Hey, everyone! WaterDragonMaverick here with Chapter 41 of "Sideline: Another Story" and the first match of the Vytal Festival Tournament using my characters! With the event up and running, we'll now move onto the first match that Fragment Hunter takes part in. Team FCSA is battling first out of the characters and they'll be fighting a team I've been wanting Azalea to confront for a long time. Get ready for more action and emotion in this chapter!
CAN'T ESCAPE FROM CROSSING FATE!
RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and was created by Monty Oum (R.I.P)
I only own all of my Original Characters featured in this story
Team FCSA waited for Azalea as they stood in the battlefield of Amity Colosseum. They were looking around at the crowd before they faced each other to talk about what was taking their teammate so long. "Is she nervous about the crowd? She wasn't that troubled when she fought Tremor at the concert," Layla asked as she saw Azalea wasn't with them yet.
"What's taking her so long," Cereza wondered as she checked her Scroll. "She should be here soon or we might be disqualified," she said as she texted the girl in question. After another moment, a reply was given and Cereza read it. "On my way in now. Just had to get changed and grab my weapon from my locker."
"At least she'll be here soon," Slate said with a relieved sigh.
"Yeah, I can't wait to deal with that Dairy Cow on the battlefield," a girl's voice said, causing Team FCSA to look where it came from and glared in response. The one who insulted Azalea was Envy Sinn of Team JADE as the other members of her team joined them. "Even if she doesn't show up, I bet we can still have some fun beating the gunslinger around again," Envy voiced.
"No complaints here," Jet Pitch agreed as he chewed a toothpick. "Right, Aoi?"
"Right," Aoi Lobelia replied with a sinister grin.
"You three make me sick," Duke Cobalt muttered as he avoided looking at his 'team'.
In the audience, the rest of Fragment Hunter sat in their seats with several others joining them. Ivy, Ventus, Terracotta, Mason Stonehaven and Valencia, Bianca Coloratura, Pinkie, Aurora, and Nocturne all sat around together. Sunset even looked around the arena and searched for anybody else they recognized. Being a sniper in combat, Sunset was glad that she had good eyesight as she saw Team GLOW from Atlas, Team PRDT from Vacuo, Team RWBY and Team JNPR, Lucifer Fujita, and a number of others. However, she could have sworn that she saw Smoke Shadow and his allies in the regular seats of the crowd. Looking again and focusing, Sunset did see that the thieves were there. However, it seemed that they were just there for the tournament as she saw Tremor holding a number of giant popcorn buckets as he sat down. "Looks like they aren't going to be a problem for now," Sunset thought to herself before looking at the battlefield. "Those three on the other hand..."
As Team FCSA essentially had a staring contest with the bullies, Azalea finally showed up. "Hey, guys. I'm here," she said before seeing who their opponents were. "Oh..."
"Looks like the Melon Farmer finally came," Envy remarked as her eyes turned green.
"Hello, Dairy Cow," Aoi greeted with a sickeningly sweet tone.
"How lucky are we that we get to fight in the first round," Jet stated as he pointed to the group with his hook swords.
"That depends on your definition of luck," Slate countered. After turning away from the students from Mistral, he looked at what Azalea was wearing. It appeared that she was wearing one of her original baggy green sweaters, a pair of black leather pants, and a pair of cowboy boots. She also removed her bandanna completely to show off her horns. "Is that all you changed into," Slate asked as he looked at Azalea, noticing that she also had piercings in her ears.
"Not exactly," the Cow Faunus said with a slightly cryptic tone. As Slate and the girls wondered what Azalea was talking about, everyone in Amity Colosseum heard Professor Port and Doctor Oobleck doing commentary.
"And with the final member of Team FCSA here, we have everyone gathered for the match," Port announced. "I'm sure that this will be a fight for everyone to remember, especially our latecomer, Azalea Calla Holstein."
"Yes, Miss Holstein grew up in the town of Mirabelle with her mother and father, Ivy Dahlia Holstein and Terracotta Gaia," Doctor Oobleck explained to the viewers. "She trained with most of Team JADE at Sanctuary Academy back in Anima, but they were very hostile toward her. They have also been antagonizing Azalea and her friends since they arrived. I would like to point out that at Beacon, we do not tolerate Team JADE's actions at all," the doctor said as he had a stern face.
