Chapter Three
Ozpin drove the five sleeping youths back to Beacon, the silence giving him a chance to think once more about the night's events. He glanced briefly at the dark haired boy sleeping in his passenger seat to, sleeping soundly. Was bringing him back the right thing to do? Of course it was, he knew he couldn't just leave the boy there, but at the same time he felt doubt in the back of his mind. Would he be up to this task? He had never raised anything before, let alone a child. He could always secure him a place at a good orphanage. But how would Rem handle that? Ozpin tried pictured the boy's reaction: would he be upset if he were to just abandon him to a handful of strangers? No, he couldn't do that to the poor child. He had befriended this boy and given him a name: Ozpin was willing to take the boy's future into his own hands, regardless of whatever consequences his actions yielded.
The drive back to Beacon Academy took them through the heart of Vale, which was illuminated by various neon lights. Dawn was only a few hours away, and the roads were devoid of traffic, which made the trip easier as Ozpin accelerated above the speed limit. He pulled out his Scroll and was about to select a contact, when a vibration notification activated. He saw the words "I'll be waiting in my office" and typed a quick reply* before putting his Scroll away. He spent the remainder of the drive half focused on the empty road and the other half fantasizing over what flavor of coffee he would like, but he decelerated as they approached their destination. Once on the ground of the Academy, he made his way to and parked in his usual faculty parking slot. He gently awoke the four girls in his backseat as he scooped the young boy up and out of his passenger seat. He bid the girls a good night as they groggily stumbled off towards their dorm-room, before he, in turn, made his way towards Beacon Tower.
Once at the base of the tower, he paused to peer up at the tower and night sky, the moon and it's slivers were hanging low as dawn began to peel the darkness away with the rising of the sun far off in the distance. The tower, itself, stretched up high and seemed to tough the sky to anyone observing from Ozpin's point of view. After he momentary distraction, Ozpin averted his eyes and made his way to the doors leading into the building. Normal visitation hours were long since past, but he knew his teacher's clearance on his Scroll would grant him access into the building. Once inside, he walked directly to the elevators and boarded on. He reached his hand up for the button at the very top of the side-chart, but paused realizing he was still had a sleeping child with him. Instead, he applied a code to the elevator's panel, one that few people knew about. And once he finished, the doors closed and the elevator began it's descent into the depths of Beacon.
The descent took only a couple minutes, and the doors opened to a dark hallway, illuminated by two torches emanating an eerie, pale-green light. At the end of this rather short hallway was a door, made of a thick, dark colored wood. What was most notable about this door was how it was covered with overlapping layers of cogs, all turning in tandem with each other. Ozpin approached the door and turned the knob, opening the door to reveal and very comfortable looking living space. His living quarters had simple, clean wood flooring laid out, a small kitchen space with some appliances, and many, many books lining shelves along each wall. There was a door at the far end of the moderate home, which led to his bedroom. Ozpin flipped a switch on the wall by the entrance and the room was lit up via ceiling lights, as he walked across the room to the other closed door. He went into the bedroom and pulled the covers back on the bed, gently laying the still slumbering child on the warm mattress. He then pulled the covers back over the child and tucked him in. He walked back to the doorway, but he paused to glanced back once more at the sleeping child. After he seemed satisfied that the child was comfortably snug in his new home, Ozpin gently closed the door behind him and made his way back to the elevator. He stepped inside and hit the top button, closing the doors. Once the doors closed, the elevator began to rise, and made it's way up Beacon Tower.
Meanwhile, back at the dormitories, the members of team GAUS made it back to their room. The dorm rooms of Beacon were of sufficient quality to accommodate the teams who attended the Academy: each room bearing khaki colored walls and maroon carpeted floors, also containing four beds, each of which had a short dresser with multiple drawers for storing clothes and other possessions, and a single window with drapes placed at the center of the longer wall parallel to the door. Each room also had a single bathroom and shower for the residential teams to share. The bathrooms weren't very elaborate either, each also having khaki colored walls, taupe tiled flooring, a single toilet and sink, over which were three light bulbs used to illuminate the room, and a single walk-in shower with a glass door. Teams were given the freedom to customize and decorate their rooms, with the only stipulation being that none of the original property be damaged. But given the fairly limited living space, there was not much the students in terms of decorating. The room of team GAUS, in particular, was no exception. The four girls had sectioned up the room in corners, with each bed occupying on corner with its corresponding dresser positioned either beside the head of the bed, or lining the width of the foot of the bed. The walls were adorned with posters, mostly of popular boy bands or celebrity hunks, the primary interest the girls had in common. With the exception of Glynda, who decided to abstain herself from childish fantasies, as she put it.
