Hello, readers! WaterDragonMaverick here with the 40th chapter of "Sideline: Another Story" and the start of my fic's take on RWBY Volume 3! Last chapter had us see why Team JADE's antagonistic members are such jerks, we saw what was in the music box Valencia gave Azalea, and Azalea is getting ready for the tournament. Right now, we'll be going with the start of the Vytal Festival because we began the Volume with Team RWBY in the middle of a fight. I think it would be good to see how the Tournament would begin, so get ready for more action-packed chapters starting with this one!
Let the games begin!
RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and was created by Monty Oum (R.I.P)
I only own my Original Characters featured in this story.
After waiting for so long, the day had finally arrived for Vale and Beacon Academy. The day of the 40th Vytal Festival was today and everyone was excited. However, the members of Fragment Hunter had to deal with somebody who was even more excited than them. "Ohmygosh! Ohmygosh! Ohmygosh! It's finally here! The Vytal Festival is here," Pinkamena Momo Quartz exclaimed as she zipped around the hallways. "I'm going to see my brother and his friends do all kinds of amazing stuff!"
"How much sugar did you have today, Taffy Chew," Slate asked his little sister as he watched the pink-haired girl zoom around like a squirrel.
"Just a hot chocolate with whipped cream that Mrs. Ivy gave me," Pinkie replied as she skipped over to her brother's side.
"Was that before or after your usual bowl of Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes? You know, the one that's the size of your head," Slate remarked as he tussled his sister's hair, which briefly made it look frizzy and curly before Pinkie shook her head to fix it.
"Speaking of that cereal, I bet that Pyrrha's going to do well in the tournament," Lapis mentioned.
"No doubt," Vinyl agreed as she pointed at Lapis with a finger.
"Well, I think we should go and check out the fairgrounds since the actual tournament won't begin for another while," Sunset stated.
As everyone agreed to the plan, Azalea checked her Scroll to see that she got a message from her cousin, Valenica Stonehaven. "Hey, Valencia's going to be waiting for us at the fairgrounds anyway. Let's go meet up with her there," Azalea told the others. "I can introduce her to the rest of you guys as well."
"Alright then," Rua said as she and the others headed off for the Vytal Festival's fairgrounds.
Reaching the fairgrounds outside of Beacon's campus, Pinkie and the members of Fragment Hunter were looking around the area and saw a number of different people. Students from the different schools, locals from Vale, visitors from other parts of Remnant, and even a few soldiers and androids from Atlas were walking around. Vendors and stalls were set up all over the place, giving people options for shopping and food. "Wow! Look at everything," Pinkie exclaimed as she looked at a few stalls serving noodles or selling clothes.
"It's pretty much like when it was at Vacuo," Slate commented. "Just with more plants."
"Well, where's this cousin of yours," Vixen asked Azalea as the Fox Faunus pulled out one of her fans and started to wave it out of boredom. "You said she would be here."
"If I know Valencia, she's probably checking out some clothing vendors to see if she can add something to her wardrobe," Azalea replied as she looked around. "I think I see her," she said as she saw Valencia at a booth selling clothes from Mistral.
Valencia Stonehaven looked different to the members of Fragment Hunter that met her before because she was no longer wearing the maroon dress. Instead, Valencia was wearing a purple criss-cross halterneck crop top with flowers decorating the chest and a matching purple skirt with a flowing light purple mesh around it. She also wore a belt, detached sleeves, and strap heels, all in the same mint green color. Turning to her right and facing Fragment Hunter, Valencia revealed that she was wearing purple flowers in the left side of her chest-length blonde hair. "Azalea! It's great to see you! Are these the rest of your friends," Valencia asked as she noticed the 13 teenagers.
"Yeah, they are," Azalea said as she introduced Pinkie and the remaining members of Fragment Hunter to her cousin. "So, how's everything going?"
