Welcome back everyone to another exciting chapter of The Darkling Thrush! This is the chapter that almost killed me! That was a joke.

This is however the most action heavy chapter I've written, beating out the penultimate chapter of Who Dares Wins which was more tension and personal drama heavy compared to this full one battle tournament type setting.

This is officially the longest chapter yet.

As always I'd like to thank those who left a review last chapter! Thank You jin0uga, MagisterShiryu, Baoh joestar, noone297, Guest and Ussop! I appreciate your comments and thoughts greatly. Because at the end of the day, this story is for you guys more than it is for me. If it was solely for me, then I wouldn't be posting it on Fanfiction, I'd be hoarding it on my computer. So, I'm just happy to know you're all enjoying the ride so far.

Anyways, best get on with the chapter then, eh? Further notes down below and so it goes.

XXXVII

The Vytal Festival: Part 2

Under the watchful eyes of cheering crowds, televised all across the world, the teams of CRDL and PSYK engaging in combat. As soon as Port called for them to begin, they were off, charging at the other team.

From the harsh deserts of Vacuo, Team PSYK came armed with blunt weapons stylized with exposed gears showcasing the inner workings and giving the audience as well as their opponents a good idea of what their secondary modes could be.

Panini Delso, the leader of Team PSYK led the charge, meeting CRDL at the center of the arena. She raised her broadsword weapon and swung at Cardin. Being up close and personal like the way she was, Panini made her intent clear to Cardin with a fiery glare. She didn't just want to beat Cardin and his team, she wanted to crush them, she wanted to humiliate them like no other.

Though a significant percentage of the Beacon student body would protest, Cardin was in fact no idiot. He registered the clear as day threat with indifference as he blocked Panini's attack with his mace. To Cardin, such things were just another day, another drop in the bucket of his life. And he will endure.

So the Winchester boy continued to block Panini's strikes, waiting for just the right opening to retaliate. Panini drew back her broadsword, intending to reel back and deliver a powerful blow capable of breaking through Cardin's weapon, a smirk on her face. But Cardin seized the opportunity immediately, catching her off guard with his surprising speed. The flanges of his mace opened like a blooming flower and snared around Panini's midsection like a venus flytrap.

Panini attempted to fend off Cardin by smacking him with her broadsword, but whatever momentum she would normally carry with her swings were substantially decreed by her current predicament. Cardin brushed off her attacks, owing it to his semblance and readied to send the Team PSYK leader flying. He lifted Panini into the air with his strength and began spinning in place.

As soon as he had enough momentum behind him, Cardin opened his mace's flanges once more, sending Panini flying to her team's side of the arena. Panini bounced off the barren infertile land before eventually stopping. After picking herself off the ground, Panini shot a glance upward at a large screen beside the commentator's box. There she saw both her teams and Team CRDL's aura levels projected to the crowd. And hers currently registered at eighty five percent.

Panini let out a low angry growl before fixating her attention back to Cardin, who ran off to assist his team members. She switched her broadsword into its secondary weapon mode, a projectile launcher. She scooped up a nearby rock and loaded it, then she began to steady her aim.

As Cardin moved to regroup with his team, Russel found himself in the thick of things as he and Dove dueled with one of Team PSYK. Sibrand Chow, like Russel, carried two weapons. A long sword and a short blade, which he used to great effect as he fended off both Dove and Russel's attacks.

Sky appeared to be having less of an issue as he used his halberd to keep his opponent at a manageable length. Yasmin Tea's electric charge club was best used up close and personal, but due to Sky's range, getting close just wasn't an option. So Yasmin was forced on to the defensive and backed away, hoping to regroup with one of her teammates.

To say the least, Russel felt an odd sense of déjà vu. In the heat of battle, the Thrush found himself thinking back to the day when Pyrrha challenged all of Team CRDL to spar. It was both he and Dove who'd fought in sync against the Invincible Girl, just as they did now against Sibrand.

But there was one major difference from then and now, Russel thought to himself as he lowered his daggers ever so slightly in order to bait Sibrand into attacking him. Sibrand wasn't Pyrrha Nikos. So the dual wielding Team PSYK member took the bait and eased off of Dove in order to swing back around and strike what he perceived to be an exposed weakness. Pyrrha wouldn't have made that mistake, Russel thought to himself as Sibrand thrusted his short blade at him.

Russel whipped his arms upward, locking them with Sibrand and held on tight. Realizing his error, Sibrand attempted to pull away, but Russel wouldn't give. The next thing he knew, Dove was upon him once more, striking at him with his gun sword.

Except the blow never came. It was a blink and you'll miss it moment. After all, there were four members of Team PSYK. Panini just landed on the far side of their biome, while Yasmin was fighting Sky. Team PSYK's fourth member had been waiting for an opportunity to strike, and now he'd just found it.

Dove was taken by surprise as metal chain found itself wrapped around his arm, pulling him back. The youngest member of Team CRDL looked back to the source of the chain and found the fourth member of Team PSYK, Kafka Dominos, standing on their side of the arena in one of the demolished buildings of the urban setting.

"Get over here." Kafka snarled.