"Indeed," Port agreed with narrowed eyes. "While they are skilled, it's only matched by their horrible attitudes in and out of classes they have attended." After giving his opinion on Team JADE, his tone changed immediately. "But enough about them, Professor!"
"Doctor," Oobleck corrected Port as the latter made sure to remind his associate of his Ph.D. before allowing the boisterous Huntsman to continue.
"Let's continue with Team FCSA of Beacon! Not only have they shown great talent in classes as well, but they have also been helping the rising music star, Bianca Coloratura," Port stated. "They have been protecting the idol and have even played as her band in her concert held before the Vytal Festival started along with the members of Team SLVR and Team SAFR. If you ask me, these three teams certainly have plenty of fans in the audience. And I think I see a few now."
Looking around the stands, the cameras for broadcasting the tournament zoomed in on a number of fans for Team FCSA. Several boys held up signs of the three girls of the team while a number of girls did the same with pictures of Slate. A few of them even had photos of Slate and Azalea blown up with hearts around them, which some people thought it was because they were very big fans of the two or that they thought they made a cute couple. "It does seem that there is a good deal of fans in the audience," Oobleck commented as the camera soon focused on Pinkie bouncing around the stands, cheering on her brother and Team FCSA. "Some more vocal than others," he added with a deadpan tone as he watched the members of Fragment Hunter try to keep Pinkie in her seat as the energetic girl started waving around a pink pair of pom-poms.
"Let's move onto choosing the battlefield for our match, shall we," Port said as screens appeared around the arena. Images of locations switched around rapidly before they began to slow down. The section of screens near Team FCSA stopped and the superstructure behind them opened to allow a biome to raise up for their side of the battlefield. A large number of floating platforms rose up behind Team FCSA and the four looked behind themselves to see what the biome for the match was. "And it looks like Team FCSA has the Anti-Gravity Biome for their side of the field," Port remarked as the platforms moved in all sorts of directions. "This might be tricky for both sides."
After the teams and audience took in the sight of the platforms, the screens on Team JADE's side stopped moving and their side of the arena changed into a forest biome. "Team JADE now has the Forest Biome for their area. Plenty of cover for them to take advantage of," Oobleck commented. "Now, I believe that with the areas chosen, we may begin the fight," the doctor said before he heard a knock on the door to the commentator's booth. "Who could that be?"
"This battle seems like it might be difficult," Layla said as she looked at the forest behind Team JADE and the platforms behind Team FCSA.
"Wouldn't be the Vytal Festival if it wasn't," Slate said as he drew his revolvers. "You going to be okay with this," he asked Azalea.
Azalea only looked at Team JADE with a certain look in her eyes before she turned to her friends. "Yeah. I'll be good," Azalea replied. Before she could grab her Multi-Action Dust Baton, music began to play from the speakers around the arena. A violin was playing and everyone was wondering who was responsible for the song it played. "Where is it that coming from," Azalea asked before she looked at the screen that displayed the commentator's booth, seeing that Port and Oobleck were joined by somebody else. "Vinyl?"
To the surprise of Fragment Hunter and the audience, Vinyl Aurum was Port and Oobleck in their booth. "While this is not something the tournament has allowed before, it seems that Miss Aurum of Team SAFR and a friend of Team FCSA has requested to provide music for the battle," Oobleck explained to everyone. "We have allowed her to do it just for this battle as she does need to focus on her own match later."
"Oh-ho! Personally, I like the idea of this grudge match having musical accompaniment in order to make everything seem more dramatic and emotional," Port stated as Vinyl rested her arm on Port's shoulders as he sat. Vinyl only raised a finger toward the screen and pointed, seemingly showing that she was helping out Azalea. The Faunus girl smiled in return before preparing for the fight as the music changed from a violin to more of a rock tune. "3, 2, 1, begin," Port counted down and started the fight between FCSA and JADE.
Immediately, Team JADE ran toward FCSA and started on separating the group. Getting between them and using Wind Dust, Aoi unleashed a powerful gust of wind that pushed the members of in every direction. As they went flying, each member of Team FCSA used their weapons to try and hit the other team. Unfortunately for them, Duke used his Trajectory Manipulation Semblance to redirect every single bullet that was fired, causing them to miss their targets. As they landed on the ground, Team FCSA knew that they needed to deal with Duke Cobalt first if they wanted to win the fight. "Follow my lead," Cereza shouted to her team as they separated and went to the Anti-Gravity Biome of the field.
