The Random Hand of Fate

by TheMightyTeaRex

"Destiny is not set in stone. It only takes one grain of rice to tip a scale, one pebble falling into the sea to start a tidal wave; Every action, no matter how small has an effect on the future. So, tell me... do you believe in destiny?" Real-world SI. First-time fanfic. Rated M for violence, gore, swearing, smut (later on) and alcohol. Warhammer 40K characters in Remnant.

37. Let the Tournament Begin!

Well... this was supposed to be a Christmas gift for you all, but... yeah, that kinda fell through. Admittedly getting these chapters out amidst the chaos of the holidays was tougher than it should have been especially considering I usually get chapters out much quicker, especially considering... well, last year. Considering I'm falling through regularly on my promises to get these chapters out once a month, I won't make that promise anymore simply because between schedules increasing in intensity both at school and at work, I've... I've admittedly lost a lot of that initial drive I was working off of with the last thirty-odd chapters of the series. In fact, if I remember right, last January is when I released The Breach chapter, and that one I practically spent three to four days in front of my laptop typing away to get it finished simply because most of the month beforehand I had completely fallen off on my energy.

Regardless of that, I do intend to finish this story and I hope you all will be there with me when our story comes to its end.

On with the Chapter!

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Chapter 37: Let the Tournament Begin!

---

"It's the deep breath before the plunge." –Gandalf the White, The Lord of the Rings

---

On the island of Patch, the world seemed to be a million miles away as far as he was concerned. The morning had been cool and somewhat humid, though that hadn't stopped the trees around the property from letting their leaves die off and the vivid oranges and yellows and reds soar off on the gentle breeze. Even with the dread chill of winter seeping in, the dying of the colors was lively, energetic, almost defiant, as if the very wind itself was trying to breathe life into the dying greenery, only to instead strip it by accident. Maple leaves, ash leaves, chestnut and a plethora of other shapes swirled gently in the breeze as he sat on the porch of the Xiao Long House, sipping from his mug of tea quietly and comfortably. The sun had only just begun to rise in the east, casting the forest in long shadows like the claws of Grimm stretching out to take the people inside. He had taken to the sunlit seats, letting the heat of the sun warm him up like a lizard would do.

Jacob let out a sigh. He knew full what was coming ahead, but something about the morning at hand made him… content wasn't the right word, simply because there was no joy in this peace… or rather there was some. He couldn't explain the chemical mixture of emotions in his mind, the relaxing calm of the morning mingling with the worry of tomorrow and the joy of the last few weeks. He sipped again from his hot tea, now cooled to a drinkable temperature. He was alone at the moment, mostly since everyone had slept in today; everyone needed a few good nights of sleep, especially with the Tournament starting in a couple days.

That thought made him do a double-take. "Where the hell did September go," he said as he looked down at his watch. September 17th, 2017 by his watch; by their clock, 80 years after the Great War. He blinked hard in thought. No, no, it wasn't September 17th back home; he had changed his watch in frustration, but now he didn't even know what the date was back on Earth. He had dropped back four months, if he remembered right, so that put him at… January 2018 back home? Right?

He groaned. "How the hell could I forget," he said as he sipped from his mug. While the loss of the time bugged him, it was what else was a part of that what bugged him more. If he could forget that, he easily could forget everything else. He remembered his birthday, he knew he was ironically a Valentine's birth considering his love for playing matchmaker, he remembered everyone else's birthday in his family… he grimaced as he realized he hadn't even given his brother's birthday a passing glance. Wait, being the start of January, he hadn't even remembered Christmas was last week! He hissed angrily through his teeth as he cupped his face.

"Goddamn am I an idiot," he said.

A face popped up over top as his vision was obscured by gold. "Really? How so?"

Jacob started slightly. "Yang, someone needs to put a bell on you," he said as he leaned back, only to feet the back of the crown of his head touch something soft. He stopped and leaned forwards just slightly.

"Sorry," she said with a laugh as she leaned back up and walked around, revealing herself to still be in pajamas; he was glad that they seemed a bit more conservative than her normal PJs, wearing bright yellow fleece pants that hugged her legs just a bit, and a long sleeve top just like Ruby's, though instead in yellow with brown polka-dots. Her footfalls padded on the wooden deck as two white-as-snow slippers with bunny faces stared up at him, the ears instead being patterns along the flanks of the slippers. 'Thought you might want some company."

Jacob nodded as he watched her sit in the chair on his left side, a deep sigh leaving her. "Not the usual sleeping gear I know you have," he said as he sipped from his tea. "Been meaning to ask if that's Tai's input or you being self-conscious."

She let out a hum of a laugh. "Dad's insistence," she said. "Especially with so many boys around; my normal habit would give you all a nice eyeful of my underwear," she said with a smirk.

Jacob chuckled as he blushed. "Really," he said quietly. "I can't imagine you're one for the kind of underwear that's… you know, risqué."

Her smirk turned into a coy, bemused smile. "Oh really… and what do you think I wear, then," she asked.

Jacob swallowed hard as he felt the blood flee his face, save for his cheeks. "I… uhm… well, I figured you're one for… really basic underwear, nothing fancy," he replied with a stammer, expecting Tai to come out the door and kill him on the spot.

There were a few seconds of silence as she watched him with that smile. "Close. Boxers, actually," she said with a chuckle. "I'm not into that sexy stuff; I'd rather have comfy stuff than stuff that's only good if I'm trying to be a locker room diva," she said. "Or want a guy to take me."

Jacob laughed at that. "Tai would kill that guy before sundown, and Ruby would probably join in."

"Not if he liked him," she said. "He tried hooking me up with a boy whose dad runs the fish market in town when we were 15. Nice guy, good fighter too, but too low energy for me at the time."

Jacob smirked. "Clearly you need someone who is at least sorta energetic."

She shot him a look. "You have no idea how otherwise sedentary he was, even in primary Huntsman school."

"So, what, he stood in place when he fought?"

She nodded. "His whole thing was stay in one place and fire his big old machine gun, let them come to him. We both took a combat midterm and he sucked at keeping the paper mâché civilians safe," she said.

He nodded with a bemused sigh on his lips. "Gotta be an active gunline if you want to secure your objective," Jacob replied, "Whether you're saving civilians or guarding something, can't camp in one spot for long."

She leaned back and gestured to him in agreement. "Exactly. He got in, but I haven't seen him at Beacon, so… take that as you will."

He nodded again. "It is no surprise to me," he said. "Anyway, though, I'm lucky enough that Oz let me in on my grounds, all things considered."

Yang looked up at him with a spark in her eye. Jacob felt his stomach clench as he locked eyes with her.

"Yeah, I've always meant to ask you that," she said. "What did you say to make him let you stay?"

Jacob's stomach flipped inside of his torso. "I, uhm… mostly it was just that I had nowhere else to go, and I asked whether I make myself useful being, uh, a Huntsman, you know? He'd seen me out there in the Emerald Forest, and, well… He thought my gunslinging wasn't bad despite… you know, me being a piss-poor fighter otherwise."

The look on Yang's face told him right out that she wasn't buying it. Still, she shook it off. "Fine then, keep your secrets," she said with a smirk. "But I'll find out in time…"

He bit back the urge to do a hard swallow in nervousness. "Right…" he leaned forwards just a smidge.

She let out a hum. "Probably has something to do with old Big, Red and Ugly back on the train with a nickname like 'Betrayer' bouncing around."

Jacob swallowed hard at that. "Something like that…"

For a few minutes, they sat in stony silence, soaking in the fall weather.

"By the way," he said as he cleared his throat, "uh, happy birthday… even though it was almost a month ago now."

She nodded and smiled. "I didn't want to burden you guys with that stuff. Ruby and I figured we'd celebrate both our birthdays over the winter holiday."

Jacob shrugged. "Still doesn't make me feel like less of an asshole," he replied. "You only become a legal adult once."

She let out a laugh. "Don't worry, I'll pester you for a present when it comes time," she said.

He returned the laugh. "I'll remember before next summer comes around," he said in reply.

Her laughter dropped off, and Jacob felt the urge to wince as the reaction started to make sense. "Uh, you okay," he asked rhetorically.

"Y-yeah," she said, "just a thought that crossed my mind. It's nothing."

"Don't you go lying to me," he said. "Come on, no harm no foul here."

She sighed defeatedly. "I was… just thinking about my mom. Both of them, technically."

He nodded solemnly in understanding. "I'm sure Summer would be so proud of both her girls," he said quietly.

She nodded quietly. "I know," she said, "but it's my… my blood-mom I'm thinking about, actually."

"Ah, Raven. What's on your mind about her?"

"Well… there's the fact she saved us from the big guy," she said. "And then just… took off."

He grimaced. On the table, his phone's music playlist turned on to the next song and the dulcet tones of All I Want began to play. "It's odd to say the least. I don't know the woman, but I know of her, and she seems like kind of a bitch anyhow if the stories are true," he said.

She nodded quietly, staring at him. "You recognized her on the train..."

He felt his stomach flip. "I put two and two together," he replied. "And your uncle I've met before, out back home when he was on the trail of a criminal on the run from the law."

He felt his chest unclench as she seemed to be satisfied by the answer. "Right… but still, I don't get why she came. How did she do all that stuff, like the fire wave? I've never seen Dust do that…"

Jacob nodded as his mind ran over the image, the inferno shockwave that sent the World Eater flying in particular bouncing around in his head. He couldn't say exactly what that was…

But the mental comparison with Cinder's use of the Maiden Powers gave him a good idea of what the truth might possibly be.

"And on top of that, I don't get why she didn't stay," Yang continued. "I mean, how did she know I was in trouble? Why did she leave so quickly?" Her head dipped low. "Does… does she not want to talk to me?"

Jacob grimaced at her tone. "Don't say that," he said, "I'm sure she does. But as to why… I can't decipher that. Maybe she was busy elsewhere?"

Yang's face soured at that. "Too busy to stay and help her daughter, I guess," she said as a dark grimace crossed her face. "Damnit, I thought I had gotten over this."

Jacob leaned over and held her shoulder. "Trust me, obsessions don't leave easily, even if you train yourself to walk away from it. And when you are so close to reaching that obsession's target, that inhibition drops off the radar."

She looked up at him with a worried look. "I… I don't want to do to everyone what Blake was starting to do," she said. "I was so worried about her—"

"Because you recognized it," he said. "And you didn't want someone else doing the same thing."

She nodded as she stared at him.

"I read people pretty well," he said. "Yang, you shouldn't worry about that. Raven will come to you if she wants to honestly see you, and I sincerely doubt she is actively ignoring you."

"I… I guess you're right…"

He grimaced at her darkened demeanor. The music ended and changed to "That's What Uncle Remus Said," the wind picking up with it. He backed off, letting go of her shoulder with a sigh.

