Chapter 3: Paint It Black
Rainier scuffed his boot into the tile flooring, hands placed behind his head.
"Rainier."
He sighed, looking up towards the sky, chewing on nothing.
"Rainier."
Slowly, ever so slowly, he brought his gaze back down to Daria.
She was frowning. "What are you doing? Focus up!"
The faunus gave her an unimpressed look before just as lethargically turning his gaze back forwards.
The uproar of the arena came back to him as the Mistral and Vale crowds shouted for their teams. DRGN, of course, stood collectively on one end; Rainier and Daria in the front (the first unfathomably loose, and the latter standing jaw-clenched). Behind them were Nash in full Phalanx regalia and Gail, bow and arrow already knocked.
Across the tile platform was Team BLCK.
They, owing up well to their name, were dressed almost exclusively in black. The leader stood in the front, stubble covering his jaw, dark brown hair reaching down past his jawline. He was dressed in a mechanically armored sleeveless tanktop that meshed down into similarly armored pants, his boots and gloves much the same material. Held in his hand, levied over his shoulder, was a thin sword, inlaid with shifting gears, a larger slab of metal strapped to his back.
His face was just as cocksure as the moment he had stepped out onto the platform; but now his eyes were locked onto Rainier, sky blue orbs watching the faunus' every move.
The man next to him was taller, but not as bulky; skin dark and his own stubble a little bit thicker, his hair loose black curls falling from his head. His face was currently painted with a red design over the eyes, as he sneered at his opponents. He was shirtless, a vest and the rest of a set of fatigues cladding him. His hands, wrapped in black tape, were currently carrying dual Qatar.
The other two were standing close together, a little ways off from their partners. The shortest of the group, and the most lithe, was clean shaven and dark-haired. He was dressed in a leather jacket over a similar black suit as his leader. Held in his hand was a longsword, four cylinders glowing with the main Dust elements sitting around its guard. His eyes were locked unblinkingly onto his opponents, cast in quiet, brooding shadow.
The other one was the tallest of his teammates and the most well-built. He was shirtless as well, though fairer in skin, with wild, curly blonde hair. Black aviators clad his face, and a toothpick hung from his lips. He was dressed in a knee length leather black coat, pants and boots, his left hand clutching the handle of a sword- though the blade itself was segmented, and wrapped up the length of his arm.
"Get your head in the game, man. Come on." Daria hissed, dragging her attention away from her opponents back to the wolf by her side.
Rainier raised an unimpressed eyebrow and took a few relaxed steps towards Team BLCK.
"For these silly tryhards? Hardly. Worth. The. Effort."
He sighed and turned back towards his team, the white of his jacket and the red of his logo painting a vivid target for the Mistrali huntsmen.
The tan-skinned fighter scowled. "Hey! Hey, wolf! You look at me when I'm talkin' to you!"
Rainier slowly, ever so slowly turned over his shoulder. "Apologies, friend. It's just… you're boring. This is boring."
The two frontrunners of BLCK narrowed their eyes in fury, before the leader whistled sharply, gathering the other three towards him in an impromptu huddle, their heads leaning together even as his eyes stayed locked onto the faunus.
Daria caught their looks, glancing back and forth between them and Rainier in concern. "Rain, what are you-"
His face shifted from arrogant nonchalance to deadly seriousness like a switch. "Just… trust me. Watch. Stay back. Let them come to me," A coy smirk found its way to his face and he winked. "Have I let you down yet?"
The diminutive leader of DRGN grumbled. "You don't want me to answer that."
"Team DRGN of Beacon versus Team BLCK of Haven!"
On the enormous screens, the icons spun before finally slowing… to a symbol of snow, and the image of a cypress tree. The outside ring of the arena whirred to life as behind DRGN rose a wintry landscape, snow falling from seemingly nowhere and a handful of pine trees swaying in a wind. Behind BLCK was followed up by a thick swamp, water filling the vast majority of it and a handful of trees rising above the marsh.
Daria sighed and turned to her other two teammates. "Rainier's called an audible. Let them come to us."
Gail frowned. "Bu-"
"Fine." Nash growled through his visor, massive mechanical hands clenching into fists as the jets on his back lit up with low flames, ready to dash forwards at any moment."
Lance sighed. "I hope you know what you're doing, buddy."
Weiss, however, scowled. "That idiot is going to get himself killed!"
"Have some faith, princess."
Blake placed a hand onto the Atlesian's shoulder. "There aren't many people who have fighting ingrained in them like he does. 'Unconventional' is kinda his thing."
"Fine. I hope you're right." Weiss grumbled, leaning forwards despite herself.
Lance grinned. "If nothing else, I've got a pretty good chant for him lined up."
