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I am making no money from this.
Chapter 70: Round One! Fight!
On the island of Patch, in a quiet part of what toed the line between large town and small city, situated closer to the more affluent residential areas and older homes that had been built before the war than the more bustling and crowded areas close to the docks and warehouses that provided much of the islands' employment, was a tavern named the Bear. The Bear was known to almost all who lived on the island due to the identity of its' owners, the landlord being one Miltia Wukong, formerly Malachite and her husband being Sun Wukong; one of the most recognisable faces within the community. Currently the Bear was filled almost to capacity as a sizeable portion of the islands' close knit community had gathered in bars, youth groups and anywhere else that could enough people to watch several of their own take part in the greatest sporting event on Remnant.
"Here's your order….hey, um Missus Xiao Long can I sit here for a while I don't want Mum to see me slacking off while I'm supposed to be working?" Amethyst Malachite asked as she delivered a tray of food and drinks to a corner table with a great view of the widescreen TV mounted on the opposite wall, said table being occupied by the most famous Huntress to ever hail from the humble fishing village the Patch had once been, Ruby Rose, her wife and twin children and Amethyst's own teacher Yang Xiao Long as well as her soon to be retired headmaster Taiyang. Yang glanced up from her Scroll as she sent a text message asking if Blake had arrived at the stadium yet and studied her students' face, noting as she had several times that she very much resembled her father while having her mothers' jade green eyes, ebony hair and pale complexion
"Sure you can" she patted an empty seat and gestured for Amethyst to sit. The Monkey Faunus did so, tail reflexively curling and uncurling as she silently realised the calibre of Hunters she was now surrounded by; the brief moment of silent contemplation was broken by a small hand tugging at her sleeve
"Hey" one of Ruby and Penny Rose's twins' the little girl asked with a bright smile that seemed to stretch to the corners of her freckled cheeks and make her silver eyes shine "You think our cousins are gonna win?" Amethyst gave a wide smile of her own while giving her honest answer, which also happened to be the only one she dared give while sat at this particular table
"I think they're definitely gonna win"
The staff room of Halo Academy was surprisingly quiet, even though lessons had ended for the day one could usually find the room filled with the brand of frenetic energy unique to teachers who had papers to grade, lessons to plan and far too little time. Currently however its' only occupants were Lie and Nora Ren, who were making no attempt at maintaining professionalism whilst her head lay in his lap and Neptune and Scarlet David-Vasilias; the private detective technically violating some obscure rule with his presence considering he was only married to a member of staff, though his was a technicality nobody present was interested in as the sound of roaring crowds emanated from the television the quartet were watching demanded their attention
"Where is everyone?" Scarlet asked from his place at the small stove in the staff room kitchen, where he was using his cybernetic left hand to flip the burgers he was cooking, a habit that irked his husband to no end. Ren took a moment to think before answering
"Some of the students have gathered into the atrium to watch the first round together, completely of their own accord. Glynda and a few of the others decided to join them and oversee things" a proud smile at the thought the school spirit among his students crossed his face before he continued "Peach is in her lab, she has a project she's working on-"
"As always" Nora noted with a roll of her eyes before adding "And Dove went home to watch the first round with his kids….I think he said his son starts here next year" whatever distaste she had for Professor Bronzewing she would not begrudge the man leaving the campus to spend time with his family; both she and her husband had learned the value of family the hard way, both orphans who had only truly felt at home after being all but adopted by the Arcs.
"I get that Peach loves her subject but how on Remnant is she missing this?" Neptune sighed with clear annoyance at his colleagues seeming lack of interest in the fate of the students she taught. Any further discussion was halted by a gentle rapping at the door
"Come in" Ren called out and the door swung opened revealing first year student Shine Jua, leader of Team SNST clad in a pair of grey sweatpants and a black t-shirt
"Professor Nora I wanted to ask if you had a few minutes, I wanted to ask some questions about the assignment you gave us" Nora rose from her position on Ren's lap and gave the student a bright smile. Shine had progressed incredibly from his admittedly lack luster beginnings as a student; whatever training Team SNST had been subjected to by Team GORE prior to their departure had obviously left a remarkable impression on them.
"I can schedule an hour or two tomorrow morning for some more in depth tutoring for you and your team if that'd help?"
"It really would" the dark skinned teen smiled gratefully before catching sight of the television "Ah crap I'm gonna miss the start" he made to turn and sprint to the atrium
"Wait!" Nora called out before he could do so and motioned to an empty seat "You can watch in here….we won't tell Professor Goodwitch if you don't"
"Thank you" he beamed, Neptune turned to his husband
"Hey Scar, can you throw another burger on….and for Oum sake will you stop using your hand!"
Below Halo Academy in the lowest reaches of the Hive City which formed New Vale's capital was a bookkeepers whose clientele seemed to consist of criminals of almost every kind imaginable who had money to spare with the occasional hard working individual whose honest living failed to pay enough to allow them to live to a less downtrodden part of the city. The business had recently come under new management and ownership, the individual who had bought it being none other than Rhodium Torchwick; the gangster adding it to an ever expanding portfolio of legal businesses he had begun acquiring after the private security firm he had founded following his escape from prison had begun turning a legitimate profit. This establishment much like the others he had taken over was useful more as an avenue for money laundering as no matter how well the various takeaways, barbershops and second hand car dealerships he had taken over did financially they would never manage to make as much money as the drug trade which Rhodium had taken steps to secure the lions' share of, his seemingly inexorable takeover of organised crime within the city having come to the attention of Melanie Malachite if rumours heard from addicts were to believed. There was another reason Rhodium refused to leave the criminal lifestyle and simply become a legitimate businessman; the life he had chosen excited him and felt like a connection to the father he had never known, being forced to comply with rules beyond those he set for himself left him more bored than he currently was.
"Is the match gonna start are they gonna fucking talk about it all day?" the redhead spat, gesturing at the largest television which showed a stadium somewhere in Atlas whose name Rhodium didn't know, he'd never left his home Kingdom and frankly had no real desire to.
"Not scheduled to start for another ten minutes boss" one of his cohorts answered from nearby where they were placing a small bet on a Mistrali hover-boarding competition taking place later that evening. Rhodium made a noise of pure annoyance before turning to one of the bookkeepers', whom the mobster realised was now one of his employees
"Do you know who the first match is gonna be?"
