"…and that concludes the recap leading up to today's quarterfinals!" Port announced, his prestigious mustache twitching eagerly as he and Peach finished their rundown of the previous matches of the Doubles Tournament. "It was a fantastic and impressive display of skill and strength! And I was proud to have witnessed the tenacity of all the competitors in this competition thus far!"
"Indeed!" Peach cut in, "but that was just a taste of what is to come, I imagine! All the advancing teams have been given an extra day to prepare for the stiff competition that starts today, but from this point forward, we will be rolling right along into the finals!"
The television in the cafe was almost too loud for Watts' taste. The excitement of the announcers was fairly palpable, but his predictions already had the day's lineup set, and the previous matches had only enhanced his calculations when selecting the next rounds.
He took a bite of his toast and reflected on the data. The White Rose team had thrown all initial projections for a loop. Every other match played out more or less like he had anticipated, at least outcome-wise, but Schnee and Rose had set a dangerous precedent moving forward by defeating one of the favorites for the world title, even if it was a two on one scenario.
That one battle had thrown the confidence both he and Salem had in his predictions into question and raised several prominent alarms about the potential of Ozpin's other teams. Even the one that lost had done amazingly well, and it was only due to Hazel's rugged build and the masterful utilization of the custom Evangelion Ghirarga hybrid Watts himself created that they did not advance. Against almost any of the other teams, such a decision would not have been so clear-cut.
The smell of coffee and various dishes of multiple countries permeated the cafe, giving it an air of exoticism that didn't quite fit with the setting, but it helped Watts focus. He closed his eyes and thought. The next match order should be-
"Is this seat taken?"
A youthful, aloof voice stirred him from his thoughts. He looked up to see a skinny, bald boy before him, wearing a slightly oversized blue hoodie, with blue eyes and a giant, amused grin. His eyes looked tired, yet seemed to pierce Watts in a way few had. Like he was being judged.
"Hmph. Sansoro Sato," he said. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"
Sansoro reached over and grabbed a piece of toast off of Watts' smaller side plate, agitating the man. "Nothing much," he replied, before taking a bite. "I felt like breakfast, and when I saw you, I thought, 'hey, this is a great opportunity to meet the Master's first apprentice.'"
He leaned in, grin growing if that was even physically possible. "That Evangelion was truly inspired. A masterful testament of years of crafting using the Shingyo School of Gunpla Building."
Watts smirked slightly, amused at the attempt to pander to him. "Yes, well, I simply saw an opportunity, and I took it."
"As you should have," Sansoro agreed. "It's pilot-uh, Tyrion, was it?-was impressively agile. He truly brought to life the flexibility and power of the machine."
"If you're here to praise me for accomplishing something that should not have been possible, you may leave," Watts responded curtly. "I am quite the busy man. My team's next batch of fighters will be advancing later today, and I must see to it that they are prepared."
"Confident? I can admire that." Sansoro nodded, closing his head as he took another bite. "But tell me: are all your designs as detailed and intricate as the Evangelion?"
Watts raised an eyebrow. What manner of inquiry was this? Was he working for Ozpin? "If you must know, not all are to that degree, but all are of similar build quality."
"As I suspected." He closed his eyes for a second, before snapping them open again. The fatigue was replaced by intrigue. "Then I want in."
Watts scoffed as he reached for his coffee. "Excuse me?"
Sansoro shrugged nonchalantly. "I lost. My partner Minato screwed up and got us eliminated from the tournament. I want to be on the winning team." He pointed the bitten portion of his toast at Watts. "And if I were a betting man, I'd be leaning heavily on Team Godslayer."
Watts narrowed his eyes. "And what, exactly, do you get out of this?"
"Fun, a chance to continue participating in the tournament, experience." Sansoro shrugged. "In the end, what does it matter? You aren't going to pay me. Think of it as…an internship."
"It doesn't work that way," Watts responded bluntly. "And based on what I saw of your craftsmanship, experience is something you need aplenty."
Sansoro's grin never left his face as he tilted his head to the side. "Oh? You assume that Gaster is the pinnacle of my abilities, then?"
Watts snorted dismissively. "Your ability to perfectly recreate Mao Yasaka's Crossbone Gundam Maoh with a fresh coat of paint and default weaponry is indeed impressive-
"But a far cry from what I'm actually capable of," the boy interrupted. He leaned back and put his hands behind his head, a smug aura radiating from him as his eyes watched the man across from him.
"And what, pray tell, are you capable of?"
Sansoro seemed to be waiting for that question. His eyebrows raised slightly in excitement as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a protective case. He opened it and placed it on the table before Watts.
The Gunpla that was presented to him nearly made Watts spit the coffee he had just spit out. The machine was a De'nan Zon, from Gundam F91, but drastic upgrades had been made to the design. It had a red and black paint job, and it featured customized shoulders that actually resembled a Gouf Custom, with a unique pair of rifles, a mounted cannon over its right shoulder with a sensor unit on the left side, and slightly larger thrusters mounted to its lower legs, with a custom backpack to hold the cannon and provide greater thrust. It appeared to take inspiration from a Zaku II High Mobility Type, and yet at the same time, had a unique approach to giving it optimum mid-range combat enhancements without sacrificing speed or agility.
Beyond that, however, the craftsmanship and attention to detail exceeded that of the Crossbone Gaster. In fact, as Watts picked up the tiny Gunpla and examined it, he dared to say it rivaled, or even exceeded, his own skills at assembly.
Sansoro watched with a glint in his eye, clearly seeing the range of emotions flying through Watts's mind as he turned the machine over in his hand. The design was flawless.
"Gaster was me building something because I was bored," Sansoro admitted. "This is what I can do if I am committed. I built it this morning, before coming here."
Watts looked away from the model and back at Sansoro, his mind reeling. He had not expected to see something so beautiful. And to hold it, to feel the care in the weight distribution and balance, was beyond what he could have ever imagined coming from a boy Sansoro's age.
"Is that good enough?"
Watts blinked, coming back down from the amazement he had been stunned into, and looked back at the expectant Sansoro. Slowly, carefully, he put the De'nan Zon back down. His eyes locked with the rather unconcerned-looking Sansoro. "Mister Sato, your skills cannot be denied," he began. "Your techniques truly reflect the attention to detail and precision that makes the Shingyo School superior to others when it comes to model building. Master Chinan, and I suspect Mao, should be proud."
He crossed his arms. "However, this decision is not mine to make. Your skills alone cannot gain you access to Team Godslayer. Your motivations will be the deciding factor, and as it stands, you seem to lack a substantial enough one."
