Things are About to get Bloody
The day of the singles matches of the Vytal Festival's tournament was about to begin with the starting match being between Yang Xiao Long of Beacon Academy against Mercury Black of Haven Academy. The massive audience were eagerly waited for the match to start as the two combatants entered the arena. Among those in the audience was Sho, who was sitting next to team CRDL, though there was one member of that team who was missing.
"So why is Russel not with you guys?" Sho asked his friends, noticing how Cardin was oddly quiet.
"Cardin said something stupid when we ate at this Vacuo food stand," Sky told Sho.
"You guys say stupid stuff all the time," Sho retorted. "How is this any different?" he asked.
"He tried to place in an order in the old Vacuo tongue," Sky explained.
Sho looked at Sky for a moment before switching to Cardin's downcast expression, then to Dove, who was shaking his head to avoid being asked any questions.
"So instead of ordering food, he said…?" Sho dreaded hearing the answer.
"Let's just say it was so bad that not only did the cook kicked us out, he declared war on us, and so did just about every student from Vacuo, including Russel," Sky revealed.
Sho took a moment to look over his shoulder and noticed team BRNZ, NDGO, Russel, Sun, and several other Shade Academy students glaring straight at the other three members of team CRDL. The fact that Russel and Sun sided with their fellow desert natives was proof for the young Guyver that some Huntsmen's loyalties to their homeland cannot be overruled.
"You guys are fucked," Sho simply stated, feeling bad for them, but he had no intention of getting involved in any international disputes. "So how are you guys still alive?" he found himself wondering. "Since you pissed Russel off so badly, I would have thought he tried to kill you guys in your sleep," he elaborated.
"My moneys on that he slept his girlfriend's dorm room," Dove interjected.
"Do you seriously think that?" Sky remarked.
Dove was about to make a comment, but stopped himself when he remembered that there was a very large group of pissed off students glaring at him, Sky, and Cardin. The fact that one of them was his Zoanoid teammate didn't make the young swordsman feel any better.
"Let's just watch the fight," Cardin told the remaining members of his team, wanting the subject to drop.
Wanting to spare Cardin from any further questioning, Sho silently agreed to the CRDL leader's request and turned his attention to the match between Yang and Mercury as it was about to start. Knowing that the match was more about spectacle than anything else, Sho simply watched as Yang and Mercury fought. As the fight continued, Sho's mind drifted off back to the revelation that he and Pyrrha learned yesterday as well as a conversation he had with Makashima last night.
Flashback
After defeating Pyrrha in their brief fight, Sho left the redhead alone as she pondered over what she would do now. Hearing his scroll buzz, Sho pulled it out of his pocket to see there was a message from an unknown sender. Curious as to who would be sending him a message, Sho took a look at it.
Fukamachi
If you are reading this, then it means that my message has finally gone through despite the low reception from this world's pathetic communications system. Regardless, I wish to talk to you about recent events that you may have become aware of. Given the distance between us, we may need to concentrate in order to hear each other's thoughts, but I believe it would be no more difficult than how you were able to reclaim your Gigantic unit from me back on earth.
Sho didn't need to read the name of the sender to know it was from Agito. He could still remember how back on Earth the two of them had mentally wrestled control of the Gigantic from each other before the third Guyver managed to create his own.
'Alright Makashima, if you can hear my thought, then let me know,' Sho closed his eyes as he concentrated his thoughts.
Several minutes have passed, but Sho was only met with silence. Opening his eyes, Sho pondered on how to communicate with Agito as he made his way to his room.
'Let's see, when Makashima and I usually communicate with each other this way, the furthest was back when Murakami-san held me hostage when I wasn't able to defeat him, right?' Sho wondered, trying to remember if there was another any other time when they communicated telepathically from a much greater distance. 'Though he did mention about how I was able to regain control of the Gigantic from him, and I think he was somewhere in America at that time when Hayami-san and I infiltrate the new Chronos Japan headquarters. And if I remember how the map of this world looks, then maybe I just need to focus on thoughts northward in order to reach Makashima,' he deduced as reached the first years' dorm.
End of Flashback
Sho was taken out of his thoughts when he heard the crowd around him cheering, causing him to look at the arena to see that Yang had won. While he had no idea how the fight turned out, Sho watched as Mercury approach Yang, looking like he was going to congratulate her on her victory. What happened next shocked not only Sho, but everyone as well when Yang turned to face Mercury.
BANG
The sound of Yang's shotgun gauntlet firing and the sight of her hitting Mercury's leg rang throughout the entire stadium.
"WHAT THE FUCK!?" Cardin shouted as he stood up in shock.
"Why'd she do that!?" Sky yelled out, just as shocked has he team leader.
Sho didn't say anything, instead his ears were assaulted by numerous voices expressing disgust and horror at what Yang had just done. He could see Mercury's teammate rush toward him while the paramedics stepped onto the arena. The next to appear on the arena was a large number of Atlesian Knights surrounding Yang, weapons drawn.
'What the hell is going on?' Sho found himself asking himself as everything seemed to escalated without him knowing.
The next few hours were best described as a chaotic blur as Sho found himself along with several volunteer students ushering the spectators out of the stadium while Yang was being taken away by the Atlesian Knights. The young Guyver was on autopilot as he pointed the direction for everyone to exit while telling them to do so in a calm and orderly manner. Beside him was Nolan Porfirio of team BRNZ, Sho briefly remembered him and his team from when they faced off against team JNPR during the team matches. Once the last of the spectators have exited, Sho sighed in relief that no one caused a ruckus over what happened. However, that didn't mean that nobody wasn't talking about it.
"Damn, I can't believe that chick would do that after winning," Nolan said after making sure the spectators were gone. "That so uncool," he added.