"Just waiting for Daddy to finish up one of his business calls so that we spend time together before the tournament," Valencia said as she flipped her hair. "What about you? Did you open the music box yet?" Azalea nodded before she turned to look at Slate, who smiled back with a small blush on his face. Valencia smirked as she saw how they looked at each other before whispering into Azalea's ear. "Are you sure he's not your boyfriend?"
"Val," Azalea exclaimed in embarrassment, making most of Fragment Hunter laugh along with Valencia.
"As fun as this is, why don't we check out everything," Cereza suggested as she adjusted her glasses.
"Sounds good," Layla agreed.
Soon, the teenagers all wandered around the fairgrounds and saw all kinds of goods for sale. As the time passed, they passed by a few stalls where Fragment Hunter saw a handful of their classmates enjoying themselves or spending time with transfer students. Reaching a stand that was selling snacks, the group was about to get some popcorn when they heard the intercom system sound off. "Attention, everyone," Professor Port said as his voice crackled over the intercom. "The Vytal Festival's opening ceremony is about to begin."
"Those who wish to get a good seat for the sparring match between previous winners of tournaments, you may want to hurry and reach Amity Colosseum right away," Doctor Oobleck added.
"Huh. You would think with this being a major thing, the local news stations would've wanted to have somebody be the commentators," Lapis remarked.
"That would mean that they have few reporters for talking to people on the street," said a familiar voice. Fragment Hunter, Pinkie, and Valencia all turned to see Bianca Coloratura approaching them with a bucket of popcorn in her hands. "Having somebody associated with the Huntsman Academies makes sense for an announcer."
"True," Sunset Blaze agreed. "Come on. Let's go see what's going to happen."
Reaching the enormous flying arena known as Amity Colosseum, Fragment Hunter and their friends headed off to find their seats. Looking at the incredibly large seating area, Azalea began to feel a little nervous about fighting in front of such a large crowd before Slate placed his hand on her shoulder. Heading down toward the red seats closest to the arena itself, Fragment Hunter sat down with Valencia, Pinkie, and Bianca. "Good thing these seats are reserved for contestants and VIPs," Valencia mentioned as she pulled out a compact mirror and checked her reflection. "I don't think any of us would've liked sitting higher up in the stands."
As everyone in the stands talked about what might happen, Professor Port and Doctor Oobleck were sitting in the commentator's booth high above everyone else. "Greetings, everyone! Welcome to the Vytal Festival Tournament," Port exclaimed in his usual boisterous tone. "I'm Professor Peter Port of Beacon Academy!"
"And I'm Doctor Bartholomew Oobleck of Beacon," Oobleck added.
"We will be your announcers. Bringing commentary to each and every battle. As well as providing information on all the different aspiring warriors taking part in the fights," Port stated.
"As always, the Vytal Festival is a historic event that has been part of Remnant's culture since the end of the Great War. And with 80 years gone by, today marks the 40th Vytal Festival Tournament," Oobleck explained. "With such a momentous event such as this, it's only fitting that we start it off by having two previous victors of previous tournaments spar. Showcasing the strength of previous generations and what the current generation of fighters may potentially grow into."
Hearing what Oobleck said, the audience was getting excited over who the fighters would be. Their excited chatter was silenced when Port began to speak. "I believe it's time to introduce our first Huntsman. He's a warrior who graduated from Beacon Academy after a few mishaps caused him and his team to be held back a year, but that still gave him another chance to participate in the Vytal Festival Tournaments," Port told the crowd and everyone watching the event on TV. "He's the Stalwart Swordsman! The Undaunted Hunter! The Minotaur of Menagerie," Port exclaimed as he read off titles that described the fighter, causing Fragment Hunter to immediately realize who the first Huntsman was when they heard the last title. "He's Terracotta Gaia!"
When Port called out Terracotta's name, the Bull Faunus approached the center of the battlefield with his sword, Sarangay, resting on his shoulder. Terracotta not only had his sword, but he carried a shotgun on his back and a pistol on a holster attached to his belt. Stepping into the middle of the arena, Terra lifted his sword into the air as the crowd cheered for what would likely be a good battle. "Oh, I feel sorry for the sucker who's fighting him," Rua said as she crossed her arms.
