So, as many eagle-eyed viewers noticed last chapter's Salem reveal HAD been done before. Well, I added a note after to address it but some may have missed it. Basically, I knew and just kind of ignored it. I've already spoken before of how the story went off the rails when CF and I had our moment of confusion, and, in an attempt to fix that, I've been dragging it back. A part of that involved Salem's reveal which was supposed to be a big moment but again got swallowed in the sodding dance arc.
As such, rather than try and work around it and making it all the worse, I decided just to repeat it and ignore the first time. At some later point, when I have free time, I'll likely go back twenty chapters or so and delete the first mention of it. Consider it a retcon. I don't mind.
Beta: College Fool
Cover Art: Kegi Springfield
Chapter 59
Cinder stood in the middle of the stage alongside her three underlings, staring across the short distance to Jaune and his team, three of which looked none the wiser to the sharp glares she sent towards her adopted sibling. They were fools, all of them – and no less than the crowd which screamed and shouted their lust for violence. If they wanted blood she would give it to them, but not here. Not now.
Regrettably, this fight had to end in her brother's favour. Cinder looked towards Mercury, who nodded back subtly, even as he waved to some rabbit-eared girl in the crowd. He knew his role. He wouldn't let her down.
Emerald returned a nod next. She gestured towards the Schnee girl, selecting her opponent. It was a good fit since the girl relied on dust and had a reputation to maintain as a powerhouse fighter worthy of the Schnee name. It wouldn't look suspicious for Emerald to lose that fight.
Neo, of course, was the wild card. The girl had eschewed the planned black hair and green eyes for her normal tri-colour explosion, with eyes that couldn't quite decide what they were supposed to be. She chewed on some gun, smirking wildly. They needed the girl but she was too unpredictable and not at all loyal to them. She might fight for her own amusement and cost them the loss they were looking for. Still, there were options. She eyed Pyrrha Nikos and smiled slowly.
"And here we have the fine teams arranged for our first fight of the day," Peter Port, the overweight commentator roared. How any noise came past the sickening rag he called a moustache, Cinder didn't know. "Two teams from Beacon, ladies and gentlemen, and you know you're in for an incredible fight when the best school in Remnant puts its fighters forward."
"Peter," the other rebuked. He went ignored.
"No more fancy-pants Atlas technology or Mistral theatrics, and no more Vacuo hit and run nonsense, just good old fashioned skill and strength, fighting here today for your entertainment. Let's hear it for Beacon!"
A good half of the stadium roared its pleasure, leaving the visiting tourists to scowl at the rather blatant favouritism being shown. "And representing Beacon here today we have the one, the only, Team Nikos and three others-"
"That's Team WJRP," Oobleck interrupted, valiantly fighting for the microphone. "Team WJRP from Beacon Academy."
"And that's Whirlpool, ladies and gentlemen." Port reiterated, winning the quick scuffle. "Don't ask how or why. The naming process is complicated. At least we didn't spell `Sun` with three S's like Haven. And against them, transfers from Mistral but now officially students of Beacon – because, honestly, why would you not want to be? – we have Team C-"
Port paused. He then snickered. "Am I reading this right?"
"I think so, Peter. It's—oh my… how unfortunate."
Cinder held her ground, arms crossed. Behind her, she heard Mercury shuffle from one robotic foot to the other. "Knew we should have changed it," he grumbled.
"Ignore it, Mercury. Focus on the task at hand."
Even saying that, Cinder couldn't quite prevent her eye from twitching when the audience started to not-so-quietly laugh at them. Yes, it would be wonderful indeed when the Beowolves were released. She'd see who was laughing then.
"Team CMEN, ladies and gentlemen," Port finally managed, snickering loudly. "Yes, you heard that right, Team CMEN."
"It's Cinnamon…" Mercury groaned. The crowd laughed, not hearing him in the slightest. That fat commentator was the worst, almost choking into the mic.
"Peter, please," Oobleck sighed.
"W-Well, let's hope Team WJRP's prepared adequate protection today, otherwise Team CMEN will be all over them and it'll be a total mess." On the big screen the moustached professor dodged to the side as his companion tried to wrestle the microphone away to no avail. "Now, before the show gets started let's roll for the environment."
Oobleck sighed with relief. "Thank you, Peter."
"Hopefully it won't be an abandoned motel."
"Peter!"