"Aaah!" Dove screamed as he hauled into the air by his arm, dragged off elsewhere by Kafka, leaving Russel to deal with Sibrand. The Thrush couldn't help but sigh as the audience's cheers turned to laughter at Dove's misfortune.

"Enough!" Sibrand shouted as seized the moment to kick Russel away.

Russel fell onto his back, but the Thrush threw the momentum behind him into a roll. And just like that, he was back on his feet. He raised his daggers, ready to start anew.

"Dust Daggers?" Sibrand asked, pointing to the Russel's cylinders, as if noticing for the first time. "Dust swords." He said comparatively as he raised his weapons to show Russel.

"Huh." Russel muttered. "Too bad I don't know how to use mine." He shrugged before leaping at Sibrand.

The dual welding Team PSYK member let out a shout and charged at Russel. The two were poised to clash halfway, to see who could best the other. But before they could meet, Cardin's mace came crashing against Sibrand, sending him skidding off to the side.

"I had him." Russel said as he turned his attention to his partner. Cardin hefted his mace against his shoulder and shot Russel a disbelieving look. The Thrush was about to protest with the boy, but out of the corner of his eye caught sight of an incoming projectile. Both he and Cardin took a step back, allowing the speeding rock to pass between them.

The pair then turned their attention to Panini all the way at the end of her biome, reloading her weapon with rocks she found on the ground.

"What an odd weapon." Cardin thought aloud, earning an agreeing nod from his partner.

"I'll show you odd!" Sibrand shouted after picking himself off the ground and gathering his bearings. The dual wielder raised his weapons and then began to run directly at them, while at the same time letting loose a battle cry.

"Oh, believe me, you are." Russel's signature shit eating smirk found its way on his face at the sight of the PSYK boy screaming his head off.

Before Sibrand could even get close to the pair, Cardin slammed his mace onto the ground. The magma dust crystal at the center of his mace radiated as it shot bursting energy through the arena floor. The searing shockwave cracked the tile floor as it surged Sibrand's way, exploding beneath his feet like a landmine and sending him flying once more.

"Oh, enough of this!" Yasmin shouted as she dodged Sky's ranged halberd attack. She leapt backward, getting some distance from the Lark, then activated her club's secondary weapon mode. The front of the club opened up, revealing a dust crystal within. Electricity danced through air, causing both Yasmin and Sky's hair to stand up on their heads.

"Get slagged." Yasmin spat before a pure ball of electricity shot out of her club. The dancing energy mass grew in size the moment it left the club, gathering whatever electricity was in the air. In order to avoid the energy ball, Sky stabbed his halberd into the floor and used it vault over it.

But the energy ball continued, not at all stopping. While Russel and Cardin dealt with another one of Sibrand's attempts to attack them, as well as Panini's awkward attempts at sniping them, the Thrush was caught unaware and struck by the ball, electrocuting him.

"Oooh, that's gotta hurt." Port winced at the sight of Russel flailing on the ground as electricity surged through his body. Up above on the monitor, Russel's aura dramatically dropped from eighty nine to thirty one.

Laying there on the floor, his body still involuntarily convulsing, Russel reflected on his unimpressive amount of aura. His outer representation of his soul, was unlocked not by a trained professional, nor in the heat of battle. It was unlocked when he was at his lowest. To say the least, Russel didn't have the same amount of aura reserves as the next guy.

If one were to hold him up in comparison to Jaune of all people, you'd see a significant difference in aura. Not to mention, Russel's earlier exploits this morning had diminished a percentage of his aura before the match had even started. Given by how much pain he was in, he was absolutely astounded he hadn't been eliminated from the match even.

"Russel, back to your feet!" The Thrush could hear Cardin shouting, urging for him to get back into the thick of things as Sibrand kicked in his semblance of heightened speed. The Team PSYK was now running laps around Cardin, while from afar Panini pelted the young man with random objects that littered the field.

But Russel just had the shock of a lifetime. Team PSYK was too busy with his teammates to care about an incapacitated fighter. No one would be bothering him anytime soon. And that was okay with him. He needed the time to think anyways.

If one were to glance to the aura monitors, once more you'd find Russel's aura slowly declining once more.

Fighting one on one was a completely new experience for Dove. The boy had never once been called on for sparring sessions in Goodwitch's combat class, aside from that one time Pyrrha challenged all of CRDL. Every time Dove had been in a fight, which wasn't too often mind you, he'd had someone at his back helping him along. To say the least, being violently dragged into a one on one fight with Kafka was a less than ideal situation for Dove.

Kafka was armed with a metal chain and a sub machine gun that doubled as a nightstick. The Vacuo native was stood a head taller than Dove and held an intimidating glare. And at times, when Dove found himself striking at the young man as they fought through the ruins of house in the urban biome, Kafka would not once wince. The Team PSYK boy would simply meet Dove's strikes head on. He'd take the bullet from Dove's weapon and he'd keep moving not at all deterred.

Dove made one last ditch effort to strike down his opponent, swinging his sword. But Kafka threw up his chain, wrapping it around the blade. And with seemingly little effort, he ripped Dove's sword out of his hands.

The CRDL boy looked on in terror as Kafka reeled back, switching his machine gun into its nightstick form. With no weapon to protect himself, Dove raised up his hands and silently prayed. Kafka's attack and the force that came with it slammed Dove through the rotted roof of the building and into the air.

