Hello, readers! WaterDragonMaverick with the next chapter of "Sideline: Another Story". Last time, Fragment Hunter helped out Bianca Coloratura with her concert before the Vytal Festival, but also had to deal with Smoke Shadow and Kun Agate, AKA Sombra and Tremor. Luckily nobody was hurt, but the thieves escaped. Fragment Hunter doesn't know what they were planning, but that's not important at the moment. Right now, the group was invited to an afterparty for the concert at Bianca's hotel. Most of Fragment Hunter is going to head over there while the others get some more rest for their last few days of training. Who will the group meet at that party? Find out now.
You're the life of the party!
RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and was created by Monty Oum (R.I.P)
The only characters I own are of my own creation.
After returning to Beacon Academy to put away their instruments and equipment, the members of Fragment Hunter split up to get ready for the afterparty of Bianca's concert. Silver and Slate went to find their tuxedoes while Sunset, Celadon, Lapis, and Rebecca went to go get their dresses from the Beacon Dance. Azalea was about to do the same when her mother approached her. "Azalea, I found something that you might like," Ivy said as she had the younger Faunus come into the spare dorm room she was using. "I was looking through the clothes I brought and I found a dress that would look great on you," Ivy told her daughter as she pulled out a dark green dress.
"Wow... Mom, I didn't know you packed this," Azalea said as she looked at the article of clothing.
"It was one of my favorites when I was younger. I wore this whenever I went to one of Mason's events back when he and Malus first started dating," Ivy reminisced. "I think it'll be a great choice for Bianca's afterparty."
"You know about that," Azalea asked in mild surprise.
"Your father told me about it and I'll be coming with you all," Ivy said as she found the red outfit she wore during the photo shoot earlier in the week. "Why don't you try on the dress? I'm sure you'll look lovely, Sugarcube." Azalea thought it over as her mother got changed and decided that she needed to wear more than just the little black dress she had. Changing out of her regular clothes, Azalea put on the dress and showed it off to her mother. "Hmm... I think we need a few other things. And I'm sure that I have them with me," Ivy told Azalea as she looked at the latter's appearance. "Tell your friends that you'll be another few minutes."
"Got it, Mom," Azalea said as she grabbed her Scroll and typed a message to Fragment Hunter. "Hey, gang. Mom's got a new dress for me to wear, so I'll be out in a few," she muttered to herself as she texted the others in a group chat.
Sunset, Rebecca, Celadon, Lapis, Silver, and Slate were all changed and waiting with Terracotta and Ventus as they got Azalea's message. "Should we wait for Azalea and Ivy? Or do we head off now," Silver asked.
"I say that we wait for them," Celadon suggested. "A lady can take her time when it comes to how she looks for an event such as the party we're going to."
"Ivy certainly knows that," Ventus remarked as he remembered the times he first met his sister-in-law.
"Like the first time I introduced her to you and you couldn't say a single coherent thing to her," Terracotta teased as he looked at his younger adopted brother.
"HEY! You know I've always had trouble talking to pretty girls," Ventus argued as he got in his brother's face.
"Yet, you still manage to get dates with them. I say it's the hair. The windswept look probably makes you look better to them," Terracotta stated and got a laugh out of the Falcon Faunus. Looking down the hall, Terracotta saw Ivy and Azalea walking toward the group. "You two look lovely," Terra said to his wife and daughter.
Turning to face the newly arrived duo, the teens of Fragment Hunter were amazed at what Azalea was wearing for the party. The younger Cow Faunus wore an emerald-colored halterneck dress with a slit up the left leg and an illusion window that showed off some of her cleavage. She also wore a pair of green heels and some emerald earrings to go with it. The girls were amazed at how Azalea looked while Silver turned to a speechless Slate. "Looks like your girlfriend's pulling that outfit off," the Wolf Faunus stated with a sly grin as he nudged Slate with his elbow. "That sounded less awkward in my head," Silver mentioned as he thought about his phrasing.
Hearing what Silver said, Slate and Azalea both blushed a bright red. "She's/He's not my girlfriend/boyfriend," the two exclaimed in sync as they frantically shook their heads in denial.
"Aww. You two are doing that cute thing where you talk at the same time when you try to clear something up," Lapis said as she and the other girls looked at Slate and Azalea. Embarrassed by how their friends were teasing them, Slate covered his face with his hat while Azalea used her Semblance to turn invisible.
"Don't worry. You get used to it," Terracotta told the blushing teenagers as he remembered when Aurora Celeste and his other teammates teased him about when he and Ivy first met each other. "Should we get going now," the Huntsman asked as he turned to the rest of Fragment Hunter. With the others nodding in agreement, Sunset used her Semblance to copy Rua's Semblance and teleport the group to the hotel.
