Chapter 5: The Doubles Round, Part 2

Backstage at Amity Colosseum, 13:45 pm…

Nathan and Pyrrha descended the steps leading backstage to find Blake stood there, waiting for them.

Looking to Nathan; Pyrrha said: "I'll be at the entranceway." Before walking off, leaving Nathan and Blake by themselves.

Nathan met Blake's gaze, and they shared a warm smile with each other, before Blake closed the distance and wrapped her arms around Nathan.

"Good luck, Nathan." Blake said. "I just got a message from my parents congratulating my team on getting to the singles round, and that they're watching this fight with a lot of interest."

"Because I'll be fighting?" Nathan asked.

Blake nodded. "So you had better be on your best behaviour, mister." She said with a coy grin, poking Nathan in the chest.

Nathan chuckled. "What do I get if I am on my best behaviour?" He asked.

"Only one way to find out, isn't there?" Blake replied with an even coyer smile, before she pulled Nathan close and hugged him.

Nathan smiled warmly as he heard Blake sigh happily, before breaking the hug. Nathan's eyes then narrowed as Blake fished out a purple piece of fabric from her pocket. "What's that for?" He asked.

"For you." Blake replied softly, before tying it around Nathan's left bicep. "Whenever you look at it; think of me. I guess you could call it your good luck charm."

Nathan smiled. "I'll wear it as a badge of honour; since I'm honoured to have the privilege of calling you my girlfriend."

Blake's smile widened and she shook her head. "That's not a privilege. Privilege makes it sound like something I plan on taking away if you mess up. Dating someone is a choice. A choice to see if you want to spend the rest of your life with someone. A choice I'm glad you made with me."

"Not my fault I fell in love with the most beautiful woman in the galaxy." Nathan replied with a smile as he leaned in.

Blake smiled before reciprocating, sharing a passionate kiss with Nathan.

Nathan returned the kiss, pulling Blake close.

They stayed like that for some time before Nathan broke the kiss.

"Go get them, Nathan." Blake said before walking off.

Nathan watched his girlfriend leave before sighing happily and heading towards the entranceway. Time to go kick some ass, Nathan thought to himself.

The entranceway…

"So glad of you to join me, Nathan." Pyrrha remarked playfully. "Was half expecting to hear certain noises coming from that corridor."

Nathan flipped the bird at Pyrrha before saying: "We heading out first, or are our opponents already out there?"

"They're already out there." Pyrrha declared. "Three guesses who they are."

"Hector and his band of pussies?" Nathan inquired. "How easy do you think it's gonna be?"

"Well; I know nothing of his teammates' respective skills, but from what it looks like, he's got his cousin Paris as his teammate. She's a talented archer, but that's about it."

"Then why the fuck has he got the rest of his teammates out there with him… oh wait; one of them is acting as hype man." Nathan said. "Would have thought your mom would be out there with him."

"No worries." Pyrrha replied. "She sent me this." At that, Pyrrha fished out her scroll and showed Nathan a picture.

Nathan rolled his eyes. "Wow…"

It was a picture of Juno, surrounded by all manner of refreshments, grinning at the camera whilst pointing directly at the entranceway, indicating that she was in a seat directly facing it.

"Wonder how many one night stands she's scored since coming here." Nathan muttered. "If any at all."

Pyrrha giggled. "We'll have to see." She replied. "Either way; are you ready?"

Nathan nodded. "Juno is gonna get shredded when we beat Hector and his cousin."

"I do not doubt it." Pyrrha replied. "I'll see you out there, Nathan." At that, the song 'Victorious' by the band Skillet began playing as the crowd erupted with a thunderous ovation.

Pyrrha smiled, and soon made her way out, making her entrance, which only seemed to increase the volume of the cheers.

Nathan smirked as he watched Pyrrha making her own entrance, knowing his would be next.

He felt his scroll vibrate, and pulled it from his pocket, smiling as he saw the message from Blake:

"Good luck, Nathan! I love you! xxx"

Nathan's smile deepened, and he looked at the purple piece of fabric that Blake had tied around his left bicep, taking a deep breath. Leaning in, he planted a kiss on the fabric, saying: "Love you too, Blake."

