Chapter 6: Taking a Turn
The next day, Team RWBY's dorm, 29th September 18 BBY, 9:00 am…
Nathan's eyes fluttered open as he awoke, sitting up in bed and letting out a soft yawn as he stretched, letting out a contented sigh.
"Morning."
Nathan looked and smiled to see the smiling visage of his girlfriend, still laying in bed but wide awake, staring at him with all the love her eyes could send his way. "Morning, Blake." Nathan replied softly, laying back in bed, only this time, facing Blake. "Sleep well?"
"With you holding me close all night long? I slept better than I ever have." Blake replied, leaning in for a chaste kiss.
Nathan returned the kiss before breaking it, letting Blake snuggle up to him, sighing happily.
Suddenly, a familiar figure dropped down in front of them; letting out a monstrous yawn of her own.
"Morning!" Yang said, clad in her atypical sleepwear; a tank top and booty shorts.
"Morning, Yang." Blake said softly.
"Morning." Nathan added.
"Oh, morning, Nate." Yang said. "Didn't see you there."
"Yeah, well; Blake wanted me to stay the night. So I did." Nathan replied as he and Blake sat up in bed, looking up to see Ruby waking up.
"Morning, team." Ruby said as she looked down, yelping as she saw Nathan sat there. "Ohmygosh, Nathan's here!"
"What?!" Weiss spluttered as she rose from bed herself, looking over to where Nathan and Blake were. "Oh, morning, Nathan."
"Morning, Ice Bitch." Nathan replied playfully, making Weiss roll her eyes.
"Usually, I would disapprove of a couple sharing a bed prior to marriage." Weiss remarked. "But seeing as you wouldn't care one way or the other; I shan't waste my breath."
"Every breath you take is a waste, Weiss." Nathan joked, making the other members of Team RWBY laugh as Weiss' jaw dropped.
Rolling her eyes, Weiss said: "I'll be in the shower." At that, she stepped out of bed and retrieved her clothes before heading to the shower, leaving the rest of Team RWBY alone with Nathan.
"So… what's on the agenda today, Rubes?" Yang asked, looking at Ruby.
"Well… since you're going to be representing us in the singles round later tonight; I'd say… you need to get ready for that." Ruby said.
"Me and Nathan are probably going to call Ilia." Blake said. "I can't put it off forever." Sighing, Blake added: "I just hope she listens."
"She will." Nathan said, pulling Blake close. "I'm sure of it."
Blake smiled at Nathan appreciatively, planting a kiss on his cheek.
"What about you, Ruby? Got anything lined up for today?" Nathan asked his girlfriend's team leader.
"I'll probably stay with Yang." Ruby replied. "Been a while before me and her had time to hang out as just the two of us."
"Aw, aren't you cute!" Yang cooed, pulling Ruby into a headlock and rubbing her on the head.
"Yang… stop!" Ruby protested as Yang gave her a noogie.
Nathan laughed as he looked at the bathroom, saying: "All while I imagine Weiss is going to continue her quest to score a one night stand with Neptune."
"Heard that!" Weiss shouted from within the bathroom, making everyone laugh.
"That doesn't sound like a denial, Weiss!" Nathan retorted.
"Oh for crying out loud!" Weiss shouted once again as the rest of the people in the room laughed.
"Does that mean it is what you're planning, Ice Queen?" Yang asked.
"Shut up! All of you, shut up!" Weiss yelled.
Nathan joined the rest of Team RWBY in laughing, until Weiss emerged from the shower, evidently blushing madly.
"I hate all of you." Weiss said as she sat down.
"No, you don't." Yang added with a gleeful smile. "Not when you know we were just teasing you."
"Yeah, yeah…" Weiss replied, still blushing.
"Could be worse." Nathan remarked. "Could be getting teased on the level of me teasing Pyrrha about Jaune."
Weiss chuckled. "I imagine so."
They sat in silence for a moment or so until Nathan stood up, retrieving his clothes.
