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Chapter 10: Throw Down
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Lots of things transpired over the next several weeks.
Jaune continued training with Delsin and Pyrrha, along with any of their other friends when they could spare a moment. With that much training under his belt, he was getting to be a rather skilled fighter. Not quite where his classmates were, but he was getting closer every day. As far as Delsin could tell, Pyrrha hadn't gone for it like he'd suggested, but he figured it would be any day now.
Alex and Yang spent several hours over that time in the workshop and Ruby joined them occasionally. They finished the additions on Yang's bike, including side turrets, an electrical field based anti-theft system, and various other under the hood improvements. They also finished Delsin's new ammo pack, carrying harness included. It was just a prototype and it would be a while before he could take it into the field, but it worked.
When he wasn't training with Jaune, Delsin was out in Vale, working as the Banner Man. By this point, Delsin's activities had brought the crime rate down sharply. Before he'd been there, the crime rate had been about 11%. Now, it was down to 5%. Some of his teammates even helped out on occasion. Ruby was the one who came the most, she really enjoyed the hands-on approach to helping people, and with her speed, it was easy for her to maintain a secret identity like Delsin's.
So far, Delsin was enjoying his new life. The only thing apart from the school uniform (which, despite his enormous efforts, had not found a way out of wearing) was the way people treated the Faunus. He found that seemed to be the situation he found himself intervening in most. So many people hated them, without much in the way of a real reason. People on his world may have had reasonable justification for hating Conduits, but Delsin still knew how it felt to be hated for what he was, and that made it easy to empathize with them.
In fact, there was one group of people who were vocal in their hatred of Faunus, a group which Delsin was about to have the misfortune of meeting.
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Delsin woke up when cold water hit him in the face.
"What the-" he shouted.
Alex was standing across the room, an empty bucket in his hand.
"The fuck was that for, man?" Delsin asked loudly.
"Payback," Alex replied, laughing.
"C'mon man, that was like eight weeks ago!"
"I know. After all, revenge is a dish best served cold," Alex said, intentionally playing up the cliché tone of his voice.
Delsin just stared at him.
"You are evil," he said.
Alex smiled.
"I know."
Delsin drained the water out of his clothes and bed.
"So, what's first this morning," Delsin asked.
"First? Breakfast, then history with Dr. Oobleck."
"Ok, let's go. Wanna race?"
"Delsin, come on, do you even have to ask?"
"So... that's a yes?"
Alex sighed.
"Yes."
They both walked out of the room and took up their positions in the hallway. Delsin switched to his Neon power. Alex began the countdown after he ate a lightning crystal.
"3... 2... Hey!"
When he got to two Delsin shot off, smirking in his Neon form.
"That's not fair, you cheater!" Alex shouted down the hallway.
Alex quickly bolted down the hallway after him, streams of electricity and rose petals in his wake. The two of them bolted through the dorms, causing a bit of a ruckus, though less so than when they started doing it weeks ago. To the people in their dorm, it had become something of a morning ritual, though not one they like very much.
When they ran through the second floor, the two of them found themselves joined by a second burst of rose petals running right alongside them.
"Mornin' Ruby," Alex called.
"Morning Alex," Ruby answered, reforming into herself.
"Figured you'd join us?" he asked.
"No way I'm letting you beat me again!" she exclaimed.
She blasted past them both, taking the lead, but not by much.
Alex looked at Delsin's light form. Delsin couldn't talk in that state, but a clear message passed between them.
"Game on!"
The three of them burst out of the dorms, each going as fast as they could. Ruby was in front, still holding onto her lead, if only barely. His own competitiveness winding him up, Alex reached out with Pyrrha's Semblance, having gotten hers along with a few others over the last few weeks, to the metal insignia on her waist. He pulled on it ever so slightly and took the lead, much to Ruby's ire.
He then quickly turned and placed a series of Black Glyphs in front of Delsin, who had been quickly gaining on him. Delsin was having none of that and stopped short of the Glyphs. Without missing a beat he went into Laser Focus and fired a Neon bolt at his partner's leg.
