For those who saw last chapter very early, it now has Ren's notes and something extra at the end.
Review Notes:
I don't like OC's either. We read fanfics because they show the characters and worlds we love in different situations that can entertain us in the absence of more material. This is also why I dislike OCC characters, if they act so radically different then it's an original story where the names resemble characters from a good piece of work. (exceptions exist)
I'm still mulling over how Jaune will/would react to his evident self improvement in later volumes. But I know he'll be really excited and relieved when his Semblance is revealed.
Despite how strong evidence may be, I can't confirm Bumblebee in this fic until we have hard evidence in the show.
I have a plan for how they react to certain things, but there may be a little suspension of disbelief in order to facilitate what I believe will make the most entertaining payoff. Last chapter, them disregarding the possibility of the Grimm launching a truly successful attack is part of that suspension of disbelief. While it might be nice to have them figure things out earlier, it will probably be better to see their expectations shatter as they witness the unimaginable.
I think I have a good idea of when Yang will show the letter now. Thanks to everyone who gave suggestions.
Weiss doesn't notice if the songs are in her voice, none of them do. I will not be addressing this problem at all. I leave it in a state of "Doesn't matter for the story, so it's overlooked".
While I'm excited for parts like Pyrrha's death, I'm also dreading it because there's no way I can meet everyone's expectations. And the moment is so important for this fic, I don't know if I will have the words to properly convey what everyone will feel.
Oscar will be getting training later on. I'm just not decided what will be the deciding factor in him pushing himself to take that step. It should probably before Volume 4 starts, because it says more about him if he decides to help before he understands how involved he is. Suggestions?
I'll admit that when Yang injured Mercury, the actions she took in her head might not perfectly line up with what she does in the video footage. But I can just write the events as if they do fit. The videos they watch will not have any inconsistencies, other than the jokes that are clearly just that.
I've gone back and fixed any Wiess/Weiss problems. They may appear in new chapters though, for some reason they don't always show up on my spellcheck.
If anything happens with the CRWBY, like voice actors changing, it won't effect this fic. They still hear the same person as before.
I really do want to make a Yang vs Tifa Omake, but at the same time I would always rather do the next real chapter than slow down and figure that out.
I consider react fics to be one of the best forms of sadism. No one actually gets hurt, not even the fictional characters we care about. But we still get those juicy reactions to horrible events. And we can justify everything by saying the characters are better of having seen the horrific events because they are now better equipped to prevent it. Though with how much I love these characters, it might be more accurate to call it masochism.
I've seen a lot of reaction videos on youtube. And in my experiences, larger groups aren't necessarily more likely to come to the right conclusions. One person says something, and soon enough everyone else considers it a fact, forgetting to explore other possibilities. So the moment someone suggests that the Grimm were a metaphor, it fit with everyone's beliefs close enough that no one challenged it. Eventually everyone will act like Grimm being metaphors is stated fact rather than remember that it all stems from a speculation. This is useful, because it means the truth can hit them harder when it comes.
Let's not assume every bird that appears in the show is secretly either Qrow or Raven.
I believe Rooster Teeth has confirmed at least one member of RWBY is LGBT, but I'm not sure. As I've said before, my ship teasing will purely consist of actions that can be very easily taken platonically. If you don't want to see unconfirmed ships, you don't have to.
In the opening, Pyrrha is the first to leave the falling circle, and that is a bit of foreshadowing. But the rest of JNPR leaves the circle too, so the viewers haven't noticed it. (not many people did before knowing what happens to Pyrrha)
If I think something will get more than half my viewers mad at me, I don't do it. Especially if I don't want to do it. This is why no RWBY fans will be appearing in the room to talk with them. Ideas like that are okay to inspire within my audience though, half the joy of reading fanfics is to create small internal alternate scenarios.
I'm going all the way with this fic, I've said it plenty of times. Do I have to post it somewhere specific to make sure new fans don't keep asking me this question?
I didn't bring up the Nora and Ren have no parents subject because I don't know how to handle it, and now isn't the time.
Arkos will stay a thing in this fic regardless of what happens in the show. (I seriously doubt anything could ever change my mind on that.)
Best reviewer last chapter: LogicalFallacies for pointing out my mistake with the timeline of the Vytal festival. Corrections like that are always appreciated. (Remember everyone, I'm looking for corrections and ideas for future reactions. Positive feedback is great, but it doesn't actually improve my story.)
The entire group sits in silence. The hosts warning weighing heavy on their minds.
Before, many of them had been excited about the idea of seeing their future. Once they started seeing their future actions, they were mostly thrilled about getting to watch themselves in the tournament.
But then the opening had played, and the true nature of the volume was revealed.
The final straw was the hosts message. It was worried for them. It had practically told them that they may not be able to handle seeing the events that they had no choice but to watch.
"So… what now?" Nora asks.
"Is everyone fine with watching the next video?" Ruby answers with a question. "If anyone's unsure about watching this… we can at least give them some time."
All the hunters in training give their consent, but Oscar feels the need to say some things.
"It's going to be really bad, but that's all the more reason you need to see it." And with that, he presses on the remote.
Ruby is about to ask why, but she decides not to press the issue.
Before you begin, I noticed that you may have troubles referring to certain people in this video and future ones
Therefore, a parchment listing all the tournament contestants, with pictures, is now available under Oscars seat
"Wha…?" Oscar looks under his seat to find there is in fact a parchment.
"That's useful." Ren admits. "It would have been difficult taking notes on people when we don't know their names.
"Who are the members of team BRNZ?" Weiss asks. "They're the ones JNPR is about to face against."
"Brawnz Ni, he has hair slicked to his side. Roy Stallion, dreadlocks. Nolan Porfirio, lightest skin. May Zedong, the girl." Oscar lists them of with a minimalist description.
"You could be a bit clearer." Blake says.
"It's good enough." Ren retorts. "I just need to be able to match them initially."
Volume 3: Chapter 2: New Challengers…
"More tournament matches then." Jaune says.
"We already knew that." Yang says. "Remember how the last video ended?"
"We were about to win against BRNZ!" Nora cheers.
"We were about to fight them." Pyrrha clarifies.
After the opening, the scene starts on the familiar shot of Team JNPR readying themselves against their opponents in the Amity Colosseum, the mountains to their back and forest on the other side.