At that, he stepped closer to the entranceway, checking himself over to make sure he was ready. It was time to step into the arena.

With Blake…

Blake watched as Pyrrha took her position opposite their opponents, before looking up towards someone in the crowd; probably her mother.

Pyrrha seemed to act friendly towards her mother, waving, before turning her wave into giving her mother the finger as the crowd exclaimed.

At the same time; 'This Fire Burns' by Killswitch Engage began blaring over the PA, the opening riffs giving way to a loud scream of:

"YEAH!"

A, Nathan surged into view once the music picked up as the crowd erupted with a loud ovation; making Nathan smile briefly as he took it all in. He then dropped to a knee and looked at his left wrist as if checking a wristwatch. Nodding with satisfaction, he cupped his hands over his mouth and bellowed something Blake could barely hear:

"IT'S CLOBBERING TIME!"

"All I've ever wanted, was destiny to be fulfilled! It is in my hands, I must not fail, I MUST NOT FAIL!"

Getting to his feet, Nathan walked fast towards the combat area, where he could see Pyrrha waiting for him along with their opponents as the lead up to the song's chorus blared throughout the arena:

"Even through the darkest days... this fire burns... always... this fire burns... always..."

Blake watched as Nathan once again stopped to take in the crowd, soaking it all in before continuing his path towards Pyrrha and their opponents:

"This is the proving ground! Misery begins to rise! Turn away from yesterday... tomorrow's in my hands... OH!"

Blake smiled as she saw Nathan reach Pyrrha and share a fist bump with his best friend.

"Never more to be held down... by the waves of destiny... never more to be cast aside... this day is mine"

At that, Nathan posed for the crowd, hyping them up some more and driving them to cheer even louder:

"Even through the darkest days... this fire burns... always... this fire burns... ALWAYS!"

Nathan took that moment to sit down cross-legged, facing his and Pyrrha's opponents as the music cut out.

Blake beamed with pride, smirking a little as she saw how nervous Nathan and Pyrrha's opponents were.

"Tear them apart, you two!" Nora called out from where she was sat near Blake.

"Kick their ass!" Yang shouted.

"Go get 'em, Nate!" Ruby said.

"You can do this!" Jaune added.

Blake heard this and smiled, watching as Pyrrha drew her weapons, followed by Nathan standing up and igniting his lightsaber.

The signature snap-hiss of the lightsaber igniting echoed around the arena, drawing a gasp of amazement from the crowd, as did the sight of Nathan's sky-blue blade flaring to life.

At the same time, the environments in which the contest would take place were soon decided:

Forest, mountainous terrain, ruined city, and an actual cityscape.

Port's voice came over the PA at that: "Three, two, one… BEGIN!"

With Nathan and Pyrrha…

Nathan immediately reached out with the Force as Pyrrha rushed to engage Hector, pulling Paris towards him.

Paris quickly snapped a shot off from her bow, but that was quickly blocked by Nathan, who used the Force to pull the woman towards him.

The moment his opponent was within range, Nathan hurled his lightsaber at Hector's teammate.

Paris promptly turned her bow into a large falchion-like sword, slapping Nathan's lightsaber aside before charging Nathan.

Nathan promptly recalled his lightsaber to his hand, and surged towards her, lightsaber raised as their weapons met. Pushing his way out of the weapons lock, Nathan used a quick Force Push to off-balance Paris, raising his lightsaber and raining down blows, before sending her flying into one of the ruined buildings within the ruined city environment.

At that, he heard the elimination klaxon sound, as well as Port saying:

"Oh-ho! Young Phoenix made quick work of Miss Crassus. Now young Hector is in serious trouble!"

Nathan smirked, and turned to see a now visibly nervous Hector, who Nathan noticed was between him and Pyrrha.

A quick glance towards the aura screen told Nathan that Hector's aura was well within the yellow, whilst his and Pyrrha's were still pretty much at full strength.

