Solar Flare
Chapter 3: Teamwork Exercises

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or any of the characters involved except Team MRTR.

Team MRTR was currently watching Jaune face off against Cardin Winchester. He blocked a blow from Cardin's mace with his shield before going on a poorly coordinated offense. Cardin easily side stepped his swing and hit him with the mace sending him flying a few feet down the stage. Jaune yelled defiantly as he stood up and charged again. Cardin blocked his swing on his mace.

"This is the part where you lose," he told him.

Jaune glared at him, "What makes you s-" he was cut off as Cardin kneed him in the gut and he fell to the ground groaning in pain.

Cardin stood over, lifting his mace in a double-handed blow over Jaune.

"That's enough Mr. Winchester," Professor Goodwitch's voice echoed from below the stage.

The lights came on and the rest of the class watched Ms. Goodwitch step up on stage.

"As you can see class, Mr. Arc's aura is in the red, in a tournament style duel, this would be enough for the official to call the match. Mr. Arc, it's been weeks since the semester began and you still don't refer to your scroll in combat," She looked to him as she said this last part.

Jaune produced the small device from his back pocket and it showed the same information as two large screens above the stage.

"Remember students, the Vytal festival is only a few months away. Those of who you want to participate in the combat tournament will be representing all of Vale, I suggest you consider your application seriously," She looked back at Jaune.

The class dismissed and everyone went to lunch. As they approached the lunch room Professor Goodwitch approached team MRTR.

"Excuse me students,"

"Professor" the team replied in unison.

"I've noticed a distinct lack of… cohesion, in your practices. I'd like you all to report to the gym after lunch. You'll be doing remedial practices until I find your combat skills are up to par,"

"Yes Ms. Goodwitch," Merc said with a nod.

She turned and left them standing in the doorway for a moment before Merc sighed.

"She's right, we haven't been the most cohesive team on campus,"

"We just need to do some work is all," Rachel said with a small smile.

"Yeah, don't worry about it. We'll get it sorted out after lunch," Rylee said as she slapped Merc on the back. "Now let's get some food, I'm starving!"

Merc nodded as his team entered the lunch room. As they sat with teams RWBY and JNPR they heard about a field trip to Forever Fall Forest. Unfortunately this was for a class that team MRTR didn't attend. After lunch the team reported to the gym as Professor Goodwitch had told them. She was standing in the middle next to an empty suit of armor that had its gauntlets placed upon a sword in the ground.

"Thank you for coming students, I've set up this training armor to be your opponent," She explained.

"Very well," Merc said as he unbuckled the Katar from his belt.

"I trust you'll do your best," The Professor stepped off to the side of the room and after a moment she pressed a button on her tablet and the armor's eyes lit up with a glowing, red color. It wrapped the gauntlets around the handle of the blade before pulling it free and getting into a low crouch.

Rylee grabbed the small rod that dangled from her belt and with a flick it extended into a longspear, she lifted her left arm and the strip of metal extended into a small buckler style shield.

Tyler had two small holsters strapped to his belt. Inside each was a pistol which he grabbed and spun with fluid proficiency, he flicked the weapons and a revolving mechanism opened to show multiple different colored rounds were loaded into the weapons. He flicked them back into place and grinned as he lowered the pistols at the armor.

Rachel produced a small rod that extended into a staff. Glowing signs of dust hidden in the weapon flowed through the metal as she grasped it with both hands.

"Ready… begin!"

The armor charged at the team as Rylee and Merc did the same. The three met a few yards from their respective starting points as Rylee caught an overhand swing on her shield. She went to stab her spear but Merc had ducked underneath it and went to stab upward with his Katar, she recoiled slightly in an attempt to not stab her leader. The shrieking sound of metal on metal echoed through the room as the armor lifted its sword with one hand and took a step back, grasping the handle with its other gauntlet it swung down on Rylee again, Merc dodged out of the way and her knees buckled under the force of the blow. Tyler unloaded a pair of shots that exploded into small fireballs upon impact with the armor. It looked up and lifted its sword enough that it could step over Rylee. She went to stab it with her spear but it easily deflected the blow with its blade. It continued its advance before Merc charged at it from the right, he went to stab it in the chest again, but its armor was too thick and his blades shrieked off the metal and harmlessly to the side. It lifted its arm up and swung into Merc's side sending him flying into the wall. Tyler released a barrage of shots now, each one released a different elemental effect of freezing, shocking, and exploding. The Armor shrugged these blows off and took a massive step toward him and Rachel before stabbing forward with its sword in a well executed lunge. Tyler and Rachel dodged to the sides of the blade as the armor recovered. Rylee had since recovered from the armor's blow and turned to charge it. Hearing her boots clicking on the floor the armor turned and caught her spear point with its sword. Shrugging violently it sent the weapon clattering to the side and lowered the blade at her.

"That's enough," Professor Goodwitch said as she tapped a button her tablet. The Armor lowered the blade completely and walked past Rylee back toward the middle of the room. Setting its blade point first into the ground again and resting its hands on the end. Its eyes dimmed out and it remained there, lifeless.

Merc was panting heavily as he ripped himself from the wall and regrouped with his team. Tyler had grabbed Rylee's spear and returned it to her when they had gathered in the middle of the room.

"You're fighting styles are, independently, on average. However, your ability to put those skills to use as a team leaves a lot to be desired. I recommend you discuss your strengths further and develop a strategy for tomorrow,"

"Yes Professor," They all replied.

"Good, now move along to your next class,"

She walked past the team and left them standing in the gym.

"Why did you dodge under it?" Rylee asked Merc.

"I was going for a kill shot," Merc replied.

"I had it distracted, you should've gone around behind it," She told him.

"I didn't have enough time, you were buckled by the second blow," Merc told her.

"Tyler could've froze him place!"

"I was working on that actually, unfortunately it's much harder to freeze a moving target," Tyler chimed in.

Rachel sighed as she listened to her teammates bicker and argue over their attempt. After a minute passed she looked at her staff and clacked it once on the floor. The dust inside sprayed out the top and over the team. Each of them was coated in a thin layer of green dust and their wounds and scratches began to heal. Their scrolls also showed that their aura had been restored.

"We really need to find a way to allow you to do that in a fight rather than after," Rylee told her.

"I know, it's just that I'm afraid of getting so close to the enemy," Rachel explained.

"Regardless, we need a new plan. As things are now, we won't grow any stronger if continue to trip over each other," Merc told them.

"I have an idea," Tyler stated after a moment of silence, "But it's going to take a lot of practice,"