Chapter IX: All the King's Men
The fire and ice duo finally reached their friends, glad that the match was at last over.
"Well that was the worst thing ever" groaned Yang, plopping down next to her sister.
"I think you both did quite well" argued Pyrrha politely.
"Weiss did, but I didn't" the blonde huffed in annoyance, folding her arms. "All that girl did was run around like a pussy, and went down with a single hit when I was finally able to get her. So fucking annoying."
"I see what you did there" commented Sun, grinning at her pun.
"Oh Gods, thanks for reminding me. She started making puns, and I think she even hit on me."
"Now you know our pain" Blake sighed, holding her hands up as if she were receiving a blessing from the heavens. The others began to laugh, but Yang was not willing to take that sitting down.
"Listen here, I tell great puns. Hers were awful."
"They are all awful, Yang" interjected Weiss.
"You be quiet. Don't think I didn't hear you making puns out there. I'm proud of you, by the way."
"Those were not puns. Those were appropriately themed musical retorts" defended the heiress, which in all fairness, was indeed true. Of course the others were too in shock from Yang's revelation, so they did not pay any attention to Weiss' defense.
"Weiss made puns, Blake..." whimpered Ruby in fear, clutching onto her teammate's arm. "The world is ending...we need to run..."
"Where are we going to go?" the Cat Faunus asked, actually amused by her captain's reaction.
"I don't care, just very far away from here..."
"Fuck me" swore the blonde, shaking her head in disbelief. "Bunch of primadonnas over here."
While the Huntsmen-in-training had a good laugh at the elder Xiao Long's expense, Neptune chose to focus on the young upper-class woman who had seated herself next to him. He could tell that something was bothering her, despite her claiming a decisive victory over Flynt Coal. He'd been unable to hear their conversations, but he had seen their faces clearly enough, thus he was fairly certain their exchanges had been unpleasant.
"You OK?" he asked softly, taking her hand.
Weiss sigh, squeezing his hand and looked at him with her light blue eyes. Instantly Neptune could see that they matched the frustrated expression she had on her face, thus confirming his suspicions.
"I'm alright. I took care of it."
"Was it something he said?" the Vacuan lieutenant continued, referring to Flynt.
"...Yes and no. It's...just a continuation of general assumptions made by people who know nothing about me or my family. It's fine, I'm used to it."
Neptune frowned a little, and brought up her hand, kissing it. He only partially understood what she was referring to, remembering the conversation they had the day before, but he nevertheless wanted to be as comforting as possible.
"If ever you want to talk about it, I'm here, Snow Angel" he said softly. Weiss blushed, sensing how much he meant those words, and was deeply touched by them.
"Thank you" she whispered, causing him to smile and deepen her blush.
"Right then" began Sun, cracking his fingers by interlacing them and extending his arms. "Who's up next do you think? Only four teams left and two of them are sitting on the same bench."
"Looks like we're about to find out" added Jaune, noticing that the holoscreen had changed to the digital roulette, and began to spin through the remaining teams. After a couple of seconds, it rested on two.
"And the next match will be between Penny Polendina and Ciel Soleil of Ýdalir Academy, and Russell Thrush and Sky Lark of Beacon Academy!" announced Port, causing the Atlassians to cheer, eager to recover from the previous lose.
"Go Penny!" shouted Ruby, jumping to her feet in excitement.
"How the fuck did those chumps make it through the Teams Round?" asked Yang, which was the question that everyone had been thinking since yesterday.
"Even a blind squirrel finds a nut" offered Jaune with a shrug, having not even the slightest interest in cheering for his fellow classmates.
"So if they are fighting...then that means..." Sun said slowly, turning to his right to look at Pyrrha and Nora, his eyes and smile widening with fiery anticipation. "Oh this is gonna be fuuuuuuun." He then looked over to Jaune and Ren. "Boys, I hope you can forgive us for having to kick your girlfriends' assess."
Ren and Nora blushed at the Vacuan captain's words, which always amused their friends to see.
"It's a tournament, these things are to be expected, so don't worry about it" reassured the other blond.
"You sure? No hard feelings?"
Jaune smirked. "If you can actually land a hit on Pyrrha, I'd consider that a feat worthy of praise, cuz she isn't losing to you or anyone. Good luck."
The Monkey Faunus grinned with excitement, very much appreciating the green light.
"You're mine, Nikos!"
"I look forward to the match" replied Pyrrha with a smile, genuinely feeling her competitive fire being ignited.
"Wait, so I have to go up against the girl that absorbs and generates lightning?" asked Neptune incredulously. The ginger in question grinned wildly, sticking her tongue out playfully as an arch of pink electricity jumped off the tip.
"You wanna go up against Nikos, then?" Sun retorted, equally dubious. The lieutenant looked between the two girls of Team JNPR before letting out a defeated sigh.
"I'll have to come up with a good counter strategy, I guess. Seriously though, you lucked out didn't you, Valkyrie? First you fought Nolan, and now me."
"At least your weapon's cool" she replied honestly. "Who fights with a cattle prod?"
"We've been wondering that since our Oscuro days" Sun admitted. "You've got to be resourceful in Vacuo, so maybe that's what he settled on."
"Or just get a sword and call it a day" Sage remarked, joined by Scarlet spinning Skullbuster whilst tapping the pommel of Midnight Star.
"I'm sure you taught them a valuable lesson by punting them out of the ring" the red-haired Vacuan said almost condescendingly, getting a laugh out of the others.
Jaune chuckled at his friends, and was glad to see that Pyrrha was genuinely smiling, as well as looking forward to her match. It was then that his eyes caught of glimpse of something familiar; or rather, someone. On the Mistral side of the Coliseum, the blond saw the team of four boys who had confronted him at the fairgrounds. It then clicked in his mind what they were doing there, and he began to laugh.
"What's so funny?" asked Ren.
"Look over at the Mistral side" pointed Jaune. "You see that team on the far right? All dudes?"
"Yes?"
"Those are the assholes that tried to start a fight at the fairgrounds before the tournament. The guy third to the right is their captain. I broke his nose because of it, and I was hoping to face him again at some point. I guess I was so distracted yesterday, that I forgot they fought and lost."
"Wait what?" asked Nora, with the others all turning to look at the blond swordsman in shock, as none had been told of this beforehand. "You broke his nose?"
"There was...an altercation" explained Pyrrha, slightly nervous from how intently everyone was focusing on them. "It was nothing major."
"He called Pyrrha a whore" Jaune spat, by no means over his resentment of having his woman's honour besmirched. Suddenly Nora and Weiss were on their feet, glaring with murderous anger at the other Mistralese, appearing as if they were about to vault over the railing and start a fight.
"You think I can hit them with Magnhild from here?" asked the enraged hammeress, quite serious in her implication that she would try it.
"Not only do I not believe you will hit them" Ren expressed, though it was clear in his tone of voice that he was not fond of his teammate being called such a derogatory word, "I am fairly certain that you would instead hit the spectators. And that would only be the case if the Coliseum's shields were not active, which they are."
"Well then I'll go around!" she announced, and was about to bolt to the stairway, but was halted by her green clad crush. "Let me go, Ren!"
"No. You'll get both yourself and Pyrrha disqualified if you attack them." That caused Nora to freeze and realize he was right.
"It was a miracle in and of itself that we weren't after what happened in the first place" admitted the redhead, feeling humbled by how quickly her friends were ready and willing to fight for her. "I was hoping that I wouldn't escalate to violence, but Jaune...put his foot down when the taunting turned to me."
"Good" added Yang with a nod, who was joined by the others. "You did the right thing."
"Well...yes, but he didn't exactly use that word..."
"But that was what he meant" argued Jaune correctly.
"Yes but–"
"There are no buts in this situation" cut in Sun, with a much more serious expression on his face than he usually did. "If some prick said that about Blake in my presence, I'd break both his legs."
