying in that moment.
Before the hammer could pass over him completely she fired the grenade rounds stored within the head…blasting her weapon full force downward directly onto Durian's chest. The young man was completely flattened into the floor…a very artistic silhouette of himself now etched into the marble.
"Oh dear that will sting in the morning," Dr. Oobleck flinched from the announcer's box. "Mr. Aramys is most certainly eliminated via aura level."
"You ok down there?" Nora asked, legitimately concerned for his well-being with how deep he had ploughed into the ground. In answer a single hand emerged…giving her a weak thumbs up before disappearing back within the crater.
A loud thud shook Nora's focus, spinning around she realized there was nothing to fear. Morrigan had collapsed to a single knee, her sword lying not far from her…she clearly had no strength left to hold it. The readout above confirmed her aura had just dipped into the red…Pyrrha's victory through a thousand cuts had been quite effective.
"And with that final blow Team ALMD is eliminated!" Professor Port cheered despite the impartiality required of his position. "That defeat will be a hard blow to Vacuo…but there will always be the next festival!"
"Indeed Peter, with that elimination we will have a brief intermission before our next match…stay tuned folks…you WONT want to miss it!"
CRMS Dormitory…
Cinder leaned back on her bed, flipping through the data downloaded from Ironwood's scroll thanks to his interface with the school computer. Atlas truly had made some impressive advances over the years…were they not prepared some of them may have been formidable.
The rest of her team was with her, Mercury was busy performing push-ups to pass the time while Emerald was playing games on her scroll. Neo continued to wear her Ray disguise and was currently looking through another Howling at the Moon novel. The team had been on edge when Olivia dropped by to lend it to her but thankfully she did not ask to stay. Neo's friendship with the girl could prove to be…problematic.
"Aha," Cinder smiled as she found the latest piece of data…a classified project called P.E.N.N.Y.
"What is it?" Emerald asked, catching Cinder's tone. She was always quick to make sure Cinder was alright.
"Oh, nothing," she replied as she read over the file. "We're just going to make a slight…alteration to the plan."
Mercury groaned. "Another one?" He was fully aware of their overall plan; in order for it to work they had to create a tragedy in front of as many people as possible. "Weren't we just going to have lover boy overuse his freakish strength during the finals against Nikos?"
"No!" Cinder snapped, only realizing afterwards how it looked. Emerald, Mercury and even Neo were looking at her shocked, seeing her truly angry was a rarity. She recomposed herself and continued, "No…there will be no need for him to get his hands dirty…this will be even easier than we imagined."
Emerald and Mercury glanced at each other as she started explaining the next stage of the plan. Who knew that such a perfect development could form without their intervention? The next few days would bring their purpose at Beacon to fruition…and they were all none the wiser…
Vytal Festival Fairgrounds…
Cardin grumbled miserably, kicking every couple of steps through the festival grounds. He had done everything to try and cheer himself up after his team's humiliating defeat in the first round of the tournament…but nothing was working. Had it been the old him he would have been punching holes in anything and anyone he could find…but that wasn't him anymore, the memory of how…brutish he used to be left a bad taste in his mouth even the festival food and drink could not wash out.
Just because I'm strong…doesn't mean I have free reign, the first semester lesson of Horatio had stuck with him. People are worth more than their strength…just like…
As if from on high, as he thought of her she appeared, Cardin spotted Velvet crouching down behind a nearby closed stand. She had not seen him and seemed focused on an old storage building, she had her camera propped up and was intently typing notes onto her scroll. Cardin smiled as he saw her, slicking his hair back with a grin. Hoping to be a surprise he slowly crept up behind her, in her focus she did not appear to notice him. With a quick movement he placed his hands over her eyes.
"Guess wh…" he started but did not finish.
As soon as his hands touched her face Velvet dropped her scroll, in an instant she gripped one of his wrists and threw Cardin armor and all over her shoulder. He slammed into the ground with a crash as she was on top of him, twisting his arm into a painful hold.
"Hey! Hands off buste…Cardin! I am so sorry!" She apologized immediately upon realizing his identity. Hurriedly she helped him to his feet, her rabbit ears shrinking down in embarrassment.
"No problem…didn't feel a thing," he lied, cracking the kinks out of his back. He had to remember she could be as strong as him…how her team lost in the first round made his head spin. "What's with the stealth mission you've got going on?"
The rabbit Faunus glanced left and right, ensuring no one else was sneaking up on them, motioning him closer she started to whisper.