He inhaled deeply. "In the end, all I can do is present you to Miss Autry, and if she deems you a worthy asset, then we may talk further."
"Salem Autry." Sansoro mulled the name over, then shrugged. "Well, it can't be helped, then. I guess I just have to wait."
He got up and began to leave. Watts looked at him for a moment, before glancing back down to the table. The Da'nan Zon was still there. "You forgot you-"
"Keep it," Sansoro interrupted, waving his hand dismissively at Watts. "From one Shingyo practitioner to another."
Watts watched as he shoved his hands into his hoodie's pockets and exited the diner, before picking the model back up and holding it gently between two fingers and his thumb. He had a lot to think about, it seemed.
Nils had been watching the various Plavsky Particle ratings like a child waiting for their parents to wake on a Christmas morning, Alongside Professor Polendina. Ciel could only stand by and watch as they fussed over technical details that she only sort of understood. Her face was etched in concern.
"The levels are stable," Nils noted, before smiling. "It seems your constant tweaks and fine-tunings have paid off. As it stands, there seems to be no issue whatsoever with how Penny's Gunpla operates."
He looked at the older man, appreciation warming his face. "Thank you for entrusting me with this data. And of the details of the control mechanism, Penny uses to operate so many different psychic systems."
Pietro simply returned Nils' warm smile. "It was my pleasure! To get the seal of approval from the man who managed to reinvent Gunpla Battle and synthesize his own Plavsky Particles only gives me hope for the future."
Nils then turned to Penny, who lay unconscious on the table. "And to revolutionize my own creation in a way that I had originally only theorized was possible-to give the Plavsky Particle a way to work outside of Gunpla Battle-is extraordinary."
He walked over to Penny. "Your mobile doll, as it were…your daughter. She is absolutely astounding."
Pietro wheeled himself over to his daughter's side. "Yes, but I am concerned about the newer Plavsky Crystal you synthesized for this tournament. I've noticed some unusual resonances with Penny's own crystal." His brow drew together in concern. "I worry that if the resonance is too strong, that she might-"
"I know what you are referring to." Nils nodded at the telemetry. "Removing her limiters means she is capable of greater coordination and, inadvertently, superior control over her machine, which was actually the reason you chose not to invest in Plavsky Particle reaction plastic, correct?"
Pietro nodded. "I thought that it would give her too great an advantage, and expose her."
"Well, rest assured. The safeguards you have in place, even with her limiter removed, are keeping her own crystal stable. An incident like the Seventh Tournament is not likely to happen."
Ciel looked over Penny. "It's not impossible, though, is it?" She asked.
Nils looked at his niece. She was young, but she had a keen mind. She noticed his word choice. "Correct. But after extensive testing, I can surmise with relative certainty that she shouldn't have a negative reaction."
He walked over to the console and hit the startup sequence. "Penny is a remarkable application of my original theories about Plavsky Particles," he said as her artificial intelligence re-engaged. "I have a vested interest in making sure she grows and evolves the way we hope she can. And she has no better caretaker than her father."
Penny looked over at Ciel, eyes gaining focus. "Is the check-up finished?"
Ciel gave her a small nod. "Yes. Everything appears nominal."
Penny smiled brightly and looked at her father. "Then I am combat ready! What is on the agenda for the rest of the day?"
"Your new friends will be fighting in the quarter-finals, Penny," Pietro responded happily. "Would you like to go cheer them on?"
"Absolutely!" Penny cried out, sitting up quickly and joyfully swinging her legs over the side of the table. "Let us go greet them!"
The scene touched Nils. This was truly one of the greatest things he had ever seen. Penny impressed him every time. "Alright. Try and stay out of trouble." He looked at Ciel. "You're free to go with them if you wish."
Ciel nodded, a slight, happy smile barely crossing her lips. "Thank you, Uncle."
Nils watched as they exited his private lab before he walked over to the data terminal and began reviewing the scans. If Ozpin was right, Penny was even more at risk than most people.
He couldn't let anything happen to her. For Pietro's sake.
Ruby was beaming. Coco and Velvet had treated her and her friends to breakfast, which had boosted their confidence. Pyrrha and Jaune, especially, were looking determined, which Ren had mentioned were because Pyrrha had helped Jaune finish the modifications to the Pale Chevalier.
As they entered the stadium, Coco slapped Ruby on the back, which nearly knocked the younger girl over. "Go get 'em, guys." Her smile was full of encouragement, which made Ruby feel like Coco was going to be right there, cheering them on.
"I can't believe you're friends with Coco Adel," Jaune muttered as Coco and Velvet walked away. "Like, the United States Champ, wishing us well? Can you pinch me? Am I dreaming?"
Weiss immediately pinched him without hesitation, causing him to yelp in surprise. "Nope. It's real."
"Ow! I think that's going to bruise.
Yang snickered. "You had that one coming, Jauney Boy."
"So, who do you think will be up first?" Pyrrha asked. "The matches are still randomized, correct?"
"As far as I can tell," Ruby replied. "I still think it's kinda weird they went for a completely random system for this, but it IS giving us something unique each time."
The group headed back to the backstage lobby, where they parted with Nora and Ren. Because they were no longer participating in the tournament, the two of them elected to go on a date at the cafe and cheer for their friends from there.
"Go break some legs!" Nora cried out. "Just not your own!"
"So? Who do you think we're gonna fight?" Ruby asked as Ren and Nora took their leave.
Yang slammed her fists together excitedly, a giant grin crossing her lips. "Who cares?! If they made it this far, they'll be a tough customer-just how I like it." She looked at Pyrrha. "Maybe Pyrrha and I can finally duke it out and see who is really the top-tier contender!"
Pyrrha smiled back at the blonde, a calm and somewhat humble look on her face. "You flatter me, Yang. You are easily one of the toughest opponents in the tournament. It'd be an honor to fight you and Blake today."
Yang thought about it for a moment. "I also wouldn't mind crossing fists with that Jack chick. I know her Gunpla is, like, titanic, but it's not often you find someone who has that much skill in actual kickboxing. I think, if we can get a ground map, it'd be a lot of fun to try and overcome the size gap. And, Blake should be able to deal with Adeline or Evelyn or whatever she calls herself easily enough."
Blake shifted a little. "I don't know. She's the Canadian champion for a reason. But, I guess it would be interesting."
Weiss looked at her watch. "Well, they should be announcing the first match in a few minutes. Why don't we go see?"
The group headed in and was directed by a tournament staff member to head out to the stage. The other contestants were mingling about like during the beginning of the first rounds, waiting for the next round's first match to be announced.
