Chapter 54: Show Time
Amity Colosseum
January 31, 2020
The next night, everyone was preparing for the rigged match between Yang and Mercury. Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Teams GRMA and CFVY were in their seats watching the stadium.
"Jacob, are you and the others ready?" Keaton asked through a radio that Jacob was carrying.
"We're good to go," Jacob answered.
Beacon Academy, Vale
Main Avenue
In the courtyard, Jaune, Nora, Ren, Neptune, Scarlet, Sage, Cassandra, and Team CFDT were all standing in position waiting for instructions.
"Rogers, you guys ready?" Keaton asked over the radio.
"Yeah, we're all ready," Cassandra answered.
The Vault
In the vault, Alex, Glynda, and Qrow are all standing guard while Ironwood is working on getting Amber's pod ready for transport.
"Barker, status on Amber," Keaton said on the radio.
"General Ironwood said that he needs a few more minutes," Alex said.
Headmaster's Office
In the headmaster's office, Ozpin was watching the tournament on his screen and Roman was on his scroll, getting a message from Neo while Keaton radios everyone else.
"Neo says that she is ready," Roman said.
"Okay everyone listen up, our hackers reported that they are about to complete their assignment. I have platoons surrounding the city and the academy in secret and I also have a unit of hidden soldiers within the arena all armed and ready. And if things go south, we have more units stationed at Mountain Glenn and gunships that are prepared to pull off an airstrike if needed. When the match is over stand by for further instructions. And Yang when the match is over, do exactly what I say," Keaton instructed over his radio.
"Got it. I'm not falling for the same trick twice," Yang said through the radio.
"Then I guess it's show time," Keaton said.
Amity Colosseum
Back in the Colosseum, Yang, Pyrrha, Sun, Penny, Mercury, and three others were all standing in a line at the center of the battlefield's stage as the randomizer stops at the first two combatants.
"Yang Xiao Long and Mercury Black!" Port announces over the PA.
In the audience, Cinder gets up from her seat and begins walking out, while watching the battlefield with a smile. Jacob notices Cinder walking away and grabs his radio.
"Cinder is on the move now," Jacob said into the radio.
"Good. Now have Kelly and Allen follow her and make sure she isn't noticed," Keaton ordered over the radio.
"Kelly, Allen, follow her. And make sure you aren't seen," Jacob said.
Allen and Kelly both nod and got up from their seats and walked out to follow Cinder. The lineup walked off the stage while Yang and Mercury stayed and faced each other.
"Three! Two! One! Fight!" Port exclaimed.
Immediately, Yang throws a punch, and Mercury spins his foot to meet it, creating a shockwave between the weapons that launches him back. He closes the distance quickly and aims at her feet with his shotgun boots, Talaria, but she leaps over it and fires off a shot of her Ember Celica that he rotates to avoid. They fight fist-to-fist for a moment, Yang getting in a fiery blast on her opponent at the cost of him also landing a blow on her. She falls back on her feet when Mercury shoots himself into the air to get farther away from her, looking up and smiling.
Yang doesn't relent for a second, launching shot after shot only for Mercury to dodge each of them, sliding around the stage on clouds of air until he attempts to come down on her with his leg. She blocks and pushes away the attack, but he goes under her shotgun burst and manages to land a kick on her, though she still lands in a crouch, now grimacing. She launches forward with a double blast and continues landing blow after blow on him, right up to when he roundhouse kicks her in the back and attempts to hit her with his heel. She gets out just in time and punches the ground trying to get him, but he leaps out and twirls to get a hit on her. One of his kicks seems to pass over her, but then he brings it down hard enough to shatter the steel underneath, which Yang narrowly rolls backward to avoid.
They exchange kicks after this attack until Mercury hits her backwards, and he rushes forward only to receive a fist to his chin, then his torso, knocking him on his stomach. He gets up right as Yang starts raining down fire again, causing him to somersault back until one explosion causes him to get knocked off of the stage. He saves himself by firing his boots downward and flying back in front of his enemy, unleashing a series of kicks that she deflects with her arms. She ducks under one attack only to receive another as Mercury jumps into the air to knock her back, and he follows it up with a shot from his boots. Yang avoids it effortlessly, not noticing it still hanging around behind her.