"Looking for a story," she explained. With her team's early elimination from the tournament she had more free time on her hands. "A reliable shopkeeper let slip that there have been multiple clerical errors on supplies being brought in for the festival."
"Clerical errors?" Cardin wasn't following.
"Apparently, each of the different businesses he works with have noticed a surplus of supplies…more than usual. The occasional extra barrel or two is normal, after all we're only human."
Cardin smiled at her play on words.
"But…for it to occur across five separate unrelated groups at least? Something is up."
"Well if he is so worried why doesn't he just crack em open and check?"
"No can do, per festival regulations no containers of perishable goods can be opened until time for their intended use…big fines and potential loss of goods and permits for violating it."
"And he just…told you all of this?" Cardin asked, suddenly suspicious as to how Velvet acquired her sensitive information.
"I may have…overheard him speaking with a fellow employee," she announced, her ears twitching proudly atop her head.
"So…what are you doing here then?"
"I…am going to find out if it is something or not."
"What?" Cardin lowered his voice even further. "We could get in serious trouble?"
"We?" Velvet asked, her face contorting at him quizzically. "I'm the only one doing this."
"Exactly," Cardin elaborated. "Therefore WE are doing this."
Velvet's ears bobbed happily, cheeks bright red at his words. She was so flustered she almost forgot to retrieve her scroll from the ground.
"So," Cardin continued, fully committed. "Why this storage facility specifically if there were so many?"
"The others are legitimate supplies, mostly various medicines, gourmet food for the closing ceremony's masquerade ball…the works, we can't risk us being wrong and ruining them. This shed, however, is for the local noodle stalls…no one will miss a single surplus barrel if we mess up and they go bad."
Always so thoughtful…
"So we wait for it to get dark and move in?"
"Nonono," she warned him. "The Atlesian knights make up most of the security…they don't need to sleep AND have night vision. But during the final round of the tournament. they'll need just about everything they can get helping with the crowds at the stadium. All we need to do...is wait."
Cardin smiled mischievously at her plan. His delinquent days may be behind him…but seeing Velvet acting so…fiendish made him realize all the more how absolutely lucky he was…
"The finals huh? I guess that makes the rest of today tantalizingly free then?" He grinned smugly from ear to ear.
Velvet's cheeks flared red once more at his words, her ears shrinking down in contrast to her smile.
"I…suppose so."
Amity Coliseum…
"Well, no water…that's a plus," Sun muttered to himself as the anti-gravity biome was selected for their doubles round. HERO's side of the field had already been selected as a rainforest; Sun knew his best chance was to make for the trees at his earliest chance.
The stadium was absolutely packed, even more so than it had been for the team matches. The remainder of Team HERO and RWBY were in attendance but had to spread out to find seats. Olivia had found herself sitting beside Cinder and Emerald while Roland had been able to squeeze in with his family and Yang. They were able to keep everyone together thanks to Elf volunteering as seating for Cinnamon. Casey had even agreed to Yang's offer to sit on her shoulders and had her arms cheerfully raised.
"Show them not to mess with Beacon!" Olivia cheered, grabbing the nearby railing and jumping up and down. They may have been friends with team SSSN, but ones own team took precedence. "Tear them apart!"
If only he took that literally, Cinder smirked, she was more amused than she should have been at Emerald's face of restrained torment at Olivia's upbeat cheers of encouragement right next to her.
"Good luck Neptune!" Weiss called out, smiling at the blue-haired fighter. Despite their early flirtations the two had realized after the dance that's all it was and it was best for them to remain friends. They had silently parted ways on good terms.
Across the way Roland let out a sharp whistle trying to be heard above the crowd. Elf released a long deep howl that brought silence to their segment of the arena until she finished. Sun's fan club were out in full force as dozen's of girls cheered for his victory, holding up signs showcasing the fit Faunus' face and abs...more of the latter than the former. Horatio looked away in embarrassment as he realized several newcomers had pictures of him held high above the rest, pink hearts and lip prints drawn across them...at least he hoped they were drawn on.
Cinder sat unmoving, on the outside she seemed to find the girls who had become enamored with Horatio's victories entertaining...internally she contemplated how much trouble would be caused if their handmade posters suddenly went up in flames.
"No hard feelings when we win right?" Sun asked Horatio, his ever present smile absolutely beaming.
"Funny…I was about to say the same to you,"
The two sides approached and gave heartfelt handshakes as the bell rang to signal the match. No matter who won…they were all friends.
3, 2, 1, BEGIN!