"And now, we shall introduce Terracotta's opponent," Oobleck said as the audience calmed down. "And I should tell you this now, they have battled each other before."
"He's a man who has traveled Remnant and fought many adversaries in his way after graduating from Shade Academy in Vacuo. A Huntsman with a brave soul that won't stop until he's helped whoever calls out for it. He's the Raptor of Remnant! The Fighting Falcon! He's Ventus Gaia," Port announced and watched as Ventus zoomed through the battlefield with his Semblance, waving to the audience until he made a three-point landing in front of Terracotta. The Peregrine Falcon Faunus stretched his arms and legs before facing his brother and smirked.
"Terracotta and Ventus grew up in Menagerie, where Terracotta's family adopted Ventus and the two trained to become Huntsmen," Oobleck explained to everyone watching. "These brothers have faced off against more than just the Creatures of Grimm and other fighters. They have also been battling hatred and inequality because of their Faunus heritage."
"But that doesn't matter to them as they have made their careers about helping the Kingdoms and defeating Grimm," Port exclaimed. "Now then, I'm sure that everyone wants to see their battle to kick off the Vytal Festival Tournament." Hearing Port's commentary, the crowd cheered in agreement as the two Huntsmen prepared for battle.
Ventus smiled as he inspected the greaves on his legs and looked at his older brother. "This is going to be fun, isn't it," Ven said.
"That might all depend," Terracotta remarked as he placed his sword on his back and exchanged it for the shotgun. "You know how several of our battles went back in Menagerie."
"Those scars from me and Ghira should prove that I'm still able to hurt you," Ventus stated as he pointed at Terracotta's chest with his knife.
"Oh, I know you are," Terracotta replied. "But, let's just see who can do what in this fight," the Bull Faunus added as he held his shotgun. Ventus only laughed happily in response before getting into a fighting stance when the platform in the center of the arena raised. As it did, screens in the arena showed Aura readouts for both Terracotta and Ventus.
"Three, two, one, start the match," Port announced and signaled for Terracotta and Ventus to begin their spar for the opening ceremony of the Vytal Festival Tournament. Pulling his goggles over his eyes, Ventus immediately used his speedy Semblance to rush toward Terracotta and deliver a powerful punch to the Bull Faunus' jaw. While the strike did push Terracotta back, the Huntsman was unfazed by the punch and countered by grabbing at Ventus' arm. Throwing the Falcon Faunus to the ground, Terra aimed his shotgun and fired it. Ventus immediately flew away from the blast and kicked at the weapon to disarm Terracotta. Zipping into the air to catch the firearm and cocking it immediately when he got his hands on the weapon, Ventus aimed the shotgun at Terra and pulled the trigger. The blast nailed Terracotta in the chest, but his Aura blocked most of the damage as the readout for him dropped down 88%. "And it seems that Ventus already has the advantage over his brother," Port commented.
Terracotta only narrowed his eyes at the gun in Ventus' hands and immediately, the flying Huntsman found himself struggling to hold onto the weapon as he saw Terra rush toward him for a quick punch. The impact sent Ventus reeling backward, but he corrected himself and started to float in the air. "Forgot about that," Ventus muttered to himself as he wiped the corner of his mouth. Soon, the brothers began to fight with hand-to-hand combat. Terracotta's brute force and grabs proved to be powerful enough to leave cracks in the floor of the platform, but Ventus used his faster kick-based techniques to circle around Terracotta and keep striking him. As the fight continued, Ventus began to slow down while Terra seemed to become faster.
"And it seems that the elder Gaia brother is making use of his Semblance as well," Oobleck said to the audience. "Terracotta has the power to manipulate the weight of any object he touches, which allows him to transfer the weight to anything else he came into contact with. As you can see, he is likely using it to put his own weight into Ventus' armor in order to slow him down."
"But it doesn't seem to be stopping Ven at all," Port exclaimed as Ventus grabbed at Terracotta's shoulders with his talons and flipped him onto the floor hard enough to leave a crater.