He looked up, watching more leaves be stripped from the trees. The fall was without a doubt here.

Then, a rogue thought crossed his mind.

"Maybe you need to talk with Summer," he muttered.

She looked up. "What?"

He sat upright again. "Didn't your dad say that Summer has a headstone not far from here," he fibbed.

She nodded. "What are you thinking?"

He smirked quietly. "I used to find that talking with my grandparents' headstones back home helped get some weight off my shoulders, whether they could actually hear me or not."

The thought seemed to resonate in Yang's head. She mulled it over for a minute.

The music stopped as she stood up, offering a smile that warmed him in the cold wind. "I'll go get dressed," she said. "Be right back."

He nodded as she walked back inside, her fluffy bunny slippers leaving faint footfalls as she walked away. He looked down at his tea, sighing happily as he drank again from what little remained.

Caw-caw-caw!

Jacob looked up at the sound, his brow furrowed in concentration. "What the…"

From the branch of a tree near the deck, a black bird alighted and circled overhead, coming close with only a few feet to spare before it wheeled around and flew off to the east, towards the town and the mainland. He saw the broad, curved beak on its face and the overall bulk on the bird's body.

Jacob frowned as the raven flew away. "Nice to meet you too," he hissed under his breath as he stood up and began to walk inside, pocketing his phone and ignoring the cawing of the black bird.

---

"And here I thought I would be the one to play protective father."

"Dad…"

Her dad let out a small chuckle as he leaned back against his chair, sipping from a dark Mistrali brew. "Can I be blamed, honey? I want to make sure my girl is being treated like a princess."

Pyrrha felt the blush cross her face as her father reached out and patted her shoulder. "He's right in the other room, Dad," she said in embarrassment.

Her protest was answered by the sound of Jaune humming in the other room, working on the dishes with Ruby's help amongst the clatter and clinking of dishes.

He chuckled again in that low hum of a laugh that always made her giggle as a child. Now, she couldn't stop blushing as he doted on her. Pyrrha loved these moments with her father, but usually without someone else around to watch. Instead, the Xiao Long residence living room was full of her friends and her parents' friends, all now chuckling and smiling with him. Weiss and Blake shared one of the love seats while Rey and her parents stole chairs from the dining room to sit down in next to them. On the first of the two sofas, Uncle Titus, Aunt Mira and Mr. Angelos shared their seats, working off their own glasses of coffee, while she and her parents took the neighboring one, with Team SSSN standing off to their side with Nora and Ren on the other love seat opposite her cousin and her family.

At his chuckle, she was met with the sound of several others giggling. She felt her cheeks flare with heat.

"Come now, Dante," said Uncle Titus with a reassuring smile, "Poor girl is going to die of embarrassment before midday at this rate."

She groaned as several of the adults in the room chuckled. Gods, kill me…

Most of the group turned their attention back to the addressed individual in question. "Come now," said Mr. Grimnar, "There's no reason to be worried."

"My daughter's going into the woods with him alone," said Mr. Xiao Long with a sigh. "You understand some of my worry, right?"

"Mr. Muller doesn't seem the type for that," Mr. Grimnar replied. "And I think he has the sense to not suggest something deep in the Grimm-infested woods."

Pyrrha blushed again at the insinuation.

Mr. Xiao Long hummed as both he and Pyrrha watched Yang and Jacob crest the hill. "I guess you're right… Nice kid, but… yeah, he doesn't seem to be in pursuit," he said.

"I'm surprised Ruby didn't want to tag along," Mr. Branwen added from his spot on the love seat parallel to the couch she shared with her parents. "She never misses a chance to visit Summer's headstone.'

"I think she just wants to meet with her mother on her own time," Ren offered, clearing the last vestiges of the metaphorical frog in this throat. "The same with Yang."

Mr. Xiao Long nodded. "They always responded differently to the news and the headstone. Ruby's grown up with it, her memory of Summer… not as concrete as Yang or I had."

Pyrrha felt a small pang of sadness. "I… I can't imagine not knowing your own mother," she said quietly, trying to avoid speaking over the sound of the dishes in the other room.

She felt an arm wrap around her with the warmth to tell her mother wanted to hug her. She returned the motion in kind as she watched the ghost of sadness that seemed to flow off of him despite his composure. "I suppose it comes with its own boon and curse," he said. "She's always visualized herself following Summer's path, even if she remembers little about her… They're so alike, the two of them… I can hardly see any of me in Ruby most times."

"That's not true," came the voice of Ruby as she entered through the doorframe to the kitchen, her sleeves visibly wet. "I'm not all mom!"

"She's right," Qrow said. "She's got both of your faces mixed to make hers; where do you think she got the shape of her eyes?"

"Not to mention the general face structure," Ren added. "She does have the east Mistrali cheek shape."

Ruby blushed. "Don't remind me of my cheeks," she said, eyeing her uncle. Pyrrha caught on as he raised his hands in surrender and leaned back in his seat.

Pyrrha giggled at that. "Sorry you got tangled in that, we were discussing…" she stopped in thought, not sure how to finish it.

"Just a few comments about Yang," her mom added with a reassuring hand on Pyrrha's shoulder.

Ruby smirked. "Yeah, she takes a lot after dad," she said as she hugged Taiyang from the side, receiving a hug and a chuckle back. "So, she and Jacob were headed off to see mom?"

Taiyang's eyes seemed to grow a smidge heavy. "Yeah," he said. "Shouldn't be long, I think. You sure you don't want to tag along?"

Ruby hummed for a second. "I'll go out and see her tomorrow," she said, "let Yang see her today."

Pyrrha felt a smile cross her face. Always so willing to put everyone else first…

Movement came up behind Ruby and circled around, revealing her teammate… and boyfriend. Even now, that thought was so strange, and yet they had been attempting this for a little over a week now. On the one hand, very little had changed in the routines, just like her mom had said, but there was… Pyrrha couldn't describe it other than a small haze over some things. She'd look up at breakfast and see him giving her that goofy grin that she loved, his eyes sparkling, and she would be compelled to return it, sometimes with a tease or a compliment that would fluster him to no end. Other times, they'd sit next to one another on the couch watching the news or a movie and Pyrrha wouldn't realize that she had migrated into his side, feeling his arm reach around her shoulder to hold her close; she was a blushing mess when that happened.

He smiled as walked up. She felt her mother pull aside as Jaune sat down next to her, sandwiched between mother and daughter. "What did we miss?"

"Not much," Uncle Titus said. "Just some discussion about the Festival."

Jaune sighed. "Right, the tournament starts next week…"

Pyrrha nodded. "This break flew by so fast… weird to think about how long it's been," she said.

Blake nodded across the way. "A month ago, we were gearing up for our first missions…a lot has changed on that front," she said quietly, rocking a cup of tea around gently.

A stony weight seemed to come across the room at that. Most of the adults nodded quietly. Pyrrha noticed a distant look in her father's eyes as he joined in.

"I… never imagined it would get that intense like it did," Jaune added, leaning forwards.

"Nobody ever does," Tai added. "I remember our first one. Summer wanted us to go off to help protect a small settlement attempt in the south…"

Mr. Branwen nodded. "Longest four days ever," he said. "I remember that Raven beat us in Grimm kill counts, we owed her a week's worth of homework for it," he said.

Tai chuckled. "Everyone's missions are a bit different… but you kids shouldn't have had to deal with something so awful."

Pyrrha felt Jaune's hand on her own. She gently took it as she replied, "Well, it is our task as Huntsmen to protect," she said. "I'm just glad we all made it out intact."

Her father nodded. "Though getting attacked and chased by a Matador is a bit self-defeating, Pyrrha," he replied.

She gave him a look. "It was either us or possibly civilians," she replied quietly. "At least there was a chance Jaune and I could take it."

He nodded in agreement. "Doesn't mean that I cannot be worried that my daughter was almost killed. Were it not for Mr. Muller beating it back…"

Pyrrha let out a small sigh. "I know, Dad. It… never escaped me what could have happened."

Jaune's hand tightened around her own. "Hey… that's in the past now," he said. "We're all still here, right? And we should focus on the fact we have a tournament to get ready for."

"And that sounds like an excuse to spend the next week training," said Nora as she reached over and gave Neptune a punch in the shoulder. Neptune let out a hiss of pain from it, inciting Pyrrha to give Nora a grinning look met by a shrug.

Rey stood upright from her seat, letting out a loud groan in reply. "In that case," she said, "I should have told Jacob to not leave yet; we're the first ones up to fight next week!"

Pyrrha's brow furrowed in confusion. "I thought the Lone Wolf Matchup was halfway through the event," she said.

"Not this time," Rey said with a malicious smile. "We're the opening appetizer this year, gives us a chance to give the people a good fight before the main event begins. Whet their appetites, appropriately."

Uncle Darnath let out a laugh as he stood up. "That's my girl," he said, taking Rey in a hug, that she reciprocated hesitantly. "So, we know Jacob is Beacon's representative, but what about Atlas and Vacuo?"

"Oh, Penny's representing Atlas," Ruby said with a bright smile. "She doesn't have a partner, so General Ironwood was giving her the chance to fight as Atlas Academy's Lone Wolf."

Pyrrha felt a bit of worry as Jacob's odds slowly dwindled under the withering power of his constituents. "And Shade Academy's champion," she asked.

The room was silent as an air of curiosity came onto the group.

"Huh," Sun said aloud. "I actually haven't heard that much. Supposedly keeps to himself most of the time, hasn't been seen outside of the Academy save for a few missions to the wastelands. No one outside of the Headmaster knows anything about him."

Blake furrowed her brow as she stared at him from across the room. "That's odd," she said. "Most people are pretty well appraised of the Lone Wolves; Even Jacob's been getting some recognition among the other Academy's students."

Sage hummed. "Well, it'll certainly be a surprise, knowing Shade Academy's type of students."

"Well, whoever they are, they're getting a rude awakening," Rey said as she pumped her fists. "Intimidate them with the walk-on song, then give them a pounding that's entertaining for everyone."

"We're expecting it," came the voice of Scarlet. "We've all got wagers on the winner, and I have fifty Lien riding on you."

Pyrrha and Ruby both turned to look at them. "Seriously," Pyrrha asked incredulously.

"What? It was Sun's idea, he put fifty down on Ms. Polendina."

Blake audibly took offense. "Sun!"

The leader of SSSN gave a nervous chuckle. "Well, as much as I kinda want Jacob to win… yeah, he's not standing a chance."

"He might surprise us all," Ren countered.

For a moment, there was an audible pause.

Nora piped up first. "I'll match that fifty for Penny."

