Hello everyone! How are you all today? I'm doing great myself and I'm happy to start the third arc of VoB. Before I start, I want to give a quick shout out to Buruan Bose for letting me use his OC, he's in this chapter. Also, Buruan will be the newest beta reader for this story, so I wanted to thank him for that. Anyways, without further ado, enjoy!
Ike dove over another bullet fired by his opponent. He then notched a fire arrow and launched it at his opponent's feet. The brown haired wolf faunus jumped backwards, switching from his long rifle to his sword, which was shaped like a rapier but had the curve of a cutlass. The wolf's silver eyes held the reflection of the flames in them while the dust powered fire singed his messy brown hair slightly.
As Buruan shielded himself from the flames that were engulfing the stage, Ike jumped up into the air. He notched three regular arrows and fired down at his opponent. The faunus dodged backwards, but saw sent flying backwards as Ike slammed his heel into the ground into of Buruan.
Before the faunus could react to being sent backwards, Ike was upon him with a flurry of attacks from his own blades. Buruan was able to block and dodge most of the hits, but eventually received a strong slash to his leg. The faunus fell slightly off balance, giving Ike just enough time to slam a kick to Buruan's side, sending the wolf faunus into a wall and dropping his aura into the red.
"Buruan's aura has dropped into the red zone and can no longer battle. Ike Mers wins the fight." Professor Goodwitch announced.
Ike walked over to the shorter teen and helped him back up to his feet. "Good fight." The blue haired teen said.
"Thanks, you too." Buruan replied. "I can't wait for a second round."
"Any time you want to, I'm ready." Ike replied as the two walked off the stage.
The bell then rang, signaling the end of Glynda's class. "Don't forget, the Vytal Festival Tournament is almost here. Continue practicing and hone your skills as a team. You will all be representing Beacon." The professor said as the students gathered their belonging and began filing out of the classroom.
"Ya, everyone except me." Ike grumbled more to himself than anyone. As he walked over towards his seat and grabbed his belongings.
"Aww, come on Ike. It's not like Ozpin had a choice." Ruby said, trying to cheer her boyfriend up.
"Ya, you don't really have a team." Yang added.
"Oh, nice to see I'm not part of this team." Ike said with mock anger.
"Is your name included in the team name, RWBY?" Blake asked.
"That depends on who you ask." The archer replied.
"If you ask professor Ozpin, or anyone in charge of the tournament, are you on team RWBY?" Weiss asked.
"No." Ike admitted.
"Then they won't let you fight with us." Blake said.
"Sorry." Ruby added innocently.
Ike sighed, still somewhat upset that he wouldn't be able to fight in the tournament. "If only three more students would've been accepted into Beacon."
"But then you might not have met me!" Red said cheerfully.
"Or any of us." Yellow added.
"I suppose you have a point. Life's funny that way, isn't it?" Blue replied.
"Yep." Ruby said, popping the 'P'. She then gave her boyfriend a quick kiss on the cheek.
"I doubt they'd let you fight in the tournament even if you had a team." White said.
"Why do you say that?" Mers replied.
"Well… you did just get back to normal." Ruby answered.
"They'd probably be worried that you wouldn't be strong enough to fight safely." Yang added.
"What do you mean? I just fought less than five minutes ago."
"But did you really?" Blake asked.
"And that means?" Mers asked.
"Well, unless that kid's semblance involved shooting a gun or swinging a sword, I doubt he went all out there."
"Even then, I think he was pulling a few punches." Weiss added.
"So I won because he was going easy on me?" Ike asked.
"No." Ruby said.
However, the blonde brawler replied, "Yes," at the same time.
"Great." Ike said. Ruby flashed her sister a short death glare, while Yang sent an apologetic one back.
"Ike, I don't think Yang means-" However, the faunus was cut off by Ike before she could finish.
"No, don't worry I know what she meant. I suppose it would be a bad idea to be fighting someone full boar right now."
