Hello everyone! How are you all today? I've been better, but let's not talk about that. Before I start, I want to give a big shout out Uneverjack for allowing me to use his OC team in this chapter. If you haven't already, be sure to go check out his story and show him the same love you've showed me. Anyways, onto Season 3!
Only the sound of a small breeze filled the air as Ike stood on the edge of the forest. Rose petals fluttered through the air as the wind passed by his girlfriend, who stood yards in front of him near the edge of the cliff. "How often does she usually do this?" Ike asked as a man walked up next to him.
"For her, probably not enough." The man replied, his yellow hair moving slightly in the wind.
"I know the feeling." The teen replied.
"I know you're just standing back here, but you coming here with us means a lot to her. So, thanks."
"She'd do the same for me." Ike replied.
"I hope she would."
"I know it isn't easy for you coming here either." Blue said.
"No, you're right, it isn't."
"If you wanted to, you could go say a few words."
"No, I left my past behind me. Those days are over."
"I wish I could say the same." Ike replied. "Do you ever miss her?"
"Do you ever miss the ones you've lost?" Taiyang replied, answering a question with a question.
"Every day."
"Then you know how I feel too." After a brief pause, Taiyang said, "I'm sure she doesn't regret the choices she made though."
"What makes you say that?"
"Summer knew what she was signing up for when she became a Huntress, we all did."
"That doesn't make this any easier though, does it?"
"No, it doesn't." The man replied. "I just hope Ruby and Yang know what they signed up for."
"I'm sure they do."
"I just don't know some times. It seems like they think the whole world is just a fairytale and that in the end, everything will sort itself out."
"Do you wish they saw it in any other way?"
"No, I don't. Innocence is such a hard thing to come by in this world. Too often childhoods are ripped away from children."
"I know that feeling." Ike said sadly.
"I'm sure you do." Taiyang replied. "Too many of us do."
Zwei then let out a bark, drawing Ruby's attention. The girl then pulled her hood over her head and started jogging back towards the too. However, she then stopped turned around, and said something else, before moving back towards them.
"Ready to go?" Taiyang asked the girl as she reached them.
"Yep." Ruby replied simply. The trio then began to walk back towards the forest, but Ike stopped and looked back over his shoulder towards the cliff. He saw six birds flying towards the sun and smiled to himself.
"I wish I could've known you." Ike thought to himself as he looked out at the grave stone.
"Ike, you coming?" Ruby asked.
"Ya." He replied simply as he turned back around and jogged to catch up with the other two.
The giant screens above them spun on all four corners of the arena. The first one stopped showing a wind symbol. Ike heard the sound of mechanisms whirling to life behind his as the floor opened up. Ike looked behind him for only a moment and saw floating islands rising up above an open ground. "If I fall there, I'm out of this fight." He thought to himself. However, his thoughts were then interrupted as the next corner's spinner chimed, signaling it had chosen a biome as well. Ike looked over at the corner to see a mesh of destroyed buildings rising from the ground there. The third corner then chimed as a frozen wasteland rose from the ground. The fourth and final corner chimed. A wheat field rose from the ground in this corner.
"No home field advantage for us." Sapphire said, somewhat disappointed.
"Sure, I'm sure the leader over here will be just fine on those floating islands." Nadia said, spitting out the word leader.
"Would you stop with the leader talk? It doesn't matter who's the leader, it's a meaningless title anyways." Ike replied. "It's not like any of you are going to listen to me anyways." The teen said under his breath.
"I will!" Sapphire said, cheerful as ever.
"Thank you, Sapphire." Blue said, exasperated.
"Aren't you wondering how I heard you?" She asked.
"You have hyena ears." Lamar answered. "Also, he wasn't that quiet."
"Can we please just focus on the fight?"
"Do you really think this leader thing doesn't matter?" Nadia asked.
"No, I don't." The archer replied.
"Thanks because you're the leader." Nebula said.
"It doesn't matter!" The Beacon student insisted.
"It will when they announce your name first as the leader of the team that won." Lamar said.
"We won't win if we-" Ike was saying, before he saw a projectile coming directly towards him. Blue dove to the right, colliding with Nadia and landing on top of her.
"At least buy her dinner first." Lamar said with a smirk.
"Hey! Stop flirting with my boyfriend!" Ike heard Ruby yell from the stands.
"Thank you, Ruby." Ike said to himself as he pushed himself off of Nadia, though she gave him a little help with a kick.
Ike stood onto his own two feet and turned his attention away from his dysfunctional team and towards where the projectile came from.
Across from him, he saw a pale, blonde faunus girl holding a bow in her hands. She wore a black cloak and loose jeans. Next to her stood a giant of a man with dark, brown hair wearing a grey tank top, who wielded a long staff with axe blades at the ends. The next opponent was a girl with white hair pulled back into a pony tail wearing a long sleeved top and holding two short katanas. The final enemy team member was an averaged height boy with short brown hair. He wore a grey over coat with a black shirt under it and had two swords strapped to his thighs, however, Ike also noticed he wore metal gauntlets.
"Are you ready?" The big teen on the other side boomed.
"Not really! Can you give us a minute?" Sapphire responded.