"You aren't going to get away that easily," Aoi said as she used her Laser Vision Semblance to try and blast at the closest enemy, which happened to be Cereza. However, the leader of Team FCSA anticipated the attack and smirked as she dodged. Activating her Time Mirage Semblance, Cereza was the first to take cover behind the floating platforms while her teammates caught up. Aoi growled in anger when she saw that Cereza somehow got away from her.
Team FCSA joined together on one of the platforms and they all ended up standing on the side of it as they spoke. "Alright. We need to figure out how to get to Duke," Cereza explained. "I'm sure that Azalea can use her Semblance to do just that."
"Let me go for him," Slate voiced. "If it wasn't for him showing up the first time, I would've beaten those bullies when I challenged them."
"What about his Semblance? You can't shoot him," Layla reminded.
"I'm not just a gunslinger anymore," Slate told the girls as they remembered all the physical training Slate had received from Terracotta.
Cereza thought it over for a second before giving her plan. "Okay. Slate with challenge Duke and get him into the forest. I'll fight alongside Layla to distract Envy and Aoi. You think you can handle Jet, Azalea?" Before the Faunus could answer, the group heard gunshots. "Move now!" Dodging out of the way, Team FCSA narrowly avoided gunfire from Duke as he used his Semblance to guide his attacks as he hid in the Forest Biome.
"Team JADE is already making things troubling for Team FCSA," Oobleck said from the booth. "How will things go for the team from Beacon?"
With their enemy on the move, Aoi let Envy take her Semblance for herself and the two began blasting at Azalea with their lasers. But before they could attempt to get a clean hit, Layla used her Telekinesis to push the two girls back while Cereza rushed at them with her Time Mirage. Punching and kicking away at the two, Cereza knocked the two down and took out enough of their Aura to lower the two down to around 80% each. Cereza smirked in satisfaction as she adjusted her glasses with her weapon before pointed the tonfa at her opponents.
Duke and Jet were hiding away in the Forest Biome as Slate and Azalea searched for them in the trees. "Come on out, Cobalt," Slate exclaimed. Hearing somebody behind himself and knowing it wasn't Azalea, Slate aimed his revolver behind his back and pulled the trigger. As his shot rang out, the strength of the recoil allowed Slate to easily go into a roundhouse kick that nailed the person in the chin. As he did, the bullet bounced around the trees and hit his target in the arm, causing them to cry out. Turning to see who it was, Slate holstered his guns as he stared down Duke Cobalt. "Lucky me," Slate said as he adjusted his stance.
Staring each other down as Duke shook off the damage, the two boys threw kicks at each other. While Slate was faster than Duke, Duke still had an advantage with his weapon's sword form. As Duke slashed at Slate, the gunslinger from Vacuo had to maneuver himself to avoid getting hit by the blade. Thankfully, Slate's training with Terracotta and Ventus gave him plenty of experience with dodging all sorts of weapons, which allowed him to get in close to Duke and disarm him. With both gunslingers without their weapons, Duke went for a kick of his own that ended up getting deflected by Slate and the latter countered with a punch to the jaw. Duke groaned in pain as he held his mouth.
"It appears that Slate Quartz is dominating his duel with Duke Cobalt," Port commented. "He really should find a way around that glass jaw." While Duke tried to get back up, Slate kicked away at Duke until his Aura was lowered to around 33%.
"Just how are you this strong," Duke asked in confusion. "You used guns when you fought before."
"I've had training since then and now," Slate said as he ran toward Duke for a flying kick. Duke ducked underneath the attack, but failed to see Slate jump off a tree and punch Duke in the back of the head. With a powerful punch, Duke was knocked down as his Aura readout lowered even more.
"And with that attack, Duke Cobalt's Aura has been lowered enough for a knockout," Port exclaimed. "Team FCSA takes the lead now!" Slate looked to see that his Aura had been lowered to around 66% and as he kept looking at the screens, they began to play his duel with Duke again and show highlights of it. "However, it looks like Aoi Lobelia and Envy Sinn have the advantage over Team FCSA with their teamwork," Port stated as the screen now showed the girls of Team JADE using Dust and lasers to deal heavy damage to Cereza and Layla.