They went ignored, at least by her, as the wheel above them began to spin and turn. There'd been no plan for her to fight here so she hadn't bothered to tamper with this, leaving it to fate. Fate, however, had already seen fit to poke her in the eye. She clenched her teeth together as she waited to see what would come next. The first dial stopped. It was… a drop of water?
"Rain?" Mercury guessed, shrugging one shoulder.
"Ocean!" Port yelled gleefully, right as the marble flooring to their left gave way, sliding back to reveal a deep pool of dark-blue water. It even had waves for some reason, which splashed about choppily, spraying them with salt water.
"How is the ocean represented by a drop of water?" Weiss Schnee asked. "And how are we supposed to even fight on it?"
"Because Beacon is run by idiots," Cinder replied. She wasn't sure if the girl heard her or not but she crossed her arms and waited for the next segment. If she'd seen anything of this tournament so far it would be something equally ill-thought out. Hopefully it would at least be an arena they could stand on otherwise they'd be having their big fight in the tiny central circle, not even five metres across.
Salem must have smiled on her, and for once not in a `you can have children with my son` kind of way. The battlefield was a grassy plain of some kind, with nary a rolling hill in sight. There were a few flowers by the bank, which were promptly splashed with salt water and likely doomed to die. For some unexplained reason there was also a see-saw, merry-go-round and a sand pit.
"Park!" Port exclaimed.
Cinder sighed. "Of course…"
"Are we fighting or playing?" Jaune wondered out loud.
"Fight first," Ruby said, grinning. "Play after. I pick the old man."
"Hey!" Mercury cried.
Well, if they were going to stand there and make their plans she might as well join in. "Neo, take out Nikos." And good luck to her with that. "Mercury, keep the child busy-"
"Hey! I drink milk!"
"Emerald, the heiress. Leave Jaune to me."
"Yes, ma'am."
"You do realise we can hear you, right?" Weiss drawled.
"Of course, but do you have any complaints with who we've chosen to assign to each of you?"
The heiress blinked. It looked like she felt she should argue, but couldn't quite. After all, Cinder had selected her team and chosen to split them up, all with the intent of quickly losing. Weiss couldn't really argue against what gave their team the best shot at winning. "Well, I mean… oh, whatever. Fine. Don't let your guards down," she hissed, aiming a stink-eye at Jaune. "And don't go easy on them, no matter what."
Cinder's smirk grew just a little wider. This was almost too easy.
/-/
Jaune's attack went high.
Cinder's blow swung wide.
Jaune ducked another, trying with all his speed and skill to react in time, but alas, he was unable to get his face in the way. Her fist sailed harmlessly past, barely brushing his blonde locks. He threw his head back and gasped anyway. Maybe the angle was bad and people wouldn't notice.
"Oh, look at that, Bart!" Professor Port commentated. "The young Cinder Fall must have used some kind of sound-based technique or Semblance, because I'm fairly sure that didn't connect in the slightest."
"Indeed, Peter. It seems all sorts of skills are on display today."
"What will Team Semen manage next?"
"It's CMEN, Peter."
"That's what I said."
Okay, maybe he hadn't been as subtle on that one as he would have liked. Cinder snarled and launched a flurry of kicks towards him, each one perfectly timed so that there was nothing he could do to plant a soft part of his body on the end. In turn, he swung his sword towards her chest.
It bounced off Cinder's left breast. He hadn't put any force behind it.
"What do you think you're doing?" Cinder hissed.
"Fighting…" He stood with his guard open, waiting for Cinder to take the bait. She didn't. "What are you doing?" he questioned. "You're not even trying."
"Well neither are you!"
"I am!"
Cinder's scowl was dreadfully sarcastic, and only seemed to grow more so when he proved his point by charging in with his sword held high, swinging over her head and practically checking himself on her elbow. She, in turn, caught him by the collar and dragged him forward so that he crashed into her. She flung herself backwards, striking the grassy floor hard and rolling back to slam into the sandpit.
"Hey! No fair!"
"Nice one, Jaune!" Ruby called, fighting back her silver-haired opponent. Mercury was trying to fend her off – or, well, sort of trying – but couldn't quite stop her fast-paced attacks. Behind him, Emerald crashed into a merry-go-round, which spun wildly from the impact and tossed her off the back. Their team was winning, and soundly.
That was bad. Very bad.
He looked around for some kind of inspiration or just some idea on how he was supposed to lose better. He'd thought the easiest route would be to get himself knocked out as quickly as possible, hence charging Cinder in a reckless attack. She'd normally have rolled her eyes and stomped him into oblivion, but she was practically throwing the fight herself.