"I'd better get back to my dorm." Nathan said. "Gonna take a shower of my own, then join Blake so she can call Ilia." Pausing, he looked and kissed Blake, saying: "See you in a bit, Blake."
"See you!" Blake said as Nathan headed for the door, heading to his dorm.
Team JNNPR's dorm…
"Morning, team." Nathan said cheerfully as he entered.
"Morning." Jaune, Nora and Ren called out.
Looking around, Nathan noticed something. "Hey… where's Pyrrha?"
"Professor Ozpin summoned her to his office." Jaune replied. "Said it was something important he had to talk to her about."
"Oh, okay." Nathan said, before shrugging. "For all we know; it's probably some stunt her mom pulled to try and get back at us for humiliating her… again."
"Doubtful." Ren said. "We received word that Juno left for Argus shortly following your doubles round victory."
"Unless she did something dumb at the airport and got arrested." Nora pointed out.
"Again." Nathan added. "But anyway; what's on the agenda today, you three?"
"We're probably just gonna spend the rest of the day chilling." Jaune replied. "I got a message from Saphron, though."
"Saphron?" Nathan asked. "Is it what I think it is?"
Jaune met Nathan's gaze and nodded, holding out his scroll to Nathan:
On Jaune's scroll was a photo of Saphron holding a newborn baby alongside Terra, clearly emotional, alongside the caption:
"Adrian Cotta-Arc finally came into our lives at nine-fifteen in the morning on the 15th September after a twelve hour labour weighing eight pounds and five ounces. We never knew we could love someone so much."
Nathan felt his heart melt as he said: "That baby looks adorable."
"Yeah…" Jaune replied. "Best part? Saph's asked everyone to spend Christmas and New Years' with them in Argus, so we all get to meet Adrian."
"Ah." Nathan said.
"Something wrong?" Jaune asked.
"Yeah… Me and Blake were actually planning on spending Christmas and New Year's at hers in Menagerie."
"Oh boy." Nora muttered.
"Why not do both?" Jaune suggested. "Spend Christmas with us and my family, then head to Menagerie to see in the New Year with Blake and her family?"
Nathan found a smirk crossing his face as a plan came to mind. "That's a great idea, Jaune. Thanks for the suggestion."
"You're welcome." Jaune replied.
Nathan nodded and patted Jaune on the shoulder before he headed into the bathroom for his shower. He had a lot to think about.
Later…
Nathan knocked on the door to Team RWBY's dorm, smiling as it opened to reveal Blake stood there. "Hey, beautiful."
"Hey, Nathan." Blake replied, leaning in and pecking Nathan on the cheek. "Come on in."
Nathan obliged, stepping inside Team RWBY's dorm once again and sitting on Blake's bed, pulling Blake close when she joined him. "Ready to call up Ilia and make a start on reconciling?" Nathan asked.
Blake nodded, brandishing her scroll.
"Before we call her though; I mentioned to Jaune that I planned to spend Christmas and New Years' with you in Menagerie." Nathan said. "But… he then told me that his oldest sister recently gave birth to her first child, and that she's invited JNNPR and the rest of Jaune's family to Argus for Christmas in order to meet the little one."
"Do you want to?" Blake asked, meeting Nathan's gaze.
Nathan sighed. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't. But at the same time… I don't want to look flaky to your parents."
"They'll understand, Nathan." Blake replies. "And besides, now that you mention it… I might have an idea."
"Do tell." Nathan said, eyeing his girlfriend curiously.
"What if me and Team RWBY head to Menagerie and trick my parents into believing that you're passing on spending New Years' with us, only for you to show up in Menagerie between Christmas and New Years' to surprise them?" Blake suggested. "It also ties in with my father's birthday being on the twenty-eighth of December, so maybe you could try and make it for then."
"That's actually a great idea, Blake!" Nathan said. "Means I give your father a birthday surprise he's either going to love, or hate."
Blake giggled. "He'll love it, Nathan." She said gently. "Especially once he gets to know you better."
Nathan shrugged. "We'll have to find out, won't we?" He replied.
