Updated 27/10/22
Chapter 3: What Part of Low Profile Did You Not Understand?!
"It says here our first class is, Grimm Studies," Hex said checking their schedule. Her normally open purple hair was tied in a neat ponytail that was platted to keep it in check. She wasn't the only one sporting neater hair, even Nitro made an effort to slick back his normally unruly red hair.
Team ASHN were gearing up in their dorm, still trying to adjust to their new sleep cycle, nocturnal humans aren't good for the student environment after all. The uniforms were a challenge for the short blue-eyed dragon, they had to deal with the consistent complaints that red was just not her colour.
"Do we honestly need these classes? We have practical combat experience and knowledge already." Nitro said annoyed while strapping on his boots. He wasn't an academic, in fact sitting in one spot for more than 5 minutes was his definition of physical torture. His parents said he had Attention Deficit Hyperactive discombobulation or something to that effect, he never understood what that meant all he knew was that if he was forced onto one task for extended periods of time he'd be willing to rip his own head from his shoulders. It made academics a serious challenge, one which he never intended to fight, his strengths clearly lay with his ability to smack the life out of every Grimm he came across. It was what he was born to do after all.
"Come on dude, you know we left Haven behind for a reason, it's a fresh start. If we need to abide by Ozpin's rules then so be it." Nova said pulling on his gloves and face mask. Nitro shot him the most pained expression and Nova felt honestly bad for him, the academics expected Nitro to act as if he was the same as the other students, during their first year together in Haven the red-headed boy was subject to the cruelties of the self-serving. Nitro swears he was used to it but that didn't make it any better.
"Yes, oh fearless leader." Nitro joked to which Alexandrite just lightly punched his arm. "It'll be fine man, Beacon's Professors aren't like those back at Haven." the dragon said as he fully equipped his disguise becoming Alexandrite.
"How are you so sure?"
"Call it a hunch."
"Come on boys we're already cutting it close; class starts in like five minutes." Sapphire tightened her mask and pulled the hood over her head. With the wigs covering their horns and natural hair, the hoods were just extra insurance, there was no telling if the wigs would slip off since they weren't exactly the highest of quality. Alex was pretty sure his was made of horsehair... which bothered him to no end since he met a few horse Faunus. Alex didn't completely hate his disguise, his newfound acceptance was discovered as they paraded the halls of Beacon attempting to find their class, he was garnering stares from most of the female populace and a few males. It was probably because the mask, scar, mismatched eyes, and black hair made him look like Remnant's edgiest edge lord.
The team pushed open the great oak doors, stepping into the classroom without any form of hesitation. Before them, a rather round man with a big bushy grey mustache and no beard stood lecturing the class. He wore a red button-up, navy-style shirt, and pants, both a crimson red, and the accents were gold.
"Ah you must be the new transfer students, I'm Peter Port, and I'll be your lecturer." The man said his voice gentle yet firm.
Sapphire looked around to see the full class, surprised she checked her watch, "I'm sorry Professor, we were told class started at 9 a:m, are we late?" she spoke with full politeness hoping to rectify any mistakes. She was a good diplomat after all.
"Well it is no problem as it is your first day, arriving precisely at 9:15 is ignorable. I heard you came from Haven right? The time zones are slightly different, so I assume your devices still haven't adjusted?" Professor Port inquired stealing a glance at the small girl's wristwatch.
Alexandrite looked at his scroll, indeed it said 9 a.m, "Hex I thought you were in charge of schedule keeping, we forgot to adjust time zones," he told his friend. The dark-skinned girl just huffed, "You can't expect me to remember EVERYTHING."
He sighed, "I'm sorry again Professor, this won't happen again, we'll head over to our seats now."
"Ah hold on one-moment young man," Port said causing them to stop.
"Ah everyone, attention. This is team ASHN, Alexandrite and Sapphire Lucius, Nitro, and Hex Zephyr. They are the new transfer students hand-selected by Professor Ozpin, I hope you'll treat them well." He announced to the class before turning to the team, "About those masks and hood, I'd prefer you not to wear them in class but Ozpin specifically requested you be allowed to wear at least your masks so… Off with the hoods." He pointed to Alexandrite and Sapphire who had their hoods up.
Selected by Ozpin? That's an interesting way of putting it... and why suddenly introduce us... shouldn't this be Beacon's first class for the first years? Alex's thoughts were pulled from him as the professor spoke, "My apologies if I caused a scene, most of the students here were acquainted during initiation. Can't have you being black sheep now can I?" he said as if reading the young dragon's thoughts.
