WaterDragonMaverick here! Time for the next chapter of "Sideline: Another Story". After Rua got into a fight with Cardin during Oobleck's class, Cardin wants revenge for that. We'll see if Rua can deal with Cardin or if the bully wins this one.

We'll also see some more of the laid-back and comedic sides of my characters. Think of this chapter as half RWBY and half RWBY Chibi with the more lighthearted stuff.

Get In Gear!

RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and was created by Monty Oum (R.I.P)

I only own my Original Characters in Team SLVR, Team FCSA, and Team SAFR.

It had been quiet for Azalea, Sunset, and their friends after Azalea talking about Mirabelle in Doctor Oobleck's class. Eventually, Rua's time in detention was served and she was spending time with the others in the library. "Stupid Cardin Winchester," Rua muttered to herself.

"Should you really hold a grudge like this," Lapis asked as she looked up from her book. "He didn't even insult you. He made Azalea cry."

"I just can't stand bullies like him," Rua said as she sat in a chair. "Reminds me too much of my childhood."

"Yeah, same here," Silver said as he looked up from his card game against Rebecca. "But, if I know people like Cardin, he won't give up easily when their pride took a hit."

"Or several to his stupid face," Rua commented in a deadpan tone.

Azalea turned from where she was writing another letter to her parents to face Rua. "Still, you should be careful. A few bullies from Sanctuary Academy always picked on me and they never stopped until I went to Beacon instead of Haven Academy," Azalea explained.

"Anyways, let's just go to classes and enjoy ourselves until that ruffian decides to retaliate," Celadon said as she filed her nails. "I, for one, want to enjoy our Saturday afternoon in peace."

Unknown to most of the group, Cardin's teammates were spying on the twelve while their leader was still in detention. "Okay, guys. We just need to keep an eye on them and report anything to Cardin," Russel Thrush said to his teammates. "We'll find out a few things about the others too."

"I'm telling you, Rua," Vixen said to her teammate in their dorm room the next day. "I can help you mess with Team CRDL if they want to get you back for what you did."

"As much fun as a prank war sounds, I don't think I want to do that," Rua replied. Picking up her Scroll, Rua chose to play a game on it with Silver as her opponent. "I'd rather deal with them myself," Rua explained.

"I don't think that would be a good idea either, Rua," Lapis said as she applied some moisturizer. "It'll just become a cycle of vengeance between you and them. I think you should probably go to Professor Goodwitch or somebody else."

"As if Team CRDL would listen to them," Silver said as he made his character perform an elaborate combo attack. "We should just let this play out until the right time. Besides, we're going into the city today with Team FCSA and Team SAFR."

"Yeah. Maybe some time away from the school will help you forget about Cardin," Lapis agreed.

Rua only rolled her eyes and sighed before speaking up again. "Okay. Let's do that," she said before shutting off her Scroll when she and Silver each won a round. Leaving their room, Team SLVR left for the city of Vale to meet with their friends. However, Team CRDL started following them a little bit after they reached the courtyard.

Meeting at Magnolia's, the three teams all got something to eat and began to discuss a few things. "What should we call ourselves," Layla asked as she sat down next to Cereza and Vixen.

"Beg pardon," Slate questioned as he adjusted his hat.

"I mean, what should we call the twelve of us as a single group," Layla elaborated. "Teams SAFR, FCSA, and SLVR are too much of a mouthful in conversation."

"Yeah. It's annoying that way," Rua said as she leaned back in her chair. "What would we be called?"

Layla put a finger to her chin and looked up in thought. "Hmm... I have no idea. Wait, I think I have something. What about 'Soaring Stars'?"

"Sounds like a bad reality TV show," Sunset said as she munched on a few cookie pieces.

"Oh! 'Wolf Pack' sounds awesome," Silver exclaimed as he stood up with his tail wagging behind him.

"I think that's taken by every other Wolf Faunus, Silver," Rua snarked at her team leader with a smile. Silver pouted as he slumped his head onto the table.

"I think 'Tricksters' could work," Vixen suggested as she brushed her tail against Lapis' face.

"Absolutely not," Lapis immediately shot down the name idea as she pushed Vixen's tail away from her.

