Notes: Supposed to be a short, 3,000+ word chapter, ended up more than that. *Sigh*.
Tell me what you think about the new Semblances and weapons.
Weiss walked into Principal Ozpin's office, trepidation echoing in every step her comely shoes took on the floor.
"Miss Schnee," he said warmly, although he would definitely need to try harder to put her at any ease.
"It's good to see that your arm has now healed."
"For the most part, yes." It had been a few days after all.
"I thought it best to allow you recover before you faced… other consequences." His statement sent her heart into her stomach, she had been aware that she had punishment to face. She'd led her team into the den of terrorists and had nearly caused all their deaths after all.
"You led your team into the den of terrorists and nearly caused all their deaths," Ozpin began, "You did this knowingly, aware of the consequences and in contempt of the multiple warnings you've been previously given."
"Yes sir," Weiss admitted shakily, bowing gently by way of acceptance, "I have been an inadequate leader."
"You want to step down?" he asked, the implication of her words clear to him.
"I think it best."
Ozpin was actively trying and failing to hide his amusement before out-rightly chuckling.
"I'm not sure what it is with you kids," he continued wiping his glasses and chuckling a little still, "Whenever your failure is addressed, you decide that quitting is the 'right thing to do'."
"No, Miss Schnee, it's not going to be quite that easy. There are consequences to every action and you're not going to escape them by running. If your team can't emerge victorious in the Vytal Tournament, your team will be separated."
"What?"
"Did I stutter?" he asked testily, "Everything you do affects the entire team. There's no better time than now to
"Wow," came Glynda's comment from a corner in the office as she walked towards the Principal, "I haven't seen you do 'scary Professor' in a while."
"Yeah, it is enjoyable to strike terror in students from time to time."
"You're telling me," the Vice-Principal joked, wringing her crop slightly.
"You're worried about something."
"It's James. He seems… troubled, more so than I have ever seen him."
"I wouldn't worry about the General." Ozpin's declaration was airy, as it usually was, as though he was apathetic to the thread that was clearly being spun into something malicious behind the scenes.
"Why do you say that?" Glynda hardly ever asked the Principal questions like this expecting an answer; it was almost just a tradition to be contrarian to his opinions because she'd follow him either way. This time however, she needed more justification than that. She needed to know that she didn't have to worry about James.
"Because," Ozpin stated simply as though he was explaining an evident fact, "In all the years I've lived, and all the people I've known, I have never once met a person with a soul as strong as his. Not a single one."
"What's the need to worry then?"
"There is none, I guess."
"Exactly, James will be fine. We should worry about whether or not we can keep up."
"Which means that I'm right," Ruby stated firmly after their leader had given them the news, "Giving up isn't an option, we have to fight."
"We know, we know," Yang teased as she stood up next to her sister, "No need to rub it in."
"You're on board?"
"Yeah," she said with a shrug, "Whatever that was that made me act out then, I'm over it. No way am I going to miss out on this."
"We're going to kill it," Ruby said excitedly, "Go Team SYBR!"
"HURRAH!"
The crowd erupted, their cheers shaking the entire stadium. Yup, they were excited. Why wouldn't they be? It was the Vytal Tournament after all.
"Ugh," a particular petite complained as she saw the size of the crowd, "I think I'm going to be sick."
"Glad to see I'm not the only one whose nerves are acting up."
"Just stay calm," Blake advised her two shorter teammates.
"You're one to talk," Yang joked, "You're as stiff as a board."
"I'm not hearing that from someone who's jittering like an old clock."
"Jittering?" was the blonde's question, laced with incredulity, "This is energy!"
"Nervous energy," Ruby sniped underneath her breath, although still earning her a sharp look from her sister.
"Ladies and Gentlemen!" came the voice of the announcer, effectively lowering the crowd's volume, "Welcome once more to the Amity Arena!"
His words prompted another flood of cheers as the arena began to transform, its flat surface transforming into a landscape of magma and ice.
"Today's first four on four match will be a battle between Haven Academy's Team ABRN… and Beacon's Team SYBR!"
"I'm glad to be here once more, next to the esteemed Professor Port."
"The pleasure is all mine Aloysius. I'm happy to be here, especially in some of my students' first Vytal Tournament match!"
"Well then, shall we get started?"
"Let's not keep them waiting!"
"As always, we'll countdown to start the matchup!"
"V!" he shouted, although you wouldn't be able to tell with everyone that joined him.
"Y!"
"T!"
"A!"
"L"
"FIGHT!" with that last word, the horn blew and each team moved into action. Immediately, Ruby blossom burst towards a tall glacier and set Crescent Rose up, ready to support the rest of her team as needed.
"It's an interesting match," Adam declared from his position in the stands as he shoved some Oat Pops down his throat, "Their teamwork is much better than usual."
"I wouldn't know," came the reply of a slight and unfamiliar face next to the youth, "But they are good. Pushing them to the finals won't be as difficult as I had thought."
"That's good to hear."
"You're not planning of killing the Schnee are you?" the fellow asked, something akin to manic amusement evident in his speech.
"I'll send a message," he whispered, conscious of being heard.
"Don't worry, if there was any chance of us being found out, I wouldn't be seated next to you now."
"I'm so reassured."
"Come on," he pressed in mock insult, "Have I ever failed to deliver?"