There was a thing called gravity that Dove was aware. Where whatever went up would come down. And Dove should have plummeted long ago. The boy opened his eyes, found himself drifting through the air, the aura around his body glowing slightly. "What?" he asked aloud, not so much to begin a dialogue or turn to another for answers, but to externalize his surprise.

But just as he began to properly gather his bearings, that slight glow of his aura faded and he began to fall. Dove landed on his back, at the end of his team's biome and rolled off in pain into the out of bounds area. A buzzer blew, announcing Dove's elimination from the match.

"And just like that folks, Team PSYK gains the advantage!" Oobleck announced.

"Damn it." Cardin cursed as he found himself being forced by Sibrand and Panini. The Team PSYK leader had since moved on from her position, deeming long range ill-fitting and closed the distance to medium. This move had in fact doubled her combat effectiveness, her projectiles though humorously avoidable at first now flew faster with the distance from its target shortened.

"We're getting pushed back!" Sky shouted over to Cardin as he avoided another one of Yasmin's electricity balls.

The Lark flipped backwards, his halberd in hand, and landed with his back to Cardin's. With Team CRDL now confined to one area, the PSYKs began to close in for the kill. Kafka emerged from the building in CRDL's biome and switched his weapon to its gun form. Panini approached from the front, her weapon trained directly at Cardin. And Sibrand and Yasmin approached the duo from opposite sides, essentially boxing them in.

"Any ideas, Cardin?" Sky asked as he spun his halberd with one hand, readying it for inevitable melee. He spared a glance the Winchester's way, but found Cardin's attention firmly elsewhere. "Cardin?" Sky asked before following his gaze.

Team PSYK had forgotten all about Russel, too caught up in the heat of battle or, in Panini's case, too busy trying to make Cardin bleed to notice the Thrush had picked himself up off the ground. Russel now set on the task of laying a line of dust, taken from one of his dagger's cylinder containers.

"The hell is he doing?" Sky asked quietly as not to draw Team PSYK's attention to Russel's actions. The Thrush now stood, waving to his two teammates, silently urging them to break lines and join him.

With each step Team PSYK encroached into their space. At any moment the ones with guns would start firing. Cardin's semblance offered him some protection. It wouldn't be the first time someone's shot him. But the real question was for how long could he endure such punishment. They still had the numbers advantage.

"Count of three. Run." Cardin muttered quietly to Sky. Seeing the futility in a drawn out engagement, the CRDL leader resigned to follow his partners lead. "One."

"Two." Sky said as he pointed his halberd to Yasmin and then Sibrand. "Three!" They shouted in unison before running forward between Sibrand and Panini.

Team PSYK, who'd been closing in for the kill, was not at all surprised by their actions. It was either fight or flight. Naturally, they'd flee like cowards rather than fight. So Panini and Sibrand raised took up their weapons, hoping to deter their escape while Yasmin and Kafka opened fire on the from afar.

Seeing their opponent's ahead acting as obstacles, Carding ran ahead of Sky. Using his bulky frame like a battering ram, Cardin slammed past the two. Both he and Sky, with bullets and energy balls whizzing by, ran off to the PSYK side of the arena where they were met by Russel behind a boulder offering minimal protection.

So Cardin and Sky joined their teammate, hiding behind a slightly bigger rock as Team PSYK picked themselves up and set after them once more. Bullets struck the boulder, chipping away sections and bouncing off, flying elsewhere. All the while the remaining trio of CRDL got to work figuring out their next move.

"Think you could strike the ground? Throw them off balance or something?" Sky turned to Cardin.

"We've got no ranged capabilities. Even if I did manage to throw them off, we'd have no way to capitalize on the situation." Cardin muttered bitterly.

"Fuckin' headaches." Russel cursed under his breath as he massaged his temples, as if that could remedy the pounding in his head.

"So how was getting electrocuted?"

"About as fun as you'd think, Sky." He rolled his eyes. "Anyways, my head ain't pounding over getting shocked. If anything it's the shakes in my hands." The Thrush held up both of his hands, how they trembled. "I'm gonna be pissed off forever if I got nerve damage."

The Thrush then peered around over their cover, watching as Team PSYK approached from the front, right where he wanted them. "Hey, Cardin? You trust me?" He asked, catching his partner's attention.

"What?" Cardin raised a confused brow, not exactly sure of the questions relevance to their situation.

"Do you trust me?" Russel reiterated, withdrawing from his position by the edge of their cover.

Cardin let the question settle in his mind. He thought back to their first ever mission as huntsmen, in Oakwood when they fought White Fang. And then he thought back to a month ago, when Russel had tagged along for his revenge quest against the Memoria. "You even have to ask?"

"I need your mace." And without objection, Cardin handed off his weapon to Russel. The Thrush hit the switch on the side of the handle, opening the flanges. He reached inside and removed the magma dust crystal.

The Thrush looked at it for a moment. Watching the red crystal flare brightly against the sun light in his shaking hands. He then turned his head and peered out from behind the boulder they hid behind.