Nora shimmied excitedly. "Ooh, ooh, ooh! What is it? I have to be ready for it!"
"You might not know it. I actually had to look it up this morning. Something a little homegrown for him."
"3!" Port called out over the intercom.
"2!"
Team BLCK spread out, faces pulled into various looks of frustration and fury.
"1!"
The other three members of Team DRGN tensed in anticipation. Rainier simply continued to stand, back to his opponents, and several yards ahead of his team.
"Begin!"
Like one, the Mistrali huntsmen dashed forwards in near blurs of black- all aimed towards the faunus. The smallest one's longsword wreathed itself in fire. The tallest let his chain-sword fall from wrapping around his arm, its joints sparking with electricity. The tan-skinned man was a step ahead of his teammates, just that much faster in the rush. The leader himself was actually taking up the back, still scowling, but blue eyes intelligently watching Rainier.
As the quartet reached him… he disappeared, with a flurry of dust kicking up around them and a blur of silver whirring around the entire main platform, before he reappeared suddenly behind the BLCK leader, silver claws flying through the air to land solidly on the side of his head, landing with a solid 'crack'. The man went tumbling off to the side, rolling against the tile before coming to a stop a few feet from the edge of the platform.
The Qatar wielding huntsman skid to a stop, looking around him in shock, before turning on his heel, along with the other members of BLCK, their eyes following the rolling body of their leader, before turning to the faunus. "...The fuck, Adrian?"
"Oh-" Rainier began, putting a surprised hand to his chest. "I apologize- did you not catch that?"
The Mistrali grit his teeth together, unconsciously taking a small step away from his opponent. "Where- who the hell are you?!"
The faunus bowed lowly. "Rainier Platina of Vac-"
The longsword wielding Mistrali took a swing at him without missing a beat- instead, missing as the Vacuoan disappeared in another blur, rejoining his teammates in exceptional haste, dust following his wake.
Daria's eyes widened as her mind raced to process the events that had just occurred, gaze shooting back and forth between her friend and her opponents. "I- what- how-"
Shinai had shot to his feet, face pulled up distastefully.
"What in the ass?!" Lance called out, throwing his hands up. "Rubes, did you-"
"He's… so… fast…" Ruby whispered, silver eyes wide in appreciation.
Weiss hummed thoughtfully, the mix of concern and irritation draining from her face. "So… that's what he was doing… ah."
The blonde swordsman looked to her. "Okay, what?"
"I'll… tell you later."
"You two. So weird."
The BLCK second-in-command dashed at Rainier with a surprising show of speed of his own, the sudden burst of movement getting the faunus to finally tense for the fight proper. At the same time, though, a yell heralded the tallest member dashing forwards as well, chain-sword lifted to swing out at Rainier.
He stopped in his tracks: gripping him by the throat was the massive hand of Phalanx.
"Tsk tsk," Nash growled. "Phalanx calling." And without another word, he hurled the opponent far off, straight into the watery marsh on the other side.
A flurry of arrows, coming in pairs of metal and hardlight, fired out, getting the other two members of BLCK scrambling away, the second-in-command stalling his attack to spin away, hitting the ground with nearly his whole body to scramble away.
The smallest member scowled and turned to Gail, brandishing his longsword in the air as he took off running. His eyes widened and he turned over his shoulder as Daria came crashing down towards him, ring blades spinning vertically to carve into his side. The attack did nothing though; a thick layer of inky blackness rose up from where his feet touched the tiles, blocking against the strikes. He glowered at the DRGN team leader, who glowered right back.
She raised one hand- and a brilliant flash of light burst from it, blinding the man and getting him to drop his guard, giving her an opening to leap into the air, kicking him squarely in the face and sending him flying away. She jogged up to her faunus friend, shaking her head.
"You're crazy, Rain."
"Crazy, perhaps, but-" He waved towards the regrouping collective of Team BLCK, who were now biding their time, reconsidering their plan of attack. "We've now proved that we're superior to them. Simply a ma-"
"You! Shut your damn mouth!" Adrian barked, storming a few feet forwards before his team managed to pull him back into the huddle with matching scowls.
Rainier turned back to Daria with a grin and wink.
Lance grinned as the Vale crowd burst out into applause at the display from Rainier. "I don't know how he did it, buuut…"
Oracle sighed. "Fine. Do your thing, hon."
The blonde swordsman grinned. Rose to his feet.
"Ole, ole-ole-ole, ole, ole! Ole, ole-ole-ole, ole, ole! Ole, ole-ole-ole, ole, ole!"
He continued the chant in solitary for a moment- before Nora picked it up. Then Ruby and Yang. Then the students behind them. Then the students beneath them.