Switching tactics, Mercury starts shooting his foot out in every direction, each kick into the air accompanied by a silvery blast that is barely even aimed at Yang. She dodges each one coming her way and gets in close through the circling barrage of shots, fighting with their fists again until Mercury kicks her into the air and knocks her right back to the ground, followed by the dozens of swirling shots that now converge right on to Yang.
When the blasts stop coming down on his opponent, Mercury gets up from his crouch and grins to himself, dusting off his outfit and seeming as happy as can be until the smoke from behind him erupts into flames. His momentary shock turns into another smile as he turns around to see the red-eyed Yang slam her knuckles together and come at him. Screaming, she lands a punch that sends him back, and she rushes up avoiding each kick and even taking one with no effect to pound at him with an unrelenting bombardment of left-right blows. He has enough time to let out a pained groan before she hits him in the stomach, his Aura sparkling up to try and defend him from the last hit to the face by the upset blonde. He lands on his back as the buzzer sounds over the roars of the audience.
"Yang Xiao Long wins!" Oobleck announced over the PA.
Jacob and the others were now on high alert, knowing that this is when Emerald uses her semblance, Hallucinations, on Yang to trick her into attacking Mercury.
"Whatever you see next Yang, ignore it. Do exactly as I say," Keaton instructed Yang through her hidden earbud.
"Better luck next time," Yang said as she started to walk towards the exit.
"There isn't going to be a next time, blondie!" Mercury said with a murderous tone.
Yang turns around to see Mercury leap towards about to kick her in the face. But to everyone else's eyes, Mercury was just standing next to Yang. Yang then realizes that Emerald is using her semblance on her.
"Do nothing. Whatever you see, it's not real," Keaton ordered Yang.
Yang stood still, not doing anything as Mercury was wondering why she hadn't attacked him yet.
"Walk off the stage," Keaton ordered.
Yang then turns around and walks towards the exit. Emerald who was currently using her semblance on Yang was shocked that Yang hadn't attacked Mercury as planned while Mercury was also shocked that she hadn't attacked her as he tried his best not to show it. Mercury then calmly walked to the exit.
"Alright guys, let's go," Jacob said as he and the others got up from their seats and walked out.
A few minutes later at the docking bays, Mercury and Emerald both boarded into an Air Bus Where Cinder and Neo were in. The Air Bus then took off and started to fly towards the city. Cinder and Neo were both disguised as medical nurses and were at the drivers' seats. Cinder looked at Emerald and Mercury in anger.
"What. Happened?" Cinder asked with a venomous tone.
"I'd-I don't know, Cinder. I-I use may semblance on that blonde bimbo and it didn't seem to affect her," Emerald said, still shocked by the outcome.
"We did what you told us to do but, whatever just happened, things just took an unexpected turn," Mercury said.
Cinder lets out a frustrated sigh as she then reaches into her pocket and pulls her scroll out.
"I guess I'll have to make some more adjustments then," she said as she tapped on her scroll.
Suddenly, some text appeared on her scroll which read, Access Denied. Cinder grew visibly shocked after this unexpected surprise.
"No. No. No. No. No! No! No! No!" Cinder exclaimed as she kept tapping on her scroll.
Then suddenly, an image of a fat man popped up as the man wagged his finger.
"Ah, ah, ah. You didn't say the magic word. Ah, ah, ah," the man said as the message was now on a loop.
Cinder grips on her seat so hard, that a large portion of it broke off as she was looking at her scroll with an angered expression on her face. Cinder then muttered something under her breath that Emerald and Mercury couldn't understand.
"What was that, boss?" Mercury asked.
"WE'VE BEEN CUT OFF!" Cinder screamed as she threw the broken part of the chair at Mercury's face.
"Wh-what are we going to do?" Emerald asked.
Cinder then dialed a number on her scroll and placed it on her ear.
"Adam, change of plans, we are having the White Fang attack Beacon, tonight," Cinder said.
As Cinder was talking on her scroll while Emerald and Mercury listened, Neo had her scroll on speaker as Keaton and Ozpin were listening. Meanwhile in another part of the Air Bus, Allen and Kelly was hiding under a couple of seats as they both had ankle monitors strapped on their left ankles.
"Once we found out where the White Fang is hiding, the militaries will unleash hell on their asses," Kelly whispered.
"Tonight we put a stop to this," Allen whispered back.