Even if he wanted to, Sho couldn't argue with what the Shade academy student was saying. Despite the time Sho had spent with team RWBY, he never truly got to know them beyond what he could visibly see. The worst thing Sho could think of when it comes to anything negative about Yang was that she had a temper, which could put her in a situation that she can't win, or alive. But the sight of her kneecapping her opponent was quite a chilling thing for the average person to see.
"She was always a bit of a hothead," Sho said as he considered his words, unsure if he should try to defend Yang's actions.
"I wouldn't call that hotheaded," Nolan remarked, his disgust at what Yang did barely hidden. "Just what is your school teaching you guys?" he wanted to know.
"Not much," Sho replied, not really interested in providing answers that he doubted would be good enough for the exchange student.
Team CRDL
"I knew Xiao Long was a violent bitch, but I didn't think she be that brutal," Cardin said as he and his team, including Russel who decided to let yesterday's incident slide, headed back to their dorm room.
"Thanks to her, everyone is going to think that Beacon Academy teaches their students to be merciless to our opponents," Sky said, worried about how things will be for their school.
"You do know that the four of us don't exactly paint our school in a positive light either, right?" Dove asked, remembering how the four of them were total dicks to nearly everyone in their class.
"I think everyone's opinion on us is the least of our school's troubles," Russel joined while looking at his scroll. "Have a look at this," he told the guys as he turned his scroll toward them.
The rest of team CRDL looked at the small screen to see what appeared to be an amateur recording. From what they could see, it was Yang fighting with two women, one in red and the other in white, in what appeared to be a nightclub. The person recording this fight had a tough time holding the camera steady, but the three boys could see that there were plenty of people running away in a panic as the nightclub was being torn apart in this fight. Cardin recognized the nightclub as being owned by Hei Xiong.
"This is footage of a fight that broke out nearly a year ago in which the perpetrator and Beacon Academy, Yang Xiao Long, instigated. Resulting in severe property damage and as you can see, willful endangerment of the patrons. If this is the kind of student that gets accepted into a huntsmen academy…"
It was at that point where Russel turned off the video.
"I've been checking other news feeds, and pretty much everyone is calling Xiao Long a piece of shit who should have been sent to prison, and if she's the kind of person who can get accepted, then the Vale council should be placing stricter screening processes and other crap to make sure that only "law-abiding" youths would be allowed to become huntsmen," Russel said. "So, in a nutshell, everyone in our school is being seen as just as bad thanks to Xiao Long crippling that dude on live TV," he added.
"Great, just great," Dove sarcastically said, turning his head away from Russel's scroll. "So, what does that mean for us?" he asked Cardin.
"How should I know," Cardin snapped, swiping his scroll past the door lock to their dorm room. "All I know is that we should just keep ourselves under the radar, that way those media hounds won't have anything else to use against our school," he told his team. "They especially can't know about that village either," he whispered the last par.
The rest of team CRDL didn't say anything, but they all agreed with their leader.
"Maybe we should check to see if we can transfer to Shade," Russel suggested, pocketing his scroll.
The rest of team CRDL turned to look at Russel in disbelief over what he said. The green haired Zoanoid looked back at his teammates.
"What, is it a crime to be a little homesick?" Russel asked, annoyed with the staring.
"You just want to go back to Vacuo with Nebula," Sky retorted, rolling his eyes at Russel's excuse.
"Besides, Vacuo's a desert wasteland," Dove joined in.
"More of a shithole really," Russel conceded to his friends' points. "But come on guys, it's not like being a huntsman means we have to have ties to the kingdom that we train in," he added.
"Now that you mention it, why do we have four academies in the four kingdoms if every huntsman and huntress isn't supposed to be affiliated to one kingdom?" Dove wondered. "If anything, all of us should be training in one academy that has no ties to any of the kingdoms," he added.
"And what location fits that description?" Cardin said, slightly annoyed that his team is having this conversation.
"How about in Vytal?" Sky inquired. "It is where all four kingdoms signed the peace treaty, and where the plans for the huntsmen academies originated," he pointed out.
"Forget it guys," Cardin told Dove and Sky. "There is no way that would fix anything," he added before turning to Russel. "And we're not transferring to Shade," he told Russel. "All we have to do is avoid doing anything that would ruin our school's reputation any further," he finished as he entered the dorm room.
"Asking for the impossible right there chief," Russel muttered as he waited for Dove and Sky to enter after Cardin.
Just before Russel headed into the room, he stopped to turn around. There was nothing behind him, but Russel couldn't help but feel like someone was watching him.
'Must be my imagination,' Russel thought before entering his team's room.
Once the last member of team CRDL entered, Moreno stepped out of the corner he was hiding behind. The third-year student glared at the door that the young Zoanoid entered.
'Just you wait, you monster,' Moreno thought to himself as he clutched onto a white Grimm mask. 'I'll make sure you get what's coming to you,' he finished as he left the first-years dorm.
Undisclosed location
Mercury worked on his damaged mechanical leg while also looking at the projection screen displaying the news with the headline titled "Tournament Tragedy" about his match against Yang from Beacon Academy. Not interested in a basic recap of the event, the young mercenary changed the channel to another news station. The screen displayed a video of several Grimm, ranging from the common Beowolf to the large Goliath, all of which were making their way through Mount. Glenn and toward Vale.
Despite Atlas reinforcements, local authorities are still calling on any available Huntsemen to aid in suppressing the spike in Grimm activity.
Before the news castor could continue talking, the screen was turned off. Mercury turned around to see Emerald holding the remote.
"Hey, I was watching that!" Mercury complained.
"Shut up!" Emerald snapped back, making her way toward the table Mercury's leg was on.
"Is that any way to treat a patient?" Mercury remarked only for Emerald's response being her reaching over for a screwdriver and twisting it in his leg, tightening the mechanical leg's grip on him. "Ah, too tight!" he cried out as Emerald let go of the screwdriver.
"Enough," Cinder told her two minions as she entered the room.
