Hazel sat in the café area of Yajima Stadium. He wanted to avoid having to interact with the rest of Godslayer during this tournament and, ironically enough, it seemed this was the best way to do that without actually leaving the stadium.
His mind was running circles around the problematic partnership he had with Salem. He stirred his miso soup, eyes half-lidded as he listened to the end of the last match. Of course, Salem's team advanced. That was part of the plan-Cinder and he would already be participating in the Battle Royale to determine the Best of 16, and Adam Taurus was set to be sponsored for the fight as well by Roman Torchwick. If Godslayer won the Doubles Tournament, they'd send Tyrion, and then the four of them just needed to all get into the Best of 16, overwhelming the odds and putting Godslayer at a tactical advantage over the other competitors.
He sighed. Salem's motives were still rather unknown to him, but she was the only one who had the resources to help Gretchen. His sister needed the money to treat her illness, and prize money alone wouldn't do it. Tournaments were too infrequent.
"Heya!"
A bright and familiar voice shook him out of his thoughts, and the German Champion looked up to see a carrot-haired girl with high energy and spirits, and a young Asian boy who seemed reserved yet pleasant and calm, before him.
Nora and Ren. His opponents in the last round. His eyes filled with surprise. Why would they approach him?
"You look sad. What's up?" The girl tilted her head and gave him a genuine smile.
His eyes bounced from one to the other. "I…just have a lot on my mind," he replied, hesitant. Was this okay? Should he be talking with the enemy?
He winced slightly at his thought. Enemy? They were kids. They probably didn't even know about Ozpin and Salem's little game.
Still, better to be wary.
"What can I do for you?" He asked.
"Nothing, silly!" Nora replied, laughing a bit. "We just wanted to say hi! We really liked fighting you yesterday!"
Her words felt reassuring, but he kept his guard up. He looked at Ren, who only nodded.
"Yes….it was a good fight," he admitted. "You two were strong foes."
He looked back at his soup but was startled when he heard a chair scoot up to him. He watched as Nora spun a chair around backward and sat in it, leaning her chin and arms against the top of the backrest. "I want a rematch, you know! Just you and me, no weird friend of yours, and no Ren. I haven't been thrown around in a fight like that. And I want to have another crack at you!"
"I'm sorry," Ren apologized. "It's all she's been talking about since the fight. I don't remember the last time she was this excited."
Hazel grunted. "There are plenty of strong opponents out there. Kyrus Alexander. The Meijin. Jack Ivory." He gave her a disheartened smile. "I'm nothing special. I'm just doing what I need to do."
"Naw, I don't believe that." Nora leaned in on the chair. "You're really good! And I don't know about the other guys, but I know I want to fight you again."
He looked into her eyes. They were filled with fiery earnestness and youth. Something he, once, had while he was still wrestling. Something he had lost long ago.
But that wasn't quite right. Fighting these two had been fun. He just wished it had been under better pretenses.
"Yes, well, perhaps we'll get that chance, one day," he replied. She beamed at that, happy to hear that.
Relaxing a little, Hazel leaned back. "So, why are you here, choosing to hang out with me? I would have figured you would want to spend the time with your friends."
"Nora has a nearly insatiable appetite," Ren explained. "She wanted to get snacks for when our friends fought."
"It sucks that Jaune and Pyrrha were taken out in the first fight today," Nora added, "but Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang all still have to fight!"
She turned to Ren, who pulled out the chair across from Hazel. "Hey, who do you think they'll take on?" She gasped as she finished the sentence. "You don't think they'd fight each other, do you?"
Ren thought for a moment. "The chances are high that'll happen." He closed his eyes to think. "Though there is still Hathaway and Jim's team, and Sekai and Shia's team." He tilted his head a bit. "Weiss and Shia are cousins, so that could also be an interesting match. Though I suspect Yang wants a shot at Sekai, and Blake and Shia are good friends, from the foreign exchange program Shia was part of. And Shia gave Blake her Gunpla…"
He opened his eyes to see Nora staring at her. "What?"
"You never talk this much!" Nora blurted out. "I'm just kinda stunned!"
Hazel smirked. These two were fun. While he kept his guard up, he had to admit that their youthful vibrance was incredibly refreshing, considering the company he had been forced to keep.
The young hostess of the tournament, Mirai Kamiki, and the Doubles bracket appeared on the TV that hung on the wall behind Ren. Hazel nodded at the screen. "I suppose we are about to find out which teams are next."
Knowing Watts, it would be a rather interesting pairing.
Mirai waved at the screen, and the names of the remaining four teams began flashing rapidly. Anticipation built up as the world waited for the next fight's competitors to appear.
"Team Celestial Strike!" Mirai called out, enthusiasm permitting her voice as she announced her younger brother's team. She beamed without care as she waited the few seconds it took for the second team's name to appear, before turning to the camera. "Versus….Team Bumblebee!"
Ren and Nora nodded, both wearing smiles. "Wow, Blake and Yang are going up against Shia and Sekai!" Nora's smile somehow increased, which didn't seem physically possible.
"Interesting," Ren responded. "Blake and Shia have essentially the same machine, with only their weapons as major differences. And Yang and Sekai both have incredibly powerful martial arts-based Gunpla."
"So, a mirror match," Hazel summarized. "Curious."
Well, Watts had not disappointed. This was, indeed, going to be an incredible fight.
—-
Weiss and Ruby looked at the tournament bracket, which revealed their fight as well, since there was no need to hide it with it being the last battle. Hath and Jim of Team Kit Bashers versus Team White Rose.
"Hey, Ruby, what was everything you knew about Hath again?" Weiss asked.