'I should still take notes on BRNZ.' Weiss thinks. 'Though admittedly, this fight won't be as useful since it won't show how they would fight against our team.'
"3... 2... 1..." Professor Port counts down.
"Come on guys!" Jaune raises his sword.
"BEGIN!" Port yells, and with that the match starts.
"You can do it!" Ruby cheers.
""Yeah!"" Yang, Blake, and Nora join in.
All four members of JNPR charge forward, but only three fighters from BRNZ do the same; May turns around and heads into the trees, cocking her weapon.
"Looks like they have a sniper." Sun points out.
"It's good to see someone else appreciates long range weapons." Ruby crosses her arms smugly.
"Ruby?" Jaune chimes in. "Don't get me wrong, but… you barely ever fight at long range."
"That's because my opponents always close the distance." Ruby complains. "So I had to modify Crescent Rose so her sniper parts still work effectively at close range."
In the centre of the field, Brawnz delivers a knee kick to Pyrrha's shield that sends her skidding back, right before she blocks the claws on his fists with her weapon. She jerks her sword away and makes him leap back, just as the sniper jumps up into the branches of the forest with the bladed butt of her sniper rifle.
'It's interesting to see my future self fight.' Pyrrha thinks. 'I've seen plenty recordings of myself in the Mistral Regional Tournaments, but then I knew what I had done and should have done better. The person I'm watching now it more experienced than be, though only by a little.'
Ren readies his StormFlower to attack Nolan, who almost gets blindsided by Nora's swing with Magnhild before he ducks under the attack and attempts to hit her with his cattle prod. The sniper girl finally takes aim from her spot and manages to fire off two rounds near Ren, destroying the rocks behind him.
Yang whistles. "Would not want to get hit by that."
"The entire centre of the battlegrounds is dangerous." Jaune muses. "We'd be best taking a defensive position… Wait no, evasion. The snipers too powerful to hide behind landscape."
"Didn't you say you say you were the least useful member of your team?" Oscar asks. "Because it doesn't sound like it now."
"I'm not nearly as good at fighting." Jaune says, but he can't hide his brightened expression.
'You did that on purpose.' Pyrrha takes a glance at Oscar. 'Thank you.'
Jaune manages to block the Buzzsaw gloves of Roy Stallion with his own shield before he notices the bullets flying and sees the glint of the gun in the leaves.
"R-R-Retreat!" Jaune yells, wide-eyed and stumbling over his own order.
Ren glances back at his leader as a shot hits the ground by his feet. He and Nora start running back into the mountains as Jaune and Pyrrha cover their escape by blocking the bullets with their shields. The four leap over a rocky outcropping for cover.
"That should buy us some time." Jaune says. "But my other self isn't thinking fast enough, they need to keep their distance from each other, move as much as possible."
"What do we do?" Pyrrha asks Jaune as projectiles keep coming overhead.
Jaune looks over the edge to see the melee fighters closing in. "Spread out! Try to keep moving!" His team follows this just as Brawnz lands a punch on Jaune's shield.
"Nice one." Yang compliments. "Already figuring out what future you would say."
"It's what I would do in that position." Jaune shrugs.
"Well, yeah…" Nora stresses. "That's exactly what it is."
May gets even higher in the tree and smiles from behind her scope as she looks at the fight below. Brawnz and Pyrrha continue to duke it out while Nolan slowly advances on Ren when he slides into his path.
The prod-wielding warrior looks back at the trees and nods to his hidden ally, who shoots at Ren's feet again and makes him jump around trying to dodge them. Just as he lands, Nolan hits him upside the head with his weapon.
'Fighting two people at the same time means he can't prepare for the next move.' Jaune thinks. 'I guess that means I'll have to ensure he only fights one on one when we get to the tournament.'
Disorientated, Ren fails at a retaliatory kick, receiving another blow to the knee and a final hit to the chest using the business end of his prod. Electricity shoots through Ren's body before he collapses to the ground beside his childhood friend.
"I guess we know what comes next." Ruby smiles, with the others chuckling or wincing in predicted sympathy.
Oscar just looks around at the others, confused by how they're acting.
"Just watch." Blake informs him. "What comes next will probably be very… impactful."
"Ren!" In retribution, Nora takes a swing at Nolan, who promptly dodges it and again unleashes his weapon's power into her corset, though this causes a quite different reaction from the grinning redhead.
"I always love to see that look on their faces when they realise they messed up." Nora grins. "I just wish it would work more than once."
"Oh-ho! Looks like one of my favourite students, Nora Valkyrie, is charging up to use her Semblance!" Port comments.
"What?" Nolan looks up at the hologram screen with a panicked look.
"That's it! That's the look!" Nora yells.
"Yes, Ms. Valkyrie's Semblance lets her produce, as well as channel, electrical energy straight to her muscles!" Oobleck explains. "This allows her to jump explosively into the air, wield her mighty hammer, or in this case, absorb Nolan's attacks and send the young man flying!"
"Weird how they decided to explain it." Weiss says.
"Also how Oobleck predicts what happens next." Sun says.
"Was it ever going to end any other way?" Yang asks rhetorically.
"What?!" Nolan turns back to look at his opponent.
Nolan finally takes his cattle prod away, but the damage is done. Nora flexes her arms as pink lightning is seen coursing through her body. Nolan attempts to lift his hands up in surrender, but thunder starts sparking from Nora's Aura as she rushes at him. They impact in a small burst of energy as the hammer hits head-on and Nolan bounces back across the field, crashing through a rock and staying there when he's stopped moving.
"No buzzer?" Ruby notices. "I guess that means you were holding back."
"Not a chance." Nora replies. "It only means his weapon didn't have much charge… plus he's probably just about to run out."
"That just seems unfair." Oscar mumbles quietly.
"Everyone's Semblance gives them some major advantage." Weiss explains. "It's simply a matter of using it properly."
Jaune's shoulders slag, and Pyrrha gives Weiss a quick glare before calming herself down.
Jaune looks back at the mountaintop on his team's side as a dark storm cloud appears over it, crackling with lightning. He looks over at his energized teammate. "Nora! Get to the mountain!"
"You got it!" Nora salutes, then sprints off to start her climb.
