A couple Minutes ago

Ayla leads the other two through the dune filled arena. It was amazing how much land Shade Academy had encased for these sort of competitions. Turning to Cael as their fifth minute was about to come up once more. Cael brought everyone's attention to their scrolls as there was only a minute left on the timer. Sulfur's hands playing with a revolver gifted to him by Luntian. The three looked at their scrolls as it counted down "Four, Three... Two and One." Ayla voiced out the countdown as the alarmed striked once more to reveal the location of both team's VIP.

Shock, panic, and anger jolted through Cael as he quickly barked his order to Luntian to run. "We need to get there now!" Sulfur's voice was tense, the other two noticed how visibly shaken he had gotten just like he did when Shampoo and CFVY revealed their intentions with Gillian. "We can't make the distance just running Sulfur, Luntian can't stall them that long!"

"WE CAN'T JUST LET HER DIE LIKE THAT!" Sulfur raised his voice before their attention was brought back to Cael. "We aren't Sulfur, you still have her semblance ready?" Sulfur nodded as Cael began instructing them on their next formation. Both Sulfur and Ayla placed a hand on Cael each on a separate shoulder. "Supercharge my aura, when we get close enough to them take back your aura. We'll make it up as we go when we arrive." Cael had a rare glint in his eyes, it was rare to see him show a hint of anger from his usual detached demeanor.

Around them a visible blur of light started surrounding them as Cael's semblance started to take form that same blur of light and space forming a small path ahead of them. Before they any of them took a step forward. Cael's forearms to his hands shifted purple glow, as the blur surrounding them shifted the same color. A brief glow of a pale green launched the three through the air as the purple blurred path shot out ahead of them. The pull of gravity dust pulling their bodies through the distorted space as they had been slinged shot back to their team.

(Cue: Reckless Anger, Gundam IBO OST by Masaru Yokoyama)

Moments After

The air was filled with a crackle of rapid gunfire as Coco within Velvet were firing upon the purple blur of light flying directly towards their location. It swerved and twisted in its attempt to dodge the gunfire. Coco's minigun being exhausted both of its durability and munitions as she seemed desperate to stop them here at all cost.

Velvet had mimicked her leader's weapon, a projection of the same minigun firing off at the remainder of CASL until they the streams of gunfire converged to seemingly make impact. The blur of light seemed to burst revealing the enemy it had hidden, but they were flung forward unphased as they were fast approaching from the sky.

Coco and Velvet held no reservations to fire upon them directly only noticing the blue glow from Cael's hands expanding into a hard light shield that formed in front of them deflecting oncoming shots as they bounced off the barrier. Coco's semblance seemed to kick up a notch as the barrier began to crack being held together by Cael's own willpower. Glancing back at Ayla then to Sulfur to signal them for their actions.

Yatsuhashi noticed it all too late as the previous blur of light that had surrounded their enemy began forming underneath Velvet's feet. "VELVET!" He cried out as a hand reached up within the light and forcefully pulled her down as a second hand held the edge of the portal to push itself up. Revealing Ayla, as upon her climb she kicks Velvet down through the blurred portal space. Her next step had her forcefully kick an unprepared Coco, launching herself from the kick to lunge at Yatsuhashi.

It happened far too fast with little to no time for the huntsmen to mount a proper defense. Pulling his blade up a moment before she connected her hit. He saw her boots and hands glow a dull yellow as sparks of electricity seemed to trail behind her movements. Yatsuhashi felt just how slow his body was to react. His mind raced as he could only witness what was about to happen to him. The first palm strike against the flat end of his blade, before she began to move past his effective range to swing and into a far more intimate distance for her strikes.

Through his hands he felt a jolt of pain shoot into him, which was dulled after a series of rather light taps from the palm of the faunus. Seeing a brief glow and series of different patches with their own insignias before everything quickened his realization for what was about to happen. The first of the patches ignites a bright pale green and a gust of wind launches him up into the air. A series of glowing sparks ignite the rest of the dust patches as a large elemental explosion with Yatsuhashi at the center.