"I do Mister Torchwick" the old man, whose face Rhodium found oddly familiar answered as he produced the fixtures which handily provided some stats and photographs of each competing student, provided by Atlas Academy "The first match is actually a local team, Team FADE and they're up against-"
"Lemme see" Rhodium snatched the papers from the old mans' hand, eyes widening in shock at the sight of familiar faces before he gave a wide smile that showed off the white gold false teeth filling his mouth and let out a hysterical laugh at the absurdity of it all
"Boss?" one of his drug runners asked with a raised eyebrow; Rhodium paid them no mind and simply withdrew a bundle of Lien wrapped in a rubber band, the size of which rendered the bookkeeper speechless. Rhodium, still giggling, placed his bet
"Ten grand on the local team to win the whole fucking thing. That Lion Faunus packs a punch"
The first round of the Vytal Tournament was being held in a truly massive stadium situated within the upper reaches of the Atlesian capital of Eisenstadt Prime, it was designed to hold tens of thousands of guests and if the deafening cacophony that greeted Team FADE as they exited their changing room and strode purposefully towards the arena itself were any indication each and everyone of those seats had been filled with a cheering fan.
"This" Eagle beamed nervously as she quoted her honorary Aunt Nora "Is happening"
"Hell yeah it is" Felix breathed out as the four teens drew close to the edge of the arena before finally stepping onto a small outcropping which seemed somehow separate from the gigantic circular structure which would soon become their testing ground. Felix noted, with a slight double take that each of Team FADE seemed to be wearing what could be considered their 'original' Hunter uniforms; he had foregone the baggy hoodie he had been wearing whilst in Atlas, reasoning that it provided an opponent with something to grab onto; Diamond's coat had been ruined during their last mission, Arctus had spilled oil on his winter jacket while maintaining his weapon and Eagle claimed that her thicker hoodie had simply been misplaced, though Felix was certain that he had seen Hellion wearing it to breakfast only a few days ago. The oddly random observation was pushed from his mind as the crowds' cheering reached new intensity, their opponents had arrived.
"Ladies and gentleman, children of all ages!" a voice that both Eagle and Felix would know anywhere boomed out over the stadiums' speakers "Welcome to the Vytal Tournament!"
"Uncle Qrow?" Felix mouthed in silent disbelief; though he was unsure exactly why as he knew that his great uncle had performed this exact job in the past
"Indeed" a far more subdued but equally enthusiastic voice chimed in, words falling from them at a somewhat unnerving pace "We are broadcasting live from the Prime Stadium in Atlas and I am your host Bartholomew Oobleck, with me is our special guest presenter Qrow Branwen. Qrow any thoughts on the upcoming match?"
"Oh I have plenty of thoughts, but apparently for the sake of fair an unbiased coverage I'm not allowed to talk about 'em on air-" the stadium was filled with raucous laughter and cheers "But I'm just saying I know who my Lien is on"
"Cute" a bitter voice spat from across the arena and Team FADE turned their attention their adversaries; each of them in unspoken agreement that no matter how well they had trained, victory against Team CNBR would not come easily.
"Opening our first match of the day and of the tournament we have, all the way from New Vale representing Halo Academy in only its' second time as a competitor; Eagle Arc, Diamond Sustrai-Black, Arctus Slate and their leader Felix Xiao Long! Make some noise for Team FADE!" the entire stadium went wild and each of the team being cheered reacted differently, Felix unable to help himself flexed and played up to the attention for the cameras, Diamond rolled her eyes at her team-mates display and smiled, Eagle fidgeted and shifted her weight nervously while Arctus merely glared across the arena in stoic silence, pale sapphire eyes never leaving the angry amber of Cinnabar Blaine
"And their opponents" Oobleck continued "Will be Rainy Zise, Bracken Thorn, Nitro Smoke and their Leader Cinnabar Blaine. Make some noise for Team CNBR!" the crowd obliged and the entire stadium itself seemed to shake with the fervour of the crowd as Rainy waved to the fans and smiled sweetly, Nitro seemed to shrink in on himself despite his size, Bracken began stretching whilst giving Diamond an expression that seemed to say 'Nothing personal' while Cinnabar maintained eye contact with Arctus, a stark contrast to the show-boating his considerable fan base had come to expect.
"Mister Blaine seems to have quite a few fans in attendance today, no doubt many more are watching in Mistral" Oobleck noted
"I hope that he isn't expecting an easy match today though" Qrow noted gruffly "This could be an early upset"
"Indeed, Qrow how about you explain to any first time viewers in our audience how this match will proceed?"
"As you can see we have two teams of four, any minute now our stadium will be selected. Once that happens and Barty here gives the signal the rules are simple; the teams fight until one has lost all of its' members due to Aura depletion, ring out or submission….although I don't think I've ever seen someone actually submit"
"Nor have I come to think of it" Oobleck pondered before quickly collecting himself "Now, to select our stadium!"
"This part is always cool" Eagle breathed out, Felix nodded in silent agreement as the floor of the stadium seemed to split into a pair of semicircular components which in turn lowered out of view with a clanging sound which echoed throughout the stadium and overpowered the sound of the crowd for a moment. Thousands of people waited with baited breath until the arena that the two teams would do battle in rose into view
"Some of the old classics" Qrow noted with obvious approval
"On Team CNBR's side of the field we have the ruined cityscape and on Team FADE's we have the glacial terrain!" Oobleck announced
"Okay this is cool" Diamond grinned as she took in the sight of glaciers created with the use of ice Dust that rose into the distance, each frigid structure several times the height and width of a person, the ground being covered with ankle deep artificial snow. On the opposing side of the field several grey buildings each several stories in height had been seemingly constructed and then partially destroyed for the purpose of creating a more interesting battleground. Arctus gave the arena a cursory glance and noted that if anything the terrain would give the advantage to a native of Atlas like himself before returning his focus to the leader of Team CNBR. Cinnabar Blaine was no longer clad in the school uniform or simple sweatpants Arctus usually saw him in; his attire consisted of black pants with several pockets tucked into a pair of obviously armour plated boots of the same colour, the pants were held up by several belts which were partially covered by a vivid orange sash hanging from his waist while his knees were protected with pads of a dull bronze colour, he wore a tactical armoured vest with a glossy black finished that Arctus recognised as a military model similar to the armour plating integrated into his own shirt. Cinnabar had covered the distinctive tattoos on his hands with a layer of white tape which spanned from the knuckles of each hand almost to the elbow, his weapon was slung over his back attached to a harness which also seemed to connected to a small bronze armour plate connected to his left shoulder, the older students' customary man bun with shaved sides was in place and his acne scarred cheeks were hidden by the black dust mask covering the lower half of his face.