Emerald and Mercury noticed that Cinder wasn't alone as the last person they wanted to see was behind her.
"What's he doing here?" Emerald asked, glaring at the man behind Cinder.
"I'm here because I wanted to see the star of yesterday's show," Lisker said as he looked over the gray-haired boy. "You actually had me convinced that you were in real pain," he added with a smug look on his face.
"Yes, Mercury put on a wonderful show," Cinder agreed, not caring for Lisker's sarcasm. "He was quite brave," she added.
"Yes, he was," Lisker said before becoming serious. "So, what's the alibi you plan on using?" he asked Cinder.
"Why are you so curious?" Cinder replied.
"Well, for whatever you're planning, you need to make sure that any alibi you come up with doesn't have any holes," Lisker said. "Such as saying that your whole team returned to whichever kingdom you call home only for it to fall apart if anyone that knows you spots any of you," he pointed out, causing Cinder to think about the subject.
"Yes, that is a good point," Cinder conceded before turning her attention to Emerald and Mercury. "We'll have to adjust things by saying that only one of us went with Mercury back to Haven," she told the two of them.
"So, you do care," Mercury teased Emerald, causing the dark-skinned girl to scoff in disgust.
"No, Neo will be that member," Cinder said. "She's the least likely to be noticed missing by anyone, while Emerald and I continue with the plan," she added.
"And what will my role be in this little operation?" Lisker asked.
"I will need you to fill in for Mercury's other role," Cinder answered as she made mental adjustments to her plan.
"And what role would that be?" Lisker asked.
"I need you to enter the broadcasting center, and make sure that no one cuts off the live feed of the next match," Cinder told Lisker. "Once that is done, you are to make sure no Huntsmen leaves this kingdom alive," she finished.
Lisker looked at the dark-haired woman for a moment. With an order like that, Cinder would have made a fine addition to Chronos back on Earth. Though, he was sure that something will happen that would mess up Cinder's plan, but that was of no consequence to Lisker. Yet, for now he will go along with this.
"Consider it done," Lisker told Cinder before turning to leave.
Beacon Academy: First Years Dorm
"Do you think she'll be arrested?"
"I've heard that Mercury guy's leg was so badly injured, that they had to cut it off,"
"Are you for real?"
"I always knew that girl was trouble, along with the rest of her team,"
The hushed conversations continued as Sho made his way through the dorm. Naturally, the students were talking about the aftermath of Yang's match, and what would happen to her. There were a few students that shifted their focus from Yang's action and more toward how the rest of the world would see the students of Beacon Academy. For Sho, he had no interest in any of this, instead he pushed what happened out of his mind so he could focus on what was hidden below Beacon Academy.
'That Maiden…' Sho thought as he made his way toward the hallway his dorm room was located. 'Why would he pick here as the place to keep her hidden?' he wondered. 'In the case of a Grimm invasion, it would make some sense, but from what Pyrrha and I were told the enemy isn't a Grimm but something else,' he continued thinking.
"Hey Sho!" a female voice called out to the young Guyver.
Sho looked up to see Nora waving her arms at him while Ren simply stood next to her, as stoic as ever. He waved back at the girl, which unintentionally caused the energetic girl to head toward him, while dragging Ren along.
"So…how was crowd control yesterday?" Nora asked.
"Nothing too eventful," Sho answered, not really remembering anything unusual.
"That's it?" Nora replied. "Boring…" she whined, hoping something exciting happened.
"Don't mind her Sho, she's just anxious because of what happened after yesterday's match," Ren intervened, not wanting to give Sho the impression that Nora was being insensitive.
"It's okay," Sho waved it off. "Though, I can't say I blame her," he admitted. "What happened back there was pretty crazy," he added.
"You don't actually believe what Yang did was real?" Ren asked.
"What do you mean?" Sho asked, not sure what Ren was saying.
"Sho, you know Yang would never do something like that," Ren said, convinced that Yang was innocent. "Right?" he asked.
"We all saw what happened Ren," Sho replied. "And during some sparring matches, she has been known to go too far," he reminded Ren. "Especially whenever someone touches her hair," he added, remembering how she reacted when he first sparred her.
"But she's our friend," Nora joined in. "We should be on her side," she added.
"I'm not so sure that's always a good idea," Sho said, remembering how Shizu allowed herself to be optimized into a Zoalord in order to continue serving Agito during his personal war against Chronos back on Earth. "Being there for your friends is a good thing, but ignoring any wrong they've done isn't," he added.
"Then what are we supposed to do?" Nora asked, wanting an answer.
"At this point, nothing beyond cheering Yang up," Sho answered as he walked past the two.
Despite what he said, Sho didn't really believe in his words. Something about all of this didn't feel right, he could tell that much. The revelation of the Fall Maiden and what happened yesterday felt connected, but Sho wasn't sure how as it was more likely to be a coincidence.
'Something about this doesn't seem right,' Sho thought to himself as he continued on his way.
Caught up in his thoughts, Sho didn't notice who else was around until he bumped into someone.
"Gomen'nasai," Sho apologized in his native tongue out of reflex before looking at who he bumped into. It turned out to be General Ironwood.
"I'm afraid I don't understand," James said, unfamiliar with the language Sho used.
"I mean I'm sorry," Sho said in English, or whatever the common language in Remnant is called. "I was a little preoccupied," he told the General.
"I can see that," James said. "Mr. Fukamachi, I would like to thank you for supporting me the other day," he changed the topic, speaking to Sho in a lower tone.
Sho shifted his eyes to the sides to see if anyone was watching them and listening in. James noticed Sho's behavior and understood the boy's actions.
"Perhaps it would be best if we discuss this someone more private," James suggested.
"That sounds like a good idea," Sho agreed as he allowed the General to lead him away from the dorm.
General Ironwood's Temporary Office
"I guess if you want to have a private conversation, it doesn't get any more private than this," Sho remarked as he looked over the office.