Weiss felt a twinge of jealousy, they were in the same boat as her 'leader', this was the second time the headmaster of the academy had given special attention to someone, and this time it was an entire team. What made them so special? What connected them and her leader? What did they have that she didn't?
"Ah no problem sir," Alexandrite said taking off the hood to reveal his jet-black hair and Sapphire's pink hair on her end. He looked into the crowd of students and spotted eight familiar faces, teams RWBY and JNPR sat in the third and fourth row of the middle. His eyes were particularly drawn to a certain black-haired, red-hooded team leader.
She was trying to balance a book on top of a pencil, albeit an impressive feat.
"MISS ROSE! Did you hear anything I just said?" Port yelled startling the poor girl and causing her to drop her pencil, and book close behind.
"AH! Yes, professor…." She slowed down her sentence when she noticed team ASHN.
"Oh HEY ALEXANDRITE!" Ruby waved with a big grin when she noticed him standing in the front. This caused the boy in question to fidget awkwardly. "Hey Ruby," he waved back nervously, feeling the eyes of the entire class on him.
Team ASHN moved to sit in the front row of the class just in front of team RWBY, once done Professor Port began his lecture... words flying far over team ASHN's head as they realized he was simply regaling them with a tale from his childhood. Alex's boredom was interrupted by a 'psst' from behind him.
"So, we're in the same class huh?" Ruby whispered leaning down.
"Yeah, I'm surprised, I thought you guys were a year above us?" Yang asked following her sister, eyeing the team, specifically Hex who shot her a bashful smile, as if challenging Yang's innate flirtatious attitude.
"We are, we just skipped a year so we're actually the same age as you guys, well except me and Sapphire she skipped three years, I skipped two," Alexandrite commented glancing back at Ruby.
"Woah three years? That beats Ruby's record of two years." Yang said amazed. She glanced at the small girl who just covered her face, "Ah I'm nothin' special I'm just really good at studying…" she said a bit embarrassed... in reality, it was because of their master, the one who taught them how to fight. A man by the name of Randolf Wulf, who held connections to Haven Academy, helped get her in despite the immense age gap.
Weiss, Blake, and Yang simultaneously melted in awe at the adorable reaction.
"Wait so you were 14 when you started training?!" Weiss gawked at Sapphire, again another special case inside of the special cases. How could she, a Schnee be undermined in comparison to these people?
The younger girl just flushed again, "Too much attention!" Sapphire tried to cover herself with her hood.
"Don't let the shyness fool you, she's only like this now because you're new to her, but give her time." Alexandrite smiled.
The class went on for a little while but something was off, Alex could feel a wave of rising anger behind him and he had a faint idea of who it was.
He turned around just in time to see Weiss snap her pencil in half, her face the embodiment of the word 'livid'. Yikes, what's her problem? He thought.
"A true huntsman must be honorable, a true huntsman must be dependable, strategic, well-educated and wise. Who here thinks they are the embodiment of these traits?" Port said after giving a long story of one of his accomplishments.
The metaphorical kettle in Weiss' brain had finally started spewing steam, the gasket had been blown and Alex felt himself just wondering what exactly sparked this level of fury. Instantly Weiss' hand shot up, "I do sir!"
"Ah Ms. Schnee, do step forward to meet your opponent," Port said. "Woohoo! GO WEISS! Represent team RWBY!" Ruby cheered popping out flags from thin air.
Alex took a moment, observing Weiss ignore her leader and team completely, head held aloof. Are all Schnees like this? Wait... Schnee... Ruby is two years younger than her... Oh... Alex's face morphed as he came to the realization.
Weiss abruptly rose from her seat and stomped forward to the front of the class where Port had brought out a cage. The box-like cage was lined with cast iron and stainless steel. It shook and jumped about violently, the chains holding it down rattling from the motions. "Ms. Schnee you may retrieve your weapon and combat gear from your locker and return," he instructed the heiress who promptly complied. Once she returned wielding her signature rapier with a revolving dust chamber, Myrtenaster, Port began again.
"Now are you all familiar with the Boarbatusk?" Port asked, turning the class. Most students had at least encountered one Grimm before, most of them during their initiation, some had prior experience, and all of them refused to budge.
"Mr. Lucius? Since you have previous experience would you tell us?" Port asked the masked boy sitting in front. Classic Professor move, targeting the fresh blood, even though the others were also fresh blood, his team was especially new to the scene.