"Shall we, Pyrrha?" Nathan called out to his teammate.

"Indeed we shall!" Pyrrha said, hurling Akoúo̱ at Hector.

"Wait, stop-UGH!" Hector spluttered as Akoúo̱ struck him in the side, sending him staggering towards Nathan.

Surging towards Hector, Nathan raised his lightsaber and slashed Hector across the back as Pyrrha did the same across Hector's front, switching sides and doing the same.

Switching off his lightsaber, Nathan and Pyrrha shared a nod before promptly sandwiching Hector's head between a spin kick from Nathan, and a bicycle knee strike from Pyrrha.

Before long, Hector's unconscious body toppled to the floor as the elimination klaxon sounded, making the crowd erupt in ovation.

"Goodness gracious me! That match merely lasted only ninety seconds!" Port declared over the PA. "Yet again, Pyrrha Nikos makes history alongside Nathan Phoenix, for the shortest Vytal Festival Tournament match in the history of Remnant!"

"Holy shit." Nathan said as he joined Pyrrha. "We just made history."

"Add it to the long list of accolades I have." Pyrrha replied. "And just the start of what'll likely be a long list of your accolades."

Nathan nodded before pulling Pyrrha into a hug.

Pyrrha smiled and returned the hug as the crowd cheered.

Breaking the hug, Nathan raised his hand, indicating he wanted a microphone.

"Oh; it appears young Phoenix wants to say a few words!" Port says. "Someone bring him a microphone!"

At that, someone ran over to Nathan and Pyrrha, handing the former a microphone.

Making sure it was working, Nathan then looked to the now retreating Hector Crassus and his cousin. "Have to admit you two… I've lasted longer."

At that, the crowd exclaimed and laughed.

"Now; onto the woman who turned against her own daughter to support those two." Nathan added, looking straight up at Juno, whose facial expression was one of horror. "Juno, Juno, Juno… I though the last time we spoke would be enough to convince you that nothing you try is going to get us to apologise for calling you out for your laundry list of sins. But, here we are again, with you being an atypical narcissist and refusing to admit that you are in the wrong despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. I gotta admit; you are persistent in trying to get what you want. The only problem is; nobody cares, because they know just what kind of hellish person you are. But I guess you can't accept that, can you? You just have to have this apology, just so you can feel some modicum of gratification, some admission that you are right, and everyone else around you is wrong. So guess what, Juno? I apologise."

Juno's face lit up, only to then fall to an infuriated scowl as Nathan added:

"For not coming into yours and Pyrrha's life sooner! So I could tell you just how shitty, how toxic, and overall just how fucking terrible a person you are sooner! Pyrrha's ten times happier without you, and it shows." Pausing, Nathan added: "But again; you just refuse to accept that, because again; you can do no wrong in your mind! Pyrrha has to be happy with you in her life, because that's how you validate how good you are as a person. Once again; newsflash. you are wrong. You are a terrible person. The only people that really deserve an apology today are the people here in the arena, and all across Remnant, for having to listen to me call you out on your shit yet again! Because they all know you're wrong. They all can see just how shitty you are as a person. But just because of your own stubborn, narcissistic refusal to admit you're wrong, here they are, watching me tell them exactly how it is! And you can hate me all you want, Juno. You can hate me, you can hate Pyrrha, you can hate the rest of our team and our friends for all I care. It still won't change the fact that Pyrrha is still going to go on to the final. She is going to win this tournament. And she is still going to go down as one of if not the greatest Huntresses of this generation. And she'll do it with the support of the people who love her. Who cherish and support her no matter what she does. Instead of someone who only used Pyrrha to leech off of her fame and fortune, like a narcissistic parasite." Pausing, Nathan finally added: "Suck on that while you try fucking your way back into relevancy."

The crowd all exclaimed and some even laughed as Juno once again stood up and stormed off, barging past everyone in her row on her way out, evidently screaming obscenities with every step she made.

Once she had gone, the crowd once again cheered, at which Nathan raised his hand to silence them.

