The two huntresses stood in the center as the final stage rose around them, several mountainous rock formations appearing as Coco cracked her knuckles. "Now I implore the two of you, could you not blow up this stage?" Glynda asked over the speakers, the referee nodding in agreement before calling for the buzzer.
"No promises." Coco muttered to herself as she looked over the girl clad in blue… who was inexplicably wearing a top hat. Seren tipped her top hat to her opponent, rearing her arm back and throwing it into the crowd where Ren caught it.
"I got you another hat, Jaune." Ren said, putting the top hat on Jaune's head.
"Please stop…" Jaune said, exasperated and burying his head in the top hat.
"Heh, how many hats have you bought to do that?" Coco asked, Seren chuckling a bit.
"I've lost count at this point." she replied, the buzzer sounding and the two pulling out their guns. Each one with a pair of pistols, Coco wielding two silver revolvers with the words "Zero" and "Fear" etched into the left and right gun respectively, Thorne carrying two tactical pistols herself as they stepped closer, trying to fire shots at the other's face. Mixing in strikes and kicks, Coco kept trying to flank her by kicking and moving to the side, but the slightly taller girl she was fighting would slide her arms in the way, pushing them to the side to make each of the 12 shots miss. Each shot of Thorne's pistol caused ice to form in the air and fly off into little glimmers as they both emptied their chambers, Coco pointing her revolver straight at Seren's face as the gun clicked.
"WHY DO GUNS NEED AMMO!?" Coco shouted as Seren lept into the air, kicking her in the chest and causing her to trip over a rock behind her, leaving her on the ground as the Haven huntress quickly reloaded her guns while Coco was climbing back onto her feet.
"Life and death will be entirely decided on when you reload, Ms. Adel… Don't screw it up now, alright?" Seren taunted, Coco quickly chambering and pointing them in the direction of where she heard the voice, firing blindly in that direction.
"Oh don't be so cryptic!" Coco shouted, before realizing she was firing at empty air. She sighed, adjusting her glasses as she slowly crept downward, looking for cover while she looks for the missing combatant. She slowly crept behind a rock, reloading her remaining shots into her chamber and spinning each one before closing it yet again.
"Hello again." A rather cheery voice said just behind her. Coco turned around, noticing Seren perched on the very same rock she was leaning up against.
"Sonuva-" Coco was cut off when she was blasted in the face by a sudden burst of cold from one of Thorne's handcannons. Stumbling back and pressing her face to her sleeve as the tripped over the same rock she tripped on before, this time rolling down the side of a small cliff and landing on the grass below. Coco landed with a bounce and feeling the wind escape her lungs, her sunglasses fell off and rolled away, landing up against a tree. "Okay, she's trying to piss me off. I should know that, I do it to other people all the time." She muttered to herself, getting on her knees and reaching for her spectacles before putting them back on her rather cold face. "Need to keep cool, but figuratively and not literally." She added as she slapped her face with both of her hands to get her adrenaline going.
"I gotta admit, I'm a shooter myself, but this kind of shooting is well out of my range." Ritters said, Glynda opening her mouth but having to stop to try and figure out which part was the pun.
"YEAH! DOUBLE PUN!" Yang shouted with her arms raised to the ceiling.
"You are the worst sister…" Ruby muttered, hiding in her cloak. Suddenly, the chatter was broken by the thunderous sound of a heavy rifle blasting a nearby rock to ice a foot away from Coco's boots. Coco let out a gasp, leaping away from frozen rock.
"I'd like to give you a fair warning, I also have a sniper rifle!" Seren shouted from far away, Coco sighing in response.
"I didn't get a chance to reload my Gatling! Not cool!" She shouted back, reaching up to grab the strap over her chest to uncuff her assault rifle, loading up the banana clip as another shot rang out, this one whizzing by and cutting a slice of her hair, leaving a ring of frost in her brown hair.