Nitro snickered at his friend being called out, Hex just smacked him for his stupidity, it was better him than them.
"Boarbatusk are small to medium-sized Grimm that are covered in extremely thick armor. They can attack in the form of a charge using the tusks on the front of their face, the speed of which is difficult to avoid for those not quick enough. The best way to deal with one is to get it onto its back and deliver a killing blow to its exposed underbelly." With that Alexandrite sat back down.
"Outstanding Mr. Lucius, Ms. Schnee, you will now demonstrate what he just said, prepare yourself," Port said moving to the cage.
Weiss raised Myrtenaster in preparation for the fight.
"On three,1….2….3!" he opened the cage and a severely angered Boarbatusk burst out. Its red glowing eyes thirsting for blood.
Weiss was a little unnerved by the sheer violent aura it was letting off, she stumbled back a bit but composed herself. "Weiss look out!" Ruby called seeing the heiress standing stiff.
It charged at her with blinding speed but she barely managed to dodge it, anger flaring at being told what to do.
"Get its underbelly!" Ruby called out
"Shut up! I know what to do!" she angrily yelled. Concentrating she summoned a black glyph on the floor representing gravity. With that, she launched the Boarbatusk into the air and stabbed its underside.
Glyphs? Interesting…must be here semblance. Alex reasoned; the Grimm dissipated into black smoke leaving almost no trace it had been there.
"Excellent work miss Schnee," Port commended her as she strut proudly back to her seat.
She turned her head away from her leader who was trying to cheer her on. God what a bitch was the first thing that popped into Alexandrite's head.
"Now would anyone like to step up? I have one more Boarbatusk here and we do have a little time before class ends." Port was rummaging through his books to see if he wanted to cover anything else. Sapphire was a little annoyed by the heiress' actions. Were the Schnees really so determined to establish themselves better than everyone else? It was one thing to participate in class, but that was by no means wrong. The thing that irritated the little blue girl was that she did it to spite her leader, she could feel the sheer animosity emanating from the heiress, that level of self-absorption was not good for a team. Her body moved on instinct as if saying that someone needed to put her in her place.
Her hand shot up from the front row, "Ah yes Ms. Lucius, outstanding!" he said before bringing out the second cage. AHN felt their eyes simultaneously bulge, the very same girl who was complaining about too much attention was now well... attracting too much attention. "Saph what are you doing?!" Hex hissed.
The girl in question just firmly stood up and said nothing. Nitro just shrugged, looking to Alex who had the same look on his face, a level of understanding that only the emotionally in tune could perceive.
The two humans just shook their heads with a simultaneous thought, Ugh... dragons...
The small girl in blue made her way up to the front, her cotton candy pink hair standing out from her color scheme. She prepared her weapon, a small handle in her hand, polished and smooth, it was deep blue in color.
"Is she gonna fight with that stick?" Yang whispered to team ASHN.
"That's her weapon Galaxia…you'll see," Nitro said smugly.
Yang just turned to her team and shrugged.
Weiss observed with her head held high, clearly, no one would outdo her display of combat prowess.
Sapphire held onto the small handle and readied herself, breathing in deeply trying to calm her emotions before her powers accidentally flared out of control, how would she explain tables and chairs being flung across the room to a professor that knew her semblance?
"Alright, Ms. Lucius, on three, 1…2…3!" And just like before a Boarbatusk rocketed out of the cage, this time it seemed…bigger.
"Um, Professor is it supposed to be that big?" Jaune called out from the third row a little concerned for the small girl.
"It's quite alright, this one just happens to be an alpha, size doesn't mean everything you know, the tactics are quite the same." He fiddled with his mustache.
Indeed, Sapphire looked incredibly small in comparison to the beast that stood nearly as tall as Port.
It charged at Sapphire with an incredible burst of speed. "KID LOOK OUT!" Nora yelled seeing Sapphire making no attempt to dodge.
Sapphire smirked, just as the beast was about to barrel into her, she ducked under and clicked a button on her handle, a tall pole shot out launching the beast skyward. The pole had glowing blue ends like an energy staff but solid as if the metal was vibrating, much like Alexandrite's sword, she grasped the pole with both hands and twisted causing the top end to unfurl into a great battle axe with one large end and a smaller back end.
With incredible power she launched herself up to the disabled beast and uppercut it, from the underbelly, hooking it and sending it down to the floor. It dissipated into black smoke like the last one as Sapphire let Galaxia rest on her shoulders, the massive axe contrasting her small frame.