"So, what happens now?" Sky asked, before being slapped on the shoulder by Cardin. The Lark winced slightly and turned to his leader for an explanation. But all he found was Cardin pointing over to where Russel kneeled. "What?" Sky questioned before following Cardin's gaze. Right beside Russel's foot was a trail of dust, leading out into the open where Team PSYK now stood. "Oh shit."

"An' good fuckin' night." He said before pressing the magma crystal to the line of dust.

The resulting flare shot off, following the trail the Thrush had laid to the larger scattered pile that Team PSYK now stood over. The crackling tiny explosions along the way did not go unnoticed, however, as the opposing team lowered their weapons and eyed it with curiosity. The dust blended with the biome, but upon further inspection of the trail the fire followed, four pairs of eyes shot wide open with fear.

"Move!" Panini shouted, urging her team to scatter. But it was already too late.

The spectators were treated to a fiery explosion with pitch black smoke erupting into the air. The crowds cheered at the brutal display, as horns signaling Team PSYK's elimination blew loudly into the air.

"What a surprising turn of events!" Port shouted. "Is that even legal?" He turned to his co-commentator. "Hm. Lets have a replay, shall we?"

On one of the overhead monitors, a video minutes earlier appeared. It showed Russel picking himself up off the ground, looking around while his team battled Team PSYK. Russel then set off and laid down dust from his daggers which would then be used to create the resulting explosion.

"Though in this tournament, the only attribute being tested are fighters skills, we are willing to let Mr. Thrush's actions slide, seeing as the dust he used came from his weapons." Oobleck said.

"Finally found a use for the dust, huh?" Sky joked, pointing to Russel's daggers as the trio stepped out from behind cover.

"Do I know why these daggers use dust? No. Do I know how to blow shit up? Yes, yes I do." Russel smirked before glancing upward at the aura monitor. Along with Dove's monitor, there were a total of four eliminations registered.

"Look alive, we got one more." Russel called out, before a familiar metal chain came shooting out of the smoke and wrapping around the Thrush's leg. Russel let out a surprised yelp before he was yanked off his feet and pulled into the smoke.

"Grab him!" Cardin shouted reactively. Both he and Sky leapt to their teammate's aid, aiming to grab ahold of Russel's arms and act as an anchor, preventing him from being dragged off. But they were too slow, Russel was rapidly dragged into the smoke, where a furious Kafka awaited him.

"Um…hi?" Russel waved at the visibly pissed Team PSYK member.

Without a word, Kafka leant downward and proceeded to beat Russel into the ground. The smoke cleared, giving the spectators and the cameras a good look at the situation now found himself. No doubt a good number of individuals were laughing all across Vale. Russel could practically hear their laughs amongst the crowd.

Cardin and Sky winced at violent display, turning away as Kafka continued his assault. The on looking audience's cheers silenced as Kafka's punches grew more violent. Soon the entire arena was filled with the sounds of Kafka's rustling chain, slapping the tile ground every time he brought his knuckles down on Russel's face.

The moment Kafka began to draw blood, however, a horn signaling Russel's elimination blew. The Vacuan native glanced up to the aura monitor, seeing Russel's aura had finally fallen below the minimum amount of fifteen percent. With an accepting nod, Kafka pulled himself out of the crater he'd created from punching Russel into the ground and turned his attention to Cardin and Sky.

Silently, Kafka wrapped his chain around his left arm and presented his machine gun in his right. The young man fired wildly at the duo, forcing Cardin and Sky to dodge lest they be struck. Cardin rolled forward, drawing his mace and slammed it onto the ground, intending to strike Kafka with his magma attack. But nothing happened. Cardin mentally kicked himself, Russel still had his magma crystal.

Now out in the open like an idiot, having bet everything on that move, Cardin was struck full on by a hail of dust shells. Kafka poured it on while Panini watched from where she lay with a smile. Cardin felt himself succumbing to the pain as a hundred rounds struck his body simultaneously. High up above the crowd, Cardin's aura level could be seen dropping dramatically. Even with his semblance, he was no match for this amount of abuse.

"Hey asshole!" Sky shouted, catching Kafka's ear. The Vacuan turned to find Sky charging at him from the side, his halberd extended forward like a spear.

Turning his gun from Cardin to Sky, Kafka began his onslaught once more. Sky kept running against the storm of dust infused lead, letting it slam against him. Sky wasn't like Cardin, he didn't have the semblance to cope with the pain, and yet the young man pressed on.

A bullet struck his shoulder, another his side, and still Sky persevered. His aura was in the thirties, a few yards from his opponent and from the face of the gun barrel. There was no more room to dodge, so he'd just have to suck it up, Kafka was now within reach, obviously weakened from the dust explosion. If there was any hope for a Team CRDL victory, it now solely resided with Sky.

So Sky pulled an earlier move from his book of tricks. He impaled the end of the halberd into the ground and vaulted. Sky essentially used the momentum of his vault to somersault over Kafka, dragging his halberd with him. Kafka did his best to shoot upward at Sky, but with whipping his weapon upward so quickly let the recoil finally get to him. His shots were too imprecise to hit the Lark, just as he had hoped.

Sky landed behind Kafka, who was now in the process of spinning around to riddle him. But Sky let the momentum from his efforts flow through him, and he then proceeded to slam blade of his halberd against Kafka's side. The young man's aura soaked up the would-be fatal blow, but still it wasn't enough to keep him on his feet. Kafka fell to the side, his aura dropping below the necessary fifteen percent. And the final horn was blown.