Alex saw this coming. Right as the bolt would have hit, Alex triggered a Shadow Clone and jumped away, fiendishly smirking at his friend. In that moment though, Ruby passed him again. When he turned back to get on track again and catch up, Delsin fired again, knowing his partner couldn't make another clone within seven seconds of making the previous one.
The second bolt hit its mark and made Alex stumble and trip, though his Aura kept it from doing any lasting damage. This gave Delsin the chance he needed to catch up, and he took it in stride. He overtook the both of them in moments and seized the lead.
Desperate, Alex activated the Semblance he got from Nora and used the lightning crystal in his system to boost his strength. It hurt like hell, but with that, he managed to propel himself forward even faster.
Ruby, determined not to be left behind, poured on the speed, as did Alex. The three of them, all neck and neck at this point, they ran towards the cafeteria.
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The rest of team RWBY watched from their dorm window as the trio raced.
"Must they do this every morning?" Weiss asked.
"It is kinda loud," Blake chimed in.
"Hey, it looks like fun to me. Wish I could join 'em, but my bike won't fit in the hallways," Yang said.
"Well maybe you can get Alex to help you fix that," Blake commented slyly.
"What was that?" Yang replied, feigning deafness with thinly veiled hostility.
"Oh, nothing," Blake replied, smiling.
Weiss sighed.
"We should get breakfast before they eat it all. Come on," the Ice Queen said.
Weiss quickly left the room and Blake and Yang followed her out after taking a moment to close the window and put a few things away.
"They at it again?" a gruff voice asked from the hallway.
The three of them turned around to find Coco, Velvet, and Fox standing behind them.
"Yeah, it's them," Yang said.
"God, can't they ever be quiet?" Fox said, "Some of us have sensitive ears."
"And do they have to do it every morning?" Coco asked.
"I know! I just said the same thing!" Weiss said.
"You guys are such buzzkills," Yang said.
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The six of them arrived at the cafeteria to find Ruby standing triumphantly on top of a comically collapsed Alex and Delsin, the both of them spread-eagle on the floor.
"What happened here?" Yang asked.
"I won," Ruby said, smugly smiling.
"How?" Blake asked.
"Hell if we know," Alex moaned.
"What he said," Delsin agreed.
For a precisely two seconds, the six of them were quiet. Then they all started laughing, even Weiss.
"Yeah, Yeah, laugh it up," Delsin said.
"Yeah, don't bother to help us up or anything," Ales said angrily.
The two of them started to stand and Yang and Fox helped them up, as they all started to get into the breakfast line. As they formed a line Velvet walked up behind Delsin.
"You let her win didn't you?" she asked.
Delsin smiled and said nothing.
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After they went through the line all of them, plus team JNPR whom they met in the line, found a big open table and sat down with their food.
"So where's Yatsuhashi?" Delsin asked.
"Didn't you hear? His baby sister was born so he went down to be with his family," Velvet answered.
A collective "Aww" rose when Velvet showed them a picture of the newborn Anmitsu Daichi.
"She's adorable!" Nora said.
"Yep, little pastry chef in the making right there," Coco said.
"What?" Ruby asked excitedly.
"Yatsu's parents own a bakery," Fox explained.
Ruby started drooling.
Coco laughed.
"I'll ask him to bring some back for you," she said smiling.
Instead of a response, Coco found herself on the receiving end of a tackle hug that would have knocked her over were it not for a timely intervention by Fox. Watching this made everyone else laugh. A smile on her face, Velvet began gathering the trays on the table.
"I'll go put these away. Be right back," she said.
"Now class, what do we say?" Delsin said in a spot-on imitation of Professor Port.
"Thank you Velvet," they all chimed in.
Velvet smiled and turned pink as she walked away.
"So Delsin," Nora said.
"Hm?" Delsin replied.
"Someone told me you were an artist," she said mysteriously.
"Really, I can't imagine who would have told you that," he said as he gave an annoyed look to everyone gathered around. The effect was lost on Fox, who merely smiled back, knowing full well what Delsin was doing.
"Well, I was thinking..."