"I believe that the name 'Geode Charm' would be marvelous," Celadon said as she spread her arms above her head.

Rebecca stared at her teammate and shook her head. "Hmm. 'Night Blades' could work," the ninja suggested to everyone's surprise.

"No. I say we call ourselves 'Umbra Brood'," Cereza suggested as she adjusted her glasses.

"Sounds like a cult," Slate and Rua both said to Cereza in the same deadpan voice.

While everyone was suggesting ideas, Azalea and Vinyl were silent during the whole thing. The latter was listening to her headphones and Azalea could hear some of the lyrics from the current song. "We are just fragments and pieces~ We are controlling the game~ Don't even know all our secrets~ When it's all over we all will pay~"

"How about 'Fragment Hunter'," Azalea suggested hesitantly. Thinking it over, everyone agreed that was a good name for the group.

"Huh... Sounds like the name of a band," Sunset mentioned to everyone.

"It kind of does," Rua and Silver said as they thought about the name of the group.

Vinyl jumped to her feet and declared to the others, "WE SHOULD START A BAND! It would be awesome, you guys!" This sudden excitement surprised everyone because Vinyl was normally laconic and taciturn. "Come on, dudes! I know the perfect place to go next," Vinyl announced as she literally dragged Azalea and Sunset outside by the arms.

As the others left with them, Team CRDL saw them leave Magnolia's from a café across the street. "Still nothing," Russel said as the four boys observed their targets. "Hey, wouldn't it be easier to have Jaune help us like with your homework, Cardin?"

"He's too busy with a few papers today," Cardin explained. "Come on, boys. We're following them."

After heading down a few blocks from Magnolia's, Vinyl brought everyone to a music store called 'Electric Rhapsody'. Apparently, Vinyl was well-known by the store's workers and the owner greeted the entire group when Vinyl entered the building. The group looked around the establishment for a while, but everyone still had the same question on their minds. "Are you serious about all of us starting a band, Vinyl," the eleven others asked with varied expressions.

"Not all of us," Vinyl said as she said as she looked over some guitars. "Just whoever can play an instrument or sing. Besides, this would be fun to do!"

Lapis spoke up first and announced, "Well, I can sing. Anyone else?"

"Right here," Layla and Celadon replied as they raised their hands.

"Me. I play guitar, too," Sunset said as she looked at a new guitar on display.

"Well, me and my mom sing back home. But, I don't feel comfortable at the front," Azalea said as she rubbed her arm.

Slate placed his hat on Azalea's head and said, "I play bass. Who else can play guitar and stuff?"

Rua and Silver said that they could learn how to play something, but Vinyl's attention was on a drum set in the back of the store. Vinyl pushed Azalea over to the kit and Celadon caught on. "Azalea, darling. Try playing the drums," the blonde girl explained.

Vinyl selected a song from her music library while Azalea tested the drums. Soon, she playing the drums in time to the song after a few beginner errors. As she played, Azalea smiled and was enjoying herself with the others. Soon, Rua and Silver took their turns at the drum kit and proved they had what it took to be drummers.

"You know, I thought that you two would have played the banjo and the fiddle," Rua playfully joked to Slate and Azalea.

"That's a stereotype and I find it annoying," Azalea said in response. "But, yeah. My mom and aunt taught me how to play them, too."

As the group was still talking and checking out instruments, Vinyl headed to the cashier and paid for several things with her debit card. "It's official! We're starting a band," Vinyl declared as she came back to the teams. "Let's go! We have other stuff to do while they deliver the stuff to our dorms."

"Hold up," Cereza interrupted. "How is it that you can pay for all the stuff if it's this expensive," she asked Vinyl as she pointed to a pricey quality keyboard that Celadon was looking over.

Vinyl pulled out her Scroll and brought up a video of herself performing as a DJ at a club. "My gigs pay a lot," she said as she put her headphones back on her ears. As she danced out of the front door, the new band followed and went to enjoy the rest of their day.

"This isn't getting us anywhere," Sky Lark said to the other members of Team CRDL as they followed the twelve for the next few minutes.

"Yeah. It's not," Cardin said as he kept spying on Teams SLVR, FCSA, and SAFR. "Okay. We'll go with a different plan. We'll try and get the information out of the others. I'm sure that one of them will give us something to use."