Jaune's mouth was open, just like Weiss and Ruby, Pyrrha was quite impressed as well.
"What the… Did she just…" Jaune was at a loss, a small girl was wielding a weapon almost twice her size with ease.
"Yeah…she did," Yang said with a fist pump, "YOU GO, GIRL!".
"Ms. Lucius that was magnificent! Where did you learn to fight like that?" Port asked as clapped. Something about the small girl charmed everyone to no end.
She rubbed the back of her neck bashfully and stared at the floor in embarrassment under the attention, "M-My brother…" she said softly.
All eyes in the room turned on Alexandrite who made an attempt to duck under the desk.
"I'm afraid that will be all for class today. Be sure to cover the assigned readings and stay vigilant! Class dismissed." Port said as everyone took up the queue to pack up their notes. Weiss on the other hand huffed and walked off.
"Yeesh, what's her problem," Jaune commented observing from behind team RWBY who just glanced at themselves.
As all the students filtered out of the class Ruby made an attempt to cheer on Weiss who looked a little off-kilter having her spotlight stolen by the new girl. "Good job out there Weiss! That was really great!"
The girl in white just turned up her nose and stormed off leaving Ruby to chase after her. Alex followed suit out of the class stopping just before he rounded the corner and spotting the red leader and her partner.
"Weiss!" Ruby called out causing the heiress to stop in her tracks.
"What?!" came the incredibly angry response.
"What's wrong with you? Why are you being so-" Ruby's concerned interrogation was cut off when Weiss countered her question with one of her own.
"What's wrong with me?! What's wrong with you?! You're supposed to be a leader and all you've been so far is a nuisance!" she exploded on the innocent Ruby. Alex felt his heartache when he saw the absolutely crushed look on the girl's face, the look was brief as Ruby instantly masked it with a snort and responded, "Me?! What did I do?"
"That's just it!" the heiress continued to fume, "You've done nothing to earn your position. Back in the forest, you acted like a child and you've only continued to do so. The other day, that weapon shop? Your very existence seems to contradict what being a Huntress is supposed to be!"
Every word that came out of the Schnee's mouth was like a knife embedding itself into Ruby's spine, dampening her normally cheerful spirit with every blow, still, the leader pressed on determined not to give in.
"Where is this coming from? What happened to all that talk about working together? I thought you believed in acting as a team. I thought we were actually becoming friends..." Ruby offered out.
Weiss approached her closing the gap a little and staring directly into the hurt leader's eyes, "Not a team led by you." the words came out like an executioner's axe dealing the final blow to a defenseless target. "I've studied and worked hard and quite frankly I deserve better. Ozpin made a mistake." such was the final nail in the coffin once the body had been laid to rest. Weiss stormed off and Ruby's facade crumbled like a poorly baked oatmeal cookie... no one likes oatmeal cookies...
Alex was about to rush out there and comfort the girl, every instinct in his body was yearning to protect that precious face from shedding tears but someone interrupted them. Professor Ozpin stepped onto the scene as if on queue, coffee mug and all. "Well that didn't seem to go too well," he input, his expression hardly budging even upon seeing Ruby's face.
"W-Was she, right? Did you make a mistake?" Ruby asked her voice cracking as she glanced up at the headmaster.
"... That remains to be seen," his words were uncomforting yet... oddly fitting.
"Mr. Lucius, eavesdropping is usually frowned upon," he said casually walking away. Ruby wiped away her eyes quickly, emitting a light sniffle. Alex sighed heavily and came out of his hiding spot, "Heyyy Ruby..." he offered awkwardly.
"You saw that?" she asked already knowing his answer.
"Unfortunately yes..."
"You must think I'm a pathetic excuse for a leader huh?" she rubbed her arm and clutched it in some desperate attempt to hold herself together.
Alex awkwardly placed a hand on her shoulder, "Not in the slightest."
Ruby sniffled again but glanced upward to his eyes confused, "What? But your team respects you... they seem to trust and follow you unconditionally."
"Ruby... it wasn't always like this. I've fought alongside them for an entire year, respect isn't something you just get. It's something you earn." he said retracting his arm causing Ruby to stare further.
Alex rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, trying to figure out how to make her feel better. "If it... makes you feel any better... Nitro was the same way when I first met him... and that was because he was the team leader and I later took his place due to some... unfortunate circumstances..." he said being as vague as possible.