That was obviously an even greater escalation than what Jaune had done, but at least amongst the boys, as well as Weiss, it still seemed reasonable. For the girls, Blake felt her cheeks warm greatly, as hearing Sun proclaim he was willing to defend her honour so strongly, made her heart skip a beat. Nora on the other hand, turned to look at the blond Faunus and smirked smugly, raising her fist up to him.
"I like you" she said, earning a grin back and a fist bump.
"So are we cheering for your classmates?" Sage asked, bringing everyone's attention to the mach at hand.
"No" the Beaconites all sounded off in unison. Cardin's team would remain ostracized for as long as they were still bullies and wouldn't apologize for their previous actions.
"We will be cheering for Ruby's friend" announced Weiss definitively. "Also, she's from Atlas, so I can cheer for my countrymen without guilt."
The others nodded in agreement, and looked to the arena eagerly as the match began.
λΛλ
In the skybox, the Huntmasters were watching the match as well, both feeling the final grains of sand falling to the bottom of the hourglass. Ozpin and Ironwood were equally aware that the match would be a quick one, and possibly leaving the outcome of the tournament in the hands of their enemies. They had meticulously crafted a plan to deal with the invaders, but it needed all the pieces to be in play to work. With the new location of Adam Taurus' forces secured, they could plan accordingly to defend the city from within. However, Cinder and her lackeys were currently on the board, and while they did have a plan to deal with them without putting the civilians at risk, without Qrow pulling his weight, they were dead in the water.
Suddenly, Ozpin's Scroll vibrated, causing the silver-haired Huntmaster to look at it. Reading the message that had been sent, he smiled in relief.
Q: Bagged the rabbits. On my way up to the skybox.
The head of the Order quickly typed a response.
O: Well done. I'll be in the private dining room.
Ozpin rose to his feet as he put his Scroll away in his inside breast pocket. Ironwood looked up at his colleague with reserved hope.
"Was that him?" he asked.
"Yes it was" Ozpin replied with a smile. "I assured you he would pull through."
The General sighed in relief and took a sip of his whiskey.
"Punch the bastard for taking his sweet ass time for me, would you?"
Ozpin chuckled as he briskly walked out of the skybox, exiting from the end of the bar into the hall, and began to walk towards a pair of oak double doors. He opened them to reveal a lovely dining room, filled with paintings, tapestries, and many other antiquities. There was a long mahogany table with a dozen high back chairs, upholstered with beautiful red leather, and golden studs. In the corner was a small but well stocked minibar, filled with a wide assortment of spirits from across Remnant. The floors were also made of old wood, and were covered in impressively stitched rugs, making the dining room appear as if it were from another age. The Huntmaster took a moment to enjoy the slight pause, feeling a desire to seat himself in one of the comfortable chairs, and begin reading one of the many books he had been desperately wishing to delve into. Perhaps he would indulge in such a luxury after they had defeated their foes; Gods willing.
He then heard a knock at the door, and beckoned for the knocker to enter, already certain of who it was. Of course it was indeed Qrow, looking only slightly worse for wear, accompanied by a party of the eight other Huntsmen. They were all well built men in their early twenties, impeccably dressed with clothes dyed in eye-catching colours. On Ozpin's left were four men dressed in variations of the Cavalier attire. They all wore knee high boots, leather gloves, wide brim beaver Cavalier hats with a single large feather in them, well stitched arming doublets, and suede breeches. On their shoulders were capelets, though allowing their dominant side exposed, and had a quick-release hook if ever the need to remove the garment in a hurry occurred. They were all armed with stunningly crafted rapiers with swept hilts, along with modified rifled muskets on their backs, and flintlock pistols at their non-sword hip. There was a clear uniformity to their clothing, something of a rarity when it came to Huntsmen teams. It appeared that they took more from the doctrine of the military than of Huntsmen, as despite being training and deployed in teams of four, each member was a unique individual.
That being said, each of the four Huntsmen did have differentiating features. On the far right was a handsome young man with shoulder length dark-brown hair, matching eyebrows and anchor beard and mustache, standing at 6'5". The feather in his hat was a crimson red, which complimented the pieces of crimson coloured silk incorporated in his doublet, as well as the sash that was partially tucked into his sword belt. His left hand, which naturally rested on the hilt of his sword, was gauntleted up to the elbow in azure-blue painted metal trimmed with gold. To his right was a young man about his stature, with silver tipped black hair that past his shoulders, and was tied in a thick braid. He had a handlebar mustache and chin puff beard coloured in the same manner, which complimented the grey feather in his hat, as well as the silver religious pins attached to his doublet. His eyes were a calming aqua, which amplified his soothing demeanor. The third Huntsman was a burly man with very muscular arms that appeared to nearly burst through his doublet. He had wavy copper hair, matching petit handlebar mustache and petit goatee, and hazel eyes. His attire was fancier than his teammates, with many more combinations of fine silks and jewelry; topped off with an orange feather in his hat. Even his capelet was trimmed with gold, which matched his buttons and buckles. If he was trying to stand out from his friends, he was certainly succeeding, though he was already the tallest of the four; just slightly. Lastly on the far left, was a clean shaven man who was both the youngest and the shortest at 6'2". He had long straight black hair tied in a high ponytail, matching onyx eyes, and a white feather in his hat. His capelet was a complementing white, along with his breeches, and ivory buttons on his doublet. Despite being the youngest of the four, he seemed to be the most serious; or at least had the sternest face.
Adjacent to these four was another team of Huntsmen. On the far left was a tall red-haired man with a short boxed beard and emerald eyes, clad in a green tunic with matching green suede breeches, brown leather knee high boots, and leather gloves with a bracer attached to his left forearm. He wore a green bycocket hat with a red feather in it, and a deep green ranger cloak draped on his shoulders, fastened with a silver tree clasp. Despite its length, it did not hide his dark green brigandine armour, which had silver rivets setting the plates, and six leather straps; two on his shoulders and four down the middle. At his left hip was a longsword, and on his back was a large warbow with an accompanying quiver filled with arrows. Beside him was a giant of a man; a Grizzly Bear Faunus standing at a daunting 6'8". He was incredible muscular, even more so than the richly covered swordsman, made obvious by his barrel chest, and arms that could be mistaken for tree trunks. He had neatly cut reddish-brown hair accompanied by a pair of bear ears, matching long sideburns, and chocolate-brown eyes. He wore a simple cotton shirt, green jerkin and short hooded mantle, simple heavy slacks, large hard leather boots, and a hefty belt fastened at his waist adorned with many pouches. Across his back was an impressive quarterstaff that was over nine feet long. It appeared to be made of wood, but any Huntsmen worth their salt knew that it was made of some sort of refined metal.
To his left was a shorter Fox Faunus with tanned skin, and a perfectly trimmed pencil mustache on his face. His long pointed red ears protruded from a black sombrero cordobés, which matched his fiery red hair that was swept back, and halted just above the shoulders. His eyes were a captivating gold, which held a mischievousness that only strengthened his handsome features. As a contrast to his compatriots, the Faunus was clad entirely in black. Over his shoulders was a black cloak, fasten by a silver chain with a fox-head clasp; also made of silver with ruby eyes. He wore black leather gloves, matching black leather knee-high boots with silver spurs and curved rowels, black breeches, and a black Don Juan cotton shirt behind a meticulously crafted cuirass. On his waist was an ornately engraved black leather belt, which he rested his hands on as he stood with his team. At his left hip was a rapier with a beautiful swept hilt, the quillons and arms appearing almost flowerlike, and a matching parrying dagger on the right hip. Beside the dagger was an 1851 Navy Colt revolver converted into centerfire, holstered in a cavalry draw, with several leather pouches resting at the base of his back.