The four girls walked into the room and set about peeling off their weather-beaten clothes. Sienna, still coated with a few layers of dried mud from who unfortunate face-plant earlier that night, opted to take a shower before settling in for the night, kicking off her mud covered sneakers as she made her way towards the bathroom. As she washed herself clean, the other three changed into their night-attire. Glynda donned a fairly plain, long-sleeved lavender night gown that reached down just above the knees as she climbed into her bed located in the upper left corner of the room, while Azura changed into her matching black and blue horizontal striped pajama set, the top being sleeveless and the pants cut off just above her knees. She settled into the bed in the upper right corner of the room, as Undine took to the bed in the bottom right corner, now clad in a short pink, sleeveless night gown that reached only just past her hips. She sat down on the edge of her bed and placed her wakizashi, which she fondly referred to as Tempest, on it's wall mount, which she had installed just above her dresser. The three of them lay quietly awaiting sleep to take them, with only the muffled noise of running water from within the bathroom making any sound. After a few minutes, the sounds of running silenced as Sienna concluded her shower. She then emerged from the bathroom wrapped in a towel and made her way to her bed in the bottom right corner of the room. Taking out a soft, white shirt that was a little over-sized for her from her dresser, she pulled it over her head, letting the towel fall off in the process. She then pulled up a pair of frilly, strawberry-pink panties, before properly disposing of her used towel and climbing into bed.
Tired as she was, sleep continued to elude her as she lay in bed. She tried rolling over a few times, but no position seemed to work for her. With a small sigh, she sat up and looked around the room, her Faunus eyes easily observing her teammates in the dark. The other three were laying still, eyes closed and gently breathing as they tried to sleep. She didn't want to disturb them, but she had something she wanted to say, and probably wasn't going to be able to sleep until she had.
"Hey...anyone still awake?" she softly whispered to the room, to which a hushed chorus of tired 'yes's responded. She hesitated briefly before continuing her thought. "I think today was rather exciting, even if we didn't really do much."
"'Exciting' is hardly the word I would use. " Azura said with a huff, "We walked through a lot of mud in the rain, I would have rather stayed in with a hot cup of tea."
"I gotta agree with Tiny: we didn't do anything at all, not to mention Ozpin ditched us in a cave." Undine commented. "We could have at least gone to see those people we were out there to 'protect', then we could have at least said we did that much."
"Mind your tone: Professor Ozpin didn't ditch us for convenience sake." Glynda argued, "He has more experience than all of us, if he truly felt it was best we stayed behind, then I trust his judgement."
"So then why did he leave us there?" Undine countered. Glynda didn't respond, which caused some irritation for Undine. More seconds passed, building the tension on the silence, and Undine was about to comment when Glynda finally spoke up.
"I...don't know..." she admitted, sounding slightly worried. "He seemed on edge to me, as if he could sense something...something that caused him to leave us behind. Do any of you find it strange that he came back with that boy?"
"But you heard the Professor: Rem is an orphan." Azura answered her.
"But why wouldn't he have waited till morning then? Surely he could have sent for a transport to take him to an orphanage in Vale, once the roads were cleared instead of walking him back with us in the middle of the night." Glynda seemed to be arguing more to herself than to the others, as though she needed to make sense of the matter herself.
"You may have a point, it would be more dangerous to transport a child on foot at such a late hour..." Azura interrupted herself with a yawn, "...but I am too tired to think about this right now. Good night." and with that, she rolled over and tried once more to get some sleep.
"Good night, shorty." Undine cooed, grinning as she pictured what icy look she might be receiving in the darkness of their room, but the only retort given was silence. And as the silence persisted, the four tired girls eventually drifted off to sleep.