"You were bested by James' security protocols just a few days ago."
"I won't dispute that," he admitted breezily, turning back to the fight, "That ought to hurt."
Back in the fight, team SYBR held the advantage. While it was difficult for just Blake and Yang to keep up with the four fighters, Weiss and Ruby made it seem easy. A timely sniper Dust round or deceleration glyph made sure that most of team ABRN's attempts were fruitless.
Suddenly, Reese made a breakaway, skilfully avoiding Weiss' glyphs and closing in on the sniper, wanting to take her out of the equation. Ruby instantly lifted into air, petals following in her wake as she made an attempt to escape the airboarder.
Reese had no intentions of letting her go as she pressed on gained more on her, manoeuvring expertly to avoid Weiss' attacks.
Suddenly, the mass of petals disappeared and a raven-haired sniper took its place, turning mid-air and aiming her sniper-scythe at her opponent.
The Haven Academy student had been expecting this though and moved to the side, effectively dodging the shot as gravity finally caught up to the sharpshooter, making her fall downwards. Instead of activating Petal Burst, she raced downward rapidly, her red weapon ready to reap Reese.
The Huntress in training was surprised that the elusive sniper suddenly opted for a square on clash and tried to dodge. As she manoeuvred out of the way though, a pillar of ice struck her board from below and disbalanced her and Ruby knocked out her lights before she had any opportunity to right herself.
On seeing this, Arslan held back a curse as she signalled the rest of her team to fall back into a defensive.
"Wow!" the announcer bellowed once more, "Professor Port, mind explaining to us what just happened there?"
"Well," the jolly professor declared with a smile, "Ruby, the sniper, tricked Reese, Team ABRN's only member capable of controlling the battle from a higher altitude, into following her. She had expected that it would have been easy to corner her and give her team an advantage. Instead, she fell into the Beaconeer's trap."
"Trap, Professor?"
"Exactly! The round she fired just mid-air wasn't intended to hit Reese. It was a specialised round that she activated when Reese wasn't focusing to hit her from behind. The round was similar to that the Schnee heiress uses in her Vienni Sabre, Ruby must have tinkered with it for her purposes!"
"Amazing!"
"I'd say that uppercut from Yang is even more amazing!"
"Yeah, what a great way to start the morning!"
"Congrats!" Adam greeted as he walked towards the victorious team.
Team SYBR walked towards him the Xiao-Long-Summer sisters pumping their fists in a victory dance as they approached him.
"We could say the same," Weiss responded, offering him a handshake, "You were great against Team CVFY."
"I was, wasn't I?" he joked, "Either way, ladies what would you say to me treating you?"
"I'd say that you'd better know how to wash dishes." Yang exclaimed happily.
"She's serious though," Ruby whispered gravely on hearing the redhead laugh Yang's comment off, "Dad's still paying off her graduation treat."
"Don't worry about it. You guys go ahead," he insisted, and then to Blake, "You mind talking for a bit first?"
"Uh sure," the brunette, who had been silent since he appeared, answered.
"You guys did really well," Adam praised as the pair walked into an alley, "I heard that you were thinking about not competing, but you guys hit a homerun with your match."
"Thanks."
"What changed?"
"Well… they were all so excited, couldn't drop the ball, I guess."
"Before you ask another question," the cat faunus interjected, seeing his intention, "I have one for you."
"Sure, what is it?" Rather than answering his question, her eyes instead travelled to his waist, specifically the sheath that rested on it.
"You noticed, then."
"You didn't unsheathe it in your match, but I could still point it out anywhere." This statement was said with a coldness that made even Adam prickle slightly.
"I can explain," he responded nervously, raising his hands to placate her, "To be honest, I lied to you back in the Emerald Forest."
Blake's entire body became as taut as a bow with that statement, her hand steadily creeping for Gambol Shroud.
"It's not what you think. I mean that I… I actually didn't give Wilt up."
"What do you mean?" she lowered a guard a bit as this question was asked, although she was still prepared to spring into action instantly.
"Shortly after you left," he began, looking downwards in something that could have only been embarrassment, "The person who gave this blade to me demanded it back. I apparently wasn't worthy of it."
"That's why I left. If what I was doing made me undeserving, then I was definitely doing something wrong. I came to Beacon to find out what that was."
He looked up, his eyes bright with something other than happiness, gratitude. "I must have found it too. She tested me for those three days I was gone and now it's back with me."
"I see," she said, after he had finished his explanation, "Sorry for my reaction earlier. I'm glad you found what you were looking for in Beacon."
"You didn't."
It was a statement rather than a question, she wondered if her wording gave it away.
"I didn't say that… but yes, I don't think what I'm looking for is here."
"You're leaving then?"
"Yeah, after the Tournament," she looked around as though bothered that someone could be watching them, "I'm tired of people being killed and the justification being war. The execution opened my eyes to the similarities of the kingdoms and the Fang. Maybe that's why they're at war with each other. I feel that… I can't be a force of change if I'm part of the problem. So, I'm leaving and trying to find a cure to war or something equally impossible. I found true friends here, despite the fact I tried my best to sabotage it, winning the Tournament with them is the least I can do."
"I see," he answered before patting her head gently, "You've grown up a lot. It's like you're always ahead of me these days."