Before it spread throughout the Vale section like a rallying call.
Lance nodded to himself victoriously. "GET SOME, DRGN!"
"Ole, ole-ole-ole, ole, ole!" The crowd chanted, brimming with goodwill and energy.
"GET SOME, DRGN!"
Rainier whirled about, placing a hand to his heart. "I'm touched!" He laughed. "I could get used to this!"
This only served to antagonize Team BLCK. Adrian spat out an order and viciously gestured to either side of the arena, and the team split up into duos, marching symmetrically to flank the Vale huntsmen's sides.
The faunus watched them with a malice-filled, victorious smirk. "Very well, Daria. I believe I'm done. Gameplan?"
The short leader of DRGN watched her opponents warily. "Stay in pairs. Gail, Rain, stick together. Try and keep some spacing- Rain, rush them with that… freaking ridiculous speed. Give her some room to shoot," They nodded and turned their gazes to the shortest and tallest Mistrali fighters. "Nash and I'll take the other two. Nash-"
The massive head of Phalanx turned to her, visor glowing almost giddily.
"Smash."
The boy grunted in agreement.
"…Go." She whispered, and the two pairs dashed to their chosen opponents, the Vale stalwarts still chanting up above.
Rainier reached his targets in a breathtaking heartbeat, standing between them and throwing his arms around their shoulders with a coy grin. "Gentlemen." He greeted.
The taller one scowled and threw a punch, fist wrapped in his chain sword. The faunus ducked it quickly, letting it soar over his head towards the other member of BLCK's own. The shorter Mistrali swiveled away from it, giving his teammate a silent, sour look.
"Caid!" The former BLCK huntsman began, only to fall backwards quickly, Rainier spinning low and sweeping his legs out from under him. Caid himself brought his longsword up to stab downwards towards his opponent, faltering as the Vacuoan shot to his feet and leapt upwards, jumping up over the BLCK fighter, hand gripping Caid's shoulder as he suspended himself in the air, grinning.
"Hello there!"
The quiet member of BLCK scowled as he moved to attack his opponent- before flying backwards as an enormous arrow crashed into his face, sending him tumbling backwards, stopping short of the edge of the arena as he jammed his sword into the tile.
Rainier turned to his partner with a grin, who returned it with a nod, holding her extended bow firmly in hand. Her eyes widened and she brought it back into its normal size, pulling a similarly smaller arrow from her quiver and nocked it. To the faunus' side, the taller BLCK member was scrambling to his feet, chain sword falling to his side. The Vacuoan threw a lightning fast punch, though not fast enough as his opponent blocked it with his forearm. His gaze shot to the side as Gail fired her shot-
And then the Mistrali let out an inhuman, ear piercing roar, the air itself vibrating from the sound. The arrow stopped in its movement and even flew backwards slightly, tumbling against the ground uselessly. The two Vale huntsmen grimaced as their hands flew to their ears instinctively, particularly Rainier, who fell to a knee in pain and effort. The BLCK fighter didn't let up, flicking his sword to wrap around the faunus' ankle, and turned on his heel, sending his opponent flying to the side, colliding with the still recovering Gail, the duo tumbling to the ground.
Caid stumbled up to his own partner, two black shapes melting out of his ears like shadows as they shared a nod, stalking towards their opponents.
On the other side, Adrian and his teammate had dashed forwards to meet Daria and Nash. The former Vale huntress leapt into the air, latching onto Phalanx's massive shoulder as the jets on his back lit up, shooting towards their opponents with impressive speed for the hulking mech, arms shooting out to swing at the BLCK partners. One fist caught Adrian, though his partner dashed away quickly, sliding across the ground.
The DRGN team leader leapt from her partner and struck out with both feet, stomping into the fallen Mistrali's midsection, who let out a gasp as the wind rushed from him. She fell into a roll, turning on her heel as Adrian clambered to his feet with a grimace.
"I usually try and go easy on a lady," He spat bitterly. "But I'll think I'll make an exception with you and the archer."
Daria scowled as she brought her Infinitas up. "Don't threaten my teammate." She muttered as she dashed to meet him, duel blades meeting his own thin one.
Nearby, Phalanx was swinging wildly at the tanned Mistrali, who seemed to be able to move just quickly enough to dash away from the heavy blows, drawing a growl of irritation from Nash. "Stay still so I can rip you in half."
His opponent responded by leaping into the air and dropkicking the mech squarely in the face, getting the youngest member of DRGN to lose focus and stumble as his interface wobbled with the blow.
The Mistrali shot to his feet and pointed at the mech with his qatar. "You ain't so tough, you little shit." He snarled, voice husky with exertion, a bead of sweat already beginning to drip down his forehead.