"Looks like we've got a definitive win condition." Jaune notices. "I can't imagine us ever loosing if Nora gets fully charged."
"You could probably win even without that." Blake points out. "As long as you deal with the sniper, it's probably a matter of time until you whittle them down."
"Ren! Try and distract the sniper!" Jaune orders.
As another shot nearly misses Ren's head, he slouches, sarcastically replying. "Sure... Why not."
"Sorry Ren." Jaune apologises. "She's the only one capable of stopping Nora."
"I understand." Ren replies, writing down only the key details of the fight. "It's what needs to be done."
The remaining three members of JNPR run forward as Nora hops up and rapidly ascends the mountain. Roy throws the saws from his gloves into Jaune's shield, which still manages to slam the leader's own defence in his face before the weapons return back to their master. Pyrrha gets up close to him, and he delivers a series of spinning swings with his arms into her shield as Jaune shakes off his disorientation and charges into battle yet again.
"Yeah! Go get 'em, Jaune!" Ruby cheers.
"Yeah! Go get 'em, Jaune!" Ruby cheers from her seat in the stands with the rest of Team RWBY
"Ha!" Nora laughs.
"Loos like someone hasn't changed much." Yang grins to her sister.
"It's only one month!" Ruby complains. "Besides, this was bound to happen to one of us eventually."
"You can be sure it won't happen to me." Weiss states smugly. "I don't have a tendency to pretend I'm actually in the show."
"But that's what makes it fun." Ruby pouts. "How can you get invested if you don't act like it's all real?"
"Maybe the fact that it is real, after a fashion." Blake suggests.
"Or the fact you actually know us all." Yang adds. "That's a pretty good reason to care about what happens to us."
"Bad example!" Ruby complains. "You know what I mean."
"Well, he's certainly improved." Weiss notices.
"Yeah, but he ain't got nothing on Pyrrha!" Yang states.
'It's not as if I ever expect to catch up with Pyrrha.' Jaune thinks. 'Right now, I want to be the best team member I can be, and use that to make a positive difference in the world.'
Back in the fight, Yang's statement is proven true with Pyrrha taking on both Brawnz and Roy, delivering a kick to one as she deftly dodges and blocks the discs of the other, throwing her javelin to distract the latter while she somersaults back to use both feet in landing a blow on Brawnz.
"You really are a step above the rest of us." Sun remarks.
"It's not that big a deal." Pyrrha dismisses. "It's like how Ruby specialises in fighting Grimm, I happen to be well trained against other people." 'In some ways I'm jealous of her, having her specialisation in something that's considered far more important.'
May attempts to shoot Ren while he dashes his way toward her position, leaping out of the way of her shots, the flying saws, and even sliding under Pyrrha before he runs at Nolan, weapons blasting until he's close enough to start swinging his blades away. He ducks and deflects each of the cattle prod's attempted hits until he manages to hold it in the pistol's blades and double kicks his opponent, giving him the opportunity to catch Nolan's weapon in his own as the prod is forced behind Nolan's head and leaves him trapped. Ren hides behind the teammate of the sniper, who stops aiming at him and lifts her barrel up to another target.
"Not the smartest move." Jaune comments. "Don't get me wrong, you did great. But you forced her to change targets, which is exactly what we didn't want."
"Sorry." Ren apologises. "I was probably acting on instinct, or thought I could aim my guns while Nolan struggled."
"It would usually have been very helpful." Jaune admits. "Especially with your role on the team. Just try to understand what we need at the time, rather than doing what usually works best."
"Nora!" Ren gives out a warning as he struggles to keep Nolan in place.
Jaune notices this predicament as he catches Brawnz's claws with his blade while Nora lifts herself higher and higher to the top. "Pyrrha! Up!"
'Is that where Jaune's true strength lies?' Weiss wonders. 'Understanding everything that's happening in the battlefield and ensuring everyone's efforts give the maximum contribution.' It's an aspect of battle she'd never really considered before, not just being a leader, but a commander. 'I can't be sure that's what Ozpin saw in him, but it's certainly something worth thinking about.'
Jaune's partner rushes towards him, dodge rolling to avoid a launched saw until she bounds over Brawnz and lands on Jaune's shield. He manages to throw her into the air with her own shield raised to block the kill-shot aimed at Nora.
"Nice timing." Ruby congratulates. "How do you do that by the way? You always seem to have perfect timing."
"I just follow my instincts." Pyrrha replies. "Besides, Jaune was the one to launch me up."
"I wouldn't be surprised if there was a little bit of luck involved there." Jaune admits.
This gives Nora just enough time reach the peak, and she lifts her hammer up as a bolt of lightning hits the weapon directly.
'We may as well just call the match now.' Yang thinks. 'I'm sure a good enough team could scramble a victory, but I seriously doubt BRNZ is that good.'
Nora changes her hammer back into grenade-launching form and pops the front off to reveal six explosives that shoot out over the field in a heart-shaped formation onto the sniper. The poor girl barely has time to gawk before she leaps over to another tree just as the one she was on and many near it go up in pink flames, leaving only a giant scorch mark billowing smoke to block out the coughing sniper's view. She jumps down from the branches just as her three teammates look up and behind them at Nora coming down on them like a meteor, slamming her hammer into the ground and sending the enemies back at the feet of their disoriented teammate.
"You single-handedly changed the layout of the arena." Sun gawks.
"It happens." Nora smiles. "I'm just glad the Beacon repair team is so competent."
"The day Goodwitch finds out you call her that, is the day you get detention for a month." Ren groans.
"This is it, guys! Let's finish 'em with team attacks!" Jaune raises his sword as he calls out. "Ren! Nora! Flower Power!"
"Wait, what?" Nora displays her confusion.
"Seriously!?" Jaune yells. "You can't remember!"
"She seems pretty forgetful." Nora muses.
Jaune presses his fingers to the bridge of his nose. "Please tell me you haven't forgotten."
"About…"
"I literally gave you all the clues you need!" Jaune shouts.
Jaune lowers his blade as he looks back at his befuddled team. "F-Flower Power." His lost friends shrug. "That's your team attack name!"
"Since when?" Ren asks.
"Not you too?" Jaune groans. "Nora I sorta expected, but seriously Ren?"
"I can't remember anything about team attack names." Ren replies.