"I… wouldn't say that," she mumbled while hiding her the slight redness in her cheeks before abruptly walking out of the alley.
"They're probably waiting for us now."
"Yeah, you're right." The taurine swordsman followed closely behind her with a small laugh. He had clearly left some important details out from his explanation, but he was honest for the most part and to his surprise, he had found Blake's revelation interesting.
He admired the fact that she had a sense of what she wanted and was willing to let go of connections to get it. However, as a soldier, part of him couldn't help but feel contempt for the path she chose. War was terrible, but oftentimes a necessity, ignoring that fact made one a coward.
"I thought Yang's appetite scared you away for a second," Weiss called jokingly, as the pair closed in on the food stall that the trio had already gotten to work on.
"We'll have some too," Adam said simply as he sat down, "Extra fish for her, please."
"I'm glad that you could come," Ironwood greeted, hugging a redhaired woman in Atlas military uniform.
"You give out the cheques, so I go where you tell me to."
"Fair enough," James said with a small pat on her back, "I thought you wouldn't be here for a few days."
"Yeah, I was supposed to head over with Winter, but I hitched an earlier ride, so here I am."
Hitched a ride? He thought and was going to ask if he wasn't interrupted.
"You're here," was Glynda's curt statement on seeing the Atlesian soldier.
"Glynda!" she shouted and jumped at the Vice-Principal happily.
Mrs. Goodwitch simply used her Semblance to halt the redhead mid-air preventing her from wrapping her in a hug as she had intended.
"You're no fun," she pouted, before being dropped back onto her feet.
"Shall we get started then?" James invited the lady as he walked them towards the part of the CCTS that had been destroyed.
"It's been a while since it happened, but I've preserved it as much as possible."
"Okay then," she whispered under her breath as she cracked her neck as though warming up. She walked to the centre of the room and stretched her arms out.
"I'll need your eyes for this, boss."
"Of course."
With this, her eyes glowed a reddish colour that enveloped the room to the last crevice. The red light seemed to break apart, forming hundreds of bright dots that hovered around the debris of the explosion. Suddenly, the lights began to transform into shapes, illustrating the events that had happened here previously.
This was her Semblance, Caught in Amber. As far as all vital information of an event was present, it could be preserved and replayed using her Semblance.
James' eyes turned a steely blue as he analysed every detail the blurry hologram produced. It had been weeks since the incident, and no matter how well they were preserved, time would render a lot of evidence worthless.
James Ironwood was severely annoyed, Russo had arrived but their findings provided much too little to go on. They knew for certain that a pair had arrived at the crime scene before them, but other than the fact that they were a man and woman, they hadn't been able to get much else. The pair had also cleaned up some evidence.
"Sorry about that, boss." Russo apologised as she followed the General, step after furious step.
"It isn't your fault," he grumbled, "Our security wasn't good enough. I didn't think someone would have been able to get through the Knights. Our enemies are resourceful, I underestimated them."
Russo had no response to this and simply kept to the tempo of his gait silently. That was until they turned the corner and sighted a girl with a matching shade of red hair.
"Penny!" the soldier shouted suddenly and advanced wrapping the Defender of Mantle in a crushing grasp.
"Major Russo," was Penny's surprised exclamation as she was lifted off the floor by her superior officer.
"Did you miss me? You never called."
"Yes Major, I missed you squeezing the bolts out of me every time we meet."
"Was that… sarcasm?" both the Major and General felt the need to ask the question at once in their surprise.
"Yes!" she exclaimed excitedly. "Ciel's been teaching it to me."
"Me?" the girl in question, who had been standing by quietly queried, her surprise evident.
"Yes," Penny continued, obliviously, "When I asked you if you would like to go out and engage in festival revelries, you said: 'Of course, I want to watch some people break glass bottles while explaining why it's symbolic for something. I want to do it so much that I'm going to get up at daybreak for it.'"
"I woke her up the next day at dawn," she continued referring to the two officers, "She was not pleased and said that she was clearly being sarcastic. I've been practicing it ever since."
"Isn't that something?" the Major laughed. "How would you like to show me around town? It's been a while."
"I'd rather not," she responded apathetically before cracking a smile, "That was sarcasm by the way, I'm sure that you couldn't tell. The key is sounding as though you're serious."
Russo simply shook her head amusedly as she followed the redhaired robot.
After the pair left, James turned to Ciel sombrely, the intensity of his demeanour making her uncomfortable as usual.
"Whenever you're ready, Private."
"Yes sir, sorry." His statement set her posture straight in an attention, ready to give her report. "It was the same as usual, she still thinks I'm unaware though. I'm not sure what's in Steoul but she seems to not want anyone to know."
"Have you noticed anything else?"
"Yes sir, I'm not sure if it's significant but there's this ring she has on her."
"Ring?"
"Yes sir. She always has it on and is really sensitive about it being touched, I've tried."
"I see," he mumbled, not sure what Penny was up to but sure he'd clear it up with her later, "Good job soldier, at ease."
"Not at all," was her serious reply, "It's my honour, sir."
"I know you were hoping for a more... interesting assignment."
"You're right sir, but I'm happy for any opportunity to serve Atlas and prove my competence."
"I'm glad, you're…" his voice trailed off as he spotted a familiar soldier in a pristine uniform.