However, Ruby spotted something odd. The representatives wearing Team Godslayer's colors weren't Hazel and Tyrion this time. Instead, Emerald and a young, gray-haired young man were there.
"Huh. I guess Godslayer really wants to keep people guessing," she murmured. Yang heard her and looked over, seeing Emerald.
"Oh, hey! At least Neo isn't here," Yang said with a chuckle. "With my luck, we'd have to fight the next, and I do not need a repeat from yesterday."
"Attention, contestants, and ladies and gentlemen in the arena!" Mirai Kamiki's voice pierced the muttering around the arena, and a spotlight shone down on the center of the stage. She stood, excitedly presenting the large screen behind her with the names of each of the remaining teams displayed on it. "It is now time to announce the first match in the Quarter Finals of the Doubles Tournament!"
All eyes turned to the monitor, where the blank spots of the tournament bracket appeared. The first two spots lit up, and the names of the remaining teams began to cycle through.
"And the first battle will be…"
The team names stopped suddenly, and Mirai beamed. "Team Jackrabbit versus Team Arkos!"
Pyrrha and Jaune both looked at the screen in surprise as their team's name had been called for the first match.
Pyrrha looked over across the numerous teams and caught Jack's eyes. "This will be a challenge," she whispered to herself.
Yang looked at Pyrrha. "Are you worried?"
Pyrrha shook her head. "No. But Jack is the reigning three-time British Champion. And with good reason. She could have potentially beaten everyone in the last four European Championships, but she opted not to participate, for one reason or another. So the two of us have never met in combat."
She looked back at her friends. "Even though I'm no longer European Champion, and haven't been for two years now, it's no less exciting and worrying to stare the one person who may have taken your title from you at any time in the eye and know you are about to meet on the battlefield."
"Quite right."
Jack's voice caught the group's attention, and all of them turned as she and Evelyn approached. "We've only briefly met in passing until now, Pyrrha Nikos, and we've not had a chance to sit down and converse, but it's both an honor and a privilege to face you in combat. And even more so to be the one to eliminate you from this tournament."
Evelyn smirked, tilting her head to the side. Her bunny ears and top had shifted slightly as she did. "No offense to either of you guys, but facing two National Champs is just bad luck. You and your boyfriend don't stand a chance."
Jaune shook his head, a determined look on his face. "Don't think we're just going to sit back! Don't take us lightly."
"Oh, I don't take Pyrrha lightly," Evelyn clarified, waving her gloved hand around before pointing at Jaune. "But you, on the other hand…if your fight against the War Gods was your best, then boy, you're in for a world of hurt."
Jack rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Don't mind her. Trash talk is a hobby of hers."
"Well, we'll leave you all to it, then," Weiss said, turning to Pyrrha. "Good luck."
"We'll be rooting for you!" Ruby called out. Jaune and Pyrrha watched as their friends met up with Hathaway and Jim, and the group proceeded to follow the other contestants to the back, leaving only the two announced teams left on the stadium floor.
"So, shall we?" Jack asked, waving up to the stage, which began to shift as the Battle Table rose from the ground. Mirai stepped away and smiled at the four teens, who approached their platforms.
"Pyrrha?" Jaune's hesitant voice drew Pyrrha's attention. He was looking at her, worried eyes locking with hers. "I don't know if-"
"Jaune, it's okay." She gave him a happy smile. "Win or lose, you are my partner. I am happy we are here, together. That's all I ever wanted. And I got it. Just do your best, okay?"
Jack watched the two of them and smiled. "That must be nice," she commented quietly.
"You could have that too if you just asked Hath out," Evelyn replied, letting her persona drop for a second and the sisterly side of her show.
Jack snorted. "Enough."
"GUNPLA BATTLE, COMBAT MODE, START-UP!"
The four contestants set their Gunpla and GP Base on the table, and from backstage, Ruby's silver eyes immediately locked on Jaune's Pale Chevalier. "Ooooo. Look at that shield!"
Hathaway, who was sitting next to Ruby, raised an eyebrow. Jaune had replaced his previous shield, which was a stock one from the Full Armor Gundam 7th, with a new kite shield, which featured a pair of golden arches on the white background, with golden edges that appeared sharp enough to cut a Gunpla rather deeply.
He also held a physical knight-like sword, which seemed ornate and regally designed. It, too, had a sturdy frame. He could see the Gundam 7th rifle on his back skirt holder, though it was curious that Jaune chose not to use it out of the gate.
"I hope your friend knows what he's doing," he commented, arms crossed.
The suburbs of a city spawned as the battlefield, with small houses, destroyed by battles and debris from war, littering the ground. Jack eyed the area as they prepared to launch. "Hmm. Interesting."
"Well, that'll be interesting," Evelyn noted as she looked at various points where they possibly land. "Lots of sightlines, but also lots of obstacles that'll be hard to move around."
"BATTLE START!"
Jaune and Pyrrha looked at each other and nodded, before launching together out of their gates. Jaune's long-range sensors picked up the Nu Preliator and G-Hopper immediately, noticing that the two were flying in tight formation.
"How do you want to do this?" he asked.
"We need to limit their mobility," Pyrrha replied. "Jack is going to be aiming for me-can you try and disrupt their approach?"
"On it." The Pale Chevalier's scoped visor shifted down over its eyes, and its twin beam cannons on its shoulders angled into two separate directions, one slightly above the other. He rotated a small amount to the left, then opened fire, each blast angled to force Jack and Evelyn to split up.
Jack snorted. "Hmph, predictable." She flew to the right and above the incoming pink energy blast, while Evelyn simply dodged up using the various thrusters on the oversized calves of her custom G-Self Assault. The boost made her front flip, and she tumbled around before hitting her thrusters again and rocketing down to the streets below.
"Not gonna lie, that was a good distraction shot," Evelyn commented with an impressed smirk. "Not that it would matter in the long run."
The Tallgeese Leonidas's large back boosters opened up slightly, and Pyrrha dashed ahead. "Keep Evelyn at bay," she ordered. "Taking out Jack is the top priority."
Jaune began to protest, but his heavier machine was already about to land, so he adjusted his flight path and came down hard, blowing through a few houses and skidding to a halt.
"I need to get to a better position so I can help Pyrrha," he muttered. Looking around, he tried to keep his wits about him. In a close-quarters fight, the G-Hopper would have an advantage.
Luckily, the field of view was unobstructed. Evelyn was a distance away but was hovering quickly to his position, tonfas in hand.