"We had a meeting." Jaune stresses. "Pyrrha, back me up here."
"I'm sorry." Pyrrha apologises.
Jaune slouches. "Unbelievable."
"You sure you didn't dream it?" Nora asks.
"Of course I'm sure!" Jaune snaps back. "I had it written down and everything."
"Where?" Ren asks.
"It was…" Jaune's eyes widen as he recalls the memory. "Emerald."
"Wha?" Nora asks.
"She was sitting next to me that day." Jaune grouses. "That explains why I keep losing things."
'Perhaps not the only reason.' Nora keeps her mouth firmly shut.
"Guys, we've been over this!" Jaune gestures at his teammates, not noticing the other team getting up, ready to fight again. "Flower Power is Ren and Nora! Ren brings a flower, Nora brings the power!"
"I think I remember hearing that at one point." Nora recalls.
Jaune's ayes widen, and he starts to form a smile.
"I also remember a really good tasting Pancake though, so I thought it was to do with that."
Jaunes expression suddenly turns bitter again.
"How do I bring a flower?" Ren rubs the back of his head with one of his guns
"No, silly, not a flower! Flour, like in baking!" Nora says
"Why would I bring that?" Ren asks.
"I- Uh- No, it's your symbol!" Jaune struggles with the sudden break in battle flow.
"Are you going to… fight?" Ruby suggests.
"This isn't that bad of an argument Ruby, no need to worry." Jaune assures her.
"That's good." Ruby nods. "But I mean fight the other team."
The complete absurdity of the situation hits Jaune like a brick. "I cannot be blamed for my future self's actions."
"So, what are we?" Pyrrha asks
"Pyrrha!" Jaune complains.
"Sorry! I just want to make sure it's clearly defined." Pyrrha says.
"Pyrrha, you and I are Arkos. It's that thing when we take our shields? Remember?" Jaune tries to be patient while Team BRNZ looks more confused than their opponents.
"Seems like BRNZ is just as confused." Blake mentions.
"This is either excessively stupid, or overly confident." Weiss berates. "If our team ever ends up talking so much in a battle, there needs to be a punishment."
"Yep." Ruby nods in agreement. "Give me some time and I'll think of a good one."
"Arkos?" Pyrrha sounds disappointed with the name.
"Yeah! It's our names put together!" Jaune explains.
"Right, no, I get it..." Pyrrha says
"What, do you not like it?" Jaune asks.
"No, no! It's... good?" Pyrrha's word choice isn't the most positive.
"Mmm, I sense hesitation." Nora comments.
"Gotta admit, RWBY's team attacks sound better." Sun says.
"That's not fair." Jaune complains. "They're much more colour coordinated than us. Weiss and Yang even get to base themselves on temperatures."
"Hey!" Brawnz calls out to his opponents. "What do you think you're doing!?"
"Trying to have a team meeting, thank you very little!" Jaune dismisses them.
"Yeah! Team ears only!" Nora points to her own ears to demonstrate.
"Just be quiet." Jaune calmly orders the room, as a few people struggle to hold back a chuckle.
Brawnz looks at his shrugging teammates before he goes back to yelling. "WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF A FIGHT!"
"AND WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF A CONVERSATION! WHAT DON'T YOU GET ABOUT THAT!?" Jaune yells back.
'And here I was thinking we'd be done with watching me be stupid.' Jaune thinks. 'Will it ever end?'
"Um, Jaune?" Pyrrha says.
"Yes, Pyrrha?" Jaune still has an annoyed tone.
"I think that he means that we're all in the middle of a fight." Pyrrha explains.
The sound of the crowds around them come back in full volume as Jaune remembers the real situation.
"And it's at the most watched event ever." Jaune groans. "I know one change we have to make."
"Ugh..." Jaune puts the flat of his sword up to his forehead in exasperation. "Nora, just... hit them with the hammer."
Nora gives an eerily evil smirk. "Got it."
"That really going to be enough?" Oscar asks.
"Just watch." Yang points to the screen.
"Wait, what?!" Brawnz asks. But before anyone can react, Nora jumps over in front of Team BRNZ, then brings her hammer around to collide with all four screaming fighters as they soar straight into the forcefield surrounding the arena's rim, sliding down to the ground with arms and legs in bent positions they really shouldn't be.
"Round won!" Nora cheers. "Nice work team!"
Jaune sighs. "Yeah. We did good."
"And with that, it appears Team JNPR wins by knockout, literally!" Port announces. "...Can someone go make sure they're okay?"
"I am slightly worried." Pyrrha says. "You already hit one of them once. He might not have had enough Aura to stop real damage."
"Not to worry." Weiss assures everyone. "The Vytal festival has excellent medics covering the event. Nothing short of a dismemberment will have any lasting damage."
"Has that ever happened?" Sun asks.
"Once." Ruby recalls the videos she's been studying. "But that was clearly an accident, and the guy was compensated a then top of the line prosthetic as way of an apology."
Meanwhile, in a different setting, the appropriately-named Crow Bar has a single customer that is exceedingly familiar to a couple of sisters.
"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby yells.
"Hell yeah!" Yang joins in.
"Interesting how we see him so soon." Blake points out.
'Could we see Winter this chapter.' Weiss hopes.
"Hold on a moment." Yang looks closely at the screen. "I know that place, it's in Vales boardwalk."
"He's in Vale?" Pyrrha says. "Why hasn't he met up with you two yet? Or is it possible he has?"
"I doubt the videos would miss anything so important." Jaune says. "Or at least, as long as it's from the perspective of one of us."
"Also, it's not strange for Qrow to head strait for the nearest bar." Yang says. "Gotta congratulate him on finding one so appropriately named."
"Is drinking all he does?" Weiss asks with a hint of bitterness.
"He handles it usually." Ruby says, "It really depends on his current state of mind."
Qrow gulps down a glass, leaving it alongside a collection that have been gathering on the counter.
'I seriously hope this is a bad day for him.' Weiss thinks.
Qrow looks up to see the announcement of JNPR's victory being played on a nearby screen.
"Huh, those kids weren't half bad!" The bartender comments as he wipes the surface of a glass in his hands.
"Support!" Nora cheers.
"At least he didn't say anything about how we messed up." Jaune says.
Qrow merely lets out a "Meh" as he raises another beverage to his lips.