"Forty for me on Delia," piped up Mr. Angelos.

"Fifty on Jacob," Uncle Titus and Aunt Mira responded in tandem.

Pyrrha sat in awe as her parents laughed at the rising betting pool moving around the room. The pile quickly stacked up in favor of Rey and Penny, with Jacob trailing far behind, save for her uncle and aunt and Mr. Grimnar vouching their support.

Eventually, Ruby was asked, but shook her head. "They're all our friends," she said. "I don't care who wins, only that they give it their all."

Pyrrha smiled brightly at Ruby, her paragon heart metaphorically blinding in its brilliance.

Tai chuckled. "Delia for twenty."

"Dad!'

"What," he said, "it's my Lien, and I've actually met Delia and I've seen her fight."

A couple laughs echoed around the room as eyes turned on them. "Well, what about you four?"

Pyrrha leaned back instinctively. "Oh, no, I couldn't bet on my friends fighting," she said.

Jaune let out a hum of displeasure. "I don't have Lien to bet with," he noted sheepishly. "I didn't exactly raid the purse on the way out," he said with a deep blush.

Dad chuckled at that. "A gentleman indeed," he said. "Let's see… who I think will win versus who I want to see win…"

Mom giggled at that. "While you're deciding, "I'll join in. Put me down for sixty in favor of Jacob."

A couple of low whistles. Luce laughed at that. "You're really certain about him?"

Pyrrha watched her mom shrug. "I think he has it in him," she said. "And I think he'll surprise us all."

The sound of her father humming brought eyes back on him. "I suppose… well, my wife's intuition is often quite spot-on…"

Pyrrha sat quietly, wondering if her father would actually go through with—

"A hundred on Mr. Muller."

A couple of chuckles and mutters of awed surprise left several mouths around the room.

"I've always lived a bit dangerously, I suppose being an old man won't stop that," he said, offering Pyrrha a smile.

Pyrrha returned it in earnest, feeling her hand gently squeezing Jaune's. Again, in the back of her mind she wondered how much more could she be blessed in life to be surrounded by so much love…

Rey let out a laugh. "Fair enough, I suppose," she said. "Now then, we just need to choose our walk-on songs… and I think I found my one," she said as she fished in her pocket.

With a grunt, she produced a small black rectangle with a small screen on the top. Pyrrha blinked as she looked at it. "Is that…"

"He left it on the counter," she said, "Thought I'd keep it safe until he was back, see what more of his music was like… and I think I found something I like."

She seemed to scroll the device down, tapping the buttons before sending it across the room to Pyrrha. "Listen."

Pyrrha nodded as she leaned into listen.

The song started, and she couldn't deny the smile that crossed her face. It was perfect for her cousin as it began to play to the tune of…

---

BOOM!

BOOM!

CRUNCH!

"Why… won't… you… get a… CLUE!"

With one more lunging punch, a blast of fire Dust turned the Beowolf fledgling's head into pulp, the body quickly disintegrating as it collapsed onto the path.

She sighed heavily, feeling her pounding heart and the rush that traveled in her blood. She smiled as she ran a hand through her hair, tossing the few bangs shaken loose back over her shoulder. "Well, that was fun," she said. "At least they were just fledglings, any older and we'd have bone plate to work through."

She turned as she heard panting. "Is it weird I find them harder to deal with," said Jacob as he stumbled out a disintegrating dogpile of the things. "All they do is dogpile mindlessly."

She giggled. "What's the matter, not a fan of glomps from puppies?"

He gave her a sarcastic laugh. "Depends on whether or not they're trying to eat me," he replied. "Christ Alive…"

She walked up to him. "Hey, you're getting better at this, don't worry about it. Besides, there's always new things we find out about ourselves in the thick of battle."

"I suppose," he said as they resumed their walk. "How close are we, out of curiosity? We've been walking for a half-hour now…"

"Patience, Young Grasshopper," she chided teasingly. "It's just through this clearing."

"Haha, lead on then, Ms. Miyagi."

She cocked her brow in confusion. "Who's that?"

Jacob sighed. "Reference from home, I'll explain later."

Yang sighed in return. He was always making references she didn't understand, saying things that sounded like they were pop culture quips that she would make. And yet, she recognized little of them, if any at all. Nothing he said or did reminded her of anything she had ever seen, and she was beginning to wonder how isolated his people were if he recognized little to none of her references and vice versa.

You're not telling us everything, she thought quietly. Sometimes I wonder if Blake's paranoia is right…

A few minutes later, they had reached the edge of the clearing, the falling leaves casting shifting shadows over the whole area. Bright yellows and oranges dances in the wind and ignited the air above them as the trees continued to slowly die off for the coming winter.

"I always love Patch this time of the year," she said quietly. "So colorful, so lively."

"It's that last burst of color just before the dreary winter sets in," he replied beside her. "it feels livelier with the color and the wind, even if life is only just desperately clinging on."

She nodded. "I can see that. I actually never thought of it like that… it always just reminded me of a fire burning at full power… just wild and free and bright."

Jacob let out a hum of a laugh. "Reminds me a lot of you," he said.

She looked over at him, wondering if he was serious. She felt a smidge of heat in her cheeks.

"Yeah, we get a lot of this back home too," he continued. "A lot of evergreens in the mix too. Nice pine trees that make it feel like we're a winter wonderland that rarely ever get snow… especially near the foothills of the mountains it's pretty heavy with them. Closing in on October, everyone's getting ready for pumpkin season, and it's proper chile roasting season too…"

He stopped halfway through his sentence, furrowing his brow in thought. Yang watched him, certain that he had plucked his own nostalgic chords.

She reached out and took his shoulder. "Hey," she said quietly. "Don't think about it," she said. "I'm sure they're all gonna tuned in for the Festival… maybe they'll come and see you."

Yang felt a pang of worry when his mood seemed to swing south. "I… I hope so," he said in an unconvincing tone.

The hand on his shoulder let go and reached for his other. She pulled him into a gentle hug as they rounded a bend near the large boulders. "But for now… we're your family. And family looks out for one another."

She felt a hand against her back for a moment before he seemed to think twice about it. She let out a breath through her nose. "Here we are," she said as the trees gave way.

It sat on the edge of the cliff as always, the grass around it even and still somewhat green, as if the weather itself had a fleeting grip on the area. The trees had been cut back, leaving a large area before the bare cliffside where there was only bushes and grass, yet still the leaves reached out and hand fallen just at the foot of it. The thing itself was a simple white stone, short but cut at an angle. She had memorized it by heart now, but even as she walked up to it and the words came into focus, they still stung of regret.

Jacob seemed to let her lead, but she found each step to be a little heavier than usual when visiting Summer. Was it because of such a close brush in Vale? With that Khârn guy? Maybe it was something else? Even she couldn't get a good bearing on why.

"My turn to ask if you're okay," she heard Jacob say. "You look… tired, I guess would be the best word."

She nodded. "Uhm… yeah, I'm okay," she said quietly.

He stepped up to her with a concerned look. "Just tell me if you want to head out," he said.

She nodded again and stepped up closer. Now the words were clear as day on the tablet, printed just beneath the same rose pattern that she had modified for herself, and Ruby had made as her own.

Summer Rose

Thus Kindly do I Scatter

Yang felt a breath leave her throat. "Hey, mom," she said. "Sorry it's been a while…"

The stone sat as usual, never moving.

"So… I don't know if Ruby's popped by anytime recently. If not, well… Beacon's been good to her," she began quietly, reservedly. "She's just like you, got to be team leader for all four of us. Her, Weiss, Blake and me rounding the group. Team RWBY… and before you ask, it's, uh… just as confusing as it sounds," she said with a weak chuckle. "Already it's been pretty crazy so far. We've had some run-ins with some bad guys… had a choice encounter with a big bad group of Grimm… got a lot of friends—both our age and a lot older, somehow… peaking of which, one of them offered to come with me. Jacob, wanna say hi?"

Jacob smirked. "Nice to meet you, Summer," he said. "Shame it couldn't be in the flesh… but regardless it's nice to meet you."

She nodded. "Yeah, it's… it's been wild, even for me."

The wind was her only reply.

Yang felt a weight on her shoulders. "We… we're gonna be representing Beacon with Team JNPR for the Vytal Festival… Dad's gonna be attending, got the paid time-off at Signal… not that he needs it with all the checks from the Council. But yeah, twenty-five teams and we were one of the four to get picked… I was floored when Professor Goodwitch called and let us know."

Silence. She heard Jacob's footfalls crunch a few leaves behind her.

Yang felt a pang in her chest join the weight. "I… I saw Raven… back during the fight with the Grimm. I called her… I called her 'mom'," she confessed, biting back a grimace. "It was on instinct, I'm kinda sorry I did it. But… yeah, she talked to me… all of a few words. Uncle Qrow said that was usual for her, I guess… I just wish I could have talked to her a bit more. Know her like I should."

The wind whistled harshly.

"And yet… I feel guilty for trying to… Because she wasn't the one who raised me. You were… you always were; you made us cookies, you told stories to me and Ruby at night, you curled up in bed with us when the thunderstorms scared us… that was all you. And I feel like I'm betraying you for it."

She felt a stinging in her eyes but she ignored it as much as she could.

"Sorry… I guess things have been… kinda crazy around here lately, I just… seeing her, actually seeing her in the flesh, I guess I… I guess I kinda felt that obsession flare up."

She felt a great sigh leave her throat. "I know you knew her best… Dad said she always opened up to you more than him and Uncle Qrow. I could use some of that knowledge to know her a bit better… but I guess… that stuff is a secret only… the dead tell."

The mention of death was like ice in her chest, a discomforting thing for her. She felt the flames in her hair sputter in an attempt to fight it.

She felt her voice croak as she said, "I… I wish you were here, Mamma… I wish you could see us… I wish I could hug you one last time…"

The crunching of leaves started again, drawing closer. She heard Jacob clear his throat. "Yang… you okay?"

She looked up just in time to see Jacob's hand alight her shoulder to console her. "Uhm, yeah, I… I just wish she was here—"

"Yang… wherever she is, Summer knows that you're doing fine…and she knows that you're gonna make it to the top."

Yang let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding in. "Right… Sorry, I get really nostalgic coming here. Makes me wish she had been here."

Jacob nodded gently. "Grief never really leaves you," he said softly. "It's the zombie of emotions. You bury it as time goes on, but sometimes it will wake up and rise from the dirt to rear its ugly face to take your knees out underneath you. Then you beat it back down and then you start burying it again. But it never really leaves you."

Yang sighed, a slight pang of frustration at his words. Not very good at picking people up, she thought.

