Hey, readers. WaterDragonMaverick here with the latest chapter of "Sideline: Another Story". Last time, we were introduced to a brand-new original Creature of Grimm called a "Pendra" that Huntsmen and Huntresses call "Night Crawlers", as well as one of Sunset Blaze's old teachers from Garrison Academy. I'll be sharing more OC Grimm ideas, but not in this chapter. Instead, we are going to meet up with Sunset's teacher who saved her from a Grimm attack and helped her change for the better. We'll also be learning a bit more about Sunset's Semblance and a few other things.
Embrace the light!
RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and was created by Monty Oum (R.I.P)
The only things in this story I own are my own Original Characters
After Professor Port's lesson on the centipede-like Grimm known as Pendra, the members of Fragment Hunter were exhausted from doing extra training to deal with Grimm bugs and returned to Team FCSA's dorm room. "If those Grimm fight anything like how Vixen made them move, I think that they'll be just as tough," Layla said as she jumped and landed on her bed. "At least we'll be prepared for them a little."
"I hear you," Silver agreed as he stretched his back. "I'm wondering if we'll be doing some training against the transfer students from Atlas, Mistral, or Vacuo for the next combat class?"
"Who knows," Azalea said before she yawned. "I just know that my dad is going to be going on a small mission tomorrow morning, so he's not going to teach Combat Class with Professor Goodwitch. Maybe they got a replacement?"
"Probably," Rebecca surmised as she adjusted her scarf. "We might have another Huntsman or Huntress who graduated from Beacon instructing us."
"Well, we can just wait and see," Sunset mentioned. "I should get some sleep because of today. Night everyone."
The next day, the three teams all prepared for Combat Class and reached the amphitheater where Professor Goodwitch was waiting with Nocturne and another woman. Upon seeing her, Sunset gasped and had a giant smile on her face when she saw who it was. The third woman stood at 6'3" with a slender and modest figure that had flawless and healthy alabaster skin. She adjusted her long flowing pink hair that reached her hips so that it would fall over one of her heliotrope eyes before she noticed Sunset Blaze and smiled back at her. "Hello there, Sunset," she greeted with a kind and motherly voice.
"Hi, Miss Celeste," Sunset greeted back as she and Fragment Hunter took their seats.
"That's your teacher? Aurora," Celadon asked in disbelief. Sunset only nodded in response before Celadon and the others looked back at the woman. "She's absolutely lovely! Look at her outfit! She could be a princess or a queen at first glance," Celadon commented. Fragment Hunter looked at the pink-haired woman to see that she wore a white dress with gold details, gold bracelets with light blue gems in the centers, gold-colored high heels with purple gems decorating the center of the shoe, and she wore a gold necklace that was shaped into an alicorn's head with its wings spread open to resemble a shining sun. At her hip, she had an ornate rapier that had a hilt which resembled a horse's head and made the weapon look very much like a unicorn.
"Yeah, I guess there are some perks to having a family history that dates back to being the advisors of past kings," Sunset offhandedly mentioned.
All of Fragment Hunter were surprised to hear that and they shouted, "WHAT!?"
"Ow," Sunset muttered as she rubbed her ears. After making sure she wasn't deaf, Sunset explained what she meant. "I said that the Celeste Family's history goes back to way before the Kingdoms were changed after the Great War. The Celeste House was a family of nobles that have been the most trusted and honest advisors to the Kings of Vale. When the Warrior King of Vale said that he was stepping down and changing the government of his country, the Celeste Family immediately sided with him. They even helped build the Huntsman Academies alongside the King and other leaders from the peace talks on Vytal at the end of the Great War."
"Wow... That's awesome," Slate said. "So, those two sisters are descended from noble blood?"
"Actually, I believe that I'm just like any other person," Aurora voiced as she stood in front of the members of Fragment Hunter. "However, you should be focusing on the class right now. Everyone's here."
After Aurora walked back toward Nocturne, Goodwitch started to explain the lesson for Combat Class. "Good morning, students. Today, we will be working on cooperation between team members," she stated. "In order to do this, I've asked Aurora and Nocturne Celeste to demonstrate their own abilities in 'Team Attacks'. They'll also assist you in coming up with your own combination attacks if you haven't already."
"Now, let's have one pair of students face off against us to let us demonstrate," Nocturne said with her weapon at the ready. Holding a partisan spear that had Dust crystals embedded in it, she spun it around before getting into a combat stance. "Does anyone wish to volunteer, or will you only continue to be warriors in your dreams?"