Explosions already sounded in the air, and he looked up. Jack was firing grenades from her forearm, which were completely useless against Pyrrha's large shield. Pyrrha shot forward with a slash with her heated kukri, which Jack dodged. The Nu Preliator turned to attack Pyrrha, but was put on the defensive by the Tallgeese's sub arm rifle flipping around and lashing out with golden beams that Jack had no true way of defending against besides avoiding.
Jaune turned and planted his feet on the pavement, aiming his cannons at the descending Preliator.
"I don't think so, boyo."
Evelyn's voice sounded off in Jaune's ear, and he turned as the cannons fired, which lanced energy wildly into the air. Jack activated her thrusters just in time to avoid one of the beams, with the other missing entirely.
The Pale Chevalier raised its shield as the G-Hopper slammed into it, a missile dropkick of incredible power knocking Jaune backward slightly. Evelyn boosted forward again, and kicked the kite shield again, one blow per foot, before backflipping and landing gracefully in the ruins of a house. Jaune remained steady, his right cannon lowering and firing at her, which caused her to flip sideways in a corkscrew and land with her tonfas raised defensively.
"Hmmm. Independently firing cannons, quick reaction time, and a tough shield. Not bad, color me impressed," Evelyn grinned. "Too bad it's not gonna matter. Why don't you be a good boy and just give up? I'd hate to trash your Gunpla."
Jaune gripped his sword tightly, and he watched her warily, before activating his suit's hover thrusters and pushing forward. He swung his sword at the G-Hopper's head, who ducked low. Jaune brought his sword back down in an arching slash, which prompted Evelyn to skate around him easily and stay crouched while she repositioned behind him.
She turned her tonfas backward and released a volley of low-intensity beam shots, which Jaune intercepted with his shield. An energy barrier was activated in front of the physical shield, adding a layer of protection that blocked the incoming attacks.
His left cannon lowered and he fired another shot, which Evelyn bounced up above it and continued firing. She watched as her bolts impacted the beam shield on Jaune's machine, which didn't even seem to fluctuate.
"Okaaaaay didn't expect this," she muttered as she landed, then jumped again as Jaune rushed her and swung his sword down. It missed the G-Hopper and cut through a building with incredible power. "Alright, I admit it, I underestimated you."
She landed and flipped her tonfas around, lashing out and attempting to stab the Pale Chevalier. Jaune's beam barrier caught the extended beam saber from the tonfas, blocking them with little effort before emitting a shockwave from the golden symbol on the front of the physical shield, which knocked the G-Hopper backward suddenly.
"What the-" Evelyn cried out, before recovering mid-air to dodge another sweeping strike by Jaune. She flipped into a belly flop to avoid his sword, then flipped forward while descending to finally land a powerful kick to his Gunpla's face and staggering him.
Evelyn landed as the Pale Chevalier took three steps back, then steadied himself. She prepared to open fire again, but despite being dazed, Jaune had kept his shield out front the entire time to block incoming fire. "Alright, that was unexpected. Most Gunpla would have lost their head to that kick."
"It's possible he's using plastic polycaps," Jack commented, her comm filled with grunts of exertion and bullet fire. "If so, his joints will be less susceptible to damage."
"Tsk, okay, then I really underestimated him." The G-Hopper lowered itself to the ground, ready to pounce, as Jaune raised his shield and got into a defensive stance. "How are you holding up?"
Jack leaned to the left to avoid a swipe from the heated kukri Pyrrha held, before moving in for a body blow. However, the shield sub arm of the Tallgeese Leonidas intercepted the blow, and Pyrrha grabbed the shield handle and activated her thrusters to drive the colossal Nu Gundam Preliator back with a quick, accelerated shoulder and shield tackle.
Normally, the enormous size and power of the Nu Gundam in close quarters was enough to make others stay at range. However, Pyrrha's Tallgeese was heavily armored, equipped with powerful backpack booster pods, and tuned for this style of combat. Jack felt foolish for not counting on the fact that Pyrrha preferred melee combat, and even with Jack's Muay Thai kickboxing, was able to avoid or block everything the British Champion could throw at her.
"So, this is the potential of the former European Champion," she said with an excited grin. She jumped backward away from Pyrrha and landed with her covered fists raised near her head and her right foot slightly raised, ready to either push forward or backward at a moment's notice.
Pyrrha kept her large shield ready, kukri raised horizontally near her eyes and pointed at Jack.
The two Gunpla Battle titans stood their ground for what seemed like an eternity, neither moving and both knowing that the other wasn't willing to concede. It almost seemed like, upon coming to this realization, both decided to collide at the same time, pushing off the ground simultaneously.
Jack's fist collided with Pyrrha's shield, which pushed back with equal force. The collision caused a shockwave through the air, whipping up debris and dust around them.
Both took a step back before Pyrrha rushed Jack again. Jack raised her right leg and delivered a big boot to the Tallgeese, which was blocked by the shield but was powerful enough to force Pyrrha back. She landed and dug her heels into the ground, stopping herself after skidding a few meters, remaining in her defensive stance the entire time.
Jack lowered her foot and remained where she was. The battle was a stalemate. Pyrrha was choosing to not use her sub-arm cannon, instead of engaging Jack in close-range combat, and Jack was responding in kind.
While they didn't move, every fighter in the arena knew what was happening. Each one was going through hundreds of scenarios in their mind, looking for a weakness, trying to predict the other's movements as the Zero System would. And so far, neither had decided exactly how to trip the other up.
It was clear this was a battle each of them had imagined in their minds dozens or hundreds of times. Crossing paths in the European or even World Championship, squaring off in a battle of wills and mettle and Gunpla.
And at the present state of things, nothing would change.
In a split second, Jack extended her right arm, and her Gatling extended and then flipped around to its beam cannon. At the same instant, Pyrrha's sub arm folded around, behind her head, and pointed over her left shoulder, opposite her sword. Its beam cannon was aimed at Jack's torso.
Jack chuckled. "I should expect nothing less."
"You've studied me as much as I have you," Pyrrha said, with admiration in her voice.
"In this contest, though, you have the upper hand." Jack glanced at her shield, something she lacked. She remembered Pyrrha tanking a hyper mega launcher shot from the previous round, with almost no damage besides scratched paint.
"I have the superior defense, you have the superior offense." Pyrrha's green eyes twinkled with excitement.
Jack's smirk grew into a full, respect-filled smile. Pyrrha had this situation pegged perfectly. Jack had more offensive options and greater melee range, though she knew Pyrrha had a longer range beam saber and beam pike she could use to even the odds a bit. Both were about as fast and mobile as the other, so it really came down to if Jack could breach Pyrrha's guard before Pyrrha exploited a breach in Jack's movements, or got inside her reach to strike at point-blank range.