"And with that, Team CRDL moves on to the doubles round!" Port announced over the microphone.

"…Yay we won…" Russel raised his arm weakly from where he lay in the crater, producing a thumbs up.

"Need any help?" Cardin asked as both he and Sky walked over to the crater and peered down at their teammate. Russel's already extended hand opened up, signaling to Cardin, who grabbed his partner's hand and hauled him to his feet.

With the match now officially over, Dove pulled himself back onto the field and ran to his team, still a tad bit shaken from his experience in the air. "So…what now?" Dove asked as medical crews arrived to gather up Team PSYK and treat them for injuries. The members of Team CRDL exchanged glances, wondering what to do now to celebrate their victory.

"Anyone hungry?"

Elsewhere in the city of Vale, down a familiar alleyway, a pair of darkly dressed men. One wore a black suit with a red tie and shades with a black fedora with red trim. The other man in his company wore a black hoodie and black jeans. They both stood leaning against a brick wall, not at all attracting the attention of pedestrians who passed by.

"That'll be two hundy, my good sir." The hooded man smirked as he held out his palm.

The shades wearing man didn't protest at the obscene price, his wasn't the first time he'd done business with Kevin. He simply fished into his pocket and handed the hooded man the lien. And in turn, Kevin dug into his own pocket and handed the man a passport of his own making. The man studied the identification, gently brushing his fingertips against the lettering and his picture.

"Congrats mate, you're now a citizen of the fine kingdom of Mistral." Kevin said, slowly clapping his hands.

"Thanks Kev, you're a life saver." The red tie wearing man said before turning and hugging Kevin.

"Oi, let go! I don't know you like that!" Kevin protested the action, slapping the man on the shoulder until he let go.

"Sorry, sorry." The man apologized, taking a step back.

"The hell do you need a passport anyways Mick?" Kevin asked as he patted himself off, not at all enjoying the foreign contact. "Your boss Junior call a hit out on you or somethin'?"

"Junior? No, no, Junior's gone Kev." The red tie wearing man, Mick, said getting a surprised reaction out of Kevin. "He closed his club down last night, picked up his shit and ran. Told the rest of us if we were smart we'd do the same."

"Huh." Kevin scratched his chin. "I didn't think the Memoria crack down freaked him out that bad. Guess he decided to get out while the getting was good, eh?"

"It wasn't the Atlas dogs that got Junior spooked." Mick shook his head. "It's something else man."

"Well what the hell scares the shit out of Junior? Besides a blonde, I mean." Kevin said, unable to prevent himself from laughing at that last part.

"I don't know man. But I ain't sticking around to find out." Mick said before kicking off the wall and heading for the end of the alley. "Take care of yourself Kev."

"Yeah, you too Mick." Kevin waved as he watched his customer depart.

He stood there for a moment longer, even after Mick had departed, thinking about what Junior's former henchman had said. One of the city's crime bosses had taken off without an explanation. Something about it didn't sit well with Kevin. So he thought about it a moment longer before deciding to call it in.

Kevin kicked off the wall and walked further down the alley. He took a left, walking into a wall, essentially stepping into his 'office'. He found himself in a simple room with all manner of machinery he'd use to craft his faux IDs along with a list of individuals who'd purchased them. He sat down at a desk, reclined in his seat and pulled out his scroll.

He dialed up a number and ran it to on a nearby machine to ensure the line was secure. "Kevin Twelve reporting in, I got something here you might want to know, sir." He spoke into the receiver.

"Go ahead Kevin Twelve, I'm listening." A monotone reply from the other end.

"Just heard from one of Junior's goons that the guy just sipped town. Something's going on boss. I don't like it." 'Kevin' informed.

"Neither do I." The monotone voice replied. "Somethings coming. Maintain cover until further notice, Kevin Twelve. Report anything else you uncover. Ozpin out."

Seated behind his desk, staring at his scroll and a live feed of Team CRDL's victory on the computer was none other than Ozpin. There was a contemplative frown on his face. Lost to his thoughts, the old man was left with a number of questions, all of which offered up unsavory answers.

For a long time, Ozpin had prided himself with knowing all that occurred in his city. Though he was only a Headmaster with no official say in governing, that didn't stop Ozpin from assembling his own underground spy network which he'd used to great effect to subdue crime. For so long he'd become comfortable knowing the city of Vale was under his watchful eye, that nothing could threaten it.

But as of recent, with the attack on Amber, Roman Torchwick's crime wave and The Breach, everything was so uncertain. There was a force pushing against him, vying for control, undermining everything he'd worked so hard to achieve. And all he could do was watch and wait.

"I just came to tell you that Qrow is inbound, as is General Ironwood." Ms. Goodwitch said as she stepped into the office. The pair had worked together for years, she'd seen Ozpin during his highs and his lows. And by the look on his face, this was one of his lows. "Is something wrong?"

"Possibly." The Beacon Headmaster muttered. "Something is going to happen, Glynda. And it's more important now more than ever that we choose Amber's replacement."

"Have you reached a decision?"

"Yes, yes I have."

