Black Paladin

Chapter 9: The more things change

AN: Sorry about the wait. Writer's block.

Over the rest of the semester, Pyrrha and I divided our time between training, forging Νίκη, and stroking the flames of our budding romance.

Apparently, Jaune was relieved that the tension between us was finally out in the open. I can't honestly say which of us hit him harder for that remark, but his idiocy is irrelevant now.

We told JNPR about my abilities, and after a joint explanation, they were accepting. Surprisingly Ren was the least sensible one, and Nora calmed him down. That left my jaw positively hanging.

We explored and pushed my newly discovered limits. Everyday, I would take a few hours at night to push my control. And the results, well I only ever took Pyrrha to my 'cave of horrors'. I didn't want to cause any friction on my team. And even Pyrrha had trouble with some of the abominations I was creating. One she actually approved of was the Centapods.

King Taijitu, with exactly one hundred deathstalker legs, fifty a side, and the entire creature was armored, which I shaped, into essentially a massive, land crawling, sea swimming, transport vehicle. It had large pockets in it's armor. These pockets hermetically sealed, and while are theoretically used to carry young, can be ordered to carry food, weapons and materials. While on top, I had shaped it into an almost entirely flat layer of chitten. This layer can have almost saddle looking contraptions I had designed, that can have small structures built onto them. This could be used to move storage crates, one hundred and eighty of them safely, or one hundred and ten livable spaces.

I could fairly easily 'mass produce' them, as they grew to full size in about a decade, and as Grimm, require almost zero food. I already had 3, about half size, using my abilities to encourage growth.

She however highly disapproved of one of my test concepts. I called them Darkwalkers. Due to the way their bodies were porous, they could adapt their bodies to phase out of the visible spectrum. As she asked, I ensured that were destroyed.

Some of the others were not exactly well received. I also learned she really hates spiders. Like really despises spiders. Flying spiders had her running from the room. All and all, it was a bonding experience. We went on actual dates, but we both are...uncomfortable with small talk. So we went with our childhoods. Well her childhood, and my service history, as she referred to it relentlessly, and as we got closer, we talked about goals, dreams, ambitions.

Pyrrha's explains, "I want to travel the world meeting all kinds of people, and do everything I can to help make the world a better place."

"I wanted freedom. I have always wanted the freedom to think, I want to go north, and just leave, the freedom to decide my own future. Something I never had when I was younger. I saw hunting as a way to turn that into a living."

She laughed, "Honestly, after everything you said about Spartum, I can't say I am surprised by that."

"Now, I would hunt while I was moving, if my very presence makes Grimm stay away from a town I was visiting, I could keep them safe too."

"I don't think you have that kind of presence." Pyrrha laughs, waving to the small Beowulfs playing at the edge of the clearing.

"Not today, but as I train, as I get stronger, I will be able to keep Grimm away from a town, maybe even after I have left." I say, waving up at the sky, from our picnic blanket.

"Ambitious." She responds.

"How powerful do you think you will be?"

"I think I will be a Huntress, and warrior for the record books." She says honestly, "But that has never mattered, what I can do…" She pauses, thinking of the words.

As a thought occurs, I laugh a bit, "Sometimes I forget, we were raised on two different definition of power."

"What do you mean?" Pyrrha asks, leaning over toward me.

"As I was raised, power was what you possessed, and that equated a certain level of freedom. Those with more power were more free, and theory being, the most powerful person was the most free. It was a brutal system, but one that drove my need to be free." I say, turning over to her, "You, from what you have said, were raised to believe that power was a gift, to be used to help others. While both are right, yet both are wrong. Power doesn't mean freedom, I learned that the hard way. However, powerful people rarely want to help, something you see by looking around at the world."

"I think power is one path to be able to make your own happiness." She says, intertwining her hand with mine.

"That is true, and really deep." I turn, and we lay there, just enjoying the company of the other.

When we get back, we have a short training session, and a long kiss goodbye. I head back to the team room, and get into my corner, wondering how my life had turned around so much.