At last to his left was a thinner man with long flowing red hair with streaks of green, groomed neatly beneath a dark green renaissance beret adorned with long rooster, pheasant, ostrich, long-tailed widowbird, and ribbon-tailed astrapia tails feathers. He had amber coloured eyes, red eyebrows, and a red brett beard with the hair below his lip and chin mixed with green. He wore an ornate doublet coloured with greens, blues, and golds, with the placket opened to reveal the red shirt underneath. Despite being left open, it was held together with string, stitched between golden buttons. The sleeves were padded with wide cuffs that revealed his bare hands that were decorated with many golden and silver rings, each with their own unique gemstone. He wore tan suede breeches that were tucked into fine calfskin leather boots, polished to a mirror sheen, and a long dark red mantle that draped over his shoulders. While separating himself from the others by his fine dress alone, what truly stood out, at least to the eyes of Huntsmen, was that he carried no weapons; instead there was a beautifully crafted lute strapped across his back. This cemented the young man's appearance to that of a bard rather than a Huntsman, but like his Bear Faunus teammate, his tool must certainly be more than it appeared.
The final touch that united all eight of these young Huntsmen, was that their capelets, mantles, and capes, were emblazoned with the Mistral Kingdom Arms, as they wanted all who met them to know they were proud of their homeland. For it was now, more than ever, that their pride had brought them before the Huntmaster of Beacon Academy.
"Sorry for the delay, Oz; bad traffic" apologized Qrow. "Allow me to introduce Team RROI of Haven." He gestured with his right hand to the Cavalier themed team. "Captain Olivier Rouge" he pointed to the red feathered man "Lieutenant René Argent" the silver feathered man "Pierre d'Ocre" the orange feathered man "and Ivoire Castelmore" pointing to the white feathered man. "And Team LION, also from Haven with Captain Robin Loxley" he gestured to the bowman "Lieutenant Ian Oak" the Grizzly Faunus "Diego Iglesias" the Fox Faunus "and Allen O'Nottingham" to the minstrel. The hat wearing Huntsmen removed them and bowed low, whereas Ian merely nodded politely.
"Thank you, Qrow, though there is no need for introductions" Ozpin said with a smile, extending his hand to Olivier. "I have met these young men before, two years ago in Mistral when I attended the Vytal Festival there, if I'm not mistaken, where I had a lovely chat with Mr. Rouge in private."
"Yes, sir. I am humbled that you remembered me."
"You make it very difficult to forget you; especially with taking such a hard fought victory that year, as well as dominating in the league. When I saw that both your team and Team LION were deployed within Vale, I knew that you gentlemen would be of great help to me."
"Je vous remercie (I thank you). It is a great honour to be called to serve, Huntmaster" Olivier said graciously. "My comrades and I thank you deeply in considering us to aid in, as your colleague has alluded to, 'a dire situation regarding the Kingdoms of Vale and Mistral'. If this is true, then we shall gladly heed the call."
"I extend my gratitude as well, Huntmaster Ozpin" Robin added with bright smile, shaking his hand. "We cannot turn away when the Kingdom is threatened."
"And for that, I cannot thank you enough" replied Ozpin honestly, returning their bows. "However, I would ask you to wait to hear what task I have for you before accepting."
"Better make it quick" advised Qrow as he made his way to the minibar.
"Time could have been saved if you had simply told us beforehand" pointed out Ivoire, annoyed by the younger Branwen's unwillingness to divulge them of the details.
"This is a very sensitive matter; both in subject and in time" explained the silver-haired Huntsman. "The very fact that we need your help was in and of itself, a last minute gamble. We were unsure if we could even find you in time, and my friend has only by the skin of his teeth brought you here. This is why I cannot go into great detail of what is going on, but simply say that we require your help, and you must act now; for the safety of both Vale and Mistral."
"That much we know, but perhaps you can tell us, at the very least, what this threat towards our Kingdoms is" offered Diego.
"Have any of you been paying attention to the tournament?"
"We would have loved to, but given our orders to patrol the outer territories of your Kingdom, we could neither watch nor listen" answered Olivier. "Which is truly a shame, as our dear Pyrrha is competing for the first time this year."
"Given how pointless the patrol was, we should have just stayed in the capital" muttered Pierre. "We were given orders to patrol the northernmost rim of the Kingdom to aid the border guard divisions with any and all Grimm activity. When we got close to our objective, we were told by the Valian military to turn back without explanation. Instead, we stayed put at one of the bases over a hundred miles from the northern forests. "
"That's my one moment of good luck for the year" Qrow laughed coldly, pouring himself some bourbon. "It's because they stayed put I was actually able to find them."
"And it was a long ride back to Albion, which you did not take advantage of by explaining why you came to recruit us in the first place" Ivoire pointed out once again.
"Oz."
"Since you have not been keeping score, there is only one remaining team from Mistral" continued the Huntmaster, reaching into his jacket pocket.
"Pity that" remarked Robin.
Ozpin held up his Scroll revealing Team CLME.
"Do you recognize these students?" The seniors gazed at the portraits and frowned, shaking their heads. "These are not students of Haven; they are enemy spies and assassins impersonating as your countrymen to launch an attack on Albion from within."
The Mistralese all froze at the news, before a palpable killing intent emanated from them; barely able to contain their fury over such an outrage.
"What would you have us do, Grand Veneur? (Huntmaster)" Olivier said firmly, his face focused and cold, but his green eyes were alive with fire. "Subdue them? Join your men to confront them?"
"Not in the way you may think" corrected Ozpin. "I need you to enter the Vytal Tournament."
The Havenites turned to one another confused, before looking back at the silver-haired Huntmaster.
"We don't understand, sir" admitted Robin. "Why would we confront the enemy as competitors? Are we to offer them a sportsmen's bout while they plan to attack? If not, then to defeat them without arousing suspicion with their co-conspirators is too late, as the Doubles Round is well underway. We cannot enter now."
"You are correct, but only in part. The enemy believes they are completely in control of the situation; we wish to keep them believing that. General Ironwood has been coordinating with our own military forces, which was why you were turned away from your patrol. Fear not, for they shall deal with the bulk of the enemy. However, the more prized pawns within our city are our major concern. We must remove them as quietly as possible so not to plunge the civilians into terror. To do so, we must both play along with the assassins to avoid them realizing they have been discovered, pushing them no more than we dare to, and give the General enough wiggle room to repulse the enemy forces. I have chosen you to take part in this secret mission because you all exemplify the defining qualities of Mistral: honour, virtue, and loyalty. Will you accept this task?"
"And how does this remove the enemy without alerting them?" asked Olivier rightly. "We enter the tournament, a suspicious act in and of itself, and defeat them there? How does the enemy not realize they have been foiled?"
"Because you will not be facing them; you will be facing my students and Blanco's today in the Doubles Round, and them again in the Singles tomorrow; matches that you will throw" explained Ozpin. The senior students stood there as if each of them had been slapped with wet fish.
"This plan is madness" René commented, no longer sure if Ozpin knew what he was doing.
"As I said, the enemy must continue to believe they have us unaware of their plans. We must continue to lure into the trap we have set for them, but also give General Ironwood's forces time to completely clear out the enemy outside of the tournament without the civilians knowing. We must keep them in the dark of the danger they are in. It is less than honourable and less than desirable, I fully acknowledge that, but we have no choice. General Ironwood has stressed that if we do not uproot the foothold the enemy has taken on our shores now and cleanly, we may lose this chance forever, and allow the bulk of the enemy forces to regroup. I trust him, and he has my full support. He is doing his part, and I am doing mine."
Both teams remained silent, mulling over Ozpin's dire words; their weight growing by the second. It was Captain Olivier, who at last spoke, posing a question that sucked all the air out of the room.
"Then, it is war?"
"No, not yet, and I pray to the Gods that it will not come for a good while longer" the Huntmaster expressed. "But I cannot and will not lie to you; what these invaders are doing is an act of war, and an attempt to spark a new world war. So I ask you all one last time, will you help us?"
Teams RROI and LION were quiet once more, and were about to discuss the matter with one another in whisper, when there was a knock at the door. All present turned as it opened just enough for the knocker to stick their head in.
"Huntmaster, the match has concluded" Winter said in an urgent tone.
"We are out of time" said Ozpin. "I need your answer now."