Concern was written over her face. "Hathaway Novah is known for using a different Gunpla in every fight, and every Gunpla is typically just a kitbash that he has created by parts swapping," she replied. "But his Optimus Prime kitbash from the first round was far more specialized than anything I've ever seen him use in any capacity. And, he didn't use the weapon he's known for in all of his kits, a sword with a forked blade that has a beam cannon or railgun in the middle. So I'm sure any Gunpla he brings out will be just as powerful and we should expect it to be just as specialized."
"Smart." A male voice surprised the two girls, and they turned on their couch to see Hath and Jim walking up to them, with Jack in tow. Hath seemed interested in the final two fights. "I purposefully upped my game for this. I could have used a simple kitbash, but if we are on the main stage, I want to show exactly what I'm capable of."
"It's also a good marketing strategy for his website," Jim remarked. "Imagine the business you might get for showing off your creations."
Jack rolled her eyes. "Always with the money."
"He's not wrong," Hathaway replied, "but it wasn't my original intent."
Weiss eyed him suspiciously. "Oh? So what was your intent?"
"That's easy." Hath gave her a charming smile. "I wanted to cut loose. Have a little fun. But also make a statement. People often look down on my kitbashes as 'lower tier', but they don't really know what goes into them. So, for all the parts swappers out there, I intend to show everyone that they shouldn't judge a Gunpla by their pieces."
Ruby beamed. "That's awesome! I love it!"
Jim wiggled his eyebrows. "Well, seems Hath's got a fan girl."
"Your sister's machine is a hybrid of several Gunpla, is it not?" Hath asked Ruby. "I picked out Stargazer Gundam, Gundam Astray, and Duel Gundam, at the very least, with some additional pieces that clearly were custom made."
Ruby nodded. "Blazing Gundam Echelon, yeah. But I think she's got something else planned for today."
Jack and Hath were both taken aback by the statement, and they looked at each other. That was a rather odd statement to make. They both began wondering what exactly Ruby meant by that.
—
Sekai and Yang roared with excitement as they faced each other in the back area. Electricity practically sparked off of both of the hot-headed teens. There were few things better than facing a worthy foe. And this was certainly a match that both had been praying for.
Shia and Blake stood together, laughing at their partners' overly enthusiastic energy. Both teams were in high spirits, and they made their way to the ring together, with all parties eager to get started.
"I look forward to seeing how much you've grown," Shia told Blake as they reached the stage. "Don't hold back."
Blake nodded. Against anyone else, she probably would be nervous. But against Shia, she felt calm, and far more confident than she had been up to this point. She wanted to show her friend how well she could control the Gunpla that had been entrusted to her. "I won't," she responded simply, nodding gradually as they neared their positions.
"Hey, Yang!" Sekai called out from the opposite side of the table. "No holding back! Give me everything you got!"
Yang pumped her fist dramatically. "Oh don't worry, Sekai! I'm about to rock your world! This pain train has no breaks!"
The 00 Qan[T] Bella, Kamiki Burning Gundam, and 00 Qan[T] Shia Full Saber were all placed down on the table when prompted. Yang's Gunpla, however, was different than what they expected.
Rather than her original Blazing Echelon, Yang popped down a customized version of the actual Blazing Gundam from the Gundam Breaker Battlogue anime. retaining her custom black, white, and gold colors, this machine lacked the tonfas on its backpack, instead using the standard swords from God Gundam on its hips. It retained the same revere-colored arm from the Gundam Astray Gold Frame for its right arm and featured numerous pieces along its chest, legs, the back of its head, and its gauntlets, which showed off the numerous Plavsky Particle reactive plastic pieces of the RG System Kai.
"Woah, sweet Gunpla!" Sekai shouted.
Yang snickered. "Thanks! Blake loved me enough to buy it for me so I could build it last night. Let me introduce you to the Blazing Gundam Archon! This baby's going to take me all the way to the World Tournament!"
"FIELD NINE-CANYON!"
The table shifted to a canyon on Mars, mimicking the battleground that the Barbatos Lupus fought the Hashmal in Iron-Blooded Orphans, with the main difference being that twilight was beginning to set in.
"Hmm, lower gravity, a mostly confined battleground," Shia noted as she looked around. "Not a problem for Blake or myself, but…"
"Are you kidding? This is perfect!" Sekai grinned. "Alright, let's do this!"
"You ready, Blake?" Yang asked, her fists clenched as the Mobile Trace system kicked in.
"Yeah!" Blake gripped her control orbs and rode the catapult out as the match began.
The four machines immediately spotted each other, but nobody made any sudden moves. Yang and Blake saw their opponents descend into the canyon, and they followed, landing near them and facing them down.
"I think it's fairly obvious who wishes to fight who," Shia pointed out. "Blake, should we let these two have their fun?"
"I was thinking the same thing." Blake turned to Yang. "Be careful, but win."
Yang gave her a thumb's up. "Oh, you know it, babe."
The two cat-eared Gundams began slowly rising into the air, carried by their GN Particle reactors. Both Shia and Blake flipped their weapons into sword mode as they cleared the top of the canyon, leaving Sekai and Yang alone inside.
Yang slammed her fists together, and the golden reactive pieces on the Blazing Archon glowed intensely. "Alright, Sekai. Time to settle which one of us is the better fighter."
The blue reactive pieces of the Kamiki Burning Gundam shifted to orange as he, too, hyped himself up. "Oh, you know it!"
He pushed himself forward with his thrusters and Plavsky Particles coming from his backpack, which floated like embers around him as he rushed Yang. The Blazing Archon pumped its arms, cocking the shotguns Yang had mounted inside them, before raising them up and hunching over in a boxer's defensive guard.