His next comment smacked that thought down, though. "But eventually you bury it deep enough that it can't show itself," he said in a low tone. "It can't claw itself out of the hole no matter how hard it tries. You hear its faint groan, it tries to reach for you but it can't hurt you anymore; it just takes time and weathering when it wakes up to get to the point it can't hurt you."

She turned to look at him, studying him as she worked through the chill that crawled down her back. His eyes were hard but something about his stare echoed with memory. Was he remembering that friend he had talked about during their mission? Was it someone else he had lost? A friend having gone through the same?

He turned and looked at her. He offered her a smirk. "Makes sense, right?"

She watched him for a little while longer. "Y-yeah… it does," she said, offering a half-hearted one of her own before her gaze turned back to the tombstone.

Silence held the area for a while, save for the whistling winds that blew in her ears and numbed her arms with ice.

She cleared her throat, wanting to break the silence. "Summer… used to love a speckled rose that grew in the glen nearby," she said. "You wouldn't mind if I go by there… and get her some, would you?"

He nodded. "Only if you mind if I stay here and… and keep the dead company," he said.

She felt every word that left his mouth was tinged with other intention. Still, she nodded and turned to walk away. "I won't be long," she said as she left her mother's tombstone and her friend to stand in the gathering cold of the gathering fall.

---

Jacob turned to stare at Summer's grave as Yang rounded behind a thicket of trees and disappeared from sight. "Awkward first introduction," he said with a sigh. "A shame I can't talk to you in-person, Ms. Summer… I'd tell you how wonderful of friends your daughters are… especially for a lunatic three years… rather, two years and change your eldest's senior."

He sighed as he crouched down against the ache of his knees. "I don't know if you can hear any of us, Summer," he said. "And if you can, I don't know if you already know the full truth… I hope you do… and I hope that you can forgive me for my choices… and how they might effect Yang and Ruby if I fail…"

Through the mildest ache in his joints from the cold front, he took a knee before her grave.

"I… I know more about the truth of this world than I think most people do… and still I feel in the dark. That feels all the more that way knowing that… that a threat my world… well, actually, I don't know if we created it and your world, or we just… saw through the veils of space and time, but still… this isn't what I thought was supposed to happen. And… and your girls are in more danger than they should have been in."

He shrugged and let out a tired laugh. "And I say that as your eldest saves my ass from a… a pack of Beowolves and, and takes down creatures that I've only killed by getting lucky at downing."

Silence met him again.

He sighed. "I should have said something. I should have said something a long time ago, but I… I don't know if they would have believed me, even with the footage. But I should have… and yet, your daughters… they may have been imperiled, or then the eventual end of this crisis wouldn't happen and… the fighting would continue and… God damnit, there's just too many variables to work with to make sure everyone fucking gets through this… Hell, I deserve all the ass-kickings for being so willing to let the Invasion happen."

The images of the Breach came back to him, mingling with clips from Volume 3 in a mental cacophony of chaos. His shoulders felt heavy and he could feel the aching in his side from where the Matador had slashed him open.

"I… I want to keep them all safe. And… I don't know if I can. I'm not alone in this endeavor, but… so many crazy changes have happened even with me keeping to the timeline, I… I feel like I'm still going to fail someone."

Silence again. Naught but the wind itself answered him.

Another sigh. "Sorry… it does me no good talking to the dead about… this kind of stuff." He spun himself around and with a groan sat down in the dying grass.

Now, even the silence consumed his thoughts as a good few minutes passed.

He smirked. "Yang's taking her sweet time with those flowers," he said. "Never considered her the type for something as frail and dainty as flowers. Then again, Monty's work never really showed that… I mean, she's always being Mama Bear around Ruby, so maybe I'm just being clueless."

At the mention of Monty Oum, the wind seemed to pick up, as if the wind had been knocked out of the very world at the mention of his very name.

Jacob shivered. "I… I wonder what he would have done in this situation… I wonder how Monty would have handled this. I mean… either he invented this world, or he simply saw it through the veils of universes or something, but he would at least have some good insight."

The leaves rustled around him.

"Oh, who am I kidding… his intent was originally to kill her off in Volume 2 in The Breach… Pyrrha would be a goner in his opinion."

His mind reeled in thought as he tried to process his situation again, letting the quiet company of the dead seep into him.

"I wonder if you've talked with him… I wonder if all the dead of all worlds meet one another. I wouldn't imagine, afterlives being so different and all." He picked up a small stone at the foot of the gravestone and rolled it in his hands; a small sandstone rock if he had to venture a guess, no bigger around than a twenty-eight-millimeter base for a Guardsman. Frustration compelled him to toss it off the cliffside and into the forest below.

"Still… despite my grievances with him and Miles and Kerry's choices… I wonder what they would say… I wonder what he'd say."

He heard the distant sound of the rock hitting wood. A startled crow cawed into the morning sky, followed by several more.

A second or two passed before Jacob saw them crest over the treeline, flying off towards the sunrise in a loose line. Jacob squinted at them as the sun burned his retinas, though he found not with the intensity of the sun on Earth. Against the shape of the sun, he saw six of them, loosely arrayed in a pattern he was too familiar with.

He didn't take his eyes off them as they disappeared into the rising sun, only to turn his eyes away as the brightness began to burn his retinas. Still, the afterimage of Monty's signature haunted his sight as he tried to blink it away.

"…He'd say to keep moving forwards," Jacob answered quietly. "Duh…"

The wind seemed to die back down again.

"Then again, that's what everyone says these days…"

In the distance, he could hear the tiniest hint of humming. Yang was on her way back.

With a groan of exertion, he stood back up as his knee retorted with pain. "Question is, can I move forwards if I fail… and in the meantime, how do I move forwards with the plan…"

The humming grew louder as Yang rounded the bend into view, the tune of I Burn bouncing in her throat. In her arms was a light bouquet of flowers, bound by nothing as they were cradled in her arms; he could even see that the thorns on the stems hadn't been broken off, though she didn't even seem to mind that.

"Sorry that took so long," she said thirty feet out. "I guess they're blooming late this year, couldn't find a lot in the glen."

He nodded, letting the conversation with nobody end. "I don't think she'd mind the amount so much as they thought behind it," he said, reaching out for the flower in question. It was a white rose, or at least primarily a white rose, though it was freckled with dustings of red along the edges of the petals, giving it a look as if it were turning pink and then becoming red at the end.

"Beautiful little thing," he said. "From that photo you guys have on your mantelpiece, I take it she liked it for the color similarity?"

Yang let out a huff of a laugh. "She always told me it reminded her of people," she replied. "Passionate with color on the outside… and peaceful white the closer you reached the center."

Jacob smiled as he felt his heart warm at that. "That's… a really sweet sentiment. Not one I fully agree with, but I can see the appeal."

She let out another huff. "You gotta work on your pessimism, it's starting to rub off on some of us."

"Realism and pessimism are two separate things on the same philosophical plane," he said as he bent over and dug his finger into the dirt just above the headstone. "Pessimism would have me saying nothing matters, so why bother," he continued. "Realism is knowing that the climb to victory will be long and difficult… and it prefers to find an easier, effective solution based on what it knows for truth." He pulled the finger out and gently placed the rose in before drawing in the soil around it, rooting it into the earth.

He turned to look at her as she held the other roses, a total of six now. "Sometimes you can win, sometimes not so much. It's just figuring out how to play the chips in your favor."

Yang smirked. "And then what happens when the chips don't come down in your favor?"

He shrugged. "Then you back away and consolidate your losses."

"And if the world doesn't give you that chance?"

He shrugged. "Wing it. Sometimes the cosmic dice come down all sixes, sometimes all ones."

She shook her head with a bemused smile as she took one of the roses and did the same thing as he did, but now below the stone. "I don't think you understand pessimism."

"What, the idea that the world is naturally bad?"

"No, that our choices don't matter, that it's all up to the universe," she replied as she set the other ones down around Summer's grave.

Jacob shook his head. "That's nihilism, that's the extreme end of the spectrum."

Yang turned to look at him with a confused glance. "Never heard that term for it before. Local term?"

Jacob almost balked at the idea that the concept of nihilism wasn't something Remnantines were familiar with. "Something like that," he said.

She shook her head and turned her attention back to the stone as she backed away. "Perfect… thought you would like to have your favorite roses, Mom."

The stone sat quietly, though now as Jacob looked at it the stone seemed to glimmer just a hint.

"Well… we probably should get going… get some last-minute training before the Tournament starts," she said.

He nodded silently. "So… uhm… take care, Ms. Rose. I'm sure Ruby will be along shortly to say hi too," he added.

He felt the wind gently caress his five o' clock shadow. He instinctively twitched and scratched his jaw, his eyes glued to Yang as the wind rustled her golden lion mane. She had closed her eyes, clearly feeling the wind against her face as if it was a message from Summer.

Part of him wondered if it actually was.

With one last wave and a smile, Yang turned and began to walk away, Jacob taking the cue and following. The wind gently caressed their backs as if Summer was waving goodbye to them through the aether of the afterlife. They were silent for a good while as they exited the clearing and began to make their way back to the house, the sounds of nature now heralding their path.

Two minutes passed and Jacob wondered what Yang was thinking, her eyes downcast despite the faintest hint of a content smile. He wanted to ask, but he of all people knew that it was better to let one's thoughts run their course.

Another five minutes went by, the tweeting of birds and the rustle of leaves their only companion in the silence. Jacob cleared his throat.

She looked up. "Sorry," she said quietly. "Was just remembering the good times with her…"

He nodded. "you miss her terribly," he said. "That look in your eyes has the words 'bittersweet' written all over it."

She nodded. "I'll always miss her… but she wouldn't want me to dwell on it. Dad always said she had a saying about when we lose people, or we fail, or something else happens."

Jacob looked at her, already expecting what he thought she was going to say. "What's that?"

She let out a sigh through her nose. "No matter what happens on the way, I'll meet you at the end. So don't stop or go back for anything… keep—"

"—moving forward," Jacob finished with a nod. "I've heard that a lot… a good man said the same thing just before he had an… untimely death…"

She nodded. "Sorry to hear that. A friend?"

"Something like that," he said, wondering if Monty was more like the God of Remnant or a prophet of sorts. "He… was a brilliant guy… good at bringing a story to life, even if it was scatterbrained at times."

She smirked. "Sounds like a fun guy."

"Well, I didn't really know him for long. I knew his work, but I never saw the man behind the work until a little before Death took him."

She nodded. "Dad always said to always treat a friend like you have only a day left with them… so you treat them like it's their last."

Jacob felt an ill twinge in his stomach at that as Pyrrha came to mind. The End of the Beginning flashed in his mind again, forcing him to shake his head.

"Hey, you okay," she asked, putting her hand on his shoulder.

"Y-Yeah," he said. "Just a bad memory, that's all."