"Exactly." Weiss said.
"Nobody wants you to get hurt as soon as you're returning to normal." Black added.
"I still wish I could fight in the tournament." Ike said. "But on the bright side, at least there's no way I'll miss any fights."
"Ya!" Yang said enthusiastically.
"We'll win for you." Blake added.
"Ya, we're going to kick major butt!" Ruby said with the same amount of enthusiasm as her sister.
Before Ike could reply, the loud crackle of the PA system turning on the cut through the air. "Would Ike Mers please report to Professor Ozpin's office?" Glynda's voice said, before the speakers went silent once again.
Ike sighed and said, "I'll catch up with you guys later." Before stopping and turning around as team RWBY said their goodbyes.
"How'd she get to the PA system so quickly?" Ruby asked the rest of her team, who all shrugged in reply.
"May it was magic." Yang replied.
"Magic?" Weiss asked, her voice saying how stupid she thought the blonde's suggestion was.
"Ya, maybe she's one of the Maidens." The blonde replied.
"Yes, because they're real." Blake said sarcastically as the team continued to walk towards their next class.
The elevator doors opened and Ozpin sat behind his desk, doing something on his scroll, and sipping his bottomless coffee cup. "Mr. Mers, please, have a seat." The headmaster said, without looking up from his work.
There was something comforting in the normality of the whole scene. Ozpin's consistent routine of work and coffee made Ike envious in a way. Normality was something his life lacked in abundance.
Blue sat down in the seat across from the desk of Ozpin, patiently waiting for the headmaster to speak first. He let his eyes glance over the papers that littered Ozpin's desks. Most seemed to be about missions or governmental jargon, the latter of which Atlas's name was mentioned quite frequently.
"Mr. Mers." Ozpin said as he set down his scroll. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine, thank you for asking." Ike replied a bit more formal than usual.
"Would you say that you are in peak physical condition?"
"I suppose so. I haven't been feeling weak as of late."
"Yes, but do you think your body could handle the stress of a real battle."
"I assume it would." Ike replied, skepticism heavy in his voice. "Why do you ask?"
"As chance would have it, there may be a way for you to fight in the tournament." Ozpin said. This immediately caught Ike's attention.
"How would I be able to?"
"First I have to know if you believe you are strong enough to fight." Ozpin said.
"Yes, of course." Mers replied almost instantly.
"Are you positive? The last thing we would want is for you to get yourself hurt." The headmaster said.
"I assure you, I am ready to fight."
"Very well then. As you know, you do not have an actual team per say. This means that under normal circumstances you would not be able to participate in the Vytal Festival Tournament. However, the headmasters of the other schools of Vytal and I have come up with a solution to this… dilemma."
"And that solution is?" Ike asked eagerly.
"You see, other students from other combat schools have found themselves in similar situations as yours. With that in mind, we have decided to form a team using students from other schools. Are you willing to be part of this team?"
"Of course, anything to be able to fight in the tournament." Ike replied eagerly.
"Very well." Ozpin said. He then pressed a button on his phone and said, "Professor Goodwitch, please send in the others."
"Sending them up." Glynda replied.
The quiet ding of the elevator arriving dispersed throughout the room. Ike turned around and looked over his chair to see three other students walking out of the open doors.
The first one to step out was a large, dark skinned teen. He had a stern look on his face, much like the one Ironwood wore. He had big brown eyes and his hair was styled into a short, brown, flat top. He wore a white suit, which looked extremely similar to Ironwood's.
The next student to step out was a girl wearing tattered, hooded robes, which seemed fit for surviving in the desert. From what Ike could see of her face, she had a bored and somewhat uncaring look on her face. Her eyes were barely visible, due to her hood, but were a beautiful tan color, which matched her tanned skin. Wisps of her brown hair were visible, but it was impossible to see how long it was.