"Not if I can help it," Slate said as he began to run back to the other side of the battlefield. But as he did, Jet traversed the treetops using his hook swords to grab onto branches before flying up and landing on Slate's back just as he left the biome. "Argh! What the?" Feeling Jet keeping his foot on him, Slate cried out in pain as he looked at the Aura readouts again. Seeing that he was now lowered to 40%, Cereza was knocked down to 38%, and Layla was at 27%, things were looking bad. They soon got worse as he felt ice covering his body and looked to see Aoi looking down at him.
"Well, well, well. Looks like the cowboy's back," Aoi said as he spun her staff around to create daggers made of icicles and dropped them onto Slate's back, lowering his Aura even more. "I wouldn't try calling for help if I were you. Those other girls have their hands full with Envy." Slate saw that Aoi was right as he could see Envy using Layla's Semblance to throw Cereza around like a ragdoll. "And it seems like Veal Cut is too scared of us to do anything," Aoi taunted as she mocked Azalea. Slate only growled in anger as his teammate was insulted.
"Looks like the Dairy Cow's nowhere to be found," Jet remarked with a mocking smile. "Finish him off, Aoi."
"With pleasure," Aoi said as her eyes turned red and she was about to shoot Slate with her Laser Vision. But just as she fired her attack, the lasers were deflected before they even touched Slate. "Huh?!" Confused by what happened, Aoi soon felt a powerful impact to her stomach and was sent flying into Jet. Slate saw what happened and smiled as Azalea revealed herself. "Livestock," Aoi shouted in confused anger.
"Stay away from my boyfriend," Azalea told her old bullies as she pointed her baton at them.
"Well, at least she admits it now," Sunset remarked as she used her Semblance to make sure everyone heard what Azalea and the others were saying.
"About time," Ivy, Valencia, and Bianca said as they smiled.
"Let's see how she does," Terracotta stated as he watched the battle continue.
Azalea stood before her old bullies from Sanctuary Academy and glared at them as she used her baton to melt to ice pinning Slate down. Jet and Aoi scowled at Azalea before they rushed toward her with their weapons. Aoi used Fire Dust in her staff to strike at the horned Faunus while Jet slashed at her with her hook swords, but Azalea either managed to dodge the attacks or block them with her forearms. While she didn't take any damage, Azalea's sweater was getting torn up as the sleeves and collar started to get singed and cut. Kicking away at the two, Azalea was given some breathing room as they went flying back into the Forest Biome. But just as she caught her breath, Slate saw Envy running toward Azalea. "Lea, look out," Slate exclaimed as he intercepted Envy and grabbed at her. When he did, his viridian-colored Aura flashed and a laser shot from the forest to try and hit a target, which ended up being Envy as Slate let go at the last second.
"It appears that just as Slate's Aura began to fall down to the red, he made sure that Envy Sinn was hit by her own teammate's attack," Oobleck announced as he explained what just happened.
"A truly noble action," Port complimented. "Sacrificing oneself to save a teammate. There are many Huntsmen and Huntresses who have done the same in their lives."
As Slate stepped back from the battlefield to check on Cereza and Layla, he turned to Azalea. "Kick some butt," he told her.
Azalea nodded and turned back to Team JADE as the bullies stood at the edge of the Forest Biome. "Bitch," Aoi shouted as she used her Semblance to shoot at Azalea. The farm girl just smiled at this and let the attack come closer as it bounced off her body. "W-what?! HOW!?"
"Looks like Azalea's Semblance is really helpful against Miss Lobelia's," Port remarked.
"Yes, originally Miss Holstein could only use her Semblance to bend light around herself to turn invisible for short periods of time," Oobleck explained. "But with everything that she has gone through since coming to Beacon, her ability has evolved to where her invisibility lasts longer, but she can also create bursts of light that can blind others like a flashbang grenade and deflect light-based weaponry." Vinyl nodded in agreement as she was responsible for helping discover that last ability.
"Fine, if lasers won't work on you, how about this," Aoi exclaimed as she used her Laser Vision to cut a large tree down. Envy used her sword's whip form to pull it high enough for Jet to grab onto it with his hook swords and throw the tree down at Azalea. As the tree flew toward her, Azalea only braced herself and caught the entire thing. Looking up at Team JADE, the bullies knew they messed up as everyone was amazed at what they were seeing.
"I knew that wouldn't work," Bianca remarked from the stands. "Azalea's a bit of a badass."