The elevator doors opened at the top floor of Beacon Tower, and Ozpin stepped out and into the headmaster's office. The office was very spacious, but there weren't any decorations to fill in the emptiness. The only objects in the room were a wide desk and a chair, both of which appeared to be made out of machine bits. Behind the desk and chair stood a tall, elderly man staring out of a large, clock-like window rimed in numerals. Upon hearing the elevator open, the old man turned to face Ozpin, his hands were fidgeting with a small, multicolored box, twisting and turning it over and over, mixing the colors up. His face was covered in wrinkles and a grey beard that hung down to his collar, with equally grey hair combed back and reaching his shoulders. He dressed in a sharp black suit jacket and pants, with a purple dress shirt and a multicolored, checkered patterned tie. He also wore a long, purple scarf over the back of his neck, letting the two gold-trimmed tasseled ends hang down either side of his chest and down to his waist. His old eyes sparkled with a glint of joy when he saw who was approaching him.
"Ah, Ozpin! It is good to see you, old friend." the headmaster called out with a deep, aged voice as he and Ozpin approached each other, meeting on opposite sides of the desk. "How was your expedition?" he asked, his old face wrinkling up with a smile.
"While it is good to see you, my friend, you know why I've come at this hour." Ozpin's tone was serious, as was the expression on his face. Upon hearing this, the old man's face also dropped to a serious expression.
"Indeed..." he let out a tired sigh, "Did anyone survive?"
"I only found a small boy." Ozpin stated.
"A boy?" Rubick seemed surprised, as his hands stopped fiddling with the cube he held. "Oh, I didn't expect that. Did your students..." his voice trailed off, as a worried look formed his features.
"I made sure they stayed safe. They didn't see anything." Ozpin reassured him.
"That's a relief. I wouldn't want any of our students to see such atrocities. I'm sorry, Ozpin. Had I known then what I know now, I wouldn't have let them go along in the first place." he spoke softly, a tinge of shame in his voice.
"With all due respect, my old friend, your foresight is not what it once was." Ozpin gave the old man a slight smile.
Headmaster Rubick was always respected for his intellect and kind heart, but his true gift was his rare semblance, which gave him the ability to glimpse visions of the future. In his youth, his control over this ability was quite extraordinary, enabling him to foresee and plan out every step of a battle within minutes. However, this power was very taxing on the controller's mind and aura. As a result, he could never see very far into the future, nor for very long. Many years ago, he had attempted to glimpse himself a few years in advance, but the attempt failed. Now that he was old, his control over his semblance had weakened considerably, the result being that he occasionally received brief flashes at random, sometimes disrupting his dreams whenever he slept.
"You mind your tongue." Rubick scolded, an exaggerated pout on his wrinkly old features. "Someday, you'll be an old man too." he finished with a chuckle.
"I already feel like an old man." Ozpin replied.
"Well how about these two 'old men' have some coffee. I want to hear more about this boy." he said, grabbing two mugs from the desk. "I assume he's staying in your usual quarters?"
"He is, sleeping at this very moment." Ozpin replied.
"I'll never understand why you requested to stay down in those dusty old vaults, we have more than sufficient faculty housing." Rubick said as he procured a small jar of sugar.
The vaults of Beacon Tower weren't originally constructed with the rest of the Academy. They were developed in the early years of the last Great War, with the intention of protecting some old archived knowledge, as well as doubling as a bunker, should any of the fighting reach Vale. But with the war's end, the vaults gradually faded from the public's memory, and now few people know of their existence.
"Sugar?" he offered a few cubes to Ozpin.
"No, thank you." Ozpin said as he accepted the mug of hot, dark liquid.
"Suit yourself." Rubick shrugged, dropping the cubes into his drink. "So then, what can you say of this boy you found?" he raised his mug to have a drink.
"I believe he is her child." Ozpin replied, taking a sip of his drink as well. His response nearly caused the old man to choke mid-swig.
"Are you certain?" the old man's face was serious, and so was Ozpin's as he nodded. "But...how is that possible?"
"That is something I would like to know, as well." Ozpin calmly replied, taking another sip of his coffee.