Ulysses snorted. "…Everyone has the same banter."
Lance was frowning alongside him. "…He look tired?"
Yang nodded. "He look tired."
"When he… ducks Nash. Does he get faster?" Ruby asked, cocking her head to the side.
Shinai nodded in agreement. "And it's wearing him out fast."
"Faster than he can take Phalanx down." Lance grinned.
As if on cue, Nash threw another punch, greeted by yet another dodge- one he anticipated, other hand reaching around to grip the sliding Mistrali's ankle. "Tonight I dine on Mistrali soup!" He barked, before sweeping the wide eyed huntsmen into the air, and bringing him down with a heavy smash and the breaking of tile.
Daria grimaced as the larger huntsman pushed her back, pushing his advantage as he swung his sword around flawlessly, technique not becoming of his general attitude. She ducked one remarkably wide slash- and played right into his plan, his knee coming up as she went down, crashing into her nose and sending her stumbling back. He followed up by planting a sideways boot into her chest, sending her soaring backwards. A grin claimed his face as he followed suit, Daria's white boots beginning to crunch into snow as she reached the edge of her side's biome.
Brown eyes widened as her opponent neared- but in realization, rather than fear-
And she leapt backwards, burying herself into the snow, white armor blending in flawlessly.
Adrian stopped in his tracks, own black boots sliding into the snow as he wheeled around. "What the-"
On the other side of the arena, Rainier and Gail pulled each other to their feet, staring down the slowly approaching forms of Caid and his partner. "You know, my friends," The faunus called out. "It doesn't work when Shinai does it, why would it work when you do?"
They shared a look, the taller one scowling. He muttered something to his partner, and Caid nodded, raising his free arm into the air.
Like liquid, his shadow, cast by the stadium lights, began to rise up his body, covering any non-black colors there had been, before finally settling at his hairline, so that the only things visible on his body were his eyes, staring out vividly from the black mass. He flicked his sword to the side- and air began whipping around the weapon as its Dust crystals turned white. The duo picked up pace and Rainier sighed.
"That's going to be annoying. Shall we?" He gestured forwards, and Gail rolled her eyes at his nonchalance, nocking another arrow. The faunus dashed to meet his opponents as her arrow flew beside him, the arrowhead sparkling with electricity.
Rainier ducked a swing from Caid's sword as he reached him, the air whistling around the blade still managing to batter at his hair. His Wolf's Claws struck out at the taller Mistrali, who caught it quickly in one hand- then went flying as the leg's cannon fired, shell catching him directly in the chest. Caid's eyes moved from his opponents for a split second, letting the arrow strike him in the shoulder- and bounce off easily.
Gail lowered her bow for a moment as she frowned. "…That's annoying." She muttered, before pressing a button, Dust crystals in her quiver rotating so her arrows glowed red. She nocked another arrow, staring down its length as she fired.
Rainier watched the arrow fall to the ground before shooting back to his feet, spinning and slamming his Claws into Caid's midsection. The teen doubled over slightly from the blow as a loud, solid thud echoed out across the arena. Again, Gail's arrow struck his shoulder, this time, however, bursting with fire that threatened to reach the faunus as well, Rainier smartly tumbling backwards as the short Mistrali's head was wreathed in flames. The faunus sent an admiring smile back the archer's way, though he wasn't given much time to congratulate her, as the taller BLCK huntsman's chain sword wrapped around his ankle- the metallic one, sparking with blue electricity.
The faunus let out a yell as the leg began to seize and shift as it overcharged, the sparks climbing up his body as he writhed on the ground. The Mistrali grinned viciously as he dragged his opponent towards him, lifting a boot high into the air to stomp down on Rainier's head, stopping only as a burning arrow crashed into his chest, exploding on impact and getting him to stumble back, the faunus still in tow.
Gail watched the duo as she nocked another arrow- losing sight of Caid.
The shorter Mistrali dashed towards her, wind-wreathed sword swiping across her stomach, getting her to double over and stumble backwards in pain. He didn't let up, slashing across her ruthlessly, battering the archer back as he carved her up.
Rainier grit his teeth as he forced his body to still as much as it could, sitting up shakily as he looked to the recovering BLCK member- and with as much gusto as he could; he grabbed the chain sword. The blonde fighter blinked in shock and looked up at him.
The faunus growled, and pulled his opponent close to him, arcing his head back, then slammed it into the Mistrali's nose, greeted with a satisfying slam of bone on cartilage. The blonde fighter recoiled, and Rainier outstretched shaking hands to the links of steel wrapping around his ankle, and then froze as a familiar voice grunted in pain. He turned a writhing head over his shoulder, to the sight of Caid thrashing Gail, the archer recoiling, simply doing her best to keep a grip on her bow.