In the audience, the members of Fragment Hunter were discussing the battle. "That explains why he can do so many of those things when he spars with us," Celadon remarked as she remembered Team SLVR and Team SAFR's first match against Azalea's father. "I must say, I never expected that sort of ability from him."
"Yeah, it really helped with training back home," Azalea said as she remembered her father's exercises where he gradually added extra weight to her when doing chores and sparing. Back on the battlefield, Terracotta jumped back onto his feet before he pulled out a pistol and his sword, Sarangay. Aiming the pistol, Terra shot at Ventus three times. Ventus countered by kicking at the air and fired bullets from his greaves, shooting the bullets flying toward him. When the shots deflected each other, Terracotta sped toward Ven with his sword and swung the blade down. Jumping to the side, Ventus dodged the attack and pulled out his knife.
Zipping past Terracotta multiple times, Ventus slashed away at the Bull Faunus with every pass he made. Terra was able to see the attacks coming, but he could only block about half of the knife strikes with his vambraces. With a rising slash from behind, Ventus cut away at Terracotta's Aura levels more until they were lowered down to 57%. Flying above Terracotta, Ventus began to unleash a barrage of bullets from his greaves to damage the minotaur even further. Quickly spinning his sword, Terra deflected every shot and used the Earth Dust in Sarangay to create a large rock to throw at the Falcon Faunus. Ven saw this attack and flew out of the way, but his eyes widened in shock as Terracotta continued to use the Dust in his claymore to send shards of rock flying. With sharp stones flying at him like a hailstorm of gunfire, Ventus had to use some clever and agile evasive maneuvers to avoid the attack.
Looking at the Aura readouts on the screens around the arena, Ventus saw his own Aura levels slowly lowering down to about 60% before Terracotta jumped up at him and delivered a painfully powerful heel drop. The impact sent Ventus crashing to the ground and made another crater in the platform. Ventus groaned as he tried to get up and gasped as he watched Terra falling toward him for a smashing punch. Rolling out of the way, Ventus dodged the attack and countered by holding himself up with one hand and roundhouse kicking at Terracotta. However, Terracotta just as quickly countered by performing the same move and the impact from both kicks sent the fighters flying out of the crater. "Don't forget that I was the one who taught you that technique," Terracotta said as he rushed toward Ventus and clotheslined the Falcon Faunus. Ventus grunted from the force of the attack and went spinning into the air before he corrected himself. "I'd say that things are pretty close," Terracotta remarked as he and Ven looked at the Aura readouts.
Everyone could see that Terracotta's Aura level was at 42% while Ventus' was at 36%. "Let's stop messing around and get to the real action," Ventus said as he opened his greaves to place in Dust crystals.
"Like the reverse avalanche and me dropping you like a meteor wasn't packed with enough action," Terracotta joked to himself as he grabbed a crystal of Gravity Dust from his coat pocket. "Ready when you are, little brother."
Placing Ice Dust crystals in his greaves, Ventus closed them and grinned at Terra as he pulled out his combat knife. Speeding around Terracotta, Ventus used the Wind Dust in his knife and the Ice Dust in his greaves to create a swirling storm of ice and snow to distract the larger Huntsman. Blinded by the makeshift weather change, Terracotta spun around and the swing of his sword created a blade of air that blew away the snow. As it cleared, Terracotta saw that the floor beneath him was now covered in a sheet of ice, which also froze his discarded weapons and feet to the platform. "Take this," Ventus cried out as he zoomed toward Terra and hit him in the shoulder with a flying kick. When Terracotta was knocked loose, he spun onto the ground and started to slide toward the edge of the platform. Ventus smiled at his nearing victory when Terracotta flew off the edge, but that quickly changed when he didn't see his brother fall. "Oh, come on! This is just like those pranks you pulled on me when we were back home," Ventus shouted in irritation.