"R-really?! How did you get him to... well you know... follow you?" she asked hopefully.
"It's not that simple Ruby. You need to earn Weiss's respect over time, prove to her that Ozpin didn't make a mistake," he said feeling weirdly happy that he was garnering respect from Ruby as well.
"How?" came the short question.
"That's for you to figure out... that being said she also needs to meet you halfway, and give you a chance," he explained. Ruby thought on it for a moment, most of her sadness gone.
"Okay... I think I get it... thanks, Alex!" she said rushing off and disappearing leaving Alex to stare at the empty spot.
You know... I could go talk to Weiss too since...
Nope, not gonna do it. I am not going to stick my neck out to fix someone else's problem... Alex said in his mind wandering to the possibilities.
But she's your friend, they're technically all supposed to be friends. His conscience contested.
Nuh-uh, not this time, what part of low profile do you not understand the rational part of his brain countered.
Alright, suit yourself came the ominously vague reply.
Am I seriously arguing with myself? Yup, I've gone insane.
The rest of team ASHN who had recently caught up with their leader just looked on confused at the boy who was staring silently at an empty spot his face contorting into different expressions. After a few failed attempts to move him, they just carried on with their lives.
Despite his inner turmoil and decision earlier, fate had other plans.
It was late in the night when Alexandrite found himself out on one of the balconies, and low and behold he met the last person he expected, Weiss Schnee sat there looking thoughtfully out at the night sky. Really?! After I specifically said no?! Okay, universe if this is what you want...
"Weiss?" he approached her hoping not to startle her, he didn't want this conversation but a part of his mind wanted to pick a bone with the heiress for hurting Ruby.
She looked up from her thoughts, scanning the area, her eyes landing on Alexandrite.
"Oh hey, didn't expect to see you here," she said her voice lacking the general stuffy attitude.
"I was gonna ask you the same thing, what's up?" he asked knowing exactly why she was moping, but deciding to be deliberately obtuse.
"Nothing you need to be concerned about," she said with a bit of fury returning.
"Hmm? Well my business or not I know that look, you got something on your mind, and judging by your attitude in class earlier I'd say you got a problem with Ruby." He said staring at the girl.
Her eyes went wide, "How did… you're too observant for your own good," she turned red.
"It's a habit, that helps you stay alive in the field. So, you gonna talk or am I going to have to ditch you to suffer in silence while I grab a glass of water?" he folded his arms, he was getting better at lying.
She was silent for a few seconds before finally relenting.
"Ugh, it's just that Ozpin chose Ruby as a team leader. All my life I've been trained for this, worked hard, studied for this but he chooses her. What does she have that I don't, I have better grades, better logical deduction and I'm certainly no airhead… Why couldn't I be the leader... or at least have a leader like you?" she folded her arms and crouched to the floor, leaning her head on her knees that were folded to her chest. This is where she was now, venting her frustrations to someone who was in the same category as the source of her frustrations. His only saving grace was that he appeared to be the very definition of a mature leader.
"I don't think Ozpin is the type to make wrong decisions." He commented after a pause, attempting to traverse the minefield that lay before him. He had brownie points for being respected in her eyes, the only thing now was to choose his words carefully.
"What do you mean of course he probably…" she wanted to continue but Alexandrite interjected.
"Weiss, would the headmaster of the most prestigious Huntsman academy this side of Remnant, one of the most highly qualified, experienced, and accomplished individuals make a mistake like that?" he said with a raised eyebrow. Weiss almost felt stupid for questioning it in the first place when he explained it like that.
"While you might have better academics, Ruby has a charisma about her that draws people in, she looks like the type to plan in battle and make decisions on the fly, am I wrong?" He asked. The heiress just shook her head negatively, "No you're not wrong but that still doesn-" Alex cut her off again.
"She seems to have a cheerful attitude that inspires team morale and her overall friendliness makes it easier to work together. I haven't known her long and even I can tell that she is a natural-born leader. Weiss these are all qualities you fail to possess, a team needs a leader, not a boss that thinks they know better than everyone else." he explained calmly, hoping he hadn't just accidentally triggered a bomb.
"How dare you?!..." came the response that made the disguised dragon flinch. Whoops... probably took it too far, well only one way to go now...
"I'm right, aren't I? My advice? Give Ruby a chance, adapt to her and she'll adapt to you. I'm sure you'll find her more than capable as both a leader and a friend." Alexandrite finished, bracing himself for another outburst that never came. The heiress simmered down, looking genuinely thoughtful. Seizing the opportunity he pressed further.