"A lucky blow," Cinder said loudly, staggering to her feet.
Forget practically; she was literally throwing the fight. This is real bad. Even if I manage to lose to Cinder she'll still be able to let the others beat her if she wants to. He glanced to Emerald and Mercury, who panted harshly, despite that they'd been fighting for less than five minutes. They were trying to lose the fight, too! Damn it!
"Remy. I need a solution."
"Bwah? Penny?"
"Remy!"
"We needs more of the liquid gold… the gold drink. I likes it…"
Damn it. Qrow's poison from earlier must still have been running around inside of him, and it looked like Remy had been affected trying to fix it. That was another trick in his arsenal lost, though to be fair he couldn't actually bring out any of his Grimm tricks here.
Did he tell Cinder the truth and have her fight him properly? No, that was even more dangerous. If Cinder was willing to kill Pyrrha for the power of the maiden, then telling her now would just be the same deal, except Cinder would go after Pyrrha after this fight, just to make sure Ozpin selected her. Promise or not, there were still ways Cinder could get rid of Pyrrha without physically harming her. She could get her expelled, for instance, or just cause a problem that forced Pyrrha to take a break from Beacon for a while.
No. She couldn't find out what rode on this. He had to lose the fight, and he had to make sure he took his team down with him.
When Cinder attacked him the next time, not being able to not attack him without it looking suspicious, Jaune made sure to dodge back aggressively. Cinder, having expected him to try and take the blow, looked shocked.
But not as shocked as Weiss did when he crashed into her. "Jaune!" she hissed.
"Sorry," he lied, stumbling and carrying her to the floor. His hand hit Myrtenaster, knocking it from her grasp. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Get off me – the fight!" Weiss planted both knees in his chest and pushed. He flew back, landing on the floor and rolling to the side.
"I'll get your weapon," he called, rushing over to it.
"No, don't touch it!"
"It's fine. I've got this-" He thumbed the trigger and gasped as a huge fireball shot off from it, hurtling toward Pyrrha and Neo. He had no idea how Pyrrha noticed, what with it being aimed at her back, but whether she'd seen the reflection or not in Neo's eyes she turned and ducked to the side, rolling to safety.
She stared back at him, wide eyed.
"Sorry! My bad!"
Cinder's heel caught him in the chest. His Big Sis snarled as she pushed into his guard, striking at his wrist to make him drop the dust rapier before he could do any more damage to his own team. She flipped up, kicking him back and following through, leaving the weapon behind for Weiss to collect it.
"You are such an annoying idiot," Cinder growled, serious this time as she pushed him back, away from anyone he might influence. "I'm doing this to protect your cover!"
"We can lose," he argued. "Beat us."
"And give away all of our skills? It would take that just to beat your teammate – and Ozpin's eyes would be on me for the rest of the tournament!"
"That wouldn't be a bad thing," he insisted.
"It very much would!" Cinder slipped under a clumsy attack and pressed a hand to his chest to push him back. It was a light shove but his ankles hit something wooden and he stumbled. His fall was cushioned by soft sand. He'd fallen in the sand pit. His attempt to stand was thwarted when Cinder knocked one of his arms away with her foot, sending him back down again.
"Jaune, hold on!" Ruby shouted. "I'm coming to help!" She came flying in from the side, scythe at the ready. Cinder stared down at him and smirked, clearly having noticed it, clearly prepared to let the blade connect and rob her of her aura.
In panic Jaune reached down for a handful of sand and cast it out. It flew in a spray, blinding Cinder – but also spreading wide and catching Ruby, as well. The reaper shrieked and tripped, her increased momentum from her Semblance causing her to cartwheel by numerous times before she crashed off the bank and into the ocean with a loud splash.
"Oh my," Port commented. "It looks like Jaune Arc has just had an unfortunate case of friendly fire."
"Unfortunate my ass," Cinder growled, wiping her eyes with one arm. "I'm going to kill you!"
"That would require you to actually try and hit me."
"You make it so very tempting."
"Then do it."
Cinder's eye twitched. "I will."
"Go on."
"I'm going to."
"I'm open."
"It could be a trap."
"It's not."
"That's what you would say."
Jaune and Cinder glared at one another, weapons held firmly in their hands. With a mighty cry the two clashed in a flurry of steel, leather and brutal blows.