However, something had to give. Both women withdrew their beam cannons, respecting the other's wish to continue as they were. Stalemate or no, this was proving to be fun.
Evelyn laughed as the two pressed each other with their next blow, expertly dancing around Jaune's incoming beam cannon shots and returning fire as she tried to figure out a good way to approach him.
He had begun to gain some understanding of her movements, and her more recent attempts to replicate her moves to circle around Jaune had failed. He had countered her with a swing of his sword or another shockwave from his shield as she tried, keeping her at a distance.
Despite this, she had similarly avoided all of his attempts to catch her off guard with a sudden flurry of cannon shots. Her numerous thrusters on her calves kept kicking her into the back or front flips over the energy blasts, twisting her in mid-air in near unpredictable corkscrews and tumbles. Jaune had remained patient and persistent but had not been able to pin her down. She continuously outmaneuvered him at every twist and turn.
"This is kinda reminding me of fighting Penny," she said to herself as she sent herself into another twist, using the latest two cannon shots that nearly pincered her between them like limbo bars as she guided the G-Hopper through them. "Except I don't have to worry about, like, two dozen bits coming from all directions."
"Damn, I can't hit her!" Jaune cried out in dismay as the latest attacks missed and Evelyn landed gracefully in a crouch.
He flipped his shield sideways and sheathed his sword in it, before reaching behind him to grab his beam rifle. Evelyn figured he would eventually need to do that, and raised an eyebrow curiously.
He opened fire with his right cannon, which she once again avoided. She expected the beam rifle to fire a round between cannon shots, essentially speeding up the cadence. She intended to exhaust his power, to slow him down enough for her to strike a killing blow.
However, what she did not anticipate was a quick three-round burst, which immediately caused her to need to swivel mid-air and then backflip with a sudden thruster burst. She gasped as the second and third rounds nearly slammed into her, and she had to blast forward to the right to avoid the left cannon's next round.
She landed and immediately darted as another burst of fire came at her, the first two shots trailing her and the third one leading her, forcing her to stop dead to avoid getting hit. The right cannon lashed out, exploding on the ground and flipping around, catching herself as the next flurry of rifle rounds headed her way.
Jaune gritted his teeth, trying to see the pattern. Each shot he sent downrange caused Evelyn to evade erratically, in an almost instinctive manner. But she didn't seem to be using the Zero System or some other future prediction algorithm; if she had, she would have already scored a critical hit on the Pale Chevalier. So what was her secret?
He let her land, stopping the onslaught, venting the stored heat from his cannon's heat sinks. Steam hissed from the vents on his Gunpla's chest and backpack.
He pointed his rifle at her. And he noticed her custom rabbit ears on her G-Self's head twitch, causing her machine to slightly jerk as if it was flinching.
"Huh." Jaune cocked his head to the side, before firing a single round. The ears twitched again and Evelyn hovered to the right, spinning out of the way. He fired the rifle again, and she twirled to the left. He aimed a third-round away from her slightly, out of her trajectory, and she came to a halt as it sailed by, as if realizing it wasn't a threat.
Evelyn was puzzled by Jaune's aim, but it clicked a second later. "Ah, crap." He figured out how she was able to evade so expertly.
She crouched, preparing to launch herself into an attack, but both she and Jaune were distracted by a sudden crash that happened just past the tree line next to them. The Nu Preliator burst from the trees and towered over the buildings with its forearms up defensively. The Tallgeese Leonidas was in hot pursuit, its kukri glowing an angry blood orange color from the heat it was giving off.
Jack opened fire with its lleft forearm Gatling gun, trying to fend Pyrrha off. The Tallgeese effortlessly defended itself against the incoming fire, closing the gap between the two rapidly.
The British Champion balled her right fist up and unleashed a brutal straight right hook, but found nothing but air. Pyrrha's back thrusters deactivated and physically rotated sideways, then reignited, instantly dodging to the side of the Nu Preliator.
The Tallgeese circled around behind Jack, who stumbled a bit before turning. Pyrrha lashed out with a twisting shield bash, backhanding Jack in the cheek hard enough that the massive Gunpla staggered backward three steps. Jack recovered quickly, however, and pushed forward, inhaling sharply as her fist began to vibrate.
She brought her right hand down hard on the Tallgeese's position, her patented Gatling Punch flying at the smaller machine. However, Pyrrha jumped backward, causing the blow to sail past where Jack had intended to land it. The punch hit the ground and immediately formed an impact crater that expanded nearly five meters deep and fifteen meters across, reducing the surrounding area to debris.
Pyrrha took a step forward and once again slammed her shield into the Nu Preliator, cracking its faceplate on impact. Pyrrha jumped to the side and kicked Jack's knee out from under her, forcing her Gundam to kneel down.
Stunned and defenseless, Jack raised her left arm up as the heated kukri swung. It neatly severed the left arm's Gatling gun and grenade launcher from the Gundam's forearm, but Jack caught Pyrrha with an uppercut that sent the smaller Tallgeese flying backward, crashing to the ground hard in a daze.
Jack checked her left arm. The damage to the actual limb was restricted to the protective covering and the weapon. Her fist seemed relatively operational.
She shook her hand, before raising both fists up near her face once again. The inner portion of her left forearm was now exposed, and it wouldn't take much to disable the entire lower arm, so she had to be careful.
Pyrrha bolted forward again, shield raised defensively, though Jack waited this time. She shifted her shield over as she dove under Jack's right hook, before dashing straight up, trying to catch the Nu Preliator's head in an uppercut slash. Jack leaned back to avoid the heated kukri, before delivering a left body blow to the Tallgeese.
Pyrrha attempted to stop herself, but Jack caught her extended right arm and twisted, turning and hip tossing her opponent over her shoulder and away from her, causing her to drop her sword in the process. The Tallgeese soared over the ground, but Pyrrha managed to stop herself from slamming into the pavement, though her Gunpla plowed through several houses.
The back thrusters of the Tallgeese erupted as she slowed herself, then blasted forward again, shield in front of her. She flew at Jack at full speed while upside down, skimming across the ground. Jack crouched and planted her feet firmly into the ground, protecting her body as she collided with the Tallgeese Leonidas and ignited her own thrusters, pushing back to stop the insane speed of the former European Champion.