"High standards much?" Sun asks.
"Very high." Yang confirms. "He's always pushing us to do better. Says we're too sheltered to know what a real fight is like."
"Wait until he finds out what we've accomplished." Ruby beams. "How will he react?"
"He'll have something bad to say." Yang shrugs. "This is Qrow we're talking about."
The scene flashes to a blue background with white particles gathering into the united tournament symbol of the four kingdoms as it revolves to the left of Oobleck, back in the announcer's box. "Ah, well, Vacuo fans are sure to be hurting after that one, but this next one will have them on the edge of their seats!"
"We don't know anyone representing Vacuo, do we?" Pyrrha asks.
"I don't think so." Weiss replies.
"Team NDGO of Shade is certainly a crowd favourite, but these lovely ladies are going against some of the toughest, testosterone-filled teammates we've seen so far!" Port introduces the new fighters as a picture of them appears to his right.
"Well…" Sun leans back his arms to stretch. "I think we all know who he's talking about."
"I haven't the slightest idea." Blake dismisses.
"Since it seems we'll be seeing their match, I should probably name the members of NDGO." Oscar says. "Nebula Violette, Indigo hair. Dem Gayl, blonde. Gwen Darcy, black hair. Octavia Ember, redhead."
"Thanks, that's useful." Ren says.
"I'm of course talking about... Team SSSN!" Port finishes. The camera cuts to the view of a few spectators in the stands holding up signs with each male's face decorated with hearts, the exception being a simple image of a certain set of abs. "Sun Wukong and his team are certainly a force to be reckoned with, and although he'll be representing the Mistral Academy of Haven, I'm sure his friends and family back in Vacuo will be cheering him along!" Team SSSN walks into the centre of the field, waving to the cheering crowds as they do so.
"Nice to know we get to see some of my matches." Sun smiles. "Hope we get to see how we do in the doubles too."
"That's assuming you make it that far." Ruby says. "Who are you planning on sending?"
"Still undecided." Sun admits. "But we think it's probably going to be me and Neptune."
'I'm the only one who doesn't know, so I'd better check.' Oscar looks at the pamphlet. 'Sun's other team members are Sage and Scarlet.'
Weiss cups her hands to sweetly call out. "Good luck, Neptune!"
Neptune continues his waving until he spots his four beautiful opponents, which causes him to develop a confident attitude as he addresses them. "Ladies."
Weiss's eye twitches. "Sun. Tell me honestly. What is the chance me and Neptune can maintain a relationship without him acting like this ever again?"
"It's unlikely." Sun admits. "I doubt he could do so, especially once we've gone back to Haven."
Weiss sighs. 'Perhaps this was never meant to last. If he insists on disgracing me by acting so thoughtlessly, it might be best that…' She takes a deep breath. 'It might be best that we end things sooner rather than later.'
Weiss is shocked as this simple word turns her shaking with rage until she angrily gets up and points into the arena. "Break his stupid face, NDGO!"
"Should have expected that." Ruby shrugs. "I'm honestly surprised present you didn't yell."
"I've been thinking about things." Weiss replies. "And while I am certainly mad, this has just helped confirm something I've been slowly learning while watching the videos."
"What?" Ren asks.
"It's nothing important." Weiss assures him. "Just some personal matters."
'I had been wondering how long it would be until Weiss hits her breaking point.' Yang thinks. 'She lasted longer than expected.'
After a short pause, Neptune addresses his opponents again. "Alright, girls, try and remember, hands above the waist."
"Ignore him, for he..." Sun grasps Neptune's arm as he apologizes. "Yeah, he's dumb."
"I thought he was the intellectual." Oscar says.
"He is." Sun says. "But he can also be really dumb at times like this."
Neptune simply gives a sparkling wink to the disgusted females as the holographic roulette shows up again, landing on a yellow image of sunny dunes and stone formations until the real thing emerges from below. A small circular light even appears overhead, causing most of the crowd to don sunglasses.
"That landscape seems pretty Vacuo." Blake says. "You think your team can win?"
"I'll admit it makes things a bit harder." Sun says. "But I can hadle it fine, and we can always fight in the other half."
"Alright! Home field advantage!" Nebula laughs as she looks back at their selection.
"Don't get too cocky!" Sun says. "That's my turf, too!"
"I hope I don't get sand in my shoes." Scarlet looks down at his attire as the roulette begins again on the other side.
"Be cool, man." Neptune whispers to Scarlet.
"Yep." Sun nods. "We'll definitely be retreating to our side. Hopefully they don't have many ranged attackers."
"Hey! The ocean!" Dew reacts to the symbol the roulette lands on.
"Well fuck." Sun swears. "Of all the things it could be…"
"You have a problem with the ocean?" Ruby asks.
"Not me." Sun replies. "And we aren't meant to give things away early right? So I'll just… let you see for yourselves."
"Huh?" Neptune turns to sees the random pick for himself, eyes dilated at his goggles reflect the terrifying image, a slight whimper escaping him.
"Uhh, what's wrong with Neptune?" Ruby asks her teammates.
'Wow that was close.' Ruby thinks. 'I was about to say the exact same thing. Certainly don't want that happening again.'
"Oh, no." Blake's face is in her hand, unable to look as the sandy beach and pirate shipwreck rises into the arena while Neptune stiffens up with fear until she confides to a surprised Yang. "Neptune's ... afraid of the water."
"Seriously?!" Nora half laughs, half yells. "Isn't he named after the ocean?"
"It's complicated." Sun answers. "Saying anything would be a breach of privacy but… damn it! This messes everything us!"
"You don't think you can win?" Pyrrha asks.
"I don't know?!" Sun growls in frustration. "I just know this will make things a lot harder."
"3, 2, 1…" Oobleck counts down as the fighters stand ready, except for Neptune who's stood still as a statue.
"Is he going to be like that the entire match?" Yang asks.
"It's entirely possible." Sun admits. "But, probably not."
"BEGIN!" As soon as the word is said, Neptune zooms through the enemy team and skids up the mountain behind them.
"Neptune, what are you doing?!" Sage calls out to his feeing teammate.
"I don't think I've ever seen him run that fast." Sun remarks.
"Uh, you know, just gaining the higher ground!" Neptune calls down from the edge of the desert mountain.