He growled again, and with as much effort as he could muster, threw his head back.
"IN THE NAME OF THE BROTHERS, GAIL- SUCK- IT- UP!"
Adrian turned over his shoulder at the sound of tile shattering. His blue eyes blinked in surprised shock at the sight of Phalanx standing over his partner's momentarily motionless body.
Daria took the opportunity to leap from the snow, silent as could be; she was totally ignorant of Adrian's eyes closing.
As if the attack was easily telegraphable, the leader of Team BLCK simply… stepped to the side, letting her tumble past him, rolling several times, before scrambling to her feet, brown eyes narrowing in suspicion.
He shook his head. "You're not gonna get anywhere fightin' like that, hon."
And, with a snarling smirk, he reached his sword over his back… and slid it into the slab of metal cladding him. Mechanical clicks and locks filled the silent snow covered arena, and the black strap holding the slab to him fell to the ground. With the confidence of a man who had already won the fight, he pulled his sword back to his side-
It was now taller than he was, its blade at least a foot wide, steam hissing from it as it finished settling in place. He winked at her smugly, and gestured with his free hand for her to come at him.
That was enough to force a scowl to her face- and get her to run to Nash's side.
The aforementioned boy had picked his own opponent back up, holding him above his head so that they were eye to eye. "You talk a lot of shit. But I- I prefer to get things done."
The Mistrali suddenly blinked back to life. "Try again, asshole."
With a flurry of steel, the tanned huntsman's qatar slashed in duel blurs at Phalanx's visor, the glass scratching, but not breaking, under the flurry. In shock, Nash dropped his opponent to the ground. The Mistrali didn't waste anytime, immediately dashing to the side as he hit the ground, plunging one blade upwards- right into the armpit of Phalanx, unprotected by the thick red armor. Inside the suit, the blonde boy recoiled at the qatar now intruding into his protection, letting out a yell of surprise, before scrambling back into place, cursing to himself as the attacked arm of Phalanx refuse to move.
The tanned huntsman grinned. "Yeah… yeah, not so tough, huh?!" He lashed out, carving the inside of Nash's knee, sparks flying into the air. "Whatcha gonna do when I carve your mech to shreds? Huh? You ain't-"
Daria's boot collided with the side of his face, sending him falling away. She turned to Nash. "Get it together, Aspis."
He growled and stomped his foot. "I've got it."
"Then prove it."
The boy growled again and turned his scratched visor to the furious face of his opponent.
"I'm not going far. Be ready."
Adrian scoffed as he dashed forwards, massive greatsword held over his shoulder. "You can't run far, miss!"
"Shove it!" She spat back at him, running to meet him, ringblades held at the ready.
Across the battlefield, Gail was currently panicking as Caid mercilessly slashed at her, feeling her strength wane away as the onslaught seemed never ending, the archer not finding an opportunity to strike back.
"SUCK! IT! UP!" Rainier roared at her, voice stuttering as electricity ran through his body.
Like a switch, her dark eyes widened- and she brought Sunsinger up. Caid's sword carved at least an inch into it. But it was enough to give her a moment to breathe.
She stepped forwards, throwing her shoulder into his gut, though it seemed to hurt her more than him. Still, she immediately sent a boot into the outside of his knee, the limb bending inwards, even if it didn't seem to have much effect on him personally. The archer ripped her bow free and swung it to the side of the head, though he parried it easily. She used the momentum of her weapon and leapt into the air, slamming both boots into his face, propelling herself backwards.
She landed onto the ground and rolled with the force of her hitting the tile, ripping an arrow from her quiver as she did so. Swiftly, she fired it, the arrow colliding with his face and exploding. The smoke cleared- and she was given the barest glimpse of flesh, unobscured from the black that had covered him.
He seemed to notice it too, hand reaching up to his cheek, and a new scowl finding his face. Caid held his sword aloft and prepared to resume his offensive, only for another arrow to find its mark, more smoke surrounding his head.
This time, he didn't even see the arrow flying towards him. He did feel the electricity coursing through his system, though, the Mistrali beginning to seize with wide eyes.
Gail immediately shot back to her feet, looking to Rainier- and meeting his approving yellow eyes.
The faunus grit his teeth as his opponent threw a punch of his own, catching the Vacuoan squarely in the jaw. Rainier followed up with a shivering forearm- then slammed his hand down onto the Mistrali's own. Once. Twice. Thrice. The BLCK member let go, the handle falling to the floor, and the electricity fading. Rainier sucked in a breath as his body finally stilled. Like a blur, he was on his feet, watching his opponent scramble to reclaim his weapon.