"Dee you know these guys" Felix stated "Any idea how to handle 'em, who do we need to watch out for the most?"
"All of 'em" Diamond answered simply, shaking her head at the notion that would be such a simple solution to the problem "I'll cover Bracken I've seen her spar with Sin before. Don't let Rainy fool you, she's more capable that she lets on. Don't underestimate Nitro-"
"THREE, TWO-" Oobleck's voice cut through the muttered conversation, Arctus reached over his Shoulder to grab Gefroren-Erbe and hold his left hand out behind him
"What about Cinnabar?" he asked
"Be careful"
"ONE-"
"He's good big guy, just don't-"
"BEGIN!" Arctus cast a Glyph behind him, its' surface shifting into black as it was infused with Gravity Dust; using the glyph as a spring board Arctus hurtled forwards on a collision course with Cinnabar who had charged toward him the moment the signal had been given. Arctus's first warning that something was wrong was a panicked yell for him to look out from Diamond; the second was a brief glimpse of his targets' Aura becoming visible as Cinnabar engaged his own Semblance. Before Arctus could react he felt himself be grabbed by unseen hands and thrown aside, dust and rubble coating his clothes as he smashed through a section of partially collapsed wall on Team CNBR's side of the field.
"Y'know rich kid, I wasn't gonna single you out….I really wasn't" Cinnabar sneered, contempt dripping from every syllable. Arctus rose to his feet, vaguely aware of the crowd roaring and the commentary about his failed attack however his attention was primarily focused on Cinnabar, his Aura was a fiery colour, not the blazing gold of Felix's but more closely resembling the burning orange colour of the magma that criss-crossed the Lion Faunus when he entered his Balrog state; more worryingly there were what could only be described as four limbs made of pure Aura sprouting seemingly from a point between the older students' shoulder blades, each sporting many joints and ending in claw like fingers
"But" Cinnabar sighed "Since you insist" two things happened at once, firstly Cinnabar drew the broad bladed sword from his back and secondly two of the aura-limbs shot forth and buried themselves in the ground at Arctus's sides. The Bear Faunus instinctively threw a Glyph in front of him, a decision that was proved correct as the phantom limbs contracted pulling Cinnabar forwards, the Glyph shattering as his knee connected with it; Arctus barely managing to parry the follow up over-handed slash with his own sword. His eyes widened in realisation as he saw one of the limbs conjured by Cinnabar's Semblance move, he quickly moved to parry the incorporeal fist flying at his gut with his sword, only for another collide with his back and another to drive into his kidneys bringing him to his knees before Cinnabar launched a spinning heel kick which caught the Bear Faunus in the cheek and sent he skidding across the floor
"Yeah you're not the only one with a showy Semblance kid….This is probably the closest thing to a fair fight you've ever actually had y'know that right?" Arctus didn't respond to the taunts, simply forcing himself back to his feet and readying himself for a fight that he instinctively knew would be one of the most difficult he had ever faced.
Eagle had found herself paired off against Rainy Zise, a small young woman with pale brown skin, dyed blonde hair and whiskey coloured eyes clad in an outfit that was by no means suitable for the cold; she was clad in comfortable footwear and thigh high socks both pristine white, a pale blue skirt and crop top with a sleeveless black jacket thrown over it which remained unfastened as was adorned with many patches displaying smiling cartoonish faces and characters, her hands were covered by black fingerless gloves. Eagle gave a noise of frustration, Rainy's outfit combined with her highly athletic and acrobatic fighting style was frankly distracting and the blonde was more than a little embarrassed at how well it was working.
"Get her" she instructed Sentinel as the older student leapt away from Eagle's latest attempt to engage her in combat, landing on one of the small glaciers littering Team FADE's half of the arena.
"Doot da doot!" the droid chirped happily before training its' compact Gatling-gun and opening fire, the glacier being reduced to countless miniscule fragments as bullets ripped though it; though Rainy had already moved
"And it seems Miss Arc just cannot get to grips with Miss Zise, remarkable as her choice in weapons is" Oobleck observed, voice carrying over the sound of the audience
"Don't count her out just yet Barty, she's got plenty of tricks left up her sleeve" Qrow's amused voice countered and Eagle felt a swell of pride; which promptly ended as her legs were pulled from under her and she was treated to a face full of snow while the sound of the audience cheering and Sentinel opening fire rang in her ears. Rolling into a crouch and readying her sword she caught sight of Rainy, sitting on a glacier just out of Sentinel's range and waving down at her while playing with what Eagle realised with a start was a Yo-Yo
"So um hi, we haven't really been introduced….mainly 'cos Sin's a jerk sometimes" Rainy called down to her with a melodic voice "Just wanted to say I like the armour and your weapon in super cool, did you make that?"
"Uh yeah I did" Eagle gave a bashful smile "It took me a long time but-What the!" the blonde was cut out as Rainy fired her Yo-Yo forward, the toy extending much further and rotating much faster than one would expect; she had a brief glimpse of several chambers containing Dust crystals before it struck her right wrist, knocking her sword from her hand as it collided with the surface of the nearest glacier where it was quickly encased in ice
"Sorry about that" Rainy sounded genuinely uncomfortable at her own underhanded tactics before promptly putting her qualms aside and somersaulting from the glacier she was perched on; Eagle saw the Yo-Yo flying towards her at a velocity which indicated that it was being accelerated by Gravity Dust, the Yo-Yo struck Eagle in the face and sent her crashing backwards through the glacier which shattered and fell with a deafening crash.
"A TRULY IMPRESSIVE DISPLAY FROM RAINY ZISE!" Oobleck announced
"But Eagle's Aura reserves are big enough to withstand it" Qrow countered. Eagle rose to her feet and cast her eyes around, a slow sigh of relief escaping her as she saw that Sentinel was undamaged and trundling back over to her
"Seriously it's nothing personal and you're robot is really cool" was the warning Eagle received before the Yo-Yo whizzed passed the side of her face, narrowly missing her cheek.
"Cool Yo-Yo" Eagle replied as she span and slashed at the cord as it was retracted with her hastily recovered sword; Rainy pulled her weapon out of reach in a wide overhead arc and performed several tricks while winking and at the blonde
"Thanks, I call it 'The Trickster Goddess'" with that she clutched the weapon and twisted some unseen mechanism before launching forwards again, this time fuelled by Fire Dust and glowing with heat as it grazed Eagle's freckled cheek
"SENTINEL FIRE!" the blonde bellowed as she charged forwards brandishing her sword, Rainy leapt over the first stab and landed a kick to Eagle's shoulder, weaved under a follow up slash and delivered a punch to the inside of her knee that buckled her leg and sent the blonde crashing to the ground. Sentinel was yet to comply with Eagle's command and the blonde realised it was due to her own close proximity, a small smirk of satisfaction crossed her face before she gave new orders
"Sentinel! Lightning claws!"