"Often a good idea when you have a ranged weapon." Ruby admits.
"On the enemy's side?!" Sun yells exasperatedly.
"Thankfully you've never done something like that." Weiss says. "You should never fight a group lie that while so separated."
"Isn't that what you did for your fight though?" Oscar asks.
"That was us matching up with our opponents individually." Blake explains. "In this situation it's too easy for them to gang up on Neptune."
"If we win this, it'll be a miracle." Sun sighs.
"They would never expect it!" Neptune retorts.
"He's not wrong." Dew says to her allies.
"Open fire!" Nebula calls out her orders and they rush the isolated coward.
'I somehow doubt this match will have much useful information.' Weiss thinks. 'The entire setup seems a bit too unorthodox.'
The rest of team SSSN charge in to help their teammate, Sage with his sword raised and Scarlet having ditched his coat. Sage comes upon Octavia emerging out from a nearby arch and tries to slice her with his cutlass. She ducks under the swing and continues sliding away, past the middle of Dew and Sage getting ready to rumble.
"Is it really that bad having to fight on enemy territory?" Oscar asks.
"It's not so much that Sun's team had to rush into enemy territory." Blake answers. "It's more to do with how team NDGO will be more experienced fighting in the sand."
"And I can't tell you how many tricks you can use with that." Sun says.
Sage hefts his giant blade overhead, only to get knocked back by Dew's spear. He glances up in time to see the blonde wave her weapon over the sand to create three small twisters that kick up dust in Sage's face. He looks around as they surround him, but doesn't realize the danger until they coalesce into one big tornado that picks him up off the ground. With his weapon torn out of his grip and screaming in panic, he's totally helpless as the winds throw him and his blade out of the arena.
"Already?" Sun's shoulders slag. "That's just not fair."
"And this is why ring outs are sometimes considered unfair." Weiss explains. "It eliminates people who are still fit to fight, just because of something most of the audience consider a minor detail."
"And NDGO gains the advantage!" Oobleck announces as Sage slams the ground with fists upon seeing his image now crossed out on the holographic board.
Jaune looks at the holographic board. "Wow, that's a serious advantage given how early it is."
"Don't remind me." Sun deadpans.
"We all have to suffer this a bit." Jaune shrugs. "I don't think anyone's immune to that."
Octavia slides in front of Sun and Scarlet, who ready themselves to fight her just as she spins her sword around and produces a wave of flame that kicks up sand in their faces. Sun manages to jump out of the cloud just in time to call for his replacement in fighting the redhead. "Neptune!"
"So that's how you can use sand?" Ruby asks.
"Mostly." Sun admits. "It seems I knew what to look out for, but Scarlet wasn't so lucky."
Seeing his leader run from the duel, Neptune leaps down from his position and cocks his gun. Octavia attempts to use another fire attack to blind Neptune, but he simply puts on his goggles and fires a bolt as his opponent, who blocks it with her blade right before seeing Sun leap out of nowhere to deliver a neck-snapping kick to her face. Now furious, Octavia brings her blade onto Sun's staff as he spins it all around his body while hitting several parts of her weapon. He ends it with a jab that knocks Octavia on her back in the sand.
"Oh! And we're down to 3-on-3!" Port announces.
"That makes things easier." Yang says. "Seems like you might stand a chance now."
Sun looks at Neptune fighting with Gwen as she circles him with her flying knives and Scarlet attempting to go weapon-to-weapon with Dew. She merely calls upon another sandy cyclone to lift Scarlet up, and he revolves around the spiral until it launches him over the shipwreck.
'Not Scarlet too!' Sun mentally yells.
"That girls Semblance seems pretty dangerous." Weiss says.
"Only for a tournament match." Ruby says. "In a real fight it would give a much smaller advantage."
Luckily, Scarlet is able to adjust his flight so that he lands onto a part of the boat mast, almost losing his balance once the pole's under his feet.
"That was close." Blake says. "But it does mean a member of your team is isolated again."
"I think Scarlet can take care of himself here." Sun says.
He eventually finds his balance right when Nebula closes in and launches an arrow with her crossbow at the mast, using it as a spring to jump right up to where Scarlet is. She folds up the sides of her weapon into a blade to cross swords with her opponent, the both of them ducking and missing or getting hit by the hilts until Nebula slams her metal over Scarlet's and forces him to lean back on the post. Luckily, he manages to get his sword back out from the trap and feign a swing at Nebula's feet before knocking into her with his elbow, causing the NDGO leader to fall into the sand below.
"I may have underestimated your team." Weiss says. "You're handling a disadvantageous pretty well."
"Well… thanks." Sun responds. "I wouldn't have expected that from you."
'This means I might have to seriously consider them as opponents in the future.' Weiss thinks.
From his position, Scarlet sees Gwen continue to throw her knives, and he smirks before whipping out his pistol and shooting the hilt guard as a grappling hook to get her by the ankle. "Gotcha!"
"I really owe Scarlet an apology." Sun says. "I used to tell him that thing would be useless. Feels nice to be proven wrong."
Scarlet uses the cord to lift Gwen into the air while he slowly comes down to the ground, only to land directly beneath her as she attempts to protect her modesty while knives start raining down from her dress.
"Ahhh!" Ruby practically jumps up in alarm. "That could be really bad."
"You think so?" Jaune asks.
"Remember that accidental dismemberment a was talking about." Ruby reminds them. "It was a very similar situation."
Scarlet looks up at the falling blades in horror, but is somehow able to take a stance that leads to him not getting a single scratch, which he gives a sigh of relief to.
"That was way too close." Yang says. "How'd he avoid all of them?"
"If consider where they were stored in Gwen's dress, it doesn't seem so unlikely." Blake points out.
Scarlet's luck doesn't hold though, as Dew leaps near Sun, causing the monkey Faunus to find his new improvised weapons in the form of two coconuts he knocks out the palm tree beside him, which he throws at his opponent only to get them knocked right back at him, now spontaneously catching fire as they travel. Sun narrowly misses them both, but Scarlet gets one straight to the face, and the other lands in a place that makes him squeal in unimaginable pain while dropping his Aura levels into elimination.
"Ouch." Jaune winces in sympathy.
Ren and Sun both nod their heads.