"You don't seem very perturbed by this. You know better than anyone what she was capable of." the old man said, exasperated. "This boy could be just as much a monster as her."
"He has a soul, as real as yours and mine. I know it in my heart." Ozpin stated adamantly.
"So you've said before, Ozpin." Rubick commented, his voice giving away his concern for the matter. "But there's a chance he could turn out just like her."
"There is always that chance, Rubick." Ozpin said as he lowered his mug and set it on the desk. "But there is also the chance that he could become so much more than that. Beacon has always stood as a light of hope against the darkness of this world, and every student that attends here takes that light with them and shares it, passing it on, and uniting us against all fear. I could never forsake anyone's light, no matter how hard it may be to find in the darkness: I won't give up on any student with a light to give this world."
Rubick sighed again, "You remind me a lot of my old headmaster...sometimes I wonder just who is lecturing who." he gave a short laugh just before downing the rest of his coffee. "It's probably why I've decided to name you headmaster once I retire. As if anyone else here could even come close to managing this position. I thought I would never retire until you came along."
"It is an honor I shall uphold to the best of my abilities." Ozpin reassured.
"Oh, I know." Rubick said, giving Ozpin a light pat on the arm. His eyes suddenly clouded and he seemed distracted. But as quickly as it happened, the clouds left his vision and he was back to his old self. He blinked once, then focused his gaze on Ozpin. "So, you plan on enrolling Rem at Beacon someday."
"Do I?" Ozpin asked, giving his friend a sly smile. "Are you sure you haven't gone senile, old friend?"
"Are you certain that this is a wise decision?" Rubick's stern tone caused Ozpin's sly smile to fade.
"I am. Can you see any reason why I shouldn't be?" he asked, and Rubick closed his eyes. A few seconds passed in silence before the old's man's eyes flickered open.
"I cannot." he simply said. "I suppose, then, that I shall have to trust your judgement in the years to come as I have learned to already."
"I respect your trust, and I will strive to prove worthy of it." Ozpin replied.
"You always have been, and always will be, dear friend." Rubick spoke softly as he said this. "I don't need my semblance to know that much."
"Thank you." Ozpin said, truly grateful. He picked up his mug and took a sip. "So, a little bird told me that young Branwen has two kids who already want to become Huntsmen. They plan to enroll at Signal in a few years."
"Hmph!" the old man huffed, his expression twisted as though he had a sour taste in his mouth. "This Academy barely survived the tyranny of Rook Branwen. I doubt it'll survive should his offspring get accepted. The fall of Beacon may be all you're remembered for as Headmaster Ozpin, my friend."
The two friends shared a laugh at this and continued to talk the remaining hours of the night away, as the dawn's first rays broke over the city of Vale.
The morning slowly broke over Beacon Academy as the sun rose to shine brightly in the sky, the light creeping into the windows of the dormitories. As the light entered the room of team GAUS, its rays fell on the closed lids of Undine, causing her face to scrunch up as she began to awaken. Slowly, her dark brown eyes opened to see Glynda standing by her bed, arms crossed, with a mildly impatient expression on her face. She was dressed in a white blouse with long sleeves that had frilly cuffs. A stylish opening near the top of the blouse gave slip to modest view of her cleavage, while from the waist down she was clad in a black business skirt, black leggings, and a pair of knee-high heeled boots, also black. About her shoulders she wore a short, multi-tailed cape with a black exterior, and multi-shaded purple interior.
"I contacted Professor Port, and he generously offered to supervise your duel with Azura-" she started, but Undine was already up and out of bed.
"Awesome! I can't-"
"Today."
"-wait...What?" Undine asked, confused because she had missed what Gynda had said.
"In an hour, to be precise." she said, a small smirk made its way onto her face.
"What?!" but without waiting for an explanation, Undine hastened about getting herself ready, heading to the shower first.
"I'll be going now. " Glynda called after her. "Sienna and Azura went ahead to get breakfast, shall I hold some for you?"
A few furious and disgruntled sounds were the only response she got, and with that 'answer' she exited the room and made her way to catch up with her other teammates. Meanwhile, Undine was fuming as she rushed through her shower. She was furious they had decided to not wake her up when they did, surely having a good laugh at her expense.