"Runs in the family," Ventus added as he looked at Terracotta and Ivy.
"Same with looks," Mason Stonehaven added as Valencia and Ivy smiled.
"Go get them, Azalea," Pinkie cheered on with the rest of Fragment Hunter voicing their own words of encouragement.
On the other side of the stands, Smoke Shadow and his friends voiced their own thoughts on what they saw. "Man, I didn't think she would be that strong," Tremor remarked as he shoved a large handful of popcorn into his mouth.
"I guess we need to expect anything from Azalea and the rest of her friends," Smoke said as he continued to watch the battle with interest and steal bites of popcorn from Tremor.
Team PRDT and Team GLOW were enjoying the fight as they saw Azalea handle herself against Team JADE. "Come on! You can do it, Lea," called out Percival. The rest of Team PRDT cheered on their new friend with their leader while Team GLOW watched on in excited interest.
Throwing the tree that she held in her hands at Team JADE, Azalea watched as the three worked together to slice the tree apart. "Is that the best you can do," Azalea asked as she looked at the bullies. "Because I can do this all day," she boasted as she pulled at her ruined sweater just as the music Vinyl provided changed to a new song. Tearing the ruined sweater off of herself, Azalea revealed just what she was wearing underneath it, surprising almost everyone who knew her. With the sweater ripped off, Azalea wore a sleeveless purple leather jacket with metal studs around shoulders and on the collar, a pair of vambraces on her forearms, a fuchsia tank top, and her regular choker. Along with that, she revealed that she was using her Semblance to hide armor that was on her new pants, with pieces on her knees that would help deal damage and a single modified greave on her right shin. As she threw her destroyed sweater away, her hair moved to show an emblem of a butterfly with diamond-patterned wings next to a gladiolus flower.
"SWEET SEXY SUPERNOVA," Vinyl exclaimed as she, Port, and Oobleck got a better look at Azalea's outfit.
"Oh-ho-ho! Looks like the shy Azalea has acquired a bold new outfit that's fitting for a Huntress," Port said. "Just like a butterfly emerging from a chrysalis, we seem to have a new warrior in the world."
"It appears so, Peter," Oobleck agreed. "Azalea seems to have also been using her Semblance to hide her armor. Let's see how it will assist her in the rest of this round."
The audience went nuts over Azalea's new outfit as the members of Fragment Hunter were speechless, but Bianca smiled brightly at the sight. "You finally put it on," Bianca thought to herself as she looked at Azalea on the battlefield.
"Like a change of clothes is going to help you fight us," Envy shouted as she glared at Azalea.
"You'd be surprised," Azalea retorted as she lightly stomped her right foot and the greave opened up to release something from inside. Catching it, Azalea revealed that it was a second Multi-Acton Dust Baton as she extended the weapon and combined it with her first one, transforming the two batons into a staff of her own. "I've changed more than just my outfit," she said as her eyes changed from a vibrant green color to a ruby red. Jet, Aoi, and Envy all growled as they stared down the determined Azalea with hatred. The three rushed toward their opponent, but as they went for their strikes, Azalea countered by grabbing at Envy and throwing her into the others. "That's for pelting me with water balloons!"
As the bullies picked themselves up, Azalea used her Semblance's 'Flash Bang' ability to blind the three before turning invisible, retreating to another area of the battlefield. "Where is she," Aoi snarled as she and the others looked around.
"The cow could be anywhere," Jet stated as he prepared to defend himself. "Spilt up and take her down," he ordered the girls as he went back to the Forest Biome.
"OLLY OLLY OXEN BITCH," Envy shouted as she tried to goad Azalea out of hiding as she went toward the Anti-Gravity Biome while Aoi stayed in the center of the arena. "Where are you, you damn Dairy Cow!?"
"Right here," Azalea said as she revealed herself to be hanging upside-down thanks to one of the platforms. Taking advantage of her jump scare she caused Envy, Azalea unleashed a flurry of punches to the bully's face and chest. With one final punch, Envy was sent flying back toward the center of the field from Azalea's raw strength. "That's for shredding my clothes!" Layla and Cerzea made their way to Azalea to see how she was doing. "I'll need your help keeping them in the center of the arena. When I give the signal, keep them there," Azalea told the girls.
"Yeah, okay," Cereza replied as she was still surprised at Azalea's new outfit and drive to fight Team JADE.