Her hand never left his shoulder until he looked down at it. She offered him a smirk and a nod as the hand dropped, a gesture he returned in earnest.

'Well… enough mourning for this morning, eh," he offered, reaching into his pocket to produce his phone. "How about… how about a little music as we head back?"

Her smile brightened. "I'm honestly in love with your music roster," she said, "and I've never heard any of those songs."

He shrugged. "Hidden gems, makes it all the more fun when you shuffle the music." With that, he shook his phone just a smidge, a blip of sound ringing out as he did so.

Rat-ta-ta-ta-tat!

He heard the bass kick in with the snare drums and the smile that crossed his face couldn't be contained. "Speaking of hidden gems, this one's probably twenty years older than me and I love it," he said, rolling his shoulders with the beat. He was about ready to start emulating the dance that most people associated with the song, but he doubted he could pull it off like Chris Pratt could.

The guitar kicked in as Yang let out a faint chuckle. "Ooh, I already like this one."

Haaail!

(Haaail!)

What's the matter with your head, yeahhh

Haaail!

(Haaail!)

What's the matter with your mind and your sign an' a, ohh-oh-ohh…

Nothing the matter with your head

Jacob smirked as he let his stride match the beat. "It's an oldie but a goodie."

"All your music seems to be 'oldies but goodies' as far as I'm concerned," Yang replied, watching him. "That big band stuff was practically older than Dad!"

"Well, my music tastes range all over the place," he said, spinning and dance-walking backwards. He smiled as he incited a laugh from Yang.

Baby, find it, come on and find it

Hail, with it, baby,

'Cause you're fine and you're mine

And you, look so diviiine~!

Just before the chorus kicked in, he spun in a circle, snapping his fingers right at the cymbal crash.

Come and get your love

Come and get your loo-OOve!

Jacob let himself get lost in the improvised dance, synching up with the song. "Come and get your love~! Come and get your loo-OOve!"

Behind him, Yang broke out in a fit of giggles. "I thought you said you didn't like to dance!"

"Not in public," he fired back, turning to her as they continued down the path. "And this is one I can't not dance to!"

Yang giggled again, only for the giggle to turn into a belly laugh halfway through as she fought to stay upright and not doubled over.

"Oh, my dancing is funny? Fine then, let's see you dance to it!"

She smirked and mockingly bowed to him as if a professional dancer, the chorus ending. At the sounding of the next "Hail", she did a sauntering hip check to the beat, bobbing her shoulders as she closed her eyes and smiled brightly. She snapped to the beat too, looking like she was getting really into the song as Redbone sang their merry love ballad.

He smiled as he watched her, feeling what little remained of his worry leave him as he and Yang danced down the road. And in the back of his mind, that fear of The Fall suddenly didn't seem as heavy on him. Maybe he didn't have to be as paranoid; so many were now privy to what was to happen, maybe he had already done enough now to keep Pyrrha safe.

In the back of his mind, Ferris' eyes flashed again, and with it came the rest of the Invasion, flashes of the Grimm at the Fairgrounds and in the streets following.

Through his dancing, he felt himself wonder if now was the time to focus on the macrocosmic scale. But that could be later; for now, he was enjoying time with one of his eight friends after a moment of profound ponderance.

He let the smile on his lips free as he continued to dance with Yang as Come and Get Your Love played on.

And at his side, Yang let out a whoop of laughter. "Vytal or Bust!"

---

"You are serious about this?"

"I'm afraid so. After that blunder with The Breach, it is in our best interest to consider other means, other measures at our disposal."

Emerald swallowed hard as she stared back at the face of Arthur Watts on her Scroll. "No, Mr. Watts, we can still pull this off, I'm sure of it!"

The egocentric doctor stared at her with hard eyes. "I don't need to remind you that Atlas is stepping up their game now," he growled. "Already they seem to be on to me; the firewalls are growing much stronger at the CCT central network—not that such a thing is a struggle for me to overcome—but more importantly that means they are becoming more vigilant; I feel that they may very well be on to my backdoor as well. I don't feel you understand the severity of our situation, girl."

Emerald sneered at him as she sat back down on her dorm room bed. "The virus is in, isn't it? They may be onto us, but they sure as hell can't find us," she responded. "We can use that paranoia; Cinder is already putting that paranoia to use!"

Watts rolled his eyes. "Cinder couldn't plan her way out of a paper bag," he huffed back, Emerald's defensiveness stirring in the back of the mind. "You're the agent, I am the planner, and Cinder is the saleswoman at best; as much as I hate her, I know full well she could charm a meth addict into going it straight if it suited her goals," he said.

"Could you two just shut up or take this somewhere else," Mercury groaned from his bed. "Trying to rest for the tournament, okay?"

"Oh, yes, please forgive our scheming while you get your beauty sleep," Watts chided sarcastically. "I can see why you despise him, Ms. Sustrai."

She rolled her eyes. "Spare me your sympathy," she said, "I know it's not genuine."

He chuckled. "Now you're catching on."

She sighed. "And furthermore, that's a lie," she said. "Cinder came up with the new plan, right?"

He huffed. "Even a broken clock is right twice a day," he said. "Anyway, I reiterate that we should consider our approach carefully."

She huffed back at him. "What's the matter," she said. "Afraid you can't hack into Amity Arena?"

That got under his skin, despite his best attempts to hide it. "Hardly," he said.

Emerald smirked. "Then why don't you want to go through with it? Afraid you can't get into the robot girl's systems?"

That really prickled his nerves. "Antagonizing me is a very bad idea, street rat," he warned. "I'm more than capable of hacking Pietro's precious doll with circuitry."

"Then are you backing off from this?"

He stared at her for a good minute. "Well played. I'll start working on her firewalls in a few hours," he said. "But if this plan falls apart… you and Cinder both are on the chopping block."

"Call us back when you have any progress," she said.

"Please, girl, don't patronize me. You'll have them in due time."

The call cut out there. Emerald let out a sigh she didn't realize she was holding in.

"You realize that this plan is completely winging it," Mercury replied.

"Don't remind me," she said. "What do you think of your part in the plan?"

He smirked as he sat upright. "I'm not the kind for this sneaking around thing," he said. "But I can't decide on whether I love this and want to ham it up, or just play off it and only give it just enough."

She smiled. "It's perfect," she said. "And if it goes off like she wants it to, we'll have open access to the Fall Maiden, and she can finish the transfer."

Mercury let out a sigh. "That part I don't care about," he said. "I just want to see some more mayhem. Stick it to the fuckers on the Council and in the Academies."

She couldn't deny the smile that crossed her face. "Okay, that I would enjoy seeing," she said before a thought crossed her mind. "But… what about the civilians?"

"What about them? Don't tell me you're getting soft on me."

"Well, they don't have a prayer in this," she said.

"And you didn't bat an eye at the whole thing with the Breach."

"That wasn't our handiwork, that was Roman and that big guy!"

"Set up by us," he replied exasperatedly. "That was gonna happen during the first take of the plan, remember?!"

"Yeah, but—"

"Admit it, Em," he said, jumping up onto his feet, "You're going soft on us!"

She took a step back, glowering at him. "I am not!"

"Oh yeah? Then let me ask you this: if a civvie stepped through that door and found out everything about our plan, and was gonna run to the Headmasters, would you kill them?"

She felt a hitch in her chest. "Yes," she said, trying to imagine it.

"Bullshit," he said. "I've killed, Emerald, and you have to either be in panic or stone cold ready, and that look in your eyes tells me you'd maybe the former, but never the latter."

She didn't respond, feeling slightly squeamish. She struggled to come up with a response, opening her mouth to reply.

"Relax, Mercury… no need for that."

Her own reply died in her throat as she heard Cinder behind her. She turned and was met with the lovely smiling visage of her boss.

"Oh, Cinder, I—"

"Now, now, Emerald," she said, "It's alright. I could hear you two from the hallway," she said, tensing that last part warningly.

Emerald swallowed hard and shrunk in on herself. "S… sorry."

"Indeed," she said, dropping the smile. "You're lucky everyone else is gone on this floor for lunch, or we would be in serious trouble."

Behind her, Emerald could hear Mercury let out a sound of angry ire. "Right… what's the situation with the 'roided apes in ceramic armor," he asked.

"They're making preparations to act," Cinder said as she walked past Emerald and sat down on the bed to their side. "And another one of the Eightfold has joined us; a gentleman after my own heart, quite honestly."

Emerald furrowed her brow in confusion. "Who is he?"

Cinder smirked as she assumed that lounging pose Emerald was becoming fond of. "A man of such a tongue as to be like honeyed wine and barb wire all at once, depending who he's talking to," she said with a smirk that Emerald recognized as being tinged with longing.

"Okay, that doesn't answer our question," said Mercury angrily.

"You'll know him in time," she said. "For now, he's our secondary distraction… and our means of escape if something happens."

Emerald blinked in thought at that. "You think Muller's onto us?"

"I think he's closing in on us more and more with each day," she said. "Same with his companions. The students are in the dark, but the adults, on the other hand… they're watching us."

Emerald felt a knot in her stomach. "So… why haven't they acted?"

"Because they have nothing to accuse us of," she said with singsong tone that Emerald loved. "Thanks to Mr. Watts and his new editing software, the footage can't be corroborated to me; a few changes of my facial features and my physique, and now the tower was attacked by a buxom Vacuan girl with a deep tan, dirty blonde hair, and a chest that could make fertility goddesses weep in envy," she said with a sultry chuckle. "Not that I don't prefer having hips like I do."

Emerald blushed hard as Mercury let out a hum. "Speaking of the egghead," he began, "He just started working on cracking open Amity Arena's security, and he's working on the robot girl on top of that."

"Good," she said. "Now we only have to wait for the festival to start in two days, and our team simply needs work its way into the finals. From there, once he's in… Mercury will have his battle with whoever from Beacon is chosen as his opponent."

Emerald smirked at the word 'chosen' and relaxed. "So, the plan is still in play?"

"Like clockwork," Cinder said. "Now, relax… we have some time to enjoy ourselves before our work begins. I say, we spend some time sharpening our skills for… a clean match."

Emerald nodded and stood up straight, that thought of the plan's casualties still buzzing in the back of her mind. But she refused to turn on Cinder over something like that… right? After all, she owed Cinder everything, she couldn't just turn her back on her, even if the work was unsavory? She was a thief, she was unsavory to begin with, already someone who had done evil deeds; the Fall Maiden had been different, a threat and a powerful opponent that was in the way of Cinder's plans, and Tuckson had attacked first, Emerald had wanted to bring him in alive… so why say that thievery was her limit…

What were a few civilian casualties?

---

"What's a few moments of levity," he said as he sat down on the bench beside the rest of them.