"Those jerks!" she exclaimed out loud, the cool water of the shower doing little to diffuse her temper.. "I bet this was Azura's idea. Well, I'll show her!"
She finished her shower and hurriedly dried herself off before getting dressed, pulling her auburn hair back into a ponytail. Her outfit comprised of a short, maroon-colored tube top that left much of her midriff exposed, a pair of blue denim shorts, and a khaki colored sleeveless vest that had a flowing tail which reached down to the back of her knees. She then strapped a pair of knee high, gladiator-styled leather sandals to her feet, and grabbed Tempest from its stand on the wall, sliding it horizontally through the belt-loops across her lower back. She stormed out of the room, slamming the door loudly behind her as she set off down the hall. The cafeteria wasn't far from her room, but she didn't let up her pace, wanting to get there as quickly as possible. She came across a few students in the hallways, but they made sure to steer clear of her warpath, least they should end up as casualties. Once she reached the cafeteria, her eyes began a sweep of the large room for her targets. The cafeteria had a small handful of students in it, making it easy for her to spot her three teammates. They were seated off to the left side down by the far end. She stomped her way over to them, Sienna taking notice of her approach first.
Sienna's outfit consisted of pale yellow sundress, embroidered with a multitude of colorful flowers on it, and frilly short sleeves that covered little more than her shoulders. There was a specially tailored hole near the seat of the dress for her bushy tail to emerge from, and on her feet were a pair a simple brown shoes with black laces. She had her hair styled the way she typically did, wearing it all down except for a small ponytail that lay against the back of her head, which had been tied up in a small, deep green ribbon. She waved to Undine as she continued to nibble on an apple. Azura noticed her waving and followed the direction, a wicked grin forming when she saw Undine.
"Well, it's about time!" Azura announced as she rose from her seat to greet the furious Undine. "For a moment, I was concerned you were going to back out of this. Not that I would have blamed you, of course."
She was dressed in a lavender and navy-blue striped tank top that depicted the happy face of a cartoon panda bear over her chest, over which she wore an unzipped navy-blue hoodie with open cuffed sleeves. She wore a pair of black shorts about her hips, and a pair of thigh-high black and blue striped socks. Her shoes were also black, with lavender laces. Hanging across her chest from her left shoulder to her right hip was her navy blue satchel. Undine walked right up to her and the two locked eyes immediately.
"As if, shrimp!" She scoffed, "I-" she stopped, catching a cold glare from Glynda.
"It would be nice if we could finish breakfast in peace." Glynda stated, indicating the plate of food she had saved for Undine.
"...Right. Breakfast first." Undine sat down in front of the plate, and Azura reclaimed her seat next to her in order to finish munching on a biscuit.
The breakfast was appetizing: consisting of eggs, cooked sausage, a couple biscuits, and some hashed potatoes, there was also a glass of orange juice. The four girls finished their breakfast without another word, although whispers had begun to float around cafeteria, and many eyes directed their attention to Azura and Undine. The attention was unnerving, and after she finished her juice, Undine leaned over to Azura.
"I'm guessing they know what's about to go down." she whispered, indicating the gossiping students around them.
"Of course they do, you know how fast word gets out around here." she whispered back, collecting her dishes together in a pile on her tray.
The four girls rose from their seats and deposited their dishes at the nearest designated bin before departing from the cafeteria, a few small packs of students following behind them from a safe distance as they made their way to the arena. The arena was a large classroom with a decent sized stage for sparring matches and had many row of benches stretching out in a half circle around the room. When not being used for sparring matches, the large room often doubled as a conference room, and sometimes had guest speakers give lectures. Before they reached the arena, Azura broke off from their group as she made her way towards the lockers.
"Where ya going, Tiny?" Undine attempted to tease the small girl.
"Unlike some people," she said, giving Undine an icy over-the-shoulder glare, "I actually follow the 'No weapons carried' rule."
"Oh yea? Is that why you always have that bag of Dust with you all the time?" Undine taunted.
