Chapter 6: One Last Breath

Daria stared at the wall, face a mask of careful blankness, hands gripping and ungripping the bouquet of flowers anxiously as she sat.

Waiting.

Oh so patiently.

The seconds seemed to stretch into minutes, minutes into hours, a clock frustratingly ticking away above her, the fluorescent lights buzzing away audibly, bathing the white walled and tiled building brightly.

Then there was the clicking of heels, and a smiling nurse coming back down the hallway. "You're good to go see him."

The leader of DRGN shot to her feet, offering a small smile back as she followed the nurse back down the way she had come, traversing the long hallways with practiced ease. The duo came to a stop outside a door, just like any other in the hospital. The nurse squeezed Daria's shoulder. "Go on in."

"Thank you." The short huntress managed to croak dryly, swallowing hard as she opened the door- and stepped into the room.

She was immediately greeted by a persistent beeping sound, the whir of machines, and the quiet sounds of fighting emanating from the flat screen TV adorning one wall. Across the room from it, lying dubiously comfortably;

Was Sise Tsuki.

The bright eyed huntsman slowly looked over as she entered the room, a thin smile crossing his fair face as he struggled to sit up.

"Daria Copper," He mused, voice weak. "Welcome to my abode."

The breath she had been holding rushed from her, the tension flooding from her body as she strode into the room. "…How are you?"

He let out a cough-riddled chuckle, looking around. "Just… hanging out. Waiting."

Her eyes crossed the room to the table under the large window, curtains thrown open; the table-top was laden with flowers, opened notes and letters, and several boxes of chocolates.

"Want me to just…" She began, uncertainly, pointing at it. He smiled and nodded quietly, watching her as she placed her gift down intently.

"…How'd you hear I like daturas?" He asked, inclining his head.

"I…" She began uncertainly, rubbing the back of her neck. "Asked Ozpin."

"Heh. Not everyday people ask him about flowers."

They shared a quiet chuckle as she leaned against the wall, eyes turning up to the TV. The screen blared out with live-footage of the Tournament; at the moment, the TV was showing the rapidly closing moments of a doubles' fight; Russel Thrush and Sky Lark of Team CRDL grasping onto a huge boulder, screaming in terror as it raised into the air, several swords piercing it, barely perceptible strings leading back to a ginger-haired huntress, smiling giddily as she lifted her arms in conjunction with the boulder-

And then brought them back down, smashing the two Vale huntsmen underneath it, the rock itself shattering with the impact.

"Russel Thrush and Sky Lark have been eliminated!" Oobleck called out. "And victory goes to Penny and Ciel of Atlas!"

The two huntsmen watched the screen for a moment, as Penny placed her fist into her outstretched palm, bowing respectfully for her fallen opponents, chipperly calling out something inaudible.

"…It wasn't your fault." Sise finally said, breaking the silence of the room.

Daria faltered, slowly turning back to him. "…But it was."

"No. It was an unwinnable situation from the outset. If I knew that it was Cerberus out there, I never would have brought anyone with me."

"But that's not the point! We were supposed to be proving our worth as huntsmen, and we failed. Just like you said. If you didn't have to spend so much time using your Semblance on us, you might have had more energy-"

"Copper."

"-And could have defended yourself better. If we weren't so friggin' useless against them, you wouldn't have had to worry about us as well-"

"Copper."

"-And if I wasn't such a waste of a leader, we-"

"Copper. You're seventeen," He cut in, firmly. "You've been attending Beacon for a year. Neither I nor Ozpin would have put fourth-year students in that situation. It's. Not. Your. Fault," He broke down into a coughing fit, taking a long drink of water before turning stern blue-green eyes back to her. "It's not anyone's fault. Look at Team RWBY; they crashed a train full of grimm and White Fang through a mountain and led them all to Vale. That wasn't their fault. Team SOUL's leader almost died to this golden criminal. That… wasn't… his… fault. Out there; there's no control, no template. Things happen outside your control. As a leader, you have to learn how to deal with those things as they happen."

She watched him for a long moment, before nodding slightly. "…Thanks, Sise."

"I was your veteran- I suppose I still am. It's my job."

"…Alright. I think I'm gonna head out. RWBY's fight's coming up here in a bit and I-"

"Don't worry about me. Go. Enjoy the tournament. I'll… at least make it until after its over."

Her eyes widened. "Wha-"

"Bad joke. I'm sorry. I never got the hang of it," He chuckled, waving her off. "And… Copper. You guys didn't fail the test."

She continued to watch him with a shocked gaze. "I…"

"Go." He repeated, voice betraying his good humor.

Daria smiled. "See you later, Tsuki."

"Of course, Copper."