The teams eyed one another in silence, but the looks they gave were knowing ones, and they communicated without words. Then, in unison, the swordsmen all drew their swords and held them in front of their faces; the tops of the hilts just below their chins.
"For the honour and glory Mistral, we will fight" they said, with Ian and Allen bowing.
Qrow smirked behind his glass. 'You've got a way with words, Oz, like always.'
"And for that of Vale. Thank you, gentlemen" Ozpin replied, smiling graciously. "Now, listen carefully to the plan, for I only have the time to hastily say it once..."
λΛλ
In the stands, Ruby was on her feet, clapping happily before taking a deep breath to shout. "Way to go, Penny!"
The ginger robot, able to hear her friend over the cheers of the crowd, turned and waved enthusiastically.
"Well that's another friend of ours in the finals" remarked Yang. "She'll be fun to fight."
"Yes, I think so as well" added Pyrrha, genuinely fascinated by the Atlassian girl's abilities, seeming to control the swords attached to her back. Was it her Semblance or was it the weapon itself?
"If you get the chance to" grinned Sun. "When I fight her, I'll land a couple hits for you, OK, Nikos?"
"As if you'll beat us" Nora shot back, leaning across Ren to stare down her next opponent.
"Save it for the match" eased Ren, though he couldn't suppress a blush caused by how close she was.
"Be careful out there" said Weiss, looking at her friends before her eyes rested on Neptune. "All of you." The blue-haired Vacuan smiled and nodded curtly, squeezing her hand in thanks.
"Shall we go to our starting positions?" asked Pyrrha.
"Why not? It's not like we need to wait for them to announce the final match" reasoned Sun, and he prepared to stand, before hearing Ozpin's voice boom throughout the Coliseum.
"Good afternoon everyone, I hope that you are all enjoying the tournament thus far" he said, earning cheers and boos. "Yes yes I understand, not everyone is too pleased with having their Kingdom's teams lose. In fact, I understand the feeling so well, that I think that we should make things even more...entertaining. I am sure you are looking forward to the next match between Teams JNPR and SSSN?" This time the crowd cheered in unison, regardless of their Kingdom of origin. "Good. I am as well, and I couldn't help but notice that the match will be a two versus two. Rather obvious of course, but I also noticed that Team SSSN is the last of the four from Shade, and it would be far more interesting to see Miss Nikos and Mr. Wukong face one on one, would it not? Therefore, why don't we make things more...interesting?"
The crowd, along with Teams RWBY, JNPR, and SSSN, were obviously confused by what the Huntmaster was saying. Cinder and her co-conspirators on the other hand had snapped to attention, locking eyes with the silver-haired professor.
"What's he doing?" asked Emerald, not hiding her concern. Cinder immediately pulled out her tablet, and began to tap away furiously.
"While it does feel rather good to take the wind out of dear Leonardo's sails, I cannot help but feel a small bit of guilt since we here at Beacon, took on who would have been his star pupil" Ozpin continued. "Therefore, I suggest that we give both Mistral, and Vacuo a chance to shine. Two teams from Mistral have been selected to join and face Teams JNPR and SSSN; two teams that I believe will not only give us a riveting set of matches, but that our Mistralese spectators, both here today and watching at home, will approve of. Allow me to introduce them and whom they shall be facing. Pyrrha Nikos and Nora Valkyrie of Team JNPR of Beacon will face René Argent and Pierre d'Ocre of Team RROI of Haven."
The holoscreens flashed and showed the new matchups, with Pyrrha and Nora on the left, and René and Pierre on the right. While the crowd was confused, both the Mistralese and the Atlassians began to cheer in approval, clearly recognizing the two senior Huntsmen-in-training. Pyrrha recognized them as well, and gasped with eyes wide the moment they were announced.
"What's wrong?" asked Jaune, already worried about this new change in the tournament, but was now even more on edge with how loudly she had gasped.
"Th-Those are my upperclassmen from Mistral" she explained. "They're four years older than me, and they should be on the cusp of graduating from Haven as full Huntsmen. I trained with them while I was at Sanctum, and during my final year there, I was allowed to go with them on a number of Hunts. What are they doing here?"
"What is Huntmaster Ozpin doing is what I want to know" stated Yang rightly. "The way this tournament has gone has been weird enough, now he's doing this."
"As happy as I am for not having to go up against a girl that gets stronger from being hit by my weapon, I'm not exactly thrilled to fight seniors" admitted Neptune, scratching his chin uneasily.
"And Sun Wukong and Neptune Vasilias of Team SSSN of Shade will be against Ian Oak and Allen O'Nottingham of Team LION of Haven" finished Ozpin, with the screen changing to reveal the second match.
"Them too..." breathed the redhead.
"Them too?" echoed Jaune.
"Team RROI and LION are close friends, and always travel together, much like us and Team RWBY. I've trained with them both in and out of school, and I look up to each of them. I wonder if Wilhelm has come with them to Vale as well."
"Greaaaat. We're going up against the people that trained Pyrrha Nikos" Neptune groaned, leaning back into his seat.
"We can take'em" reassured the blond Faunus. "And if we beat'em, then we got this tournament in the bag, since Nikos will be easy in comparison."
The blue-haired lieutenant sighed and eyed his future opponents pensively, trying to anticipate what they would be like in the arena.
"You gonna be OK?" Jaune asked, eyeing Pyrrha carefully.
"I think so" she replied slowly, trying to keep her face unreadable. "I just hope that I improved enough since the last time we trained." While she was being truthful, her mind was desperately trying to understand what exactly Ozpin was doing. 'This must be the plan he was talking about' she thought. 'But how in the names of the Gods does this deal with the imposters? Why are we being set to fight against my mentors?'
This was a valid thought, as it made far more sense that if they were to bend the rules and insert ringers, then those ringers would go against the fraudulent competitors. Indeed, Pyrrha was well aware of the impressive skills of her countrymen, and she had full confidence in them defeating Cinder Fall and her pawns; especially if Fall herself was no longer competing. Any pair from either team would have easily wiped the floor with Black and Sustrai, and if they took part in the Teams Round, then CLME would have been fully subdued. So why were they being used now? Of course, Pyrrha was unaware of the details of the Order's plan, nor did she know how desperate the Order currently was. This allowed her mind to race, trying to make sense of the situation, despite it being too late to ponder.
"Will Team JNPR and Team RROI please make their way to the arena" announced Port, doing his part.
Pyrrha and Nora rose to their feet, and made their way to Valian arena entrance; their friends and lovers watching them go. In the Mistral quarter, Emerald, Mercury, and Neo waited in tense hesitation as Cinder continued to examine her tablet.
"Well?" asked the green-haired thief nervously.
"There's nothing that suggests that the trojan has been detected or manipulated" Cinder confirmed, her eyes darting across the screen. "They aren't aware of our plan."
"Then why are they adding fighters? Senior students from Mistral no less" added Mercury, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.
"I don't know. It's very suspicious" the false-Maiden admitted, closing the tablet and looking at the new match on the holoscreen. She stared in silence, mulling over the change and trying to decipher what was going on behind the scenes. After a few more moments, she spoke at last. "We'll let things play out."
"What?" the two vocal members of her team said in unison.
"There's nothing we can do to regain control of the situation" Cinder explained slowly. "Regardless, we weren't planning to begin seeping our poison until the Singles bracket. That will be tomorrow, so all we will do is sit and watch."
"But what if they take out Nikos? What if that's the plan to get around our trojan?" argued Mercury. "But then Ozpin said that he's trying to get both her and the monkey to the Singles. Are they drunk?"
"That's why we need to wait and see. It's because of those contradicting points that makes me question if we've truly been compromised or not" Cinder reasoned, crossing her legs. "If anything, we use this time to get a better look at Nikos. You said she was holding back...this could give us a better idea of what she can really do under pressure; and how to break her under pressure. You just need to worry about your match against the bimbo tomorrow. There will be no hiccups with that, will there?"