"Guess so." Blake replied, pecking Nathan on the lips before turning her attention to her scroll. Activating it, she scrolled down her contacts once again until her thumb hovered over a name: Ilia.
Nathan saw his girlfriend's nerves, and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "I'm here, Blake." He said gently, kissing her on the cheek.
Blake smiled at Nathan, turned back to her scroll and took a deep breath. At that, she pressed call.
For a number of seconds, all Blake saw was the dialling screen. And during those seconds, Blake once again felt her nerves grip her tightly, but she refused to let them get to her.
Nathan scooted away from her, just like he had when she had called her parents, saying: "I'm here, Blake. Just like I was with your parents."
Blake glanced at Nathan with a warm smile, before returning her attention to her scroll, as the dial screen persisted in its appearance.
Finally though; the dial screen faded away, revealing a beautiful young woman the same age as Blake and Nathan, with tan coloured skin, long brown hair tied back in a ponytail, and bluish-grey coloured eyes, with darker; freckle-like spots on her cheeks.
The woman regarded Blake with wide, surprised eyes as she said: "Blake…?"
"Hey, Ilia." Blake replied nervously.
The two old friends stared at one another for a number of moments until Blake finally spoke:
"I know I'm probably the last person you're wanted to speak to after I left; but I-"
"Stop." Ilia said angrily. "Are you fucking serious? Nine months! You waited nine months to make this call? And for what? To apologise for turning your back on your brothers and sisters in the White Fang? On Adam?!What the fuck is wrong with you, Blake?!"
Blake sighed and said: "Ilia; I know you're mad, but please-"
"Mad?!" Ilia asked angrily. Before bursting out laughing. "How could I possibly be mad at you for realising what kind of guy Adam was? If anything, I'm beyond thrilled! To be honest; I've been expecting you to call since I met up with your mother for lunch yesterday and she told me you'd called them!"
A smile soon found Blake's face, saying: "You know my mom?" Blake asked.
"Met up with them as soon as I could upon getting here." Ilia replied. "I'm almost always a guest at dinner with them most of the time." Sighing, Ilia added: "You have no idea how happy I was when they showed me the letter you sent them. I'd… I'd been worried."
"I'm so sorry, Ilia." Blake started. "I wanted to write to you or my parents much earlier; but I was so scared you'd be mad at me for leaving."
"I was; for a time." Ilia replied. "But then I realised you wouldn't have left without a valid reason." Pausing, Ilia added: "But enough about that. We can talk about it later. Right now; I want to ask about that boy I saw you kissing at the Vytal Festival Tournament on TV."
"That would be me." Nathan declared, leaning in and pecking Blake on the cheek. "Name's Nathan Phoenix. The guy that totally does not look like Adam's good twin brother."
Ilia laughed at that, saying: "Trust me; if you were anything like Adam, I'd be cussing you out right now and telling you to stay away from Blake. But after hearing your speech yesterday about faunus equality and the like; I feel like I can definitely trust you with Blake. Though I will say that not the whole White Fang is bad."
"I know." Nathan replied. "You and Blake are living proof of that."
Ilia smiled. "It's not just me and Blake. So many of us want the same thing; equality with humans. It's only Adam and a small group of extremists that want faunus superiority."
"In other words; Adam's proving himself more and more to be little more than a delusional, angry man with a Messiah complex." Nathan remarked.
"Pretty much." Ilia replied. "It's honestly gotten to the point where Sienna's thinking about having him replaced. He's already in hot water with Sienna for turning peaceful faunus rights protests in Vale into violent riots." Eyeing Blake; Ilia added: "Speaking of Sienna; she's not mad at you for leaving the way you did. If anything; she's thrilled you finally ditched Adam. Kanan, too."
"Kanan? Oh crap, I forgot about him!" Blake said, sighing.
"Who's Kanan?" Nathan inquired.
"He's… he's my older half-brother." Blake replied. "I never brought him up because… I hardly ever saw him, mostly due to Adam's control. But also because his mom keeps him pretty close since she wants him to one day take her place."