The office that Ozpin provided James was fairly sparse, almost Spartan like, which shouldn't come as a surprise to Sho since he was in the presence of a military leader. An office desk, two chairs, a stack of papers, the usual setup. The only noticeable addition was a small picture frame of a man in an Atlesian officer uniform and a boy standing next to him. James looked at the picture quite fondly before picking it up.
"The man in the photo was my father," James said, a small smile on his face. "He was a man of great integrity and had the loyalty of his soldiers," he elaborated fond memories of his father spending time with him resurfacing.
"He sounds like a great man," Sho said as he too started to remember his father.
"He still is," James said before setting the picture down. "He inspired me to join the Atlesian military," he added.
"Was he a General like you?" Sho found himself asking.
"No, he retired as a Colonel," James said. "The day I became General was the proudest moment of his life, and mine," he continued. "But now I feel like I am letting him down," he said, feeling a bit depressed.
"What do you mean?" Sho asked, surprised by how open the General was being with him.
"As you could already guess, Ozpin and the rest do not agree with my methods," the General said with a sigh. "I'm well aware that my actions and methods go against Ozpin's, but as a General, it is my responsibility to ensure the safety of the people, be they come from Atlas or any of the other kingdoms" he told Sho. "That's why when you defended me, I felt relieved…" he trailed off.
"I only said that because you were the only one that offered a solution to the problem you all were facing," Sho said. "It's not a perfect one, maybe even inhumane, but no one else offered any other solutions, yours was the only one," he continued on. "Otherwise, that woman would be just be sleeping in that tube, barely alive," he added.
"You are surprisingly wise for someone so young," James commented.
"I've dealt with people who've targeted the defenseless quite a bit," Sho said. "Makashima told me about how you plan on recreating the Zoanoid optimization process," he changed the topic.
"Yes, he should be close to Atlas to begin Project Libertus as we speak," James affirmed what Sho was saying. "Are you against it?" he asked.
"I've fought plenty of Zoanoids, and I think giving how this isn't like it was for me in the past, it might be a good idea," Sho said. "Zoanoids are made for combat, and their minds are geared towards it which would make them far more readily available to fight off the Grimm than Huntsmen, especially if you can set up settlements outside of the kingdoms as the Zoanoids can live in the settlements to provide a line of defense," he explained how he saw the Zoanoids being used for the people of Remnant. "You've already seen what Russel was able to do in his Zoanoid form, and from what I can tell, he's mainly a hit and run type," he added.
"So, you're saying that there are various types of Zoanoids," James remarked, intrigued by what Sho was telling him.
"Yes," Sho confirmed as he thought about the many Zoanoids he fought. "I've fought many power types, bio-blaster types, amphibious types, aerial combat types, and even Hyper-Zoanoids," he listed.
"Hyper-Zoanoids?" James repeated the name.
"More advanced and specialized Zoanoids," Sho answered. "One of the first Hyper-Zoanoid I've fought was so strong and durable, that most of my weapons had no effect on him," he admitted, surprising the General that the mighty Guyver armor could actually be countered by a Zoanoid. "But from what I know, optimization of Hyper-Zoanoids takes longer than normal ones. Most likely due to how specialized they are," he pointed out.
"I see," James said. "I'm surprised you're willing to share this kind of information with me," he noted.
"You're working with Makashima, and he would have given you a more in-depth explanation if you asked," Sho replied. "It only seemed fair that I at least give you a chance," he told the General.
"Well, thank you for telling me about this Mr. Fukamchi," James said as he approaches the boy. "I hope I can rely on you in the coming future," he offered a handshake.
Sho looked at the General for a moment before accepting the handshake.
"I hope so too," Sho said before remembering about what happened back in the tournament. "General Ironwood, what will happen to Yang?" he asked.
James closed his eyes for a moment, he had a feeling this would be brought up.
"For now, Ms. Xiao-Long has been disqualified from the tournament," James told Sho. "After the tournament is over, she will be Ozpin's responsibility," he added.
"Okay then," Sho said. "Did she at least say why she did it?" he asked.
"She told me that her opponent attacked her after the match ended," James answered.
"Attacked her?" Sho repeated, finding that odd. "He was just standing there," he remembered that much despite not paying close attention to the match.
"Combat stress can have unexpected side-effects, such as seeing something that nobody else sees," the General explained. "Regardless, having her only disqualified is the best we can do for her," he told Sho.
Sho nodded his head, agreeing that Yang could have gotten much worse than just disqualification for what happened. However, something about Yang's claim didn't make sense to the Guyver.
"Thank you for telling me this," Sho said before leaving the office.
James stayed in the office, thinking about what Sho told him before leaving.
"Hyper-Zoanoids…" James said quietly, contemplating over the need for those type of Zoanoids for his army. "It might be a little too early to be thinking about those," he concluded as he looked over the picture of himself and his father. "Would you have approved of this?" he wondered.
Outside of the school dining hall
"Do you believe in destiny?" that was the question Pyrrha asked Jaune.
Jaune was taken aback by his partner's question. He tried to ease Pyrrha's mind after what had happened with Yang, even telling Pyrrha how she was the only person who ever believed in him when it came to his dream of becoming a huntsman. She had even helped him improve his swordsman skills, and while he wasn't completely on par with many of the other students, Jaune liked to believe that he was improving. Yet this question took him by surprise.
"I…don't know, I guess it depends on how you view it," Jaune answered.
"When I think of destiny, I don't think of it as a predetermined fate you can't escape…" Pyrrha started as two leaves were caught by the wind. "But rather…some sort of goal, something you work your entire life towards," she explained her view on the subject.
"Okay, sure I can see that," Jaune said, not entirely sure where Pyrrha was going with this.
"Well…what would you do if something came along that you…" Pyrrha hesitated. "…never expected?" she finished her sentence, struggling to find the right words to explain her problem. "Something that had the potential to stand between you and your destiny?" she asked.