Rainier looked up at his leader as she came rushing through the stands, a frown crossing his face. "Just in time! Barely!"

"Oh shut it. I was doing something important."

Lance leaned forwards, leaning against the seat in front of him. "Uh huh? What's his name?"

"Lance!" Oracle hissed, hitting his shoulder.

"Ow! It was a joke! It- it's been six months, you all know what I'm about!"

Ruby was watching her sister and Weiss on the ground with a frown, the duo sizing up their Atlesian opponents in confusion. "Uh, guys?"

"Yuh huh?" Nash called back over.

"Not you- Lance?"

The blonde's eyes shot back over to the young leader of RWBY. "You rang, madam?"

"You like to watch fighting a lot, right?"

"Well, I mean… yeah?"

"What do you think about those guys."

His attention turned to the Atlesians down on the floor. "Holy incestual gods. Two for two!"

The huntsmen in question stared down the Vale representatives- the front runner, a tall, lithe, dark-skinned boy dressed in a white shirt, black and blue trilby hat, black vest, pants and shoes, blue tie left undone around his shoulders, was glaring over the top of his sunglasses at Weiss, a scowl planted on his face. The other Atlesian was a smaller girl, skin pale and hair ginger, streaked with blue and pulled into four pigtails, a matching ginger cat's tail waving out from behind her. She was dressed in a none-too concealing blue cropped tank top, white collar, and short pink skirt, her belt buckle a gleaming golden smiley face. Her hands were clad in white bracers, clutching a pair of glowing nunchaku. Cladding her feet, however, were long white boots, stilted on top of bright red rollerblades.

The faunus and Yang were bickering at the moment-

"Hey, where'd you get your hair extensions?" She called over, head cocked to the side.

"This is just my normal hair." Yang called back, tone both offended and confused.

"Ooh, really?"

"Yeah!" The blonde huntress spat, deciding on offended. "Is that a-"

"You should try rollerblading sometime! It's super fun!" The cat faunus began to spin in place, smiling coyly at her opponent. "It'd probably take you a while though, since you're so… you know… top heavy."

Yang looked down at her body in shock, before bringing furious eyes back up to the Atlesian. "Excuse me?!"

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Oh, here we go."

Oracle shook her head. "She never could get over body insults. Her one chirping weakness. Shame."

The fields behind the combatants opened up- a familiar volcanic area, a flat desert, a rocky platform filled with steaming geysers, and a collection of destroyed buildings.

"Yang and Weiss of Beacon versus Flynt and Neon of Atlas! Three! Two! One! Begin!"

The moment the last word left Port's lips, Flynt raised a trumpet to his lips, loosing a soundwave that caught both huntresses, sending them skidding backwards, the Schnee heiress stopping only as a glyph formed under her feet, jerking to a standstill, even as Neon rushed past her in a blur of rainbow, chasing Yang into the city ruins.

Weiss burst forward over a trail of black glyphs, excess speed carrying her forwards at the musician as he blew another blast of soundwaves- then stopped, side stepping her and planting a boot into her back, sending her careening into the volcanic region.

Neon continued to harass Yang, quickly dashing passed the blonde, skillfully dodging each blast from the Vale huntress' Ember Celica gauntlets, whispering a mantra under her breath as she leapt onto railings, kicked off of chunks of rubble, riding circles around her opponent, cracking her nunchaku like glowsticks, a blue glow emanating from them as she passed the RWBY representative again, the blonde's leg encasing in a thick block of ice.

"Pfft. Now you're bottom heavy too!" The faunus called out with a giggle, giving her rear a smack for good measure.

Yang growled as she stomped her foot down, shattering the ice- only for her arm to get encased, Neon riding away before coming back towards her with immense speed, kicking her opponent back into a wall, a web of cracks spreading across it.

"You should cool off! Get it? Because you're angry."

Not even the pun raised Yang's spirits, a snarl crossing her face as she slammed her fist into the wall, shattering both the ice and the wall itself.

Across the battlefield, Weiss and Flynt were locked into a standstill- Myrtenaster raised, a gust of wind shooting from it, while the musician blew his trumpet back at the blast. All of a sudden, she lifted her free hand, dozens of glyphs sprouting around them, the heiress dashing from her spot to one, before beginning to jump between them with ridiculous speed, slashing at Flynt as she passed.

Lance reached over, punching Rainier's shoulder. "Hey, look! That's your thing! See, she does pay attention to you."

The faunus very, very slowly turned hard yellow eyes to his friend, cocking his head to the side as he stared at the swordsman.

"Pfft. You're fun."

Oracle watched the interaction for a moment, shifting her sunglasses down to the tip of her nose with a confused frown. "I'm sorry, what?"