After spending a fun day together, the newly christened 'Fragment Hunter' group reached the dorms to see that they had several instruments waiting in their rooms. "Sweet! This is going to be fun," Silver said as he checked out the guitar Vinyl got for him.

"Well, you enjoy your new gear. I'm going to get some training in," Rua said as she stretched her back and cracked her knuckles. "I'll see you at dinner or when I run out of practice dummies. Probably the second." With that said, Rua teleported out of the room and left the others on their own.

"Somebody want to go check on her," Cereza asked as she put her book down. "I'm sure that she could use a training partner anyway."

Everyone looked at each other until all eyes were on the rest of Team SLVR. "Okay. We'll go check on her. Besides, we could use the training," Silver said as he placed the guitar down on its stand. "Come on, girls."

A few minutes after Silver, Lapis, and Vixen left, the others heard a loud banging on the door. Slate got up to see who it was, but Sunset grabbed his arm. "Wait a second. I feel something behind the door," she warned. Cautiously, Slate approached the door and was ready to see who it was.

Opening it, everyone saw that Team CRDL was in front of the door with arrogant smirks on their faces. "What do you want, Winchester," Slate asked as he kept his hand on the door.

"What? Can't a guy and his team get to know their classmates," Cardin said with a fake-looking smile as he walked into the room and stood near Azalea. With the bully next to her like he was, Azalea tensed up and hugged herself. Slate and the others saw this and immediately went to her protection.

"You're not welcome here," Slate said as he stood between Cardin and Azalea.

"And why not," Cardin asked as his teammates stood next to him.

Slate looked at all the girls before turning back to the bully. "You're a racist jerk who has no respect for Faunus students," Slate said as he stared Cardin in the eyes.

"You barely pay attention in class because you're a stubborn dunce," Rebecca added as she suddenly appeared next to Russel Thrush and startled him.

"You're a ruffian of a bully who's been picking on several students since your first week here," Celadon stated as she stood next to Slate.

"Your team is nothing but cowards if you haven't confronted Rua already," Cereza harshly said to the four intruding boys.

"You're a terrible person overall and nobody likes you," Layla said to Cardin as she and Vinyl placed a comforting hand on Azalea's back.

As Team CRDL took in the comments, Cardin looked like he was going to break his jaw with how hard he was clenching his teeth. "I think your dentist might not be happy with how you're reacting to this," Sunset remarked with a smirk on her face.

As Cardin growled in anger, Slate turned to the door and kept it open. After a few seconds of tension and silence, footsteps could be heard coming down the hall towards the group. "What's going on here," Professor Goodwitch asked as she and Professor Ozpin stopped to check inside the room.

"Team CRDL was harassing us again, Professor," Cereza explained as she stepped forward to speak with Glynda.

"All because Cardin is still holding a grudge against Rua. They already served detention for what they did, but he's not leaving us alone," Celadon elaborated.

"Perhaps there's another solution," Professor Ozpin explained. "I'm sure that an official sparring match will settle anything between Team CRDL and Rua Amaranth. Where is she?" Azalea stood up and hesitatingly explained that Rua was training and the rest of Team SLVR was with her. "That makes things a bit easier. I'm sure that it will be good training for the Vytal Festival as well."

Glynda tapped away at her Scroll to schedule a match for the two teams. "There. Team SLVR and Team CRDL now have a match planned for tomorrow," she said before turning to Team CRDL. "I suggest that you four get prepared for your match tomorrow afternoon."

"That's one way to kick off a Monday," Vinyl said with a snicker.

Team CRDL just glared at the other eight teenagers and left to get rested for the fight. Glynda walked off to keep an eye on the four boys while they returned to their dorm, but Professor Ozpin stayed behind to speak with the others. "I heard about why Miss Amaranth and Mister Winchester got detention from Doctor Oobleck," Ozpin stated as he turned to Azalea. "She did a noble thing by defending you like she did. Even if it was uncalled for."

"I just hope that Cardin will stop after getting a chance to actually fight Rua," Azalea said in concern.

"We'll have our answer tomorrow," Ozpin stated as he began to walk out the door. "You should all get some rest, too. There will be more than just Team CRDL and Team SLVR fighting," the professor advised as he closed the door behind him.