"Now that Juno is sorted out; I'd like to say a few more words." Nathan said. "To quote Beacon's headmaster, Professor Ozpin; today we're all together; united. Remnant is in an incredible time of peace, something that has persisted for eighty years. However, as I've come to realise; not everything is as peaceful as it seems. Because there's still injustice that continues to persist throughout Remnant, and it bleeds like a gaping wound that refuses to heal. I'm talking about the issue of faunus rights."

At that, about half the stadium started booing Nathan.

"I'm going to guess those are people from Atlas and Mistral." Nathan remarked. "But I won't waste my breath. The fact is… no matter what shape or form a faunus or human takes… we're all the same. We all bleed the same blood, breathe the same air, fight for the same reasons. But for some reason; people only focus on the worst of the faunus; the White Fang, and then think that all faunus are the scum of Remnant. Well; forgive me for saying this; but I call bullshit! Because several of my friends are faunus, and they are among the greatest people I know. Hell; I'm dating a faunus for fuck's sake; and she makes me a better person every single day I spend with her! The point is… Ozpin said that we all stand together; united. But until the whole of Remnant can treat faunus with respect and dignity… we're not united. Humanity might be united, but until the faunus are treated with the respect they deserve… we never will truly be united." At that, Nathan laid the mic down and took in the crowd who were all watching him.

At first, it was one pair of hands that started clapping.

Then it was several.

One thing led to another, and before long, the entire arena was clapping, some of them cheering for Nathan.

Nathan nodded with a smile, taking in the applause, before movement nearby caught his eye.

He looked to see that the rest of his team had joined him and Pyrrha, and were beckoning him to join them.

Nathan jogged over, and joined his teammates in a warm group hug as the crowd cheered even more.

"That was an awesome speech!" Jaune said, smiling at Nathan.

"I do my best." Nathan replied with a grin as they all shared the hug.

At the same time, Nathan sensed another familiar presence approaching. Breaking away from the group hug, Nathan found his eyes meeting a familiar pair of beautiful amber coloured eyes.

The rest of Team JNNPR broke apart to allow Blake to close the distance as she rushed Nathan; leaping into his arms.

As Nathan spun Blake around; Nathan heard Blake crying. "What's wrong, Blake?" Nathan asked.

Blake wiped her tears away with a warm smile. "Nothing's wrong, Nathan. It's just… you really think of me that way?"

"Blake; you know I speak my mind no matter what I'm talking about." Nathan replied. "So why would I lie about how I truly feel having you as my girlfriend?"

Blake's smile deepened. "I love you." She declared.

"Love you too, Blake." Nathan replied with an equally warm smile, before he leaned in, capturing his girlfriend's lips in a passionate kiss.

The crowd utterly erupted at this, cheering and whistling loudly.

Breaking the kiss, Nathan smiled and pulled Blake into a tight, warm hug, hearing her sigh happily.

"You've made me a better person, too, Nathan." Blake added softly. "And I feel so blessed to have you in my life."

Nathan smiled as he broke the hug, meeting Blake's gaze.

Love was there; deep and lasting.

Leaning in and pulling Blake close, Nathan kissed her again, wrapping his arms around her waist whilst she wrapped hers around his neck, deepening the kiss.

Eventually, they broke the kiss, and looked to see JNNPR waiting for them.

"Come on. Let's join the others." Nathan said, taking Blake by the hand.

Lacing her fingers through his, Blake joined Nathan as they walked off with JNNPR, hand in hand.

Now it was time to celebrate.

The fairgrounds, 19:00 pm…

Nathan pulled Blake close as the gang all relaxed after a nice dinner.

They had spent the past few hours celebrating the fact that both of their teams were now qualified for the singles round.

"So; who're you picking as your representative in the singles round?" Nathan asked Team RWBY, all of whom looked at Yang.

"What can I say? Since Weiss eliminated herself; I was the de facto choice." Yang replied. "Much like you and JNNPR picking Pyrrha."