Esmerelda drew her weapon and extended her naginata to five feet, twirling gracefully towards Neptune who had similarly drawn his trident…the prongs pulsating with electricity. She made sure when parrying to pull her weapon back instantly to minimize the jolt her aura took with each blow.
As expected Sun had jumped into the nearby trees, raining down a hail of fruit and other assorted hangings among the treetops as Horatio gave chase. Sun was an expert at using the terrain to his advantage, Horatio would have to catch him first.
"Horatio is much stronger than Sun," Roland's father pointed out among the cheering crowd. "His only hope is to wear him down with hit and run tactics or go for a ring out."
"I was worried about that," Roland agreed. "Especially with the rainforest setting…Sun is in his element."
Horatio pushed off the ground, gripping the top branches to balance among the tree tops. Every step he was hounded by incoming fire from Sun's gunchucks…the blonde Faunus was trying to frustrate him…and it was working the longer he kept out of reach.
"Sun won't be caught anytime soon…but he can't win like this," it was Blake's turn to commentate to her team. "Knowing him he probably has no idea what to do…and is trying to think of something fast."
Across the field Esmerelda and Neptune sparred with their respective styles. With how similar their weapons were they appeared to be relatively evenly matched. Esmerelda cartwheeled over Neptune's shoulder, elbowing him in the back as he attempted in vain to turn fast enough. Seamlessly transforming his weapon back into a rifle he fired point blank, forcing her to spin away and give some space between them. Once clear, she summoned two additional weapons, commanding them to hover over her shoulders…Neptune did not look pleased.
The blue-haired fighter glanced around for an advantage, finally catching sight of the border between the rainforest and the zero gravity biome. His plan formed immediately in his head. Taking aim he started firing his rifle at Esmerelda. His aim was excellent; however her weapon clones intercepted every shot acting as her sword and shield. As his last shot was deflected, Neptune planted his trident into the ground, using it to pole vault through the air straight towards her.
What is he thinking? He is far too slow.
Esmerelda summoned her weapons into a spinning "X" shape in front of her; he could not hope to make it through her defense.
Neptune was grinning as he flew towards her, only now did she realize he had lowered his goggles over his eyes. With a twirl his trident was now facing towards her, the electricity building up at the three prongs into a single point.
NO! She realized what was happening too late.
An immense burst of light erupted from his weapon, so bright Esmerelda was forced to cover her eyes…she couldn't see a thing. The beam of energy blasted beneath her weapons which had ceased spinning with her temporary blindness…catching her square in the chest. She flew backwards…passing into the zero gravity region. Esmerelda immediately started floating off the ground; even after her vision started to clear she could no longer move...every attempt to extricate herself only served to cause the huntress in training to spin lazily in place.
Neptune raised his goggles, grinning in victory. In her current state Esmerelda was little more than target practice…taking careful aim he narrowed his rifle at the floating helpless huntress.
In the Rainforest…
"If you jump to ONE more tree…" Horatio threatened, his frustration now at the boiling point. Sun had not even attempted a single attack in melee range; his gunchucks were impressive but stood no chance of causing real damage on their own.
Amazingly, Sun finally stopped, turning with a wink and a wave of his hand as if he were bidding him farewell.
His meaning revealed itself as Horatio's legs were clipped out from under him. A light clone of Sun had been hiding behind the latest tree in his path…the monkey Faunus must have split it off from himself while he was out of Horatio's sight. Team HERO's leader tumbled from the trees, plummeting into the dirt far below with a crash.
"And Mr. Wukong has sent Mr. Soplar sprawling to the forest floor…leaving Team SSSN with the high ground!" Dr. Oobleck commentated as he strove to see through the dust kicked up from the impact. "The young Faunus is utterly unmatched in the dense foliage!"
"Ah, but don't count Mr. Soplar out just yet," Professor Port warned. "As we have seen already he has the sheer manly willpower to withstand incredible punishments. This match is a battle of true huntsMEN!"
"You can give up anytime," Sun called down towards the Horatio-shaped hole now present in the floor while hanging upside down from his tail. Smugly, he high-fived the clone that had tripped him up before it shimmered out of existence. "I can keep this up all day!"
Horatio pulled himself out of the hole, his movements slow but powerful trying to emphasize his utter annoyance at Sun's hit and run tactics.
I…AM…DONE!
With a roar of frustrated anger Horatio punched the nearest tree; the trunk cracked at its base and fell over with a crash. He proceeded to do it again…and again…and again until he was completely surrounded by fallen trees, forming a glade around him.