"His mom?" Nathan asked.
"Sienna Khan." Ilia clarified.
"Damn…" Nathan remarked. "Explains why Blake's dad retired. I'd hate to have seen THAT breakup."
Ilia and Blake laughed, with Blake saying: "It's nothing like that, Nate. But I'll let Mom and Dad explain when you guys meet. Speaking of… me and my teammates will be joining my parents in Menagerie over Christmas, but Nathan will be joining us shortly after as a surprise for Mom and Dad… mainly Dad as a joke. Think you can help arrange that?"
"Definitely." Ilia declared. "If we disguise Nathan as he arrives, I can host him at my place until the time comes to surprise your dad."
"That's good to hear." Blake replied.
Ilia smiled, then checked the time. "I'd better go. Corsac and Fennec are already up my ass about my friendship with your family. Don't want them up my ass for more than that."
"It's not a problem Ilia." Blake replied with a warm smile. "We'll talk more soon."
"Definitely." Ilia said. "It was great hearing from you, Blake. I missed you."
"Missed you too, Ilia." Blake stated. "Talk more soon."
Ilia nodded, and then the screen went blank.
Blake found herself smiling, and sighed happily as she felt Nathan press his lips against her temple.
"I told you it would be okay." Nathan said gently.
"Yeah… you did." Blake says softly, turning to face Nathan. "How is it you've been right about everything?"
"Guess I've just been really lucky so far." Nathan replied. "Guess that started when we started dating."
Blake giggled. "You're not wrong." She said before leaning in and kissing him.
Pulling Blake close, Nathan returned the kiss and pulled Blake on top of him so she was straddling him, running his hands up and down her back before breaking the kiss and holding Blake close, stroking her beautiful raven locks.
Blake sighed happily, snuggling closer into Nathan's strong embrace, until he said:
"Better go find Pyrrha. I promised we'd hang out before her fight today."
"Fine by me." Blake said. "Tell her I said hi."
"Will do." Nathan stated, pecking Blake on the lips once more before getting up and heading off in search of his best friend.
An hour or so later, with Nathan…
Rounding a corner, Nathan smiled as he finally caught sight of Pyrrha.
The Invincible Girl was sat by herself, deep in thought.
Nathan's smile faded when he noticed the deeply troubled expression on his best friend's face, and he wondered whether Pyrrha's meeting with Ozpin earlier that morning had something to do with Pyrrha's mood.
Closing the distance, Nathan sat down next to Pyrrha, saying: "Hey, Pyrrha."
Pyrrha jolted and she yelped, at which something metal flew at Nathan's head.
Black spots danced within Nathan's field of vision as the object made contact and he toppled off of the seat. "Fuck me…" He muttered.
"Oh my gods, Nathan! I'm so sorry!" Pyrrha said as she knelt by Nathan's side. "Are you okay?"
"Considering I just got brained as a result of me accidentally scaring the shit out of you, I'd say I feel like justice has been served." Nathan joked. "We should give that kind of thing a name; like the Nefarious Nikos Squeal, or the Hellish Pyrrha Cry or heck… Maybe even the Unholy Pyrrha Scream?"
"Let's settle for the last one." Pyrrha said with a chuckle as she helped Nathan up, sitting down with him.
"Anyway… what was bothering you, Pyrrha? I saw you looking troubled as I approached." Nathan asked.
"Oh; nothing. It's just… the pressure is starting to mount." Pyrrha replied. "Being the one person standing between us and not winning this tournament."
Nathan sensed the lie the moment Pyrrha said it, but he opted not to pry. It wasn't his place. "Anyway; me and Blake called Ilia earlier today." Nathan said.
"Oh? How did it go?" Pyrrha inquired.
Nathan smiled. "Better than I thought it would. Ilia actually pranked Blake into thinking she was mad for a few seconds; but after that; the two were talking like nothing had ever happened. Blake introduced me; and we soon talked for a bit."