She ducked and raised her forearm as Sekai roared and swung a powerful right cross punch. The impact of the blow, and the incredible heat coming from the reactive Plavsky pieces, sent a concussive wave through the air, which displaced some of the rocks around them, sending them flying in all directions away from the two machines.
Both Shia and Blake watched their partners' first engagement, before looking at each other. Blake nodded to Shia. "I guess it's our turn."
Both 00 Quantas raised their swords, before heading straight for one another. The two Gunpla hovered in the air and slashed at each other, using their speed and mobility to dash at each other once, turn, and come at each other again, and then again, each clash sending ripples of GN Particles of sky blue and purple everywhere. The glittering effects of both the lower Gundams' Plavsky Particles and the flying Gundams' GN Particles created an amazing, beautiful starscape in the pinkish-colored sky around them.
Sekai backed up a step, before launching a left body blow at Yang. The Blazing Archon blocked this blow as well, before ducking under another right hook and backstepping from a jumping kick aimed at its head. Sekai landed in time to deflect a straight jab, then jumped back as Yang swept low with a leg sweep that connected with a boulder and shattered it.
Yang spun fully, bringing her foot back under her, and remained crouched for a second, eyeing Sekai, prepared to move. Both martial artists were being very cautious. It was clear Yang respected the power of Sekai's Gunpla, and Sekai similarly respected Yang's unknown strength in her new machine and her own skill.
The two sized each other up, inching slowly with their guards up. Their eyes were locked on each other, watching for the smallest weakness.
Swords could be heard above them as Shia and Blake, unlike their partners, continued to clash. Shia had proven to be the greater pilot, but Blake, anticipating this, was doing a fantastic job of predicting her movements and reacting accordingly.
Shia slashed at Blake, who simply boosted up and flipped over her blade, twisting like a ballerina in the air and raining beams down on Shia's position. In response, Shia wove back and forth to evade the attacks, returning fire to keep Blake on the defensive as she angled to get into a better position.
Between the lighter Martian gravity and the GN Particles allowing for infinite flight between the two, they were practically dancing in space, taking advantage of the full three hundred sixty degrees of motion available to them.
Shia looked at her friend with pride. "I must say, Blake, you've improved greatly since we last dueled."
Blake nodded gently. "Well, between you and Yang, and all my friends…I had ample motivation."
The 00 Bella committed to a frontal charge, flipping her blade forward to rush Shia. Shia met her conviction with equal fervor, colliding blade-to-blade with Blake in a blade lock that ended with them spiraling away from each other once the force of the shoving match was released. Each turned toward the other, impressed and determined that the next blow would land.
The particles in the air were growing thicker and covered the entire field in a rainbow of hot and cold colors, which were being pushed around as each machine moved, causing a sea of colors to mix and wash over each fighter. Yang and Sekai's blows scattered them with each forceful impact, while the rapid motions of Blake and Shia fluttered around in the sky.
The crowd watched the scene, mesmerized by the beauty. It made the fight that much more spectacular.
Ruby smiled excitedly. "Ooooo! So pretty!"
Jack nodded. "Yes. It's not often to see this level of combat with this many particles floating around. It's like they toss glitter into the air with each movement."
"Damn. Must be a sight to see," Jim said, a little bitterness seeping into his words.
Hath patted his shoulder sympathetically, then turned to watch the television. He was noticing something interesting as they moved. Specifically, with the way Yang moved.
Weiss turned on the couch to look at Hathaway behind her. "Hey, maybe you know. What's the difference between visible Plavsky Particles and the simulated GN Particles from the solar furnaces?"
"Basically nothing," he responded. "The GN Particles have an added effect built into the simulator that can disrupt sensors like in Gundam 00, but otherwise they are essentially the same."
His eyes locked onto the Blazing Archon. In past matches, it hadn't been noticeable, but it interacted with the visible particles in a strange way. Something he would have to try and keep an eye on.
He watched as Yang ducked a left hook, slamming her own left hand into Sekai's side, before taking a knee to the chest. Both fighters backed off, returning to their guarded stances.
Yang smirked. "Oh yeah, this is what I wanted!" She exclaimed, the golden particle pieces flaring in intensity.
Sekai focused his gaze on Yang, his own smile growing. "You better get ready!"
He pushed off, dashing at the Blazing Archon with fists clenched. "Jigen Haoh….Seiken-Zuki!" He roared, his right fist rearing back.
Yang remembered this move. A forceful, powerful straight punch. It seemed Sekai was still testing her.
Her left arm shot up as she ducked, deflecting Sekai's blow as he threw the punch. She immediately boosted to the right, landing on the lower part of the wall as Sekai's follow-through carried him forward, before lashing out with her own attack. "Laser Bullet!"
A golden crescent-shaped streak launched from her foot as she kicked at the air, catching Sekai in the back as he steadied himself and knocked him off balance.
Sekai planted his left foot down and pivoted, blocking a haymaker from Yang, before turning to his left to let her sail past him. She front flipped and landed, kneeling, before rapidly standing and turning to face the Kamiki Burning Gundam.
Yang opened her mouth to give him some praise but was interrupted by an alarm. She and Sekai both looked up and jumped back as pink beams from Blake's gun rained down on them.
The 00 Bella's sword was folded up, and Blake had apparently been trying to slash at Shia while the blade was running along her forearm. Shia had activated a GN shield, which deflected the blow, and the impact caused Blake to fire her weapon on reflex.
Shia fluttered to Blake's side and brought her own sword down on the 00 Bella, but it was caught by the folded GN Sword and knocked harmlessly away. Shia backed up as Blake thrust her Exia shield on her left arm out from underneath the draped shoulder shield of the 00 Bella, narrowly avoiding the point of the shield and the small beam saber blade that sprung to life from the tip.