"Could Mr. Soplar be hoping to destroy the entire biome to remove Mr. Wukong's terrain advantage?" Dr. Oobleck theorized. "This match will take all day at that rate!" Professor Port only shook his head.
"No…look!"
Horatio grabbed the nearest fallen trunk, his fingers sinking into the bark and wood to grip it firmly. He had absorbed MORE than enough kinetic force from his fall and blows against the nearby trees. He felt unbeatable in that moment. With all his might he hurtled the tree trunk in its entirety towards Sun like a massive javelin.
The blonde Faunus leapt out of the way, barely dodging the attack, his eyes wide in surprise and fear as the wooden missile tore through the forest…finally impacting the protective field and collapsing to the ground harmlessly outside the arena.
"Whoa whoa, calm down dude!" Sun called out, but Horatio was not listening…he was already winding up a second tree.
"See?" Olivia bragged to Emerald and Ray as the fight continued. "He is always amazing but when he really cuts loose it is something to behold." Ray nodded her head in agreement, watching the match with a big smile on her face. Despite her enjoyment she was leaning back relaxed in her seat. "See that Emerald?" She leaned over and placed a hand on the green-haired girls shoulder. "You can tell he's going all out because he's practically glow…"
A sharp pain shot through Olivia's skull, forcing her to squeeze her eyes shut by reflex.
Do NOT forget your place.
Excuse me…I'm looking for a friend of mine…
Ah yes, she was just here yesterday.
Remember the plan…EXACTLY as discussed.
Please don't…
A blood curdling scream snapped Olivia back to the arena, sending her tumbling backwards. Ray was immediately on her feet, catching her before she fell into the crowd of spectators behind her.
Wh…what was that? I didn't even try to do anything…Where did that come from?
"Are you…ok?" Emerald asked having noticed the fall.
"I'm…fine," Olivia gasped, she was sweating profusely and her breaths came erratically. "I just…need some water." With careful, timid steps she made her way out of the stands looking for the nearest washroom.
"Huh…weirdo," Emerald muttered under her breath as she turned back towards the match. She had been so engrossed in the fight that Cinder had missed their entire exchange.
In Zero Gravity…
Esmerelda swung her blade, trying in vain to create momentum for her to avoid Neptune's incoming fire, but it was a losing battle. He had destroyed one of her weapon clones already, she tried to send them towards him but he was so far away he easily evaded and shattered the one commanded.
If only I could get some momentum to carry me back over, she growled in her head. Or drag him in with me somehow…the odds would be even.
Strength and physics…
Esmerelda remembered Horatio's words at their first outing in the Emerald Forest. The answer was so simple she felt embarrassed she hadn't thought of it sooner. Esmerelda created a third weapon, the last she'd be able to make.
Neptune felt a twinge of fear as she pointed squarely at him, her eyes burning with determination as the third weapon blasted towards him at full speed. Despite his momentary fear Neptune spun, easily parrying the cloned weapon and shattering it with a burst of electricity as he had before.
As he dealt with her distraction, Esmerelda brought her remaining weapons closer to her…taking hold of them with each hand. With a strong grip she commanded them back towards Team SSSN's fighter…with ease they dragged her to the safety of the rainforest biome edge. Her weapons were never subject to gravity and contained the mass to harm her opponents…no reason they couldn't pull her along for the ride.
"You can fly now?" Neptune asked in shock. Despite reaching a normal gravity zone Esmerelda did not release her hold on the weapons.
"Technically…they are the ones flying," she smiled before the naginatas blasted towards Neptune…Esmerelda hanging on.
She flew over his head, bringing her heels up for an uppercut kick catching him in the chin. Recovering quickly, he swung his trident around…only to hit empty air as she released hold of the right weapon and performed an expert handstand on the left. With a graceful spin she caught Neptune in the back with her leg and sent the young man flying…right into the zero gravity zone.
Without skipping a beat, Esmerelda sent both her remaining clones in after him…with his weapon still in its trident form he had no way to move himself from the weightless field.
"Aw man…" he groaned as the weapons struck him simultaneously.
Amidst the Trees….
Sun scrambled to avoid the tree thrown towards him, tearing apart the tops of the nearby trees before flying out of the arena…already an impressive pile had formed behind him. There were enough to build a log cabin in Professor Port's survival class.
That's it…a little more…Horatio pictured it in his mind, every movement, every choice Sun made when avoiding his throws…the next one should…
With a grunt he released the next tree towards Sun, as the first left his hands he immediately reached for the second at his feet. Sun kicked off his perch, leaping for the safety of one of the few remaining branches available after Horatio's scorched earth strategy…just as he had predicted.
