Class Dismissed
"Come on, come on, come on, we're gonna miss it!" Ruby whines as she pulls her team through the halls, other students giving them odd glances when they shoot past. She turns a corner and almost takes someone off their feet. "Sorry!" She calls but doesn't look back as she continues on toward combat class.
"The one time you're this eager to get to class and it's to see two of our friends settle a score with the school bullies. Typical." Weiss rolls her eyes, but Ruby doesn't see it as she is still focused on dragging them down the corridor. In reality, Weiss is just as eager as Ruby to see CRDL get put in their place; not that she'd ever let her leader know that. "And can you slow down, we're already twenty minutes early." She adds.
"Yeah, but we do want the best seats for the show." Yang tells her, keeping pace with Ruby. She hears Blake scoff and turns back to see her partner smile and shake her head; "What?" Yang responds with a big grin. "I want a good view when Cardin gets his ass kicked." She says mischievously, a gleam in her eye.
"And we have to be there before literally everyone else for that? I bet MGTA won't even be there when we get there." Blake responds with a cocked eyebrow, lightly jogging to keep pace with Ruby and her partner. "Besides, we still have to wait for them all to get ready."
They come to a stop before the classroom doors. "Trust me, you'll thank us when the fight's over." Yang says, still grinning as she pushes open the double doors, revealing the room to be totally empty. "Now, where to start…" She muses as Ruby zips off through the stands, stopping at various points and making a little movie screen shape with her fingers, looking for the best angle.
After a few minutes, they collectively deem that dead centre of the third row to be the best seats. It doesn't take long for other students to start filing in, the first of which are teams JNPR and CFVY, who take the fourth and second rows respectively. Gradually the other rows are filled, though it isn't just the usual crowd, a larger assortment of second years and even some third years taking up seats. The room is abuzz with speculation about who will win and what people know about each team.
Silence falls when Miss Goodwitch walks in. "Good morning. I see we have a larger group than usual today." She scans the rows with an unamused face, settling on CFVY. "Miss Adel, do you know why so many of your peers have decided to attend today's combat lesson?" She asks, setting her papers on her desk then turning back with arms crossed.
"They um, just wanted to see how much competition our group might face from the first years in the Vytal festival…" Coco responds, her confident resolve faltering slightly under Miss Goodwitch's questioning gaze. "And see if there might be anything we could learn; you always say we should take information and tactics from multiple sources." She adds, hoping to bolster her lie with flattery.
"Are you sure they aren't here to see the pre-arranged fight between team MGTA and team CRDL?" Miss Goodwitch asks bluntly, calmly readjusting her glasses as all the students freeze.
"Now Miss Goodwitch, I'm sure they are just here to, 'observe the competition,' as it were." Ozpin states, his sudden appearance in the corner of the room startling everyone. "While there is no reason why you shouldn't attend other lessons in your free time students, I must insist that you ask permission from the lecturer beforehand, that would prevent the unexpected presence of such a large group." He adds sternly but with a smile, sipping from a mug. MGTA and CRDL walk in. "Right on time." He says.
'That's a lot more people than expected.' Theodore thinks, stepping into the arena with Eliza by his side; he checks his pocket watch to make sure there hasn't been a schedule mix up. They are exactly on time, but his gaze lingers on the watch… It's been holding his interest more and more of late, not just because he can't find any record of the symbols on it or the craftsman that made it, it is something else that keeps tugging him back to the watch.
"We should've charged for admission." Eliza whistles, looking around at the huge crowd of students. She rolls her shoulder to get the fabric of her combat outfit to sit on it more comfortably, pulling the leather holster encircling her torso down slightly and hoisting her weapon just a little higher on her back.
"I think there's still time if you want to try and announce it." Theodore replies, clicking the watch shut and looking over at her; Surtur stood proudly on his other shoulder. Theodore is in one of his tailored suits, choosing the grey and purple he wore for initiation, his umbrella resting at the ready by his hip.