"Although a case could easily be made for you representing JNNPR after your performance earlier." Blake said softly, looking at Nathan with a smile.

"Yeah… but maybe I'd just prefer chilling with my amazing and beautiful girlfriend." Nathan replied with a warm smile of his own, leaning in and pecking Blake on the cheek.

Blake sighed happily as she laid her head on Nathan's shoulder, taking in the gazes of her teammates.

"Besides; Nate said it himself!" Nora declared. "The winner of the Vytal Festival Tournament is going to be Pyrrha! And she'll break all the legs she needs to in order to do it!"

"Nora; Pyrrha won't need to break her opponents' legs." Ren pointed out as Nora pouted at him.

"She'll probably break their spirits, though." Nathan remarked, eyeing Pyrrha, who returned his gaze with a smile.

"I think a better way of saying it is triumphing via superior skill and ability." Pyrrha replied.

"Or that." Nathan replied. Glancing over to make sure Jaune wasn't looking, Nathan then added: "All whilst finally scoring with Jaune."

At that, Pyrrha blushed madly as Jaune looked towards them.

"What?" Jaune asked.

"What?" Nathan replied almost immediately after, meeting his team leader's gaze.

The two stared one another down for a few moments, as if they were about to draw their weapons and start fighting, but ultimately, they both just cracked up laughing.

As the laughter subsided, Nathan heard a loud yawn escaping someone next to him: "Is somebody tired?"

"Yup." Blake replied, meeting her boyfriend's gaze.

"Well; then let's get you to bed." Nathan said, pecking Blake on the cheek before saying: "Guys; me and Blake are tapping out for the night. See you all tomorrow!" Hearing all their friends mutter assent, Nathan and Blake headed off to the dorms, holding hands the whole way there.

Team RWBY's dorm, 19:30 pm…

"After you." Nathan said to Blake, smiling as he beckoned Blake inside.

"Such a gentleman." Blake replied before pulling Nathan into a kiss.

Returning the kiss, Nathan held his girlfriend close, before breaking it. "You aren't tired, are you?"

"I am." Blake replied. "I just wanted an excuse to be alone with you." At that, she leaned in for another kiss.

Holding Blake closer, Nathan returned the kiss yet again and deepening it.

At which Blake surprised him by breaking the kiss briefly, only to leap up, wrapping her legs around Nathan's waist before capturing Nathan's lips again.

Deepening the kiss hungrily, Nathan carried Blake over to her bed, sitting down in it with her straddling his lap, softly stroking her luscious black hair prior to breaking this kiss, taking a moment to stare at his girlfriend. "Is… is this your way of saying that you're ready to take things to the next level?" He asked.

"If by next level you mean making out and sometimes sleeping together… yes." Blake replied. "I'm… I'm not ready for anything sexual just yet… but given time; you'll see more of my body."

"Looking forward to it." Nathan replied, cheekily reaching down and squeezing Blake's buttocks.

Blake gasped before smirking, pushing Nathan down onto the bed and claiming his lips in a hungry, passionate kiss.

At that, Nathan flipped so that he was on top of Blake, feeling her wrap her legs around his waist again as he broke the kiss, taking a moment to plant a light kiss along his girlfriend's jawline, briefly removing the scarf around her neck to plant another kiss there, too.

Then, Nathan shared another kiss with Blake, brushing a stray hair out of her face, seeing her sigh happily.

"Mind letting me up so I can get changed?" Blake asked Nathan.

"Not at all." Nathan replied, climbing off Blake and letting her stand up and grab her sleepwear before heading into the bathroom.

Nathan sat on the bed, eyes locked on the bathroom as he waited for his girlfriend to emerge, taking a deep breath as he reflected on the week he'd had.

To say it'd been a great week would be an understatement for him. For one; he'd finally confessed his feelings to Blake and now could call her his girlfriend. Two; he'd helped Blake reconcile with her parents, and now had a mind to do the same with Blake's estranged friend, Ilia. Finally, his and Blake's teams were both in the final stretches of the most famous tournament on Remnant; one he was certain either one of them would win.