"Quite cool in fact, cupcake, don't break sight of your target." Seren taunted her yet again, Coco reached up and noticed the chunk of her hair frozen and broken off.
"No one messes with the hair…" Coco said in a cold voice, Yang's smile from another ice pun fading as she saw the look in Coco's ice.
"Oh… oh no…" Yang said, Blake looking up from her book.
"What's up, Yang?" Blake asked, Yang swallowing hard.
"Coco's pissed… Run, Thorne!" Yang shouted futilely as Coco pulled back the slide on her assault rifle. She leapt straight up the cliff she fell down with just two hops, ducking another round as she slid back into cover, not even waiting for the next attack to happen, she charged up the hillside as her eyes darted around for Thorne, eventually seeing the gleam of her scope from the sunlight.
"Found you." Coco said quietly for a rare time in her life, pointing the gun where she was perched and firing 16 straight shots in that direction. Thorne was hit in the face and shoulder with several rounds as she stumbled back trying to find a new place to shoot as Coco yet again, though the angered brunette came prepared. Not even a moment later, she reloaded again and broke into a full speed run after her, knowing her hand to hand training would mean she could probably outpace the more calculated sniper. Seren made a run for it, hiding behind a small cliff and reloading her rifle, popping out to fire shots at Coco's legs to freeze her.
"Just gotta slow her down…" Seren said, shooting the raging gunman in the legs, the ice rounds making her legs begin to form ice along it, making her running slow, but she grit her teeth and powered through it, not even thinking about stopping.
"If her body temperature gets too low, her health sensor will activate and stop the fight!" Glynda shouted with some tension in her voice, completely unsure of what's going to happen next. Coco broke the ice off her legs, crouching down and leaping into the air. Seren looked up and aimed, firing another shot that froze Coco's shoulder before receiving a kick to the head. Before she could even react, Coco had a foot on her chest and her rifle right at her face. "KO." she said venomously, firing the entire clip right at Seren's face. 16 rubber rounds shot out within seconds, smacking Seren hard in the face. Seren's head bounced against the ground, one of the shots drawing blood before she was rendered unconscious.
Coco took her foot off her fallen opponent, staggering a bit before dropping to one knee, using her assault rifle for support. The crowd sat in dead silence, medics running out to gather the unconscious Seren and try to halt the bleeding. The screen flashed a red "X" over Seren's profile, the speaker announcing another knockout before showing all four Team CFVY profiles and "Winner: CFVY" in gold lettering. The crowd finally erupted into cheers as the screens showed fight statistics and replays
"She's out cold!" Ritters shouted with a grin as Glynda gave him a cold stare.
"You are ruining the integrity of this tournament. Please stop." she said before turning her attention to the arena.
Coco slowly forced herself up, turning to see her team come onto the field, approaching her cautiously. "Ah… er.. Good job?" Velvet said nervously, Team CFVY's leader gingerly walking over and hugging her leporine friend, Velvet seizing up and letting out a squeak of fear.
"Don't be a dork and let me hug you." Coco said warmly, Velvet shakily returning the hug.
"And this is why I don't tell you to get serious." Fox said with a smirk, Coco releasing the hug and walking off.
"C'mon, team! It's party time! We're going to round two!" she said, the rest of her team still trying to shake off the whiplash of seeing Coco go from her usual over-the-top self to a cold-blooded killer and then back within minutes.
The team walked through the backstage on their way back to their hotel, Coco checking the damage done to her hair in a compact mirror. "Think it's salvageable. Probably comb it and no one will know the difference." she said.
"Well, it's good to have the Coco we know and love back. Right, Fox?" Velvet asked, Fox rubbing his chin.
"I need time to think about that…" Fox said, Yatsuhashi chuckling behind them.
"So, any idea who we're facing in the next round?" the big man asked, Fox shaking his head.
"Not a clue. The process is completely randomized. It's not like some cheap game show, there's no pattern programmed in for fights." he explained as they made their way to the door.