Everyone watching was amazed at Terra as they saw him use the Gravity Dust he carried combined with his Weight Manipulation Semblance to avoid falling and land on the forcefield protecting the audience. Looking at where he landed, Terracotta smiled and waved to Fragment Hunter. "Hi, Princess," Terra said to Azalea before kicking off the shield and essentially flying back at Ventus for another punch. Ventus tried to dodge, but Terracotta used his Semblance and Gravity Dust to force the Falcon Faunus down in a field of increased gravity. Struggling underneath the new intense weight, Ventus could only whimper as his brother collided into him for a punch that floored him. Terra rolled to a three-point landing behind his downed opponent and looked at the Aura readouts. Ventus had his Aura lowered into the red at 11% while he was still standing strong at around 30%.
"And with Ventus Gaia's Aura lowered, he has been defeated," Port announced in an enthusiastic voice. Everyone in the audience cheered at the epic battle they saw, chanting the name of 'Gaia' over and over as the brothers stood up and raised their hands to wave to the audience. "We have just witnessed an amazing battle between two warriors of a past generation!"
"Indeed, we did," Oobleck added. "And this is what our participants for the 40th Vytal Festival Tournament can potentially do themselves. Maybe even surpass these two and other Huntsmen and Huntresses! We can only watch their battles later and find out for ourselves."
"Right, you are, Bartholomew," Port agreed. "We hope that all of you watching enjoyed this battle because that was only a sample of what will come later as the tournament progresses. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day as the first teams reach the arena for the first round of the Team Battles!"
After Terracotta and Ventus left the battlefield, they met up with Fragment Hunter and the others at the fairgrounds. "You two were amazing," Pinkie exclaimed with stars in her eyes. "You were all 'Pow', 'Woosh', 'Clang', 'Smash'! It was so cool!"
"Alright, Bubblegum. Let them breathe after everything they just did," Slate remarked as he gave his sister a noogie. Pinkie only laughed at her brother's action as she tried to stop him.
"They remind me of us," Terracotta said to Ven as he watched the Quartz Siblings mess around with each other.
"Yeah, except that they probably don't use Gravity Dust to pin each other to the wall and doodle on their faces while they sleep," Ventus joked. Pinkie and Slate heard what Ventus said, but one look from the brother was all it took to shoot down the idea faster than a Grimm. "I'm hungry after that fight. Let's get something to eat," Ventus stated.
"Get whatever you want. My treat," Valencia told everyone as she held a credit card in her fingers. The members of Fragment Hunter all rushed off to find food for themselves and separated to where they wanted to go. "You could at least wait for me. I'm the one with the card," Valencia said to herself as she swore that she saw dust clouds in the shape of each teenager.
While everyone left to go get popcorn, noodles, candy, or anything else, Azalea wandered around to search for what she wanted. Soon, she came across a stand that had a few familiar faces. "Hey, if it isn't the girl who helped stop that Leviathan back home," a Bear Faunus said as he gave Percival Ivory some taiyaki. "How's everything going?"
"It's okay for now. I'm actually a little nervous about battling in the tournament, though," Azalea told the two.
"Some food might help. You want a box of taiyaki," the cook asked as he offered the snack to Azalea.
"That would be nice of you," Azalea said as she paid the man.
"Why are you nervous anyway," Percival asked as he swallowed one of the fish-shaped treats. "The crowd?"
"Pretty much," Azalea stated.
"It'll be easier to battle in front of an audience if you focus on the task at hand," Percival said. "Picture a goal in your head and it'll be the only thing that you need to worry about. It shouldn't matter if you mess up once or twice in front of somebody. All you need to do is focus on what you need to accomplish."
Azalea smiled as at Percival as her order was finished. "Thank you," she said to both the cook and Percival. "See you later, Percy."
"I'm never going to hear the end of that nickname," Percival muttered as he watched Azalea leave and only ate more of his snack.
Soon, Azalea met saw Rebecca, Vixen, Vinyl, and Celadon having lunch at a noodle stand. She watched as her mother, Ivy joined them and sat down beside the other girls. "Man, that battle was so cool," Vixen remarked as she brought up the battle between Azalea's father and uncle.