The final student that walked in had a wild smile on her face. The girl pale skin, which clashed with her red, unkempt hair. However, her white eyes seemed to fit perfectly with her complexion. The most obvious characteristic he had were two hyena ears popping out of her hair. She wore a black, knee length dress with a white jacket over it. The jacket had a few tears here and there, keeping her wild and unkempt look alive. She also wore knee high boots, reaching up to where her dress stopped. For some reason she looked familiar.
"Mr. Mers, meet your newest teammates. You three," The headmaster said to the three newcomers, "This is Ike Mers." The other three students stood next to Ike. On the faunus girl's jacket, Ike could see a black smiley face with the looks that the paint from it had ran down.
Ozpin first indicated to the large teen in the suit and said, "This is Lamar Nebula. He will be representing Atlas."
"Pleasure to meet you." He said in a deep voice and gave Ike a strong handshake.
Ozpin then looked at the girl in the robes and introduced her as well. "Nadia Una will be you're representative from Shade."
"Hi." The girl said is a small yet bored voice.
"And finally, Sapphire Dente will be your representative from Shade."
"Wait, did he say Dente?" Ike asked himself internally. He then looked over at the faunus girl and realized why she looked familiar, she looked like Rideat.
The thought of Ike's friend brought a small, yet sad smile to Ike's face. However, that smile was wiped off his face as the girl greeted him. "Hi!" She instantly exclaimed. Ike reached his hand out to she shakes, but was greeted with a bear hug instead. "I can already tell we're going to be the best of friends!" The girl said happily as she shook the poor blue haired teen around. "We can go shopping, and skydiving, and do all sorts of fun things."
Ike looked over at his other two new teammates for help, but got none. Lamar was only shaking his head in disappointment, while Nadia had a small smile on her face. "She did the same thing to me when we first met." The other girl said.
"She tried to do it to me, but couldn't pick me up." Lamar added.
"Mrs. Dente, would you please let Mr. Mers down so we can continue?" Ozpin requested with a hint of pleasure in his voice.
"Sure thing." She said, before dropping the blue haired teen, who promptly slammed face first into the ground. "Oops, sorry."
"Nah, its fine." Ike slurred as tiny stars circled his head. He then shook the stars away and tumbled back onto his feet.
"Now where was I?" Ozpin asked himself. "Oh, yes. As you four may have already noticed, you each hail from a different kingdom. This is no coincidence. This team will stand to show unity and friendship between our four nations. This means that you all have much more pressure on you to perform well. You four are to ensure that you work together as a team and show that you are stronger as a team than you would be alone. You four are representing the bonds of nations. Please, do not disappoint us."
"We won't." Nebula said.
"What makes you so sure?" Sapphire replied. "Lots of things could go wrong. We could lose, we could hurt one another, we could…" Ike then covered the girl's mouth with his hand, muffling whatever else she was saying.
"Please, just get this over with." Ike asked the headmaster, exasperated over the muffled voice of Dente.
"Very well." Ozpin said with a sigh. "From this day forward, you four will work together as team MNSN (Pronounced Monsoon). Seeing as Vale is hosting this year's Vytal Festival, the other headmasters and myself have agreed to let Ike Mers led this team."
"What?!" Lamar and Nadia said together.
"Yay! Ike's the leader!" Sapphire cheered.
"Oh great." Ike said.
"I extend my best wishes to you four and look forward to how you perform in the tournament." The headmaster said.
Ike looked at his three new teammates. Sapphire had a giant smile and clapped happily, while the other two shot him dirty looks.
"Great, this is what I needed." Ike thought to himself.
Yay, team MNSN! Yes, this is a team of OCs I created and will be working with during this arc. I was originally going to have this story be an OC team, and I'm happy to finally be able to showcase my own team. Of course, I wouldn't have had the idea for Sapphire without The Baz, so thanks to him for letting me give Rideat a sister. Anyways, I hope you're all excited for the start of this arc. Don't forget to leave a review and send me a PM so I can talk to you. Bye!