Monday was pretty slow for most of the students at Beacon, but word had spread around the campus that Team CRDL was going to fight Team SLVR that afternoon. With that news, everyone who knew of them was ready to see what would happen between the two teams. "Looks like this will be good," Nora Valkyrie said as she sat down next to Lie Ren and Vinyl Aurum in the stands. "Let's see Cardin get what's coming to him!"

"Couldn't agree with you more," Sunset replied as she sat down next to Azalea and Layla.

Soon, Glynda Goodwitch arrived to inform the class about who was fighting. "Students. I'm sure that you're all aware of the rumors about who's fighting today. Let me assure you that it is true that today's match is between Team CRDL and Team SLVR," she explained. "This battle will hopefully be an example of teaching teamwork and how the team matches in the Vytal Festival will go."

Team SLVR and Team CRDL arrived in the middle of the battlefield to stare each other down. Cardin smirked at Rua and she scowled back at him. "The match will go until I give the signal or when all of one side has their Aura taken down into the red," Glynda instructed the eight teenagers. "Understand?" The combatants acknowledged their teacher and readied their weapons for the fight. "Begin when you're ready," Professor Goodwitch said as she stepped away from the teams.

Starting the battle, Lapis twirled her trident to build up speed and unleashed a furious gust of wind to try forcing Team CRDL back. However, they were quick enough to either anchor themselves during the attack or hide behind one of their teammates. Going with a counterattack, Dove Bronzewing used his sword to fire bullets at Lapis while the rest of Team CRDL went to attack Team SLVR. Before the bullets could hit their target, Rua raised her shield and blocked every shot that came at Lapis.

After the ranged attack ended, Rua jumped in the air and her shield unfolded to reveal large blades emerging from it. Throwing the newly transformed shuriken at Dove, Rua forced him to dodge and Lapis began to battle against him while she retrieved her weapon. Bronzewing slashed away at Lapis, but she was able to deflect most of his strikes and eventually caught the blade between her trident's prongs. As they struggled to get the other to release their weapons, Dove punched at Lapis with his free hand and knocked her back. With his opponent dazed from the sudden hit, Dove moved in to continue his assault before he was struck with a fireball from Vixen.

"Gotta keep an eye on everything," Vixen taunted as she turned to an approaching Russel Thrush. He began his attack on her by leaping at her and spinning in the air with his daggers ready. Vixen nimbly dodged the 'buzzsaw' attempt and retaliated by releasing a wave of fire at Russel. Hit by the flames, Russel rolled back onto the ground and rushed at the Fox Faunus with his daggers. Both fighters used their weapons with skill and precision to block each strike they attempted on the other, but neither could land a clean hit. "This is pretty fun," Vixen said as she jumped backward to prepare her next plan of attack. "How about a game," she asked as a second Vixen appeared next to her.

Russel was surprised at how there was more than one Vixen, but he gripped at his daggers and prepared to attack the new one. With his first swing, the copy of Vixen vanished and Russel fell flat on his face because of the illusion tricking him. Getting back up, he saw and heard multiple copies of Vixen laughing at him while they were scattered around the battlefield. Sky and Cardin saw the swarm of Vixen Kosaku and began to attack all of them with their weapons. After a few seconds, the copies all disappeared and the real Vixen was on the far side of the arena with her fans burning brightly. Throwing fireballs at the three members of Team CRDL, Vixen was able to distract them from Silver and Rua's next attack.

Silver swung his customized chainsaw to try and hit Cardin, but Sky managed to block the attack with his halberd. The engine of Silver's chainsaw roared as he began to aggressively attack again at Sky while Rua teleported behind Cardin and kicked him in the back of his head. Recovering from the attack, Cardin swung his mace and tried to hit Rua as she blocked the attack. The impact from the swing forced Rua a few feet backward, but she was still standing after that and repositioned her shield. Holding it with both arms, Rua separated the weapon in two and the blades unfolded to twin arm blades. "Bring it," Rua shouted as she raised her arm blades toward Cardin.