Hearing Nocturne taunt them as she and her older sister drew their weapons, the students all looked at each other and everyone had differing expressions on their faces. While some were nervous or indifferent, a few members of Fragment Hunter, as well as their other friends, looked determined to prove themselves. "I'll fight," Silver declared as he stood up.
"Excellent," Aurora said. "Anyone else who wants to fight?"
"I'm game," Vixen said as she pulled two of her iron fans out and unfolded them as she walked down to the battlefield with Silver as he grabbed his chainsaw.
"With the opponents chosen, it's time to begin the match," Glynda announced as she stepped off to the side. At the signal, Silver and Vixen readied their weapons as they stared down Aurora and Nocturne. Taking the first chance they could get, Nocturne blasted the two members of Team SLVR with a bolt of lightning from her partisan to separate them before Aurora immediately rushed Vixen with her rapier, Daybreak. Caught off guard by Aurora's speed, Vixen was left open to a number of slashes and thrusts from the Huntress' blade that were blocked with her Aura before she was kicked away. Seeing that she was outmatched for the time, Vixen decided to use her illusions to distract Aurora with clones of herself while she tried to get to Silver.
At the same time, Nocturne and Silver fought as their partisan and chainsaw clashed against each other. When Silver managed to jump back, he unfolded his weapon into its whip form and started to strike at Nocturne a few times before she caught the chain with her partisan's spearhead. Taking the chance, she used her Aura to activate the Lightning Dust crystals in the weapon to send a current of electricity along the chain and shock Silver. Forced to release his weapon before he got hurt, Silver jumped at Nocturne and used his Semblance to transform. However instead of becoming an actual wolf, Silver changed into a bipedal werewolf-like creature that had silver fur and sharp claws. Seeing the transformation, everyone was surprised and Nocturne laughed in delight. "It seems our young warrior has a few tricks in his arsenal! What fun," she stated as she twirled her spear around and prepared to clash once again.
"I'll say," Silver said as he used his new claws to slash away at Nocturne before grabbing her spear and kicking in the stomach to get her to release the weapon. After managing to disarm her, Silver threw Nocturne's partisan aside and transformed back when he grabbed his chainsaw again. "Now that you don't have a longer reach, I think that I'll have an easier time against you."
"It does seem that way," Nocturne mused before she pulled out twin knives and her hair started to move on its own while shimmering like a starry night. "If I didn't have my own tricks as well." As Silver was confused by Nocturne's hair acting like it did, everyone else saw that Silver's shadow began to move on its own before wrapping around his legs and tail. Surprised to see what happened, Silver was left open to Nocturne's next series of attacks that ended with her kicking him into Vixen.
Groaning as they stood back up, the two Faunus of Team SLVR saw Nocturne and Aurora approaching with their blades at the ready. "Okay. They have an advantage over us with their skills and experience, so let's use our own advantage," Silver said to Vixen. Nodding at what he meant, Vixen used her Semblance to create a dome of dark clouds that blocked out the light from the area. As the Celeste Sisters and the audience looked around, the only people to see anything in the pitch-black room were all Faunus. Using the new lack of light, Silver and Vixen began to strike at the two Huntresses in the darkness and were starting to win before they heard something.
"You two work well together," Aurora told the two students. "But I must say that you underestimated us quite often through this battle." Suddenly, Aurora's body began to shine brightly and everyone had to shield their eyes if they looked directly at her. With her mind distracted, Vixen's illusion of darkness faded and the room got much brighter. Holding out her free hand, Aurora's brilliant glow faded and a ball of light condensed near her palm. As everyone focused on the object, the pink-haired Huntress pointed the ball of light at the members of Team SLVR. "And I must remind you that we work well together as well," Aurora said as she looked at her sister. As Nocturne's hair began acting up again, Silver and Vixen's shadows began to move and bind them completely. As the Faunus struggled to free themselves, they only looked on with wide eyes as the ball of light shot forward and blasted them back to knock them out of the match.
After everyone saw Vixen and Silver struggling to get back up, Nocturne's hair and the lighting in the room changed back to normal. Stepping forward, Glynda caught everyone's attention and spoke up. "As you can see, both teams did an excellent job in working in tandem. However, Aurora and Nocturne Celeste had the advantage with their Semblances complimenting each other," Glynda explained. "By combining both of their abilities together rather than relying on one fighter's only, they were able to secure victory much easier."