When the group of ten arrived at the hotel lobby in a flash of light, Sunset held her head and stumbled around a bit before Celadon and Rebecca steadied her. "Ugh... How does Rua do that with so many of us," Sunset asked as the dizziness and pain in her head faded.
"You did say that any of us using another Semblance with your new power uses up more Aura than we intend to," Lapis reminded as she smoothed down her dress.
"Either way, we're here now. So, we should see if Bianca's waiting for us in the ballroom," Terracotta told everyone. As the group headed toward the hotel ballroom, they saw that a number of people were at the afterparty. Most of them seemed to be there for business as Bianca's manager, Kurenai, was talking to them about possible deals. Entering the ballroom, Terracotta actually seemed to recognize one average-sized businessman in a gray-colored suit with neatly styled blond hair who was having a drink after he finished talking with someone. "Mason Stonehaven. What brings you out to Vale," Terracotta asked as he placed one of his hands on the man's shoulder.
Turning to face the Bull Faunus, the man looked at him with brown eyes and was pleasantly surprised to see who was speaking. "Terra! How've you been, you muscle tower," the blond businessman asked as he looked up at Terracotta.
"Oh, you know. Busy," Terracotta replied before turning to Fragment Hunter. "Ivy, Ven, Azalea! Mason's here," he called out to his family and caught their attention.
Hearing the name, Ventus and the Holstein women walked over to Terracotta and saw the man Terracotta was referring to. "Mason, it's been a while. Is Malus still at the farm," Ivy asked as she spoke to the businessman.
"Yeah. She's taking care of everything there," Mason told the elder Cow Faunus. "Oh, and Luna says 'Hi'. She also wanted to know how Bianca was doing while I was here."
"So, why are you here in Vale," Ivy asked. "Given your usual schedule, it can't be for the Vytal Festival."
"I was in town for a few possible investments when I heard about the concert. After that, Valencia wanted to go and we came to the afterparty because one of my business partners invited us as company," Mason explained. When he did, he saw Azalea in her new dress standing alongside several other teenagers. "And who are these kids? The band that Bianca said she got," he asked with a smile as he looked at Azalea.
"Who exactly is this dapper man anyway and why does your family know him, Lea," Celadon asked.
"This is my uncle, Mason Stonehaven," Azalea introduced to the others. "He's the CEO of 'Stonehaven Construction' and he also invests in other business ventures around Remnant."
"Hold up... 'Stonehaven Construction' is one of the biggest construction companies in Remnant," Lapis noted as she remembered the name of Mason's company. "They've helped repair so many villages outside of the main Kingdoms. How is he your uncle?!"
"You just read my mind," Sunset partially joked.
"Mason met my sister when he took part in one of her art classes," Ivy explained. "After creating a number of paintings that he made under her guidance, his passion for art changed into a... different kind of passion. If you know what I mean." Hearing Ivy describe how he and Malus Holstein met, Mason chuckled in embarrassment at the story and rubbed the back of his head. "Speaking of your love life, where's the result of all your emotions," Ivy questioned as she looked around the room.
"Valencia? Last I saw her, she was talking with Bianca at the refreshment table," Mason replied. Hearing where her cousin was, Azalea went over to see if she was still there with the other members of Fragment Hunter following her. "Azalea sure has changed since I last saw her," Mason remarked as he saw his niece walking away.
"You don't know the half of it," Ventus told him before the four adults began to catch up with each other.
The members of Fragment Hunter searched the ballroom and eventually found Bianca, who was wearing the same dress she wore when she snuck into the Beacon Dance and met Azalea's friends for the first time. They saw that she was speaking with another blonde girl who was wearing a deep maroon dress that showed off her cleavage and had a slit in the leg. Seeing the teenagers approaching them, Bianca smiled and waved to her friends. "Hey, guys! You made it! Azalea, that dress looks amazing on you," the Dove Faunus said.
"Thanks," Azalea replied with a blush as she rubbed the back of her neck and tried to avoid eye contact.
The second blonde girl looked at the group and kept her eye on Azalea herself. Fragment Hunter noticed the similarities between Azalea and this new girl as they saw they had the same green eyes, figure, and other facial details. She looked like she was 16, stood at 5'6", was wearing red lipstick to go with her dress, and maroon-colored nail polish that matched her outfit for the night. After another silent moment, the blonde crossed her arms before speaking to the Cow Faunus. "Who are you and what have you done to my cousin? She does not dress this way on purpose. I should now. I've always tried getting her to change her wardrobe around," the girl said.
"Glad to see you haven't changed at all, Valencia," Azalea answered as she gave the blonde a hug.
"Okay, who is this and what's going on," Sunset asked as she and the others were becoming confused.