"Th-That's different!" she blurted out before increasing her pace to further herself from the others before Undine could say anything else.
The three girls watched as their short comrade rounded a corner before they continued on their way down the hall. A few more students passing by them ended up getting gathered into the now small crowd they had behind them as they opened the doors leading into the arena bleachers. There was a man down in the pit of the arena, his arms crossed behind his back. He was dressed in a double-breasted burgundy suit with gold-colored lining and buttons and he sported a crown of dark hair, with a few strands of grey beginning to show. He wasn't particularly tall, but was quite stocky. His most notable feature was the incredibly thick mustache growing over his upper lip, concealing his mouth completely. The corners of his mustache turned upward as the crown entered the room.
"Ladies! Welcome. I- Oh..." he paused, taking note of how many students were following them. "It would appear that we shall have some quite a number of spectators today. Perhaps we should place bets?" he gave a hearty chuckle, but to his dismay there was only silence in the big, empty room. He cleared his throat loudly before continuing.
"A jest, of course! Gambling is illegal for kids like you, but not sparring. Why, sparring is a time honored tradition for two warriors to test their combative prowess. Many fighters walk away from a match with new-found respect for their adversary. Today, we shall witness a sparring match of epic proportions: two members of our very own esteemed team GAUS going head to head." as he spoke, Undine broke off from her two teammates and made her way down to the pit of the arena. "Are the combatants ready?" he adressed the crowd.
"Azura will be here momentarily. And thank you, again, for agreeing to supervise this match on your day off, Professor Port." Glynda said.
"No need to thank me, Ms Goodwitch." he replied jollily. "My duty as a Huntsmen and a Professor of this fine Academy is first and foremost to you, the students. That said, I always enjoy a spectacle of a competitive nature, and today's match-up promises to be a good one!" as he finished, Undine emerged from a side door into the pit, taking a place a few feet left of the Professor.
"Ah, and here we have on of our fearless fighters!" he spoke as a noise sounded from behind them. It was Azura, making her way in from the entrance connected to the locker room. "And the other has arrived as well!" He announced.
Azura took her place, a few feet to Professor Port's right, and faced Undine. The two locked eyes, and tensions began to rise as the audience looked on from the stands. The room had grown silent, which amplified the heavy atmosphere as the two girls continued to stare each other down. Professor Port started to step back, so as to not get caught in the way once the match started, producing his Scroll with a monitoring display of both girls' aura levels. Overhead, on the two screens, a similar bar styled display appeared, a profile picture of each girl over her corresponding aura meter. Undine placed a hand on the sanguine handle of her blade, as she crouched forward slightly. Azura frowned at this, knowing that stance was Undine's way of saying she wasn't taking this seriously. This was fine by her, she couldn't wait to show her up in front of everyone.
"I hope you're ready for this." Azura said, pulling her black gloves down tighter on her hands. "This is for all those short jokes you've made up till now."
"Eh, my expectation for this fight is about as little as you." Undine replied with a smirk.
"Ladies and Gentlemen!" Professor Port's voice boomed throughout the room as he began his final announcement. "Undine Amaranth versus Azura Borealis! Let the match...begin!"
As soon as he said that last word, Undine was off like a bullet from a gun, and that figurative gun had been aimed at Azura. She reacted quickly, however, by inserting her hand into the satchel at her side and threw up a cloud of red powdered Dust just as Undine was coming into range. She grimaced as Dust particles got into her eyes and nose,bring a tickling sensation with it as she felt an oncoming sneeze.
Azura had bounded back away from her a few paces, skillfully releasing a continuous strand of the red powder from her hand as she did. She snapped her fingers with a loud click, the friction of her glove igniting the Dust and setting of a chain reaction through the air towards her intended target. As soon as Undine had heard the snap of Azura's fingers, she dashed away from the cloud, taking a few tumbles for good measure and the cloud she had been standing in milliseconds ago exploded with an audible boom. No sooner had she escaped, however, when she sneezed, which set off a few sparks from her nose, scorching her nostrils unpleasantly. She wiped her nose with the back of her hand.
"That was pretty dirty." she muttered to herself.