And not a drop of blood was shed.
/-/
"They're making a mockery of us," Ironwood growled.
"Come now, James. Don't be so glum," Ozpin said, sat beside his friend in the VIP box. "Most of the audience seem to love it, though I suppose the action is moving a little too quickly for them to get a very good view."
"Not so for us. The two of them are faking this. They haven't been serious from the start." The General made it clear he wasn't amused, if his expression hadn't already given that away. And true, Ozpin considered, one might call it an insult to the spirit of the Vytal Festival. But, at the same time, was it really?
"What do you think, Glynda?" he asked.
"It's clear neither wishes to harm the other but I dare say the sentiment is only shared between those two. It's hard to say with the others. The silver-haired one is losing, but… it could be a mismatch of speed. Miss Rose is a difficult opponent for some. As for Weiss Schnee she has an advantage so long as she keeps her opponent at range and Miss Nikos is fighting hard against her opponent."
"We're supposed to be using this to judge the suitability of Fall and Nikos," Ironwood said. "This travesty of a fight doesn't help us at all."
"Doesn't it, James? I believe it shows us more of our candidates than I'd hoped for."
"Cinder Fall is showing nothing."
"She's showing how much the young Mr Arc means to her," Ozpin countered, and he smiled when James fell into a contemplative silence. He saw it now. "While I'll admit that the fight so far hasn't done much to show us her skill in combat, it has reinforced the aspects which made her appeal to us as a candidate in the first place. I think her loyalty to the one she holds close is admirable. It's also beneficial to us."
"It is," Ironwood allowed. "It would be easier to control the maiden if she were bound to us. Amber should have been the same."
"She desired her freedom."
"And you believe the next won't? Everyone wants to be free, Ozpin. It's just that not everyone has Salem chasing after them and can doom the human race if they're captured. Sacrifices are necessary; cruel, but not necessary."
"They might not be if the next maiden were loyal to us out of her own free will."
"A gilded cage is still a cage, Ozpin. And it wouldn't be loyalty to us at all. It would be loyalty to him."
"I trust Mr Arc."
"You've trusted the wrong kinds of people before," Ironwood pointed out.
"Well, I haven't made a decision yet, so there's still time. I just don't think we should be quite so upset at the display between these two. It is… refreshing to see personal feelings come before glory and victory."
"I can't disagree entirely. One thing I don't understand is why he is playing along with this. If he didn't want to fight her, then why not fight one of her teammates and leave her to face off with Nikos? That would serve us all better and save him the hassle. Why throw the fight so obviously?"
"Perhaps this is his way of telling us who he believes should be the fall maiden. Mr Arc believes Miss Fall would be the suitable choice, and is attempting to show us so with this display." Ozpin chuckled into his mug and sipped from it a moment later. His eyes remained fixed on the screen before them, showing the high-speeds game of two teens trying not to harm one another. "One thing is for sure, however. Those two must hold some true affection for one another."
"I agree," Glynda said. "They must love each other dearly."
/-/
Argh! She was going to tear that idiot's head off and stick it up his own rear-end. She was going to drag him back to the Grimmlands and tie him to a chair, and then throw him in Tyrian's room in the middle of one of the insane idiot's rants about the glory of his Goddess. She was going to do all that and more – but only after she'd torn a pound of flesh from his body first!
"You are the most irritating excuse for a person I have ever had the misfortune to be forced into dealing with!" Cinder snarled, catching Jaune's hands when he tried to punch the air above her shoulder. She twisted them painfully and dragged him in close, so that he could have a nice view of the fury in her eyes. "First you run away and ruin my plans in Haven, then you have the temerity to rebel against your mother's attempts to bring you back, and now this? You are making a fool out of me!"
"I-I don't know what you mean."
The answer infuriated her. She placed a foot into his stomach and pushed, stretching his arms out so that his shoulders almost popped. She knew they wouldn't, what with his inhuman endurance, but it still hurt and she revelled in his pained gasp. "Don't take me for a fool, little brother. I raised you. I damn well know when you're lying to me. Fight me properly."
Jaune growled but didn't budge. His eyes flashed red for a moment but wavered back to blue, and that was something she didn't like seeing. This was dangerous enough without him getting upset. The whole point of her throwing this fight was to prevent him going full Grimm on her.