"Be quiet." Lamar scolded. "Yes, we are ready. We've been waiting for you." The Atlas student lied.
"Really, because it seems like you're having someā¦" The faunus girl said, looking for the right word.
"It looks like you four would trip over your own shoe laces." The boy in the overcoat said.
"Hey! I haven't tripped over my shoelaces in days!" Dente argued.
"Days?" The white haired girl asked.
"Yep, days." The hyena replied.
"How stupid are you?" Nadia asked.
"It seems to vary." Lamar answered.
The sound of Professor Port clearing his throat then came over the speaker. "I'd like you remind you all that this is a tournament fight."
"Yes! So that means fight!" Oobleck added.
"The fight started?" Sapphire asked.
"No, they shot an arrow at us for no reason." Nadia snarked.
"Really?" The faunus girl asked.
"No." Una replied.
"You have three seconds to do something before we just charge at you." The big teen on the other team said.
"Look, just stick together and-" Ike began to say, before Sapphire rushed over towards their opponents. "Great, don't listen to me, whatever."
"Yes, because you had such a great idea." The robed girl said, before following the faunus girl into battle.
"For what it's worth, sticking together was my plan too." Nebula said.
"Thanks, it's not worth a whole lot though." Ike said as he began towards the fight.
"I figured it wouldn't be."
Ike quickly retreated to the floating islands, but looked over his shoulder to see the faunus girl fire another arrow at him. Ike ducked under the arrow and jumped onto one of the floating rocks. He felt himself get sucked into the rock and his feet were pulled into the side of the islands where they stayed. "Each rock has its own gravity, huh?" Ike thought. However his thoughts were interrupted by another arrow coming towards him. Ike dove to the side, dodging the projectile and firing one of his own.
The girl sidestepped the arrow and took aim at her opponent. "Have fun finding me!" Ike called out as he began to jump from rock to rock, breaking the girl's line of sight, who growled in anger.
Ike continued to bounce of the rocks, confident in his plan, but soon lost that confidence as the sound of a small engine filled the air. He stopped and turn to see the girl flying towards him, a jetpack strapped to her back. The girl fired three more arrows at Ike, which he dodged. However, he was soon hit in the side by a spear, which the girl now held in her hands.
Ike quickly recovered from the hit and heard Port announce, "And Ike Mers takes a huge hit from Lindsay of team FLME!"
"Thank you, Port." Ike said to himself. "Really? A jet pack?"
"Gotta be prepared." She said. She then landed on a rock in line with Ike and switched her weapon into a sniper rifle. Ike saw this and began moving to his right, however, he was soon hit by a bullet from the girl.
Ike was knocked sideways by the bullet, but was fortunately pushed out of sight of the girl. "How'd she aim so fast?" Blue thought.
"It seems Lindsay is using her semblance to her advantage." Port announced.
"Yes, she is able to perceive the world around her at half the speed it actually moves, allowing her to easily aim."
"This is bad." Ike thought as another bullet slammed into the rock he was hiding on.
However, he then heard the sound of rapid fire, followed by a large explosion. Ike peered over the crest of the rock and saw Lamar spraying bullets at Lindsay. Ike's eyes quickly landed on Nebula's weapon as the bullets flowed from it. He wielded an extremely large tonfa. One end extended up to his shoulder and had large metal protrusions, making it a dangerous club. The other end had a set of Gatling gun barrels circled around a large barrel, which fired an explosive out of it. The menacing weapon was amplified by three large blades extending from the gun's end.
Lindsay landed on another rock only for an explosive launched by Lamar to collide with it, sending the girl flying away. Ike used this to his advantage and fired an ice arrow into the girl's jetpack, hitting his mark. Lindsay went to activate her jetpack, but found it wasn't working. By the time she began to notice the world around her, Ike had already launched himself at her.
Lamar continued to spew bullets at the girl, until the big man from team FLME attacked him. However, as the other giant attacked Lamar, he was stopped by Nadia's shield. The girl's shield then drew back towards her. Lamar dove backwards to avoid a second attack and stood up next to his teammate. He quickly stole a glance at her shield. It was a circular shield with three blades around the edge. The blades then came to life, spinning like a chainsaw. The girl threw the shield, revealing a cord attached the handle to the shield itself. The giant on the other team blocked the attack with his staff, letting the shield bounce off harmlessly and back towards its owner. "Well?" Una asked.
"Well what?" Lamar replied.
"Are you just going to stand there or are you going to help?" She asked.
"I'll choose the second option." Lamar said, before letting another explosive attack fly from his weapon.
The big man dove to the side, dodging the attack, and continued to run as a trail of bullets stuck to his heels. However, as Lamar unleashed bullets, he felt a wind blow past him. He then let go of the trigger and ducked. Another gust of wind blew over his head, moving his hair slightly.
Nadia, in response, then threw her shield towards where the wind came from. A loud metallic sound rang out as her bladed shield stopped in midair. The white haired girl from team FLME flew backwards, but landed gracefully on the ground. "It appears Elizabeth Icegem's semblance wasn't able to fool Miss Una." Port announced.