"I'll fetch her right away."

"No, don't bother yourself. We have some time before James or Qrow arrive. And besides, we've just recruited an eager young huntsman willing to handle such tasks." Ozpin glanced to his scroll, eyeing Sky's contact info he'd procured since they'd taken the young man into their confidence.

With that said, Ozpin spun his seat around and faced the sun. "It's a beautiful day Glynda. The students are out and about enjoying themselves. You should too."

"I should be on hand in case Qrow starts trouble, shouldn't I?" She deadpanned.

"Now, I didn't say that. But it doesn't mean you're wrong. Thank you Glynda."

"Of course, sir."

After their victory, Team CRDL jumped onto the next Airship and headed down to the fairgrounds in search of something to eat. They had much to choose from, such as the local cuisine or the vendor who'd traveled from their kingdom serving their home specials.

They chose a quiet burger vendor from Vacuo who had a television set up so both he and his patrons could watch the rest of the tournament matches. There, while eating, the quartet witnessed Team RWBY take to the field and fight Team ABRN from Mistral. It was an exciting match up that showcased how well both teams worked together, something Team CRDL quietly acknowledged as something they themselves should work on for the future.

The fight lasted shorter than theirs. And not a single one of Team RWBY was eliminated from battle. Together the quartet of young women defeated their opponents with relative effort and claimed victory.

"Huh. Not a bad match." Sky mused as he watched Team RWBY wave to their adoring audience at the center of the arena. "Not bad at all."

"I liked the part where Yang punched everyone." Dove commented before stuffing his mouth full of food. The rest of CRDL nodded in agreement. It was quite the impressive feet, punching three opponents out the way Yang did.

"I for one think it needed more explosions." Cardin smirked, shooting a glance Russel's way. The team broke out in laughter, earning the occasional odd look from their server and the passerby. But they didn't care, it was a joke for them and only them.

"Hey fellas." A feminine voice called out, catching CRDL's ear. The team looked to their left, finding a familiar faunus girl with rabbit ears and her mountain of a partner at her side.

"Velvet, Yatsuhashi." Cardin greeted the pair of second year students with a friendly smile, which they returned in kind. "Caught your guys' match earlier. Job well done there Yatsuhashi, you certainly know how to use that sword."

"It was a team effort. But regardless, thank you." Yatsuhashi said, slightly nodding his head. He then glanced over to his shorter partner and then back to Cardin, as if suddenly feeling like a third wheel by the look Velvet was giving him. "I must be off. I need to…prepare for tomorrow." He said before waving goodbye to Velvet and to Team CRDL.

"Catch you later, Yatsuhashi." Cardin waved as he and the others watched as the larger than life Team CFVY strong man departed elsewhere. Over the past couple weeks, tensions between Cardin and the rest of the student body had declined. Instead of enemies, he was making friends for a change. And it was something he very much enjoyed.

"So, what's up Velvet?" Russel asked curiously. Velvet was the editor of The Shining Beacon, not to mention a participant in this year's Vytal Festival, if anything she should have her hands busy with sorting through some amateur journalist's contribution to the paper or running off with Yatsuhashi to prep for tomorrow or at the least help. But no, Velvet was here, with them.

To answer Russel's question, Velvet motioned to her box-like purse. Opening it, she pulled out a camera. "I need photos for the paper." She smiled, eagerly raising her camera at the assembled team as they sat on their respective stools. "Mind if I snap one of you guys?"

The assembled quartet exchange glances and ultimately shrugged, seeing no reason not to, they all stood from their seats and gathered for a group photo. Team CRDL stood shoulder to shoulder, putting on their best faces. "Thanks guys!" Velvet exclaimed before snapping a couple of photos. "Wanna see?" She asked, holding up her camera.

Cardin nodded and reached for the camera, accepting it from Velvet and holding so he and the others could sort through the photos.

"This is the part where you and the others leave." Velvet whispered discretely to Russel as Dove and Sky returned to their seats to finish their meals.

"Ah. So the truth comes out." Russel muttered, biting back the urge to laugh as Cardin turned his attention back to them and handing Velvet back her camera. Complying with Velvet's wishes, Russel quickly walked over to his teammates, and patted them on their backs. "Well fellas, we'd better get going."

"Huh? Wot for?" Dove managed to ask with his mouth still stuffed with food.

"Hey remember what we said about talking with food in our mouths." Russel pointed at Dove accusingly. "No sea food."

"Oh." Dove swallowed. "Right, sorry."

"Anyways," Russel nodded at Cardin and Velvet as he maintained eye contact wth Sky and Dove. "We'd best be getting on now, got other things to do."

"Oh, right. How could I forget." Sky tapped the side of his head, finally understanding Russel's efforts to leave the pair of Velvet and Cardin alone. "Yes, we'd best be on our way Dove."

"Fine." Dove muttered before grabbing what was left on his plate to go. And so they all left, leaving Cardin and Velvet alone, as if they noticed.

"The check, sir." The vendor said, quickly catching Cardin's ear. To his dismay, Cardin found himself stuck with the bill, a silent curse under his breath accompanied by the disbelieving look on his face was enough to make Velvet laugh at his misfortune.

"Well they sure seem to have gotten close all of a sudden." Sky commented as he, Russel and Dove walked around the fairgrounds.