His eyes drift up and down Eliza's figure, settling on her weapon, a gilded yet sturdily rugged bow that rests between her shoulder blades. It is beautiful, the carbon fibre protected by painted white metal within a gilded frame on the front and specially hardened wood on the back. This combination breaks off at the grip, favouring wood with a minimal amount of metal plating and carbon fibre for the arrow rest and sight, the tips are a more stylised bare steel and the bowstring an unknown combination of materials dyed a deep gold.
"Hah, don't tempt me." Eliza replies heartily, sweeping her hair around to one side of her neck. "I'll get more than enough Lien from Yang when we win." She gives teams RWBY, JNPR and CFVY a two-finger salute when she spots them in the stands. They all wave back, Ruby giving an enthusiastic thumbs up as well.
"Wait, Yang bet against us?" Theodore asks, slightly bewildered by the possibility. Surtur chortles, small puffs of smoke jetting from his nostrils. Theodore doesn't look away from Eliza but gives the wyvern's head a playful push, which results in a nip at his ear.
"No, but she bet we couldn't beat CRDL without losing more than half of our auras." Eliza tells him, tearing her gaze from the stands for a second to give him a confident smirk. She gets a light chuckle and a shake of the head in return. She looks over to the other side of the arena, where their opponents have just emerged. "Well, speak of four sad little assholes and they shall appear…"
The combatants glare at each other for a few seconds before Miss Goodwitch draws everyone's attention. "Now that both teams are present, we can begin. This will be a standard tournament duel, the first team to have all members with their aura in the red loses, I expect you all to fight with honour and dignity." They all nod in response, readying themselves. She taps on her pad and aura monitors for each team appear above the arena. "Mr Goodwitch…" She directs her gaze to Theodore.
"Right," he mumbles. He looks at Surtur, still perched on his shoulder. "Sorry, but you can't help with this one." He flicks his head toward the stands. Surtur whines in protest, not wanting to miss out on the opportunity of attacking Cardin without consequence. "I know," Theodore says sympathetically, "but you have to go." With those words, Surtur begrudgingly flaps off, landing in front of Coco.
"Let the battle begin," Miss Goodwitch declares.
CRDL immediately charges towards Theodore and Eliza like two rows of bulls. Sky and Dove lag behind slightly, the former having his halberd thrust out in front of him the latter holding his sword firmly by his side. Russel runs ahead of them, twirling his revolvers into knives, with Cardin's lumbering figure half a pace ahead of him, a dark grin on his face and a tight grip on his mace.
"Ladies choice," Theodore says, "who'd you like to humiliate?" He and Eliza take a calm step to meet them. Theodore flicks the handle of his umbrella up slightly, ready to let the blade fly from its sheathe.
Eliza chuckles at his question, whipping out her bow and smoothly notching an arrow from her hip quiver. "I don't mind," she answers in a carefree tone, "as long as we leave Cardin for last." She draws back the arrow as CRDL gets closer. "Let's just see how things go." An excited grin tugs at her lips.
Cardin strikes first, swinging his mace down toward Theodore with a mighty roar. He hits nothing but the ground. Theodore steps around him, his blade flicking out from the sheathe toward Russel; he slices him across the chest, eliciting a gasp of pain.
Eliza rolls under Sky's wide swing, firing an arrow; it hits Cardin's mace, encasing the head in ice that binds it to the floor. She smirks in satisfaction as she comes up in front of Dove, swinging her bow into his jaw. A crack rings through the arena as the blow connects, Dove twisting back with the force. Eliza quickly leans back to avoid another swing from Sky's blade, shifting left then right to dodge the sharp point of his follow up thrusts. She cartwheels backwards, notches another arrow, pops up and lets it fly.
Theodore hears a small boom as he flicks away Russel's lightning-quick strikes, small sparks flying as their blades connect. He glances back briefly at the sound of ice shattering and immediately ducks; Cardin's mace splits the air his head just occupied. His umbrella shoots out in retaliation, smacking Cardin in the back of his knee.
But the brute doesn't seem to feel it, swinging his mace at Theodore's chest. Theodore blocks it with his umbrella but Russel whips around to his back, both his knives slicing at it. Theodore twists to block and parry but it allows Cardin to bring his mace down again. Theodore manages to open his umbrella and block it, but it nearly buckles him.