"How old do you think I am?" he asked the heiress with a raised eyebrow.
"18? 19? I don't know…" Weiss tried guessing.
"I'm sixteen Weiss, I started training when I was fifteen, same as Ruby, age doesn't define your skill, paper qualifications don't determine how you perform in the real world. Only actions can prove it, so give Ruby a chance to prove herself." Alex reiterated finally sealing the deal.
"Fine…. I'll…I'll give her a shot." She relented after a bit. Alex mentally patted himself on the back, he was getting really good at this diplomacy thing.
Smiling to himself Alexandrite took his leave, "Good night Ice princess."
"Don't call me that!" she yelled back as he disappeared into the darkness. "Odd guy… he's so mysterious I can't read him." She muttered to herself.
The students were filed into a rather gray and near monochrome room. A single-round metal arena stood in the center. The students gathered around while Professor Goodwitch stood atop, giving the introduction of her class.
During combat class the next day, Alex observed a sudden change in the relationship between Weiss and her team. Granted she still seemed the usual bitchy self but, there were subtle differences, like her actively making attempts to encourage her teammates and support Ruby who looked several hundred times better than the last time he saw her.
The class was located in the school's arena, apparently, students would spar, train or settle disputes here often, usually under the guidance of an instructor... usually... The school could only account for so many of the burn marks, scratches, and dents in their grey steel arena, which oddly posed a Roman Colosseum style of the stage to seating arrangements.
"As most of you know already, I am Professor Goodwitch, I will be in charge of your combat training for the next year. Your aura levels will be monitored throughout the course of the sessions and by tournament standard, once your opponent's aura drops into the red you are declared the winner." She said, her riding crop resting against her left thigh as she folded her arms.
"Do I make myself clear?" She reiterated, glaring daggers at the student body. A resounding yes ma'am was heard. "Good, the first match will be…" She took a moment to glance at her student roster, "Blake Belladonna and Nitro Zephyr, combatants, please step forward and prepare yourselves."
"WOOH GO BLAKE! Show 'em what team RWBY's made of!" Ruby yelled to Blake as she entered on the stage. The black-haired girl was seemingly unaffected by her teammates' cheers, but that's just how she chose to portray herself.
"Come on Nitro, show her that team ASHN aint slouches!" Alex yelled out, which seemed rather out of character for the normally silent and serious leader, at least to everyone except Ruby and his team.
Alex just coughed into his fist when he realized the attention, "Ahem… I mean, fight well." He said recomposing himself. Team RWBY and JNPR felt a sweat drop.
Nitro flexed his arms outward shaking them, his chrome bracelets, Atomizer, locking around his wrists. Blake readied Gambol Shroud and stared down her opponent.
"Don't tell me you plan on going easy on me because I'm a girl," Blake taunted seeing him still warming up.
"No worries, I'm a firm believer of gender equality, just ask Hex, I think I've sucker-punched her at least four times in the last month." Nitro snickered, as an angry Hex was restrained in the stands by her leader whilst mouthing off a string of profanities that would get her arrested in some countries.
"Alright students, on my mark….. BEGIN!" Glynda initiated the fight.
Nitro's bracelets expanded and grew into gauntlets that covered his entire arm, they were entirely chrome with glowing blue electric veins running along it. What looked like a side fin popped out of the sides of each arm.
"Fancy weapon you have there... what're those fins for?" Blake asked eyeing her opponent.
Nitro smirked, "Allow me to demonstrate," and with that, he vanished in the blink of an eye.
Blake was caught off guard, her eyes scanned her surroundings but met with nothing, it wasn't until she was blindsided by a steel fist crashing into her side that she realized where he was. If not for her heightened senses, she would not have been able to pull up her guard in time, the force of the impact sent her barreling across the arena.
Nitro relaxed his stance and hopped up and down on each leg, like a boxer. "Come on Blake, was that too fast for you?". The black-haired girl got back up and dusted herself off, that one blow had already dropped her aura into the yellow.
"WHAT WAS THAT?! He disappeared!" Weiss yelled out.
"Boooo! Cheap shot! Illegal move! Where's the ref?" Yang started saying throwing up her hands in the air comically.
"There are no illegal moves other than disobeying my instructions Ms. Xiao Long," Glynda said harshly causing the blonde to seat herself.