"Yep. But not just her, everybody's taken a bit kinder to our boy." Russel said as they rounded a corner in search of something to kill their time. "You were his roommate in the Hospital Dove. You saw how many people visited him." Dove nodded still scarfing down his food. "Honestly? I'm happy for the guy. About time shit went his way."

"So now what?" Sky inquired.

"You guys wanna just go loiter around and stand in public walkways?" Russel asked loudly as the trio struggled to walk past a quartet of students wearing Haven Academy attire, who were blocking the walkway. The students merely accosted Russel with glares. But the Thrush flipped them the bird and kept on walking. "Up Yours." He said over his shoulder.

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't cause trouble for one day." Sky sighed.

"Too late. Got chased by an angry mob this morning." Russel snickered.

"Of course you did." The Lark shook his head, as if he'd expected any less from his teammate.

Before the trio could once again debate how to spend their free time, the familiar ring of a scroll caught their ears. Sky reached into his pants pocket, removing his scroll. He caught sight of the name of the called and instantly froze. He glanced at his teammates, who appeared to be standing there waiting for him to inform them who it was.

"Uh…I gotta go take this call guys." Sky awkwardly pointed at his scroll without revealing the identity of the caller to his companions. That appeared to be enough for Russel and Dove as they simply nodded and continued carrying a one sided conversation as Dove had yet to finish his meal.

Sky stepped aside and answer his scroll, holding it to ear. "Headmaster, sir?" He answered Ozpin's call.

"Mr. Lark, I have a job for you."

"So I'm thinking we could go check out one of the activity booths. Throw bean bags at stacked bottles and shit like that." Russel suggested.

Dove thought about it for a moment as he chewed the last of his fries. "But what do we do with the stuffed animals we win?" He asked, swallowing. "We haven't the room back in the dorm. Not after Sky bought all that rock junk off the internet."

"Well, you could always give them to your girlfriend as a present." Russel laughed while Dove fumed over the comment.

"Oh, hey, what's up?"

"Sorry, very sorry, I've gotta head out. Got a project thing I need to do back at the school."

"…But we don't have any projects." Dove said, confused by Sky's excuse to depart their company.

"We haven't had projects for a month." Russel said, reflecting the amount of time that had passed since classes were suspended for their year to attend missions and prepare for the tournament. "Unless it's like one of those personal projects of yours in the library?"

"Uh…yeah. Personal project? Yeah, yeah personal project." Sky stammered, deciding that it was best to go with whatever his teammates though he was doing instead of producing his own half-baked explanation. "I'll see you guys later, bye!" Sky shouted before running off back to the academy.

After a moment spent watching their teammate scurry away, the remaining CRDL boys looked to the other with Russel commenting first on Sky's behavior. "So do you think he's got like a boyfriend now or somethin'?"

"Nah, I'd know. I'm his partner, he's contractually obligated to tell me stuff like that." Dove shook his head, not at all believing for even a second that Sky would hide anything from him.

"I don't think that's how this partner business works."

"Well I tell him all about the girls I like."

"That's what you call voluntarily divulging information. There's no fine print to that, Dove. It's just you spouting whatever's crossed your mind."

"I still think Sky would've told me if he's seeing someone."

"…So you wanna go and see if they've got some games around here or not?"

"I don't see why not." Dove shrugged.

With that said, the two teammates walked off in search of carnival games. They walked by a number of vendors and games, but most seemed busy with lines extending down the pathway. For a minute, it seemed as if they were just going to call it quits and default to loitering about in a walkway like good ordinary folk. But then they happened upon a not so busy part of the grounds where there was a nearby noodle shop with a particular game of shooting balls into hoops.

"Oh sweet!" Dove shouted excitedly as he ran up to the booth, all too eager to start throwing balls into hoops. But before he could, the vendor held out a hand to Dove and pointed at a nearby sign saying it was three lien for ten balls.

Dove then dug into his pockets, fishing for money but found only lint. He then turned to Russel hoping the young man would be sympathetic to his cause. "Hey, you mind spotting me some lien?"

"The hell happened to your winnings?" Russel said, recalling the substantial amount of money Dove had earned from their nights betting on when Pyrrha would confess her feelings to Jaune.

"Pyrrha made me donate it all to the school." Dove rolled his eyes.

"Huh. And how does that make you feel?" The Thrush asked.

"Dirt poor is what it makes me feel." Dove frowned. "You going to spot me or not?"

"Eh, what do I 'ave to lose by loaning money to someone I know has zero chances of paying me back?" Russel snickered, causing Dove's frown to deepen. "Hey, knock it off, it was a joke!" He said before digging into his pockets and pulling out a twenty lien note and handing it to Dove. "Just make it last, alright?"

Dove nodded before gleefully accepting the money. He then turned to the vendor and paid for a round and began playing. Russel stood there for a moment, watching Dove play. The vendor asked him if he wanted a round himself, but Russel declined. He was never one for those sorts of games.

So, while Dove busied himself, Russel's eyes wandered elsewhere. And it was up ahead, nearby, where Russel could see Emerald and Mercury approaching Team RWBY, who stood around talking amongst themselves, discussing where to eat. While Mercury stopped by a shoe vendor to smell their wears of all things, it was Emerald's actions that piqued Russel's interest.