"That's good to hear." Pyrrha said. "So is everything being arranged so you and Blake can plan your surprise for her parents?"
"Yeah." Nathan replied. "I'm actually kinda nervous just thinking about it."
"You'll be fine. Blake's parents should be fine people if they raised a daughter like Blake." Pyrrha said encouragingly.
"Easy for you to say; Blake's dad is apparently seven feet tall and built like he was blasted out of the side of a mountain with heavy explosives." Nathan stated, making Pyrrha giggle.
"My dad is six foot eight. Try me." Pyrrha replied.
"Best not tell that to Jaune." Nathan said. "Might make him piss his pants."
Pyrrha laughed. "True, true."
Nathan smiled and pulled Pyrrha close.
"I'm glad you joined me, Nathan. I really needed someone to talk to. Just to distract me from my nerves." Pyrrha said.
"Think nothing of it, Pyrrha." Nathan replied. "To be honest; I needed someone to talk to myself. And who better than my best friend?"
Pyrrha smiled and hugged Nathan.
Returning the hug, Nathan reached up and stroked Pyrrha's hair. "As for your nerves; don't be. You're Pyrrha fucking Nikos. You're one of the top fighters in your age group on Remnant, and you've got the love and support of your teammates and your friends behind you. If that's not enough to give you confidence, then I don't know what will. But it's true. You're going to win this, Pyrrha. And you're going to win it with style. And who knows? Maybe after the tournament is over… you'll finally have the confidence you've been needing all this time to finally confess your feelings to Jaune."
Pyrrha smiled. "That's certainly a pleasant vision." She declared.
"Or he might confess his own long hidden feelings for you instead. Either way; you wind up with Jaune." Nathan remarked.
"Why do you say that, Nathan?" Pyrrha inquired, raising an eyebrow.
Nathan shrugged, looking away from Pyrrha.
"He's said something, hasn't he?" Pyrrha asked.
"No comment." Nathan retorted.
"Nathan…" Pyrrha said, as if she were an adult speaking to a three-year-old.
"You're not going to get anything from me, Pyrrha. So stop trying." Nathan said.
Pyrrha rolled her eyes and said: "Whoever ordained that we be friends has a terrible sense of humour."
"Had the right idea though." Nathan replied.
"I guess they did." Pyrrha responded with a warm smile as they got up. "With that said; it's best we headed for the arena. The singles round is due to start, soon."
"Yeah. Couldn't agree more." Nathan said as he and Pyrrha set off for Amity arena, prepared for whatever was going to come next.
Amity Arena, 14:30 pm…
"Go kick ass, Pyrrha." Nathan said, hugging his best friend.
"I plan to." Pyrrha declared with a confident smile, her previous nerves seemingly forgotten as she broke the hug and headed into the combatant entrance of the arena.
The lie Pyrrha had told him earlier still hung heavy on Nathan's mind, though. What was it that Pyrrha felt she needed to hide from him? And why had it dampened her spirits on what was meant to be one of the biggest weeks of her life?
Nathan wasn't sure he wanted to know the answers. But he was determined to find out somehow.
"Hey, Nathan."
Nathan spun on his heel to find Emerald stood a few feet away from him, saying: "Hey, Emerald. You gonna be fighting in the singles?"
"Nah. That job belongs to Mercury." Emerald replied. "He's better at the fighting aspect of things."
"Yeah, noticed that yesterday during your doubles round fight against CFVY. Nicely done, by the way." Nathan said.
"Not as nicely as yours was." Emerald remarked. "Ninety seconds… wow. I wasn't expecting the fight to last that long."
"Thought it'd be shorter?" Nathan asked with folded arms.
"No, not at all!" Emerald said. "If anything, I thought Hector's cousin would last longer."
"Well; when you grow up on the streets of Vacuo like I did, you tend to learn to end fights quickly unless you want to wind up as Grimm chow." Nathan lied.
Emerald chuckled. "Amen to that." She said with a smile. "Your roast of them afterwards was pretty funny too."