She stared in disbelief. That blade had come dangerously close to decapitating her Gunpla.
The thought of almost losing to her friend filled Shia with immense joy. When she had left America, Blake had still been essentially untested. But in the close to a year since they last saw one another, Yang's girlfriend had increased in skill to a level that actually gave Shia a challenge.
With that revelation, she detached the two rear skirt sword bits from the back of the 00 Shia, launching them forward.
Blake watched as the sky blue blades zipped around, closing in on her. She swatted the first one away and dodged the second, before opening fire with her rifle once more.
The two Gundams dancing in the air were accompanied by the sound of powerful blows in the canyon below. Yang and Sekai had both decided to abandon most of their caution, as both were feeling more confident of the other's capabilities.
The Kamiki Burning Gundam and Blazing Gundam Archon went toe to toe in a brutal display of martial arts, gold and orange particles swirling around them. Fists clashed as the two tried to land a decisive blow on the other, each time failing to hit their mark as the other blocked or countered.
Sekai swung a side kick at Yang, catching her left arm as she tensed up to stop the blow. She grunted, before lashing out with an overhanded punch that was accompanied by a shotgun blast from her gauntlet, which Sekai ducked. He hit her in the gut but left himself open to her left hand, which she slammed into Gunpla's face, sending him reeling as Yang fell to the ground in a crouch, holding her ribs.
Sekai backed off as Yang stood, both pacing themselves. Neither had gotten serious yet. Both were having far too much fun with this, and up until this point, it appeared they were treating this like an intense sparring match.
Sekai stood up straight and grinned. The Kami symbol on Gunpla's left shoulder began to glow, and he launched a beam shot at Yang. The Burning Archon dropped into a low stance, and Yang exhaled, calming her mind.
She swung her right arm in a knife-edge chop, catching the beam shot with the outer edge of her hand. She felt the heat of the shot on her own hand, but ignored it, pushing against the blast until finally, she was able to deflect it to the side, slamming it into the canyon wall to her right.
"C'mon, Sekai, you gotta do better than that!" Yang taunted. She wanted him to show her that power she felt in their last spar. The power of assimilation. She wasn't willing to go all out until she knew he was, as well.
Sekai inhaled deeply. He knew now that Yang was still holding back, and she was waiting for him.
He saw no reason to keep her waiting any longer.
As he exhaled, he felt his mind clear. The Kamiki Burning Gundam responded in kind, the glowing reactive bits of its body beginning to ignite. A ring of fire formed from his back, and his machine seemed lighter, and his stance more fluid.
"Alright, take this!" Six fireballs formed from the ring on his back, and they quickly hurtled one after the other toward the Blazing Archon.
Yang couldn't maneuver away from them, the canyon walls preventing much room to avoid the attacks, so she didn't even try. Instead, as the first fireball closed in, she slammed her fists together, exploding in golden flames. A golden mane of fire flowed from the back of her head, like her long blonde locks of hair.
The first fireball nearly hit her when she finally moved to defend herself. Her right fist collided with the ball, dissipating it instantly. Then her left hand came up and swatted the second ball away. And this continued, each fist destroying the next ball of flame until all six had been extinguished.
She then stomped on the ground, using the Plavsky Particles to push herself rapidly forward. She stormed toward Sekai, right fist raised.
Sekai was surprised for only an instant, before charging her in mind. The two flaming Gunpla's fists met with a sudden, devastating impact, which sent a shockwave through the air so massive that it rocked both 00 Quantas fighting above them and caused them to tumble in the air for a short bit.
Blake stabilized her descent, firing her thrusters while her dual reactors kept her afloat in the air. The shockwave startled her, and she turned her attention towards the canyon, which had caved in on both sides. Yang and Sekai were now trapped unless they boosted out of the canyon.
"Yang!" Blake called out. Yang's comm channel opened, with the blonde girl wincing in pain and shaking her right hand. "Are you hurt?"
"Nah, I'm-" Yang started, before the comm closed abruptly. The sound of colliding metal could be heard from a distance, and Blake fought the urge to fly down and help her partner.
As she turned, on the verge of doing just that, a blade came whizzing by her. The sky blue weapon nearly decapitated her, the edge of the weapon skimming lightly across the 00 Bella's cheek. She turned in time to catch Shia's massive greatsword, blocking it and getting knocked backward. She spun wildly in the air, before catching herself and flipping so she landed feet first on the desert floor.
"Sekai and Yang are having a duel, just like us," Shia warned, before pointing her blade at Blake. "You aren't going to interrupt them. I'm your opponent."
Blake began to raise in the air, watching the 00 Shia carefully. That blow had been exceptionally heavy, and the way Shia was moving that greatsword meant that the weight wasn't a problem for her Gunpla.
Blake opened fire with her gun, the pink energy shots traveling straight at Shia. To Blake's shock, however, she watched as the 00 Shia began skating across the beams, using her GN particles and the Plavsky Particles from the Kamiki Burning and Blazing Archon to protect her.
Her control of the Plavsky Particles around her was something Blake had never seen before. The 00 Shia was like a figure skater, gliding across each shot she fired.
Shia let out a light, cute chuckle as she got closer. And, with a flick of her wrist, she activated her special mode, turning a brilliant, soothing greenish-blue, and suddenly teleporting away.
Blake gasped, activating her own Trans-Am mode, teleporting from her current position just as the 00 Shia slammed its gargantuan blade into the ground where Blake had just been.
Shia looked up above her. Deep purple particles floated around as the now almost blacklight-colored 00 Bella hung in the air, several of its sword bits floating around it.