"What's wrong Goodwitch, bit off more than you can chew?" Cardin taunts, pushing down hard on Theodore's shield. His smile fades when the shield disappears, making him overbalance and stumble forward.
Theodore jumps back to his feet. "Hardly," he replies coldly. He lunges at Cardin with his sword, cutting his side while simultaneously smacking him on the back of the head with his umbrella; he clicks the blade back into place to take a few shots at Russel. The skinny boy deflects and dodges, firing back with his revolvers. Theodore deflects most of the bullets, one grazing Dove as he swings at Eliza, then he wows the audience by slicing right through one of them with his blade.
Eliza blocks Dove's upward swing, kicking his ankle as she manoeuvres around him. He stumbles and she quickly notches an arrow and shoots it at his stomach. He tries to knock it away but the instant his sword touches the arrow it sends a powerful electric shock through the metal and into his arm.
Eliza sees his aura plummet and smiles as the sword drops from his grasp and clatters to the floor. Sky blows past his injured teammate and lunges at her with his halberd, swinging in large slashes. Eliza ducks, twists, and dodges gracefully through the air, the blade missing her by inches.
His swings stop suddenly when Eliza catches the pole of the halberd. She tears it from his grasp and swings it like a bat, knocking him to the ground. "Mine's better," she says, tossing the halberd away and taking her bow out again. She twirls the handle in her hand, and it transforms into a large war spear, the silver metal of her bow tips forming the blade.
"You might wanna take notes." She tells Sky, readying herself as he retrieves his weapon and Dove steps up beside him. They both nod and leap in, hacking slashing and thrusting like demons. Eliza blocks their blows before changing her tactic to deliver a staggering counteroffensive, twirling her spear around her body in deadly arcs.
They try to defend themselves but are pushed back because she moves too fast for them to react effectively. Seeing that they're shaken, she drives her spear into them with strong precise blows, greatly depleting their auras. She takes out Dove's legs before arcing her weapon back up to deflect Sky's halberd, pushing him off balance.
"Smile for the camera," she taunts, switching to her bow, drawing back an arrow and slamming it into Sky's chest. A devastating torrent of wind is released that takes him off his feet. He crashes into Dove and they're both thrown to the other side of the arena, where they knock Cardin to the floor.
Theodore had been about to strike the bully and found his blade thrusting into thin air. Both Theodore and Russel pause briefly, shocked by the sight of the collision. Theodore whirls around and deploys his shield just in time to stop Russel's bullets and one of his knives.
'I would say I'm sorry for how much this is going to hurt," Theodore thinks, "but I'd be lying. Hope you learn your lesson.' He fires a round at Russel's head, depleting his aura enough to eliminate him from the fight. He checks the aura monitor; he and Eliza have roughly ¾ of theirs while Dove is almost in the red and Cardin isn't faring much better.
"Idiots!" Cardin roars, getting up and dragging Dove to his feet. "Get them!" He shoves Dove toward Theodore and Eliza. Dove's sword slides across the floor to his feet seconds later. He looks at it for a second then growls, raising his gaze to Theodore and Eliza, who stand confidently in front of him.
"Still want to preach your superiority?" Theodore asks calmly. Cardin snarls and charges. Theodore sighs, he and Eliza avoid Cardin's slow strikes, making a show of their skill, much to the crowd's amusement.
But Cardin makes a play, he continues to swing his mace and grunt like an animal until Eliza gets a little too close; he reaches out and grabs her hair, wrenching her back onto the ground. She kicks and throws punches at him, the crowd sucking their teeth, but Cardin is unmoved by their censure and is too sturdy for Eliza to topple.
Cardin flicks his eyes up to the aura monitor, smiling darkly when an idea enters his mind. He turns and locks eyes with Theodore for a few emotionless seconds before dropping Eliza and swinging his mace full force at her face, the fire dust crystal in its centre glowing dangerously. Eliza is unable to roll out of its path and the blow connects, releasing a large explosion and sending her sprawling across the ground.
"Bastard." Theodore spits, unsheathing his sword and swinging it at Cardin's head.