"How may I help you, Commander Lars?"
"Well, General…"
"It's almost time for the next match, Weiss declared after the girls had piled up bowls and bowls on the counter, "We'd better go watch, they could possibly be our opponents in the next round."
"Who's fighting next?"
"We'll have to watch to find out won't we?"
"Either way, Mr. Vulpes, mind taking the cheque?"
"Don't worry," came a gentle voice from behind them, the owner of it tossing a card to the shopkeeper, "It's on me."
"Dad?"
Yes, the person who had just appeared was none other than the Chairman and majority shareholder of the Schnee Dust Company Jacques Schnee.
"Nice to see you too," he commented wryly before turning to the person next to him, "Are you planning to introduce me to your friends?"
"Oh yes," Weiss said tensely, "This is Blake, Ruby, Yang and Adam, he's the class rep, Ruby's his assistant. Guys, this is my dad."
"It's nice to meet you all."
The responses were the usual awkward ones students would mumble when suddenly meeting a parent of their friend.
"Your match was great by the way; I was surprised to see so much harmony in the group."
"You saw it?"
"Yeah, I watched it with Whitley on the way here. It was spectacular."
"Where is Whitley by the way?"
"Oh, he's resting. I was thinking that you could show him about town tomorrow, since you won't be having any matches then."
"Sure thing, but if we want him to get the full Vale experie-"
Before she finished her statement, he whipped out a card and gave it to her.
"Nice," she whispered as she pocketed it, "We're going to go make preparations now."
He simply shook his head before turning to Adam, who had been rather quiet since his arrival.
"I'm looking for a Professor of yours, Dr. Oobleck. Would you mind taking me there?"
"Sure thing," he said, ignoring Blake's frantic signals in dissent.
"Have a nice day, girls."
"This way, sir."
"Why, thank you."
"Know who we're up against?" Jaune asked as team CJS donned their armour, ready to head out and fight.
Cardin simply shook his head, trying to concentrate despite the thunderous cheering that shook even the locker rooms.
"Whoever it is, we just need to fight smart."
"When did you start giving the pep talks?" Cardin asked his faunus teammate jokingly.
"Okay team! Let's go out there and kick some tail."
"Yeah!"
The trio ran out of the locker room.
"And from Vacuo's Shade Academy, Team CJS!"
On stepping up, Cardin barked out a curse, although no one noticed since the cheer was deafening. They shouldn't have been able to produce this reaction in a crowd since they weren't well known, they weren't. The crowd wasn't cheering them. No, the chorus of shouts chorus bordering on cacophony cried only one thing: "THE INVINCIBLE GIRL!"
Yes, their opponent was none other than Team NVL, led by the one and only Invincible Girl, Pyrrha Nikos.
"Anymore pep talks?" the team leader asked in mild sarcasm.
"Forfeit and avoid a butt kicking?" was Shouter's response, although he had already taken pulled out a brightly coloured arrow in preparation for the fight.
"That plan is way too appealing to be a good idea," Cardin stated simply as he donned his helm, "What do you think, Arc?"
"Let's go all out!"
"That's somehow even more appealing."
Amity Arena the transformed into two biomes, mimicking the environments of a desert and city ruins. With team NVL situated on the former.
"V!"
"Y!"
"T!"
"A!"
"L!"
"FIGHT!"
Immediately the countdown was over, team NVL made a move. Nora opened fire with Magnhild, sending sand and smoke soaring as her shots struck the ground around their opponents.
"Wow! Team NVL opens big and hard, not a second wasted. I guess nothing else can be expected from a team led by the Invincible Girl."
"Exactly. This match is going to be singular, even among for Ms. Nikos!"
"Why do you say that, Mr. Port?"
"Well, all members of Team CJS were once part of Beacon before being transferred and Mr. Arc was once NVL's team leader. They went by JNPR at the time."
"Oh, I see, but Nora's intensity possibly proves that their personal feelings are on hold in the octagonal circle?"
"You may well be right, oh and Mr. Ren has disappeared!"
Yes, Ren had disappeared. Nora's continuous weren't just for the fun of it, not just anyway. She had used a special Dust to create a smokescreen which the stealthy Beaconeer utilized to cover his assault on team CJS.
Being students of the host school, their opponents were revealed to them a short time before the match so that they could do some research. It was an unfair advantage, but you were always disadvantaged against an opponent on his home turf, that was an important lesson for the Huntsmen-in-training.
They knew that Shouter was a ranged fighter, so they sought to take him out first. The smokescreen wasn't regular and it hindered both the ranger's sight and scent. Ren had luckily already memorised their positions and could estimate where Shouter would be.
As far as he remained silent, they wouldn't need to worry about a ranged opponent equalising the playing field. Good news; he was very silent.
Ren was just about to reach when he heard the slightest click beneath his foot. The team NVL member immediately launched himself into the air, avoiding the explosion that would have done so either way if he had been just a beat slower. His reflexes saved him from a bad situation, that was what he thought before an arrow hit home on his chest and sent him right back down.
The explosion surprised team NVL, that hadn't been part of the plan. The two redheads watched the fog intently, but it was too thick for them to do anything. If Ren had been attacked, rushing in after him would just put them at a disadvantage.