"Hey! Velvet!" a voice called as Coco grabbed the door handle. She turned to look, putting on a knowing smile. "Heh, looks like your boy's here to congratulate you." Coco said, Velvet turning her head to see Jaune run up to them. "We'll go grab some pizza and meet you back at the hotel. Room number is 1116. Don't spend too long, lovebirds!" Coco said, running through the door with Fox and Yatsu behind her, leaving Velvet standing there before she could process what Coco had just said.
"Lovebir- Ah! C-Coco!" Velvet exclaimed as Jaune caught up to her.
"Uh… hey, is this a bad time?" Jaune asked as Velvet turned to face him, her face beet red.
N-no, not at all. Been enjoying the tournament?" she asked.
"Yeah, you did a great job against Calder and… I mean, Crowley didn't kill you... eheheheheh…" Jaune said, rubbing the back of his head.
"Th-thanks… Jaune… what's that you've got behind you?" Velvet asked, tilting her head slightly to get a better look.
"Oh… oh! Yeah, the good luck charm… I got you a hat. Y'know… for luck…" he said, taking a blue and white top hat out from behind his back. He placed the hat on her head somewhat roughly, her ears going lopsided.
"Uh… s-sorry, I'm not used to putting hats on rabbits. Wait, that came out wrong! I-I meant that-" Jaune stammered out, Velvet giggling and grabbing the brim of the hat.
"It takes a lot of work. Took me months to get my hood to fit." she explained, carefully adjusting the hat around her ears. "Just gotta get the tips through. They're the hardest part since they'll always bend a weird way." Velvet said, sliding the hat onto her head. "It fits perfectly. Thank you, Jaune… but wait, isn't this Seren's hat?" she asked, Jaune quickly shaking his head.
"No." he said bluntly.
"But she threw it into the crowd, near the Beacon stands. Are you sure that-" she asked, Jaune cutting her off.
"Just wear the hat, please." Jaune said, Velvet smiling and tipping the hat.
"Jaune, that's your hat." Ren said from behind, Jaune and Velvet screaming in surprise.
"REN! How'd you sneak up on us?!" Jaune said in confusion and shock.
"I walked very quietly." Ren said, Jaune facepalming.
"Did you not want the hat?" Ren asked.
"Ah… well, no but… er… Velvet, you mind if me and Ren talk this out in private?" Jaune asked, Velvet nodding rapidly and turning for the door.
"O-of course! Seeya soon, Jaune!" she said, waving to him as she opened the door, leaving the Colosseum and heading for the hotel.
As Velvet walked through the fairgrounds, she watched other winning teams still celebrating their victories with drinks and games of chance. The Beacon student, caught up in the sights and sounds, bumped into another person, falling backwards.
"Ah! S-sorry! Didn't m-mean to-" Velvet stuttered out, looking up to see a woman with dark skin, platinum blonde hair and olive green eyes looking down coldly at Velvet. She was wearing a mostly black ensemble, black tube top, pants and flats with a red sash wrapped around her waist and a yellow robe that was hanging off her shoulders. Velvet slowly stood up, smiling nervously and offering an unsteady hand. "I-I'm Velvet Scarlatina of B-Beacon, and you are…?" Velvet said, leaving an opening for the Huntress to answer. She simply stared hard at Velvet.
"Scarlatina. That was quite the trick you pulled on Calder but if you want to survive in this tournament, you're gonna have to learn to fight.." the woman said bluntly, Velvet dropping her hand and shaking a bit with a mixture of anger and nervousness.
"I-I can fight!" she exclaimed, glaring at the rude woman before her and putting up her fists. The dark-skinned blonde simply stomped her foot onto the ground, causing Velvet to yelp and back away.
"Thought so. Sheer luck is going to get you killed the moment it runs out, so go back and let your team protect you …" the woman said, walking off towards the fairgrounds. Velvet looked down at the grass as she continued her way to the hotel, covering her eyes with the brim of her top hat.