"Considering both of them were fighters with years of experience, their strength is something you would think they have," Rebecca stated as she separated a pair of chopsticks and started enjoying her bowl of ramen.
"Most of their techniques were flawless," Celadon said. "That snow storm was a smart move from Ventus."
"He probably improvised it like he usually does," Ivy told the girls as she ordered a bowl. "He tends to just wing it whenever he does anything in battle and charges ahead."
"I kind of remember that," Vixen voiced as she thought back to Team SLVR's Bounty mission in Vale after the Breach.
"It works for him about as much as it gets him into trouble," Ivy added.
"He and Terracotta tell you about a lot of their missions," Rebecca asked as she was curious as to why Ivy knew so much about Ventus.
"Yes," Ivy answered just as her bowl of noodles was served. "Thank you," Ivy said to the chef as she paid for the meal. Slurping up her food, Ivy seemed to attract some wide-eyed attention from the chef, Vinyl, Celadon, and Vixen. Sighing in satisfaction when she swallowed, Ivy looked at her new audience and just chuckled. "I have that effect on people," she said before she saw Azalea. "How's everything going, Sugarcube?"
"Just little anxious about my first battle of the tournament," Azalea explained. "Percy said I should just focus on one thing in the fight and that could help me with ignoring the crowd."
"Sounds like good advice to me," Ivy agreed. "It seems like something I would have said." Azalea nodded in agreement before Ivy continued talking. "Azalea, you've come such a long way since Sanctuary Academy. No matter what people say about you, just remember what you were able to do despite how they thought you would do. You are a warrior just like your father. Never let harsh words get in your way."
Azalea smiled at her mother and the two embraced each other in a big hug before the intercom sounded off again. "Would Team FCSA please collect their equipment and report to the battlefield? Your battle begins in 10 minutes," Oobleck announced.
"Sounds like you're up first out of your friends," Ivy voiced. Hearing what Doctor Oobleck said, Azalea had a determined look on her face as she started heading off. "Isn't the locker room in the other direction," Ivy asked as she saw Azalea going to the dorms.
"I need to grab some stuff in my room first. Go grab a seat with the others," Azalea said. Ivy, Celadon, Vixen, Rebecca, and Vinyl all looked at each other before they headed off for Amity Colosseum. Azalea marched forward and eventually reached her dorm room. Opening the door, she opened the music box and listened to it as she changed her clothes. "After today, everyone is going to see a new side to me," Azalea said to herself as she pulled out the gift from Bianca underneath her bed.
Okay! With this chapter done, we have officially started Volume 3 of RWBY for Sideline and Fragment Hunter! Because we only saw the battle between RWBY and ABRN in the first episode and not some sort of actual ceremony or whatever, I thought that a spar between previous winners of the tournaments would make for a good and exciting thing in the story. An actual opening ceremony for something like this would have had Ozpin say something, but I thought that he might have been busy with Ironwood and the rest of his inner circle.
As for the battle, I thought that having Terracotta and Ventus dueling would be super awesome to show off just what they can be capable of. Their battle would have the song "Reverse/Re:birth" from Kamen Rider OOO playing as I associate it with both characters. And the translated lyrics can be something I'll work into their past together.
The next chapter is something I have been planning for since early on in the story AND I'M SO HYPED TO GET IT OUT ASAP! I'm really excited to write it and I hope that you enjoy reading it when I post it. You'll be able to see what will happen with Azalea and everything that she's been working on since the photo shoot with Bianca. Just you wait!
And all of this is just in time for RWBY Volume 6. That's going to be fun as well! I swear, I've never really been so much of a fan of something like this before. RWBY has really impacted me over these last few years. I never would have done something like this back in high school unless I discovered the show back then. But, enough about me and being a fanboy. I'll see you all in the reviews, so please leave some comments if you enjoyed this chapter and be sure to stay tuned for Chapter 41.
Until next time, WaterDragonMaverick signing out!