The overwhelming output of Pyrrha's machine outclassed anything Jack had ever experienced. She was using all of her own strength, and the power of her much larger Gunpla. She strained as her heels rapidly gouged the ground. Alerts about the stress on her enhanced knees and elbows began to sound, and they flashed on her Gundam's health display, warning her that they were reaching critical levels.
She couldn't believe this. She'd beaten Tallgeeses in the past, but none were as powerful as Pyrrha's. If she didn't do something quickly, she'd be overtaken.
In a last-ditch effort, she shifted Pyrrha to her left and jumped out of the way, letting the Tallgeese sail past her unopposed. However, as she did, she noticed its right arm move, and a golden energy blade ignited and slashed to her side, catching Jack on the left side of her abdomen as she jumped away. The beam saber carved a deep cut into the Nu Preliator as Jack landed, both hands clutching the wound while she backpedaled.
She was grateful she didn't know how to assimilate with her Gunpla. While it would have given her potentially enough power to compete with Pyrrha, the wound may have been enough to put her down to let the Tallgeese follow up with a killing blow.
"Jackie!" Evelyn called out, looking at her partner with deep concern. She aimed the rifle end of her tonfas at Pyrrha, but instantly got an alert and was forced to jump out of the way to avoid another shot from Jaune.
Her frustration building to a fevered pitch, she growled through a clenched jaw. "Dammit, just die already!"
She boosted under another cannon shot and jumped up, landing the beam blade of one of her weapons against Jaune's shield. Predictably, he activated that pulse that knocked her away, but she countered with an immediate, half-second burst from all of her thrusters, which pushed her up and slightly over his shield.
The heel of the G-Hopper's left foot landed on Jaune's right cannon, sending the Pale Chevalier to its knee from the impact. Evelyn's saber swept around as she bounced upside down in the air, aiming for her opponent's head, but finding his beam rifle instead as Jaune moved his right arm up to intercept the attack.
Panicking, Jaune let go of his rifle, and both machines backed away as it exploded from the damage. He reached back to his shield and unsheathed his sword just as Evelyn landed and began yet another brutal attack, ducking under a wild sword slash and spinning around as she hovered low across the ground to get behind Jaune.
She extended one leg and slammed into him, sweeping the Pale Chevalier off its feet, Jaune turned to his side and fired another pulse at the ground, which pushed Evelyn away and pushed the Pale Chevalier up. Jaune tried to land on his feet but staggered and fell backward, falling back through two small houses and staring at the G-Hopper, stunned.
"Ah, man," Jaune panted. "I didn't expect her to be this fast."
He stood back up as Evelyn came to a stop. "But…I was right."
He clicked over to his Special Slot on his right orb and selected it. The Pale Chevalier's eyes switched to an angry red, and every vent on his machine began to shine a similar color.
The G-Hopper crouched in preparation to take off again, but Evelyn stopped as she noticed Jaune's machine's shift. "Crap, HADES!" She cursed, raising her arms up defensively as Jaune took off.
The speed that the Pale Chevalier possessed now was off the charts. In what seemed like a flash, Jaune was at Evelyn's side, bringing his sword down on her position. She leaped out of the way but was caught by a backhanded slap from his shield, which hit her with another pulse that sent her careening backward.
Evelyn moved her orbs around as she reoriented herself for a hard landing. She looked up as Jaune sheathed his sword again. His shield retracted and was removed from his arm, essentially turning his longsword into a greatsword that he still held with one arm.
"Okay…that's new," Evelyn commented. She watched as Jaune raised his left arm and fired grenades from forearm-mounted launchers. She jumped out of the way and smirked. "At least he's left himself wide open now, though."
She landed and returned fire, small pink bolts of energy sent downrange toward Jaune. He lifted his right arm up and held the sword vertically in front of him, tip pointed down and pommel in the air, with his left hand against the flat part of the blade. A beam shield ignited to fend off the attacks, just as before while the weapon was still a shield, and Jaune pushed forward rapidly.
He closed the gap in seconds and, once in range, shifted his right arm, slashing up with the sword to try and cleave the G-Hopper from hip to shoulder. Evelyn backed away from this and, once the blade was clear, pushed forward to impale Jaune, but found nothing but air as the Pale Chevalier sidestepped her and its left hand reached out.
She ducked to avoid his hand grabbing her face, but it instead grasped the top of her left rabbit ear. With a quick pull to combine with the G-Hopper still trying to get away from him, he ripped half the ear off of Evelyn's Gunpla. She hissed as telemetry data was suddenly scrambled across multiple systems, including sonar, and radar.
"Great! You stupid little-" she cursed, before catching herself. She was on live television and hissed angrily as Jaune tossed the destroyed ear away. She was right. He had guessed how she handled her evasion inputs.
She was forced to leap out of the way as a cannon blast came raining down on her, then barrel-rolled out of the way of the next. She spun until she landed, crouching down to reduce the impact on her machine, but she heard the sound of thrusters immediately.
Looking up, she was forced to rocket to the side a split second before Jaune's greatsword struck her. Panic began to set in. HADES and the loss of one of her ears had equalized their abilities.
Jack kept glancing over at Evelyn in between fending off Pyrrha's attacks. Her sister was struggling. She'd never seen her struggle. But, ironically enough, the unrefined moves Jaune used in his fighting style, lacking any real polish or finesse, were giving him an advantage. It made him harder to predict, and without the ear sensor, Evelyn was being forced to rely on her own wits to avoid getting cleaved.
She had to try and help, but Pyrrha was relentless. She had to try and put a bit of time and distance between them.
The Tallgeese rushed yet again, Pyrrha weaving around with her small thrusters as she hurtled towards the Nu Preliator. Jack needed to think fast.
She raised her right fist, with her whole arm vibrating mercilessly, prepared to land another Gatling Punch.
Pyrrha furrowed her brows. This seemed oddly telegraphed, but she couldn't afford to get hit by such a devastating blow. Her shield shifted slightly in order to defend herself.
There! Jack saw her opening.
The Tallgeese for within Jack's large melee range, and Jack struck. Her left knee came firing up from the ground, its calf booster increasing its speed, and she used her kneecap to knock the edge of Pyrrha's shield away. The blow exposed the Tallgeese, which suffered a brutal blow to the head from the left fist of the Nu Preliator, which slammed Pyrrha in the cheek and sent her Gunpla straight into the ground.
Jack went to kick the Tallgeese, trying to deal a critical blow against Pyrrha, but instantly backed off as the golden blade she held swung wildly to the side. Her sub arm and cannon flipped over and opened fire, forcing her to back off as Pyrrha recovered.