Cardin blocks the blow and leans in as they grapple. "No wonder there isn't a Mister Goodwitch up there with your mom," he whispers, "he probably took one look at you and left. Or maybe it was just the fact that your mom's a frigid bitch that drove him off." He grins as he sees real anger break Theodore's façade, taking advantage by kneeing him in the groin then kicking him away. He walks over to Theodore, mace raised as Theodore raises his hand.
Everyone looks shocked, assuming Cardin is about to get an easy victory, but as the mace arcs down, he stops. Cardin's whole body seizes up and a sharp pain shoots through his head. He staggers back and right into the tip of Eliza's spear. She angrily cracks him in the face, sending one of his teeth clattering to the floor.
The buzzer sounds. MGTA are victorious. Theodore walks over to Cardin, a dangerous glint in his eye. "You seem to have so much to say when you know there's no one in authority around to hear you, but now, you're awfully quiet." He glares at Cardin. "Why don't you speak your mind for everyone."
"Theodore…" Miss Goodwitch says cautiously.
"I… I…" Cardin looks up at Theodore, shaking his head before locking eyes with him. "I think you're a pretentious prick, striding around Beacon like you own it just because you grew up here and your mother's a teacher." The crowd goes silent at his words. "And that if your mom wanted eye candy around for you, she could have at least picked Xiao-Long." His eyes flick over to Yang, who scowls at him, her eyes turning red for a split second.
"Don't forget, this 'Eye Candy' just kicked your ass." Eliza mocks, standing next to Theodore, leaning on her spear. Theodore offers her his arm and she smiles, allowing him to help her toward the exit.
"Mister Winchester, you and your team will see me in my office as soon as the nurse releases you from the infirmary." Ozpin commands, his disappointed gaze boring into the four students.
Cardin shakes his head, unable to comprehend why he said that out loud. But his face hardens before he looks up at the crowd. "What?" He scoffs, deciding to own his words. He and his team are escorted out by medical staff, but Cardin stops to look at Jaune, a dark look that makes Jaune gulp.
But Jaune is dragged off by Nora and Ren before he can think too much about it; Pyrrha, RWBY and CFVY all follow them down to the small locker room to see MGTA. They find Theodore checking Eliza's face, gently turning it left and right while she gives him an exasperated stare.
"I'm fine Goodwitch, no need to mother hen me." She says, smiling at him. "Just a few scrapes." She flicks her eyes over to the arriving group in a silent plea for help. They only give her smirks or concerned smiles.
"You might have a concussion, and I wasn't aware you earned a doctor's degree from 'Tusk'." Theodore responds with a stern but compassionate gaze. Eliza scoffs quietly. His scroll vibrates in his pocket and he releases her to take out. He looks at the message and sighs.
"What is it?" Eliza asks.
"Something I'll deal with later, right now you need to be checked by medical staff." He puts the scroll away and turns back to see Yang handing a cluster of Lein to Eliza, even though she technically lost the bet. He smiles. The smile turns to exasperation when Velvet comes over and starts giving him a taste of his own mother hen medicine.
Hours later, Miss Goodwitch sits at a table outside a small café in Vale, looking across the street at a mother and father talking happily and cooing over a pram. She expels a small disheartened sigh and takes another sip of her wine, then goes back to watching them. The café is full of the sounds of cheer and good spirits, despite the late hour, glasses clinking, music playing, people laughing. She barely notices as her gaze still lingers on the couple, until a suit and tie comes between her and them.
"You only ask me here when I'm in trouble." Theodore states. He sits, leaning back in the small café chair and taking a small swig of the cider that's already on his side of the table. "It was just a fight," He adds, placing the cider down and facing his mother's icy glare.
"No, it was a grudge match." She frowns. "My class is meant to help students to improve, to hone their combative abilities. It is not a way for you to settle grievances with other students." Her frown deepens. "I understand why you dislike Mr Winchester, but there was no need to humiliate him the way you did." she adds breaking eye contact to again sip from her wine.
"I disagree," Theodore says, surprising her. He sits a little straighter. "He's a brute, one that has seemingly had no disciplinary action from you or Ozpin, until I forced your hand." His tone is a challenge. After a few seconds, his slight glower turns to a charming smile as he politely waves off an approaching waiter.