Her cold eyes moved leftward to enforce what she was truly saying; the power of her gaze communicating her intentions. The kick-boxer shifted again, his arms folded across his chest. Ever since his match with Yatsuhashi, he had been very careful to hide how much damage he had actually taken. From his guess, he felt he had a few cracked ribs and at least one broken. He had underestimated the power of the older Huntsman-in-training, and let his guard down too far in trying to sell the match. He was in a great deal of pain, he couldn't deny that, but he would not say a word of it aloud. In the end, it didn't matter, for he was very much accustomed to suffering.
"None" he replied, glad to turn his attention to the emerging combatants.
Neo silently watched Mercury and Cinder as she always did, taking care to not bring attention to herself. She did everything in her power to not show it, but she was very much disturbed by this change in the tournament. She, more than Emerald and Mercury, knew how much was at stake. She was normally very good at reading people, but she was unable to tell if Cinder was actually unconcerned with the sudden change, or was just talented enough to hide it. While Neo hadn't known Cinder for long, she was very aware than when the half-Maiden was unhappy with something or someone, she would make it abundantly clear. And yet, the mute girl was not soothed. Slowly turning her parasol in her hands, she looked to the arena, hoping that disaster was not on the horizon.
λΛλ
As the redheaded duo walked towards the battlegrounds, Nora looked over to her friend, and noticed she was slightly tense.
"You OK?" she asked.
Pyrrha blinked in surprise as she looked at the ginger.
"Oh, I'm alright, thank you. I'm just a tad nervous."
"You? Nervous? Why?"
"Well, as I said before, these are my upperclassmen. I trained with them, and I look up to them with as much reverence then as I do now. I hoped that I would see them again, but I also wanted to greatly improve my skills before then" she echoed, though she was still musing over what Ozpin was thinking by interfering like this.
He had told her that they could not simply arrest Cinder and her lackeys, for fear of scaring off Adam Taurus and whoever else was involved. Then why was he affecting the tournament seedings by introducing new combatants? It was particularly frustrating for her, because she was genuinely excited to see and fight her countrymen. It would be an incredibly fun match, the hardest of the tournament without question, and she wouldn't need to hold back as much as she usually did. That excitement was intertwined with the fear of what the enemy was planning, and despite being informed by the Order, she still felt left in the dark; seeing things that might not even be there.
Perhaps for now she could swallow that fear, and enjoy herself before the real challenge began in the Singles bracket. After all, if she were to go against Mercury Black as she hoped, then she would be able to unleash her fury and remove at least one of the dark agents. In the wake of Team CFVY's defeat and Coco's injuries, she very much wanted to avenge her upperclassmen, paying the enemy back in full. As always, only the Gods knew the truth and what lay ahead.
As the two vixens entered the arena and walked to their starting position, they saw their opponents were walking towards them in tandem; smiling and eager. Upon seeing her countrymen, the Champion of Mistral felt a soothing happiness wash over her. It eased her fears to see her mentors after so long, as well as alleviate a feeling of homesickness she hadn't felt until learning they were in Vale.
"Good afternoon, René! Pierre!" Pyrrha called with a smile of her own.
"Ah, bon après midi, Pyrrha!" replied René, removing his hat and bowing, with Pierre doing the same. "It's wonderful to see you again after all this time. You appear to be doing well. May the Light of the Northern Star illuminate your path."
"And may it shine brightly for you as well" she replied accordingly, returning the bow. "What brings you to Vale?"
"We were tasked with patrolling the north as part of the final missions before graduation. However, when we arrived, we were informed that our services were no longer required" René answered honestly. "We decided to return to the capital, and in doing so, we were offered to take part in the tournament. Oh, forgive my manners. Hello to you and many blessings, Miss Valkyrie."
"Thank you, you too" the ginger said bowing exaggeratedly, not knowing how to respond, but meant well.
"I can't say I'm too happy with the turn out this year" Pierre commented, referring to Mistral's performance during the tournament, running his tongue across the top row of his teeth. "It's a real shame that you decided to attend Beacon instead of Haven."
"Don't pressure the girl" defended the pious swordsman. "She can train wherever she wishes."
"You'll come back, won't you?"
"Of course I will" Pyrrha replied smiling. "Mistral is my home and I will never abandon her."
"Then that's good enough for me" the muscular swordsman nodded approvingly, satisfied with her response. While they spoke, the new biomes had been selected: forests, stormy mountains, desert, and geyser.
"Fighters ready" announced Oobleck, causing all four to draw their weapons. "Three...two...one...BEGIN!"
Pyrrha and René charged at one another with surprising speed, striking simultaneously with an audible clash of steel, before flying past. They then spun round to face each other, both with grins on their faces, and then rested into their natural battle stances. Pyrrha took her iconic High Guard with Akoúo held in front of her, and Miló held above, pointing towards her opponent, whereas René took a L'Abbat stance; his rapier held chest height and pointed slightly upward in his right hand, and his left hand held behind him, arm bent and pointed to the sky.
During this engagement, Nora had run at Pierre and jumped, before bringing down Magnhild onto her opponent. The taller ginger merely took a step backward, allowing the blow to strike the tiles of the arena, which sent shrapnel in all directions. Nora managed to look up in time to see Pierre bring down his rapier in a two-handed stroke, and she spun clockwise to her left to avoid it. She then used the momentum of the spin to swing her hammer at Pierre's back, where he performed a perfectly timed back flip, allowing the head of the hammer to harmlessly hit his capelet. He landed on his feet, and without hesitation, performed a powerful lunging thrust, which Nora barely managed to block, and nearly shouted in surprise as she was pushed back nearly twenty feet.
'Whoa...he's strong' she thought, and her excitement grew, knowing she was going to have a lot of fun.
In the reserved seating, Teams RWBY and SSSN, along with the remainder of Team JNPR, watched the match with intense focus.
"Oh, this is going to be an amazing match!" said Weiss gleefully, surprising the others.
"Why? Pyrrha and Nora could lose" Yang pointed out honestly, not liking the idea of having her match with the Mistralese champion taken from her.
"But that is why it is so exciting!" the heiress argued with a smile. "Pyrrha finally has some true competition; up against such talented swordsmen like the members of Team RROI."
"What? Are they famous athletes like her? I've never heard of them" admitted Sun.
"Not at all; at least, they aren't the same kind of athlete" Weiss explained. "Both the Kingdoms of Atlas and Mistral have dueling leagues for swordsmanship. They are fiercely competitive, and are constantly drawing swordsmen and women from across the continent. My sister was a top competitor for years before she dedicated herself to her military service. Each member of Team RROI are currently active in the rankings, and have been climbing up them at a truly impressive pace."
"Right, I remember Pyrrha talking about Atlas' and Mistral's dueling culture" recalled Jaune, becoming intrigued by this revelation. "It makes sense now that they all trained together. Where are they placed now?"
"I don't know" the rapierist sighed, annoyed with herself. "I've been so preoccupied with school and training that I haven't kept track as I normally do. I used to maintain a very close eye on the leagues, though I stopped checking the rankings ever since I decided to enroll into Beacon. I can easily assume they have only risen, if their Huntsmen qualifying exams haven't taken up all their availability, that is."
"What about Team LION?" asked Neptune.
"Diego is up there, of course, though the others are not, given they aren't swordsmen. Robin Loxley is a swordsman, obviously so, but he is far better known for wielding a warbow, and has never taken part in the leagues."
"As fun as all of this sounds..." began Yang, folding her arms, "I'm actually worried about how this match is going to go. Pyrrha might be able to beat her opponent, but I don't think Nora will."
"Yes. She's a bit wild to put it mildly" added Blake. "Against a more disciplined and experience opponent, her bad habits will come to bite her. It doesn't help that she can't just take hits like she normally does, since that Pierre guy looks pretty strong. She's tough alright, but not that tough. In my opinion, this is a bad match up for Nora." Ren shifted in his seat at that diagnosis, not wanting to see the bubbly ginger get hurt. "And then what happens if Pyrrha can't beat René in time? Can she take on two highly experienced senior students? She hasn't trained with them in a long time, so what she knows may not be enough."