"It seems Lie Ren is taking damage," the announcer shouted, referring to his steadily dropping aura meter.
You think? The student in question asked sarcastically as he moved through the smoke, trying to avoid the multiple hits Shouter kept firing at him. His attempt went sideways when he stepped on that first mine and since Shouter's hearing wasn't impeded by the screen, he had locked onto Ren and not allowed him slip away.
He may have been able to escape if not for the mines that were still lain about everywhere. Every rogue step led to an explosion that disbalanced him further and made him an easier target.
Good thing I came prepared then, he smiled as he executed a complicated combination of flips and twists that enabled him to evade two of the projectiles narrowly.
The assault had been ongoing for a few minutes. Ren had spent this entire time getting volleyed by dangerous arrows, but it had also enabled him to establish what the archer's rhythm was and as a result of that, he had enough time to mount a counter.
While still in the air, he pulled out berry-sized spheres from his pocket and sent them flying in the direction of the last arrows.
SCREECH! A high-pitched noise rang out, the cry deafening the fighters for a moment. The spheres were known as Squealers (ironically) and they were particularly effective against faunus due to their sensitive ears. He hadn't used them earlier because he thought he'd be able to land a hit quietly, but seeing that had failed, he went ahead with it.
Not long after, he was back on their side of the arena, panting and on one knee from his unsuccessful attempt.
"Ren," Pyrrha exclaimed worriedly, although her eyes never left the still smoke-covered biome of their opponents. "I was starting to worry."
"About me?" he asked jokingly, "There was no need."
Then more seriously: "We underestimated them though, Shouter's shot is sharper than a sabre. He was able to shoot down most of the Squealers despite the effect they had on him. If I was a second slower, he would have nailed me once again."
"Are we talking about the same Shouter?" Nora asked in surprise, no one knew Ren's ability to evade enemies as well as she did. If Shouter was good enough to push him into a corner, then he was a different archer than he had been just a few months prior.
"What do we do then?" she asked, looking at their team leader.
"We have to wait for the smoke to clear, engaging recklessly won't help us." Pyrrha hoped that she gave off the vibe of confidence, because she definitely didn't feel that way.
Despite their team having the famous Invincible Girl, they were actually at a disadvantage; Pyrrha's entire career had been a solo one and she knew next to nothing of proper teamwork, let alone leading others into battle. She had been training ever since she became team leader, but Ren and Nora were accustomed to just being a pair and fought in that manner.
It was effective, so she tried to incorporate that into their tactics but against a team like CJS; which had Cardin, the leader of the very effective Team CRDL, that was able to keep their act together in that first Black Wave without their leader and Jaune, who although weak, had natural leading talents, such a divided team wasn't best. She wasn't bothered about the result because it was likely they'd win, but their lack of teamwork could make the situation difficult.
As they waited, the smoke suddenly started to clear, revealing team CJS, who were walking into NVL's desert biome with Shouter still obscured behind the thinning veil.
"Team CJS have apparently decided to begin their attack."
"I thought for sure you'd press on," Cardin declared with a cocky demeanour, "Either way, we'll be taking the fight to you now, so be prepared."
Not even a second after the last syllable was uttered, the pair launched themselves towards Team NVL, engaging them head-on. Not ones to back down, the two redheads came charging in response, with the shorter one letting out a howl as she did.
Their weapons clashed. The shockwave sent sand whipping and lashing in every possible direction, properly displaying the strength of both sides of the team.
"Hm, you don't swing like a little girl anymore," Nora taunted as the pair pushed against each other.
"I learned how to not be a girl from you," Jaune shot back cockily, pushing her back. Despite being surprised at this, the Mistralian didn't miss a step. She transformed Magnhild into its grenade-launcher form and swiftly back into a hammer. The sudden change caused Jaune to stumble forward due to his momentum allowing the her to strike him upwards, setting him up for a downward spike that she flew up to deliver.
"Shannaro!"
Unfortunately, her strike was interrupted by a red bolt that struck her side and sent her in another direction.
"Thanks!" Jaune called towards his dog-eared teammate who was the source of the bolt.
Meanwhile, Cardin was trading blows with Pyrrha. The pair were really leagues apart; she elegantly parried and thrusted and transitioned between sword and spear and rifle. His style was much more brutish, he swung wildly in a manner that would have made him seem unintelligent if not that it was making him more difficult to deal with, with Pyrrha having to adjust herself in the middle of attacks to counter his erratic "style". So, despite the difference in classical technique, the exchange was fairly balanced, for the meantime.
Cardin could feel it too, the direction of the clash could change instantaneously, Pyrrha was a born pro, she saw no need to rush in taking him down. He, on the other hand, was at a disadvantage because his technique left many openings and at the rate he was burning through energy, his kamikaze counters would be negated soon.
In that case, Cardin thought as he jumped up high and smashed down with his Executioner, remaining vertical as the deadly weapon pressed down on her. The impact was heavy, way too heavy, but the redhead was still able to weather it and pushed him back.
As he was flung backwards, he pulled on a trigger on the weapons handle, letting lose explosive Dust above her head, causing her to take a few steps backwards. She recovered quickly though, whipping back around just in time to see an arrow flying, aimed directly at her forehead.