"One way to work on your own 'Team Attacks' is to figure out how each of you would be able to cooperate. Such as using a Semblance that works with Dust and an ally's weapon together to create attacks that have a much more devastating effect than using one alone," Aurora lectured. "If any of you would like to have some assistance in figuring these details out, my sister and I would be glad to help this afternoon," she said while looking at Sunset's direction. Catching onto what she meant, Sunset and Fragment Hunter decided to stick around and talk with the Celeste Sisters when they got the chance.
Later, Aurora and Sunset were walking through town on their way back to Beacon with a bag from the bakery. "It's so good to see you after so much time apart, Sunset," Aurora said to her student.
"I feel the same way," Sunset agreed as she adjusted the way she held onto the bag she carried. "So, how's everything been at Garrison Academy?"
"The same as usual, but nobody quite like you has attended classes yet," Aurora mentioned. "An old friend of mine has told me about his daughter's adventures with you and your little group. Care to explain to me how you and 'Fragment Hunter' came to be," she asked with a smile on her face.
Sunset began to explain what happened involving everything she, Azalea, and Fragment Hunter have been through since the initiation test. She kept getting excited when talking about her Semblance ever since first discovering it thanks to Azalea, dealing with Smoke Shadow and his gang of thieves, as well as Fragment Hunter's first encounter with Team JADE. "And recently, I can look through people's memories. Which is why I know that Azalea's scared to death of Rapier Wasps," Sunset stated as they reached the dorm rooms.
"Hmm... Your Semblance doesn't seem to only be limited to people's minds in my opinion," Aurora mused. "I believe that you can connect with people through their Aura and soul as well as their minds and emotions. If you continue to train your Semblance beyond communication, I'm sure that you can find more abilities at your disposal."
"Wow... You really think so," Sunset asked as she thought about the potential abilities of her Semblance.
"I know so. Just don't use it too much. I'm sure that with this kind of ability, it can become overwhelming and backfire on you if you're not careful," Aurora warned. As she opened the room where she and Nocturne were staying, she remembered something important. "Oh, I also have a surprise for you, Sunset," Aurora said as she took the bag from Sunset, placed it on a table, and walked toward a corner of the room. Sunset tried to look at what her teacher was getting, but her view was obscured. "Here we are," Aurora said to herself before hiding something in her hands. "I thought that you deserved to see something that you left back in my care at Garrison."
Opening up her hands slowly, Aurora revealed that she was holding a black-spotted yellow lizard that Sunset gasped as she immediately recognized when it looked up at her with teal eyes just like her own. "Hey there, Phoenix! I missed you, buddy," she said as she held out her hand for the reptile to crawl onto her jacket's sleeve. "Thanks, Aurora! I've got to show the gang. I'll see you later," Sunset said to her teacher as she left in a hurry to show her pet to her friends.
"Don't forget what I told you about your Semblance," Aurora called out before Sunset disappeared. "Also, try speaking to Nocturne about it as well."
"Why's that," Sunset asked as she paused for a moment to listen to her mentor.
"It would be easier to understand coming from her," Aurora said and let Sunset go on her way.
As Sunset was glad to see her pet and bring him to her dorm room, she saw Jet Pitch, Aoi Lobelia, and Envy Sinn manage to unlock the door to Team FCSA's room and throw something in there before laughing to themselves and bolting. Just before she could yell at the three bullies, she heard Azalea scream loudly and continuously shout 'Kill it'. Opening the door to see what was going on, Sunset saw Cereza, Layla, and Slate draw their firearms while Azalea hid behind all three of them. Sunset looked in the direction they were facing and saw that Team JADE had released an angry Rapier Wasp into Azalea's room to torment her. "Great," Sunset muttered before she saw her pet crawling off her jacket and began to climb the wall that the Rapier Wasp was flying near. Seeing the bug flying toward Team FSCA, the lizard shot its tongue out and caught the bug before it got near the teenagers. Seeing the reptile catch the Rapier Wasp and pull it in to eat the insect, Azalea stopped screaming and cautiously move to Layla's side as the lizard swallowed its prey. "Good gecko," Sunset said as she smiled and held out her hand for her pet to climb onto it.
"What was with the screaming," Rebecca asked as Team SLVR and the rest of Team SAFR came into the room in a rush. "And what's with the lizard?"