Jack flipped her right arm's weapon out and fired her beam cannon in response, but Pyrrha was already back up, kneeling and using her shield to deflect the incoming shots.
"Crap!" Evelyn cried out, and Jack looked over at where the others were fighting. She watched as a pair of cannon shots skimmed across an airborne G-Hopper. Evelyn spun in the air but was caught off guard as the Pale Chevalier shot after her, its speed seemingly at maximum as it circled around Evelyn and got above her.
Evelyn twisted and raised her tonfas as the greatsword slammed into her, releasing another pulse that sent her crashing back to the ground.
Jack's eyes grew wide. "Evelyn!"
Alarms blared in the G-Hopper's cockpit. Warnings and damage readouts flashed in Evelyn's face, but fortunately, her machine was still intact. Mostly.
She watched as Jaune came crashing down on her. She had to twist to the side as his sword impaled where her torso had been, using the increased flexibility of her custom waist joint to avoid being skewered. "Dammit!"
Jaune aimed his cannons at her, point-blank. "Gotcha!"
Then, an alert sounded. He looked up and began to turn, just in time to see a massive fist engulf his viewscreen.
The Nu Preliator landed a gargantuan Gatling Punch on the head of the Pale Chevalier, which crumpled the plastic of the model kit and flattened it like a pancake. She pivoted onto one foot, like a baseball pitcher throwing a fastball, and as her punch followed through, Jaune's machine was knocked clean off of Evelyn's, and sent flying backward into a wrecked school building, where it lay, motionless.
Pyrrha watched the situation helplessly. "Jaune!"
"Can you move?" Jack offered her hand to Evelyn, who took it gratefully.
"Yeah. He packs a ton of power, but it's mostly just that shockwave that knocked me around," she replied, getting back to her feet. Jack's Gunpla towered over here, and she looked up in amusement. "So? Having some trouble?"
"Fun, actually." Jack grinned and turned back to Pyrrha. "But playtime's over."
Evelyn twirled her tonfas. "Want me to help?"
"Yeah. Let's end this."
Pyrrha fell into a defensive stance again, eyes warily flicking between the two before her. Jack admired her for not backing down. "You don't have a lot of hope here. But I can't deny that I love your spirit."
Pyrrha said nothing. Her eyes kept flickering back and forth between the two as they stood back to back, staring her down. She took a deep, calming breath to center herself.
And then they came.
Jack and Evelyn split up, as she predicted they would. Jack approached her on the left, and Evelyn on the right, but Evelyn was faster. The G-Hopper boosted into the air and attempted to strike her right side, but Pyrrha spun on the ball of her foot and knocked her attacker away.
She then spun again, like a ballerina, raising her shield to intercept Jack and deflect an incoming punch. Jack tumbled forward and boosted out of the way of a swipe from her saber.
She raised her shield again as Jack stumbled, blocking a hard ax kick from above by Evelyn, and her beam rifle opened fire, forcing the G-Hopper to push off and backflip away. The force of her springboard move pushed Pyrrha back a few feet, her feet digging into the front lawn of one of the houses.
Jack regained her balance and launched into a flurry of punches, which Pyrrha ducked and blocked, before lashing out again with a rising uppercut from her sword. She spun around and used the momentum to turn the move into a downward slash to clash with Evelyn, her rifle switching targets and firing behind her to force Jack to back off.
Jack opened fire with her arm Gatling, but the bullets were stopped dead as Pyrrha drew her sword arm in and thrust forward in a fencing move to stab Evelyn. The G-Hopper backed off quickly, releasing a quick volley of beams at the Tallgeese, who pirouetted out of the way.
Pyrrha came around in a full revolution, stopping and planting her foot to open fire on the G-Hopper. The Nu Preliator tried to take advantage of this, thinking Pyrrha was distracted, but she jumped in the air and backhanded Jack again with her shield, before finishing her move with an accelerated roundhouse kick that broke the left antenna off of Jac's V-fin.
She landed in time to stop a dashing strike from Evelyn, ducking and raising her shield above her head while thrusting forward across her body with her saber. The weapon hit the G-Hopper's knee, melting the side of its knee joint before Pyrrha jumped up and caught the Gunpla with her shield, striking it in the midsection and turning to throw it to the ground.
She stood above Evelyn, ready to end her, but was immediately forced to duck a wide-reaching kick from Jack. She watched as the Nu Preliator's massive foot shot past her, missing the back of her head and barely clipping the ridge on her helmet, but it stopped mid-swing, and Jack brought the heel of her foot back around a second later. The back of her foot caught Pyrrha's Gunpla square in the nose, knocking her away as Jack spun back around from the follow-through.
The Tallgeese stumbled a bit, the left eye fractured from the blow, but Pyrrha barely had time to respond as Jack launched into a diving knee. She caught the blow with her shield, scooting backward from the impact, but looked up as the larger Gunpla raised both hands and slammed its fists down into Pyrrha's shoulders. The attack dropped the Tallgeese, and Pyrrha knelt down as her machine was forced to the ground.
Jack landed, putting her right foot down as she prepared for the next attack. Pyrrha chose not to wait, immediately shifting her right arm forward and stabbing the Nu Preliator in the ankle, melting part of the protective covering and the ankle joint as Jack slammed her right fist into the side of the Tallgeese's armored head, knocking it to the side.
Jack's HUD flashed red. Her left side, ankle, and arm were damaged, and now her machine couldn't properly maintain any stances. She was forced to a knee as well, the ankle joint stressed and on the verge of snapping her foot off.
Pyrrha stood back up, though it was clear the Tallgeese was in bad shape. The Nu Preliator was only a little shorter than it while kneeling down, and Jack and Pyrrha finally were literally eye to eye, panting and trying to catch their breaths.
"Two on one, and you still crippled both of us," Jack applauded. "And your boyfriend is not too shabby, either, considering he gave Evelyn some trouble. If we are going to get taken out…I could think of no better opponents to do it."
Pyrrha looked at her power gauge and damage overview, then smiled, sweat trickling down her face. "You're too kind," she replied, tired, "but fighting you have taxed my Gunpla to its limit. And while you and Evelyn are injured, you can still fight."
The Tallgeese dropped its shield to its side and its beam saber began to sputter out. "I've used up a lot of power. I doubt I have enough to finish this fight."
She looked over at Evelyn, who was standing up, favoring her knee. Once again taking a calming breath, she grabbed her shield and raised it again. "But, I'll keep going until I can't any longer."
Jack smiled. Her adrenaline was pumping, and she was excited. More excited than she had been in a long time.