"Doot doot!"
"That's cute-AGHHH!" Rainy let out a howl of pain as the automaton launched its' pincer like armatures forth on retractable cables, latching onto the older students' jacket and promptly unleashing enough voltage to power the average suburban street. Eagle saw her opponents' Aura flicker and ripple, a deep blue light engulfing her, and seized the opportunity to rush forwards and launch an offensive
"THAT'S MORE LIKE IT!" Qrow called out, any pretence of impartiality being forgotten as Eagle sent Rainy tumbling to the ground with a downward strike
"It seems Miss Zise is on the ropes" Oobleck added with clear excitement as the Haven student failed to avoid another bone rattling blow from Eagle.
"Now open fire!" Eagle called out to Sentinel, satisfied that enough distance had been created; the droid chirped happily and took aim but before the salvo could begin Rainy sent Trickster Goddess hurtling forwards in a last ditch effort to regain control of this battle. Time seemed to stand still for Eagle as she watched the Yo-Yo shoot passed her and collide with Sentinel's cranium; the single blinking and oddly expressive optic flickered and shattered in slow motion as simple metals and polymers were subjected to the force of an Aura fuelled attack. The crowd exploded into an earth shattering cacophony at this latest development though Eagle didn't hear them, her entire world being narrowed down to the damaged droid who gave a series of pitiable bleeps and chirps before slumping forwards, offline.
"I am so sorry" Rainy gasped, her voice snapping Eagle from her daze. She didn't turn to face the opponent immediately. Instead her fists shook and her crimson eyes narrowed in unchecked fury. Eagle was suddenly compelled to act and without thinking thrust her sword into the ground before turning and charging at Rainy with a scream which changed tone and pith, becoming an avian shriek midway through. Rainy had been prepared for a head on attack from the admittedly stronger second year, she had not expected Eagle to suddenly vanish and be replaced by a bird of prey which had then veered off through the various glaciers littering the arena. A moment later she heard the sound wings and something drawing close at speed coming from behind her and to the left, she turned and her perceptions slowed to a crawl giving her an opportunity to glimpse the anger on Eagle's face as she returned to her natural state behind her, promptly gripping Rainy by the back of the head and driving her face first through the nearest glacier. Rainy Zise failed to hear what came next as her senses had been consumed by silent darkness, however the entirety of the stadium erupted in a frenzy only equalled by the Arc family in their home in the small farming village of New Hope as Bartholomew Oobleck quickly switched off Qrow's microphone to prevent his outburst from being heard by impressionable young minds, whilst at the same time calling out
"IN A SHOCKING TURN OF EVENTS TEAM FADE TAKE AN EARLY LEAD! LADIES AND GENTLEMEN RAINY ZISE'S AURA IS DEPLETED!"
Bracken Thorn in full combat attire presented a fearsome sight, her pale skin accentuated by make up even darker and more drastic than was the norm for her; while dating Cinnabar Diamond had jokingly called it Bracken's 'war paint' now seeing her with jet black lips from which her bat-like fangs protruded slightly and what appeared to a lightning bolt under each eye highlighting the emerald green orbs, the description seemed strikingly accurate. Her attire was a mix of vaguely Gothic fashion and practical armour which combined with her height gave her an overall appearance that was frankly intimidating; black sleeveless tailcoat hanging open to reveal ripped pants and spiked boots which made appear even taller, what appeared to be an armoured corset and jagged pieces of stylised armour with engraved thorns adorning her shoulders and forearms, her spiked short hair and studded choker completing the look
"So random question, where did you get that jacket?" Diamond asked, unnervingly casual as she leapt over a low sweep from Bracken and promptly used her Semblance to run vertically along the wall of a ruined building before leaping and landing behind the older student "I'm guessing that place on Altan street, next to-" she was cut off by Bracken thrusting at her chest, Diamond leaned back and allowed the attack to pass over her and followed it up by gracefully flipping out of range while still holding Lex Talionis at the ready in its' glaive form.
"Trying to distract me won't work, but nice try though" Bracken grinned as she twirled her weapon effortlessly; she wielded a double barrelled shotgun which extended out into a Bo-staff, each end of which featured Dust chambers with which to increase its' destructive potential, the weapon was named 'Wrathful Slattern' and Diamond would freely admit that parts of its' design had been loose inspiration for her own weapon.