Lamar then spun his weapon around and slammed his weapon down towards the big man from team FLME. However, the staff wielding man blocked the attack and redirected it towards the ground, letting Nebula's tonfa smash into the ground.
The big man then rushed Nadia and swung his bladed staff at her, which she blocked. He then switched his grip and spun his weapon, slamming it down on top of Una. She blocked this as well, but was unable to stop her opponent from changing his weapon into its shotgun form and firing into her, sending her flying through the air. The big man's attack came at a cost though as Lamar slammed the bladed end of his weapon into his opponent's back, sending him flying upwards. Lamar then unleashed a torrent of bullets into his opponent, before firing off an explosive shot into him, sending the big man out of the arena.
As Nadia flew through the air, Lindsay flew over her, firing an around into her stomach as she passed over. The fourth member of team FLME then broke through the wheat fields. Nadia was able to put her shield out in front of her as the teen in the black coat smashed both of his katanas into her, sending her into a wall of the run down building and dropping her aura into the red zone. "And team leader FLME knocks out Nadia Una, but not without losing his own teammate first." Port announced.
"Where are you going?" Sapphire yelled out as she rushed out of the wheat field behind Flame. However, she then saw a blade be swung towards her head. Sapphire raised her hand and caught the blade, showing off her weapons. She wore a pair of metal gauntlets, both with razor sharp claws on them. Sapphire then ripped the blade out of her attacker's, Elizabeth's hand. Icegem then rolled backwards and away from her attacker, but didn't expect another attack from the faunus. Dente raised her hands, showing an opening in her gauntlets. Out of the openings, two ice dust charges were fire, freezing Icegem in her place.
Before the white haired girl could attempt to free herself, Ike had launched himself away from the floating islands, back towards the middle of the arena. He then sliced into Elizabeth as he passed and connected a kick to her jaw, breaking the ice and sending her upwards. Ike then threw Sapphire into the air, allowing her to land a series of fury swipes on Icegem, before sending her back into the ground. The white haired girl slammed into the ground, dropping her aura into the red zone.
Meanwhile, Lamar blocked an attack from Flame, until receiving a sniper shot directly into his chest, sending him flying backwards and over to his team. Lamar skidded to a stop and returned to his feet next to Sapphire and Ike. Across from them, Flame and Lindsay stood, ready to fight. "So, we're back here?" Flame asked.
"Looks like it." Ike replied.
"Ya, but know we have a numbers advantage!" Sapphire boasted, before sticking out her tongue.
"Well that's mature." Lamar pointed out.
Before anyone could make a remark, Sapphire charged into the battle once again. She raised her arm and swung down, aiming at Flame, who blocked with a shield that formed off of his gauntlet. Lindsay then switched to her spear and stabbed into the faunus. As Sapphire flew to the side, Flame pulled a flintlock pistol out of the inside of the gauntlet and attempted to fire into the girl. However, Ike quickly stepped in between the shot and received the bullet himself.
Lamar then shoulder checked the teen in the coat and slammed his tonfa like a club into the girl, sending them both into the wheat field. Sapphire quickly returned to her feet and chased the two into the field. The girl stalked her prey as they scanned for any indication of life around them.
A fireball then exploded behind them, igniting the field in a blaze. Lindsay activated her jet pack and flew above the field, but soon payed for her move as Ike propelled himself upwards and to her level. The blue haired teen sliced into her as he passed her and then planted his feet firmly on her shoulders, before jumping off of her and sending her plummeting back towards the ground.
Meanwhile, Flame fell for the fire distraction and soon felt the consequences as Sapphire struck at her prey. She sank her claws into Flame's back as she ran passed him and then pounced on him, slashing into the poor teen. She jumped away from her prey and ran out of the field just in time for his teammate to slam down on top of him.
As the hyena appeared out of the field, Lamar unleashed a torrent of bullets into the field, cutting down the wheat and landing hits on his opponents. Before F and L could move, both of them had their feet frozen to the ground by a dust arrow from Ike. They could only watch as the two male members of the enemy team fired explosives at them, landing direct hits and sending them flying away.
"And that's it!" Port called out. "All members of team FLME have been eliminated, team MNSN are the victors!"
The crowd let out a thunderous applause as Ike let out a sigh of relief, Lamar smirked slightly, and Sapphire cheered for herself and her team happily.
"This might just work." Ike thought to himself as he smiled about his victory.
And that's that. Yet again, I want to thank Uneverjack for his OC submission. Before I leave, I do want to talk a bit about where I'll be taking the story this season. I'm going to try to stay on an every other Friday release schedule, but no promises. Also, I am going to go into Ike's past a bit more than I have previously, especially with his father. I dropped a little hint about his dad, but Reef will become a bigger character. Also, I'll be continuing with the Vered story this season as well as keeping the dark theme that the actual show has picked up. Anyways, this has been a long AN. I'm extremely excited to be back and writing again. Be sure to PM me any questions you have, because I introduced a lot of next weapons and stuff in this chapter. Also, leave a review so I can read your feedback. I'd really appreciate a few positive messages, just because this week hasn't been all that great for me. Anyways, I'll see you in the next chapter. Bye!