She soon made it to the hotel, entering the elevator and letting out a sigh. She had made it to the second round but she still felt like she didn't belong in this tournament. That she was still out of league even among her own team. She had won against Tristam, but it was by putting him in a trap and not by beating him face on. Fox took Maria straight on. Yatsuhashi took Crowley straight on. Coco made Crowley pass out and leveled Seren with shots. "So why can't I fight anyone head-on?" she asked as she heard the ding of the elevator come to a stop and saw the doors open. The rabbit girl made her way along the hall, hearing the familiar sound of prog rock as she got closer to room 1116. "Sounds like Coco brought her stereo…" she said as she made it up to the door, knocking gently to no response. She knocked a bit harder, still no response. Velvet let out a "Mhrm" of annoyance and banged on the door, waiting a minute to see if anyone would answer.
Velvet stepped away from the door, rearing back her leg to kick the door. As she went for the kick, the door swung upon, her foot making contact with Yatsuhashi's chest. "Ack! Y-Yatsu!" Velvet said, putting her foot back on the floor and bowing her head. "S-sorry about that! No one was answering the door and I was getting annoyed! A-Are you okay?" she asked, Yatsu chuckling and moving aside.
"Didn't even feel it. Come on in! We saved you the veggie." Yatsuhashi said with a slightly raised voice, Velvet walking in to see their accommodations for the first time. The room had two sets of bunk beds, one bathroom and a small kitchen with mini-fridge and microwave. Under normal circumstances, it would be a pretty nice room, but Velvet had come to accept that "normal circumstances" are an impossible goal with Coco.
Empty pizza boxes and crushed cans of soda were scattered around the floor, one box lying there shut tight, which Velvet assumed was the vegetable pizza Yatsuhashi had mentioned. On the nightstand by the window was a portable stereo system which was currently playing one of Coco's many specially-made soundtracks. Coco chugged another can of soda, headbutting it repeatedly until it was crushed flat and tossing it onto the floor. "Ah… Coco, how many times have you done that?" Velvet asked, somewhat dreading the answer.
"One for each soda! Including Fox and Big Yatsu's!" Team CFVY's leader replied with her familiar grin, Velvet blinking a bit and turning to the top bunk where Fox was sitting cross-legged with a pencil in his hand, eyes poring over something in front of him.
"Fox, how many cans has she-" the rabbit girl began to asked before Fox looked over to her. "11. I keep telling her that the risk of concussion increases with each one, but she either can't hear me or isn't listening, or both." he said with a sigh. Velvet nodded and grabbed the unopened pizza box from the floor, briefly struggling with the tabs and taking out a slice of veggie pizza to eat. "Most likely both."
As she ate, trying her best to drown out music that was currently at Coco's preferred setting of 11, she felt that twinge of doubt hit her again. Velvet looked around at her team; Coco was headbanging to the music, shredding an invisible guitar. Fox was still conducting his silent research and Yatsuhashi was doing push-ups on the floor. "Guys.. I… I have a question." Velvet said nervously, the music coming to a sudden stop.
"What's up, Velvet?" Coco asked, sitting down on the bunk next to her.
"...Do I really belong in this tournament? I mean, you're all so good at fighting and I've been training hard with you guys, but… but I'm not good enough…" she said, pulling her legs close and wrapping her arms around them.
"Of course you belong in the tournament! You beat a 10 year veteran Huntsman!" Coco said immediately, Velvet sinking her head down in response.
"Because I trapped him…" the Faunus girl murmured, Coco sticking her pinkie finger in her ear and spinning it around.
"Say again? I might be partially deaf from the rocking out." Coco said. Velvet continued to mumble, the Hype Queen prodding her friend until she finally raised her voice..