"But since you asked" Bracken chuckled "It's a new place, you won't have seen it" the two of them circled each other for a moment
"Cool where?" Diamond asked with genuine curiosity until she saw the bat ears protruding from her opponents' ears twitch, an unmistakable tell
"It's behind you!" without thinking the silver haired sniper turned and swung her glaive in a wide arc behind her, only to hit nothing but air
"Looks like Thorn is getting in her opponents' head there" Qrow's voice confirmed Diamond's realisation almost as soon as it hit her. Bracken took advantage of the momentary distraction to slam one end of her staff into the ground, its' Dust chamber filled with glossy black Gravity Dust which hurled her forward much the same way she'd seen Arctus use his Glyphs; the other end of Wrathful Slattern was filled with Lightning Dust and as Diamond turned to block with the flat edge of her own weapon arcs of electricity danced across its' surface, travelling along her arms and flinging her backwards through a street that had been constructed and then shelled specifically for this event until she activated her Semblance once again and landed crouched on the vertical surface of a wall, the concrete cracking with the force of her impact
"I must say Miss Sustrai-Black is holding her own quite well against the older student" Oobleck noted with clear interest in the result of this bout. Diamond tuned the commentary out and kept her focus firmly on Bracken who had shifted her weapon into its' ranged form, hurriedly setting its' Dust chambers to fire incendiary rounds; the heat and flames from each blast that Diamond knocked aside obscuring her vision for a moment, preventing her from returning fire. Diamond merely waited, listening to the sound of booted feet drawing close until she leapt into the air and somersaulted over her opponent, landing a trio of successfully hits before Bracken could turn and ready her staff, the ends of which appeared as blazing torches as the Fire Dust the weapon was still loaded with fuelled them; however once Bracken had managed to begin fighting back it became clear that she was easily a match for Diamond in single combat, their weapons clashed at blinding speed and each fighter made truly incredible displays of athleticism and skill, the crowd becoming particularly vocal when Diamond evaded an attack by flipping over it and countering with a slash at her opponents' midsection while inverted in a one handed handstand. Unimpressed Bracken simply kicked her away. Diamond used the distance as an opportunity to take stock and upon realising that her current strategy was effectively fighting on Bracken's terms she decided to change her approach. As a portion of wall, roughly level with her face was frozen solid by an Ice Dust round Diamond moved away from the corner of a building she had ducked behind and used her Semblance to run along the wall before clambering through a window several stories above ground whilst silently thanking the announcers for not giving away her position. Moving silently and swiftly through rooms that had been reconstructed with haunting accuracy Diamond positioned herself in a window facing the direction Bracken was approaching from and took careful aim knowing that she would only get one shot. Exhaling slowly she pulled the trigger and fired a round she'd bought specifically for the competition; the price of the Poly-Tech engineered nano-bot ammunition limiting her purchase to the single shot. Bracken was hurled into the air as the first miniscule robot detonated its' payload of unstable Dust fragments a moment after the round collided with her shoulder, followed by several small explosions as countless nano-bots that had worked their way across her torso exploded in tandem
"A MASSIVE HIT FROM DIAMOND SUSTRAI-BLACK!" Oobleck called out
"Now that's more like it!" Qrow almost purred "There' more to this line of work than punching people in the face….not that it doesn't have its' uses"
"Indeed Qrow indeed" Oobleck chuckled "But it seems Miss Thorn isn't finished yet, a marked improvement from performance in her previous entry to the Vytal Tournament" Diamond saw an expression of pure rage pass across her face, as if the memory of her previous losses were more than she were willing to tolerate. Twirling her staff the Bat Faunus scanned the ruined building Diamond was still hiding in, large and sensitive ears straining to pick up any sound that would give the sniper away. Diamond cursed herself in her head for her lack of foresight as she realised she was now effectively pinned. Slowly and making as little noise as possible, barely daring to breathe she slunk across the room in search of a quick escape; noting that there were cameras inside the buildings, presumably to record any combat that took place inside them
"Surprise" Diamond had no time to react before a booted foot crashed into her face, Diamond staggered backwards only for Bracken's staff to smash into the small of her back, as she dropped to her hands and knees she saw the faint outline of the older student form in a darkened corner of the room and realised with a jolt of fear that her Semblance allowed the Faunus some degree of teleportation.
"Been holding out on the fans?" Diamond quipped as she rolled under a strike aimed at her head and managed to block another attack from a different direction on pure instinct alone
"Can't put a show on if you play all you cards at once" Bracken replied, each word coming from a different patch of shadows, leaving Diamond completely lost as to her whereabouts; a situation that was quickly remedied as Bracken swept her legs out from under her and promptly teleported above her still falling body, striking downwards with her staff; the Gravity Dust it was currently armed with propelling Diamond downwards with enough force to shatter through several floors and ceilings, landing partially buried in a heap of rubble and plaster, battered and bruised but still unbeaten despite the cacophony outside from a crowd who thought otherwise.
"Nothing personal" Bracken's voice whispered out to her as she rose to her feet, once again emanating from each unlit corner in turn as she announced her presence.
"Nothing personal" Diamond agreed, twirling Lex Talionis and preparing for a fight that was despite her best efforts, still on her opponents' terms.
"Fuck" Felix spat viciously as he hit the floor, pain exploding in his left shoulder where he'd been hit. He'd found himself facing Nitro Smoke of Team CNBR and despite Diamond's warnings had been utterly unprepared for the third years' capabilities. The young man stood at a little over six feet tall and possessed clearly muscular arms and shoulders, offset somewhat by a torso that toed the line between wide-set and what could politely be described as chunky. He wore what could best be described as a tracksuit with light armour plating attached to it protecting his vital areas, his face was partially obscured by a heavy pair of goggles whose purpose Felix was unsure of and atop his head was a bucket hat, were the fight progressing more in Felix's favour he would have made many scathing comments about his opponents choice in attire.
"Struggling there?" Nitro laughed from somewhere behind him and the Lion Faunus turned, Hack and Slash shifting into their machine pistol forms as he moved and opened fire; the glaciers on Team FADE's side of the field fractured under the assault and the forcefield surrounding the arena rippled with dozens of impacts but Nitro remained unharmed and unseen. This was how the battle between the pair had progressed thus far, Felix had realised early on upon seeing track in the snow that the older student was gifted with superhuman speed, not quite on the level as Ruby Rose but still faster than he had any real countermeasures to deal with. Upon realising that Felix's Faunus reflexes and rapid firing weapons weren't enough to catch him Nitro had launched a campaign of hit and run attacks which turned what could have been a brawl between two highly capable fighters into a series of brief skirmishes
"FOR OUM'S SAKE FLUFFY STOP FIRING BLIND AND THINK!" Qrow's irate voice barked over the speakers
"For the sake of transparency, our audience should be aware that Mister Xiao Long is in fact Qrow's nephew" Oobleck could be heard explaining, a hint of amusement to his voice. In a move so predictable Felix was annoyed at himself that he didn't dodge it reflexively Nitro rushed passed and swept his legs out from beneath him, a moment later he felt the dull ache of several gunshots colliding with his Aura. Rolling into a crouch he opened fire again, this time aiming his weapons at a slight angle to each other in attempt to box his target in; it worked until his weapons clicked empty leaving he and Nitro facing each other in the midst of the bullet-scarred battlefield
"See now you're getting it kid" Nitro chuckled with genuine amusement as he readied his weapon; he wielded a shield which was streamlined yet angular with a pair of small machine-guns slung beneath it, the shield could shift into an axe like weapon extending from its' users' forearm; Felix had learned over the course of the match that the weapon was named 'Geryon'
"Yeah so that smile is about to come off your face" Felix growled, unable to keep his temper from rising just a little; Nitro was a willing accomplice to Cinnabar's harassment of Arctus and Diamond and the Lion Faunus felt some of the same aggression that had stained his time as a student of Signal Academy at home on Patch seeping into him.