Rainier stepped onto the sword's handle.
The blonde Mistrali's eyes slowly raised upwards to meet the faunus' own pale yellow.
Rainier's eyes twinkled with joy. "I'm afraid that little trick has run its course, friend."
And with one swift kick, he sent the sword tumbling off to the side, clattering over the edge. The Mistrali watched it go in shock. Then, he opened his mouth wide, preparing for another roar.
The faunus simply struck out with his claws, catching him across the cheek, the BLCK team member almost spinning ninety degrees away from him. Rainier positioned Wolf's Claws under the fighter's jawline, slowly raising the dazed man into the air to meet his eyes. The Vacuoan grinned, then spun like a marionette backwards, catching him again in the side of the face, this time with the assistance of a cannon shot. The Mistrali flew to the side like a bullet of his own, smashing through one of the nearby trees of the swamp with a crescendo of shattering wood.
Rainier was to his side in an instant, ridiculous speed getting him to his opponent's side before he'd even had time to hit the ground. Another kick sent the blonde huntsman towards another tree, murky water flying into the air the only real indicator of where the wolf was. Another kick and cannon shot sent the Mistrali down into the mud and murk, refuse flying into the air from the impact.
The faunus kicked down at the edge of the other fighter's side, making him spin, and giving the mechanical-legged huntsman enough space to land another solid kick. The blonde swordsman went several yards into the air, and Rainier backflipped, cannon shot propelling him even higher. The Vacuoan hit the ground, then immediately vaulted back up with another shot, matching with his opponent as the duo soared high above the battlefield.
Rainier flashed the wide-eyed Mistrali a wolfish grin as they reached the climaxes of their ascents.
"Well said, good game!" He yelled out, before spinning in the air. His Wolf's Claws collided with the boy's midsection.
Another gunshot, and the Team BLCK member went careening towards the marsh floor like a blur of his own, the shattering of wood and a mud-filled splash reaching high into the air following him down.
"Kuro Tenshi has been eliminated!" Port called out.
"Quite brutally as well!" Oobleck added.
Rainier grinned as he free fell- and at the last second, fired a cannon shot, sending him soaring horizontally across the ground towards his partner.
Gail herself was firing arrow after arrow of fire at her opponent, approaching steadfastly all the while, using as much of the time she had left before her electricity wore off as she could.
Finally, she reached striking distance of him, and tossed Sunsinger into the air, catching it by the end, and swung it hard.
Caid's hand flew up, and caught it, as he snarled in trembling fury. She watched in shock as the exposed pieces of his armor began to seal back up with the black material- the action itself, however, seemed to wear him out.
He didn't let it show, though, spinning his blade in his hand and striking out with the pommel, crashing it into the bridge of her nose as her own exertion seemed dangerously close to claiming her- and elimination along with it.
A boot planted itself into her chest, sending the archer stumbling backwards. He closed the distance quickly, striking out with wide, frustrated slashes.
"I'm better than you!" He barked in a thick accent. "I'm the real fighter here! Know! Your! Place!"
"Kuro Tenshi has been eliminated!"
His eyes widened, and he turned in shock to where his partner and Rainier had been fighting.
Gail responded by simply head butting him in the middle of his forehead. They both recoiled in pain, her own hands flying to her head.
"Bad idea, bad idea…" She muttered.
Caid recovered first, scowling in fury and frustration as he lurched back towards her- and promptly disappeared.
In his place was Rainier, sliding across the ground as his claws sent sparks flying up into the air. He grinned at his partner. "Mind if I cut in, Miss Cerulean."
She blinked owlishly, a blush crossing her cheeks. "N-no, go- go ahead."
He nodded and turned his gaze to the tumbling form of Caid.
Nash growled as he stormed towards his opponent. "I'm going to make you into a Mistrali pretzel."
The tanned huntsman spat. "Try me, bitch."
Phalanx rolled its working shoulder and stepped forwards, massive hand outstretched, reaching for his opponent. Like clockwork, the Mistrali dodged it, sliding away smoothly, before leaping into the air, aiming to bring his qatar down into the shoulder joint of the mech's good arm. Nash brought the same arm up at the last moment, blades cutting in slightly into the thick red armor. Phalanx whipped its arm to the side, slamming both it and the other huntsman into the ground with a solid crunch. Nash held him there as he turned his attention to his other arm, working feverishly to get it back in decent working order.
A few yards away, the two team leaders met; Adrian swinging out with a wide slash, Daria skillfully falling to her knees and sliding beneath it. She rose back to her feet quickly, spinning as she did so, ringblades carving into the Mistrali's back, one blade over the other. He let out a grunt as he stumbled forwards. Like a top, he turned on his heel and swiped again.