Azura shot her a cocky grin before holding out her hand, flicking her index finger towards herself in a 'come here' gesture. Undine clenched her teeth and rushed her once more. Azura fished her hand into her bag once more, retrieving a gem of pale Dust. She clapped the gem between her palms, shattering it and embedding the fragments into her gloves. As she pulled her hands apart, noticeable sparks danced between the fragments upon her hands. Undine drew her wakizashi and slashed horizontally at her rival in one fluid motion, but Azura back-stepped the attack, the blade missing her by mere inches. Undine stepped forward, whipping her blade back across in another horizontal swipe. Azura stepped forward this time as well, pushing her palm out and catching Undine's wrist before the reverse held blade could reach her. The sparks on her glove made a loud 'bzzzt' sound as the electric current surged into Undine's body, causing her to wince in pain.
Not letting up, Azura unleashed a flurry of strikes utilizing her palms. Her impacts weren't very heavy, as she lacked the upper body strength, but with each strike, another jolt of electricity found its way to Undine, forcing her to stumble back from the onslaught. With a furious yell, she pivoted on her foot, bringing her other leg around for a roundhouse kick, catching Azura on the side of her face. The force of her kick, coupled with how light her opponent was, sent the smaller girl flying through the air a ways as she hit the ground and rolled a few times. She rose quickly, wiping the back of her hand across the aching area that had received the punishing blow.
The two girls squared off again, locking eyes as they did so. Undine's face turned up in a grin, and with a swift flick motion, she held her blade forward, assuming a more proper stance. Azura returned the grin, Undine was finally taking this serious. The auburn haired girl retrieved a small object from her belt, which appeared to be a tiny magazine for a pistol. She jammed it into open slot at the base of her handle, a resounding click could be heard as the device locked in. The groove in her sword began to emanate a red glow as the blade infused itself with the Dust from the cartridge. She gripped Tempest with both hands, bringing the blade behind her.
With extreme speed and precision, Undine unleashed a multitude of swipes across the air, each slash expelling a red-hot, fiery wave of Dust energy at Azura. The short girl began to run a circle around Undine, dodging the blasts as best she could. One wave nearly hit her, the explosion that followed emitting a force and knocked her off balance, causing her to tumble as she tried to regain her balance. As she attempted to get to her feet, Undine was upon her, bringing her blade down at an angle to catch Azura in the ribs. Azura raised her arm, the blade making contact with her forearm instead. As the blade hit, a loud metallic 'clang' was heard. Before she could recognize what had happened, Undine felt her legs give out from under her and she fell onto her back.
Azura, having just performed a leg sweeping kick, rolled backwards away from her opponent, planting her hands on the ground mid roll and pushing herself up into the air to gracefully land on her feet. Undine rose to her feet at the same time, readying her wakizashi once more. Azura swiftly pulled out another gem of Dust from her satchel and hurled it at Undine. Undine closed her eyes and raised her arms above her head and swiftly brought the blade down, skillfully chopping the gem in half. Each half sailed through the air to either side of her, before hitting the ground and detonating on impact, creating large patches of ice on the ground. She grinned as she opened her eyes to face her opponent, just in time to see a long metallic whip snake its way from within Azura's left sleeve to her ankle, wrapping itself tightly to her appendage.
"Don't tell me you forgot about my Bestrafung." Azura taunted Undine's confused expression.
Azura grinned wickedly before clasping her end of the whip with her hand, her weapon providing an excellent conductor for the electrical Dust still imbued on her gloves. The current surged through the whip and into Undine, the immense pain causing her to drop Tempest. Undine arched her back as a scream tore from her throat. She tried to stifle her scream as she grit her teeth against the pain. She grasped both hands around the whip as the current continued to surge into her, and with a vicious grunt she pulled the whip as hard as she could, easily bringing the girl attached to it as well. Azura's eyes widened with shock as she was lifted off her feet and towards he opponent, trying to make sense of how this was happening. Undine pulled her arm back, clenching her hand into a fist. Once the small girl was in range, she drove her fist as hard as she could into Azura's face, catching her straight in the nose. She began to drift away from her, but Undine tugged on the whip connecting them again, bringing her back in time to catch a heavy-handed gut punch.