"What can I say? I am a cornucopia of comedic genius." Nathan answered, spreading his arms out in a deific pose.
"Unless you're talking to my parents, that is, Mister Choir Boy." Blake said as she suddenly joined him.
Emerald burst out laughing as Nathan gave Blake a look of mock betrayal.
"Well, that's our relationship over." Nathan jokingly said. "Hey Emerald, you free tonight? Got an opening for date night."
At that, Emerald laughed even harder whilst Blake elbowed Nathan in the ribs.
Before long, the rest of Team RWBY joined them, with Yang saying:
"Wish me luck!" Hugging her teammates before heading into the same entrance Pyrrha had done, a confident smile on her face.
Nathan smiled before eyeing Blake. "Well, shall we?" He asked, offering Blake his arm.
"Yes, we will." Blake replied, taking his arm as they headed into the spectator entrance, followed by Ruby and Weiss, unaware that behind them, Emerald was watching them with a tinge of regret.
With Emerald…
"Why so sad, Emerald?" A familiar voice said as Cinder appeared next to her.
"It's nothing." Emerald said to Cinder. "Just a brief moment of weakness. It won't happen again."
"See that it doesn't." Cinder said firmly, brushing a cold hand against Emerald's cheek. "I'd hate to see you join everyone here when Beacon falls." At that, Cinder walked in after Nathan and Team RWBY. Pausing, Cinder turned to Emerald and added: "And do remember that you're meant to be trying to find out more about Nathan. He could prove problematic for our plans." With that, Cinder kept walking.
Emerald straightened up, took a deep breath, and followed Cinder. She hadn't come this far only to fail Cinder now.
Within Amity Arena, a short while later…
The anticipated murmurs of the crowd were nothing new to Nathan after several days of being in the arena.
So there he sat, taking everything in whilst Blake snuggled up closely to him.
Casting his gaze down below, Nathan eyed the entire field of singles round competitors as Professor Port's voice came over the PA:
"Now for the moment you've all been waiting for… THE ONE ON ONE FINALS!"
The crowd all cheered their approval as Nathan eyed the competitors:
Yang, Sun, Penny, Mercury and Pyrrha were all there to see, alongside a few others Nathan didn't really pay attention to.
Nathan silently hoped the final match pitted Sun against Pyrrha. That was a fight he'd love to see.
His eyes settled on Pyrrha, and he saw that her frown from earlier had returned, seeing her straighten out her armour as Port continued over the arena speakers:
"Barty, why don't you explain the rules?"
Nathan had to force down a chuckle at that.
"Ah, it's quite simple, Peter." Oobleck declared in response to Port. "Instead of a bracket system, each round of the finals will be randomly determined immediately before the match takes place."
Nathan raised an eyebrow at this as Port continued the announcement:
"Much like any good hunt, there will be zero time to prepare."
"Ah yes, yes; now, let's see who our first match will be." Oobleck declared as the competitors started appearing on the screen, scrolling through them like money machines in casinos until they finally settled on two competitors:
"Yang Xiao Long and Mercury Black!" Port declared.
Nathan grinned widely. That was another fight he'd hoped to see.
"BREAK A LEG, SIS!" Ruby called out from Nathan's left.
Nathan laughed and smiled before pulling Blake closer.
"Who do you think will win?" Blake asked.
"With her semblance? Yang, no question." Nathan replied with a grin. "Mercury's good, but he focuses too much on being flashy and looking cool when he's fighting. I saw it when he sparred with Pyrrha a week or so ago. He keeps that up, Yang's gonna kick his ass so bad he'll have to have extra cushions on his seats for weeks."
Blake smiled and sat back to watch the fight unfold.
With Yang…
"Would all other combatants please leave the stage?" Port called out over the PA.
Yang watched as the rest of her prospective opponents for later on in the tournament left her and Mercury on the stage, smiling appreciatively as Pyrrha gave her a hug for good luck.
Then, she turned to face Mercury as the floor around them retracted, leaving the platform she and Mercury were both stood on as the only ground available for either of them.