Cardin sneered at Rua and charged at her with his mace raised above his head. Deflecting the strike, Rua followed up her attack by delivering a series of jabs and hooks to Cardin's face and chest. After that, she grabbed at the dazed warrior and kneed him in the stomach and groin. As he recoiled in pain from the attacks, Rua was ready to finish the bully when she heard Dove's sword fire more shots at her. Bringing her blades together, Rua quickly reformed her shield and defended herself from the bullets. However, Russel and Dove rushed toward Rua and kept her on the defensive by constantly striking at her shield and alternating who hit her.

Silver and Sky were ready to attack again when one of Dove's bullets flew past Silver's head and barely missed him. Distracted by the bullet, Silver was left open to Sky's next string of attacks and was forced back. With a change in his grip and a fluid swing of his wrist, Silver unfolded the guide bar of his chainsaw into a whip made from the newly extended chain. Swinging the whip, he was able to keep Sky at bay and eventually managed to wrap the chain around the halberd. Sky tried to disarm Silver of his weapon by pulling back, but the Wolf Faunus countered that by revving the engine of his weapon and making the chain vibrate. Startled by the chainsaw still being active as a whip, Sky was disarmed and was soon knocked out of the fight when Silver delivered a punch to his jaw.

Rua was struggling under the combo attacks from Russel and Dove, but still managed to stay in the fight. Russel was ready to attack again, but he got struck by a blast of water and was immediately frozen when he hit the ground. Looking up as much as he could, Lapis was seen spinning her trident before turning back to Dove. Cardin saw what was happening and Silver was attacking him in wolf form. Cardin growled as he slammed his mace on the ground and released explosions towards Team SLVR. The blasts from Cardin had separated Team SLVR from each other and he went to attack Lapis while Dove changed targets to Vixen. Lapis tried to block the oncoming attacks, but Cardin's strength had him easily overwhelming her and soon knocked her out of the battle.

Vixen tried to use her illusions of doppelgangers again, but Dove was able to cut them down or shoot at them in order for them fade away and reveal Vixen's location. Vixen sent out a blast of fire to try and deal more damage to Dove, but he was able to deflect them with his sword before striking down the Fox Faunus with a strong swing. "My turn," Silver shouted as he charged at Dove as a wolf. Quickly transforming back to normal, Silver managed to distract Dove and tackled him to the ground. As Dove got back up, Silver adjusted his footing and revealed that his boots had hidden knives in them. Kicking at Dove, he managed to knock the swordsman out of the fight when the latter's Aura dropped down enough.

Cardin saw that Rua and Silver were the only two members of Team SLVR remaining and prepared to fight the both of them. Silver pulled out his chainsaw again as Cardin began his assault against the Faunus. The two traded swings with their weapons and kept the other on his toes until they clashed and Silver's chainsaw was being blocked by the shaft of Cardin's mace. Pushing Silver back a little, Cardin followed up with a punch to the head and dazed the Wolf Faunus enough to start focusing on Rua when she began her attack.

Throwing punches at Cardin, Rua was able to start chipping away at his Aura until he started to counter. Swinging his mace, Cardin hit the ground after Rua dodged out of the way and he released a few explosive blasts before trying to hit Rua again. Thinking fast, Rua began to teleport around Cardin whenever he attempted to land a hit and she started to deliver quick blows as she appeared around the bully. After several strikes from different angles, Cardin was clenching his fist and started to grind his teeth before Silver managed to land a palm strike from below him. "You do have the two of us to deal with now," Silver stated as Rua teleported next to her leader and got ready to fight again.

Cardin only growled as he went to attack to attack Silver, but his swing was blocked by Rua's shield and Silver used his bladed boots to counterattack. With a few kicks, Silver was able to push Cardin back and Rua followed through with a strong bash from her shield. The force of the shield bash sent Cardin further back and he glared at his opponents before they continued fighting. As Cardin began to attack Rua with his mace and a few punches, Silver used his chainsaw's whip form to grab at the mace and revved the engine to vibrate the chain. Disarmed of his mace, Rua and Silver began to work together to continue attacking Cardin. After several coordinated punches and kicks, Rua teleported behind Cardin as Silver was about to throw another punch at the bully's face. Acting quickly, Rua threw her own punch at Cardin's jaw and the two fists made an impact to send Cardin sprawling to the floor.