"A dangerous sentiment on the eve of war," replied Angelos. "I would avoid trying something like this outright."

"Come now, Gabriel," Logan replied, trying and failing to smile a hint. "We're supposed to be keeping a low profile, remember?"

Jacob looked up at them with a slightly worried look in his eyes. "You guys aren't helping here," he said urgently.

"You'll be alright," said Titus from his left flank. "It's the Vytal Festival; the people want a victor, but they want good fun from the contestants more importantly."

Around him, the murmur of the crowds had begun to rise around him, the stadium seats slowly filling up with Huntsmen and Huntresses, civilians and soldiers, humans and Faunus from all across Remnant. Overhead, the morning sun was just about to reach its zenith, midday just approaching now over Amity Arena as the clock counted down the last few minutes before the matches began… starting off with the Lone Wolf Match.

Around him and in front of him sat the majority of the Imperials, save for Dante and the Lysanders with their respective selves off to his left with the rest of RWBY and JNPR. In front of him sat Cain, Logan, Anders, Sugodai and Gabriel, all but the Blood Raven looking a degree of relaxed that didn't sit well with Jacob in the face of the oncoming Invasion. On his right sat Mira and Titus, both looking more what he had in mind; pensive and relaxed but still looking prepared to spring at any minute. Farthest out of the group was Vulkan, who at the moment was scanning the Huntsmen seating, presumably looking for Cinder and company.

Jacob sighed as he shakily brought up his mug of tea. "I doubt I'm gonna give them a good show, honestly."

"Nonsense," Titus replied with a gentle pat on his shoulder. "All three of you went over who was going to do what, right?"

"Well, yeah," he said, "but that doesn't take into consideration the Vacuan champ! We haven't seen hide nor hair of the person in question!"

"Don't focus on that," he said. "Focus on the fight itself. You know how both Penny and Delia fight, you know how they move, they know you too."

"Well, duh," he said, "We kinda trained amongst each other for the last three days," he said, remembering arriving back to Ruby and Penny gossiping about he and Yang.

"Exactly," he said. "Don't focus on him, just… focus on a fun fight with them."

Jacob sighed as he leaned back. "I hope I'm a good enough light, in that case." He turned to look at Logan and asked, "Do you know if they're okay with my grenades?"

Logan laughed. "In the normal battles, already it would be permitted," he said with a toothy grin. "But Lone Wolves are expected to fight cannily. Expect both Delia and Penny to fight dirty."

He swallowed a lump in his throat, leaning forwards again to stare at Delia. The granddaughter of Rogal Dorn stared back at him with a canny, toothy grin that chilled his blood.

"So much for 'below the belt', I'd wager," he replied.

"Well, not that far," Titus replied with a chuckle, "You'd have the immediate disadvantage in that case."

At that moment, fanfare roared overhead, startling Jacob. He heard Yang chuckle off to his left.

"Sounds like the call for contestants to get to the Arena," said Logan. "Then comes the opening ceremonies for—"

"A half hour before the fights start," Jacob finished, remembering the program he picked up on the way in. "Starts with us. Has anyone seen Penny?"

"I'm sure she'll be here," replied Yang, joshing his shoulder. "Don't worry."

He turned to look at her. "Yeah," he said. "You're right."

"Hey, relax," Ruby called from Yang's side. "You're gonna do fine!"

Jacob looked her in the eye and cocked his eyebrow. "You really think so? I heard about that bet, you put Lien on Penny."

Ruby looked taken aback. "Me, betting against my friends! Oh, please, don't be—"

"She put twenty on Penny," Yang said, Ruby's sentence stopping short in a flurry of stammers of embarrassment.

"Uh-huh, thought so," he said.

Yang giggled. "You'll be fine," she said. "If you can take a Matador, you can take four Huntsmen."

"You might not be the best," Weiss said in a clearly reassuring tone, "but you can give everyone a good show. God knows you already bring some of the best flash to a fight."

He slowly nodded, though he wasn't entirely sure. "I hope you're right… I chose a walk-on song I thought was… upbeat," he said, pulling out his Scroll to glance the time.

11:59. A minute to go.

He felt his stomach flutter as a hint of panic seeped into his veins. A part of his brain processed that; why was the Breach so much easier for him to do, and yet here he was struggling?

…Don't tell me I'm still fucking stage-frightened, he thought to himself.

More fanfare roared out before Professor Oobleck's voice boomed overhead. "Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls! Please direct your attention to the center of Amity Arena!"

Jacob turned to look out as he noticed the center platform had dropped down, but now was rising up, several figures standing at the center.

"And now, an opening word from Headmasters James Ironwood and Ozpin!"

There was the sound of a finger tapping on a microphone. The podium finished rising as Ozpin stood at the center. He loudly cleared his throat as the murmur of the crowd's excitement died.

"It is with great pleasure and great honor that I welcome each and every one of you to the 40ft Vytal Festival Tournament," began Ozpin, raising his arms up as if to embrace the audience in a brotherly hug. He was met with a chorus of cheers.

Yang leaned over and smirked at him. "A real crowd-pleaser, isn't he," she murmured.

"Magnanimousness seems to come naturally to him," Jacob replied back.

"It has been a long and trying two years for many of us since we all last met for the 39th Tournament in Atlas," he continued. "And there has been no shortage of excitement since then as we saw not a month ago. The Vytal Festival… the promise of the signers of the Treaty of Vytal that we as the people of Remnant would never forget what has led to this point..."

A faint murmur echoed around the arena.

"Eighty years ago, the People of Remnant walked out of the shadow of a War to End All Wars. Eighty years ago, the nations of the world realized the damage that came about from such strife between our peoples… from both within our borders and from outside, from the endless hordes that threaten this peace every day."

Jacob hummed in thought at the use of the words 'War to End All Wars', his lips pursing at the images that Oobleck's class had given him of horrid 20th century trench warfare mixed with the fantastical technology of Remnant and the hordes of Grimm invading every so often in the carnage.

"We come together now, just as we have for the last eighty years, to celebrate that day when we cast aside our differences… to no longer hate our fellow man… to no longer cast out our individuality in fear of strife… to lift ourselves up as one people, Faunus, human, man, woman, Mistrali, Vacuan, Valean, Altesian… to recognize that we are all one tribe, one nation in the face of the Grimm. That we must unite and fight as one, or remain apart and face eventual extinction."

Jacob sighed at the rhetoric on display. It reminded him too much of the globalist philosophy, something that his conservative upbringing found foolhardy at best and inviting trouble in the long run at worst. Yet, he didn't deny that in Remnant it made more sense, as the true enemy was something that quite literally was drawn by strife and conflict and really did feed off of the chaos of the world.

Chaos. He shuddered as he remembered Khârn squeezing the life out of Yang.

"And for the first time in many years, this unity has come to bear in the face of an unknown threat. The insurgency behind the Breach into Vale has been halted thanks to the work of brave Huntsmen and Huntresses from around the world, their Grimm puppets driven out. Though it is with a heavy heart that we address those lost in the conflict."

On the overhead monitors around the stadium, several faces began to fade in, followed with their names, their age and their hometowns. Only a handful, several of them civilians. Jacob felt a pang of guilt tug at his chest as their profiles appeared, each a life he knew nothing about that had been snuffed out by the Breach. He slouched backwards in his seat in discomfort, thinking of what probably happened to them.

But his thoughts reacted to his guilt as his mind flashed the fight atop Beacon Tower again, the arrow piercing Pyrrha's chest. He grimaced and shifted in his seat. It has to be worth it…

The memorial ended. "But now we must move on without their light. Gone, but never forgotten. As such, we dedicate this opening ceremony to those brave souls that were lost in the Breach," Ozpin added. "But for now, as I said, we would be wise to not dwell upon such tragedies for long."

Now it was Ironwood's turn to walk up. "Arrayed before the world stand the brightest and mightiest Huntsmen and Huntresses of the modern era," he began, "All ready to take home the title of Vytal Champion, and the honor and prestige that comes with such a feat."

A cheer amongst the crowd.

"However, this year marks a special occasion as many are aware already; For those of you at home or in-person who are not aware, for the first time in ten years, all four Kingdoms present a Lone Wolf Huntsman or Huntress."

The murmur of surprise amongst the crowd made Jacob raise his brow in dry confusion. "They can't seriously have not known," he said aloud.

"You'd be surprised how little some people pay attention to the news," Logan whispered back at him.

"As such, our first match will begin immediately after the opening ceremonies are concluded, with a battle to see who will be marked as Alpha Wolf, and participate in the finals in a one-on-one with the Teams Champion."

Jacob nodded in understanding as the crowd cheered again. "Good way to stack the cards," he said, only for Yang to shush him.

"Contestants," Ozpin said, "If you would, please make your way to the holding area designated as yours to prepare for the first match."

Jacob swallowed hard as he stood up, feeling a jitteriness in his knees.

On his left, RWBY and JNPR stood up, all staring at him and offering bright smiles.

He began to walk for the stair well, getting a pat on the back from Yang, a fistbump from Ruby, a nod of approval from Blake and Weiss, and fist bumps from Ren and Nora in unison, complete with a 'break a leg' jab from Nora. He stopped at Pyrrha and Jaune, both beaming happily.

"Go get 'em," Jaune offered with a firm handshake. Jacob took it in earnest before he turned to Pyrrha.

She beamed like a radiant angel. "You've got this," she said, pulling him into a hug.

Hearing her say that, he felt a fire in him. He nodded through the jitters that echoed through him, turning to look up at the crowds before looking back at the Huntsman seating ring. Across the way, he saw Penny stand up and beam, waving to him. He smiled and waved back, only for his line of sight to be blocked by blonde hair.

"Come on," Delia chortled. "We have a fight to prep for," she said as she grabbed his wrist and led him down towards the stairwell and into the sub-seating tunnels around the arena.

The room they were met with was spartan but still felt quite dramatic. It was little more than a lounge, small enough for one person, sporting a chair and table and some overhead lights. He was immediately met with Cadia and Titan sitting on the table, polished and given a good repair job as he noticed the smoothness in which Titan chambered its .380 ACP Dust shells.

"Well, I guess we'll wait at each one," Delia said quietly.

"Looks like it," he replied. "You ready?"

"Ready to kick your ass, Terran?"

He smirked before letting out a sigh. "You know… as long as it's a good fight."

She nodded and smiled before walking out of the room, letting the door gently swing shut.

He sighed as he sat down in the chair, the faint din of music and crowds overhead buzzing inside of the room. He let the cool air of the room wash over him gently, threatening him with goosebumps on his arms.

Silence held sway for a good few minutes as he sat pondering his methodology. He had a few Dust grenades on him, mainly smoke grenades and flashbangs, their casings now sturdier than before with a little bit of duct tape ingenuity.