"You say that but…." Nitro trailed off and Felix saw a slight movement of his feet, a redistribution of weight before a charge. Without thinking he shifted Hack and Slash back into their sword modes and held them in a reverse grip while dropping into a crouch; pain surged through his arms with the force of Nitro colliding into him, the older student had intended to strike at Felix's legs again but instead his back-handed slash had been blocked and his arm used as the fulcrum for his entire bodyweight, sending him flailing over Felix's head to crash face down in the snow several dozen feet away. Felix rose to the sound of thunderous applause and converted one of his swords to its' ranged mode, quickly reloading while Nitro rose to his feet and clutched at his shoulder; the Lion Faunus gave a feral smile as he waited to put an idea to the test. Nitro wasted no more words, simply vanishing in a blur of speed and spurring Felix into action; he leapt aside and fired at the ground emptying the magazine of Ice Dust he'd just loaded into the space he'd just been stood, Nitro predictably attacked from behind and found himself unable to stop in time, slipping on the ice and being sent crashing to the ground once more.
"So, fun games are over let's see if you can actually fight!" Felix challenged as he rushed over to the still rising third year, his knee connecting with the larger mans' mouth with a satisfying crunch. Nitro recovered quickly however and despite his reputation amongst his fellow students as being nothing but his partners' toady it seemed he could indeed fight, his Semblance giving him the requisite speed to counter the endless storm of blades Felix unleashed upon him before bringing Geryon, in its' shield form down on the Faunus's collarbone and forcing Felix down to his knees
"Can't rely on that Semblance forever" Felix snarled before lunging in an attempt to tackle the older student to the ground and seize control of the fight, Nitro caught his arms
"As if you don't depend on yours" Nitro countered, the statement catching Felix off guard long enough for him to break free of the grapple and land a series of punches on the Faunus's face "You must have the worst luck ever though" with that he employed another burst of his Semblance and managed to get behind Felix, grabbing him by the tail and hurling him across the arena, his flight coming to abrupt halt as he smashed through a glacier several meters thick and rolled to a stop. Nitro, sensing that victory was close decided that he had earned the right to brag a little
"Seriously, kudos to you for trying to keep that Semblance of yours quiet. I would've done the same kid...Did a little asking around, sounds like you're just draining thermal energy out of the air and using it as an extra power source….on any other terrain that might have helped" Nitro felt the sense of superiority that had fuelled his gloating leave him as Felix brushed snow from his dirty blonde mane and let out a mocking laugh
"Seriously, kudos to you for trying to do your research" he turned his opponents' words back on him as he rolled his shoulders back and braced himself "Couple of details you missed though, firstly I can hold a charge….so that sauna next to the campus gym that I was in all day really helped. Secondly….this" Nitro stood in slack jawed silence as Felix unleashed his Semblance in all its' glory, skin blackening and glowing with countless veins of magma while his eyes hair and tail blazed with golden fire. The third year had only a brief glance of Felix's Balrog State before the snow and ice around him was reduced to a mist which obscured the Faunus from view
"Oh shi-" Nitro never finished the sentence, cut off as a chunk of glacier roughly the size of a station wagon hurtled through the mist faster than even he could avoid.
In the stands, inside a V.I.P booth separating them from the vast majority of the audience Gangrel slate watched the match unfolding, giving sympathetic winces each time his son received an especially painful looking hit. Beside him Weiss sat, concern etched into every line of her face and wringing her hands while Athena-Jade Slate sat on her fathers' lap; no longer watching the fight and merely hiding her face in the fabric of his jacket, noticing this Gangrel gently patted her head and spoke in a soothing voice
"You okay there AJ?"
"I don't wanna watch, he's getting hurt"
"Okay" Gangrel nodded in understanding, Cinnabar Blaine was a talented and ruthless fighter with a Semblance that made countering him difficult; the fight was getting hard for even the veteran to watch "I'm not gonna force you, but have a little faith in your brother. He'll be okay"
"He will" Weiss added though her eyes never left the arena, nor did they lose their fearful expression "Don't worry he'll be fine" as if in direct contradiction of her words Qrow's voice boomed throughout the stadium
"That Blaine kid fights dirty as hell but no denying it works, Arctus Slate needs to get it together if he wants to stay in this match!"
"Oum damn it Qrow" Gangrel growled before leaning forward, simultaneously hugging his daughter while watching his son at the expense of the other members of Teams FADE and CNBR. Arctus had indeed managed to take back a measure of control over the fight, his Glyphs were countering Cinnabar's own Semblance fuelled phantom limbs as often as not and the Mistralis' attempts to replicate his early trick of using them as an anchoring point were halted by the Bear Faunus using his summoned constructs to halt Cinnabar's momentum; when it came to swordplay Arctus was clearly superior having been trained from a young age by both of his parents in their respective styles. The problem came whenever Cinnabar managed to get in close and dictate the terms of the battle, his fists, feet, knees and elbows catching Arctus's face, joins and chest with frightening speed, force and regularity. Gangrel allowed a wide smile to play across his face as he watched the young man who resembled him so much suddenly go on the attack and force his opponent onto the proverbial ropes, whatever was being announced about the other fighters went unheard as Cinnabar's attempt to stomp on the chest on a downed Arctus was met with an obsidian coloured Glyph which sent the older student flying backwards to land on their leg at angle that was clearly painful. Arctus wasted no time and sent a summoned Nevermore flying overhead, firing its' feathers like bladed projectiles which tore through the steel and concrete and forced Cinnabar to use his Semblance to block while the Bear Faunus used another Gravity Dust infused Glyph to hurl himself forwards
"Come on, come on" Gangrel found himself muttering as the iridescent nevermore quills Cinnabar through back at Arctus simply vanished in mid air and the Bear Faunus collided with him, a vicious right hook sending the crowd into a frenzy as the acclaimed tournament fighter was suddenly pushed back.
"He fights like you" a familiar voice murmured in his ear and Gangrel turned to see Blake Xiao Long, formerly Belladonna and his sister in all but blood through their shared time in Sienna Khan's children's home returning to her seat, one hand clutching an oversized bucket of popcorn for them to share whilst the other held a flag with the word "FADE" emblazoned on it, the feline had argued that whether or not it could be seen by anyone outside of the V.I.P box was unimportant, it was team spirit that counted. Gangrel noted that Blake looked well, her hair tied back to display her Faunus attributes with pride and clad in a coat that most certainly bought with money Yang had made from some endorsement or other gave her an air of authority; any comment he wished to make was cut short by Athena-Jade who had spied the popcorn
"Can I have some?"