"That's a Whip Tongue Leopard Gecko," Lapis stated as she observed the creature in Sunset's hand. "It looks similar to the common breed of Leopard Gecko found in areas like Vacuo, but it has traits similar to other lizards such as pads that let it climb any smooth surface and a tongue that extends to catch prey such as spiders or Rapier Wasps. The latter insects are a main part of their diet as well and because of their strong immune systems, they are very resistant to being poisoned or getting sick."
"Aww, thanks, little guy," Azalea said as she began to gently pet the lizard in Sunset's hand. The reptile seemed to enjoy Azalea's gentle touch and soon crawled on her hand to reach her shoulder and apparently nuzzle her like a cat. "I think he likes me," Azalea said with a smile as she rubbed the lizard's back. "Where did he come from?"
"Oh, Phoenix is my pet back from Garrison Academy," Sunset answered. "He was a gift from Aurora to help try and break me out of the shell I made by not making any friends. I named him that because after I nearly got killed by Grimm, I wanted to rise up from the metaphorical ashes I was buried in and become a new person. She brought him over and I picked him up a few minutes ago."
"That's so sweet," Celadon said as she watched Phoenix move from person to person and get to know to members of Fragment Hunter before reaching Sunset's shoulder again. "So, did have a nice talk with Miss Celeste," she asked her team leader.
"Yeah. She thinks that I don't just connect with people through their minds, but also their Auras as well," Sunset explained. "If that's the case, I bet that I can use my Semblance in combat situations when needed. I just need to practice using my Semblance as much as I can without overworking myself."
"Well, we should probably go and test it out while dealing with Team JADE again," Slate said with anger still in his eyes and voice from earlier.
"Test Semblance and practice team attacks, yes. Revenge on Team JADE, no," Sunset stated as she looked at Slate. "We don't want you to get beat up again... As much as you like the idea of Azalea playing nurse," she mentioned in order to get Slate to calm down. Everyone snickered as they saw Azalea and Slate blushing at what Sunset said.
"Let's just start getting some more training in and see how we can test your abilities," Lapis said to try and change the subject after she finished laughing.
The members of Fragment Hunter all went out to Beacon Academy's courtyard and saw several students enjoying their afternoon off. As they passed by some groups, they overheard some information about the Beacon Dance that was going to be held next weekend and that Team CFVY was in charge of setting it up. However, the second-year team was sent on an away mission and had to wait until they got back to finish preparing the event. "Oh, we absolutely must get outfits for the dance," Celadon stated. "It's a formal event, so everyone is going to need to look their best."
"As long as I'm not wearing one of those monkey suits... No offense to Sun," Slate voiced. "Vacuo's not exactly a shirt and tie kind of place. He'd agree with me."
"At least we know Azalea has something to wear next weekend. And I'm sure that Slate will be happy to see her in it again," Sunset teased.
"I think everyone will be surprised to see her wear that nice little dress," Cereza said as she and the rest of Fragment Hunter reached the amphitheater again. With the place empty as they arrived, the group was able to get more practice in. "Now then, what should we do first," Cereza asked.
"I think that we should focus on Team Attacks to start," Silver suggested. "Let's figure out what each of our teams can do with each other in combat and figure out specifics from there."
"Good call. You and Team SLVR already have a few tactics when working together anyway," Sunset reminded. "Maybe we could figure out codenames for the attacks?"
"I vote 'Punk Rock' for the Fastball Special," Rua called out as she raised her shield up.
"That might be easy to remember," Layla said. "Somebody should write these down."
"Already on it, darlings," Celadon told the rest of her friends as she began to write down a list for remembering the Team Attack names in a notebook. "Rua... Punk Rock... Oh, how about 'Fantasia' for that combination Vinyl and I used against that King Taijitu," she stated as she turned to her teammates. Vinyl smiled and gave a thumbs-up to the idea. "Marvelous," Celadon said as she wrote the name down.
"How about we figure out which of us can do what together before coming up with more names," Lapis suggested.
"Fine. But I think that you and Vixen's burning whirlwind thing that you used on Terracotta or any other team attack should be called 'Fata Morgana'," Celadon said as she wrote down the third name.
"Now then, let's have Team FCSA do some practice with each other," Sunset stated as she stepped aside for the team to take their positions for battle. "How about starting with Slate and Cereza going against Azalea and Layla?"