Shia smiled proudly. "So, you changed your Trans Am to the Transient Burst," she remarked. "My brother came up with that mode. I gave it to the original 00 Shia, but I forgot to tell you about it."
"I found it while messing with the files on the GP Base yesterday," Blake replied. "The power output is more refined than Trans Am, so it lasts longer, according to your description in its file."
"Indeed." Shia hefted her sword up and deployed several of her own sword bits, recalling the few that had been waiting for orders to her side in the process. "But using it and knowing what to do with it is different."
She again disappeared, and again, Blake did the same, both reappearing in the air high above the canyon once more.
The air seemed to shutter as combat continued, and heat began to rise from where Yang and Sekai fought. The two machines were blazing infernos of passion and skill, martial arts prowess at its finest on full display. Yang and Sekai met each other blow for blow, seemingly equal in their skill, as neither was able to land a truly punishing blow on the other.
Yang kneed Sekai in the chest as the Kamiki Burning Gundam bent down to avoid a left cross, but he returned the favor with a swift kick to Yang's calf before backing off for a moment and then charging again.
Yang dodged his strike and spun to his left side, kicking him in the kidney region as he passed her. He cried out, lurching forward and spring boarding up into the air, twisting around so he faced her upside down.
Another series of fireballs were unleashed from his back ring, alongside another beam blast from the Kami symbol on his shoulder. Yang jumped to the side onto the canyon wall, pushing off of it and launching herself out of harm's way and towards Sekai's right side.
Sekai inhaled slowly to calm himself. "Jigen Haoh….Senpu Tatsumaki-Geri!" He shouted as the Kamiki Burning Gundam began to rapidly rotate in the air. The rapid movement began to create a vortex of hot air in the canyon, turning into a massive tornado that sucked Yang up in its violent current.
The whirlwind pelted the Blazing Archon with debris sucked into it, smashing small boulders and other bits of rubble into Yang from all directions. Each blow hurt but was more of an annoyance than anything else.
Then the real pain came. Sekai delivered a brutal strike to Yang's back while she was distracted. The Blazing Archon lurched forward and tumbled in the air, catching itself before a second attack slammed into her left cheek. Sekai was using the whirlwind as cover, repeatedly hitting Yang as he circled the tornado.
Three blows. Then four. Then five. Each one rocked Yang and added to the impacts from the debris. And each one was beginning to anger her.
Her eyes moved from right to leave, trying to catch the next move Sekai would make. And when she finally spotted the Kamiki Burning Gundam, she shielded herself as the punch landed, blocking him using a Plavsky Particle-built shield created by her gauntlets.
Sekai's eyes went wide. He hadn't expected her to catch him like this. He backed off as he saw the golden fires coming from the Blazing Archon retract, then erupt forth, larger than before. Yang screamed as the fire burst from her, consuming the tornado and turning it into a twister of golden flames.
Alarms began sounding around Sekai, who immediately exited the twister to avoid any damage the fire might cause him. Doing so meant that the twister, no longer generated by him, dissipated.
As it faded, Yang blitzed him through the golden fire. Sekai used the Plavsky Particles around him to push off towards her, throwing a punch that Yang ducked and caught. She spun around and hip tossed him over her shoulder into the canyon wall. The Kamiki Burning Gundam bounced hard off the rock face, before swinging its left leg at Yang, who again rushed.
Yang took the powerful hit to her side, grunting in pain, but managed to wrap her left arm around her attacker's ankle and drag him down with her. They both fell to the ground, Yang touching down first and lifting the Kamiki Burning Gundam up.
In a single, violent motion, Yang placed her right hand on Sekai's chest and drove him back-first into the ground, slamming him in a vicious spine buster that bent him over a large boulder. He gasped in pain as the Gunpla shattered the rock, before lying still. He felt like the wind had just gotten knocked out of him.
Yang remained on her knees in front of him panting in exhaustion, using her hands to prop herself up. Her body had taken a beating in that tornado, but she felt like she just returned the favor. Sekai groaned, wincing in pain as he struggled to push himself up onto his elbows. The flames from both Gundams were out, and their reactive pieces glowed dimly.
The fire tornado had not gone unnoticed by either Shia or Blake, but the two 00 Gundams never stopped to check on their partners. They were in a constant state of movement, sword bits, beam shots, and teleporting melee strikes.
Neither one of them could score a final blow. Each strike was either deflected or avoided, followed by a counterstrike that suffered the same fate. While Shia clearly showed far greater control, Blake had kept her guessing with slightly clumsy yet perfectly timed motions. In a way, Blake's own inexperience had thrown Shia for enough of a loop that the two were on mostly equal footing.
Blake found Shia's massive greatsword to be frustratingly durable. Its thick composition was acting as much as a sword as it was a shield, blocking every stab and slash attempt committed to the 00 Shia.
"Not bad," Shia admitted happily. "00 Bella is happy, you've truly made her an exceptional machine."
Blake smiled. "No, you made her the exceptional machine she is. I just added to it."
She blinked out of existence yet again, appearing below Shia this time. Gasping, Shia shifted her position just in time to stop and upward slash, which ended prematurely as Blake again teleported, this time to her rear left side.
The 00 Bella fired its rifle again, only to be met with the sword yet again defending Shia.
The greatsword swung forward, sending a crippling crescent wave of energy outward that slammed into Blake's Gunpla, rocking her platform as the 00 Bella was knocked backward. She corrected her attitude just as Shia teleported again, appearing behind Blake with her greatsword raised.
Blake dashed to her left as the sword swung downwards. Panicking, she shot her elbow backward, the folded blade of her GN Sword grazing the left shoulder pauldron of the 00 Shia, gouging its armor as it boosted upwards and kicked its adversary away towards the ground.