Then- another Flynt appeared next to the first, dressed in purple. Then a second, in orange. Then a fourth in green. They raised their trumpets in unison, blasting the Atlesian heiress out of the air to crash against the ground.

The Flynts grinned and tipped their hats to the audience, a round of cheers pouring down towards them, their eyes shooting to the scoreboard, and the two urgent, yellow-orange bars of their opponents. They stepped forwards, merging into the original as he glared down at Weiss.

Over in the buildings, Neon continued to dash around and swipe at Yang, grinning broadly- then slowly stopped, the blonde's hair glowing, eyes now a brilliant red as she seethed in fury.

"Ooh! Flashy eyes! Y'know, you're actually kinda pretty when you're angry."

"Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!" Yang roared back as she charged forwards, shotgun blasts sending her flying through the air.

Weiss scrambled forwards, hand gripping her rapier tightly- then froze as a shoe stepped onto the thin blade.

"Get back here!" Yang screamed as she chased her opponent back out into the open, Neon just a beat ahead of her, lazily circling the blonde.

"I wasn't trying to say that you should go on a diet- I was saying you really need to go on a diet!"

"THAT'S IT!"

Neon stopped, staring dead into the eyes of her opponent and once more, for good measure: "You're fat."

Flynt shrugged and turned away from the heiress, his duplicates reappearing, all four lifting their trumpets at Yang, preparing to send a blast of sound at her.

And then Weiss leapt from the ground, tackling the original Flynt- right into a quickly rising pillar of lava, both huntsmen disappearing into it.

Ruby, Blake, and Rainier shot to their feet, leaning against the guard rail with three sets of wide eyes. "WEISS!" They screamed in near unison. The others leaned forwards in their seats, watching in concern.

"What?!" Yang barked as both she and Neon turned to their partners.

"It seems we have a double knockout on our hands!" Port called out.

"In fact, it looks like Miss Schnee's aura has been completely depleted! She sacrificed herself to take out Flynt! W-wait a minute! What is this?!" Oobleck continued, voice rising in awe.

As Flynt stumbled back to his feet, singed and covered in ash, wobbling in place; but still in the fight.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Flynt Coal remains standing!"

"You did it!" Neon fist pumped. "Don't worry 'bout her, she's easy! But kinda annoying."

Yang's face reached a new level of furious, her fists clenching audibly, the very ground trembling around her. She let out a scream of rage, sending out a flurry of shots at her opponents, dashing towards them.

Neon rushed to meet her, a blast of sound covering both girls, Yang quickly shooting around her to keep stationary, while also struggling to land a hit on her opponent. Failing that, she fired her gauntlets forwards, taking her out of the soundwaves. The shots narrowly missed Flynt, who shifted his blast, directing Neon away from the blonde huntress- the faunus, though, was shakily keeping her balance, rollerblades rolling across a copious amount of debris.

The final RWBY member left standing dashed forwards, around Neon, directly at Flynt, the musician bringing his copies back out to blast at her four-fold- Yang, though, shot both gauntlets behind her, giving her enough force to cut through the soundwaves-

Reaching the Atlesian leader, clapping a hand over his trumpet's mouth. There was a moment of silence before his weapon backfired, the sound coming back out to crash into his mouth, sending him flying backwards, his copies absorbing into him as he hit the ground hard.

"Sour note for Flynt Coal, who has been eliminated!"

Yang turned furious eyes back her final opponent's direction, to where Neon was shakily trying to navigate the geyser field.

"Never miss a beat, never miss a beat, never miss a-" The faunus repeated loudly- right before her wheels caught a raised crack in the ground. "…Beat?"

She went flying, tumbling across the ground, watching helplessly as Yang reached her. The blonde smirked viciously; and fired off a single shot, slamming her into a roaring geyser with an explosion of sparks and smoke.

"Neon Katt has been eliminated! Team RWBY are your winners!"

Yang didn't waste any time, dashing back across the battlefield towards Weiss. As nearly one, Ruby, Blake, and Rainier leapt over the railing, the trio dashing across the battlefield to where the other two members of RWBY were waiting, looking up as they approached.

"I may not be singing for a little while..." The heiress muttered, bursting out into a fit of coughs.

The other four let out relieved breaths, Yang shaking her head with a small smile. "You know... I don't think that was very proper form."

Blake and Ruby kneeled down next to their teammates, the former sharing her partner's smile. "...Good job, you two."

"You did awesome!" Their leader added, beaming.

Weiss looked between her teammates, an almost disbelieving smile plastered onto her face, before turning up to Rainier standing outside of the quartet. "...Go ahead, Platina," She managed to croak out. "I know you're holding in... some very funny joke or another at my expense."