"Like what?" Jaune asked, starting to worry that the stress of everything was starting to get to his partner.
"Or what if you could suddenly fulfill your destiny in an instant, but at the cost of who you were?" Pyrrha barreled on with her questions because of the stress of keeping Amber's situation a secret.
It was at that moment that she remembered what Sho told her.
"But if you do, the least you can do is tell your teammates,"
"They deserved to know, more than anyone else,"
It was at that moment, Jaune approached Pyrrha and placed a hand on her shoulder, causing the red head to look at Jaune.
"Pyrrha, you're not making any sense," Jaune told her, his worry growing as he had never seen Pyrrha like this before.
Pyrrha pulled away from Jaune, barely holding herself together as she felt like crying out in misery over her situation.
"None of this makes sense!" Pyrrha cried. "This isn't how things were supposed to happen!" her frustration growing as her whole view on life was torn apart.
"Pyrrha!" Jaune shouted as he moved closer to his partner. "I'm trying to understand, but please…just tell me what's wrong!" he found himself still shouting.
As the two members of team JNPR, someone was observing their conversation from above them. Watching them was Aptom, standing on one of the ledges as he continued his surveillance.
"Well then, this is something unexpected," Aptom said to himself as he listened to Pyrrha's words.
"I've always felt that I was destined to become a Huntress…" Pyrrha said as she tried to calm herself, with no success. "…to protect the world…and it's becoming increasingly clear that my feelings were right," she continued, yet this realization brought to joy to her. "But…I don't know if I can do it," she added.
'Just what is she babbling about?' Aptom wondered as he continued listening.
"Of course, you can…" Jaune interrupted. "The Pyrrha Nikos I know would never back down from a challenge," he assured her. "And if you really believe it's your destiny to save the world…" he continued as he approached Pyrrha, confidant that he was giving her the right answer. "Then you can't let anything stand in your way," he finished, feeling a bit proud of himself in his motivational speech.
Those words practically shattered Pyrrha, her hands reached her mouth on instinct as the one she had hoped would tell her…she wasn't sure what she wanted Jaune to say, but it wasn't what he had told her. She remembered how Sho tried to convince her to refuse Ozpin's request for her to become the new Fall Maiden, and how their brief fight had shaken her resolve. Yet Jaune, the one person whose opinion mattered to her far more than anyone else, was telling her that she could do it. The poor girl felt as if her entire world was destroyed by Jaune's misguided words of encouragement, resulting in her crying her eyes out.
Jaune was starting to worry as he realized that he made a mistake. Wanting to fix this, he approached Pyrrha in an attempt to console her.
"Pyrrha," the blonde boy called out to his partner.
"Stop…" the red head said as she turned away from Jaune.
"Did I say something wrong?" Jaune asked, continuing to approach Pyrrha.
"STOP!" Pyrrha cried out as she turned to Jaune, stretching her arms out on instinct.
This act had the unintended effect of Pyrrha activating her Semblance, and sending Jaune flying towards one of the dining hall columns, pinning him to the wall.
"Jaune!" Pyrrha cried out, realizing what she had done. She released her Semblance's hold on Jaune's armor, causing the boy to drop to the ground with a thud. "I…I'm sorry," she remorsefully said as she ran off, getting as far away from the boy she cherished as possible.
"Pyrrha!" Jaune yelled out before facing the ground. "What did I say?" he asked himself.
Up above, Aptom simply watched the young Huntress-in-training run.
"Destiny huh?" Aptom said to himself as he opened the window closest to him. "What a load of bullshit," he added before entering.
Sho's dorm room
Staring at the ceiling, Sho once again found himself wondering what he should do. With everything that has happened in just a couple of days, the teenage Guyver felt that he needed some alone time as he sorted his thoughts.
"Okay, so from what Ozpin has told me, there is someone who wants the power of the Fall Maiden. And given the name, that means there are three other Maidens with magical powers. As of right now, half of her power has been taken by some woman who shouldn't have it," Sho stated to himself. "Ozpin wants Pyrrha to get the other half so that way whoever this woman is, won't be able to get it as easily, and he wants me to be Pyrrha's body guard because he believes that me being a Guyver would guarantee that Pyrrha and the other half of Fall Maiden's power will be safe," he continued to talk to himself.
"Well that answers a question that I was about to ask you," a familiar voice said from within the room.
Sho didn't react as he already knew who was talking to him.
"I'm starting to wonder if the lock on that door is broken," Sho remarked as he felt Aptom approach, appearing in his Omega Blast form.
"The door lock is fine," Aptom said as he shifted back into his human form. "The crack underneath the door is an easy way to bypass it though," he pointed out.
"I doubt anyone ever thought that they would have to deal with someone who can turn their body into a liquid substance to squeeze through tight spots," Sho produced a counterpoint to Aptom. "I never did ask you how you were capable of such a thing when you wrapped yourself around my Guyver armor when we infiltrated Cloud Gate," he brought up.
"It's a trick that I made," Aptom replied. "You can say it was inspired by Dyme," he added, his tone sounding bitter. "You remember him, don't you?" he asked, glaring at Sho behind his sunglasses.
The memory of Sho first time fighting against the Lost Number Commandos flashed into his mind. He did remember the Lost Number Zoanoid who was capable of merging with the ground and manipulate the environment like he was the very planet.
Flashback
Sho struggled to free himself from the bio-glue that trapped his arms to his chest. Standing in front of him was the large humanoid lizard like Zoanoid, Somlum and a lime green Guyver looking Zoanoid. Behind Sho was a man that was caught up in his fight against these Zoanoids. There was also a third Zoanoid, who had merged with the ground as well but that Zoanoid had released them from his hold under mysterious means. Yet, Sho's main focus was on the organic restraint that was on him. The bio-glue was an adhesive that could bond with a living organism's molecular structure, making it feel like it was a part of Sho's very body. However, Sho was determined to free himself from this adhesive and rescue his father, who was taken by Chronos.