"That's Nitro's weapon, Atomizer. The fins on his forearms act as jet thrusters, they can provide short to lengthy, and small to powerful bursts that can propel him forward and add force to his punches." Alex said folding his arms smugly.
"I've seen what small jet engines can do, there's no way it's powerful enough to make him faster than I can blink." Weiss pointed out, her face contorting in confusion, trying to recall her observances of Atlas tech.
"Right you are ice princess. While the thrusters are strong, what really gives him the edge is his semblance. I'm surprised he's using it, he must not want to pull any punches, then again holding back would go against his discipline as a warrior." Alex rubbed his masked chin.
"What the hell is his semblance? Speed? Like Ruby?" Weiss asked again, her academic mind working a mile a minute.
"I don't know if you caught it, but I saw his movements pretty well when he lifted off his feet looked as though they glided right off the ground… Like it was still touching the floor but he didn't use any leg force to move himself…" Ruby said now seriously concentrating on the match.
Team JNPR who sat behind them looked even more confused now, well Ren wasn't exactly paying attention while Pyrrha's mind was solving the equation in her mind.
"No force…. Gliding… IT'S FRICTION! His semblance is friction!" Pyrrha exclaimed proudly.
Alex smiled, "Well done, Pyrrha, his semblance allows him to control the friction factor of anything he touches, including the ground beneath his feed. By reducing the friction of his legs to the surface, using minimal leg force and the jet thrusters, he is able to hit inhuman speeds."
"But that's impossible! To be able to fight by simultaneously manipulating your semblance and weapon to such a degree... a single mistake could mess up everything! You would have to have the mental fortitude of a god!" the white-haired girl gawked.
Hex laughed, "Weiss, my bro might not be the smartest person in the world, but he is the most attentive, he can observe and control to a degree that would put machines to shame."
"Indeed, he seems to be quite the fighter." Pyrrha acknowledged.
The fight between the two didn't last much longer. Blake used her semblance multiple times to try and time Nitro's attacks, she would catch him out by using her shadows to draw his attention while she struck from behind. Unfortunately for her, Nitro's reaction speed and battle sense were far superior to hers, and she lost by a landslide.
"Don't feel bad Blake. This was just a sparring match and you put up an incredible fight. You forced me to try my hardest and that's something to be proud of," Nitro said extending his arm to Blake for a handshake. While she didn't like being talked down to, it felt like he was trying to be genuinely sportsman-like rather than arrogant and rude.
Blake did something rather out of character and smiled. She shook his hand, "It was a good fight, I look forward to our next."
"Yes yes, sportsmanship is good but we must move on to the next battle. Cardin Winchester and Jaune Arc, you're up next." Glynda said pushing up her glasses.
The two leaders stepped up to the arena and faced off, Cardin, holding an extremely smug look on his face as Jaune gulped. The fight didn't last very long, Jaune's lack of physical strength and technique was evident from the very beginning.
Jaune held up his shield to block as the massive mace of Winchester came smacking into it knocking the blonde boy over. Jaune lay sprawled on the floor as Cardin reared his mace above his head ready to smash it over the disarmed blonde when Professor Goodwitch stopped the fight.
"And this concludes the duel. Mr. Arc's aura has now dropped into the red, under tournament standards he would now be ineligible to fight. Remember the level of your aura will help you decide whether it is good to attack or move to a more defensive strategy," she finished giving Jaune a scrutinizing gaze.
Jaune sat dejectedly on the floor staring at his blinking red aura meter, sighing to himself at the crushing defeat.
Alex gritted his teeth as he watched Jaune barely limp away. Cardin spared no expense in attacking the boy and he felt as though he was trying to kill Jaune. Cardin's overall disregard for common courtesy and sportsmanship made his skin crawl. People like that don't belong as huntsmen, they belong in jail.
"For our final match for today, since we are pressed for time, will be voluntary, Do any students wish to come up here? You have thirty seconds to answer before I dismiss you all." Glynda pushed up her glasses as she looked over the student body seeking her volunteer. Nova was about to shoot up his hand when Hex held him back, with a shake of her head.
Instead, Hex's hand shot up, "I would like to Professor!".
"Ah Ms. Zephyr, who would like to face off against her?" Glynda scanned the room again before Hex spoke up.
"Actually Professor, I'd like to fight Cardin!" Hex said, a smug look on her features.
Goodwitch turned to Cardin, "Mr. Winchester, do you accept her challenge?".