Emerald operated undetected, just out of Team RWBY's view. While they all turned to walk off, settling to eat at the nearby noodle house, she discreetly 'liberated' Ruby's wallet from her possession. Russel raised a curious brow at the action, never having pegged Emerald for a thief. But it was her next action that left Russel completely perplexed.

Instead of running off with Ruby's wallet, Emerald caught Team RWBY's attention. She held up Ruby's wallet for them to see, claiming it had fallen. Ruby and the others played into her schemes, thankful to have her possession returned. Then Russel just watched as Emerald struck up a conversation with the team.

"Hey, Dove, is it alright if I leave you alone here for a little bit?" Russel turned to his teammate. "Somethin' I want to check out."

"Of course it is. I'm not a child." Dove laughed before gleefuly throwing a ball and watching it successfully enter the hoop. "Yes! Nothing but net!"

Emerald and Mercury waved goodbye to Team RWBY, with the former happily exclaiming they'd see each other later. But, as to be expected, as soon as Emerald's back was turned to them she dropped her façade, her face betraying her disgust.

"So, how are the new friends?" Mercury slyly asked his partner.

"I hate them." The mint green haired woman scowled.

"Orders are orders." Mercury shrugged indifferently.

But still, Emerald couldn't let it go. "I just... how can they be so happy all the time!?" She said, reiterating her disdain for Team RWBY as she violently pressed her hands together as if to satiate her rage for them.

"Did you at least get what we want?"

"It's the heiress and the bimbo." She deadpanned.

"Hmm, alright. At least we know who we're working with." Mercury mused, rubbing his chin.

"Mercury, Emerald." Russel greeted the pair of conspirators, before walking past them.

As to keep up with appearances as good natured decent folk from Mistral, they did the same, greeting the Thrush with a smile lacking any true

"Oh, hey, Emerald. You dropped something."

Emerald spun around, ready to have another go at the Thrush. But any intent to belittle Russel was squashed as she was caught off guard by a familiar object being tossed her way. Emerald's eyes widened in surprise, recognizing the pouch that she now held in her hands. It was her wallet.

But that was impossible. Emerald took precautions when it came to her money, such as wearing buttoned pockets as to ensure nothing would fall out or be easily taken from another thief. And yet, there it was, being handed back to her, in the same manner as she did with Ruby. "How-?"

"You ain't the only one who can pick a pocket or two, Fagin." Russel said, quickly dropping all pretense, letting them know he'd seen her earlier actions.

"What?" Was all Emerald could say.

"Read a fuckin' book." Russel muttered before walking off back to where he left Dove.

"He really showed you, Em." Mercury commented after a moment of silence.

"Shut it Mercury." Emerald said in a threatening tone as she pocket her wallet once more.

"I mean I feel sorry for you. If Cinder saw how easily he pulled one over on you, I bet she'd start seriously questioning why she keeps you around." Mercury smirked.

"I said shut up. And you and I both know how important I am to this operation." Emerald said, now visibly seething from anger.

"I'm talking about afterwards. After you've served your purpose." Mercury's smirk widened.

"Shut the fuck up Mercury."

"What are you going to do? Make a joke about my dead or something?" He laughed before continuing on his way. He spared one last glance over his shoulder at Emerald who remained where she stood glaring at him. "Come on, we've got to report back to Cinder."

Still visibly angered, but seeing the necessity of fulfilling their mission, Emerald set aside her contempt for her partner and joined him. After all, she wasn't doing this for him nor herself, but for Cinder. "Not a word about this." She threatened Mercury as they made their way back to their designated dorm room.

"So anything new?" Russel asked Dove the moment he returned.

"I won a toy." Dove smiled as he held up a colorful plush toy marginally resembling a bear. "Also, I think I flew."

I liked writing the fighting for this chapter and the little moments in between with Cardin and Russel. If anything its shown how close the two have become as partners, a long way from their first meeting. Team PSYK showed up in Nebula's Arc, Panini being a prominent Human Supremacist and certainly not Nebula's biggest fan, especially holding a mild grudge for her family too for losing the war.

Also, we saw a little bit of the goings on with Ozpin and revealed something I hinted at in Nebula's Arc as well. Kevin is just a handle, he's one of many agents working for Ozpin keeping tabs on the underworld. It was a concept I kicked around for a while, Ozpin's this grand chess master, he should be having all this pull in the city and his own spy network.

And a little closer to the end, we saw Velvet pop in and take a photo of Team CRDL. Now, I want you all to go back and read the Interlude Story time.

In terms of Emerald's characterization. My interpretation of her really stems from moments like her appearance in the first episode of Volume 3. She's a master thief and conjurer of illusions, yet she can't hide her thoughts and feelings. Enter Russel, who sort of pokes fun at that with his mere presence of being the one who witnesses her break character. Emerald's animosity for Russel comes from the fact that he's a nobody, there's nothing special about him yet he's always the one who throws her off and threatens her place by Cinder's side. So, that's the direction I've been going with her character. I hope that's cool with all of you.

And so that's about it. Next chapter we'll get a long awaited meeting between two characters. :)

'Til then, later days!