"You got it, Lea," Layla agreed as the Faunus girl turned invisible again.
As Jet searched through the Forest Biome for any sign of Azalea, he heard Port and Oobleck giving commentary. "Azalea's really giving Team JADE a run for their money," Port said as a clip of Azalea beating down Envy and sending the girl flying was shown.
"Yes, I believe that things are looking to be in favor of Team FCSA," Oobleck added.
"Not if I have anything to say about it," Jet muttered to himself just before he heard something. Looking behind himself, he watched as Azalea appeared suddenly and kicked him out of the forest. "Ow! That girl is going to pay for that," Jet exclaimed as he picked himself up. Seeing that he was near the edge of the Forest Biome, he tried to climb up into the trees with his hook swords in order to hide and get the drop on Azalea. However, he felt a hot wind around himself and looked to see Azalea's staff flying at him with a burning whirlwind surrounding it. "Crap!"
Getting knocked out of the tree and seeing the edge of the forest beginning to burn, Jet watched as Azalea stepped out of the blaze and glare at him with red eyes. "This is for throwing food at me," Azalea said as she punched Jet in the face hard enough to send him flying, caught his leg, pulled him back, and smashed him in the gut hard enough that he went bouncing back into the center of the arena where Envy and Aoi were waiting. "This is for the Rapier Wasps in my locker," she exclaimed as she rushed toward the three and disarmed Aoi of her staff. Using the Lightning Dust in it, Azalea unleashed another 'Flash Bang' to shock all three and ended up separating them. As the bullies recovered from the damage, Azalea broke Aoi's weapon against her knees and threw away the broken staff before pulling out her batons again.
"Bitch," Aoi shouted as she saw what Azalea did to her weapon.
"Look in a mirror lately," Azalea retorted, angering Aoi more as the girl unleashed a large blast with her Laser Vision Semblance. The laser failed to do anything to Azalea, but ended up causing the rest of Team JADE to dodge what bent around Azalea. "This is for burning my textbooks," Azalea said as she continued to list every horrible thing she could remember her former bullies did to torment her at Sanctuary Academy. Grabbing onto Aoi's hair and pulling hard, Aoi cried out in pain before Azalea smacked her around with her baton. Hearing Jet and Envy running her with their swords, Azalea released Aoi from her grip and combined her batons into a staff once more to block their attacks. Switching the Dust settings on both batons, Azalea had electricity channel through the ends and shock her opponents. "This is for calling me all those names like 'Dairy Cow'," she exclaimed as she grabbed Jet, threw her knee into his groin, and threw him into Envy.
"Oh, that had to hurt," Vinyl said as she winced at Jet's pain.
"It did seem like it," Oobleck commented with a grimace on his face while he adjusted his glasses. "But Jet Pitch's Aura is still hanging in there. He's a remarkably durable fighter."
"Either that or Miss Holstein is pulling her punches to make this fight last as long as it has been," Port mused.
Jet moaned in pain and he, Aoi, and Envy picked themselves up once again, glaring at Azalea as she looked down at them. "This is for insulting my family," Azalea said as she changed the Dust settings on her staff and threw it at the three. As she threw it, a whirlwind kicked up and sent the three flying into the air before Azalea grabbed her weapon again and immediately changed the setting to Earth Dust to unleash a number of rocks to hit her enemies. As they landed on the ground, Azalea ran toward them and hit all three with a strong clothesline that downed them back onto the ground. "Now," Azalea called out as she went running toward the Anti-Gravity Biome again and started going up to the highest platform. As she did, Layla and Cereza worked together to use Ice Dust they brought with them and froze Team JADE in place.
"Things aren't over just yet, folks," Port announced as he watched the battle. "After a vicious beatdown on her former bullies, Azalea Calla Holstein has called in her teammates to keep the enemy team in the middle of the arena as she climbs to the highest point she can! Just what is she up to?"