Sun sighs. "Nuts" He looks from Scarlet to Dew as she summons a few water blue tornadoes that he tries to dodge around. "Uh, Neptune? Could use some help, buddy!"
'Looks like the tornados have to have some medium in order to be fully effective.' Weiss thinks. 'Normally, it would just be wind, still dangerous, but I expect less impactful.'
"Uh, you know, uh, it would probably be better if you came over here! Yeah, I can guard this... sector! We're in lockdown mode!" Neptune calls back, stuttering over his word as if to avoid a certain topic.
Sun looks around infuriated as Nebula manages to shoot the cord holding Gwen up in the background. "What are you talking about? There's nothing to lock down!"
"Lockdown! Right! You got it!" Neptune ignores the bulk of Sun's words.
"Me and Neptune are gonna have to have a serious talk when we finally get back." Sun says. "I don't want him dragging us down when it's most important."
Sun narrowly jumps out the way from Dew's attempt to pierce him with her spear as he calls out to Neptune. "Dude, I know you're afraid of water, but you gotta…" He stops yelling when a blue shot knocks an attacking Dew out of mid-air and into the water.
"There! I helped! Are you happy now!?" Neptune yells. "Also, I am not afraid of water, and I have no idea what you are talking about!"
"Does he really think he's fooling anyone?" Yang asks. "It's pretty obvious."
Dew manages to get back up as Nebula and Gwen join their comrade, lifting their weapons and ready to fight once more.
"NEPTUNE!" Sun yells.
"Okay, fine! Just get out of the water!" Neptune replies.
Neptune jumps over to a spot near the coastal line next to Sun, and he unfolds his weapon into its trident form before tip-toeing forwards and, eyes closed, plunges the sparking prongs into the water. The energy surges through the deep until the remaining members of NDGO are electrocuted and kneel in the water, smoking and defeated with the sound of the buzzer.
Sun give a big sigh of relief. "That was a close one."
"You did pretty well all things considered." Blake says.
"I just hope we get a different match." Suns voice sound exhausted.
"And with that, Team SSSN moves on to the doubles round!" Port announces as Sun and Neptune chest bump in celebration. "You know what I call that victory?"
"Shocking?" Oobleck supplies.
"No, well earned." Port retorts. "What you said is stupid."
Oobleck turns away, frowning.
"So does this mean you won't be sending Neptune into the doubles?" Yang asks.
"I really don't know." Sun responds. "He did manage to end until the end, so that counts for something."
Back at the establishment with Qrow, the bartender whistles at the screen. "Now that was a match!"
"Heh, that was a mess!" Qrow speaks with a slight slur in his words.
"Told you he had high standards." Yang says. "Though he may be referring to how Neptune was acting."
"You think he's gonna be there to cheer us on for the rest of the matches?" Ruby asks, not masking her excitement.
"You mean the rest of my matches." Yang smirks. "Remember, you aren't going any further."
"You make it should like you expect to go to the singles." Pyrrha says.
"Well…" Yang turns to the heiress. "No offence Weiss, but I think I'm better suited for a one on one match."
"No objection." Weiss replies. "I'm happy to have been picked for the doubles."
"Come on man, you didn't like them, the Vale kids, or any of the rounds before that? What fight are you here for?" The bartender asks.
"You think he'll be reporting to Ozpin?" Ren asks. "Couldn't he just sent a message?" Ruby asks.
"He may have suspicions about the CCT being compromised." Blake points out. "Even if he doesn't, sending classified info can be rather dangerous."
'I'm not even going to ask ho she knows that.' Weiss thinks.
At that moment, Qrow turns around to see an aircraft with elegant ribbons flying from its wings behind him. "That one."
"That's my sister's ship!" Weiss almost squeals in excitement. "Winter's going to in the video's soon!"
"But what about what Qrow said." Jaune says. "Does that mean…"
"I can definitely see him picking a fight with anyone from the Atlas military." Yang interrupts. "Plus, if we remember what happened in the opening, it's pretty obvious what to expect."
"And you still admire him, despite the fact he would pick a fight with my sister for no reason?" Weiss asks.
"He has his flaws." Ruby admits. "But he's also really… I don't know how to describe it."
'I'll just have to judge him for myself.' Weiss thinks
Qrow finishes his drink as the world sways with the happily inebriated Huntsman until he slams the glass down on the counter and tosses a few Lien alongside it. "Happy Vytal Festival!"
"He is really drunk." Blake comments. "Please tell me this isn't how he normally is."
"This seems especially bad." Yang admits. "It might be because he knows there's no chance of a Grimm attack, but it could also be that he has some really bad information."
"I don't think it's because of bad news." Ruby says. "If it were, he wouldn't be so upbeat."
'So far he has done nothing to make a good impression of himself.' Weiss thinks.
The bartender watches as his sole patron staggers away and puts down the glass he just finished cleaning, only to knock it down and shatter it when he reaches for another one. "Aw, gee darn it!"
'Why was that included?' Yang wonders. 'It didn't seem to serve any purpose. Foreshadowing possibly?'
At the stadium, Ruby leans back in her seat and sighs. "Aw, that was so close!"
"Looks like the dorks made it to the next round!" Yang says, the muffled sound of music playing in the background.
"What's that music?" Nora asks.
"It seems really muffled." Ren says. "I may have to go back to pick up the words.
"I doubt its too important." Jaune shrugs. "Probably just an upbeat happy song."
Blake looks down in the arena where Sun and Neptune are dancing like fools before the fellow Faunus gives her a special double-gun gesture with a wink, eliciting a blush and a small smile from his target. "Emphasis on dork."
Sun puts on a wide grin. Wide enough that Blake can't help but roll her eyes while obscuring her face from him.
"That concludes the matches for today." Oobleck announces over the sound system. "Please leave the Coliseum IN A CALM AND ORDERLY FASHION!"
"They probably should have picked someone else as the announcer." Pyrrha says.
"I disagree." Ruby states, but doesn't elaborate.
After Team RWBY stops flinching from the unexpected volume change Yang makes a suggestion. "Come on, let's go congratulate 'em."
The four girls get up from their seats and start to head out just as the same ribbon-adorned craft passes over the Colosseum, causing Weiss to stop in her tracks and Ruby to bounce into her.