Finally, Nathan heard the door open, and looked up to see Blake emerging, having to fight his jaw to stop it from dropping.

Blake was wearing a black, long-sleeved, yukata style shirt with white edging over a purple undershirt and a matching skirt. A black obi was wrapped around her waist and tied with a black and white string.

Nathan knew this was Blake's standard sleepwear, but ever since they had started dating; the testosterone fuelled parts of Nathan's mind had been awash with thoughts of how it would feel removing said articles of clothing.

Blake seemed to notice and giggled, saying: "Like what you see, Nathan?"

"Yeah… though a part of me also wonders how it's gonna feel taking all that off." Nathan replied, trying his best to be suave.

Blake smiled before removing her bow, allowing her cat ears to be visible. "You'll have to wait and see, won't you?" She asked flirtatiously.

"I'm a patient guy." Nathan replied, standing up and closing the distance, pulling Blake close as they shared another kiss.

Breaking it; Blake replied: "Until then… you're looking a little overdressed, don't you think?"

Nathan smirked, before stepping aside to allow Blake to head to her bed, watching her sit down before she gave him a look that suggested he start stripping.

Nathan chuckled before first removing his shoulder pauldron, followed shortly thereafter by his vest-jacket, leaving only his black undershirt and his trousers. Kicking off his boots, Nathan then removed his combat trousers, leaving him clad only in just his undershirt and boxers.

Blake smiled and said: "That's a lot better." Before standing up and closing the distance, leaping up into Nathan's arms and wrapping her legs around his waist once more, kissing him passionately.

Returning the kiss, Nathan carried Blake over to her bed, laying her down in it before climbing into bed with her, pulling his girlfriend close and claiming her lips hungrily as he moved so he was on top of her.

Blake allowed Nathan to do so, gasping softly as she felt his lips plant a glancing kiss on the vulnerable and sensitive part of her neck, grabbing the hem of his vest and pulling it over his head, baring his chest.

Tossing the unnecessary article of clothing aside, Nathan leaned back in and kissed Blake passionately, reaching down and taking one of her legs, running his hand sensually along its toned and slim length and placing it around his waist, feeling Blake wrap the other leg tightly around him as well. Breaking the kiss, Nathan returned his attention to the sensitive part of Blake's neck he had discovered earlier, latching onto it and planting soft kisses there, along with a gentle nip from his teeth every once in a while, hearing Blake gasp and even moan a little as he continued his treatment.

Eventually though; he stopped, rolling off of Blake, letting her snuggle up to him.

"So warm…" Blake murmured contentedly.

Nathan chuckled. "Well; I might consider sleeping here more often, then." He replied.

"I'd like that a lot." Blake said, before she traced her finger across some of the various scars that covered Nathan's torso. "So many scars…"

"I was at war for three years, Blake, with no aura to speak of." Nathan replied. "And war leaves a lot of scars."

"Mind telling me how you got some of them?" Blake inquired gently.

"Sure." Nathan said, taking Blake's hand and bringing it to his left flank, where a large, jagged scar resided just beneath his left pectoral, just where the skin met his armpit. "Commando droid stabbed me there when I was just a padawan." Nathan said. Bringing his girlfriend's hand up to his right shoulder, where a blaster shot scar resided, Nathan added: "Took a slug thrower round there protecting a Republic senator from assassination."

"What… what about these ones?" Blake asked, bringing her hands down to four stab-like scars that were around the centre of Nathan's torso.

"Those… were from me making the dumbest decision of my life and facing General Grievous by myself." Nathan replied with a sigh.

"General Grievous?" Blake inquired.

"Pretty much the main military commander of the Separatists." Nathan answered. "He was a cyborg, and one of the most dangerous fighters out there during the Clone Wars."

"And you fought him alone?" Blake asked, eyes widened with shock.

"In my defence, I was the only one there who could." Nathan replied. "Or at least… I thought I was. In reality, I was just a dumb fourteen-year-old Padawan who thought because I was a Jedi, I was nigh-on invincible. Grievous proved me wrong the moment he revealed he could wield four lightsabers at the same time."