"What could you possibly have to gain from losing to me?" she asked, breaking off and launching several blistering attacks. This time she aimed straight for him, connecting with each and earning some cheers from the crowd. Her fist snatched his collar before he could fake a dive to the floor. "What's your game? Why bother with all of this?"
"I-I can't tell you."
"Why not?"
"I just can't. You have to win the tournament."
"The tournament means nothing to me. I never intended to win it in the first place." He looked so shocked at her words that she couldn't help but laugh. "It's a schoolyard tournament, Jaune. Why would I care for something as fleeting as the glory of the Kingdoms? There is only one person I seek power from."
"Then I order you to beat me," he said, trying a new tactic. She'd admit she was impressed, but only vaguely. "I'm the Prince of the Grimm, so-"
"Not so loud, prince," she chuckled, burying a knee in his stomach. He folded and gagged. "This isn't the place to be throwing words like that around, and your mother already gave me permission to disobey anything you might say. I wouldn't be much use convincing you to return home if you could just order me to stop."
"N-Not that you've tried very hard to do that…"
Cinder paused. "Excuse me?"
"You never wanted me to go home because that would mean you'd have to escort me," he said, laughing. "I spoke to mom, by the way. She told me what she ordered you to do."
"Y-You spoke to her?" she asked, suddenly nervous. "When? How?"
"A few nights ago. She told me what you were supposed to do. I told her you'd never even tried to take me home." He had the guts to smirk at her. "She didn't sound very pleased about that; even said she'd have to `have words` with you."
She couldn't believe it. Cinder stared at him, eyes wide as panic, fear and anger coursed through her. "You… you…" Her eyes flashed. "You told on me!?"
Jaune grinned. "Yep."
"You filthy little tattletale!" she howled, hurling him away from her. He bounced twice on the floor – and that wasn't enough. She assisted him with a swift kick to the side, causing him to bounce a few more times. "I can't believe you!" she growled. "After everything I did for you and all the times I covered for you wanting to read your silly books instead of attending lessons with Watts, you go and betray me like this!"
Salem was going to have her head! This would mark the first time she'd ever gone against her control, and insubordination like that wasn't going to be punished lightly, not when it might have led to her son being put in danger. Cinder's entire world swam before her eyes. They, her eyes, eventually settled on Jaune once more.
She snarled out loud.
"Yeah, sorry," he said, not sounding quite as sorry as he ought to. "If it helps she'll probably not go too hard on you. Well, not unless I tell her about that meeting you took me to with the redhead; the one which ended with me fighting for my life against the Atlas military. Wow, if she ever found out about that then she'd-"
He didn't get to finish on account of her foot impacting his cheek. His head whipped to the side. "She won't find out at all!" Cinder growled, hammering a fist into his stomach. "Because you won't tell her, am I understood?"
Jaune coughed a little spittle onto her arm. "W-Why? I think she'd want to know…"
"Because I am your Big Sister, and I am telling you not to say anything!" She caught him by the scruff of his neck and shook him wildly. "I gave up the early years if my life to clean up your messes, some of them very literal! I carried you around. I fed you. I had to spend three hours searching the Grimmlands for that stupid teddy you dropped out the window, and I did all of that for you, so you can shut your mouth and repay me by not telling your mother anything. Am I understood?" She said the last with another shake, panting wildly with a face the colour of that stupid Nikos' hair.
Damn him for making her this angry. No one else seemed to have the ability. What was more, the brat had the guts to grin at her, even with his face bruised from the various blows she'd landed. "What are you smiling at?"
Jaune nodded past her, to the big scoreboard. "My aura."
"Your what?" Cinder looked back, and near enough dropped him in shock when she saw the big screen. Her aura was practically fine, at more than eighty per cent, where as his, the sneaky little bastard, was closer to thirty.
"You're my Big Sis," he laughed – laughed! "I know how you think… and I know how to make you angry."
He'd tricked her. He, Jaune Arc, idiot extraordinaire, had tricked her. Forget Salem; she could imagine Watts, the bastard, laughing himself hoarse over this. His stupid cackle was already echoing in her head. Jaune had made her lose her cool. Far from throwing the fight, she'd practically annihilated him.
He'd actually managed to trick her. She'd have been proud… if it were anyone else he'd done it to!
"You…"
"I guess that's the end for me," he laughed. "You win. Good job."
She seethed, she really did – but controlled herself at the last second and forced a calm smile onto her face. "Not yet you haven't, little brother." She smirked at his sudden panic. "There's more than just you on this team, after all. Even if you're knocked out all I need to do is lose to your teammates, which shouldn't be very difficult at all. Especially," she added, "with you now out of the fight and unable to accidentally hurt them."