"Sounds good to me," Cereza agreed as she and Slate drew their guns and took aim at their sparring partners. Layla and Azalea prepared their weapons for battle as their teammates started to open fire on them. Dodging or deflecting the shots, Layla and Azalea soon approached their opponents with Azalea facing off against Cereza while Layla and Slate fought each other at close range. Cereza and Azalea were equal in combat skill as their punches clashed with each other, but Azalea's superior strength kept pushing Cereza back with each strike she countered. "I think that we should focus on our teamwork, Slate!"
Slate was dodging Layla's scimitar and Dust attacks with his natural agility and countering with the kickboxing style he learned from Terracotta's lessons. Punching Layla in the face, Slate soon continued with a few kicks to her stomach before using the recoil of one of his guns to send himself spinning and delivered an elbow strike to Layla's chest to knock her away. "Alright then," Slate said as he and Cereza stood back to back with their guns drawn. As Azalea and Layla sent fireballs flying toward the two, Cereza used her Time Mirage Semblance as she and Slate dodged. Using the distortion of time to their advantage, the two gunslingers opened fire as they constantly moved around their opponents. When the Time Mirage ended, Azalea and Layla were bombarded with bullets and hit at every possible angle. "Hahaha! That was awesome, Cereza," Slate called out. "What should we call that move?"
"I feel like 'Pistol Dance' is appropriate," Cereza said as she turned toward Celadon. As the blonde of Team SAFR wrote the name down, Azalea and Layla prepared to attack before Cereza stopped the battle to say something. "Let's switch partners around now," she stated. Agreeing with the idea, Slate and Layla teamed up against Azalea and Cereza. "Let's get back to it," Cereza announced as she and Azalea charged forward.
After an eventful afternoon of training, Fragment Hunter all came up with new Team Attacks with their own teams and each other. "Man, I'm exhausted," Layla said as she stretched. "Then again, I did get punched, shot, kicked, shot, slashed, and shot multiple times."
"You said 'shot' three times," Rua remarked.
"A few of us have guns and Semblances that can actually substitute for a firearm," Silver reminded. "So, what do we do now?"
"I still want to test out my Semblance," Sunset mentioned as the group of twelve reached the mess hall for dinner. "Who knows what I can do with my abilities if I train them?"
"Like what," Nora Valkyrie asked as Team JNPR and Team RWBY all sat down with the already large group.
"I don't know, but that's why I want to try," Sunset said. "Any of you guys mind if I check out what's going on in your heads," she asked as she looked at the seven students that joined her before noticing something. "Where's Blake?"
"...She's busy with something," Ruby answered as she rubbed the back of her head. "But, go ahead and search away."
"I'm game," Yang said as she started munching on some grapes.
"Oh, me first," Nora practically shouted as she grabbed Sunset's hand on placed it on her forehead. As soon as she did, Sunset activated her Semblance and entered Nora's mind to see what was happening in the bubbly girl's thoughts. Looking around, Sunset saw some sort of happy-looking landscape that was possibly ripped straight out of a cartoon aimed at little girls. Soon, she saw Nora merrily skipped while carrying her weapon and killing several Grimm that just showed up before pancakes began to rain down from the sky. Eventually, Sunset soon saw Lie Ren approach Nora and the latter seemed to get weak knees before falling to the ground. Sunset could swear that she saw hearts surrounding Nora and Ren as the latter helped his childhood friend to her feet.
After seeing enough, Sunset soon exited Nora's head and had one thing to say as she looked on with a thousand-yard stare. "That explains so much..."
"Was it raining pancakes in my head," Nora asked.
"Yeah. And apparently there something with Ren tha-" Sunset explained before Nora shoved a loaf of bread into Sunset's mouth. Looking at Ren's direction, the two girls saw that he was focusing on his meal rather than overhearing what Sunset said. "Okay. I'll just call that your 'happy place'. I get the feeling that most of the time, you're in there a lot," Sunset told Nora.
"Yeah. I'm not in there all the time, though," Nora admitted. "So, anyone else's head you want to see into?"
Sunset thought about who to try using her Semblance on next before she decided to check out one of Fragment Hunter's inner thoughts. "Hey, Rua? You mind me taking a look at your head," Sunset asked.
"Knock yourself out," Rua said before Sunset placed her hand on Rua's arm and activated her Semblance. When she did, Sunset saw that she was in a village in Sanus and was standing in front of an orphanage. Looking at the building, she soon heard someone crying and another person screaming in anger. Turning toward the commotion, Sunset noticed that a little boy about 9 years old was crying his eyes out before seeing what looked like an 11-year-old brunette-haired girl that was beating up a larger boy. "You say you're sorry, NOW," the girl said in Rua's voice.