CLANG! The projectile had been mere inches away before she intercepted it with Akouo. Had it been anyone else, they would have failed to counter in time. But this was Pyrrha Ni-
The very one was being lifted off the floor in that instant.
In the smoke, the canine archer said, as though to himself: "Instant effect, Gravity and Dust arrow."
Seeing this, Ren, who had been watching from the fringes, to render assistance however he could and stop -unsuccessfully so far- a sneak attack by Shouter, grabbed her ankle and tried to keep her down. It wouldn't do any direct damage, but if she left the ground, she would be easy prey for the exact Shouter.
"Was that combined ammunition?"
"It was, most likely a Gravity and Dust combination. Miss Nikos will not only be stuck in the air, her movement will be erratic till the effects wear off."
Suddenly, another one whistled towards her, most likely to speed up her ascent. In what may not have been the smartest move, Ren jumped in front of his team leader, taking the arrow meant for… him actually. The attack let out an explosion of steam flinging the pair away and throwing sand all about.
"Compound effect, Fire and Water Dust Arrow."
The archer had estimated Ren's action and had fired a water bolt at his opponents. This was as a result of his weapon, Arciris in addition to his ammunition, Prismatic Projectiles. Each colour symbolised a type of Dust and the intensity of each colour defined the speed of his action. The brightest ones were the Instant Effect bolts, darker ones had delayed effects and the darkest were compound effect and would only be activated if triggered by another one. Shouter had hit Ren with one of these in the smoke earlier and it paid off now.
"Tag!" Cardin shouted as he struck Nora, who had been occupied by Jaune- from the side and sent her flying into an artificial yardang. Instantly, an explosion followed, causing the entire formation to collapse on the hammer wielder.
"That really hurt, you know." That was the first sound to come out after the collapse and it was followed by a cheer from the audience.
Immediately, the Arc and Winchester warriors rushed at her, shouting "Tag!" as they took turns to wear her down.
"Is that really Jaune fighting?" Yang asked in shock as he pumped her fists excitedly in their dorm room.
"He has the same face, but other than that, I don't believe it."
"Is it possible to improve that much in such a short time?"
"Especially considering how awkward working through all that… drama must have been."
"Yeah, but I've seen them around, they seem to have forgotten all about it."
"Yeah, being a team brings people together, I guess."
"Is there a better example than us? Weiss and I hated each other, and now, we can just barely tolerate the other's existence."
"Tolerance? I'm not quite there yet, let's call ourselves enemies who have something better to do at the moment."
"You guys should totally get shirts like that."
"Since we're planning on draining her dad's card anyway…"
Back in the arena, Nora was rather exhausted. It had only been a few minutes, but the relentless double-team of the two students made it more than sufficient to wear her down.
Cardin struck down once more, although Nora's tired defence was able withstand it barely. From her blindspot, without bothering to shout "tag", Jaune took her legs out from under her with a baseball slide. Her fall was interrupted by Cardin's knee, that strike affecting her enough that she let go of her hammer. Cardin grabbed the top-heavy terror and dropped it onto her midriff.
The force was so much that she felt her breath leave her. Magnhild wasn't that heavy. Under the newfound weight of her hammer, the Mistralian struggled to lift herself up, but in vain.
This was Cardin's Semblance in action; Magnum Onus allowed him to manipulate the gravity around objects, Nora's trusty weapon was now the equivalent of a boulder on her midriff.
Jaune bent over to take a breath.
"No time," Cardin prompted, looking up at Pyrrha who would soon be free from the effects of the Prismatic Projectiles.
Instantly, she divebombed towards the pair, letting herself fall, ready to use all her momentum to crash into them.
The boys didn't seem all that excited for it and instead rolled out of the way.
BANG!
Whoosh.
"No way!" Shouter exclaimed, from his new position on a barchan a few metres high, this was the first time he had lost his composure throughout the match.
His reaction was understandable, the arrow he had just shot at her was lodged in the sand, tail sticking out and she was unaffected by the mines Cardin had set up in the position they were standing.
"Intense entrance, wouldn't you agree, Mr. Port?!"
"That's not even half of it."
"What do you mean?"
"Team CJS' plan was something like this: set up explosives in the spot she would land and fire another Gravity Dust Arrow, at the same time so that she would be once again an easy target. However, Pyrrha negated the blast with Akouo and deflected the arrow."
"Isn't Gravity Dust so volatile that it doesn't require activation through aura to be in effect?"
"Exactly, Shouter most likely used an inhibitor film to keep it from being activated."
"Meaning that she deflected the arrow with so much precision that the film wasn't broken while countering the mines simultaneously?"
"Exactly," Mr. Port replied, his voice thick with excitement.
"Mr. Port, this what is described as a monster right?"
"Exactly!"
"OOOOH!"
Seeing Shouter's reaction, the stands had all remained quiet so as to hear the Professor's explanation and they exploded on hearing it.
"INVINCIBLE GIRL!"
"INVINCIBLE GIRL!"
"INVINCIBLE GIRL!"
"I have to admit," Pyrrha started, facing both Cardin and Jaune, "I underestimated all of you."
"Is that so?"
"Well," she responded in embarrassment, "I knew you had the advantage in teamwork, but I never imagined that Jaune would have improved so much. You guys put me in a really uncomfortable position, I had to go all out to deflect that arrow. And it had almost no metal, so Polarity was useless. Thank you, I've enjoyed the match so far."