"You know we can't just act with impunity," his mother responds, "and contrary to your assumptions, he has been given multiple cautions for unacceptable behaviour, and his treatment of Miss Scarlatina when you brought it to our attention." His mother readjusts her glasses, maintaining her professionalism, "As you are being cautioned now."
"Why was he even allowed into Beacon?" Theodore ignores his mother's punitive tone, leaning in and placing an arm on their table. "And speaking of his views, why haven't they been expressly addressed? He sees Faunus as no more than animals for Oum's sake." There is clear contempt and disappointment in his voice as he recalls the incident that sparked their duel.
"His opinions are his opinions, and while they aren't the opinions that we would wish him to have, we can't punish him for them, which is why we try to educate people like him. You know that." Miss Goodwitch sighs, looking inside briefly at the sound of booming laughter. "In any case, this will not happen again." She gives him a meaningful look.
"Would you have preferred I did nothing and allowed tensions to grow until something worse happened?" Theodore asks, taking a larger drink from his cider, flicking his gaze away from his mother's. "Velvet had to beg Coco not to kill him in his sleep." He scoffs, shaking his head.
"Not everyone has a mind as disciplined, or as strong as yours," his mother says. Her expression softens and her eyes are full of concern when he turns away.
"Obviously." He says dryly, then turns back to look at his mother, holding his hand up to halt her response. "I know what you're going to say, I've heard the speech enough times…" A deep sigh escapes him as he too looks into the café, filled with happy families, couples on dates and groups of friends. "I understand your concern, but surely it's my choice how and when I..." He trails off into another sigh at his mother's unwavering glower.
"And if you choose to be immature, prideful, and reckless? What if Mr Winchester had suffered a serious injury?" She exclaims, lowering her voice when a few customers look over at them. She takes a deep breath and another sip of her wine. "You know you need to be careful, in so many ways-"
"I am." Theodore says wearily, pinching the bridge of his nose. "In my eyes, the guilty party has been appropriately punished. He's fine; physically, mentally and emotionally, and his reputation will hardly suffer because of his little outburst." he tells his mother calmly.
Miss Goodwitch sighs. "That is not the point… and speaking of outbursts, I think we should discuss the cause of yours." She readjusts her glasses and softens her look. Theodore doesn't respond, refusing to meet her eye, choosing instead to drink more cider. "I'm only trying to-"
"He brought family into it," Theodore interrupts. His mother doesn't have to guess what he means, it's written all over his face.
"Oh, Theodore…" Miss Goodwitch breathes. She reaches over and takes his hand, lightly squeezing it. Her heart clenches as he looks over at the same couple she had been watching earlier, still cooing over their child. She thinks about how much he resembles his father; how much she has wished over the years that they could all be together.
"I'll be less impulsive…" He trails off. "I think I should go back and check on Eliza," He says after what feels like an eternity, finishing the rest of his cider and standing up, his hand retreating from his mother's grasp. He wants to ask about his father, but doesn't, knowing he won't get a straight answer, or worse that his mother might lie to him.
"Theodore, wait…" But it's too late, Theodore is gone. She watches him stride down the pavement, maintaining a purposeful posture with his umbrella by his side. Her eyes water but she blinks the tears away. She takes out a small photo and stares at it, touching it longingly for a moment before ramming it back in her bag and scowling at herself. The wine glass in front of her shatters, her semblance acting out in response to her emotions, making a dark red stain that creeps towards the edges of the pretty floral-patterned tablecloth.
Hello again!
I hope you enjoyed the chapter, I tried to make the action punchy and easy flowing without being hard to follow. Though I suppose you're the ones who can all judge whether or not I succeeded? I also tried to avoid the chapter being solely about the fight because I think that without the added context and discussion of consequences it would have felt a little too jammed in.
That being said, I'm also optimistic that I'm properly setting up intrigue and interesting story beats for you to read. After all, what actually did happen to Cardin in that arena, hmmm?
Again, I hope you enjoyed and continue to do so going forward. All comments, reviews, and criticism are greatly appreciated. Have a nice day!