He was watching his watch tick into the tenth minute of the hour when the door creaked open. He turned and was met with the sight of Ruby peaking in.

"Hey," she said, "You doing alright?"

Jacob blinked in confusion at her concern. "Yeah," he said as he shifted to meet her. "What about you?"

"I wanted to check up on Penny and you," she said. "She's doing alright… actually, it's kinda obvious she was gonna be okay with the whole… you know, thought process up there."

He shrugged in agreement. "Yeah, boredom I think has about as much sway with her as a cough in a hurricane," he said dryly.

She chuckled at that. "Give it time, the more she gets those upgrades the more she'll figure it out, I think," Ruby replied.

Jacob sighed at that, only to remember Penny's fight with Pyrrha. For a second, his smile dropped as grim thoughts entered.

"Hey, relax," she said, "Just… listen to what Mr. Ultramar said, and you'll be fine."

In the back of his mind, he felt something nag at him wordlessly, an instinct of some kind that egged him on. He felt an urge to confide that the fight wasn't the only thing that worried him.

"I… guess," he said as he sat back down. "Still… can't help but shake something's… off," he lied.

"Like what," she asked, sitting down next to him.

"I don't know, for as little as I've talked to anyone else about it… it's not in the contestants… I think… I just… I haven't stopped thinking about the Breach," he said quietly, each word rattling in his head tentatively as he found himself trying to warn her without warning her.

"The casualties," she asked, offering a reassuring grip on his shoulder.

"Well… some of that," he said, rolling his shoulders. "But more… I don't know… I feel like it was… it was only… part of a much bigger plan," he said, worried that he was spilling too much each second he spoke.

Ruby sighed as she leaned forwards. "You know… Blake thinks so too," she said. "But we stopped Torchwick, right? That should be the end of it."

He shook his head. "I think he was a pawn trying to play the king's role," he replied back quietly.

He saw her brow furrow. "What… do you mean?"

Jacob grimaced. "I think he was a distraction to throw us off the real aggressors… the ones who are orchestrating this. And… part of me wonders if it's… someone on the inside."

Her eyes went wide with shock at that. "You mean… another Huntsman?"

"That's right."

"But… why would they do that? No Huntsman would ever betray the Kingdoms."

"Nothing says that they're true Huntsmen," he replied with a nod of emphasis.

"Like… spies?"

"Exactly."

She shuffled. "Do you… have anyone in mind?"

For a brief second, he felt an urge to tell her the truth. Something about lying to Ruby gnawed at his core, made him feel ill at ease throughout his whole being… perhaps he could trust her with the truth?

Still… the butterfly effect…

"…No," he lied, shifting and blinking hard much to his own annoyance; those tells he hadn't had since sophomore year, trained out of him by way of conscious correction of himself. Still, Ruby didn't pick up on them, at least from what he could perceive. "None of the faculty makes sense, nor any of the student body."

She hummed in thought. "Well… maybe we're just being jumpy," she offered with a faint smile. "Maybe the worst is behind us."

He shook his head. "No disrespect, Ruby, but… I don't know," he answered, "it feels like… we've only seen the first of it. I think… something else is coming. Whatever it is, I think that it's going to be much worse than a train in an abandoned subway with a bunch of Grimm trailing behind."

He turned to look at her. Ruby stared at him worriedly, those silver discs shining with hope amid the concern.

He sighed. "But… whatever it is, we'll figure it out," he said. "All of us; RWBY, JNPR, the adults, all of us will figure it out."

She smiled and took his hand in a gentle hold. "Right," she said. "All of us will make it through this."

He expected her choice of words to sting hard, to make him wince or to make him cry. But her tone banished the storm clouds of irony that echoed in his mind at those words. Her positivity was practically a pandemic, so contagious that he wondered in the back of his mind if even Salem's heart could be warmed by it.

Salem… there was still Salem to consider in all this…

"Together," she said, pulling him back to reality.

He nodded as he offered her his hand in an embrace. "Together."

Her infectious smile broke loose as she took his hand in an embrace of comraderie.

Overhead, there was a sudden sound of a bell dinging.

Ruby's head snapped up. "Oh, that's the bell for the start of the match," she said as she stood up. "I need to get back to Yang and the others!"

He nodded and stood up, patting her on the shoulder. "Right, right," he said, taking Cadia and Titan and holstering them on his person. "Well, wish us luck."

Ruby stopped in the doorway, turning back to him with that big beaming smile of pure innocence. "Good luck out there," she said, before starting to blush. "And… well, that 20 isn't the only bet… I put another 30 on you."

He smirked and cocked his brow. "I thought that wasn't allowed."

She shrugged and stepped out through the doorway, waving back at him as the door slowly closed.

Jacob was alone once again, save for his thoughts. He looked down at his watch, the hands showing 12:30 on the dot.

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls," started the voice of Professor Port through the overhead speaker, "Welcome to the Vytal Tournament!"

A roar erupted outside. Jacob swallowed hard in nervousness.

" I am your host, Peter Port of Vale Academy, and I am here with my good friend Professor Bartholomew Oobleck!"

"Doctor."

Jacob let out a snort of laughter.

"I hope you are all ready to jump right into it, because we are live and we are ready for an amazing set of battles today! Later on this afternoon are the preliminary team battles, seeing which two teams from each nation will represent their Academy in the fight for the title of Vytal Champions!"

"Right you are, Peter," interjected Oobleck, "but first comes the first special treat of this year's event! For those of you at home, this year marks the first instance in ten years where all four Academies have hosted a Lone Wolf Huntsman-in-Training, and as such by custom, they have been granted the preliminary battle of the tournament in a four-way free-for-all battle for dominance!"

The crowd cheered again, setting Jacob's nerves on end. He took a deep breath in hopes that it would calm him. Nothing; if anything, it made his heart beat faster.

"Come on, calm the hell down," he said to himself as Oobleck continued to rattle off about the Lone Wolf and it's history, something he had been drilled on in perpetuity by the history professor in question in class.

He moved to start pacing, only for the opposite wall from the bench open up with a pneumatic hiss, revealing a black hallway and a lit platform.

His stomach knotted itself at the sight, the walls suddenly seeming very tight towards the ramp. He sighed as he stepped forwards into the dark, feeling the tile beneath him as he walked forwards and onto the platform.

Jacob felt an edge of panic in his veins, nerves raw at the prospect of being not just on the local stage, but on the world's stage. "Why the hell did I agree to this," he hissed to himself.

Then, a thought passed his mind. He let his eyes close as he tried to take deep breaths again, even with Oobleck's voice in the background. He felt his nerves settle some, not fully but enough to not come across as a panicky animal as he came up… or at least he hoped so.

I wonder… maybe I should pray?

"And now, it is time to introduce our contestants!"

Jacob swallowed hard as he took a knee. He moved to say something before he stopped; what could he say in a prayer?

As if his mind had already been processing that question a minute before, a thought passed his mind.

"In darkness… I shall be light…"

Under him, the platform began to vibrate with the sound of mechanics whirring to life.

The speakers began to play a panicked staccato of string notes, heralded by three great drum beats.

"Representing Vale Academy today," began Port, "Standing five-foot-five and weighing in at one hundred and sixty-five pounds… Hailing from the fringelands of the Frontier, he is the hometown hero…

Another roar of cheering as the drums and strings intensified.

Put on your war paint!

Jacob sighed in embarrassment at the pretentiousness of his choice of music. What had seemed like a good idea for a walk-on song now made him feel… egomaniacal.

"... in times of doubt… I shall keep faith…"

The platform slowly began to rise.

Crosswalks and crossed hearts

And hope-to-dies

Silver clouds with grey linings...

He sighed at his attempts to introduce Remnant to Fall Out Boy. "In throes of rage… I will hone my craft…"

He took a deep breath as Port talked over the music. "In vengeance, I will show no mercy…"

So, we can take the world back from the heart-attacked

One maniac at a time, we will take it back

You know time crawls on

When you're waiting for the song to start,

"Ladies and gentlemen, give a warm welcome to… Jacob Muller!"

So dance alone to the beat of your heart!

There was a sharp hiss overhead as sunlight poured in on him.

"In the face of battle… I will know no fear."

The platform rose up, and the music paused for a moment as it clicked into place.

He let out a shaky breath as he opened his eyes and stood up with a hard step from his kneeling leg.

Heeey young-blood!

Doesn't it feel

Like our time is running out?

The crowd cheered him on as he turned to look around, seeing the tremendous crowd in attendance as they watched him. He suddenly felt pathetically tiny; had this been how many people there were while he was in his seat? How the hell hadn't he known…

I'm gonna change you

Like a remix

And I'll raise you

Like a PHOENIX!

He stood with Cadia at his side, resting blade-first in its power sword mode, unsure of whether to move or to pump his fists or… or do anything as he absorbed the crowd. How many were there in attendance? Couldn't be less than ten thousand he wagered… no, no, the arena was about three-fourths the size of a baseball field, and those stadiums held thirty thousand and still had a side with no seating.

He swallowed hard and felt his hands tremble as he assessed the numbers. "Fifty thousand," he guessed. "Fifty thousand people and I'm the first one they have their eyes glued on…"

Wearing our vintage misery

No, I think it looked a little better on me

He heard a faint sound from his left flank. He turned to look down into the Huntsman ring and was met with the sight of RWBY, JNPR and VLET cheering, motioning to him. What they were saying, he couldn't make out, but he could pick up their lip movements.

'Flourish' was the word on most lips.

I'm gonna change you

Like a remix…

He nodded and lifted Cadia with a shaky hand, thumbing the trigger to change it into its chainsword form as he flourished it and gunned the engine.

Cadia roared as it spun, and the crowd joined with.

He let out a shaky laugh under his breath as he let the flourish continue.

…And I'll raise you

Like a PHOENIX!

On the end of the word 'Phoenix' as the power chord in the song roared to life, he brought it to a stop, holding it in a fencing point out towards the opposite crowd as he shoved his free hand into his pocket instinctively; he grimaced as he remembered he had no satin tag to soothe his nerves this go around.

The crowd cheered as the music stopped and Oobleck's voice kicked in and a series of graphics showing him off flashed on the jumbotrons surrounding the arena.

"As Beacon Academy's resident Lone Wolf, Mr. Muller is a moderately proficient fighter in both melee and at range," he said. "But from personal testimony, what he excels at is controlling the terms of a battle with his unorthodox and brutal tactics that he has deployed in both the arena and in the field."

"Well, I wouldn't say that," he muttered to himself, "I have as much battle control as a leaf has control in a tornado."