"We'll try to keep it up, then." With this statement, Cardin once again assumed a battle-ready position.
"I hope so."
Without another word, the clash began.
"Magnetic Dust," Jacques mused in Oobleck's office, "One of the rarest in Remnant."
"It is impressive," Barry admitted as he poured a glass of water for his old friend.
"You should visit more," Jacques said as he took the glass from him, "Whitley hardly knows his godfather."
"True, but you know how busy I get," he answered back mildly.
"Oh I know. Monuments that are never going anywhere are understandably a top priority."
"Sarcastic as always. Why did you come?"
"Honestly? For Whitley, he and Weiss have been having… issues?"
"And you're the caring observant father who's going to fix it all."
"I'm the sarcastic one?" the Dust mogul chuckled before taking a sip of his water. "I am very observant by the way. I observed for instance, that you were trying to hide that book, you shouldn't carry it about then, as a Huntsman, you could be part of a fight at any point. If there's a valuable book on your person, it's toast."
"See? Observant." He teased on seeing his green-haired friend's surprise.
"And on the matter of me caring," he declared sombrely, the teasing smile on his face completely gone "There's not a thing I wouldn't do for the Schnee family."
"I see," the Doctor commented simply, feeling the intense vibe.
"I'll be leaving now, I actually came here to give this to you."
"What is it?" Oobleck asked as he received the package the SDC Chairman held out to him.
"It's a gift from Whitley, an Epister. They were used in the Great W-"
"I know when they were used."
"He thought you'd like it since it's an antique and you can communicate with each other with it."
"It's definitely more convenient for me, and it isn't as chaotic as instant messaging available on Scrolls."
"Convenient enough to get you to talk with your godson? Then my work here is done, later."
Pyrrha wasn't wrongly described as a monster, despite the joint efforts of all her opposing members, she was still able to continuously counter their combined attacks. If not for Shouter's continuous assistance from a distance, the match would have already been won.
In an excellent example of this, an ice Dust arrow was activated directly in front of her, allowing the pair to retreat for a while.
Despite the impressive teamwork, they were simply slowing down the rate at which they lost. Cardin's aura meter reading was dangerously low. Another clash and he'd definitely be eliminated.
Pyrrha was alone, Nora's aura had been exhausted under the weight of her hammer after a while and Ren was stuck in a trap set by Shouter.
"Thank you again for a good match," Pyrrha praised emphatically as she took a defensive posture, prepared to engage with them again.
"Not just yet," he said with a smile as his aura meter climbed back into green suddenly.
"WHAT!"
The crowd was riled up, was it a malfunction? The technicians ran about checking emphatically to make sure that the error didn't come from their end.
"Oh, I see!"
"What do you see, Professor?!"
"The Arc boy, Jaune, is clearly glowing. This must be his Semblance!"
"A Semblance that helps allies recover their own aura?! That's incredible! A game changer! A hidden ace! Whatever will the Invincible Girl do?!"
If the crowd was surprised, then Pyrrha was downright shocked. It wasn't just the absolute cheat of a Semblance; it was that the person who manifested it was Jaune. It had only been a few months, but he'd grown so much. Could it actually be that she was the one holding him back?
"Since you didn't expect this, you exhausted yourself a fair bit thinking the match was almost over." Shouter declared in the first words she had heard him say in this match.
The brown-haired archer was welling up as he declared his words.
"To you, this may just be another match, but we all came here with something to prove! That's why we can't lose, we've all worked much too hard to allow it!"
His declaration was a spirited one, it sent the entire arena into silence for a while.
Team SYBR were amongst the few people watching that understood exactly what he meant. They had been there in that Black Wave; Shouter had been pathetic. He had had the composure of pudding. But now, he hadn't faltered even once. They couldn't even imagine the torture that must have constituted their training to make such astronomical changes.
Even Jaune, who hadn't made a single comment since he started exchanging blows with his former partner and leader, was clearly proud of this, his blue eyes held achievement in them.
BOOM!
The explosion drew the eyes of the competitors away from each other.
"You're wrong!" came a voice from the smoke, the owner limping towards them.
"It isn't just a match for her! It's…"
"Ren!"
"Contestant Ren's aura has been exhausted. Can the medical team assist him?"
"He forced his way out of my trap," Shouter stated in confusion, "Drained most of his remaining aura, he'll be okay though. It shouldn't be lethal."
"After hearing your confidence, and seeing you say 'shouldn't', I can't help but be worried."
"Either way though," their team leader continued, "You said that we can't lose, so we still have to back that up!"
On saying this, he struck Executioner onto the ground and sent sand flying in Pyrrha's direction. The grains felt like rocks pelting her, Cardin was using Magnum Onus to make them much heavier, a tactic that took her by surprise as she tried to roll out of the way.
Her roll was intercepted by another explosion beneath her, throwing her into the air.
Luckily, she was still able to make a good landing using Akouo, which she raised just in time to save her from the bolt that Shouter, now only a few feet away, fired at her. Seeing the opportunity to take out the archer, she flung the shield at him. The bronze disc connected with satisfying ring, knocking the faunus down.
That left her vulnerable unfortunately, to an aerial attack from Cardin, who had somehow soundlessly launched himself in the air and was descending on her. She raised Milo up in order to defend herself.