While the Cat Faunus spoke, Jaune maintained his focus on the match, shifting between the two redheads, and trying his best to discern how they were progressing. Despite this, he had been listening to every word Blake had said, and they did not give him confidence. He knew just how talented Pyrrha was, and couldn't imagine her losing to anyone, but he had to ask himself was it because he knew that, or he felt it because she was the woman that loved him.
"What do you think, Jaune?" asked Neptune.
The blond didn't look away from the match, but replied in a steady tone.
"Pyrrha will win; so will Nora."
"You saying that because you know they're good enough or because Pyrrha's your girl and Nora's your friend?" asked the blonde brawler, hitting the nail on the head as she always did.
The young Knight sat silently for a moment before answering. "Both."
The others looked at the boys of Team JNPR, and understood just how worried they were without putting it into words.
"Well...act honestly, and answer boldly, as my dad says" Yang sighed, returning her gaze to the match.
In the arena, the battles went on as to be expected. Pyrrha and René were dead even, at least to most watching, whereas Nora was having difficulty with Pierre. His strength was proving to be more than a match to the shorter ginger's normally unmatched brawn, which to Nora's credit, was excited by it. Pyrrha had actually abandoned the fear that had been snaking its way through her soul, becoming entirely absorbed with the fight. It had truly been too long since she fought a serious match. For fear of hurting her opponent, Pyrrha had always restrained herself in her time as an athlete; more so after awakening Polarity. Now, she was finally allowed to use more of her true strength without having to bridle herself. The fact that it was one of her mentors facing her, made it all the more comforting, and she couldn't suppress an eager smile from firmly plastering itself onto her face.
And yet, she could sense that something was off, which caused the question of what was Ozpin thinking by asking them to enter the tournament, to resurface.
She blocked a thrust from René, before sliding Miló down his rapier till their guards locked, and she pushed, which the older Mistralese resisted; as she hoped he would. Locking swords was a good way to get one's self killed, but she did it purposely so that she could speak with him.
"Is something wrong, René?" she asked with a slight hint of goading in her voice. "If I didn't know any better, I would accuse you of holding back."
The holy swordsman smirked at her words.
"If I am, it is simply to test your skills and see just how much you have improved since our last match, my dear" he lied, trying to play it off as naturally as possible. Unfortunately, the man was just as bad a liar as she was due to their shared devotion to their faith, and Pyrrha realized it instantly. They quickly traded blows and parries, before she purposely locked blades once more.
"You are holding back" she accused, her earlier fears returning in force. René saw the emotion in her eyes, and felt his guilt mount.
"My dear Pyrrha, to accuse me of such a–"
"This is about Huntmaster Ozpin's plan to deal with the imposters" she stated, not wishing to beat around the bush any further. The silver-feathered swordsman froze, realizing his underclassman knew of the secret mission. Pyrrha, knowing she had to play along, swiped at René with Akoúo, who thankfully managed to lean out of the way, and then parried the follow up with Miló, which he riposted out of reflex. The redhead blocked the strike, and took a stance just out of range. "I'm correct, aren't I?"
"How do you know of this?" he asked cautiously.
"I was approached to help yesterday, and I think I know more than you do" she replied honestly. "However, I wasn't told what exactly the Huntmaster was planning to deal with Cinder Fall and her cohorts; merely that he and the General had a plan in motion. How do you and others fit into all of this?"
René sighed, knowing there was no point in lying any further.
"We were asked to defend the Kingdom of Vale by aiding Huntmaster Ozpin in dealing with the invaders you mentioned."
"Then why are you facing us and Team SSSN?" Pyrrha asked rightly.
"We must prolong the tournament to give General Ironwood enough time to remove all invaders."
"I don't understand. How does this protect the Kingdom when the enemy is here in the tournament? Why aren't you or the others facing them instead of us? Will you be facing them tomorrow? None of this makes sense."
"I know, Pyrrha" René admitted mournfully. "We hardly understand it ourselves, but we know that we must give the Huntmasters time to execute their plan properly. Our job is merely to put on a proper performance for the audience to distract them and the enemy."
Pyrrha frowned. "What do you mean?"
"We will face you and your friends, but ultimately, we will throw the matches, allowing you all to continue on" he explained at last.
The redhead's mouth fell open in shock, allowing the senior Havenite to strike at her, which she barely managed to block. They began to trade parries and ripostes, but the young woman was not able to let this explanation be the end of the conversation.
"That is the plan? To merely put on a charade to entertain the enemy without fighting them?" she asked incredulously. "How under the Light does this protect the innocent of Vale?"
"I cannot say more. I was not even aware that you knew of the situation, and I hoped to wait for my moment to bow out believably without you being the wiser" René confessed, sending a kick for Pyrrha's head, who ducked it cleanly. "Please forgive us, Pyrrha. We do this for the honour of Mistral, and to protect the lives of her people, and of Vale's. We will swallow our pride, tarnish our records, and ridicule ourselves to save the souls of the innocent. We have faith in the Huntmasters. Will you put your faith in us?"
'Faith...' she thought, almost wanting to laugh in frustration. 'Faith is the very core to all of this. I'm certain the Order have told them nothing of the truth, what the enemy are truly after, and how much is actually as stake. I understand why they are keeping them in the dark, but what is their plan to remove Cinder and her fellow assassins?'
It was that factor that kept Pyrrha in such a state of turmoil. She had no idea what Ozpin was planning, and being asked to play dumb, left her feeling beyond helpless. Furthermore, seeing Coco badly hurt, had made her feel so sick and guilty, she would have vomited if her anger hadn't risen above it. Of course there was the added stress of lying to Jaune and the others, as she saw it as if she was betraying them. It almost gave the impression that a game was being play, and a very dangerous one at that. Pyrrha understood the incredible gamble Ozpin and the Order were taking by opening up to her, but they were taking an equally risky gamble by allowing assassins to walk amongst the civilians. Was this all just a test of faith? Or was it a test to prove her devotion by facing evil whilst being paralyzed by fear? She had managed to compose herself after spending hours at the Naos praying the day before, and succeeded in achieving a mostly restful sleep. However, after seeing Coco's bloodied head, and hearing of Ozpin's sudden request of her countrymen's help, the seeds of doubt were beginning to sow.
Nevertheless, the redhead breathed deeply to steady herself, and looked her former upperclassman in the eyes.
"I will" she said with effort, "but what are we going to do about Nora? She knows nothing of this, and I honestly don't believe I could convince her to play along without revealing the truth."
"That we shall leave to Pierre" reassured René, genuinely grateful that Pyrrha was being agreeable. "I trust him to know when the moment will come to take a dive."
"I hope so, because Nora has no idea how to pull her punches. When she wants to break something, she does."
René couldn't help chuckling at that.
"I think those two will become good friends when this is over."
λΛλ
Despite the fact that the fight between Nora and Pierre was staged, it did not mean that either participant was not fighting seriously. Nora was obviously giving it her all, and was both frustrated and exhilarated at how tough of an opponent the Mistralese swordsman was. She was used to being the physically strongest, but Pierre was a complete match to her power, and was even able to block strikes from Magnhild. Was it simply because he was a powerhouse, or was this the power of a near fully fledged Huntsman? As for Pierre, he was indeed taking the match seriously in the sense of following the plan, though he was a tad disappointed that his opponent was nowhere near as strong as Pyrrha, let alone himself.
Trying to shift her strategy, Nora put some distance between herself and her opponent, and transformed her hammer into its grenade launcher configuration. She began to rain fire onto the swordsman, who evaded each shot safe for the last. To both the shock of the crowd and the shorter ginger, Pierre caught the projectile with his left hand, and nonchalantly threw it over his shoulder. He looked at Nora unamused as it exploded, not appreciating her changing tactics.
"Don't start trying to be overcautious" he jeered, cracking his neck. "Let's just fight straight and honest."