Coco is still comprehending what just happened as two horns blare out the disqualification of Yatsuhashi and someone else. Dragging her to gaze back at her previous target to see Velvet fall away from the Cael and Sulfur. Within that same moment to see Sulfur launched further into the air right past them. Their defense had fallen apart all too easily. In a panicked fury she started firing upon Cael as his collision began to draw near. Only for his very image to blur out of existence right in front of her.

Then she felt something collide with her legs and quickly the world as she sees it tilts. Hearing the third horn blare out as she hits the ground. Feeling a cold metallic hand grasp onto her face, as inbetween what was Cael's hands she saw Fox just dropping to the ground. "Sorry, but this is lights out."

Moments after

Gillian barely escaped Shampoo's first shot, feeling her aura get penetrated by whatever auric bolt hit her in the leg. A trail of blood was revealing her location and her aura was slowly depleting from the attempt to heal her leg. This wasn't where she was supposed to die… she was supposed to be on top, she was supposed to be a leader of Vacuo... Even if she was complicit with her brother's scheme she didn't want to be turned into a living vegetable for it.

She didn't understand how or where these sorts of people came from that would so easily usurp her the Crown, her Crown. Weaving in and out and this cave-like complex she had fled further into, just to see glaring light that highlighted her escape. Survival was the only thing left, it was the only thing that concerned her now and just as she was about to step out into the light marking her freedom. The silhouette of her attack blotting out the sun.

Dread fell upon her as she stumbled back… too tired to resist. Slowly coming to accept the futility of her efforts. She couldn't speak and kept choking on words to say anything that would stop her pursuer.

(Cue: Strengths Focus, Gundam IBO OST by Masaru Yokoyama)

Within her pursuer's eye a quick glint within her eye and a shift of her hand came the next shot. A shadow lunged from behind Gillian intercepting the bolt as a familiar gun quickly was fired within the hands of the shadow. "LUNTIAN!" She cried out in relief, but the voice that came was of that devil "Sorry princess, you'll have to settle for me!" Despite his words, his voice was shaky and the bolt drew blood from him. At a loss for words, she only watched on as the fight proceeded.

Shampoo gritted her teeth and quickly retreated back giving two shots aimed for Gillian. Sulfur charges at her intercepting both shots. The impacts hit hard and unlike his teammates he was far more reliant on the raw abilities of his aura. Leaving him shaken with each hit as it seemed to bypass his own defenses. Despite this he doesn't relent and continues to charge taking a few pot shots at the girl. Her movements are fast and she seems to weave in and out of his shots.

The surprise on his face is clearly visible as Shampoo's expression shifts from one of worry to confidence. A quick jab to his gut and followed by a clean roundhouse to the head sends him tumbling and losing the gun as he tumbles. Recovering as quickly as he could to charge back at her. He gives a quick jab and kick, movements Shampoo can easily read and counter. However as she did so she had quite an alarming realization. The techniques and style he was employing to fight her was shiftly shifting to the techniques of Armis she had spent her entire life learning.

She felt insulted that he would try to mimic her technique so poorly through a copied semblance and let go of her restraint. Her semblance turned her beastial, but her will and discipline honing her movements to execute her techniques.

Gillian's hope started to die out as it seemed even the devil was no match for this beast from the east. Even as the tides began to turn against Sulfur he kept pushing as electricity began to spark out from his gloves. Hastening his movements in futility as their combat experience was night and day and with one last gut wrenching kick he was launched towards Gillian. Battered and bruised with his aura focused on recovery made it too painful to move. Sulfur chuckled despite the pain as he saw Gillian's distraught face above him. On her knees she seemed so hopeless. "Heh what, are you waiting for someone to save you? Are you really some damsel in distress… cause nngh, you're definitely proving theodore wrong about you." The pain was visible on his face.