Rainier's face shifted quickly from concerned and relieved, to appraising, looking the heiress over. "Hm... I just wanted to make sure that you hadn't bit the dust just yet," He leaned towards her, looking between the other three members of RWBY conspiratorially. "And left me with all of these Vale and Mistrali. So selfish of you."

That brought a weak chuckle from Weiss, shaking her head. "No... not quite yet."

Yang's gaze shifted from Blake back towards the other faunus, eyebrow cocked, knowing smirk on her face. "Uh huh... sure. That's why."

"I've not the slightest clue what you mean," Rainier said, straightening up, hands in his pockets. "Now, are we just going to let her sit here and suffer, or are you dragging her to the infirmary?"

The brawler shook her head as the trio of huntresses helped the heiress to her feet. The Vacuoan gestured for the quartet to pass him, his eyes meeting Weiss' for a moment, the heiress shaking her head in amusement. He stalled for a moment with a small smile locked onto her back, before following after them, the quintet disappearing into the halls beneath the arena.

"You remember the plan?" Shinai asked quietly.

Ulysses grunted, but nodded, cracking his knuckles together.

"Good."

The hulking huntsman cracked a small, small smirk as he looked down to his leader. "I'm not about to quit on you now."

The samurai nodded, hand resting on his katana's handle. "Good to know. Remember- level head. Do not lose it."

"Sure. Like it's that easy."

"As long as we're understood."

They shot to attention as Team SNOW arrived, the roar of the crowd fading back in as they focused, staring across the central platform at their opponents.

The Atlesians stood resolutely, marching forwards towards the center platform stiffly. The frontrunner was a shorter man, lithe in build, fair skinned with sandy blonde hair windswept on his head, matching blonde stubble lining his jawline. Tired dark eyes stared at his opponents, face not impressed. Held in his hand was a brilliant silver longsword, blade and guard heavily engraved with words and swirling designs, the guard coming up in a dragon's head where it met the double-edged sword.

His partner was even shorter, skin snow-white, long hair a dark grey, falling down her back loosely, wide, bright purple eyes staring at her opponents in good humor. Strapped to her back was a large mechanical crossbow, small lights glowing white on its form. She smiled at her opponents and offered a small wave.

The leader of the Atlesians looked Ulysses and Shinai up and down. "…You must be Kyani." He asked dryly.

The samurai bowed. "You have me at a disadvantage."

"Give 'em a second," The swordsman muttered. "They'll call it out. Big guy got any kind words?"

"Words are cheap." Ulysses growled.

"Yeah, that's fair."

The quartet stood silently for a moment, before the Atlesian sighed. "Alright, well. Good luck."

"You as well."

"Yeah, yeah. Don't need it. Cheers."

Then he went very quiet, turning to his partner and whispering in her ear, getting sporadic nods in response.

The Vale huntsmen gathered up themselves, Shinai sighing. "Swordsman and crossbow. Long and short ranged. Focus on him, hold his attention. I'll try and flank them. Separate them, and she'll go down fast."

Ulysses grunted in agreement as the billboards began to shift, slowing down the corresponding symbols. The areas outside the center platform opened up: a large cliff overlooking a small replication of the sea; a small, empty, desert-based town; a flat patch of plains, dark clouds rolling overhead; and a surprisingly narrow crevice, bordered by two hulking stone mountains.

"Grey and Aurora of Atlas versus Shinai and Ulysses of Beacon! 3! 2! 1! Begin!"

Shinai let out a command for his partner to charge; and said nothing, mouth moving silently. His face fell in shock, turning to Ulysses, asking a silent question.

The hulking huntsman frowned, making an attempt to talk himself, to similar failure, the beginning of a string of curses easily readable on his lips, before Shinai's eyes widened, dodging backwards.

Grey was to their side- not quickly, but deathly silent, dark eyes still thoroughly unimpressed as he spun, cleaving his sword across Ulysses' chest and narrowly missing the samurai's.

The largest huntsman on the field grunted- quietly, of course- as he stumbled backwards, eyes growing bright in fury as he turned his dark gaze the Atlesian's way. He wasn't given a chance to return the attack though, a brilliant spear of green energy flying through the air, catching him squarely in the side of the face and sending him tumbling away, rolling across the ground to where the cliff began to rise.

Shinai grit his teeth together, drawing Shi En quickly in a vicious slash, catching the slower Grey across the abdomen, stepping forwards and kicking him flush across the face, the Atlesian leader stumbling back.

He made to push his advantage, but stopped, swiveling away as another flash of green entered his vision, nearly avoiding Aurora's shot, purple eyes snapping back and forth between both of his opponents, distinctly aware of Ulysses picking himself up to his feet across the battlefield, his mind working in overdrive to piece together a new plan.

The crowd went quiet, a murmur of confusion spilling across the bystanders as they scratched their heads at the disturbingly quiet battle going on beneath them.