Jaune instead disbalanced her with a slide tackle rivalling Sergio Ramos' which enabled the still slightly discombobulated ranger to shoot the weapon out of her hand.
BLAM!
Executioner came down heavily on the redhead, although she was able to catch it with her bracelets, barely holding up. Suddenly, the giant mace got heavier and pushed the Invincible Girl down lower, bringing her to a single knee. She turned desperately to her shield and pulled it to her with Polarity.
The great shield suddenly dropped though, her tugging and pulling not being able to move it. Cardin had dropped his weapon to concentrate on pushing both the team leader and her shield down. As he did so, Jaune's aura flared once again, supporting his leader by keeping his aura up.
In the field he had created, none of them would be able to help directly. All they could do was wait till Pyrrha's aura was in the red from withstanding the pressure.
"Will this really be the end of this match? With contestants polarised on whether they should vote for the inspiring Team CJS or the brilliant Pyrrha Nikos, is the conclusion to one of the most enjoyable matches in my recollection."
"It may very well be, Pyrrha is definitely a one in a million warrior, but even the strongest warriors may lose out to such a well-concerted effort. This is pure brilliance of Team CJS' part, they've turned a match in which they were underdogs -pun unintended- to a match that they have complete domination."
"You've said it all, Mr. Port. But wait, what just happened? What an aggressive attack! They forfeit? THEY FORFEIT?!"
Back down in the arena, the words "we forfeit" had been shouted out by none other than the team leader.
"I could have taken it…" Shouter, whose had been inches away from being pounded in by Pyrrha's fist just before Cardin forfeited the match, insisted woozily before passing out.
"Are you okay?" Pyrrha asked worriedly to her now vanquished opponent.
"Don't worry," Cardin placated as he walked over and strode him over his shoulder, "A combination of no sleep, anxiety, and the most exhausting fight ever will do that to you, he'll be right as rain after a nap."
"Oh. That's good then."
"Yeah, catch you later."
"Ladies and gentlemen! We were moments away from what would have been one of the biggest upsets in Vytal Tournament history, but it seems the Invincible Girl was building up the tension up to the final act! Amazing! Amazing!"
All was silent.
All except the restless susurrations of the waves. They whispered together in chorus as they emerged from the surface of the water and collided with each other before descending back to their home. They just whispered, and yet the whispers drowned everything else out.
There was nothing else.
Just an infinite sea.
Deep blue depths indiscernible from the horizon, a beginning or end not apparent.
A patch of land suddenly appeared though, perhaps it had always been there.
It had once been a mountain, but now the sea had overcome it and it was now a dirt patch.
On it stood a man, a man whom distress had overtaken. He was both young and old at the same time, his shock of white hair a relief from the endless darkness of the sea. As though he was this world's Sun.
He was deeply distressed, after all, he was surrounded by a sea, the sea. He had nowhere to go. He seemed to have wandered in at some point because he had been injured, whatever lay beneath the deep seemed to be motivation enough to stop him from trying it again.
The beautiful song of a bird made his eyes venture from the sea to the sky above, although he could see no difference other than the fact that two heaven-like white birds danced above him and were free of the water's influence.
"Come to me," the man shouted, "Come and do my work and I shall give you bread."
The duo, an intelligent pair, called back: "Your work is much and bread is not enough to sate us."
"Come to me," he shouted again, whether it was a moment or years later was unclear, "Do my work and I will give you fruit."
Once again, they cried back: "Your work is much and fruit is not enough to sate us."
After much distress, for the final time he called: "Come to me."
Seeing his desperation, the birds inched closer.
"Come to me, and do my work and I shall give you flesh."
Immediately those words were said, the birds beset him, plucking out an eye each in a swift, gory motion.
He let out not a single cry, but instead looked at the birds as they indulged in their feast. How he still saw them was a mystery.
The birds devoured his eyes completely and he lay down, his wounds overtaking him. The birds' immaculate plumage had been tainted black as night by their feast. They were now his and he asked them: "You have eaten to your fill?"
"We have."
"Do my work."
"We shall."
"There is a flower over yonder, protected and cherished by the sea. It is mine, bring it to me."
"Master!" they cried in terror, "Is this the evil you would have us commit?"
"Have you eaten your fill?"
"We have."
"Then do my work."
"We shall."
"Bring me my flower, planted by my hand and cherished by the sea." He began, his entire body contorting in his death throes.
"I am a thief and you are my messengers, steal that which is mine. You have taken part in my blood and eaten to your fill, now do my work!"
"We shall."
The birds flew up, their black figures standing out from the impenetrable deep, their beautiful call now a dreadful cry.
Cinder woke up.
She was glad she had woken up. She sat up and thought about the dream she had. It was normal, there wasn't anything particularly scary in it as far as she was concerned.
And yet, it disturbed her deeply, she was restless anytime she had it and it had been happening ever since she had gotten part of the Maiden powers. Was it the magic itself? Perhaps the means through which she obtained it?
Whatever the reason, the closer they were to their objective, the more frequent and vivid they came.
What did it mean?
Notes: Feels off, especially the dream part, but I've already pushed it back too far.
Was going to introduce Shouter's Semblance, but the fight already seemed crowded so I pushed it back.