As the break between classes wraps up, and my team was at breakfast, Yang asks Blake, "Whatcha doing?"

Blake responds, "Nothing." closing her book. "Just going over notes from last semester."

Yang catches a grape in her mouth.

Yang responds, "Lame."

Nora giggles as she continues to toss grapes at Yang with her spoon. Yang eats the fruit, and gives Nora the thumbs up.

Ruby slams a binder onto the table, catching everyone off guard.

The cover once read "Vytal Festival Activities, Property of Weiss Schnee", this was crossed out with a red marker pen, and with the same pen, Ruby's new title, "Best Day Ever Activities", has been scrawled underneath.

Ruby waves her arms about, "Sisters... friends... Weiss."

Weiss demands, "Hey!"

Ruby announces, "Four score and seven minutes ago, I had a dream."

Yang snarks, "This ought to be good." then catching another grape.

Ruby continues, "A dream that one day, the five of us will come together, as a team, and have the most fun anyone has ever had... ever!"

Weiss demands, seeing the binder, "Did you steal my binder?"

Ruby making peace signs with both hands. "I am not a crook." I blink. Positive I had seen that somewhere else before.

Blake asks, "What are you talking about?"

Ruby yells, "I'm talking about kicking off the semester with a bang!" While gesturing wildly at Blake.

Yang begins, "I always kick my semesters off with a…"

Before her spoon pushed closed her mouth, and she turned to see me smirking, "Yang, it is too early or too late for your puns. Especially ones that bad."

I turn just in time to take an apple to the face, courtesy of Nora.

Nora chants, "Boooooooooooooooo!"

Ruby explains, "Look guys, it's been a good two weeks and between more exchange students arriving and the tournament at the end of the year, our second semester is going to be great! But, classes start back up tomorrow! Which is why I've taken the time to schedule a series of wonderful events for us today."

Weiss responds, "I don't know whether to be proud or scared of what you have in store." looking at the thick binder.

Yang thrown the apple back at Nora, missing, and hitting some other poor student. They shout, "Hey!" and Nora giggles.

Blake sighs, "I don't know. I think I might sit this one out."

Weiss says, "Sit out or not, I think that however we spend this last day, we should do it as a team!" Supportively.

Nora yells, getting something from the floor. "I got it!"

Weiss continues, "I for one think that…" and is interrupted by a pie landing on her face.

Nora sits down and points at Ren who has his head in his palm. Pyrrha's hand is over her mouth and Jaune simply sits staring wide-eyed while covering his ear with his palm.

And in such a simple way, what would be known as the first Food War of Beacon began.

Outside the cafeteria, Sun and Neptune are walking together as Sun relates the events which took place before the latter's arrival.

As Sun finishes, Neptune responds, "Man, that's harsh."

Sun says, "I know, we were fighting side by side. She was super fast and I threw a banana at the guy, which sounds gross, but it was awesome."

Neptune says, "Nice!"

Sun responds, "Right? And the best part is, she's a Faunus. But that's a secret, okay?"

Neptune says, "Got it."

Sun leans in close in order to stress the importance of this secret.

Sun demands, "And not a, "I'm gonna go tell Scarlet the second Sun turns his back secret", I'm talking secret secret."

Neptune says, "Whoa, chill out, man, okay? I got it." whispering "I got it!"

Sun demands, "You better." As they walk past the windows of the cafeteria, food, and the occasional student impact against the window, unnoticed through their conversation, "I just don't want to screw this up, you know? The people here are the coolest, one of them even has wings! No offense to you guys."

Neptune scoffs, "None taken."

Sun freaking out a bit, "They're just in here. I'm really excited for you to meet them. So be cool, okay? You're gonna be cool, right?"

Neptune asks, "Dude."

Sun looks up from the floor, over Neptune's feet to his face. Neptune's teeth gleam as he smiles.

Sun admits, "Good point."

Sun and Neptune enter the cafeteria where students are heard screaming.