"This is so-" Lance began.

"Bizarre." Yang finished.

"Sure, that's what I was going to say."

Rainier frowned, leaning forwards. "SHINAI! ULYSSES!"

No response from either huntsman.

"Yep, definitely bizarre." Ruby agreed with a nod, sitting back with a frown.

"Maybe…" Blake mused. "One of their semblances creates a… space of silence?"

Daria's eyes widened. "And Shinai can't call out orders."

"Did they just… did they just outplay Shinai Kyani?" Jaune asked in equal shock.

"I… I think they did."

"I'm almost impressed."

Nora snored loudly at the other end of the row, already having lost interest in the fight, leaning on Ren's shoulder as she slept heavily.

The ninja shrugged. "She has a point."

"Awesome," Lance muttered. "If we lose in the most boring fight of the tournament, I swear on my left nu-"

"Lance," Oracle chided, hands over a confused Nash's ears. "Children."

"Oh whatever, we're cool."

Ulysses stared at the grassy ground beneath his hands, huffing in a mix of pain and fury, working his jaw side to side. Slowly, he began to tremble, body shaking, and he let out a silent, furious roar, shooting to his feet and charging back into the battle.

Shinai peered over the shoulder of Grey at the charging form of his partner, putting together a quick, ramshackle plan. He dashed forwards, into the Atlesian's personal space, latching out quickly and grabbing his shoulder, spinning them both away, so that he was between the samurai and the sharpshooter across the battlefield.

And so that Grey caught a quick glimpse of Ulysses barreling forwards, just before the charging huntsman slammed into both swordsman, huge hands grabbing onto the Atlesian's head as he continued to roar forwards, Shinai left tumbling away.

Ulysses skid to a stop, leaping into the air, preparing to slam his opponent into the tile hard, only to spin away as one of Aurora's shots buried itself into his abdomen, losing his grip as he and his opponent slammed into the ground stiffly.

Grey recovered first, shooting to his feet, and running a hand across his blade- flames sprung up over its surface, licking up at the air greedily as he slashed down at Ulysses. The giant caught the blade in his free hand with a snarl, the flames eating away his aura. He stared up at his opponent, eyes beginning to pool over with black as he shot to his feet. He pointed with his Avenger hand at Aurora, the girl straightening up from her kneeling position, blinking owlishly.

Ulysses didn't move though, still clutching the blade tightly.

Poof.

Shinai struck out with a quick kick, catching the sharpshooter in the back of her head, the girl rolling forwards, scrambling to her feet in shock as she stared down the stony-expressioned samurai, face falling in horror as his lit up in understanding;

The moment he hit her, sound had resumed in the battlefield, for a brief moment before going ear-ringingly silent again.

He twirled his blade expertly, looking passed her at the other combatants for a moment, before nodding, striding towards her.

Grey matched Ulysses' snarl with one of his own, leaping up and burying a foot into the larger huntsman's abs, getting him to double over with a silent grunt. The Atlesian ripped his sword free from his opponent's grip, striking it across Ulysses' face, the black-clad huntsman twirling away.

The leader of SNOW turned on his heel to the slightly terrified expression of his partner- and began to sign with his free hand. She tried to respond with her own signs, cutting herself off as Shinai dashed forwards to meet her, narrowly missing as she scrambled away, turning her attention back to her own fight.

Grey growled and turned back to Ulysses, twirling his blade as the seething giant turned back to him, Avenger falling to the ground soundlessly. Smoke curled off of his form as he turned his head to the side, neck popping dissatisfyingly quiet. He let out a silent roar and swung the flail over his head, missing as his opponent dashed to the side, before swooping in, swiping his flaming blade across his opponent's form twice, dodging back out.

Ulysses snorted and swung Avenger over his head again, the swordsman again dodging away, then in; right into the waiting hand of the rapidly rampaging huntsman. Ulysses grinned in satisfaction, turning on his heel and hurling the Atlesian leader away, storming after him as his body tumbled towards the opening of the crevice, white armor dirtying with the loose dirt as he pushed himself to his feet.

Aurora let out silent yelps of surprise as Shinai continued to rush her, katana slashing in measured swings at her, a surprising amount of them missing as she seemed to be able to swivel away from the blows easily with her small form, a good foot-plus shorter than the samurai. She ducked low, making to dash around him, under his arm as he swung low, getting a knee to the chin for her trouble.

The sharpshooter stumbled backwards, hand going to her face in pain, grip loosening on her crossbow. Shinai didn't let up, dashing towards her and feinting with a slash, catching her in the face with his boot as she moved to dodge again. He disappeared in a cloud of smoke, reappearing above her, looking to fall and catch her with a downwards swing- only to disappear again, the four clouds of smoke filling her vision as she wheeled around in terror.