Blake caught herself again and teleported, appearing above Shia and thrusting down with the beam saber tip of her shield. Shia leaned backward and twirled in the air, avoiding the stab, before disappearing again as Blake opened fire once more. She turned and used both her sword and shield to block another blow from the greatsword.
The impact was so tremendous that the GN Sword Blake held shattered halfway up its blade, and the force of the attack sent her careening into the ground. She landed on her back, skidding to a halt across the ground.
Looking up, she stared frightfully up at Shia, who was sending her sword bits at Blake. The 00 Bella's own bits intercepted all but one of the attacks, which pierced Blake's left hip. Alerts cried out in alarm as she teleported away from the sight, leaving the sword impaled in the ground.
This was bad. Shia's skill had finally begun to catch up to Blake. Her own random attacks weren't going to work any longer.
Shia eyed her opponent as the 00 Bella hung in the air, wounded but still alive. I guess it's time to finish it, she thought to herself.
Disappearing in a poof of GN Particles, she re-emerged next to Blake's left side and swung. Blake backed up and stuck her shield out, pointing it at Shia.
The shield launched forward from the 00 Bella's arm. Surprised, Shia swung to simply knock it aside with her greatsword. However, rather than taking the blow, the shield split in two, creating two more bits and allowing the greatsword to pass harmlessly between the two.
The left half of the shield punctured the 00 Shia's right shoulder, while the right half hit her square in the chest. This disabled the Transient Burst mode on the 00 Shia as its solar furnace on its back came to a grinding halt.
Shia moved her controls as her Gunpla fell from the sky. She dropped her sword and reached for the two shield halves, trying to pull them out. If she could get the one that was impaled through her GN drive released, it might restart.
Her remaining drive slowed her descent and guided her downwards, and she landed softly, struggling to get the piece out. An alert blared to her right, and she turned and backed up right as Blake teleported over and slashed at her with a beam saber in her left hand. She avoided a second, clumsy swing, before using the GN drive in her shield to create a barrier to defend against a series of beam shots.
She finally managed to dislodge the shield half, tossing it away while she tried to restart her GN drive, to no avail. The drive exploded, sending her falling forward with smoke billowing out of both the back and front of the 00 Shia.
Blake looked at Shia, tired from moving around, and raised her rifle at her. Shia looked back at Blake and shook her head.
"I concede defeat," she admitted, raising her hands off of her control orbs. "I can't keep fighting, and I don't want to damage my Gunpla any further."
Dropping from Transient Burst mode, Blake let out a sigh of relief, before looking back at the canyon, wondering how Yang was doing.
Yang and Sekai were shaken, both of them slowly getting to their feet. Sekai could feel that his back was hurt, and his Gunpla's damage monitor was flashing in several places. He suspected Yang was in a similar boat.
"Sekai," Shia called out to him. "My Gunpla's down. I can't fight anymore. I'm sorry you're on your own."
He laughed weakly. "It's okay, Shia. I got this."
He calmed his mind, closing his eyes and taking a large, long breath. All distractions were pushed aside. Excitement, pain, fatigue, they were all set down. He focused his mind purely on the moment.
When he opened his eyes again, he saw Yang in a new stance. A martial arts stance Sekai wasn't familiar with.
Yang stood, right arm raised and curled next to her body like a viper while her left arm was extended and bent sideways to intercept incoming attacks. Both hands were open, palms outward like she was waiting to catch him.
Both Gunplas' reactive pieces began to glow once more, each one slowly gaining intensity as flames once more flowed from them.
After a long moment, the two warriors launched themselves at one another. "Jigen Haoh….Hadō Reppaku-Ken!"
As the two closed in on each other, Sekai ducked down, avoiding Yang's Zero Impact Fist. Slamming his own fist into the ground, a massive heatwave exploded in front of Yang, fire blasting forth from below her and slamming her full force on the face and torso. The flames hit with such ferocity that it sent her flying backward, tumbling in the air and landing on her neck, where she continued to roll backward until she came to a stop on her stomach.
She looked up at Sekai. The Kamiki Burning Gundam stood, a bit wobbly from fatigue, but ready to fight regardless. Her chest and face ache from the impact of that firewall, but she wasn't done she refused to be done.
Slamming her fists into the dirt, she pushed herself up to one knee, panting hard. So. That's how it was.
She drew her arms up as she inhaled. Her hands motioned slowly in the air, before forming fists and being pulled down to her sides as if she were gathering energy. Plavsky Particles begin swirling around her, being sucked into her through the chest vents in her Gunpla, and her reactive pieces flared once more to live.
She opened her eyes, and the Blazing Archon's eyes shifted from purple to a brilliant red, and her own golden flames intensified. With each breath she took, it was like a bellow stoking the flames of a forge.
And then, she shifted once more to that same stance, left arm bent in front of her, right arm coiled like a snake near her head, both palms open and facing her target.
Sekai smirked, excitement beginning to brew inside him once more, despite his attempt to quell it. And he pressed forward once more. "Jigen Haoh….Ryūsei Rasen-Ken!"
His left fist began to rapidly spin, engulfing his forearm on fire as he through an annihilating fist at Yang. She charged as well, but only for a bit, before dodging his attack, stepping to his right and letting his fist impact the canyon wall. The force of the attack cratered the wall, forming a several-meter deep hole that was near twice the size of either Gunpla on impact.
Yang growled. "Lóng Yá Quán!" She shouted, engulfing both palms in golden fire. With a series of rapid, fast-as lighting motions, she slammed blazing palm strike after blazing palm strike into the Kamiki Burning Gundam's side, chest, and face, a total of seven times. Overhead palm strikes, rib attacks, and a couple of crosses of fire and fury found their mark across his body.