With that, she spent the next few minutes rambling about how he should make spray-paint murals of them around Vale. Delsin was reluctantly listening when Alex nudged him in the shoulder, an angry look on his face. Delsin looked at his partner, then followed the bird Faunus's gaze.
He did not like what he saw. Some punk that he vaguely remembered as Cardin was pulling on Velvet's ears and laughing with what was probably the rest of his team.
The other's at the table saw this (with one exception) and the conversation all but died.
"That's disgraceful," Pyrrha said.
"Indeed," Ren agreed.
This sentiment was shared by most people present. Blake and Ruby frowned in disappointment while Yang and Nora were fuming. Fox and Coco were clenching their fists hard enough to turn their knuckles white. Strangely enough, Weiss, a.k.a. Miss Opinionated, seemed all but oblivious.
"Someone should really do something," Jaune said.
Delsin looked at him and everyone else, wondering why they weren't doing just that, but that question died in his throat as he saw Velvet cry in pain. He moved his hand to his wrist and switched to his Smoke Power. He and Alex looked at each other and nodded.
"Don't worry. Someone is," he said.
Without another word, Delsin Smoke Dashed through his friends and the tables between him and Team CRDL. The moment he reformed, before they even knew he was there, Delsin slammed Cardin's head into the table.
Alex quickly came behind him, his hair a fiery red. Russel was the first to react, and he tried to quickly hop the table to attack Delsin, but Alex had other ideas. He stopped just in front of Russel as he was in mid-movement and released a close range explosion from the palm of his hand, sending the Mohawk-sporting bully flying.
Sky managed to get to the other side of the table and kicked Delsin back away from Cardin. Delsin was having none of that and released a Cinder Blast on both Sky and Dove, managing to catch Cardin in the process.
The table they were sitting at broke into splinters as the three of them stumbled backward. Team CRDL regrouped and stood next to each other in a combative formation, while Delsin stood in a hunched offensive stance and Alex knelt next to him, his full wingspan on display. Velvet, who had been freed from Cardin's grip, stood behind Delsin as if he were a wall for her to hide behind, all the while massaging her aching ear.
Both sides traded hateful looks.
"What's your problem asshole?!" Cardin shouted.
"My problem is that the asshole with the major brain defect and an ego that's clearly compensating for something, along with his three dumb-shit goons, are hurting a friend of mine," Delsin replied angrily.
"That's it!" Cardin screamed.
The entirety of Team CRDL readied themselves for the fast approaching fight, but just as they were about to start swinging, a voice called out.
"Enough!" the voice yelled.
All of them turned to find Glynda standing behind them, absolutely livid. With a flick of her wrist and riding crop, she reconstructed the table and the wall that had a near perfect mold of Russel.
"What do you think you're doing?!" she screamed.
Cardin started to speak, but Glynda cut him off.
"It was a rhetorical question because obviously, you weren't thinking at all!"
She turned away from them and began to walk away.
"If you wish to have a bout between teams, I suggest you wait for the arena, rather than destroy the cafeteria and threaten the safety of your other classmates," she continued, her voice taking on its usual icy chill.
She turned over her shoulder and gave them all a death stare.
"This is your first and last warning."
Team CRDL put away their weapons, but Cardin stepped right up to Delsin.
"You know what? She's right. We settle this in the arena. Today," Cardin spat.
"Count on it," Delsin replied.
Team CRDL left just as fast as Glynda. The moment they were out of sight, Delsin's expression softened and he turned to Velvet who was still hiding behind him.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
She nodded, though her expression was unreadable. Delsin smiled and turned to Alex in time to see the rest of the people from their table walk up.
"Nice job with that explosion, sent that bastard flying," Delsin said approvingly.
"Thanks, I've been working on it," Alex replied.
"That was AWESOME!" Nora shouted.
"Ow! Nora, turn it down a bit will you?" Alex said as both he and Delsin, as well as Fox, winced.
"Uh, when I said you should do something, I didn't mean that," Jaune said, mystified.
"Well it worked, didn't it? Besides, had it coming. In fact, he still does," Delsin answered, the hard edge returning to his voice. He'd always had a problem with bullies.