"Everyone, this is my cousin, Valenica Stonehaven," Azalea introduced to her friends. "Valencia, these are some of my friends that I've written home about."
"So, these people are your teammates," Valencia questioned as she looked over the girls, Silver, and Slate.
"Well, yes and no," Celadon replied for her friend. "The rest of us are back at Beacon after the concert, but we wanted to come to the afterparty."
"Let me tell you who's who," Azalea told her cousin. "Celadon, Rebecca, and Sunset are all part of Team SAFR. Silver and Lapis are half of Team SLVR. And the only member of my team that came with us is Slate."
"Your boyfriend," Valencia asked with a teasing smile and look in her eye.
"NO, HE'S/I'M NOT," Azalea and Slate both exclaimed in embarrassment, much to the enjoyment of Valenica, Bianca, and the rest of Fragment Hunter. "Not again," they groaned as they hid their faces.
"Hahahaha! Well, if that's the case, you mind if I have some fun with him," Valencia asked as she slinked close to Slate. "He's a cutie. And the scar on his cheek doesn't take anything away," she added as she rubbed a thumb against Slate's scarred cheek.
"Don't you already have a boyfriend," Bianca questioned in return. "Or did you treat him like the couple dozen you've had over the past few months?"
"I'm just teasing," Valencia said as answered Bianca. "I'm very happy with my big cuddly teddy bear of a boyfriend. I'm just happy that my favorite cousin has a boyfriend of her own."
"I'm your only cousin," Azalea stated. "And Slate's not my boyfriend. We only went out on a few dates."
"You two also took each other to the Beacon Dance and kissed when we were at the photo shoot," Sunset retorted with a teasing smirk. "Sorry for speaking up about that second bit."
Hearing about her cousin's love life, Valencia began to pester Azalea about a number of different things before the others interrupted her. "So, how long are you in Vale," Lapis asked.
"Oh, just for a while. Daddy's in town for a few business deals, but we'll be heading back home to Mirabelle after the first round of the Vytal Festival," Valencia explained. "I'll at least be able to hang out with Azalea and watch you guys in a battle together."
"That sounds good," Rebecca voiced.
"So, are you one of those typical rich girls who gets by with 'Daddy's' money? Or do you actually do something outside of home," Silver inquired.
"Valencia works at my mom's boutique," Bianca answered for Valencia with a yawn. "She took my old job there when I left for my singing work."
"I already love fashion, so why not work with it? Plus, it feels nice to earn my money rather than constantly ask Daddy," Valencia added.
"That, and Aunt Malus wanted you to learn the value of hard work," Azalea remarked.
"Since when did you start getting all sassy," Valencia chuckled as she looked at her cousin. As the party continued, the teenagers talked about a number of things.
After talking with Valencia and Bianca for a while, the members of Fragment Hunter separated to enjoy the rest of the party or to sneak away to other parts of the hotel. Bianca was looking pretty tired throughout the party and Silver offered to take her up to her room. As they walked out of the ballroom, Bianca started to lean against Silver for support as she was becoming drowsier. Azalea smiled as she saw the two head out the door. "They look so cute together," Azalea commented to Sunset as the two stood by the punch bowl.
"Yeah, they do," Sunset agreed before she looked at Azalea with a mischievous look in her eye. "So do you and Slate. You two would probably have adorable green-eyed children."
Azalea blushed for what felt like the 12th time today as she hid her face with her hands. "Please stop," she moaned in embarrassment. "Why are you doing this to me?"
"Honestly? Because it's kind of fun," Sunset answered with a laugh before leaving Azalea alone by the punch bowl.
Sighing in defeat, Azalea poured herself a drink and downed it quickly before she noticed her father and Uncle Mason talking to somebody she saw around Beacon Academy recently. Azalea watched as the man approached the punch bowl to get himself a non-alcoholic drink before he noticed her. "Excuse me, but aren't you Terracotta Gaia's daughter," the man asked. Looking at him, Azalea recognized the man as General James Ironwood, the headmaster of Atlas Academy.
"Y-yes. I am, sir," Azalea replied as she tried to correct her posture.
"You can calm down, Miss Holstein," Ironwood told the girl. "Your father and I have known each other for years. There's no need to be so formal with me." Azalea was surprised at how General Ironwood was speaking to her compared to how she expected. "You and I both know that battle earlier tonight wasn't exactly a staged promotional event," James said as he referred to Azalea's battle with Tremor. "You did a very brave thing by confronting that man. You showed what it means to be a Huntress when you faced off against a threat you recognized and did your best to stop it."
"Thanks. I've actually fought Tremor before, so I knew what to expect from him," Azalea stated. "That big drill thing was new, though."