The seventh strike sent Sekai upwards, catching his chin and knocking him into the air.
He ignited his thrusters and was able to catch himself, landing before Yang again. He shot upwards in an uppercut, but Yang backpedaled and landed a side kick to the side of his knee.
The kick spun him slightly while he was in the air, and he stared as she reared her right fist backward. "Zero Impact!" She slammed her fist directly into his gut. The force of the blow sent him flying backward, where he slammed into the canyon wall, cracking the stone facing contact.
Yang's flames dimmed. It was clear she was using a considerable amount of energy to fight at this point, and Sekai was forcing her to put every ounce of strength into each attack.
"Count yourself lucky," Yang smirked. "I don't often use my family's fighting style, much less the Dragon Fang Fist."
Sekai laughed, pain creeping into his voice. "Is that what you called that flurry? That was so fast! I couldn't even see it properly!"
"You ready for more then?"
Sekai stood back up and inhaled sharply. His Gunpla once more ignited, this time with flames so clear and potent that Yang thought they'd melt his own machine. "If you're going all out, then so am I!"
Yang inhaled again, and her own fire increased, though it was clear Sekai's flames and power was greater than hers right now. Ruby had warned her about that; the RG System Kai was meant to wait out the foe, rather than overpower them. Sekai's RG System II was substantially more powerful in comparison.
Still, with the way Sekai was leeching Plavsky Particles, it meant that Yang could match him in a matter of moments, taking his expended particles and using them for her own.
The two machines began circling each other, stepping away from the canyon walls. Both knew the dangers of literally having their back against a wall, so this was a better position.
They rushed again, Yang spinning as Sekai dove for a punch and landed a spinning elbow strike to the face, but Sekai fought back with a body blow that staggered Yang. The Blazing Archon lifted its left leg to catch a kick aimed at her knee, before stomping down and lurching forward with a straight palm strike that narrowly missed.
The Kamikia Burning Gundam's right leg shot up, and Yang barely had time to raise both hands to block a devastating kick. The impact sent her skidding across the ground, nearly hitting the wall of the canyon. She jumped up and pushed off the wall, her palm coated in golden fire. Sekai stepped back, avoiding the attack, allowing Yang to land on her hand and push upwards to jump away before an ax kick crashed onto her position.
Yang rushed him, jumping into a flying left knee attack that he was forced to defend against. With his arms in front of him, he was exposed enough to take a right punch to his left temple, which staggered him. Sekai backed up and fired his Kami beam once more at Yang, who took the shot to the tip of her left shoulder pauldron, blowing it off and nearly taking her entire left arm with it.
Sekai jumped into the air and spun, striking Yang across the back of the head with a hard kick as she began to turn. She landed hard on her hands and knees, but pushed up to a kneeling position to strike a knife-edge chop across Sekai's chest, followed by a second fiery flurry of blows, which he blocked most of but caught the last two straight to the face.
The Kamiki Burning Gundam's left eye was damaged. His vision was blurred on that side now. He wouldn't be able to keep up the fight at this pace.
Sweat poured down both fighters' faces. The pain was manageable, adrenaline coursing through their veins, hearts pumping hard, and muscles beginning to ache with fatigue.
Sekai jumped backward almost a dozen meters and raised his arms similar to how Yang had done so a moment ago, almost mimicking her motions. "Houou…Haoh-Ken!"
Yang recognized that move's name. Sekai's ultimate. He intended to end this here.
She shot her arms out and slammed her wrists together, gathering all of her energy into her palms. "Jīnlóng….."
The raging Phoenix blast that Sekai sent down the canyon tore through the walls, causing massive quakes that shook Blake and Shia and the entire fighting area on its way to Yang.
She had to do something. In seconds, the attack would overtake her.
Channeling every ounce of power into her palms, every reserve she had, and focusing her assimilation to its absolute maximum, she formed the ball of energy she needed. "Bàozhà!" She shouted.
Her retaliation was overwhelming. A massive, devastating, blinding yellow beam of energy engulfed the deep trench of the canyon, expanding past its confines and carving its way towards the Phoenix blast.
When the two attacks met, there was a brief, sudden sound of silence, as the opposing energies struggled, then imploded. The three seconds that followed were deafening, as the energies mixed and then detonated with the force of a nuclear bomb.
The pressure wave slammed Blake and Shia backward, and the detonation expanded rapidly. Blake grabbed Shia by her shoulder shield and reactivated Transient Burst, using the last of her particles to teleport them to safety.
The blast continued to expand, consuming everything in plasma hotter than the sun. The terrifying sight lasted for what seemed like centuries, yet it was only mere moments. Blake and Shia, as well as the entire stadium, couldn't look at the table, and cameras were forced to cut to shots far away from the blast to even have a chance of dimming it for viewers.
After thirty full seconds of what seemed like an eternity, the blast faded. Shock fell over everyone; this reminded many of the final battles between Sekai and the Try Fighters against Shia's brother Wilfrid and Celestial Sphere a year prior, where the final battle cut nearly a fifth of the simulated planet Earth out of the field. While not nearly as grand due to limiters on the hologram, the devastation was clear.
Most of the ground for the level had been obliterated. Both the Blazing Archon and Kamiki Burning Gundam were crushed, melted slag fused into the glasses stone that at one time had been a canyon, but was now a crater nearly a simulated mile deep and several miles wide.
Blake and Shia landed, though the 00 Shia was immobilized for the most part. Blake stared at the battlefield, horrified.
"BATTLE ENDED!"
"And the winners are…Team Bumblebee!"