Predictably, she ducked the blow, and, just as predictably, he lashed out with a boot to catch her unprepared. This time, however, she was ready, and grabbed the limb with her forearms, tugging it forwards and taking Adrian off his balance, the huntsman struggling to keep his footing.
Daria leapt into the air and struck out with two well placed kicks, spinning and catching him twice into the side of his face. He growled as he regained his footing, turning quickly to meet her.
"Alright," He muttered, holding his massive blade to his side. "You're quick, I'll give you that."
"I've fought people with oversized blades before," She shot back, strafing around him. "And he's way better at it than you are."
Adrian snarled. "I see your mutt friend wears off on you, Copper."
Her face morphed from fury at the first half of the sentence, to shock in the second. "How do-"
He took a single step forwards, and swung hard in the middle of her sentence, catching her off of her guard. The massive sword struck true, the bladed edge cutting into her midsection and sending the huntress flying off to the side with ease. Closer. And closer to the edge of the arena, Daria stabbing her ring blades into the tile floor- and then the snow- as she tried her hardest to stop her momentum. She did slow, but painfully incrementally, getting closer and closer to inevitable ringout.
Adrian watched her go before nodding in satisfaction, turning back to his partner struggling under the arm of Phalanx.
"Kuro Tenshi has been eliminated."
The leader snarled. "Of course." Without another word, he took off back towards his partner.
Daria's legs went over the edge, and she let out a yell of frustration, slamming her ring blades into the arena floor again in fury… and stopped with a jerk, almost losing her grip on her weapons. She hung over the edge, legs dangling dangerously close to the floor below. She swallowed hard as she began crawling her way back up, gritting her teeth as her arms screamed in protest.
The Vale crowd burst out into applause at the clutch save, hollering and clapping as the diminutive huntress climbed her way back to the safety of the battlefield. With a scowl, she swung one of her Infinitas vertically- sending a line of energy soaring Adrian's way.
The BLCK leader didn't even need to turn to dodge it, stepping to the side. "AHA!" He laughed out smugly. "I figured you'd be harder to put down!"
He turned back towards his opponent, raising his sword tauntingly. "Guess I'll have to try again!" He grinned as he felt a form standing behind him. "C'mon then, Lanu. Finish this brat off and let's save this damn fight."
A massive hand wrapped around his head as Nash giggled victoriously, the whirring of electronics coming to life filling the air.
"You dumbshit!" Lanu barked out, still struggling to remove himself from Phalanx's grip, slashing at the red armor worthlessly.
Nash gripped Adrian's head hard. "Go apologize, rat." And with ease, he hurled the BLCK team leader back Daria's way, Adrian tumbling across the ground as Copper simply stood with an unimpressed look, cocking a hip to the side.
"God I hate my countrymen." She muttered as she took off his way, snow flying into the air where she ran.
Across the battlefield, Rainier and Gail stared at the recovering form of Caid.
"What do you think?" The faunus asked. "Over under?"
"I… I- yeah. I guess."
"Excellent." With a grin, he disappeared in a blur as she nocked an arrow.
He reached the shadowed Mistrali first, leaping into the air and catching him on top of his head, crunching satisfyingly under the silver claws of the faunus' leg. Cracks spread down the BLCK member's armor as his eyes unfocused. Rainier rolled off him, towards his back, pushing him forwards with both legs as he fell.
Caid stumbled straight into a volley of exploding arrows, smoke encapsulating him as he struggled to keep his feet. Rainier dashed forwards again, leaping up and spinning, foot colliding with the back of the Mistrali's head with a cannon shot- as another arrow found its mark onto his face. This arrow, however, was larger and heavier than Gail's usual, her bow anchored in the ground and in its greatbow form.
The explosion, in turn, was vastly larger than it had been. And was just enough.
"Caid Heach has been eliminated!"
Adrian looked up at his approaching countrywoman with a put off scowl.
"Caid Heach has been eliminated!"
"Dammit, dammit, dammit!" He barked as he shot to his feet, re-sheathing his greatsword in favor of the smaller blade. Daria was to his side in an instant, spinning around him expertly as her own dual blades carved across his back with the grace of a dancer. Her foot shot out and swept his leg out from under him, sending him to one knee.
She placed a foot onto his bent knee and vaulted up, bringing her boot down on the back of his head, his face slamming into the snow with a satisfying 'poof'.
Daria grinned despite herself, and placed her boots onto his back, leaping into the air- and then spun like a top, wave after wave of glowing green lasers carving into his back as she fell.