As students stampeded past them, being lead by Sun's 'Boy with wings.', and some yelling, "Food fight!"

I look up, having escorted most of the students out of the room.

Nora cackles from atop her tower. "Ahahahaha!"

Team JNPR are standing about a tower of tables stacked in a ramshackle manner.

Nora sing between cackles, "I'm queen of the castle! I'm queen of the castle!"

Ruby stomps her foot on a table and jabs at Team JNPR, yelling, "Justice will be swift! Justice will be painful!" and crushing a carton of milk, "It will be delicious!" As I hold back a laugh.

The rest of us cheer her on, "Yeah!"

Nora yells, "Off with their heads!" waving a breadstick.

Nora jumps down from the top of her tower, and the food fight resumes.

Team JNPR begin tossing watermelons, and other assorted produce at us.

Ruby commands, "Yang! Turkey!"

Yang runs over to the turkeys and sticks her fists inside them, proceeding to block and punch the melons as they speed toward her. As Blake charges in to help Yang with some that were going to get past. Then Yang attempts to hit Pyrrha and Jaune with her turkeys. In one case, she succeeded.

Blake and Pyrrha engage, baguette, against the twin rods of french pressed bread. Even with liberal use of her semblance, Blake is defeated by a sharp jab to the chest, snapping Pyrrha's baguette. She picks up Blake's unbroken, and as a javelin, strikes Yang, stopping her charge.

Ruby skates past her, on her metal food tray and using it, in a backflip, to deflect Pyrrha's next bread, and strikes inside Pyrrha's guard with the tray, and knocks her to the foot of the 'castle'.

Weiss, using ketchup as she would her dust, creates a slick, and causes the charging Ren to collide with a pile of tables, and it...explodes? Nora jumps off one of the exploded tables, and catches a metal pole, and shoves it into a watermelon. Her first strike knocking Ruby back, as Weiss dodges, and grabs...since when did this school serve whole swordfish? Weiss and Nora exchange blows, and in the end, their equal skill, and Nora's superior power win one, and she knocks her backwards.

She impacts a concrete pillar, hard. The impact knocks her out and Ruby holds her in her arms as the pillar collapses around them.

Ruby demands, "Weiss, Weiss! Don't leave me! Nooo!"

A the fighting resumes, as Yang, getting another two full turkeys, sprints forward, and engages Ren, who is handily defeated by a vicious uppercut and down jab combo, then Nora knocked out launches her through the ceiling, and I wonder how long it will take her to fall down.

Blake grabs a long whip of connected sausage links, and uses them as a whip, and knocks Nora into the vending machines, and Nora retaliates by throwing the cans that come out, and tossing them like grenades, forcing Blake back.

Pyrrha moves to end this fight, by using polarity to lift dozens, if not hundreds of cans, and throwing them as a maelstrom. Quickly ending Blake, and moving toward Ruby, until she begins sprinting toward the other end of the room. As she runs, the wind generated in this small space is enough to stop the magnetic acceleration, and reverse its flow, back toward JNPR. She jumps into a spin, and about a meter from the wall, lands.

The fight, truly epic all the way through, ends with JNPR slammed against the cracked far wall, painted with soda and food. As Team JNPR slides off the wall, their outlines remains, like some kind of monument.

Sun's comment rings through the silence, "I love these guys."

The doors behind them slam open and Glynda enters the room, growling.

"I can explain!" I begin.

"Then do so, Mr. Sinclair." She says, waving about her crop.

I pause, thinking of the story, then simply, "I was going to clean it."

"How?" She demands, waving to the mess, as Yang falls, creating another hole in the ceiling, and aggravating the problem.

I grimus, and wave my hand, and the room begins to reassemble itself, and food disintegrates.

Glynda looks almost pleased, and turns to the rest, "Children, please." She begins, adjusting her glasses, "Do not play with your food!"

Nora burps aloud as both Teams JNPR and RWBY try and fail to compose themselves. Glynda grumbles at the situation, and as Ozpin approaches and places a hand on her shoulder, I rejoin my team.