The sound of the announcer shook her back to reality, and the field dropped, leaving the twisted plastic of both destroyed Gunpla on the table. Blake's machine was the only one still functional.
Relief washed over Blake until she turned to see Yang, unconscious on the platform. Shia found Sekai in a similar state, both with minor bruises and cuts across their body.
EMTs rushed to their aid in moments, and the crowd's roars quickly quieted into concern as Blake knelt down to cradle Yang.
Mirai stepped up to check on them, asking the lead medic if they were going to be fine. He nodded as he finished listening to Yang's breathing and heart. "Yes," he stated. "It seems they just passed out from the pain. The effects of assimilation are still not widely known, but I can assure you they will be fine, with some rest."
The audience seemed to sigh collectively, relief washing over the stadium. Blake and Shia collected their partner's Gunpla remain and looked at each other as Yuuma and Fumina rushed to Sekai's side.
Blake felt her phone go off, and reach for it. It was from Ruby, asking about Yang. She called her back immediately.
"Blake! Is she alright?!"
"Ruby, it's okay," Blake reassured her. "Yang's hurt and worn out but fine. They are going to the medical area now. Focus on your battle-I'll be with her the entire time."
"But-"
"Ruby." Blake could hear Weiss on the other end. "Trust Blake and the doctor. We can't do anything right now. So let's just focus on giving good performance for Yang to wake up to later."
"Listen to Weiss." Blake's voice was steady, but the concern was laced in it. "I'll be there for Yang. I promise."
"Okay…" Ruby's voice clearly sounded uneasy. Blake smiled sympathetically; not knowing how Yang was must be driving her mad.
Blake hung up the phone and walked with the doctors off the stage, following them. Yang whimpered, pain seeping into her voice, but she remained still.
And Blake stayed at her side the entire time.
—
Cinder watched the spectacle with some wry amusement, fiddling with her necklace. "It's always astounding how the most pure-hearted, rambunctious individuals are the ones who can unlock the greatest potential in a Gunpla Battle," she mused, "yet are the ones who suffer the most because of it."
Watts stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Curious. I predicted with reasonable certainty that Shia and Sekai would be the victors. Blake and Yang should have been leagues below their skill levels. Clearly, that didn't end up being the case."
"That's because of Raven Branwen," a male voice spoke up, causing both individuals to turn. Adam Taurus stood at the doorway to the booth, a frown cast upon his face as he watched Yang and Sekai get carried off the stage.
"Your old master," Cinder said with a venomous smile. "You believe she is the reason for their spike in improvement?"
Adam walked to the window of the booth, letting the door close behind him. "When I left for Japan, Blake was, at best, on par with a beginner. And Yang showed her abilities in the North American Northwest Regionals. But when I fought them before, they were both substantially more refined in their styles. Blake especially."
He took his sunglasses off and stared down at her, tension building in his muscles. "Whatever training they went through, it's working."
Cinder crossed her arms and looked at him, a seductive yet sinister glint in her eyes. "If I recall, Raven was once part of the Gunpla Mafia, wasn't she?"
"According to Roman, yeah." His eyes never left Blake's form until she had disappeared. Once she was gone, he turned to Cinder. "Why?"
"Perhaps it's time to pay her a visit." Cinder pushed off of the wall she was leaning on and headed towards the door. "And tell Roman I'd like some information on her. I want to know exactly what I'll be dealing with."
Watts watched her leave the room, before glancing back at Adam. The young man's fists were clenched so tight, that he might have cut his palms open with his nails if he weren't wearing gloves.
Such hot-headed and exceptionally dangerous individuals. How did Salem manage to find them all?
—-
YANG'S NEW GUNPLA
Gundam Blazing Dragon Archon
After learning about the existence of an actual Blazing Gundam model kit, Yang and Blake worked tirelessly to construct and modify it in the very short 12 hours between finding it and the battle. The result was a customized kit of Yang's own, with very few kitbashed elements (unlike the Burning and Blazing Echelon, which relied on parts from multiple Gunpla to operate).
Yang and Blake deconstructed the spare parts of the Blazing Echelon on the computer to learn how Ruby created the RG System Kai, and both replicated and improved on its specifications. Combined with the fact that the kit was predominantly from one specific design-save for the Astray arm Yang insisted on keeping the performance of the Gunpla was able to almost rival Sekai's Kamiki Burning Gundam and far superior to anything Yang had used up to this point.
Outfitted with multiple gold RG System Kai Plavsky Particle reactive pieces across its body, including one in the head to keep the golden hair Yang had become known for when using the Burning Echelon's Nobell Gundam head, the Blazing Archon was capable of bringing in and emitting massive amounts of Plavsky Particles. Unlike the Kamiki Burning Gundam, it was actually capable of sustaining itself by reusing spent particles, essentially inhaling them through her chest vents for fuel, just as the Blazing Echelon did before-just to a much higher degree. These pieces also allowed her to enter "Blazing Mode" when assimilated, which acted just like Sekai's "Burning Burst" form, sparking golden fire across multiple parts of her Gunpla's body.
The Gunpla was armed with reinforced joints for melee combat, two beam sabers (which Yang kept in case of a last resort), gauntlets that featured emitters for Blazing Shots, a small thruster for rapid course changes, and a small shotgun to amplify punching damage, as well as a pair of Vulcan machine guns in the head. Besides these, the Gunpla was also able to create Plavsky Particle-fueled beam attacks such as her Gold Dragon Blast "Jīnlóng Bàozhà" and her personal attacks like the crescent beam-firing ranged kick "Laser Bullet," as well as channeling the Blazing Mode's fire into her attacks to amplify her family's personal martial arts fighting style, like the Dragon Fang Fist "Lóng Yá Quán."