Getting back up, Cardin growled and was ready to keep fighting before Professor Goodwitch stepped forward. "And with that, the match has concluded," she said as she brought up displays of the two teams and their Aura levels. "Can anybody tell me what you saw during the fight?"

"Aside from Cardin getting what was coming to him," Cereza remarked as she smirked at her joke.

"Vixen was too reliant on her Semblance during the fight and it wore her out faster," Weiss explained.

"Very good observation, Miss Schnee," Glynda commended. "It's true that Miss Kosaku used her Semblance to great effect, but her overuse of it to create clones of herself was taxing on her Aura. Which made it easier for her opponent to eliminate her from the fight," the professor lectured. "What else did you see? Ruby," Goodwitch asked as she looked at Ruby Rose.

"Well, I think that Rua was skilled with her shield and was quick enough to help her team," Ruby said.

"Indeed, Miss Rose," Glynda agreed. "Miss Amaranth was able to last the longest in the fight with her Aura levels and her defensive choice of weapon. Even when overwhelmed with the teamwork by Mister Bronzewing and Mister Thrush, she was able to stay in the fight and attack at the right opportunities."

Looking around, Glynda saw the damage dealt from the fight as Cardin's mace had broken apart several pieces of the ring. Raising her riding crop, she telekinetically moved the pieces back into their proper spots and it looked like the battle had not even taken place a few minutes ago. "I hope that this match has taught everyone something about how to improve themselves in combat and as a team," Glynda said as she turned back to the class.

"That felt great," Rua exclaimed as she and Team SLVR reunited with the rest of Fragment Hunter and even Team RWBY in the library. "Glad I got that out of my system."

"Let's just hope that Cardin will stop now that he got a chance to fight you," Blake Belladonna mentioned.

"Yeah. Let's hope," Lapis agreed.

While the group started talking, Azalea kept her eyes on Blake and scratched at her head. Layla saw this and spoke to the bovine Faunus. "What's going on, Azalea," Layla asked.

"Blake seems familiar to me. I just can't place it. But, I know that I heard her last name somewhere before," Azalea explained to her teammate.

Layla shrugged before she played with her hair. "I'm sure it's probably nothing."

Azalea looked back at Blake as she picked up a book to read in peace while the others did their own things. "Yeah... probably nothing," Azalea concluded. "But, I just feel like I know that name."

In the middle of the night at Vale's upper-class district, a large mansion had increased security because of a recent acquisition purchased by the owner. A sword that was once owned by a famous warrior during the Great War and the original wielder was rumored to have assisted in founding Vale's current government with the King of Vale. To celebrate his newly acquired display, the mansion's owner hosted a gathering of Vale's elite and show off the sword to associates and the media. But unknown to everyone, there was another who was interested in the sword.

On a rooftop overlooking the mansion, a young man observed his target and pulled out a pair of modified binoculars. Zooming in on the patrolling guards, possible entry points, and important guests, the young man grinned to himself as he spoke to somebody. "This is going to be really exciting. Right, Hermit," he said.

Over a communication device in his ear, a voice replied back. "Just be careful, Sombra. Security is tight because of the party and I know your style," 'Hermit' warned the male.

"Relax. This'll be a cinch. I sneak in, you do your thing, I grab the sword, then we get out fast. We've done this lots of times," 'Sombra' explained to his confidant. "Besides, it's going to be fun!"

"If you say so... Just don't get caught," 'Hermit' said.

"When have I ever been caught, Buddy," 'Sombra' remarked as he jumped down from the rooftop and made his way to the mansion. As he left his position, something was caught in the wind and was pinned to the door of the roof's exit. As the moonlight shined on the door, it was revealed to be a card with an emblem on it. The mark was a half-moon design with diamond-shaped marks to resemble a mask and a raccoon's tail curling to make the emblem resemble a question mark.

And with Rua and Team SLVR facing off against Cardin and Team CRDL, Fragment Hunter is now ready to continue with their time at Beacon.

But, who is this "Sombra" character and what is he planning? Will he become the Roman Torchwick to Fragment Hunter? You can find out next time on "Sideline: Another Story"!

Tune in for the next chapter and see who this newcomer really is. WaterDragonMaverick, signing out!