His foot struck out, taking her legs out from under her, slashing down and catching her across the throat with his blade, the sound returning to the arena.

The crowd burst out into applause, tuning back into the fight.

Ulysses took a deep breath in as he reached Grey, savoring the sound- and let out a furious roar charging forwards with Avenger swinging out around him, slamming down in to his opponent's midsection, spikes jabbing into the leader's flesh as he let out a yell of pain.

The flail quickly removed itself, the rampaging member of Team SOUL swinging it around himself skillfully, more and more chain spilling from his sleeve, before he brought the entire length of his flail soaring down, narrowly missing as Grey scrambled away and to his feet, looking passed his opponent in concern.

"Aurora!" He barked, trying to pick her form out in the thick cloud of smoke on the center platform. His concern was to no avail though, a massive fist catching him across the jaw, the force sending him flying away, crashing into one of the mountain's forming the crevice.

Ulysses didn't let up, charging forwards with a roar, eyes pooled over completely black, smoke rising from his body like a bonfire. Grey let out a hiss as he recovered, bringing his blade up to defend himself; only for his larger opponent to just bodily slam into him, snatching him up in a bear hug as they entered the small opening. The rampaging huntsman held his opponent out, slamming him into one wall- then the other, the sound echoing out across the battlefield as the very mountains themselves cracked under the blow. Ulysses tossed Grey up in the air, reaching up and grabbing an ankle, then snatched him back down, smashing him into the dirt floor with a heavy thud.

He huffed in unrestrained fury as he stared at his opponent- then to the cracked walls beside him- then up above, to where the tops of the tall mountains stood. Mind made, he lashed out, slamming a fist into one of the walls, greeted with an impressively large hole. With a snort he stalked backwards, to the entrance of the crevice; and began to slam his hands into the corner of the entrance, ripping away huge chunks of stone with each swing, the crowd rising to a fever pitch as they put two and two together, spider-webs of cracks rising up through the formerly packed rock and stone from his onslaught.

Satisfied, he put his hands into one of the larger holes he'd made; and roared, ripping his hands toward the entrance. That was all it took. A large portion began crumble, crashing down in huge boulders to the rising form of Grey, burying him under the rubble. As the stripped-away rocks slammed into the opposing wall, it began to shatter as well, sending more debris falling to smother the form of the Atlesian leader.

"Grey has been effectively eliminated from the fight!" Port called out, voice a touch too proud.

"Yes, Professor- effectively. He is still in this nonetheless!"

Ulysses didn't react, storming back towards his partner and the sharpshooter, snarling.

The gathered members of SOUL, DRGN, RWBY, and JNPR stared at the battlefield in stunned silence.

"…Holy shit." Lance muttered.

"What the hell?!" Oracle barked. "What in the hell?!"

"But nooo, everyone is furious with the faunus for getting 'too fast'!" Rainier grumbled quietly.

"Shut up, dude," Daria muttered. "That was singlehandedly the most badass thing I think I've ever seen. And Yang fury-punched her way to victory."

"No, yeah, Ulysses can have this one. I think I'll pass on that one-upmanship fight." The blonde fighter shot back.

"…You know," Jaune added thoughtfully. "You guys ever wonder what a Ulysses-Yang fight would be like?"

"Oh my gods."

"Can you imagine?"

"Duuude."

"They both have to go to the finals round now, right?"

"Don't tease us like that."

"I don't get it." Nash frowned.

Rainier began to reach a hand over to ruffle his hair. "I'll tell- actually, that's not a bad one. You see; both of their semblances rely on them getting angry to fight, more or less."

"Oooh. Oooh! Oooh! That'd be so cool!"

"I mean…" Ruby muttered. "Yang'd win."

Yang said nothing, lilac eyes glowing bright for a long moment.

"You… okay?" Daria asked.

"I need this." She whispered back.

"I could drown a toddler right now." Gail muttered.

Lance spluttered, spitting his drink out onto the floor. "I'M SORRY, WHAT?"

She jerked to attention, eyes widening as her skin darkened in a deep blush. "DID… did I say… that…"

"Out loud, yeah!"

Nash frowned. "I don't get it."

Rainier nodded, ruffling his hair. "And now I'll tell you when you're older."

"Mmkay."

Aurora's eyes widened with Port and Oobleck's announcement, scrambling away from the samurai, turning to where she had last seen her leader; and the pile of rubble laying between the mountains, the ominous form of Ulysses marching forwards, Avenger dragging across the ground behind him. She looked in terror between him and the samurai- and took off running towards him.