His panic was delightful. "Cinder, wait-"
"Goodbye!" she mocked, pushing him back. She threw all her power into a kick that caught him in the chest. He sailed back and splashed into the water on the other side of the arena. There, that should keep him busy. Now she just needed to find someone capable of giving her a good ring-out. At least her team had followed her instructions and were losing their fights.
Nothing could stop them now.
/-/
"He's getting his ass handed to him!" Coco groaned. "Come on, Merc. Man up!"
"I'm sure he's trying his best," Velvet said, nervously biting her nails. "He is against Pyrrha Nikos, after all."
"He's against her fifteen-year-old teammate! Damn it." Coco growled and looked around for inspiration, her eyes settling on Velvet a second later. "Come on, girl. You need to cheer your man on."
"Me? How are you saying this is my fault? I'm not the one fighting."
Sound as Velvet's logic may have been, no one stopped Coco once she had an idea in her head. She gripped Velvet's shoulders and pushed her forward to the railings. "He's not pumped up enough. Everyone is cheering for him but his heart isn't in it. He needs his fair maiden to show her support."
"W-What?"
"Cheer, bun!" Coco howled. "Cheer for him!"
Velvet swallowed and looked toward the ring. "Go on, Mercury. You can do it!"
"That was pathetic. Put some heart into it. That's your man, your boyfriend, and he's being manhandled by another woman!"
Even if Coco didn't mean what she was trying to say Velvet felt a little anger, uncharacteristic as it was, bubble inside of her. Mercury was better than this, she knew it. Seeing him knocked around by a little girl, as skilled as she was, just wasn't fair.
"And look," Coco went on, "everyone is laughing at him – laughing at your boyfriend."
That… that wasn't true, was it? Velvet bit her lip and looked around. Many of the students here with them were watching animatedly, able to track the fight and understand that it was just a bad match up against so speedy an opponent. They were clapping, nodding or just watching silently. The rest of the audience though, the civilians, were a different matter entirely. They didn't see two skilled opponents giving their all. They saw an older teenager being whipped by someone young enough to still be considered a child. They jeered and laughed, banging their hands on their seats and calling out horrible names at Mercury.
Velvet's eyes blazed. Her hands slammed down on the railing. "Mercury!" she roared, so loud that Fox nearly fell off his seat. She knew Mercury had heard her for his head twitched in her direction. "You can do it, Mercury. I believe in you! I know you can hold your own. I know you can win!"
The silver-haired teen paused in the arena. In a moment where Ruby had stepped back to reload, his head turned – and his eyes met hers.
"You can do it," Velvet whispered, nodding at him. "I believe in you."
/-/
"And that's Ruby Rose out by aura loss – and what a turnaround by Mercury Black, using her Ruby's own impressive speed against her. She certainly didn't expect him to be that quick on his feet."
"Nor the shotguns apparently hidden on his feet," Oobleck added.
Cinder whirled on Mercury. "What the hell!?"
The crowd were cheering. Mercury was stood over Ruby Rose's body, a chagrined expression on his face. His eyes seemed to dart between her and some rabbit faunus in the crowd and his cheeks were dusted with colour. "Um, I can explain?" he tried.
"Oh, but Emerald Sustrai follows. A remarkable ring-out manoeuvre by Weiss Schnee." Oobleck called, and Cinder's anger lessened a little. This was fine, this was still salvageable. Pyrrha Nikos could probably beat them all, at least if they weren't trying their hardest. Mercury's aura was low as well, so it wouldn't take much to disqualify him.
It was three against three now, or two but she knew Jaune would still have a little aura left after his dip in the ocean. He hadn't been called out as disqualified, after all. "Take a moment to have a breather," she whispered to Mercury. "Make it look convincing. I'll get myself knocked out of the ring by the Schnee."
"G-Got it."
"And we'll have words later about your choice here," she added, earning a panicked look from him. "You're supposed to be following orders. Not pandering to pretty girls." She eyed the faunus in the crowd and raised an eyebrow when Mercury moved between them, cutting off her view. That was interesting - and not necessarily in a good way.
Weiss Schnee landed before them and flourished her rapier. She took a quick look at them, counted two, and swiftly summoned a wall of ice that pushed Mercury back, cutting him off from supporting Cinder.