"While not a graduate of any of the Primary Huntsman Academies," continued Port, "He has shown remarkable skill in the domain of battle, enough to net him the venerable place as Beacon's Lone Wolf!"

That seemed to get the crowd's attention, the cheering rising.

Jacob sighed. "Make me sound like a OP self-insert anymore, why don't you," he muttered under his breath.

"Indeed, Peter, but will that cunning and brutish power be enough to best the other three?"

"I have a feeling we're about to find out! And now, representing Haven Academy…"

Jacob braced up for Delia's entrance, unsure of what music she'd chosen for hers; sure, he had heard that rather than being something Remnantine it was something from his iPod, but what could—

STOMP- STOMP

CLAP!

He felt his heart skip in excitement as the pieces clicked together.

STOMP-STOMP

CLAP!

STOMP-STOMP

CLAP!

STOMP-STOMP

CLAP!

Another panel opened across the way from him, heralding her ascension. Around the theater, the stomping and clapping began to grow louder as people joined in with the tune.

"Standing at five-foot-nine, fighting out of The City of Argus… Ladies and Gentlemen, she is the golden whirlwind, the bludgeoning beauty, the Hammer of Mistral..."

Buddy, you're a boy, make a big noise

Playing in the street, gonna be a big man someday

You got mud on your face, you big disgrace

Kickin' your can all over the place, singin'—

A flash of fire erupted from the hole where Delia was ascending from. A gold and leather blur shout out, a mighty "Yeehaw!" echoing across the arena.

We will, we will rock you!

Jacob looked up as the chorus kicked in, watching Delia hang in the air for a split second, her mace having expanded into its flail form. She started to come down as she broke into a spin, golden lightning arcing off the flail head as she became a whirling wheel of lightning descending to the earth. The crowd went nuts for it through the stomping and clapping.

The wheel stopped and compacted a second before she would reach the earth. Delia landed in a crouched pose with a sound like clanking steel, Jacob's ears registering the same sound as Iron Man's landings in the first movie. Her flail had retracted into mace form again, the impact of it so strong that he swore he saw cracks in the arena, even as the electricity blasted outwards in a wave around her.

"Rey Lysander!"

The crowd went bananas as the chorus roared out and transitioned into the guitar solo finale.

Port took control. "The daughter of Darnath and Luce Lysander, Rey swings into battle bearing her signature SMG-mace and shield combo, Phalanx and Phoebus. And while like Mr. Muller she bears no Semblance, she needs none to be dangerous and powerful!"

"Boasting among the strongest Auras in her Huntsman class, Rey is a tank in the shape of a seventeen-year-old." Added Oobleck, "Her preference of explosive Dust cartridges allowing her to practically use the weapon as a jump aid as she activates it in battle!"

"Explains the superhero jump," Jacob said aloud as We Will Rock You ended on the overheads.

"Strong, fierce, no-nonsense, she is a powerful contender for the position of Alpha Wolf," Port said, "But is she strong enough to take it from Mr. Muller or the other two? I don't see anyone wanting to miss a moment of this!"

The crowd went mad with excitement as the third hole opened up. Over the loud speakers, Jacob was met with the opening chords of This Will Be the Day, that hard rock solo met with a few taps on the snare drum.

"Next up, representing Atlas Academy," began Port, "Standing at five feet and five inches of unmistakable chipperness…"

They see you as small and helpless

They see you as a just a child,

Surprised when they find out

That a warrior will soon run wild!

Prepare for your greatest moment

Prepare for your finest hour

The dream that you've always dreamed

Is suddenly about to flower!

Penny's platform rose up, but unlike Rey she stood patiently on her platform, bouncing giddily as her swords danced behind her in an elaborate display of their maneuverability, like a peacock's display but with swords that shot lasers instead of feathers. The crowds began to cheer her on too, her response being a gigantic, toothy smile and a bunch of waving into the crowd.

We are lightning

Straying from the thunder

"Please give a warm welcome to Miss Penny Polendina!"

Miracles of ancient wonder

The chorus started as she began to direct her blades, all seven of them revealing and splitting apart into a swirling kaleidoscope of fourteen blades.

This will be the day we've waited for

This will be the day we open up the door

I don't wanna hear your absolution

Hope you're ready for a revolution

Her blades danced with such flash and grace he almost could have mistaken it for a disco dance with a lethal edge. She bounced up and spun on herself, landing on her left hand as she waved back to everyone, seamlessly maneuvering to wave to Delia and him too. Both of them returned the smile, Jacob clapping at the simple but effective display while Delia gave her a look and a shake of her head in bemusement.

Welcome to a world of new solutions

Welcome to a World of Bloody Evolution

Jacob smirked at the words. Say, I wonder how that story's going with the changes in the fluff, he wondered as Penny flipped upright, only for the swords to begin to pulse with blasts of energy, keeping her up in the air as she continued to spin like a lethal mace ball.

(In time)

your heart will open minds

A story will be told

And victory is in a simple soul

Just before the music cut out, Penny stopped and dropped to the ground with a thunderous thud, her blades jamming into the ground around her as she took a stance much like Delia had, only fully on a knee and with a tensed knuckle that left a dent in the panels of her platform. She looked as if she had been the epicenter of a blade storm, an eye in a hurricane of swords that almost gave her a halo of iron around her that glowed green. The crowd went nuts for her, something that seemed to practically force the biggest, most joyful grin he had ever seen on her as she stood up easily and began to wave and bow.

"A remarkable display of her power and her mighty weapon, the Floating Array," added Oobleck. "I'm sure her father, Mr. Pietro Polendina of Atlas' Science Division, is watching now to see his darling daughter in action!"

"And just like Pietro, an exuberant and peppy personality on this one," Port added. "But don't be fooled by her smiles. Boasting a remarkable Category-6 Aura and an unusually high natural durability, Ms. Polendina is practically a walking stone wall; impossible to knock over unless you bring tools specifically for the job."

Jacob heard a giggle from Penny as she waved to the crowds. They adored her, even more than Delia, a sentiment he could sympathize with.

"But perhaps our final opponent will be the sledgehammer," Oobleck added excitedly. "As in enters our fourth Lone Wolf, and the representative of Shade Academy!"

Jacob expected an explosion of anticipatory sound, but felt his brow furrow as the sounds dropped. Overhead, the speakers roared with the deep thuds of bass drums… no, more like war drums.

The fourth panel opened to Jacob's left, opposite of Delia. No flashy movement was given as the platform began to hiss with ascension.

The sudden onset of ominous chanting started Jacob. He felt a sudden hint of worry in his heart.

"Standing six-foot-one, hailing from the Village of Blood Rock in the Kingdom of Vacuo,"

He looked around at Penny, receiving a worried look in turn. He turned to Delia, wondering what she thought.

He felt his stomach dip as the look of shock crossed her face. He furrowed his brow in an unsaid question; what was it?

"He is the long arm of the law in the wastelands of the Vacuan Desert, already well-seasoned in the ways of battle among both man and Grim alike…"

She turned to look at him and silently mouthed something to him. Somehow, he could figure out what it was she was saying from so far away… but what it was chilled him.

High Gothic!

He took a second to listen to the chanting. He picked up tidbits here and there, but none of the words made sense to him; They sounded like a jumbled, bastardized hybrid of Latin, Mandarin, Hindi, English, Russian… just something that he couldn't even begin to decipher upon first listening to it.

He blinked. I couldn't be High Gothic; High Gothic was a bastardized Latin… right?

A bright light assaulted his eyes. He blinked again reflexively as if someone was shining a laser pointer in his eyes. He turned to see what it was…

His gaze landed on the shape of an effigy carved in the shape of a hooded angel, resplendent in gold plating.

He felt his heart seize for a brief second. A hooded angel.

"Oh no…"

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we present to you… the Dark Angel of Vacuo…"

Jacob felt his knees turn to jelly as his brain began to put pieces together.

"They came as young kids… not as adults," he said to himself as a green hood and cream robes rose from the platform. A black-armored hand held aloft a gigantic cudgel in the shape of a hooded angel.

A crozius arcanum.

A strong chin stood out from beneath the hood, betraying the truth of the wielder. Eyes stared across the way into him with a crushing weight that even he could see and feel from across the way.

"…Asmodai Viridianus!"

"Oh Christ…"

Jacob stared as the Master of the Interrogator Chaplains stood across the way, no older than the rest of them… and yet far older than them by virtue of his true age.

He took a step backwards in mild terror. Penny looked between him and the Space Marine in confusion as the gears slowly turned in her head. Delia visibly paled and braced up, bringing her shield in a defensive stance as she drew her mace Phoebus back.

Jacob swallowed hard in worry even as the crowd grew even more excited. Behind him, he heard whistling. He turned to see the two teams cheering at them all in excitement. Amongst them, Yang stood up and waved directly at him before putting her hand to her mouth and blowing a kiss to him with a wink; a gesture of 'good luck' to him.

He gave her a weak chuckle and a wave with his free hand before he turned his attention back to Asmodai. In the background, Port and Oobleck had been talking, but his panic had blurred their commentary out.

"…And with that out of the way," Oobleck said, "It is time for the battle to begin! Countdown to the battle begins! Ten! Nine!"

Jacob's heart pounded in his chest as his brain raced for options. The crowd began to roar the countdown too.

"Okay… gotta fight Asmodai…"

"Five!"

"I can do this…"

"Four!"

"I—no, we can do this…"

"Three!"

"We will know no fear!"

"Two!"

"…Oh, we are so going to lose…"

"One!"

An air horn sounded.

Port took the airwaves. "Let the Vytal Tournament begin!"

---

Cliffhangers! Don't you just love them?

Yeah, now we have our member of the Dark Angels present on Remnant; you didn't think I would leave the First Legion out of this, did you? Nah, they have a lot more in stock for our protagonist, and so to the villains now that they are on the move.

In that case, I will have to leave it at that for this chapter; tune in next time when we see who wins this 1v1v1v1 Free For All. Odds are Muller is going to get thrashed, hard.

As always, reviews are welcomed, but after the last few nasty, hastily-put-together reviews have successfully gotten under my skin, I urge those who have problems with my story to voice them reasonably and civilly as possible like several other fair critiques have been that I have received; those ones I am happy to answer and happy to hear their problems with the story and work to correct my writing from there; This being my first foray into writing to a public space I know full well I am at a skill disadvantage, so I do look for guidance in how best to improve and make my story better for you and how to improve myself for the future. Regardless, I appreciate any feedback I receive from my readers and I hope this chapter and future chapters are to the liking of my readers; without your support, I would have stopped working on this a very long time ago.

And as I'm writing this, midnight has come and gone and 2020 dawns on us all. I hope to see you all in the new decade and I hope to see you all in the next chapter.

Take Care!