"You better not go easy on me." Yang said to Mercury, a confident grin on her face.
Mercury chuckled. "You wish." He retorted, equally confident.
They promptly both adopted fighting stances, edging closer and closer to each other as Port counted down via speaker:
"Three… two… one…"
By the time he'd counted one, Yang and Mercury were mere inches from each other, their left hands nearly touching.
"FIGHT!" Port called out immediately.
Letting out a loud yell, Yang reared back for a right hook, just as Mercury leapt up and spun round, preparing for a spinning back kick.
They met in the middle, creating a big shockwave that would have floored anyone standing close enough to it.
Yang backed away from it, as did Mercury, before readying herself as Mercury charged her, leaping over him as he attempted attacking before snapping off a shot from Ember Celica.
Mercury dodged that and closed with Yang quickly, lashing out with a backhand that was blocked, blocking an attempt at a left hook from Yang and attempting one himself.
Yang ducked, and countered with a left hook of her own, firing Ember Celica as she did.
The blow landed, and Mercury was sent flying back, though he managed to recover easily, flipping backwards and landing on his feet, giving her a smile.
Don't let him get off that easy, Yang, Yang thought to herself as she began firing shot after shot at Mercury with Ember Celica, hoping to force him to close with her so she could settle this with her fists like she normally preferred.
She got her wish, as Mercury dodged all her shots before leaping into the air, preparing for a leaping axe kick.
Yang raised both arms and blocked the attack, attempting to counter with a left roundhouse kick. When that was dodged by Mercury backflipping into the air, she attempted a backhand alongside a shot from Ember Celica.
Mercury ducked, countering by forward kicking Yang in the face, flipping backwards as he did so, sending her flying in the process.
Yang managed to flip backwards too, landing on her feet before firing Ember Celica behind her to propel her forward towards Mercury, where she fired off another shot at him whilst attempting a right hook. When that was blocked, she attempted a series of punches, whilst snapping off more shots from Ember Celica, all of which were blocked, leading to both of them attempting spinning back kicks at the same time.
Mercury somehow then hooked Yang's leg with his, forcing hers to the ground, and then kicked her in the other leg, knocking her over before leaping up into a forward somersault, attempting another leaping axe kick.
Yang leapt clear before rushing Mercury again, preparing to drive him into the floor with a fearsome right hand.
Mercury spun out of the attack stylishly before feinting a kick at Yang's midsection, lashing out with a kick to her face when she took the bait, knocking her back as he spun again, attempting to land another spinning back kick.
Yang dodged that, as well as another kick that would have left her tasting the floor before getting to her feet again, blocking a kick to her abdomen before attempting to counter with a spinning back kick of her own, which Mercury dodged.
He's good with his feet, I'll give him that, Yang thought to herself, dodging two more kicks from Mercury. But I'm just as good with my fists… if not better.
She backed away briefly as Mercury broke her guard, creating distance to avoid him catching her with any hits.
Yang then watched as Mercury almost danced from the floor back up to his feet, grinning. He's too flashy, just like Nate once told me. Just gotta catch him somehow when he's trying something flashy. Like… now!
Dashing forward, Yang feinted a left hook, which Mercury blocked, and as he prepared for some form of kick, Yang blasted him with a rocket launcher of an uppercut, spinning around and elbowing him in the abdomen, firing off a shot from Ember Celica at the same time and sending him sprawling.
Holding her position in case Mercury was playing possum, Yang started firing off shots from Ember Celica, forcing him onto the back foot as he started flipping backwards to avoid the oncoming fire, only for one shot to hit its mark, sending Mercury flying off of the stage.
Much to her surprise though, Mercury came flying back onto the stage, flipping forwards until he landed right in front of her, immediately attacking her with a series of kicks and punches, all of which she blocked or dodged, countering with an attempted couple of shots from Ember Celica that was also blocked by Mercury as he finally kicked her back, firing a shot of his own from his boots which she dodged.