And, with no other option, she simply fell rear-end first onto the back of his head, sending him further into the snow, and completely motionless.
"Adrian Black has been eliminated!"
Lanu's eyes widened as Phalanx lifted him up and threw him onto the tile floor, his dual qatar tumbling away.
He scowled defiantly, opening his mouth to insult his opponent-
"Adrian Black has been eliminated!"
The tanned Mistrali's eyes widened as he turned to Daria and his leader's motionless body- then to the waiting forms of Rainier and Gail at the other end of the arena, standing patiently, watching the fight in interest. The faunus waved cheekily.
He turned back to the steadily approaching form of Phalanx, and his defiant scowl deepened. He dashed forwards- and slapped the visor of the mech defiantly. Nash stopped in his place, simply staring unreactingly at Lanu.
The Mistrali took a step back- and threw up both middle fingers bitterly. "Fuck you!" He barked.
The Vale crowd booed at the lack of sportsmanship. Nash, however, let out a dark chuckle- and lashed out with rocket-enhanced speed, grabbing a firm hold of Lanu's head. He vaulted high into the air, jets propelling him far above the heads of his teammates. His jets quelled their ascent, and he lifted the Mistrali even higher as they began to fall.
"IMMA PLANT ME A DUMBASS TREE!"
As one, his jets rocketed back to life, and he careened back down to the arena floor with ridiculous speed of his own.
And Nash smashed.
"Lanu Uliuli has been eliminated!"
Rainier laughed as he stepped forwards good-naturedly, grass crunching beneath his feet as the quartet of teams trounced about the fairgrounds.
"Jeez, Nash," Yang muttered, ruffling the boy's hair. "You're a scary guy."
"Wha? No, no I'm not… right?"
"Well… I mean…" Ruby started, not sure where to go with the sentence.
"Rain, I'm not scary am I?" Nash asked desperately.
"Little man, you turned a man into the world's largest dead fly. I'd say you have your moments? But now?" He added quickly at the boy's dejected look. "You're quite far from scary."
The blonde boy shrugged. "I mean… he was being mean. No need to be a bully."
"After you bullied him the entire fight?" Jaune asked, narrowing his eyes at the hypocrisy.
"Did not!"
"Did too!"
"Did not!"
"Did too!"
"Did not times a thousand!"
"Did too times infinity!"
"Did not times infinity plus two, no take backs!"
"That's not even how that-"
"Jaune," Pyrrha said gently. "You're arguing with Nash."
Nash grinned and sidled up next to her. She smiled good-naturedly and threw an arm around him, giving him a side hug.
"Oh, yeah," Jaune muttered. "Side with the adorable one. I see how it is."
Blake sighed. "Sun's fight's starting here shortly. I'm going to head back before I miss it. Anyone coming?"
There was a moment of silence, before a wave of noncommitted assents greeted her.
Rainier, though, shrugged, holding his complimentary towel in both hands. "I believe I'm going to stay down here, if that's alright. You all go enjoy the fight in my stead, though."
Weiss raised her chin. "And why is that? You win one fight and you're too good for us?"
"Never too good for you, Miss Schnee-" Daria's face fell in disbelief at the quip, unnoticed by both foreigners. "But… there's someone here I need to see."
"Oh?" The Schnee heiress said. "And who is that?"
Yang nodded. "Yeah, who's more important than your friends? Huh? Huh? Huh?"
Rainier looked across the fairgrounds. "The White Wolf of Vacuo."
All eyes followed his gaze to a man standing, watching them with casual curiosity. He was taller and older than the students, if by only a handful of years, skin the same olive tone of Rainier's, and hair the same silver- though his was significantly cleaner, top combed to the side over a buzzed undercut, dressed in beige fatigues. His face lacked the warmth of Rainier's though, grizzled through battle and life, yellow eyes locked onto the quartet of teams.
Most striking, though, was the gleaming silver of his left arm, mechanical parts gleaming in the light. He nodded at the students, and turned over his shoulder to walk away.
Rainier shrugged.
"Oh." Daria blinked.
A/N: THE PAIN TRAIN DOES NOT STOP.
THE CHAPTERS WILL CONTINUE UNTIL MORALE IMPROVES.
CHOO CHOO.
That's enough of that. I'd like to mention the gratuitous profanity in this chapter, which... is not present prior this chapter. Nor will it probably make a return in later chapters.
Until BLCK comes back, at least.
But I did feel that it was a little thing that Team BLCK needed, to emphasize the vitriol and general hate-everything nature of BLCK. This fight needed to be grittier than the other fights. If the sudden appearance of that much profanity shocked anyone, I apologize, and I do promise that it won't be a running theme.
Until next time,
Cheers,
Infernokota