Sunset immediately figured out that this was Rua herself before she saw one of the caretakers of the orphanage stop the fight and try to talk to Rua about her violent behavior. The scene soon changed to a school where Rua slammed another bully into a wall for shoving a girl to the floor. "I guess that some things are just wired into your very being," Sunset mused to herself as she saw a teacher berate Rua and the bully. "I wonder why Rua even became interested in being a Huntress like she did if she just keeps getting in fights?"
Sunset's question to herself was soon answered when the scenery changed back to the orphanage and a few Grimm managed to show up. Most of the kids were running inside for safety, but Rua stayed behind to save a little girl who ran back out for her toy. Seeing the girl in trouble, the young Rua's body soon flashed a bright purplish-red and she teleported in front of the Beowolf with a trashcan lid to act as a shield. After the Grimm slashed the item to pieces, Rua grabbed a nearby pipe and goaded the Beowolf to fight her while the girl ran to the orphanage. Sunset saw that even though Rua was taking a few scratches, she kept beating away at the Grimm with the pipe until it became too bent to use. Seeing the damage that she already dealt, Rua used her hand-to-hand skills to further injure the Grimm before grabbing a large rock and teleporting above the monster to let gravity do the rest of the work.
As the rock crushed the Grimm's head in, Rua panted heavily as a few Huntsman students from Beacon Academy and their instructor approached the girl. They managed to see the fight and were impressed with how Rua handled herself. With the adults talking about it, Rua was soon shown to leave the orphanage and began to attend a combat school. Seeing enough, Sunset exited Rua's memories and looked at the girl. "I've got to say, that was pretty awesome of you back when you were 11," Sunset said before explaining Rua's memory to everyone.
"Man... Too bad you didn't attend Sanctuary Academy with me," Azalea muttered.
"Alright. Who's next," Slate asked to change the topic after he placed his hat on Azalea's head.
"How about you, Slate? How did you handle getting here from Vacuo," Sunset said as she reached to grab his shoulder and activated her Semblance again. Journeying into the gunslinger's mind, Sunset soon saw an airship that was under attack by some flying Grimm. She saw Slate and a few other young Huntsmen and Huntresses in training fighting the monsters off. As Slate managed to nail a Nevermore in the eyes with one of his shots, the demonic raven crashed into him and sent him falling off the ship. "Oh no! How did he even get through this," Sunset asked herself before seeing Slate hit the water below the ship. Thinking that he used his Semblance to at least survive the fall, Sunset waited for Slate to get out of the water only to see that it was taking too long. After a few more seconds, Sunset soon saw Slate shooting out of the water suddenly and fire an Ice Dust bullet at the water to give himself a solid platform to land on. Slate soon coughed up water from his lungs before the airship began to slowly lower itself and dropped a rope for the gunslinger to climb up. Seeing enough, Sunset left Slate's mind and turned to face him. "You can't swim?!"
"You try finding a community pool in Vacuo and ask for swimming lessons," Slate countered. "Kind of hard to do when you live in the middle of a ravaged desert wasteland."
The rest of Fragment Hunter had to agree about Slate's point before they soon saw Professor Ozpin walk by. "Hey, I wonder what's going on in Ozpin's head," Sunset pondered out loud before approaching the headmaster. "Professor Ozpin! I need to ask you something," Sunset called out to get the teacher's attention before grabbing his wrist. As soon as she did, swarms of images flooded Sunset's mind and she clutched her skull. "AAAAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!" Sunset cried out in pain as she collapsed to her knees and held her head in agony.
"Sunset," Azalea, Vinyl, and the rest of Fragment Hunter called out with Team RWBY and Team JNPR all surrounding the girl.
In the infirmary at Beacon Academy, Sunset rested on a bed with Fragment Hunter and Professor Ozpin by her side before she began to sit up. "Where am I? Ah! My head! It feels like a steamroller crushed it," she said as she held her head in pain.
"Sunset! You're alright," Azalea exclaimed as she hugged the girl tightly. "You were out cold for an hour!"
"Um... Azalea? You might want to let her go now. Even if she might enjoy it a little," Rua said as she pointed to the fact that Sunset's face was currently buried in Azalea's sweater. Azalea blushed and chuckled weakly in embarrassment as she released Sunset.
"Do you remember anything before you passed out," Silver asked.