"Don't overdo it, you'll rot your teeth" Weiss cautioned
"But I can grow more" the child answered with an innocent smile, Blake had every intention of siding with her former team-mate but found her attention consumed by an uproar from the crowd, quickly glancing down at the arena she saw the unmistakable form of Felix in his Balrog State running towards a somewhat portly young man who was currently sprawled face down in the snow and rather than engage in a protracted brawl simply grab him roughly by the scruff of the neck and throw him out of the arena
"A REMARKABLE COMEBACK!" Oobleck's voice announced
"That gives Team FADE a clear lead, we might just get that early upset after all" Qrow all but cooed
"Nitro Smoke has been removed from the arena by Felix Xiao Long!" Blake watched her son release his Semblance, staggering forwards in clear exhaustion before running in search of his team-mates and before she knew what she was doing she was on her feet cheering as loud as she physically could
"THAT'S MY SON! THAT'S MY SON! GO GET 'EM FLUFFY!"
Diamond had managed to find something of a rhythm to Bracken's attacks, though this helped her far less than she would have liked; the Bat Faunus's ability to teleport meaning that even if Diamond countered the first attack from behind her foe would soon be behind her again, faster than she herself could turn to face her. It had become a war of attrition, Bracken hanging just on the periphery of her vision at all times in a clear attempt to unnerve her and force her to make rash judgements, a ploy that the older student was both annoyed and begrudgingly impressed to see had thus far failed. Diamond heard the telltale displacement of air behind her and simply crouched low rather than turning to counter, a slight variation in her tactics that paid off as she felt the kick intended for her ribs pass over her and immediately rushed forwards, exploding upwards with her weapon at the ready. As predicted Bracken materialised directly in front of her, acting on her own raw instinct and swinging her staff; the two weapons collided and rather than simply vanish once more the Faunus grinned
"Shame you didn't come to Haven to be honest, you would have been to spar against regularly"
"Thanks" Diamond ground out, accepting the complement at face value while also staying on the lookout for any attempts to distract her. The Stalemate came to an unexpected conclusion after a few moments; halted by the sound of the wall behind Bracken simply being ripped away. Taking the initiative Diamond lowered her head and simply tackled her through the opening and into the harsh light of the floodlit arena where the source of the destruction soon became apparent. Standing ready were Felix who was once more in his Balrog State and Eagle, whom Diamond noticed was missing Sentinel and positively incandescent with rage judging by her expression.
"Go help Arctus, we've got this" she barked with uncharacteristic force, Felix nodded in agreement and the silver haired sniper silently turned and bolted towards where her partner was holding his own. Bracken rose to her feet and the moment Eagle made to slash teleported behind Felix, swinging her weapon at the back of his head like a crude club, emerald eyes widening in shock as her staff bent on contact. The Lion Faunus turned to face her with blinding speed and in one powerful punch to the gut it was over; Bracken lay on the floor several feet away gasping for breath listening to the announcers declare her Aura depleted. Felix however was faring little better, his body reverting to its' natural state as he collapsed to his hands and knees
"Are you okay?" Eagle asked frantically, her previous anger all but forgotten
"Yeah, overdid it though" Felix forced out through clenched teeth as he clutched at his side
"Are we gonna go help Arctus and Diamond?" the Lion Faunus paused to consider, looking at the scoreboard to see that his own Aura hung barely above the point of disqualification while Eagle had also taken heavy damage
"Nah, go get Sentinel and see how bad it is" a grin spread across his face "Let those two deal with Cinnabar, it's their fight"
Cinnabar flipped his blade in his hand countless times as he slashed at Arctus's face and chest, each blow being parried with expert precision. The Bear Faunus realised his opponent was toying with him, merely putting on a show for the crows. Deciding that this was an insult he simply would not tolerate Arctus summoned some of his rapidly draining Aura reserves and clutched a Gravity Dust crystal in his left hand whilst keeping his right firmly around his own sword. Cinnabar's next attack came and Arctus took decisive action, first countering and locking their blades together and then creating two Glyphs in rapid succession; the first being a Gravity Dust infused acceleration Glyph and the second being a glowing pearly and rapidly rotating Glyph whose edge acted as a saw blade, the second Glyph was launched upwards by the first and the sound of tearing metal could be heard over the roaring crowd as 'Chernobog-Ultra' Cinnabar's sword was sheared neatly in half.
"A DECISIVE HIT FROM MISTER SLATE! THIS COULD BE THE END FOLKS" Cinnabar, enraged by both the loss of his weapon and the realisation that his career as a tournament fighter was being snatched from his grasp let out a low rasp, every syllable dripping with uncontainable fury
"I'm gonna kill you, when they say this is over I'm just gonna keep pounding your fucking skull til it breaks" faster than Arctus could react the older student had lashed out with his Semblance, four phantom limbs reaching out and dragging him forwards violently enough for Gefroren-Erbe to fall from his grasp; as they reached each other Cinnabar surged forwards and delivered a headbutt that left Arctus seeing stars and painfully aware of the blood now flowing freely from his nose. Cinnabar showed no signs of stopping, nor any mercy in his relentless attack as he followed with punches to the throat and stomach that left Arctus doubled over and gasping desperately for breath, the Bear Faunus felt hands clamp around the back of his head and saw only a brief flash of movement before a knee collided with is face, from then he was too dazed to fully register each blow that landed on him in the onslaught that left him curled on the ground, blood dripping from his nose, mouth, eyebrow and a gash in his forehead while red blotches littered his vision
"Get up rich boy!" Cinnabar demanded furiously as he kicked the Faunus full in the face, jerking his neck backwards "What are you just gonna lay there and look pathetic until Diamond saves your ass? GET THE FUCK UP!" forcing his aching muscles to obey his wishes Arctus looked up and grasped at a booted foot poised to stamp on his cheek, his grip was weaker than he would've liked but from the corner of his eye he saw movement atop one of the buildings littering Team CNBR's half of the arena and a bloodstained smile played on his lips
"Yeah, pretty much" taking advantage of the momentary confusion on Cinnabar's face Arctus lashed out with his free hand, punching his opponent in the knee with enough force to send him tumbling to the ground, as he made to scrabble to his feet he found himself held in place with Ice forming around his legs from just below the knees freezing him to the ground, courtesy of a Dust infused Glyph from Arctus
"Think this is gonna hold-" Cinnabar was silenced by the muffled crack of a sniper rifle and the immense pain of a round connecting between his shoulder blades and causing his vibrant orange Aura to flicker. With sheer force of will he broke free of the ice and in a single movement turned and kicked out, only to hit air as Diamond flipped over the attack and onto a waiting Glyph; engaging her Semblance up and down were inverted around her and as she crouched she reached out and grabbed Cinnabar's leg, the open air above him suddenly becoming a bottomless pit in which to fall until Diamond released him again and he came crashing to the ground.