"I guess," Jaune sighed.
Before anyone else could say anything, Weiss walked up to the center of the group.
"If you all are done, we really should get to class. It starts in a few minutes," she said, checking the time on her Scroll.
For a fleeting moment, Delsin felt he knew why Alex hated Weiss so much. She couldn't possibly have sounded more disinterested.
"No wonder they call you Ice Queen," he thought.
With the mood sufficiently killed, all of the assembled students went to class.
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Oobleck's history lesson went by in a whirlwind, much like the Doctor himself, and after that was combat training with Glynda. Many of the first year students and a few of the second year students quickly filed into the seating area around the arena center. Glynda herself was standing on the arena floor, quietly working with her tablet as the students walked in. When everyone was seated she put her tablet down and addressed the students.
"Alright, I'm sure you all remember the rules by now, but let's go over them again just to be sure," she said.
"Today's practice matches shall be Team vs. Team. Whichever Team manages to defeat every Team member of the opposing team, or whichever Team has the highest cumulative Aura level at the end of the ten-minute time limit, shall be declared the winner.
"A combatant shall be considered 'defeated' if their Aura level falls below twenty, if they fall unconscious, or if they or their weapon leave the arena under any circumstance. Any person who inflicts an injury upon a 'defeated' combatant shall be disqualified.
"As a reminder. You are not being graded on whether you win or lose, but rather your combat performance in your match. So, remember to do your best. With that said, let's get started," Glynda said as she started up the match randomizer.
Several matches came and went. Team RWBY had a match against a team that Delsin didn't recognize, but they managed a quick and decisive victory. Team JNPR did as well, and it was actually Jaune who managed to beat the enemy leader, surprising everyone who knew him and his lack of combat skills.
After two hours and over a dozen matches, it was time for the last match of the day, and the only teams left were Team CRDL and Alex and Delsin's Team. Glynda looked teams in the eyes as she called them down. Evidently, she had purposefully held them back so they could work through their issues on the battlefield.
"You know, I just realized we don't actually have a team name," Delsin said.
"Really? You only just noticed?" Alex asked.
"Well, I mean I never really thought about it. We should probably get on that."
"We should. Just, not right now."
Both teams walked into the arena.
"Take your positions students. When the countdown ends, the match will begin," Glynda said as she backed away.
Delsin stood hunched over slightly and switched to his Concrete power. He let the stones from his power encircle his arms and hands, and he was itching to pound Cardin's face in.
Alex stood beside him, his wings displayed in full glory. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a Wind crystal, consuming it and turning his hair a very light shade of green.
For their part, the members of Team CRDL all wore various expressions of rage as they brandished their weapons.
As the voice of the overhead monitor counted down. Delsin smiled.
"Start!" the voice said.
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It wasn't a long fight.
As Cardin brandished his weapon and prepared to strike, Delsin Boulder Dashed right into him, hitting with the force of a freight train. Cardin's hand slipped off his weapon and he went flying into the wall of the arena, his Aura taking a huge hit right off the bat.
"Cardin!" Russel yelled as he ran to help his leader.
Dove pointed his sword at Alex and opened fire. Alex didn't even bother to dodge. Instead, he raised his hand and activated the Semblance he got from Glynda. Under the telekinesis, the rounds stopped in midair, about a foot from Alex's face.
"Is that the best you can do?" Alex asked sarcastically.
Alex let the bullets fall to the floor. Dove took a step back out of fear, but he grit his teeth and began to charge.
At the same time, Sky was advancing on Delsin. The blue haired mook charged, and took a sideways swing at Delsin, aiming to cleave him in two at the waist. With a smirk, Delsin used hisConcrete power to launch himself into the air. Sky's swing broke the pillar, sending rubble flying.
Alex took that moment to strike. Using a great gust of wind, he scooped up the large shards of concrete rubble and directed them like a river. With a flick of his wrist, he used his magnetism to hold Dove's armor in place, and Dove along with it. Then, with a smile, Alex let the concrete fall, right on top of Dove. As the shards hit him, Dove cried out in pain, his Aura depleted.
The buzzer sounded.