"I... remember that Slate... he can't swim," Sunset said as she tried to remember what happened earlier. "After that... I tried to use my Semblance on Professor Ozpin... then I just saw these blurry things. Only a few of them were actually clear," she explained. "I think one of them was 'The Four Maidens'?"
"That's my family's favorite fairy tale," Azalea remarked.
"One of my favorites as well," Professor Ozpin admitted. "For now, I just think that Miss Blaze has overworked her Semblance for the time being. With all that training you did today before testing the limits of your mental abilities, it appears that you've hit a bump in the road," the headmaster surmised. "I believe that the best choice to make right now is to take a break and recover from this migraine you suffered. Your powers aren't going anywhere, but you can't expect to discover everything about them immediately."
"Yeah... Maybe a few video games or band practice would be best for now," Sunset agreed. "Come on, guys. Let's get back to the dorms."
"Bye, Professor Ozpin," Lapis said as Fragment Hunter all left the infirmary.
When they did, Ozpin sighed and took a long sip from his coffee mug. "They have so much to learn," he said to himself. "I just hope that they can enjoy the time they currently have."
Outside of Vale's borders, Terracotta Gaia was waiting for his client to arrive at a designated rendezvous point and was whittling away at a block of wood to pass the time. Rather than carving a bull skull this time, Terra was making a butterfly carving in hopes of giving it to Azalea as a gift. Seeing that it was nearly time to meet up with the client for his bodyguarding assignment, Terra put his stuff away and watched as a car approached him. As the vehicle came to a stop, a man in a dark suit and sunglasses stepped out and looked at Terracotta. "Are you the Huntsman that we asked for," the man asked.
"That would be me," Terra replied as he showed the man his Huntsman License. "Are you my client for my escort mission?"
"No. That would be my charge, Miss Coloratura," the suited man said as he gestured to a blonde teenage girl in the back seat rolling down the window of the car. She saw Terracotta and waved to him before waiting for the man to finish speaking with Terra. "She's expected to arrive in Vale in order to prepare for a concert taking place about a week or two before the Vytal Festival. I trust that you can help protect her when she wishes?"
"Absolutely," Terracotta answered. "You can count on me to do my job as a Huntsman. Just know that I have to return to Beacon Academy to help train some of the students participating in the tournament as well."
The man in the suit seemed offended and spoke to Terracotta. "Sir, I believe that you should focus on treating Miss Coloratura as your number one priority while you're partaking in this j-"
"Oh, let him go help them out," the girl in the car said. "Besides, Terra here has known me since I was a baby. I know he can be trusted because he has a daughter of his own that he would protect with his life."
The man looked hesitant, but he took a breath and turned back to the teenager. "If that's what you want, Miss Coloratura," he said before opening the back door of the vehicle for Terracotta. When the Bull Faunus sat down and closed the door, the man in the suit entered the car again and started it. "We'll make it to the hotel in another hour," the man told the passengers in the backseat.
"Good. I can actually relax for a change and meet up with an old friend," the girl commented. "Maybe a meet and greet with some fans, too."
"That will all depend on what happens when we reach Vale," Terracotta mentioned with a smirk. "So how has life been treating you since you left for Atlas," he asked the blonde. She only laughed to herself before explaining a few things to Terracotta.
Done! And with this chapter, I've introduced Aurora Celeste and started to have Fragment Hunter work on Team Attacks. Not only that, but Sunset's Semblance has been getting stronger, we meet the first pet of Fragment Hunter, and a few events with Fragment Hunter have been revealed.
I wanted the last scene with Ozpin to be important to show both the limits of Sunset's powers as well as make a hint to his true nature as shown in Volume 5. Sunset herself is fine, but she's going to be a little more careful around Ozpin with her Semblance just in case.
As for Phoenix the Whip Tongue Leopard Gecko, I thought that with Rapier Wasps being a thing in RWBY, why not have other unique animals being a thing in Remnant? Leopard geckos are normally cool-looking, so why not make them a little more like other lizards as well? I hope that you like the little lizard addition to the team.
Up next for the story, we'll be seeing Terracotta return after his mission and bringing someone else along with him to Beacon Academy. It's not going to be 'Coloratura', but it IS a female that had a cameo already. So, be prepared to meet up with her next time. And 'Coloratura' is also important as well, so you'll know more about her in the future. Just know that she'll befriend Fragment Hunter.
Until next time, WaterDragonMaverick out!