"What did you do to Jaune?" she demanded.
"I fought him," Cinder admitted freely. "He's currently taking a little swim."
"That idiot," Weiss huffed. "He should have been able to handle you."
Cinder's eyes narrowed. She wanted to ask what this little girl thought she knew about her capabilities, but refrained. As satisfying as it would be she still had to lose the fight. Being thought of as a weakling was fine. For now…
But oddly enough, Weiss' eyes weren't on her. They were on the ocean arena-biome behind her. "You said you knocked him in. Why hasn't he come back up? He can swim, can't he?"
What a stupid question. Of course he couldn't swim – where would she take him swimming in the middle of the Grimmlands? The only place was the ocean and it wasn't like he could learn to swim in something like that.
…
Cinder's body hit the water a second later.
/-/
Jaune awoke to a white ceiling. His head ached, as did most of his body. Groggily, he tried to look around, only to wince when his throat ached. He managed to croak out a little gasp, and that proved enough to alert the only other person in the room.
"Are you awake, Mr Arc?"
"O-Ozpin…?"
"I'm here." The man helped him to sit and then moved a glass of water to his lips. The sight of it was enough to turn his stomach and he tried to push it away. "Drink, Mr Arc. I know you've likely had enough of water for a lifetime but your body needs it. It will help the pain in your throat as well."
Jaune nodded and sipped a little, relieved to find the man's words true. "What happened?" he asked. "Where am I?"
"You're in the infirmary, my boy – and you nearly drowned. Or perhaps you did drown." Ozpin put the glass down and sighed. "I wasn't aware you couldn't swim."
"I never really thought about it."
The Grimmlands only had an ocean, after all – the closest pools being the ones the Grimm could spawn out of, which weren't exactly safe to take a dip in even if someone was stupid enough to think it a good idea.
"Miss Fall saved your life," Ozpin went on. "Though I suppose you could say she endangered it too, but I believing the saving outweighs that. She was able to find your body and drag it to the beach, and then performed CPR to bring you back, even as the paramedics rushed onto the arena."
She'd done all that…? Well, it wasn't too much of a surprise since she'd always looked out for him, but never so publically. She was usually much thornier about things. Jaune's head swam again and he cringed. Cinder was going to be furious, either at him nearly getting himself killed, throwing the fight or just from forcing her to save his ass. At least one good thing had come out of it. "I take it we lost, then? We'd have been disqualified because of me, right?"
"Disqualified? Goodness no. If anyone were to lose it would have been their team, as they were low on aura and Miss Fall left herself completely open to attack as she helped you. Of course, we would never countenance someone harming her while she treated you, and I doubt your teammates would have interfered. The match was postponed the very moment we realised you were in danger."
"So, who lost?"
"No one lost. The crowd were shocked at the near-death incident, and then inspired at the sight of a student throwing away their chance at victory to treat another, especially an enemy. It was a moment to remind Remnant of who we truly are, and that, even with the Kingdoms between us, we are all allies at heart." Ozpin chuckled, and it was impossible to miss the wide smile on his face. "I feel the crowd would have rioted had we declared her side the defeated. As such, we declared the battle inconclusive. Both your teams will be put back into the roulette and have a chance to fight again."
Jaune's mouth fell open. Wait, so all of that – all of the pain and the taunting Cinder – and it was pointless? They were going to have to fight again anyway? He wanted to scream. It was only his strained throat which prevented him doing so.
"And I should note that Ironwood and I have decided not to push your two teams to face one another the next time. Yours and your `sister's` little display convinced us of the futility of that. I can promise your next match will be randomly chosen."
A small mercy, then, and maybe a victory after all. He slumped back into the cushions at the news. At least he'd managed to avoid the Cinder killing Pyrrha thing, even if it was more a postponement than a solution. Thinking about it, this was the only way it could have worked anyway. There was no way he could have made their team lose when all of Cinder's team were trying to throw it. He was only one man.
"I'll leave you be for now, Mr Arc," Ozpin said, standing with the aid of his cane. "I'm sure there are many people who want to see you and I'm delaying that. I'll ask you to think a little more on what we spoke of before; our choice between your teammate and your adopted sister." He smiled and nodded his head. "I must say that both have shown good reason to be selected today."
Ozpin really had no idea. It was kind of depressing. "I'll think about it, sir."
Jaune sighed as the man slowly moved away. His body really did feel like crap, especially his lungs. He winced and reached inside of himself. "Remy, you still alive?"