"Dove Bronzewing is unable to continue," the mechanical voice sounded.
Alex gathered the shards back up with the wind and held them around himself in a circle, waiting for the next move.
Meanwhile, Delsin had been hovering in the air with his Concrete Thrusters, making sure Alex had a clear area to work with. When his partner was done, Delsin dropped the thrusters and did a comet drop. Just on the edge of the impact, Sky recoiled from the shockwave. Delsin shot forward after him, and when Sky raised his weapon to block, Delsin covered his right arm in concrete and punched through it, breaking the pole in two and sending Sky flying into the far wall.
"Sky Lark is unable to continue," the mechanical voice announced as Sky's Aura level fell to the single digits.
Russel was still trying to help Cardin, the latter still having trouble standing. They both heard the announcements from the monitor, and while Russel was terrified at the scale of the powers he was witnessing, Cardin lost himself to a blind rage. As he finally managed to get his feet back under him, he rushed to try and reclaim his weapon and beat them both senseless.
Alex and Delsin smiled. Alex launched the concrete shards at Cardin with the wind at his command but Cardin managed to get his mace and broke through each of the shards as they entered his reach.
"Is that all you got?!" Cardin shouted.
Delsin's smile widened and he pointed to Cardin's feet, Smoke trailing from his fingertips. Cardin looked down to see a ball of smoke and fire an inch away from him. He turned and tried to run, but that was when Delsin's latest Smoke power went off, one he called a Cinder Grenade.
The explosion wasn't spectacular, but it got the job done. The force sent Cardin sailing out of the ring. Luckily he didn't hit anyone when he landed.
"Cardin Winchester is unable to continue."
Russel looked around at his defeated friends and noticed that Alex had called up a small tornado to circle him and his partner. A tornado that was currently full of the same Cinder Grenades that had just done in his leader.
Russel raised his hands and dropped his weapons in surrender.
A cheer resounded throughout the arena as Glynda declared their victory, and Delsin and Alex held up their hands in triumph.
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In the minutes following the fight, Delsin and Alex found Cardin laying right where they'd left him. Delsin switched to his Water power and threw a bit of cold water in his face. Cardin woke with a start and was about to try and attack them both, but Alex's magnetism held him back.
"Let me go!" he yelled.
Delsin slapped him.
"Shut up," he said sternly.
Cardin growled a bit, but he did as he was told. Delsin moved his hand to his wrist before continuing.
"I just want to make one thing perfectly clear. You mess with my friend again and I will hurt you. You pick on another Faunus, and I will hurt you. If I hear that you've done either one of those, I will hurt you. Understand?" Delsin said flatly as he grabbed Cardin's collar, Smoke emanating from his grip.
Cardin's eyes widened and he nodded.
"Good."
The two of them released their holds on the boy and walked away.
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Delsin and Velvet were walking side by side, the two of them sharing the next class, Dust Mechanics with Prof. Branford.
"Delsin?" Velvet asked.
"Yeah?"
"Why do you keep doing that?"
"Doing what?"
"Protecting me."
Delsin looked confused.
"I promised you I would, didn't I?" he said.
Velvet fought down the rising blush on her face. She cleared her throat.
"Yes, you did but … why?"
Delsin stopped walking.
"'Cause I know how it feels to be put down for no real reason, and no one should have to feel that way," he told her.
Velvet didn't know how to respond to that. So instead of saying anything, she simply smiled, and the two of them kept walking.
"Thank you Delsin."
Delsin smiled.
"Anytime Velvet."
CHAPTER END
In this chapter, Delsin raised a small point. He and Alex don't yet have a team name. In fact, I spent two days trying to come up with one, with no success. Then I had an idea. So, I'm reaching out to my now 70 something followers (Ok, wow, never expected this to be that much of a success).
So, that being said, I'm giving you the chance to mold a small part of this fic. Over the next month, I will be accepting recommendations for Alex and Delsin's team name. Leave them as reviews, send them to me as PM's, or whatever else you can think of. At the appointed time, I will announce the winning name and the person who provided it.
Have fun, and embrace your creativity. See you in two weeks.