Evelyn was the first to launch, pushing off the ground with all of the acceleration she could muster. Her engines were pushed into the red, and her left knee began to strain, causing an annoying alarm to go off in the corner of her eye. She ignored it. She had to give Jack an opening.
Pyrrha tilted her backpack to the right and shot off to her left, dodging the attack. Jack, however, anticipated it, shooting forward with a powerful Cyclone Punch that sent a potent burst of wind towards the Tallgeese.
Pyrrha stopped the attack with her shield, before moving her sub arm down and to the right to fire on Evelyn. The G-Hopper shifted to the right, then launched itself at Pyrrha at full speed, its beam blades hitting Pyrrha's left shoulder at the same moment that Pyrrha's own saber penetrated the midsection of Evelyn's Gunpla.
The impact of the G-Hopper dropped the Tallgeese Leonidas like a stone, and Pyrrha bounced off the soft field she landed in, kicking Evelyn away. The G-Hopper skidded to a halt, her lower body completely disabled. Pyrrha fired her boosters to right herself, sliding across the ground until she stopped herself.
She looked up as Jack rushed, and tried to raise her shield to defend herself. Jack reached out with her left hand and grabbed its edge, forcing the shield down so her right fist could nail Pyrrha. Pyrrha countered with an upward sweep from her beam saber, severing the Nu Preliator's right arm at the elbow, before throwing the grasp Jack had on her away.
Jack landed on her right foot and delivered a straight left kick to Pyrrha's chest, but the force of the movement snapped the weakened ankle joint completely, which forced Jack to drop to all fours.
Pyrrha fell back from the blow and landed hard on the ground, her power fluctuating. She struggled to get the Tallgeese upright, and it slowly rose as Jack got her remaining foot under her, kneeling on the ground.
The Nu Preliator's entire cockpit was an angry red, as was the Tallgeese's. Multiple alerts and warnings were flashing and beeping around both women as their battered, worn-down machines struggled to function.
Pyrrha attempted to move her left arm and shield but found the limb useless, damaged badly, and locked up at her side.
"We're both in almost no condition to fight," Jack mused.
Pyrrha kept trying to move the arm, but to no avail. Choosing to accept her situation, she placed her beam saber under her left armpit and swiped up, severing the entire arm from her own frame.
Jack smirked. "Shedding some dead weight, eh? I take it you still want to fight?"
Pyrrha didn't respond, instead of sliding her left foot back and bending her knees, crouching slightly as she held her beam saber outward, deactivated.
Jack clenched her left fist, staring Pyrrha down intensely. "I still have two good knees and a fist," she warned.
Pyrrha's beam rifle flipped over her shoulder, but Jack chuckled. "You probably don't even have enough power to fire that anymore."
"Are you sure about that?" Pyrrha asked.
Jack shifted her foot underneath her. "One way to find out."
She charged her various thrusters and pushed off the ground, skimming across it quickly to close the gap. Pyrrha activated her saber, its blade weak at tiny and slashed, but Jack ducked. The saber blade cleaved the top portion of her backpack off, destroying Jack's own unused beam saber handles.
Jack landed on her foot and pushed off into the air as Pyrrha thrust forward, trying to stab the Nu Preliator in the chest, but missed and hit her right calf. The destroyed part exploded as Jack's left knee caught the Tallgeese in the chin, knocking it backward. Then, with a devastating meteor smash, Jack landed one final Gatling Punch directly to the Tallgeese's helmeted face.
The repeated, intense vibrations of the punch walloped Pyrrha with the equivalent of twenty mighty blows. The Tallgeese Leonidas was sent careening backward, landing once again on its back, as the Nu Preliator collapsed on the ground.
This time, as the crowd watched, there was no motion. No sign of life from Pyrrha's machine. Jack was laying on the ground, a side wound threatening to explode as she propped herself up by her knuckles, watching.
But there was nothing.
"BATTLE OVER!"
The crowd erupted in cheers and applause. The four cockpits fell, and the two teams stared at each other, warned down but pleased.
"So, now I have my answer," Jack said after a moment.
Pyrrha cocked her head. "Answer to what?"
Jack gave her a satisfied look. "I've always wanted to see which one of us would come out on top," she explained. "Who would have really taken the European Championship."
"Well, it's pretty obvious now," Evelyn stated triumphantly. "You won!"
Jack shook her head. "No," she replied humbly. "We won. But I lost."
Both Jaune and Evelyn shot her looks of astonishment. "I may be the last woman standing, but I was only still alive because this turned into a two-on-one situation," she explained. "If this had been one v one, there's no doubt in my mind now that I would not have emerged victorious."
She smirked. "There's a reason why she was the European Champion two times in a row. Even with my newest, strongest Gunpla, she still tore me to pieces. I never stood a chance."
"You're being too hard on yourself," Pyrrha remarked. "You did splendidly."
"I know when I'm beaten." Jack walked around the table and offered her hand to her rival. "I have catching up to do. I look forward to a rematch."
"As do I!" Pyrrha gave her a bright, excited grin, which seemed infectious among the group.
"Hey, blonde," Evelyn called out, drawing Jaune's attention.
"Huh? Who, me?"
Evelyn shot him a confused look. "No, Jack. Yes, you!" She put her hands on her hips. "You didn't do too bad, yourself. I'm not too proud to say it: If Jack hadn't stepped in, you might have actually KO'd me. Dumb luck, or skill? I dunno. But good job, regardless."
Jaune chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh, uh…thanks!"
She pulled her glasses down a bit and looked over the top of them. "Better bring your S game to a rematch, though. I won't be falling for the same trick twice."
The four of them retrieved their Gunpla pieces from the table and exited together. They didn't speak a word to each other until they got back to the back area, where Evelyn ripped her wig and bunny ears off as they approached their friends in the lounge.
Yang and Ruby waved at them, while Hathaway leaned back and nodded their way. "Nice fight," he commented. "You set the bar high for the rest of us."
"Naturally," Evelyn, now returning to her real persona, responded confidently. "You put Jack and Pyrrha in the same battle, expect freaking fireworks."
Weiss looked at her friends sympathetically. "I'm sorry you guys lost."
"Don't be!" Pyrrha gave her a happy smile. "I haven't had a battle that enjoyable since before coming to the US. It was wonderful to be able to get pushed that hard and push back. And Jaune did very well, himself. I'm quite proud of our performance."
Jaune's cheeks turned red. "Aww, you're going to make me blush."
"Too late for that," Yang joked. "C'mon! Sit down! They'll be announcing the next match soon!"
Jim took a sip of a can of coffee. "And now, we wait."