Reaching her destination as the music from Vinyl changed to a dramatic tune, Azalea separated her batons and stomped her right foot to open up her greave. Changing the Dust settings on her batons to Earth and Gravity, she placed the weapons in her greave and closed the armor. "This is for what you did to Slate," Azalea whispered to herself as she raised her armored leg up high. As the cameras focused on Azalea's pose, she jumped up and floated in the air thanks to the Gravity Dust in her armor. Adjusting her position in the air, Azalea soon launched herself forward and went for a flying kick similar to how she and Percival Ivory took out the Leviathan Grimm at Port Mako. With her right foot flying toward Team JADE as they were frozen in place, they could only look on and exclaim in terror as Azalea made contact and broke all three of their Auras. Impacting on the ground, the force of Azalea's Dust-enhanced kick created a crater where she stood in the center of and Team JADE laid defeated in. The audience was amazed by the finishing move as it didn't leave a regular crater, but one in the shape of Azalea's diamond-winged butterfly emblem.
"OUTSTANDING," Oobleck shouted in joy. "What a stylish finish from Azalea and Team FCSA! They will be moving onto the second round and the Doubles Match of the tournament!"
As the audience cheered at the battle's climactic finish, Azalea panted heavily as she processed what she did. She finally put the bullies, who have tormented her since she started Sanctuary Academy, in their place and beat them in a fair fight. Back when she saw that they had come to Beacon for the tournament, she was scared to even confront them. But now, she just finished battling them and won. Azalea was feeling so many different emotions all at once and couldn't stop smiling as she did. "Way to go, Azalea! You did it," Slate said as he approached his teammate. Hearing him near her, Azalea's rush of emotion had her forget that the crowd was still watching her and she pounced on Slate, kissing him deeply as they fell to the floor. Slate was surprised at the sudden kiss that kept becoming deeper and more passionate, but didn't object to it.
"Ho ho! It looks like somebody's getting frisky after an excellent victory," Port remarked as he watched Azalea jumped onto Slate and the two began making out.
"Yes, I see it as well," Oobleck commented. "In fact, the whole world sees it," he added. "...let's hope they don't go further," the doctor said as they commentators watched as Slate and Azalea were not stopping.
Back on the battlefield, Cereza and Layla were surprised at what they were watching. "Um, guys," Layla said in order to get their attention, but failed to get a response.
"You do know that you're swapping spit in front of all of Remnant, right," Cereza stated in order to get Azalea to talk.
"Don't care," Azalea quickly replied before she kept kissing Slate.
"Well, they're not going to get off of each other anytime soon," Cereza sighed. "Let's get them out of here," she told Layla and had the girl use her Semblance to carry the teenagers who were making out.
"I didn't think she had it in her to do any of that," Rua admitted as she watched Azalea and Slate get dragged out of the battlefield telekinetically.
"Neither did I," Sunset said.
"Where did she get that wonderful jacket," Valencia questioned. "Was it you," she asked Bianca, who only smiled and nodded in reply.
"Well, she's definitely your daughter," Mason, Aurora, and Nocturne all said to Ivy and Terracotta. The two Bovine Faunus only chuckled in response.
"They were so awesome," Pinkie exclaimed as she moved around like a hummingbird on a sugar rush. "Did you see that last move," she asked Ventus as she grabbed onto his jacket.
"Yeah, I saw," Ventus said with a grin. "I helped her get the armor for it with General Ironwood," he explained and made Pinkie's smile even larger.
In the rest of the stands, Team PRDT cheered on Azalea's victory while Smoke Shadow and his team talked amongst themselves. "Darn," Smoke said as he snapped his fingers. "She's already taken."
"That armor was a surprise," Oliver Electrum said as he opened up his Scroll. "We'll need to consider what else it can do if she's going to end up facing off against us again."
"I'm honestly just glad she was able to break out of her shell," Veronica Moonstone voiced as she remembered interacting with Azalea a number of times.
"That battle was still amazing, though," Kun Agate, aka Tremor, stated as he took a sip of his drink. "She's definitely going to be one hell of a Huntress."
After returning to the fairgrounds, Fragment Hunter was able to get Azalea and Slate off of each other as the group went to celebrate Team FCSA's victory. "Sorry... I don't exactly know what came over me," Azalea apologized to Slate with a blushing face.
"I wasn't against it," Slate said as he looked away from his friends. "So... Did you really mean what you said about me?" Azalea remembered that she called Slate her boyfriend during the battle and shyly nodded to answer him. Slate only smiled in return as he placed his hat on Azalea's head, which made her smile back.
"Well, now we have a happy couple," Celadon commented. "Let's enjoy ourselves before the next battle. You really did a number on the arena with that attack," she remarked.