"Fool!" Somlum called out the young Guyver. "The bio-glue has bonded with the bio-boosted armor. The more you struggled, you will only end up tearing your arms apart," he told the boy.
"Maybe…" Sho said as he was starting to be able to rip through the bio-glue. "But if I don't stop you and Chronos, then whose gonna save my father…" he growled out as he felt his arms breaking along with the bio-glue. "Who's going to protect MY FRIENDS!" he shouted finally ripped his arms free, much to the horror of Somlum and the Guyver lookalike.
Somlum spat out a gob of bio-glue at Sho, but the blue armored Guyver fired a head beam at it, vaporizing the glue before it reached him. Using one of his injured arms, Sho grabbed a hold of his chest plate and briefly struggled to free it from a small bit of the adhesive that was still on his body.
"You don't understand," Sho said as he opened his chest plate. "This is a fight I CAN'T AFFORD TO LOSE!" he shouted as he charged up his Megasmasher. It didn't take too long for Sho to charge up his attack and fired it at the two Zoanoids in front of him.
"APTOM!" Somlum cried out as he pushed the Guyver lookalike away from the path of Sho's Megasmasher, sacrificing his life to save his friend. However, Aptom did not escape the blast unharmed as his left arm was caught in the blast, vaporizing the arm along with Somlum.
"SOMLUM!" Aptom shouted as he clutched his remaining portion of his left arm before turning his attention to the ground. "DYME, you idiot!" he shouted again. "Why did you let them go!" he demanded an answer from his hidden comrade.
The ground below started to morph into the face of a person before Sho, Aptom, and the third person.
"W-wait…" Dyme stuttered as he regained control of himself. "There must be some mistake…" he said.
Before Dyme could continue, Sho plunged his vibration blade into the ground where Dyme's face was located. The blade began to vibrate at such a high frequency as it keyed into Dyme's molecular frequency, causing the unique Zoanoid to destabilize. The affects were agonizing as Dyme cried out in pain as he felt his very being was being ripped apart as he tried to escape.
"APTOM…!" Dyme cried out as he tried to reform into his human form. "Help…me…" he called out as his hand reached up from the ground before returning to dirt and sand.
Dyme was dead.
"DYME!" Aptom shouted in horror as his final friend was killed right before his eyes. Aptom glared at Sho as he got back up. "YOU BASTARD! I'LL KILL YOU!" he shouted as he charged at Sho, his own vibration blade extended and ready.
The two vibration blades clashed, but Aptom's blade was the inferior one as he was only able to mimic the Guyver form and his weapons were much weaker. The blade snapped, but Aptom was determined to continue fighting.
That's enough
Aptom stopped his attack when he heard the telepathic command of his leader, Richard Guyot.
"Commander Guyot," Aptom said aloud.
Retreat Aptom, we've captured the Segawa children and Fumino Fukamachi. The mission was a success.
"But Commander, I can't just retreat after he slaughtered my men," Aptom argued with Guyot, but the Zoalord would not have it.
Those are my orders. Retreat NOW.
"Somlum, Dyme…forgive me," Aptom apologized to his deceased comrades and heeded Guyot's orders.
End of Flashback
"Yes, I remember," Sho finally answered.
"But more importantly, tell me more about this Maiden, why she's hidden in this school, and I'll let you in on something big that's gonna happen soon" Aptom told Sho.
"Something is going to happen, what?" Sho asked, alarmed by Aptom knowing about something that may involve the school.
"The White Fang are going to make their move some time during the final match," Aptom answered. "And it's gonna involve the Grimm too," he added.
"Why are you telling me this now?" Sho growled out in anger.
"Do you think I give a damn about any of these kids?" Aptom retorted. "I know the White Fang are no threat to you and that's all I care about," he pointed out. "Now tell me about this Maiden," he demanded.
"Ozpin didn't really go into detail about it but…" Sho started to explain to Aptom what had happened when he was called into his office along with Pyrrha.
The next day: Team CRDL's room
"Why are we even going?" Sky asked Cardin as three of the members of team CRDL got themselves ready to leave their dorm room.
"Because we have nothing better to do," Cardin answered as he finished adjusting his chest plate. "And staying cooped up in our dorm isn't how I want to spend the rest of the day," he added.
"But at least that way we won't be hounded by either the media or hunted down by nearly every Vacuan within a hundred-foot radius," Sky argued.
"Then I guess it's a good thing Russel forgave us, now we have one less Vacuan who wants us dead," Dove joined in.
"Yeah, it's great to know that we don't have to sleep with one eye open in fear of our resident Zoanoid ripping us apart in the middle of the night," Sky agreed, far more relieved than the others. "Come to think of it, where is Russel anyway?" he asked, remembering how their team Zoanoid isn't among them.
"Knowing him, he's heading over to Nebula's dorm," Cardin said in an annoyed tone. "Anyway, let's go," he added as he exited the room.
Ruby's location
Ruby had her hood covering her face as she made her way to Amity Colosseum. The reason she had her face covered was so she wouldn't have to see the glaring faces of some of the other students. The whole situation with Yang had the unfortunate side effect of Ruby's peers look at her as an incompetent leader who was incapable of keeping her teammates in line. There were even those who cited her age as the reason for Ruby's team being so problematic.
The young reaper themed girl did her best to ignore the judging gazes that were placed on her, yet her own doubts about her leadership skills were beginning to resurface. Not wanting to dwell on those thoughts, Ruby instead chose to make her way to the nearest air bus that would take her to the colosseum. Before she could reach one of the buses, Ruby noticed Velvet snapping photos as she spotted Sun walking away with his weapons over his shoulder. Ruby also spotted two members of team BRNZ talking amongst themselves as they waited for the next air bus to arrive at the docking bay everyone was on.