"NICE TEAM ATTACK THERE KIDS!" Qrow's distinctive drawl boomed out through the stadium "NOW FINISH THIS OFF"
"This how we're doing it then?" Cinnabar spat as he moved back and braced himself, battered as he was Arctus had risen to his feet and stood beside Diamond who had converted her weapon to its' glaive form
"Wanna finish him off on your own babe?" Diamond offered
"Nah" the Bear Faunus grinned, managing to look smug despite the blood dripping from his face and without either of them needing a signal they rushed forwards in tandem, Cinnabar charged out to meet them head on but found his Semblance fuelled attack predicted and countered as he hurtled towards them, pulled forwards by his phantom limbs Arctus delivered a right handed jab to his gut and as he doubled over Diamond's spinning kick caught him square in the face with enough force to flip him over backwards. Cinnabar Blaine hit the ground with is Aura visibly failing in what fans would declare was the only satisfying end to such a match.
"Come on we're getting you to a doctor dude" Diamond insisted as she cupped his cheeks, reaching up to plant a gentle kiss on a part of his face that had somehow avoided being bloodied; Cinnabar's prone form promptly forgotten.
"Where're-"
"We're right here man" Felix's voice announced from behind him, Arctus turned to face them and was thankful for Diamond helping him remain standing as a wave of dizziness hit him.
"What happened?" were the first words to leave his lips at the sight of the heavily damaged form of Sentinel Eagle carried in her arms
"I can fix him" she answered, her face a mask of grim determination
"They're calling it" Felix noted, his friends fell silent as the voice of Bartholomew Oobleck rang out
"-AND IN A SHOCKER OF AN OPENING MATCH, TEAM FADE LED BY FELIX XIAO LONG WILL PROGRESS TO THE DOUBLES ROUND AFTER A FOUR NIL WIN AGAINST TEAM CNBR!" anything the former teacher and avid historian may have said after that was drowned out by cheers that seemed to shake the air and ground with their intensity, as Diamond ushered Arctus toward medical attention and Eagle made her way towards the changing rooms the Lion Faunus took a moment to bask in what had been a hard fought victory, his smile widening to an absurd degree as he caught sight of his mother in the V.I.P box waving a flag adorned with his teams' name.
Authors' Notes:
Boom, welcome to my Vol.6 and if you have a first account then canon Vol.6 starts tomorrow, it's a good week for the fandom.
I decided against that break…..as I usually do.
This was a lot of fun to write although I'm wary of letting this new chapter length of roughly 10k become the norm….I do need some time off to recharge and plan.
Anyway let's summarise:
Patch is a pretty insular community and it has its' problems, but they turn out to support their own without question.
Amethyst Wukong is one of Yang's star pupils and she will be coming to Halo Academy of New Vale in FADE's third year.
Had to have a little but of Summer-Pyrrha and Tai-Jaune in there.
If there is a vine equivalent in Remnant that I refuse to believe that Yang, Scarlet and Gangrel don't all have accounts where they try and out do each others' insanity regarding their prosthetic hand/arm.
Dove's son; Redshank Bronzewing will also be a character in Third Year.
I had to give Shine a Cameo.
My readers were crying out for a return of Rhodium Torchwick and I obliged them, the cameo was too fun to pass up but he'll be back in third year when the story returns to New Vale.
Eagle quoting Nora makes me grin.
Team FADE are back in their classic outfits for this volume.
A callback from The Downward Spiral and the official reason that Qrow came to Atlas in the first place, he's a guest presenter of the tournament.
I literally only made Cinnabar Blaine a character with any story behind him at all for this match to happen.
Remember Cinnabar is a pro tournament fighter, not quite on Pyrrha's level but somewhere in that league.
Okay so I think to account for the amount of space and buildings you'll have to imagine the stadiums as being a little bigger than the ones in canon.
Yeah Cinnabar (In fact Team CNBR as a whole have a dress sense that oscillates between edgy, Cyber-Goth try hard and douche).
Was there any chance of Arctus not going straight for him.
Okay if you've seen the anime Elfen Lied then that's kinda how I imagine Cinnabar's Semblance looking and working.
"This is probably the closest thing to a fair fight you've ever actually had y'know that right?" now that's how you trash talk, because that is the kind of shit that will stick in someone's head and make them doubt.
Eagle still has occasional useless lesbian moments.
I love the idea that at least one person on Team CNBR is actually really nice and just got stuck with Cinnabar.
Yes, a weaponised Yo-Yo….because fuck you that's why.
Bet y'all forget Sentinel could do that.
Sentinel will be fine.
We don't see Eagle get pissed off like that often….but when she does it's something special.
Diamond and Bracken know each other, I like the idea of them having a little catch up mid-fight.
Also "Altan" street, yes Arslan Altan got a street named after her in Mistral's capital.
I imagined Diamond somersaulting over Bracken as looking like the Dojo fight in the Matrix.
Poly-Tech Nano-bot rounds, Felix had a few magazines of them in first year.
I imagine pretty much any fight that happens indoors as having choreography like The Raid….especially if it involves Diamond.
Nitro is wearing a bucket hat….Nitro is a fucking tool.
Just imagine the look on Oobleck's face as he realised he was going to have to deal with Qrow's antics when his family were in the ring. Also worth noting that it isn't public knowledge that Eagle is his daughter.
Felix definitely watched Tom and Jerry as a kid.
Nitro had the right idea, research the competition and work on countermeasures….however grabbing Felix by the tail was pretty much a death sentence.
Felix had been keeping his Balrog State a secret remember.
Gangrel was there to see Arctus….but also there as part of his job. Remember that Team GORE's whole reason for being in Atlas is to be used as bait at the Tournament.
Seriously though it must have been hard for the Slate/Schnee family to watch Arctus just get pasted in front of an audience.
Blake having a "FADE" flag is a reference to her "RWBY" flag in Vol.1 when Weiss fights the Boarbatusk.
Felix doing Balrog State twice in quick succession fucks him up.
Glyph combos, Arctus is getting craftier and craftier with his Semblance.
"Yeah, pretty much" God damn it Arctus.
You know that kiss made the front page of every paper in Atlas.
Thank you to SumoSnipe, Bankerrtx01, iSassenach, Ferrous, FleetOfWarships and FluffyFirefly for their reviews on the last chapter.
I would love fan art of Donner, or any character from FADE to be honest.
I'm leaning towards Eagle getting some tats.
I mean Omega is six years old so in theory there's a limit to how dangerous she can be.
The new arm is something I'll give you that much.
I love how much people love Corvid, Team CLIR really are the CFVY of the new generation.
As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.