Shinai didn't totally react, watching her go in vague curiosity, leisurely following after her. "Don't do anything stupid." He whispered to himself, purple eyes beginning to fill with concern for the girl.

She took off at a dead sprint from her former opponent to the hulking huntsman across from her, his head slowly cocking to the side curiously, more chain spilling from his sleeve as he kept a steady pace. As she neared, he gripped the chain, swinging it out from around him, parallel with the ground, missing only as she rolled forwards under the chain, scrambling in a panic. She reached Ulysses; and twirled around him, continuing her rush towards her partner. He stopped as she passed him, craning his neck to the side twitchily-

Then turned on his heel, charging after her, roaring wildly as he went.

Aurora's eyes widened even further as she turned over her shoulder towards him, scrambling in terror up the pile of rubble, picking her way to the top, the much larger huntsman a frighteningly short few yards behind her as she reached the apex, searching for anything of use, purple eyes scanning its surface desperately.

Below, Ulysses preferred to simply tear his way up to her, throwing boulders away as he continued to ascend, smashing others with ridiculous ease, getting closer and closer. He dashed one last time towards her, hand outstretched towards her, almost nearing her-

Before a blur of silver and fire swung through the air, slashing at his hand. Aurora stared in a panic at him, slashing wildly, catching him across the face, getting him to lose his footing, tumbling back down the pile to the floor. He let out a growl of frustration, slamming a fist into the ground hard enough to send cracks through the dirt.

The sharpshooter stared at the hulking huntsman in pure fear, holding the silver weapon with both hands, its point trembling. Her eyes went from him to the samurai, more panic filling her eyes as she looked back and forth between the Vale huntsmen.

Shinai stopped, staring at the girl wielding her leader's sword like she'd never held a blade in her life, eyes blank with fear. He let out a quiet sigh, shaking his head, remorse claiming his face as he resumed his march, holding his blade to the side.

Ulysses shot back to his feet, glaring up at her with pools of black- but stepped backwards, letting chain fall from his sleeve. Then, with a sudden jerk of his arm, Avenger went flying through the air, slamming into the small Atlesian huntress, the impact sending her soaring through the crevice-

All the way out the other side, slamming into the ground outside with a thud, rolling across the ground.

"And… ahem," Port began, voice filled with unease. "Aurora has been eliminated."

Ulysses and Shinai stood for a moment, eyes turning to the pile of rubble, both unsure of how to deal with the situation.

They didn't need to.

There was a blinding flash of light, a supernova spilling out from the debris, encapsuling the entire entryway to the crevice. The explosion sent Ulysses flying, soaring through the air to slam into his leader, both huntsmen tumbling away, before climbing to their feet quickly.

Standing where the rubble had been, was Grey; his form covered in flames, looking absolutely incensed. His chest began to rise and fall, dark eyes almost black with rage, and curled his arms up, letting out a bellowing roar;

Flames exploded outwards from his body, spreading across the ground at immense speeds, scorching the earth, and then the tiles; even burning the grass in the other biomes, the floor littered with huge, flickering flames.

He charged forwards without warning, making a beeline towards his opponents in a rage, swiping low to scoop up his sword as he ran. He flicked it to the side, the blade extending several feet outwards with nearly solid flames, its width expanding as well as he continued to sprint unrelentingly.

Ulysses watched him come snorting in fury- but then closed his eyes, chest rising and falling in huffs of rampage, hand clenching and unclenching. And ever so slowly, his breathing slowed, calming to near normal. He opened his eyes, now their normal black orbs, the last of his smoke curling off his body disappearing into the sky.

"I'll take the fall for that one." He muttered- before punching Shinai bodily, his leader soaring to the side, through the flames as Grey reached the hulking huntsman.

Ulysses lifted his arms- uselessly, the great blade carving into his form as if a solid sword, another explosion going off as it made contact. The black-clad huntsman went tumbling off away, crashing through the flames, before coming to a stop, body motionless from the blow.

"Ulysses has heroically sacrificed himself!" Port called out. "It's up to Shinai and Grey now!"

The aforementioned Atlas leader's arms went limp, his blade flying from his grasp from the explosion, falling to his knees as he huffed, absolutely sapped for energy.

Poof.

Shinai was by his side in an instant, purple eyes filled with respect. "Well fought." He greeted; and brought his blade down onto the back of his opponent's neck.

"Grey has been eliminated! Team SOUL are! Your! Winners!" Port called out, righteously.

"May we have Professor Port investigated for bias?" Oobleck called out. "Anyone?"

"Who the hell gave you two the go-ahead for such a cinematic fight?!" Lance barked. "If I'd known, I totally would have fought!"

Ulysses grunted.

Shinai hummed.

"You two seriously need to learn to communicate."