"Your actions reminded me a lot of when I first met Terra," Ironwood remarked. "He saw an attack before it was about to happen and was able to deal with it before anyone else could realize what was going on."
Azalea smiled as she held a conversation with the General about her family. As their talk went on, Azalea thought of something as she saw her Uncle Ventus show up and join the talk. While the two spoke with each other about one time the Vytal Festival was held at Atlas and the Falcon Faunus helped out on a mission with the Atlesian Air Force. "Mr. Ironwood? I was wondering if you could help me figure something out," the Cow Faunus asked.
"And what would that be," the General questioned as he let Azalea continue.
"I want your advice about some new armor I'm thinking of," the young Huntress explained as she looked at her uncle's greaves, which caught the Huntsmen's attention.
The night went on and the guests soon began to leave after spending enough of their time in the ballroom. As Terracotta, Ivy, Ventus, and the members of Fragment Hunter began to head out, they saw Mason and Valencia waiting for them at the front door of the hotel. "Good thing we caught you guys before you left," Mason told the group. "We have something to give Azalea."
"Think of it as a present for getting this far through Beacon," Valencia said as she gave her cousin a music box of sorts. "I think you'll like this a lot. We got it custom-made."
"Wow, this looks amazing already," Ventus said as he looked at the details on the closed box. "Was it pretty expensive?"
"I'm sure it was," Ivy remarked as she inspected the music box. "But then again, the two of you don't really need to worry about money," she added as she looked at her brother-in-law and niece.
Azalea held the music box in her hands as her friends looked at the ornate design of the item's surface. "Val, you shouldn't have," she said in disbelief as she looked at her cousin and the box.
"Just go ahead and open it when you're upset about something. I promise that you'll love it," Valencia told Azalea. "I'll see you at the Festival. Later, cuz," the blonde said as she waved to the group and headed for the elevator with her father.
As Fragment Hunter bid Mason and Valencia farewell, Azalea only kept looking at the object she held in her hands. Putting her thoughts on the music box aside, she and the others were about to teleport back to Beacon Academy when they noticed somebody was missing. "Hey, where's Silver," Lapis asked. "Shouldn't he have been back by now?"
"Let me check up on him," Sunset told the others before using her Semblance's telepathy. "Hey, Silver. You there, man?" Sunset didn't get a reply from the Wolf Faunus, but she did feel a few different things as she figured out where he was. Piecing everything together, Sunset's face blushed a bright red that nearly blended in with her hair. "I think he's okay. We should head back now because I could really use a shower," Sunset stated.
Ivy only chuckled as she immediately realized what Sunset discovered. "Well, sounds like somebody's having more fun tonight than others," she remarked. "Reminds me of a few of our little 'rendezvous' back when we first started dating," she whispered to Terracotta, who only grinned in reply.
"Let's just hope he treats Bianca right," Celadon voiced.
"We'll find out about that later because he might tell us the tame version of it," Slate mentioned.
"Okay, I'm going to get us out of her," Sunset told everyone and teleported everyone back to Beacon Academy. When they returned to the dorm rooms, the teenagers got changed into their sleepwear for the night and Azalea placed her new music box onto her dresser. After the eventful day they had, the members of Fragment Hunter needed to get rest for the Vytal Festival as it was approaching quickly.
And with this chapter, we have Azalea in a new dress, we meet the Stonehaven's, Ironwood gets a small appearance, Azalea's cousin gives her a music box (that will be opened next chapter), and just a little offscreen thing with Silver and Bianca. Honestly, I need to focus on him a little more. But luckily, we are nearing the major turning point of Azalea's character arc and I can focus on the rest of the characters in Fragment Hunter.
Now then, Valencia's dress is actually the same one as Lucy Heartfilia's from the first episode of Fairy Tail. So, you can check that out for a visual reference. I also am basing Valencia's character on several different characters, so she's going to have some scenes outside of what I showed in this chapter. Especially since I have this main trait of hers that hasn't been shown off yet. Keep an eye out for it.
Ironwood's moment with Azalea was because I like the character and I thought that he would help Azalea with what she's planning with her armor idea with Ventus. I picture that outside of Ozpin's Inner Circle with Glynda and Qrow, Ironwood is also pretty friendly with other Huntsmen and Huntresses that try to do the right thing and protect people. So, I assume that anybody who showed moments similar to Ruby back during the Beacon Dance would catch his attention.
As for the next chapter, we'll be focusing on a few characters that Sunset will be using her Semblance on in order to find out about their pasts. Not only that, but we'll have a moment or two where things get set up for the Vytal Festival Tournament.
Make sure to review if you liked this chapter and give me some helpful/kind feedback. It'll help out with making more chapters for this and my other stories.
Until next time, WaterDragonMaverick signing out.