"Kill me…"
"Remy?"
"I feel terrible," the little parasite groaned. "A-And I can't remember anything. It's like I blacked out. What happened?"
"Qrow poisoned you. Then I drowned. Also, you started to sing."
"That… what? Is that why it's so waterlogged in here? And what do you mean singing?"
It really wasn't worth explaining – and luckily the door slammed open before he had a chance to. Golden eyes flashed as a figure with black hair stormed in, hands clenched into fists. Jaune stared back, praying fervently that it was Blake and she had some reason to hate him. No luck, of course. Cinder snarled as she came to a stop beside his bed.
"This is your fault!" she hissed.
"Um… hey, Cinder." He wasn't sure what she meant. What was his fault? Hadn't he technically managed to both keep her in the tournament and protect her cover? "What's my fault? Drowning?"
"No! These… those… the idiots you call friends! FIX THIS!"
Jaune blinked, confused. "Fix what? What's the problem?"
"Where is- Jaune, you're awake!" Ruby's voice, and Ruby herself, came rushing in through the door a second later. She shot over to his side and gripped his hand in hers. Cinder cursed and tried to flee but ran into Yang in the doorway. She bounced back, and soon the doorway itself was blocked by the rest of his team, along with Team RYBN.
"There's my idiot partner," Weiss said, voice tinged with just a little more concern than he'd ever heard before. "I can't believe you never told us you couldn't swim, you absolute dolt!"
"It never came up in conversation…"
"I feel it should have when half the arena we're about to fight on becomes water," she snapped. "That would have been a good moment to make us aware of the fact!" She sighed and crossed her arms. "Still, you're okay. That's what matters. And it's all thanks to Cinder."
"Cinder!" Ruby cheered, letting go of Jaune's hand and lunging for the dark-haired woman. Her arms enfolded around his Big Sis before she could escape, and Ruby hugged her tightly. "You saved my friend's life. You're a best friend forever!"
It could have been a beautiful scene. It probably should have been. Sadly, Cinder's eyes bore into his, and contained the kind of look a person might have were they being mauled to death by a Beowolf. "Fix this!" she croaked, glaring at him.
"I'd normally be upset at some girl making out with my boyfriend," Yang said, "but I'll make an exception this time. You're a regular hero. Thanks." Yang clapped a hand on Cinder's shoulder and pulled her in for a one-armed hug. Now trapped between both of the sisters Cinder's glare took on an almost magma-like heat.
Jaune looked to Pyrrha for an explanation. "Um…?"
"After Cinder saved your life Ruby and Yang pretty much adopted her," the redhead explained, giggling. "We all have, really. Something like that can't go unrewarded. You really should have told us you couldn't swim, though," she added, frowning at him. It vanished a second later. "But I'm glad you're okay."
"Stop hugging me!" Cinder growled.
"Not a huggy person, I get it." Yang laughed, not relinquishing her hold at all. "How about you and I have a girl's night out instead? Or a girl's night in if you'd prefer."
"Ooh, I can help," Ruby cheered, looking up from her position wrapped about Cinder's waist with an earnest smile. "We can paint our nails, talk about boys and play video games."
Cinder's entire body seemed to twitch aggressively. He had a feeling she wanted to erupt into violence, but knowing she had to keep her cover couldn't do a thing. Calling Cinder not a huggy person would have been pushing it. She despised any forms of contact and it had taken him seventeen years of life to worm his way into being allowed to touch her. Ruby and Yang had firm grips, though. It didn't look like she'd be escaping anytime soon.
"Well, all's well that ends well, right?"
"Cinder looks like she's going to murder you."
Eh, close enough.
A farce of a fight and then a postponement, pushing it back. Jaune's managed to escape by the skin of his teeth on this one but the race to become the maiden is still on. I've tried to make it clear why Jaune can't just tell Cinder, but if you missed that it's because he knows Cinder wouldn't take any risks and would do something to Pyrrha to sabotage her chances of being chosen, and that would undoubtedly be something that would hurt Pyrrha, if not physically then emotionally or mentally. He can't take the risk of Cinder using Emerald or Neo's illusions to make someone think Pyrrha did something illegal or terribly immoral.
Anyway, since the fight didn't end up "meaning" anything, it might seem pointless, but believe me that it's integral. You'll understand why later.
Next Chapter: 29th March
P a treon . com (slash) Coeur