"I trapped him!" Velvet cried, raising her head to show tears welling up in her eyes. "I didn't fight him head-on! I blinded and stunned Calder and took an easy win! I'm not a fighter!" she shouted startling the rest of her team. Coco stared wide-eyed at Velvet, her sunglasses dropping right from her face. Fox stepped down from his bed, walking over and picking up the fallen shades. He turned to hand them to his partner, who simply put her hand over them and gently pushed them away. She wrapped her arm around Velvet, Velvet turning to see a warm, sisterly smile on Coco's face.
"Velvet, you are a fighter. There's no one way to be a fighter. Yatsuhashi's strong, Fox is agile, I'm tough. But you? You're fast and just as important, you're smart. So what if you didn't fight him head on? You didn't have to. You found a way to keep your distance until you could outwit him. So don't worry about what you're not. Besides, you've been training with us. If it should come down to a fistfight, we know who's gonna walk out with their hand raised." Coco said, pulling Velvet in close. Velvet wiped her eyes, smiling a bit.
"Thanks Coco…" she said, uncurling herself and reaching for another slice of pizza.
"You're gonna get hugged now, here comes the huggage. Can't fight it." Coco called out, hugging the rabbit Faunus tightly. Velvet smiled and returned the hug, about to thank Coco again when the door suddenly and loudly slammed open. Velvet shrieked and backed herself to the wall, dropping her slice of pizza as Coco shot up off the bed with her fists outstretched. "We're under attack, team! Attack Pattern Delta!" she exclaimed, Fox and Yatsuhashi taking their positions. Fox quickly stood next to Coco while Yatsuhashi went behind them, Velvet scrambling off the bed and making her way to the center. Ruby came bursting through the door with a cone shaped megaphone out of paper, Yang was wearing a football helmet and comically large boxing gloves and came in the room right beside her.
"Team CFVY! You are being annexed to Sleepover Island in the name of the Rose-Schnee-Long Mega Power Alliance!" She shouted as Weiss entered the room just after them wielding a dustpan and broom instead of her typical rapier. "...And also Blake." Ruby quietly added as Blake slowly leaned on a doorframe, clearly unamused.
Coco blinked in confusion. "...What?" she said as Ruby ran into the room with her paper microphone.
"IT'S A PAJAMA PARTY! YANG, POPCORN! BLAKE, PILLOWS! WEISS, DO SOMETHING WITH A 'P' IN IT!" Ruby shouted, team CFVY staring at the junior Huntress as Coco was suddenly attacked by a massive bag of popcorn.
"Ack! Kettle corn attack! Man down!" Coco shouted as she fell to the floor, Yang chuckling and hefting the 10-pound bag off her Boxing Club captain.
"Ruby thought we should celebrate your big win with a sleepover!" Yang explained enthusiastically, punching into the bag and letting popcorn spill out of hole. "We got snacks, sleeping bags, cheesy action movies, pillows…" Yang said, Blake walking in and holding up two pillows, one in each hand.
"I want to make it absolutely clear that I was not involved in this plan in the slightest." Blake said to Velvet, tossing the two pillows onto a nearby bed while Weiss swept popcorn off the floor.
"I'm only going along with Ruby's idea and because you're my friend." Weiss said to Velvet, who smiled and bowed.
"Thank you, Weiss." Velvet replied, Ruby walking over to.
"Alright, Fox! You and Yatsuhashi need to get out!" Ruby demanded, Fox staring at the teenager.
"Excuse me?" Fox asked, Yang grabbing him from behind.
"No boys allowed! Yang, bounce them!" Ruby shouted, Yang grinning and tossing Fox out of the room.
Fox stopped at the wall, hearing the sounds of a struggle behind him. He turned to see Yatsuhashi go flying at him and rolled out of the way as the seven foot Huntsman slammed into the wall.
"You okay, Yatsuhashi?" Fox asked, still trying to figure out what had just happened.
"Anh… yeah, doing alright… Fox, what just happened?" Yatsuhashi asked as he pulled himself off the wall.
"We got kicked out of our own room…" Fox said in utter disbelief, turning to see Ruby playfully stick her tongue out and shut the door on them. "...This is gonna be a long tournament…"