Curious as to what Velvet was doing, Ruby decided to head to the rabbit Faunus, who was focused on taking more photos. Once she got close, Velvet turned around to see Ruby.
"Ruby…" Velvet said, surprised to see Ruby. "How are you doing?" she asked the younger girl.
"I'm doing okay Velvet," Ruby replied. "How about you, what're you up to?" she asked.
"Oh, you know…" Velvet started as she looked at her camera for a moment. "Just working on my photography," she continued as she turned her attention back to Ruby. "Do you want to see?" she asked, offering her camera to Ruby.
Ruby accepted the camera to see Velvet's photos, noticing how the pictures didn't get all of Sun, but seemed to be focused more on his weapon instead.
"It's…better," Ruby said with a forced grin on her face.
"I'm…sorry to hear about your sister," Velvet decided to change the subject. "Is she doing okay?" she asked the younger girl.
"She's…fine," Ruby replied, looking away not wanting to focus on the topic that just came up.
"I just think its awful what people are saying about her," Velvet said. "Yang's such a nice person," she added.
As Ruby and Velvet continued talking about what happened to Yang, several yards away from the landing dock, Sun spotted Sho walking in his direction.
"Hey Sho!" Sun called out to the Guyver host.
"Oh…hi Sun," Sho said as he got closer to Sun, his tone more neutral than anything. "You're not heading to the colosseum?" he asked.
"I'll be there later, just wanted to put up my gear first," Sun explained. "How do you think Yang's doing?" he asked.
"Honestly, I don't know," Sho told the monkey Faunus. "You're from Haven Academy, right?" he asked, curious if Sun knew anything about Cinder's team.
"Of course," Sun replied. "Why'd you ask?" he added.
"Do you know anything about Yang's opponent from the single's match?" Sho asked. "Like what his Semblance is?" he specifies.
"Sorry man, but I don't really know anything about the guy," Sun said. "I don't even remember seeing him in the school during the first semester," he said as he tried to remember if he ever did see Mercury before.
"Really?" Sho asked, finding it odd that Sun never happen to come across the guy in his school.
"Well, he does look like someone who might have been a fourth-year student, so I guess it would make sense that I wouldn't see him," Sun pointed out. "Why're you so curious about him?" he asked.
"Something about that match just didn't feel right," Sho answered, his mind trying to connect Yang's match to what Aptom told him last night. It was a long shot, but the young Guyver couldn't help but feel like there was a link that he couldn't see.
"You're thinking that someone hiding something?" Sun asked, sounding very excited about the chance of their being a big conspiracy .
"There's a lot being hidden from us and I don't like it," Sho said as he turned to head back to the school.
"You want me to tag along?" Sun offered. "You might need the help of a Junior Detective," he boasted while brandishing the badge the VPD gave him and Neptune during their time helping.
Sho turned to look at Sun, hoping the blonde boy was just joking. Sadly, when Sho saw Sun flash a badge that had the letter VPD, the young Guyver realized that Sun was being serious despite the eager look on the blonde boy's face.
"Uh…sorry Sun, but I think it's better that I go at this alone," Sho turned down the offer. "You'll just draw too much attention," he added, given Sun's very noticeable personality.
"How's that bad?" Sun asked, not seeing the reason.
"Sometimes you got to be subtle…" Sho told Sun. 'And you guys are anything but subtle,' he mentally added.
"So, you're looking for someone who's like a ninja," Sun guessed. "Maybe we should ask Blake to help you?" he suggested.
"If I needed a ninja, I'll be fine on my own," Sho said as he turned to leave.
"What's that mean?" Sun asked, not sure how Sho would be stealthy enough on his own.
"I'm Japanese, we practically invented the shinobi," Sho replied as he left the monkey Faunus behind.
"Wait…what's a shinobi?" Sun wondered, never hearing that term before.
But Sho was already out of earshot of Sun and didn't hear his question, determined to find the truth of what happened.
'Hopefully, I'm just being paranoid,' Sho mentally prayed that it was just as he thought and not something more sinister.
The White Fang Hideout
Two White Fang members tossed an unconscious body onto the floor in front of Adam and his trusted lieutenant. Behind the two members was Moreno, the huntsman in training had a smug look on his face as he looked at the downed form of Russel Thrush. In his right hand, Moreno was holding a white scroll.
"This is the human that you wanted your revenge on?" Adam asked, not impressed with what he saw.
"Yeah," Moreno said, glaring at Russel. "That bastard not only messed with some of the Faunus in Beacon, but he's the one who humiliated my team in the tournament, and took my Aura away," he growled out.
"Then we should do away with him right now," Adam said as he drew his sword.
"No…" Moreno moved forward to prevent Adam from killing Russel. "I want him to suffer before he dies," he told Adam.
"I see," Adam said as he sheaths his sword. "Do as you please," he told the younger Faunus. "Humans deserve to experience the pain we all have suffered from their cruelty," he added before leaving. "I'll head out with the rest of our forces to continue the operation," he told the lieutenant as he left.
"We'll catch up once we're done with the human," the lieutenant said as he looked down at the still unconscious Russel. "Enjoy the nap human, it'll be the last one you'll ever get," he spat at Russel's face before he and Moreno left to get some tools for what was planned for the human in their hideout.
If the White Fang members had paid attention to Russel, they would have noticed that he had opened one of his eyes and watched the White Fang lieutenant and Moreno's retreating forms.
Beacon Academy, late afternoon
After leaving the dorms, Cardin, Dove, and Sky were on their way toward the air buses. Before the three of them could even make their way to the landing bay where the air buses awaited, Dove spotted someone running toward them. As the figure approached them, the three boys recognized the person as Nebula with the rest of her team trying to catch up to their leader.
"Uh…why is she running towards us?" Sky asked in fear, remembering how his leader pissed off the majority of Shade students recently.