Oracle leaned forwards from her spot behind their bench, throwing her arms over their shoulders. "Proud of you guys. That… was a weird fight, but you guys made the best of it. 'Specially you, Ul,"

Another grunt.

"Yeah, you know exactly what I'm talkin' about, pumpkin. You love us."

"Don't push it." He growled.

She grinned and rested her head against his.

"So that's everyone then." Ruby gasped.

Yang shared Oracle's grin. "You- gods, you're right! We're all in the finals."

Daria crossed her arms. "So who all is going?"

They went quiet.

"Well…" Pyrrha said, trailing off.

"To be fair…" Ruby continued.

"We could… all… potentially… end up fightin' each other." Oracle finished.

Lance shrugged, taking a seat next to his partner. "What's the big deal?"

"We all really want to win this. Can't really show your cards to your opponents before you play 'em." Yang said.

"Sure thing. So do I. But I also give two more shits about you guys than I do about this friggin' tournie. We're sending the captain, right? We gotta send the captain."

Oracle was silent for a moment, before sighing. "…Yeah, I guess we are."

Shinai nodded. "If the team agrees on it."

Ulysses grunted his acquiescence.

Ruby rubbed the back of her neck. "Aw, what the heck. We're doin' Yang."

"Pyrrha."

"Pyrrha."

"Pyrrha."

"Um… me?"

Team JNPR said in unison, mirroring each others' expressions as said huntress pointed to herself in surprise.

All eyes turned to DRGN. Daria sighed, looking at her team, her eyes lingering on the blank face of Rainier. "I… I mean…"

"Rainier, right?" Lance asked.

"My man's the MVP of the tournament. Except for maybe me. But that's bias." Yang added.

Nash turned to Daria with a frown. "Why… wouldn't we send Rain?"

"It's…" She faltered. "Yeah. I guess we're sending Rain."

The faunus said nothing, leaning against the wall, face still a carefully blank mask.

"You good, bud?" Oracle asked, eyes shooting to meet Shinai's for a moment. "You look little… out of it."

He hummed- then turned on his heel, marching from the locker room without a word.

"I can never get a read on that guy." Nora said, head cocking to the side comically.

Lance watched him go with a much more serious frown- before turning hard blue eyes to Daria. "What's wrong."

"I-"

"Don't give me all that 'ooh, I don't know what you mean'. And it's not his little lover. Something's going on, and you're being a poor sport and not telling us."

"It's…" She shook her head. "It's a personal matter, okay?"

"Yeah- wait, no. Not okay. Dude looked seriously upset. You look seriously upset. Rain's one of the top guys in this place, and you didn't want to send him? Seriously? Or are you just gonna be gung-ho about it and not tell us."

"Hon," Oracle prodded gently. "We're all friends here. I'm pretty sure we're pretty much family by this point."

"D'aww…" Ruby muttered, momentarily distracted by the conversation.

The short leader of DRGN sighed again. "I… I can't tell you. Not because I don't want to, but… because I don't think he wants me to."

"Seriously?" Jaune asked. "What's Rain got going on that's that serious? He's always seemed like the water-under-the-bridge kinda guy."

That made Daria snort. "You'd think, huh?"

Shinai leaned forwards. "It's about the finals, isn't it?"

Her eyes turned to him, lingering on his face. "I… yes. It is. That's all I'm going to tell you guys, alright? If he wants to, he'll tell you after the finals. But I'm not gonna be the one to break that particular piece of heaping information. I'm… I'm gonna head back to our room. I'll talk with you guys later."

She turned and marched after her friend without another word, leaving the bewildered faces of her friends behind.

Oracle turned to Lance with a frown. "What did you mean 'his little lover'?"

"Aha… yeah… I'm gonna… just… not mention that under threat of bodily harm from the mentally unstable faunus dude."

"Man, y'all are all weird."

Nash watched his leader go with a pout- before turning that pout to Jaune and Pyrrha, who were standing far closer than they had been at the start of the conversation. "Wait, you guys had your doubles fight already?"

"I-" Jaune began. "You didn't… see it?"

Lance shared his short friend's frown. "No, yeah, we didn't hear anything about it."

"Seriously?!"

"No, yeah," Ruby added. "I didn't know it happened either."

"Seriously?!"

"Jaune," Pyrrha began gently. "You were the one who was supposed to tell them it was happening."

"I… oh. I guess I did forget about that."

"It happens to the best of us."

"Oh, don't you patronize me."

The friends broke down into playful bickering- with the exception of Shinai (and Ulysses and Gail, of course). The samurai was staring at the exit, an uncharacteristic frown crossing his face.

After a few moments, he turned to his doubles' partner. "I'll be back shortly."

He was greeted with a grunt as he rose to his feet, marching away- after Rainier.