As Fragment Hunter kept talking, Terracotta approached the group to speak with Azalea. While he was silent to start, he embraced his daughter in a big hug and spoke. "I'm so proud of you, Azalea," he said. Azalea hugged her father back as her mother, uncles, and cousin joined in. "I'm sure that all of Mirabelle watched that fight and are partying hard right now."
"I know I would if I wasn't here right now," Ivy joked. "Still, you've grown so much, Azalea. I'm so happy that you did all of that."
"Way to go, Lea," Valencia said. "I can't wait to talk with all of my friends about this."
"Are you leaving already," Lapis asked as she looked at Valenica and Mason.
"Yeah. Business, I'm afraid," Mason replied. "If you end up coming back to Mirabelle, don't be afraid to visit. We need to go now if we want to reach home in time, Valencia."
"Well, I guess we'll see each other again," Valencia said as she gave her cousin one last hug.
"Maybe after the tournament is over," Azalea voiced. "I'll see you some other time, Val. And thanks for the music box." The Stonehaven's waved goodbye to the group as they headed off to return home, leaving Fragment Hunter to enjoy the rest of the Vytal Festival.
"Enjoying the new jacket," Bianca asked Azalea as the two walked around the fairgrounds together.
"I seriously love this new outfit, B," Azalea said. "This jacket just feels wonderful to wear. It's like I felt like a different person when I put this on earlier."
"Glad to hear that," Bianca replied before she and Azalea saw a mother and her child in front of them. The kid had a notebook and a pen in hand as they looked at the two Faunus girls. "Oh, you want an autograph," Bianca asked as she looked at the kid. They nodded in reply and held out the items to not Bianca, but Azalea. "Well, that's a surprise to me," Bianca remarked with a smile as Azalea pointed to herself in confusion for a brief moment.
"We loved the battle earlier and you were just amazing," the mother told Azalea. "Is it alright if..."
"Sure thing," Azalea said as she took the notebook and signing her name with the pen. As she did, she dotted the 'I' in her last name with a butterfly. Returning the notebook to the kid, they smiled brightly and gave Azalea a hug before returning to their mother's side. "Aww, that was so sweet," Azalea said as she watched the two walk off to see the rest of the fairgrounds.
"Yeah... I always love it when there are children as my fans," Bianca agreed. "You're really becoming different from when we first met. I remember when you and your mom first showed up at my place and you kept hiding behind Ivy."
"Tell me about it," Azalea said as the two began to reminisce about their childhood. As they did, time passed on for them and the next battle that Fragment Hunter was involved with came quickly.
I'M FINALLY DONE! I've finally gotten to the main fight I wanted to make since creating Team JADE! And with it, Azalea's character development is complete! She's no longer the shy girl that she was introduced as. Instead, she's a bold and determined warrior who fights for what she wants to fight for! I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter because I'm going to enjoy a nice break before I get writing more of Sideline or any of my other stories.
Onto the music for the battle which Vinyl provided in-universe. For the start of the match where the violin sounded off and it turned into a rock song, that is actually "Destiny's Play (Re-Union)" from Kamen Rider Kiva. When Azalea reveals her new outfit and starts fighting Team JADE, listen to "Supernova" from Kamen Rider Kiva as well. When Azalea goes for her finishing move, the music that plays is "Wake Up" from the soundtrack of Kamen Rider Kiva. I loved that show and the music was great, so check it out if you want. Don't hate on all the use of good music from a fun series.
Azalea's new permanent Huntress outfit was inspired by a number of things, so I'm proud of what the art that shows it off looks like. If you wanna check it out, go to my Tumblr, sullivantwissarcana, and look at my RWBY Original Characters pages.
For the battle with Team JADE vs Azalea, I used Rooster Teeth's Red Vs Blue (specifically, the Season 8 episode "This One Goes To 11") for inspiration for some moments such as the smashing punch and the clothesline. I would have added more from it, but I wanted to be more original. Otherwise, Jet would have taken more hits like from RvB.
I'm SO excited to hear your thoughts on this chapter, so make sure to leave a review. And with this chapter ended, I'm going to be psyched for Volume 6 of RWBY when it comes out next weekend. There's going to be a lot to work with during and after that season as well. Until then, the next time I get writing for Sideline, we'll be seeing the next fight between Fragment Hunter and a team they've met before. Just who, you'll have to wait and see.
WaterDragonMaverick, signing out! Thank you, everyone!