Of course the final statement was dishonest given what was going on behind the scenes, Nora did nevertheless agree with him. She wanted nothing more than to just charge in and fight head to head, but she had taken Jaune's strategic advice to heart, and wanted to make sure that Pyrrha would continue onward to the Singles bracket. She opened Magnhild to eject the spend rounds, and with decent speed, reloaded the chambers of the launcher. Nora then began to sprint towards Pierre, but instead of returning her weapon to its hammer configuration, she fired two rounds, aiming just before the swordsman. The grenades destroyed the tiles of the arena in front of Pierre, knocking up a plume of smoke and dust, obscuring his view of the battlefield. Nora then jumped into the air, transforming her launcher, and came down at full strength to land a powerful blow onto the unsuspecting strongman. Magnhild made contact, and the ground beneath Pierre cracked and broke, showing just how powerful the attack had been. A grin began to grow on Nora's face, but it froze. Her eyes began to widen as the smoke cleared, revealing that Pierre had caught the hammer, and it was just the energy of the blow that had gone through him into the ground. The copper-haired senior student looked up at the shocked hammeress, and grinned at her playfully.
"My turn" he said simply, and with Homeric strength spun, ironically like a hammer thrower, and hurled Nora towards the mountain biome as if she weighed nothing at all. Taken aback by the action, Nora hadn't tried to correct herself in flight, and painfully crashed into the stone. In the reserved seating of the Valian quarter, Teams RWBY, JNPR, and SSSN, tensed in their seats with shock.
"Did he really just catch her hammer?" asked Yang, stunned.
"Yeah. What a tough bastard" Sun remarked, as he watched Pierre nonchalantly walk towards the mountain biome after his opponent.
Jaune, who was watching the match with his lips pressed into his fingers while propping up his arms on his knees, noticed to his left that Ren had lurched forward. The normally tranquil young man now had a pained expression on his face, unable to hide his worry for Nora's wellbeing. Indeed, her safety mattered more to him than her winning or losing the match, even though he knew she would reverse the order of those concerns. While the idea of Nora losing was somewhat absurd to Ren, knowing the skill level of her opponent, and just now witnessing him withstand a full power attack and chuck her like a stone, caused fear to grow within his heart.
Nora groaned as she sat up, trying to get her bearings.
"Owwww" she winced as she reached to grab her hammer. "So fighting smart wasn't smart, and fighting straight up wasn't smart either. What do I have to do to beat this guy?" As she watched the muscular rapierist close the distance between them, an idea struck her like a clap of thunder. Well, it was thunder itself that struck her with an idea, as she looked up to see storm clouds gathering above her. "Oh" she realized. "Oooooooh! That'll work!"
"I hope you haven't decided to give up already, kid" Pierre asked, casually holding his sword by his side.
Nora rolled backward, pressing her palms on the cold rocky ground, and eagerly performed a kip-up to get onto her feet.
"Are you kidding me? I'm just getting started!" she replied grinning.
Pierre grinned back, very much appreciative of her enthusiasm.
"That's the spirit" he encouraged, performing a sword flourish before taking a Bolognese-Marozzo stance with his right foot forward, his left hand on his hip, and his sword held low almost in a Fool's Guard.
It was here that Nora noticed that the copper-haired Huntsman-in-training's sword had a thicker blade than his teammate's. And while it was beyond her knowledge, it was thicker than the average rapier. Furthermore, the sword possessed another trait that diverted it from the rapier family. It had a two-handed handle, which extended past the knuckle guard of the swept hilt; something that would cause any swordsman to blink in confusion. Nonetheless, this did complement the man perfectly; a beefier sword for a beefier Huntsman. It was, nevertheless, a beautiful sword, matching Pierre's overly lavish attire. Interestingly, the fuller of the sword was not left empty, as was the point of a fuller, but instead was inlaid with copper. Of all possible metals to adorn a sword with, copper was not one that came screaming to mind. And yet, copper was indeed there, no doubt the young man's decision, for it to compliment his own hair colour.
Pierre then lunged with impressive speed, which Nora managed to block, this time taking care to dig in her heels, and was not pushed back. She countered with a two-handed thrust with Magnhild, striking with the top of the hammer, to which Pierre blocked with the flat of his blade, supported with his left palm on the Debole; the first half of his sword. He too did not buckle from the blow, and pushed the hammeress back with a grunt, who slid backward, but only a yard or so. The pair continued to exchange blows, though both were aiming for different goals. Pierre was obviously trying to provoke a risky but powerful attack from Nora so that he could take a believable fall, granting her the victory. Nora on the other hand knew that her options were limited, but decided on merging both battle strategies she had previously implemented. She was waiting for the storm clouds of the biome to unleash lightning, allowing her to super charge herself with her Semblance, Thunderforce, and overpower her opponent; fighting both smart and directly.
The ginger performed a two-handed downward swing, as if she was trying to drive a railroad spike, aiming for Pierre's head. She had to swing wider than she would have liked, having to compensate for their difference in height, but nevertheless came in quickly. To her shock however, the Mistralese caught Magnhild by the upper part of the handle, and without a moment of hesitation, punted Nora in the centre of her chest with a heavy front kick. He let go as soon as the kick landed, allowing her to sail backwards by over twenty feet, and crashing onto her back. She only had the wind slightly knocked out of her, and was able to open her eyes in time to see Pierre come down at her from above. She rolled out of the way, allowing him to plunge his rapier deep into the rock of the mountain. Nora managed to get to her feet, and looked at her opponent, trying to come up with a better method of delaying him until she could get an electrical boost.
As if the Gods of Thunder had been listening, the ginger felt the hair on the back of her neck rise, and she knew that a storm was coming. Interestingly, this was a by-product of her Semblance, and was something she had discovered as a child soon after being struck by lightning and awakening it. Smiling that her patience had been rewarded, she stood up straight as Pierre removed his sword from the stone.
"I hope you aren't getting horror-struck from my strength" the older Huntsman-in-training hoped, honestly wishing that she wasn't giving in, as he needed her to fight fiercely. To both his surprise and intrigue, Nora grinned wildly.
"No, just thunder-struck" she answered. She raised her hammer to the sky, channeling her Aura into it, as a clap of thunder boomed above.
Lighting began to strike, and a bolt flew home to Magnhild, coursing the 1.21 gigwatts through it to Nora's hand and down into her body. Her eyes flashed blue, as did the electricity that arched across her, before it, along with her Aura, turned pink. The ginger felt the incredible power surge within her, a sensation of invincibility washing over, alongside the drive to fight and crush all who stood before her. There may not be companies of soldiers to mow through, but there was one who had the strength of a company standing right before her. With shocking speed, Nora charged straight at Pierre, and drove Magnhild at him, who managed to block the blow with his rapier. However, the moment their weapons connected, pink lightning began to arch in all directions, but mostly into the swordsman's blade and through his body. While the copper inlay was not the cause of the conductivity, it certainly increased it, joining the many adornments on his person, and shocking him thoroughly. Pierre gritted his teeth in pain, feeling his muscles spasm and lock with the paralyzing effect of the current passing through him. The effect on the senior Huntsman-in-training did not go unnoticed by the thunderess, and she began to unleash her fury; first by shoving him back, then pounding on him again and again to break through his now crippling defenses.
Pierre was now very much aware of this. Nora had proven to be far more powerful than he had expected, though she was not powerful enough to break him. However, this was the moment he had been waiting for, and he knew he needed to bait one final blow to conclude the match. Surging his Aura, he brought up his rapier to block a hammer strike with the flat of his sword across the face of Magnhild, using his free hand to aid him. He dug in his heels and pushed back against Magnhild, just enough so that he could speak to the electrified Huntress-in-training.
"I must say that I'm impressed by your strength, fillette (girlie)" he complimented, albeit with a hint of mockery. "Never had I thought someone so small would be so strong."
"Of course I'm strong; I've got thunder-thighs" Nora grinned with pride. This genuinely took the well dressed man by surprise, and he laughed heartily despite the current situation.