"WHERE IS HE!?" Nebula shouted as she reached the three boys.
"Who?" Cardin asked, fearing for his life despite towering over the purple-haired girl before him.
"Who do you think dipshit!?" Nebula yelled as she grabbed Cardin by his armor and lifted him off his feet. "Where…is…Russel." she said slowly while glaring at Cardin.
Dove and Sky backed away when they saw Nebula actually lift their leader off the ground despite her slim built. Even Nebula's team were a bit shocked to see their leader be strong enough to lift someone as large as Cardin with ease.
Despite being a bit scared of Nebula, Cardin was shocked to hear that the NDGO leader has no idea where Russel was.
"You mean he never met up with you?" Cardin asked.
"No, all I got was a text from him saying that he wanted to meet up with me at the main gate so that we could watch the finals together," Nebula told Cardin, letting the bigger leader down.
"He never told us that," Dove pointed out, seeing that Nebula had calmed down somewhat. "But we figured that's he was going to see you," he added.
"So…you don't know where he is?" Nebula asked, worried that something had happened to Russel.
Before any of his team could say anything, Cardin's scroll started ringing. He reached into his pocket to pull it out and saw Russel's name on display. He showed the name to Nebula, hoping to ease her mind before answering the call.
"Russel, where in the world are…?" Cardin started to ask but was suddenly cut off.
"If you want to see your piece of shit teammate, you and your retched lot will come to the location I will be sending you soon," a voice Cardin didn't recognize said.
"Who is this!?" Cardin started shouting, catching everyone around him by surprise.
"You'll have one hour to be at the location, or your teammate is dead," the called ended.
Cardin held onto his scroll, hoping that this was some sort of prank. His scroll pinged, alerting him to the text message that just arrived. He looked at the message to see the location as well as an image that horrified him, causing him to drop his scroll. Nebula picked up the scroll and took a look at it, despite Cardin trying to stop her.
Nebula gasped when she saw the image of Russel on the ground with a bunch of White Fang members around him.
"N-no…" Nebula whimpered, dropping the scroll onto the ground again.
"What's wrong Nebula?" Gwen asked her leader.
"The White Fang have Russel," Cardin answered for the Vacuan girl. "They want us to go to them or they'll kill him," he told everyone.
Dove and Sky were shocked to hear what Cardin said while the rest of team NDGO gasped in horror.
"The White Fang are here," Dew said, shocked that a terrorist group would be in Vale. "How is that possible?" she asked.
"And why hasn't anyone done anything about them?" Octavia voiced her concern as well.
"Who cares about the how and why," Nebula said, regaining her senses. "They have Russel, and I won't let those bastards harm a hair on his head," she declared, her rage building up as she turned around to leave to find the White Fang's location.
"There's not that much hair to mess with," Sky whispered to Dove.
"Dude, not now," Dove whispered back.
"Nebula, wait!" Dew called out to her team leader. "You can't just run off like this," she tried to reason with her.
"Also, this is my team's problem," Cardin joined in. "So, we'll take care of it," he added.
Nebula stopped walking, her right hand glowing a dark purple that she condensed into an orb. Dew moved away from Cardin while Gwen and Octavia backed away from the area. Cardin was about to asked why they were moving away, but stopped himself when he felt something hot go right past him. The CRDL leader felt a searing burn on his left ear before crying out in pain from the burn. Cardin turned around to see Dove and Sky on the ground and a circular scorch mark between them. The three boys turned to look at Nebula, her right hand lowered and steam coming off from her finger tips.
"In case you boys haven't figured it out, Nebula's semblance lets her turn her Aura into a ball of hot energy which she can throw and burn right through nearly anything," Dew explained to the boys.
The three members of team CRDL had shocked expressions on their faces as they watched Nebula turned around and was about to leave.
"I don't care if he is your teammate," Nebula said, her back facing everyone. "I'm not about to let a bunch of terrorists hurt my Russel," she added before leaving once again.
"Now that is a protective girlfriend right there," Octavia commented, impressed with her leader's possessiveness.
"Fine, but we're coming too," Cardin said, his ear still in pain, but he was determined to rescue Russel as well. "Like I said, this is my team's problem, and we're not going to abandon him," he added.
Nebula didn't say anything, but she did nod her head, appreciating that she was going to get help in saving Russel.
"How crazy is it that I'm more scared of Russel's girlfriend than I am of the White Fang that kidnapped Russel?" Dove asked as the assembled group of six followed after Nebula.
"Honestly Dove, I almost feel sorry for the White Fang," Sky said, pausing for a moment. "They have no idea of how bad they screwed up," he added, feeling a small bit of pity for the White Fang.
"So…we can take our time then?" Dove wondered, remembering that Russel was a Zoanoid, and honestly, he didn't want to see the piles of dead bodies when they reached their destination.
Amity Colosseum: One hour before the finals
Lisker had just entered the floating colosseum, blending in with the crowd with little issue as he made his way toward the broadcasting center.
'The main advantage of not being a huntsman,' Lisker mentally mused as he continued on his way. 'Now all I have to do is keep the cameras running so no one will miss the show, and once that's done, I get to have some fun giving my Gigantic form another test run in this kingdom,' he added as he reached the door he was looking for.
There were two men inside the room, who turned to see Lisker enter.
"Hey, you're not supposed to be here," one of the men told Lisker.
"Oh…I'm right where I need to be," Lisker replied with a smug grin on his face as he closed the door behind him.
Author's note: Okay…this took far longer than it should to be posted. Honestly, I can't even remember what distracted me from working on this chapter aside from work. Hell, I had this chapter halfway done back in early August.
I wish I can say that I'll be on top of my writing from now on, but I can't make that promise. Hopefully, I'll be able to get the next chapter done before the end of year, especially since I've been waiting to writing what comes next, but once again I make no promises.