"Uh, what are you viewing?" Ruby asks.
Weiss looking up at the craft with a strange expression and strain in her voice. "She's here!" The Schnee heiress' face displays a mix of joy and anxiety as the screen cuts to black.
"Can we please move onto the next episode now?" Weiss request eagerly. "I would very much like to see what my sister is here for."
"And Qrow!" Ruby cheers.
'It's interesting how they react the same way to a family member being introduced.' Jaune thinks. 'But I think Weiss would only act like that for her sister.'
Oscar tries to get back to the menu to select the next video, but he can't as music is playing.
"You are my star, you are the one, you make me smile when the world's come undone.
You are the one who sweeps me off of my feet. Yeah…
You totally rock, you're crazy and cool, everything's all that I love about you.
Girl of my dreams you would make my life complete."
"Another love song." Jaune sighs. "I'm honestly getting fed up of how many of these we're seeing."
"I believe this was the song that was playing just a moment ago." Ren says. "While Sun and Neptune were celebrating their victory."
"So you're saying it's about me." Sun says, momentarily disturbed by this.
"More likely it's from you." Jaune says. "So… sorry you have to have your feelings displayed like this."
Sun just looks on in stunned silence, as Blake face turns the shade of Ruby's hood.
"Oh, but you're a distant dream to me.
Oh, then I know and I know that you're out of my…
Oh, you're out of my league.
How could it ever be?"
"Gotta say, it's weird having it said out loud like this." Sun says.
"It was fairly obvious." Oscar says. "I was able to figure out how you feel just from watching the videos."
"You did ask her out to the dance." Nora points out.
"Blake, how do you feel about this?" Yang asks.
Blake takes in a deep breath. "I would rather not talk about this. Could we could just get through it and move onto the next video."
"What am I supposed to do, just sit here and not fall in love with you?
Can I do anything to conceal it? Can I lock up my heart and not feel it?
Try to hide from the fact, That there's no turning back, I'm in love."
No one takes the opportunity to speak this time, respecting Blake's wishes.
"You leave me weak, you make me strong, all that I need is to know I'm not wrong.
If love is blind how do I make you see me?
You're my PYT, my Cherie amour, one look at you and my heart starts to soar.
No other girl could compete with your esprit."
"Oh, and if your heart would just agree
Oh, Then I know and I know that I could be-
Oh, I could believe.
All that I ever need."
"What am I supposed to do, just sit here and not fall in love with you?
Can I do anything to conceal it? Can I lock up my heart and not feel it?
Try to hide from the fact, That there's no turning back, I'm in love."
"And like the autumn leaves I just can't help myself.
I'm falling there's no doubt.
It's you and no one else."
"Is there any chance, for this dream romance?
Should I just give up.
What's a fool to do?
Could you fall for me, like I fell for you?"
'It's fairly obvious that this only shows Sun's feelings, which is luck since he's already pretty open about it.' Yang thinks. 'I wonder what Blakes response would be though. She clearly doesn't want to say anything now.'
"What am I supposed to do, just sit here and not fall in love with you?
Can I do anything to conceal it? Can I lock up my heart and not feel it?
Try to hide from the fact, That there's no turning back, I'm in love."
'I'm noticing a pattern where the less important songs have more repetition.' Ren thinks. 'That's rather lucky for us though, since we get more of the relevant details.'
"What am I supposed to do, just sit here and not fall in love with you?
Can I do anything to conceal it? Can I lock up my heart and not feel it?
Try to hide from the fact, That there's no turning back, I'm in love."
Ren's Notes:
Host gave us pamphlet to help us name people in the tournament, not useful for anything important but convenient.
Starts with JNPR vs BRNZ
JNPR wins with no losses and Nora using her Semblance (most details skipped since fight seems to be for spectacle rather than having any meaning)
Qrow in a bar called Crowbar, drinking. Qrow in Vale.
New fight NDGO vs SSSN
Neptune has a fear of water.
SSSN struggles a victory with only Sun and Neptune left.
Qrow has high standards, Qrow in Vale to report to Ozpin?
Qrow notices ship, very likely Winter Schnee is in it. Declares he's going to that fight (indicates conflict with Atlas military)
Qrow is very drunk
Must take notes on background song. REDACTED, song at end
Weiss notices airship.
Song at end "Not fall in love with you." Love song about Sun's feelings.
A/N
Sorry about how little details there are for Ren's notes, there just isn't much to talk about.
I'm not doing a Weiss's notes this chapter, I did it last time since I wanted to let everyone know that she's taking these notes.
A little about how I came to write this fic: Ever since I first got into anime, I've had this thing about considering how the characters would react to watching their own show. I've used this mentality to get value out of watching shows a second time and considering their reactions to events rather than the actual moments themselves. Much later, I got into reading fanfics and discovered Class 78th Watches the Future. It was everything I imagined when I'd rewatched a Danganronpa lets play. I then later discovered RWBY and instantly started exploring fanfics across the web, but was unfortunately disappointed when I couldn't find any react fics that were from a good perspective. So after much mental debate, I decided to fill that role, and judging from everyone's reactions, it seems fulfilled that role well. So, has anyone else rewatched shows so they can consider how a react fic would play out? Or am I just a weirdo that doesn't watch shows properly?
Has the ever been an interaction in the show that only involves Ruby and Blake? The question just came to me, and as far as I can tell the answer is no.
The hosts actions so far have implied that it cares about the inhabitants of Remnant, but I've been considering a scenario where that isn't the case. It may turn out that the host only cares about RWBY, JNPR and some of the people they have connections to. This means the videos are for there sakes, and just happens to benefit Remnant as a side effect. This idea is fiddly though, I'm not sure how I would make it work, or even if anything will happen to make that distinction. It's food for thoughts though, and if people have suggestions, that's always appreciated.
This fic is now among:
Top 10 most reviewed RWBY fanfics published in the last year
Top 10 most favourited RWBY fanfics published in the last year
Top 15 most followed RWBY fanfics published in the last year
Top 75 most reviewed RWBY fanfics at all
Top 150 most favourited RWBY fanfics at all
Top 150 most followed RWBY fanfics at all
That's pretty impressive if I do say so myself.
Could you please visit my profile before asking a question, it contains some of my more frequently asked questions and I would rather not repeat myself.