Horror was what the girl was experiencing as she saw the beast not too far away, charging another bolt of auric energy to finish her. She started questioning herself, what was she waiting for? Someone to save her, someone to achieve her dream, something to make things better, or was it death. She struggled to move forward and to reach out, even if she was too slow her will echoed within her. "Not like this, not here, not now!" She muttered without realizing it, until she felt a hand on her knee. For a moment she felt her aura being pulled away, but far more quickly she felt herself being flooded by Sulfur's aura.

"Then grasp onto it with your own hands!" The same dust like sparks of electricity began to surge through her and Shampoo realized it far too late as Gillian lunged at her with enhanced speed. Taking the charged hit directly as she grasped onto her siphoning all of her aura to the sound of two horns blaring.

Shampoo lied down on the sand with Gillain on top of her with disbelief plastered all over her face. They both look at the stadium hologram to see the disqualified fighters… Sulfur and Shampoo. Gillian cracks a smile unable to resist crying "I… I… I WON!" she howled in the greatest sense of relief to wash over her.

(Cue: RAMEN by MY FIRST STORY)

Hours after at a Mistral Fusion Bar

"I can't believe you kept crying after princess!" Sulfur chuckled as the group was forced to eat out together by the insistence Theodore and Cael. "Shut it, peasant! If you were doing your job properly then that wouldn't have happened!" Gillian retorted, eating as if it would be her last meal in life. Her dejection and hopeless mood long gone from the previous hours she was within Vacuo's prison cells. CFVY and CASL with the two staff members from shade academy were enjoying a meal together, the fight in some regards bringing the entire group oddly closer together. Shampoo was still a bit bitter, but held herself to the promise the group made.

Theodore seemed a bit giddy, going on and on about the abilities of both teams. Poorly mimicking in excitement the highlights of the fight, as Isis reluctantly allowed the man his boastful recollection of the event. "Do remember Theo, you did promise to pay the bill for this meal." The statement shut up the professor for only a moment before he went back to his boasting. Coco kept prodding Ayla about a request for a custom commission designer outfit, of which Ayla was having a hard time trying to calm her down first.

Luntian was in an argument with the rest of team CFVY that he would have won the fight if he hadn't had to worry about Gillian and Shampoo. The bickering going back and forth as Velvet was trying to mediate between the three.

"Not sure how Yuki is gonna react to this… but it's easier to let him think about this sort of thing." Letting out a sigh as she pulled over some dim sum onto her plate. Despite her sour mood the infectious atmosphere around her was lightening the pain of her loss. "Well whatever happens, I'm taking responsibility for it." Cael spoke up as he ate a bowl of pho. "Y'know there are a lot of questions I have for you about Yuki and his team. We can't trust someone we barely know after all."

The look in Shampoo's eyes suggested her mind was somewhere else. "Well as soon as he answers I'll figure out what I'll do after. But this atmosphere… the liveliness of everyone. It's far better than that tension and dread from earlier. Just hope Yuki is feeling this sense of relief…" Her concern was noted by Cael. "Well if he's with family, whether by blood or bond. I'm almost certain he'll find it." The night closes to the sound of merriment and cheer. Gillian would now be under CASL's custody and be held responsible.

(A/N: This concludes the Beast from the East Arc. Sorry if my updates are slow, classes are taking priority at the moment and hopefully by the summer I won't have to worry as much. I'm making time to plan out things with Yoshi and the plans I have for CASL will lead up to and hopefully catch up with YUKI. As CASL are Dust Crafters by trade, I do hope you enjoy the showcase of their equipment that will be coming up sooner for the rest of the team. As well as explanations on their abilities and training to come up with the next arc.

I'll be going back to previous chapters to take care of a few issues, one of which I was unaware of until recently was the use of lyrics in the trailer. Thankfully a friend notified me. Hope to continue this series and expand on R4S's Vacuo and maybe for with YUKI.)