"Mes Dieux! (My Gods)" he laughed, "Never would I expect to find a girl these days that would take pride in her curves. They are usually so fixated on being overly thin, making them neither fit for the bedroom nor the battlefield. I wish you the best of luck in finding a man worthy of your love."
"W-Well..." she stuttered as her cheeks flushed, not expecting such a compliment, nor the topic of romance to come up in the middle of a fight, "there is someone."
"Ah, now that is unsurprising. Does he appreciate you as much you do him? Your amoureux?; your sweetheart?"
"We-Well, we're not together-together" she echoed yet again, lessening her grip on her weapon. Gods how she hated saying that.
"Quoi? Is he stupide?" Pierre asked bluntly, more out of curiosity than anything else, genuinely forgetting his mission objective. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on one's point of view, this struck a nerve with the ginger, who would not tolerate any attacks of any kind towards the man she loved.
"My Ren is not stupid!" she shouted, pink lightning surging out of her. With every ounce of strength, she swung her hammer against the giant, bypassing his rapier, and striking him in the chest.
The power of the blow knocked not only the wind clean out of Pierre, but knocked him clean off his feet, out of the mountain biome, and would have crashed into the stands if not for the Coliseum's defensive shield. He collided against it, and tumbled down to the ground, crashing onto the grass, and appeared to be unconscious.
"Nora Valkyrie has knocked Pierre d'Orce out of the arena and out cold by an electrifying hammer blow!" announced Professor Port without hiding any enthusiasm, happy, despite the circumstances, that his favourite student had won her battle. "It's now a two-on-one match between Team JNPR and Team RROI!"
The crowd of course rose in a mixture of cheers and boos, as Pierre remained still as the medics rushed to his "aid".
'Well that hurt more than I expected' he thought with a chuckle, which caused a slight wince of pain. 'But mes Dieux, what a girl. I wish you luck, jeune homme (young man) who claims her heart. May you not keep her waiting.'
In the reserved seating, Ren breathed a deep sigh of relief. His fears were now replaced with swelling pride as he watched the energetic woman he adored, hold her hammer high in triumph. In the arena, Pyrrha and René saw this as well, and both were glad that the match between the two powerhouses had gone smoothly.
"Judging by the noise the crowd is making, the final blow sold it" commented René with a small smile.
"It seems so" added Pyrrha. "We should conclude our fight, as Nora will certainly make her way over here to press our advantage."
"Indeed. Allons-y! (Let's go!)"
The Mistralese began to increase the pace of their swordsmanship, becoming nearly a blur to the less experienced spectators. Strike, parry, riposte, strike, parry, riposte, dodge, sidestep, thrust, block, repeat. The years of training were paying off in full, showing just how talented the two were. With coordination that went unnoticed to the untrained eyes of the crowd, Pyrrha performed an incredible disarming of René by hooking his rapier through the front arm and side ring of the swept hilt with Miló. She then knocked his legs out from under him with a swipe from Akoúo, and using the momentum of the spin, aimed a powerful kick at his chin. Pierre was sent flying backwards, flipping twice, before crashing to the ground.
"And Pyrrha Nikos has brilliantly disarmed and defeated René Argent!" announced Oobleck. "Team RROI has fallen! Team JNPR wins!"
The crowd once again roused with cheers and boos, just as Nora came rushing to Pyrrha's side in a heated sprint She skid to a stop while pin-wheeling her arms when she realized that the match was over.
"We won!" she cried, smiling brightly.
"Yes, we did" Pyrrha replied, sheathing her arms with a slightly forced smile, knowing the truth. "You had a good fight, I hope?"
"Yeah, he was tough, that guy" Nora acknowledged, folding her arms. "But then he started insulting Ren, so I whacked him!"
The redhead blinked in surprise before covering her lips with her left fist to try and suppress a giggle.
"Now why would he do a thing like that? And more importantly, how does he know about Ren?"
"It...well...it sorta came up..." confessed the ginger, looking away with a blush of embarrassment. "He kinda complemented me, and he wished me luck on finding a boyfriend, and then I mentioned Ren, and then he called him stupid for not getting together-together with me..."
This explanation only brought more giggles from Pyrrha.
"How nice of him" she remarked, seeing the silver-lining of the exchange, and only continued to giggle when Nora pouted at her. "Cheer up, Nora" she added, placing a hand on her friend's right shoulder, "you've gained a new supporter."
"...I guess" she muttered, slumping over defeated despite being triumphant.
While the two victorious maidens made their way out of the arena, there were three groups watching them with intrigue; though not all in the same vein. In the skybox, the Huntmasters were pleased with their performance, and hoped that the following matches would go just as smoothly. They had been keeping an eye on the crowd, and were equally pleased that the spectators were enjoying themselves despite the sudden and irregular change in the tournament. After all, not only were they doing their best to buy time and set up the proper defense of the capital with this intervention, but to also entertain the civilians, and keep them in the dark.
The second group were Teams RWBY, JNPR, and SSSN, who were very happy with Pyrrha and Nora's victory, and impressed that they had defeated two talented seniors. However, there were two amongst the group that were not as pleased; Jaune and Weiss. Of course, Jaune had been growing in suspicion since he first noticed that Pyrrha was lying about Team CLME. Yet, he had done his best to avoid pressing her on the matter, after she claimed the reason for her meeting with Ozpin. By this point, he was near certain that their meeting had been about Cinder and her team, though what they discussed about them, he had no idea. Now, with the Huntmaster announcing that the tournament would be modified with new combatants from Mistral, ones who were close to graduating as full Huntsmen, he had a better perception on what was going on. However, that was not what tipped him off. It was something that many if not most watching would not have caught on to, but Jaune and Weiss had noticed immediately. It was in the swordplay of Pyrrha and René, and it puzzled them greatly: they were holding back. Neither was sure as to why, it being due to their past history or something unrelated, but for Jaune at least, hoped the truth was nothing to be worried about.
The final group of course, was that of Cinder and her three lackeys. They had all been watching the match carefully, giving their full attention to Pyrrha's one-on-one with René. Unfortunately for them, they gained no new insight on her abilities as it was simply, at least to them, a duel between swordsmen. Neither combatant had activated their Semblances and displayed their true power, giving them nothing new to work with. They were well aware of Pyrrha's Semblance, Polarity, of course, and had seen plenty of demonstrations of that power from recordings of her tournament matches. What they had yet to see, was her growth since those matches; something she had displayed very little of during the tournament thus far. They had been hoping that the match between her team and Team SSSN would have drawn it out, but this intervention by Ozpin had taken that opportunity away.
"So what now?" asked Emerald, looking uncertainly to Cinder.
The cold false-Maiden, leaning back against her seat with her arms crossed, remained silent for a few moments. Her eyes were glued onto Pyrrha like a predatory animal, as she vanished below ground into the locker-area. When she lost sight of her, she spoke.
"We carry on with the plan" she decided tonelessly.
"Are you sure?" asked Mercury.
"Nikos has made it to the Singles bracket; something that we've wanted and planned for since the start. Now that we know about Ironwood's little puppet, it and Nikos fighting one another, is key to our plan."
"But what if they don't fight?" he countered.
"We control the outcome of the match-ups" Cinder mused, tapping her tablet. "We will set the matches for tomorrow. The moment that anything changes to our preset outcomes, we shall begin the assault with Emerald using her Semblance to cause panic. If nothing changes, then we carry on with our original plan. Is that understood?"
The three younger members of the group glanced at one another before looking at Cinder, and nodded silently. It was all or nothing.
The plan is now in motion. How will things turn out? Only time will tell.
While I'm here, I want to apologize for the delay. I normally take the weekend to relax after posting, as they are my only days off. However, the weekends are the only times that I have uninterrupted time, which would really help get through the first or even second read. Once again, I'm going to have to think on how to go about the release schedule. So much work, so little time Q_Q
I hope you enjoyed this chapter nonetheless, and I wish all you Yanks a Happy Thanksgiving. I know the world seems so bleak and scary, but we have a lot more to be thankful about than we realize.
Cheers, and see you next time.