So Mercury's got shotguns in his boots, Yang thought. Good to know.
Getting to her feet, Yang prepared herself for what Mercury would do next.
At which point Mercury started kicking the area around him, snapping off shots from his boots with every move he made.
Dodging a few, Yang realised she had to close with him quickly. That many shots could beat her and end the fight. Which she didn't want.
Rushing towards him, Yang reared back for a right hook, but when that was blocked, she attempted a few more, only for Mercury to block them all before kicking her into the air.
Leaping up to join his golden-haired opponent, Mercury soon kicked her hard into the floor, which created its own small shockwave.
Returning to the floor, Mercury watched with a smirk as all the shots he'd fired off converged on Yang, all of them hitting their mark as he stood up, a triumphant grin on his face.
With Nathan…
"Dumbass." Nathan remarked, eyeing Yang's aura, which wasn't even in the red yet. "He thinks he won with that flashy move."
"When all he did was give Yang the energy she needs to trigger her semblance." Blake said smugly, kissing Nathan on the cheek.
As if on cue, a small explosion filled the air behind Mercury, as a fiery haired, red-eyed Yang got to her feet.
"And… he's fucked." Nathan muttered as Yang closed with Mercury, starting to hit back, fuelled by the additional strength he knew her semblance granted her.
Before long, Yang fired off one last blow that sent Mercury sprawling, his aura broken.
The elimination buzzer filled the air as the crowd cheered for the victor.
"What a way to kick off the finals!" Port called out via speaker.
"Yang Xiao Long wins!" Oobleck added.
"Yeah! You did it, sis!" Ruby shouted happily from Nathan's left as Blake stood up and clapped.
"Way to go, Yang!" Blake added cheerfully.
"That was awesome!" Nathan said as he joined her, clapping himself as he applauded Yang's victory.
He watched as Yang said something to Mercury before turning to leave.
Suddenly, Nathan's view got hazy as part of his view showed Mercury leap up and attack Yang only for her to defend herself, but another part of him watched Yang suddenly attack Mercury without provocation.
Whatever happened, the crowd's jubilant mood evaporated within moments and boos started raining down amidst Port and Oobleck's shocked and horrified exclamations.
Nathan then sensed a disturbance in the Force as he sensed Grimm on the outskirts of Vale reacting to the surge in negative emotions.
"Why did Yang do that?" Blake asked confusedly as Atlesian military troops surrounded Yang, aiming their weapons at her.
Nathan didn't respond, his confusion turning to suspicion. What was that hazy visual he had seen of Mercury trying to sneak a cheap shot in on Yang? And was it even real?
Whatever the case was, Nathan sensed things were only starting to take a turn. And not necessarily for the better, either.
Whelp, at least the Force showed Nathan what actually happened.
I apologise for the late upload. Been dealing with the most hellish cold and headache imaginable the past five days. Thankfully, I'm much better now.
For those eagle eyed readers of mine... I might have referenced an infamous RWBY meme in this chapter. If any of you found it; let me know, and I might reward you with a little sneak peek of the next chapter.
With that said; let's answer some reviews, shall we?
april-551: Well; Pyrrha's inclusion in the doubles round is necessary for the story to flow as it does leading into what happens later on. Also, glad you enjoyed how short the fight was. I had that idea for ages, from before I even started writing this fanfic. As for his speech about faunus rights, 'most' thick heads is right.
keybladelight: I am thinking of including a canonical character, but whether it's the Bad Batch, Ahsoka Tano or someone else completely, we'll have to see where future RWBY volumes take us in the real story.
Spiderdeku25: You probably are, mate. Chris Pratt is a great actor, but I have Dylan O'Brien (VA of Bumblebee from the 2018 Bumblebee film) as Nathan's voice actor. Chris Pratt is in too many movies nowadays, I'd rather not use him.
Anyway; thank you all for reading. If you liked it; you know what to do. Or be cursed!
I shall see you next week with the seventh chapter, which sees the fallout from the incident in Amity Arena.
T-Rock14