Blake's eyes grew even wider as Nathan continued the story:

"Long story short… General Grievous beat the crap out of me. I didn't stand a chance." Nathan said. "Thankfully, my master and Jason arrived with reinforcements before Grievous could kill me; but… now I have four reminders of what happened that day. And why if there's a fight I don't think I can win on my own; I'll always call for backup."

Blake sighed. "Sounds like you've had a difficult life." Blake remarked.

"Yeah. But… if it means I end up here with the most beautiful woman on Remnant… I'd gladly live the same life over and over again, Blake." Nathan replied softly.

Blake smiled warmly and leaned in, kissing Nathan passionately.

Pulling Blake close, Nathan returned the kiss, running his hands up and down Blake's back.

Breaking the kiss, they lay back in bed together, snuggling up.

"There are parts of my life I would rather take back." Blake said. "But… if I'm here, snuggled up with an amazing guy who loves and appreciates me for who I am… At least some good came out of it all."

"Yeah…" Nathan said, reaching up to stroke Blake's hair. "And I've never been happier."

"Neither have I." Blake replied with a happy sigh, laying her head on Nathan's chest as she felt herself drifting off to sleep. "Good night, Nathan. I love you so much."

"I love you too, Blake. With all my heart." Nathan replied softly. "Sleep well, beautiful." Leaning in, he planted a soft kiss on Blake's head before laying back, allowing sleep to claim him in its warm embrace.

Some people have Pyrrha and whoever partners up with her facing a skilled team in the doubles round that they defeat after a hard fought battle.

Not me.

I have Pyrrha and Nathan utterly destroying their opponents in a matter of seconds, with Pyrrha yet again setting a new record in the process.

Also; figured that with the tournament setting; I'd inject a little bit of my wrestling fandom into the mix by giving entrance themes to people.

As a result, Nathan has been gifted one of the best theme songs of all time: 'This Fire Burns' by Killswitch Engage. If enough people call for it; I might decide to have him come out to 'Cult of Personality' by Living Colour or 'Miseria Cantare' by AFI at some point. If you know... you know.

Furthermore, really enjoyed showcasing just what Nathan's suffered through during the Clone Wars. Nathan really has had a hard life.

But enough of that. Let's answer some reviews, shall we?

april-551: To answer your question about Cinder and Adam's opinion of Nathan; Cinder probably considers Nathan a rogue element in her plans given she knows next to nothing about him. As for Adam... Adam probably considers Nathan another obstacle between him and Blake. As for your suggestion regarding Salem's fate; Nathan's ship is destroyed. Totalled, written off, no chance of recovering anything save for some out of date medical supplies and food. So... she won't be sent off planet via anything except her death.

keybladelight: Was wondering when you'd resurface, my friend. Sadly; Cal Kestis will not be making an appearance, simply because the timeline doesn't match up. This story takes place roughly a year after Order 66 was issued. Jedi: Fallen Order takes place five years after Order 66. As for everything regarding the Fall of Beacon and your suggestions, none of those will be happening, simply due to where I intend to take the story. I did say at the beginning of Remnant of the Jedi that I will be deviating from canon at around Volume 3, since what's the point in writing what's already been written? With regards to Nathan's meeting with Ghira... nah, I'll spoil nothing.

Guest: First off; glad you're enjoying the series. I plan to keep the momentum going as much as I can. 1: I never actually realised Nathan has a 'Deadpool'-esque personality until you told me. 2: Glad to hear it. Especially when I myself doubt my writing skills. 3: Fun fact; Blake was orginally not slated to be Nathan's romantic interest. If you want a hint as to who it was originally meant to be... (Checks old drafts) oh wait, I forgot. Those plans froze in ice. 4: (Stares back into your soul before cursing you Danhausen style).

With all that said; thank you all for reading the chapter. If you enjoyed it; you know what to do.

I shall see you all next week with chapter 6, which sees things start taking a turn.

T-Rock14