The wind rushed from her lungs at the impact of the punch, but before she could even catch her breath, Undine let loose a right hook to the face, and then a left, followed swiftly by a right uppercut, which lifted the tiny girl off of her feet. Undine followed through with a kick straight into the airborne girl's stomach, sending her flying back. This time, Bestrafung had loosened its grip and detached itself from Undine, allowing some distance between the two fighters, who were both panting heavily. Undine picked up Tempest and rushed Azura yet again, as Azura staggered to her feet. With a flick of her right wrist, another long metallic whip snaked out from her sleeve. With a few skillful flicks, she lashed her twin whips out at Undine, who swiftly knocked them aside with her blade as she continued her charge. She thrust her weapon at Azura, who narrowly side-stepped the attack. However, Undine's blade found itself between the sling of Azura's satchel, and with a swift slice, the bag came free and fell to the ground.
Azura made a dive to try and retrieve her bag, but Undine's foot was faster as she kicked the back away and out of her reach. With Undine looming over her, Azura flicked one of her whips upward, striking at her opponent's face. Undine somersaulted away from the attack as the whip cracked where her head had just been. As Azura got to her feet, Undine charged, intent on finishing their duel as the victor as she ushered forth a warcry, her blade held up over her head. Azura extended her index and middle finger towards the rushing warrior and traced a small unseen symbol in the air.
Undine's feet suddenly ground to a halt against her will. Confusion etched across her face as she looked down while uttering a soft 'what the' as she stared down at the strange glowing glyph locked around her ankles. She suddenly felt the sharp sting of two whips locking themselves around her neck. She looked up in time to see Azura launch herself into the air before pulling her arms back and twisting her wrists, a motion that activated a mechanism hidden under her sleeves to retract the whips. The machine buzzed softly as the coils of her whips receded into her sleeves, propelling the girl along path to Undine's head. Azura thrust her legs straight outward as she torpedoed into Undine's face before landing flat on her own back while Undine was sent tumbling backwards.
A small alarm sounded as the graphs on the screens above showed Undine's aura flashing in the yellow, signalling the end of the match. Professor Port walked up to the two, clapping his hands all the while. Several other students in the small crowd gathered in the bleachers were also clapping and cheering. Undine stared blankly up at Azura as she tried to make sense of what just happened. Azura's face was twisted in an expression of shame and guilt, her mouth slightly agape as if she were about to speak. Without warning, however, she clamped her mouth shut, turned around, and walked out of the arena and back towards the lockers.
"Well done, well done!" Port's robustly overjoyed tone cut across the cheering. "What a magnificent display of technique and determination from both of you." But to his dismay, Azura walked right past him without a word. "Ehh...t-the skill of these two fine Huntresses just goes to show-" Undine also walked past him without a ward, sheathing Tempest across her back. He watched as she followed after Azura, scratching the back of his head with perplexity. After a few moments spent being puzzled, he cleared his throat and turned to address the gathered students again.
"While that was very exciting, is there anyone else who would like to issue a friendly challenge today? Anyone?" he gave a boisterous 'oh ho' when he saw a few hands go up. And selected one of the students at random, ushering them down to make their challenge. Meanwhile, Undine walked through the hallways leading back to the lockers, a single question going through her mind over and over.
Just what the hell was that?
**So that was chapter three, I hope you enjoyed it. I'll be perfectly honest, when I first decided to write this story, I only had a small vision of the beginning and how I wanted it to end. But I was kinda lacking on middle material, which wouldn't make for a good story...not that I'm saying that this one IS good, probably mediocre at best, but I've had fun writing it out in my head and on "paper" so far. Although I was worried I may have dragged this one on too long...was it too much? I thought about cutting it off sooner, but said "Nah, let the show go on while my brain's a-workin'"...so I did.
Anyways, if you've the time, I would truly appreciate hearing your thoughts on this story so far. Please feel free to leave a review telling me what you think. Like it, hate it, your opinion is your own, but I wouldn't mind knowing why, specifically.
*Also, just because Ozpin was texting while driving, does NOT mean I condone such reckless behavior. Be safe: don't text and drive guys.
Till next time, farewell!