"Create the future," he whispered to himself as he chucked the final tree directly towards the lone branch in tandem with Sun's evasive leap. Across the arena, Cinder's smile grew...she was an expert at reading lips.
Sun had nowhere to go, landing gently on the branch as the massive trunk plowed into it. The young man was thrown through the air; Horatio could even spot his aura shimmer and spark. It had to be in the red.
A gasp of shock erupted from the stands, even Blake stood to her feet, hands over her mouth.
"Oh no!" Horatio cried, rushing forward. As the dust cleared he could see that Sun was plummeting to the forest floor like a stone…he was clearly unconscious. With his aura in the red a fall from that height could be fatal!
Shifting all the excess force in his body to his legs Horatio sped off in his direction as Sun's limp form fell faster and faster…the ground coming up to meet him. Horatio caught him at the last possible second, absorbing the kinetic force of his fall to reduce his momentum to zero…Sun fell into his arms with a soft poof.
"Come on Sun," Horatio pleaded as he lowered his friend to the ground. "Please say you're okay!"
"Good…match…man…did you get the number of that tree? I am pretty sure he was speeding." Sun groaned, opening his eyes and grinning. Horatio released a pent up gasp of relief as he got to his feet. Taking Horatio's hand in his own he raised them high for the crowd to see. The previous gasp of shock turned into cheers of praise as it became obvious that Sun was just fine. Esmerelda rushed over to them, Neptune staggering not far behind.
That was too close, was all Horatio could think even as the crowd cheered their win. I used too much strength...even just a second later and Sun might have...
From the stands, making her way down to see them, Cinder had the same thoughts...though in a much different context...
He almost enabled our plan for us early...
"I'm going to kill both of them," Blake whispered from her seat, leaning back with a smile that Sun was alright.
"And Beacon Academy will have a team in the finals!" Professor Port called out to the audience. "I know our resident students will be relieved to hear it…coming up next after a brief intermission…Team CRMS of Haven will face Team HALO of Atlas!"
As they made their way out, the arena shifting back to its default setting in preparation for the upcoming fight, Cinder intercepted their team…subtly pushing Sun out of the way so she could wrap her arms around Horatio.
"An excellent win," she complimented. "We can discuss it while Emerald and Mercury compete."
"That…" Horatio started before the beeping of his scroll interrupted them. Curious as to who it might be he turned it on.
"Please report to Professor Ozpin's Office immediately" flashed across his screen, no audio but the message had come directly from Ms. Goodwitch's own scroll…and he wasn't the only name copied at the bottom. His heart sank, unless CRMS' match entered record length he'd never make it back in time to watch.
"I'm sorry…I have to…"
"I understand," Cinder assured him, having glanced at the message on the scroll. "I'll save you a seat for after."
"You're...the literal best," he smiled, giving her a quick peck on the cheek before rushing off towards Beacon Tower. The rest of his team made their way towards the locker rooms, Sage and Scarlet had hooked one of Sun's arms around each of them to help him walk for the on-hand medical staff to look him over…leaving Cinder standing alone in the hall.
"Neo," she whispered through her earpiece, unconsciously rubbing her cheek where he had kissed her. "Make sure Emerald's bug is transmitting clearly…I have a feeling things may get…interesting."
Ozpin's office
"Well…they are on their way up," Qrow informed Ozpin who was currently gazing out his window at the stadium floating in the distance. Winter was already in the office standing beside him, the general having sent her ahead in preparation for their meeting. "Are you sure you want to do this?"
"I suppose…we delayed long enough," he sighed, spinning his chair around to face the grizzled huntsman. "Say what you will about James' lack of patience...he does mean well."
"I can attest to that," Winter assured them. "His only objective is total victory for us."
Qrow restrained a groan at her cold statement, was it her or Jimmy who didn't have a heart? In his experience...the ends rarely justified the means.
"We'll have to answer a lot of awkward questions Oz…"
"I know, but they will be shouldering the defense of our world. If they agree…they'll deserve the answers they seek…."
"And you are certain you've picked the right one?"
"Maiden's choose themselves...I simply believe I've found the right candidate. She is kind, resourceful and strong...I felt that she could be the one from the first time we met. And as for him...we have already confirmed his identity beyond a doubt. They are already acquainted and on good terms...perhaps that will make the explanation and acceptance of their duty a little easier."
Horatio and our heroes walk towards an uncertain future, what awaits him within Beacon Tower? Read and Review…but most of all Enjoy! :)