The large boy flexed his muscles and raised his mace, "Sure why not…" he said with a sinister smirk.
Hex just rolled her eyes at his feeble attempt at intimidation. She walked up the arena and drew her short sword, Eres, and her hooked blade, Loki. The Eres was a gold and purple sword that had a subtle curvature to the golden blade, the hilt and back of the blade were purple, and snakes encircled the guard which resembled an apple. Loki was a golden and purple sword with a straight vertical edge up until three-quarters up, where it bent forward at a ninety-degree angle to form a hook. What was the most interesting part about the two weapons was that each had a long chain connecting the two, and unusually long handles.
"You know... you're not that bad to look at...how 'bout you ditch that wimpy-looking leader you have there and hang out with me. I could show you what a real man is like." Cardin said as she got into his battle stance, his words were like that of a stereotypical asshole, it made Hex wonder if he even was a real person given that generic line.
"Sorry gorilla, but I don't swing that way. Besides, with that attitude, and that face? I doubt even beowolves find you attractive." Hex smiled. This comment earned a snicker of laughter from the front-row students who heard.
Cardin's face went red with rage, "I think I take back what I said earlier... you're just a bitch!", he yelled as he charged at her with what he thought was a good speed.
Hex just laughed and stood stock still, "You think? That's rich!" her taunts accompanied by her roaring laughter seemed to fuel the large boy's speed.
"HEX WATCH OUT!" Yang yelled as she looked on nervously. Hex still made no attempt to move, and just stood there laughing as Cardin's mace came crashing into… nothing?
His mace went right through her like she was thin air.
"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!" Cardin spun around to see Hex behind him, Eres hanging loosely from its chain. Before Cardin could react, Hex spun the short sword with the chain and threw it at Cardin with blinding speed.
The boy made a last-ditch effort to block but the chain that he expected to collide with the mace, instead, wrapped itself around his weapon completely disarming him when Hex pulled on the chain. Eres came to rest back in her left hand.
"What're you gonna do without this now huh?" She said dropping Cardin's mace on the floor.
Cardin roared and made a mad dash to his weapon but Hex hopped in the air over his head and threw Loki, using both Cardin and the weapon's momentum she wrapped the chain around his torso and held him back. Just out of arm's reach of his weapon.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, so impatient. Kids who are naughty get the shock treatment." She smiled sadistically as an electric charge shot out of her blade handle along the chain, roasting Cardin. Yang was thoroughly impressed, the purple-haired girl before her was displaying combat of sheer elegance and complete manipulation. Hex was purposely trying to humiliate him and very much succeeded.
His aura instantly depleted into the yellow, just above red. Glynda would have called the match but in the few seconds between Cardin trying to recover from the stun, Hex leaped into the air and connected the handles of Loki and Eres, forming a double-bladed glaive, and came striking down onto Cardin. She adjusted the impact of her strike so it didn't impale him but rather slammed the handle onto his head knocking him out.
"And for the record, My leader is infinitely better than you. If you couldn't beat me then you won't even be able to beat his sister." Hex huffed and walked off.
"…. That's match. Well done Ms. Zephyr, it seems Mr. Winchester went unconscious from shock and will be escorted to the infirmary." Glynda pushed up her glasses.
"Students don't forget the Vytaal festival will be coming up soon, and students from the other kingdoms will be attending. Those who choose to participate in the fighting tournament will be representing all of Vale."
"THAT WAS INCREDIBLE!" Yang said jumping forward and high-fiving Hex.
"What was that thing you did when Cardin attacked you and he hit nothing?" Nora asked genuinely curious.
"Ah, that was my invention, Portable Holographic Projector, or PHP for short." She said holding out a tiny cube in her hand the size of a matchbox. "I mainly use these to fool my opponents."
"Impressive moves, I think you damaged his pride, that's earned you some serious respect from me," Yang smiled and patted her on the back.
"T-Thanks…" Hex said a little blush rising, it was like receiving a compliment from a fellow alpha, a sense of pride that was overflowing.
"And Nitro, you were so fast, like wooosh and wapow! I wanna race you some time, who's faster, your weapon or my semblance." Ruby smiled happily.
"Sure thing kiddo, one day," Nitro laughed as he folded his arms.
AANNDD that's chapter 3. A great deal bigger than it was originally. I do apologize if any of the original RWBY cast seemed OOC but I write their interactions based on how I see them act in my head. If you're wondering when the actual plot is going to kick in, just be patient, Rome wasn't built in a day.
