XXXVI - Intolerance

Double update? You betcha!

The tournament finally begins! Grab your popcorn and soda folks! For a single to listen to when they throw down. Play "Mt. Sandia Swing" by John Sticky Trio. Or if you want something with ~angst~ then play "Wolf in Sheep's Clothing" by Set It Off.

~~~(XXXVI)~~~

Oxon was walking the gardens around Beacon and was thankfully calm as they usually were. He had spent the last half hour sitting by the small pond he'd found long ago. The fish were less active due to the temperature cooling down with the Fall season. It was still early in the morning, and he still had a few hours before the first fight of the day.

Walking back to his dorm, he actually bumped into someone when turning a corner. "Ah, sorry buddy." Though, who he came face to face with was someone he wasn't expecting.

"Oh great, the princess's little pet." It was that guy, Flynn, if he remembered right. He was that Atlesian transfer that had been accosting Weiss in their first meeting and team leader of FNKI. In a way, he had to thank the hat wearing student for introducing the two. Though clearly the guy was still less than amicable.

"I beg your pardon?" He'd gotten a variety of jabs, some in jest, others not. But this was a new one, and clearly hostile.

"What, too dumb to talk without your master?" He narrowed his eyes at the words said. Oxon's hands rested on his hips, he had his guns hidden underneath the outer uniform jacket. If he needed to, he could quick-draw on the prick.

"I don't remember our last meeting ending so bad that your first instinct is to be a tactless slimeball." He couldn't see the guy's eyes behind the dark shades, but the eyebrows told him enough. He moved his jacket slightly, revealing Patris. "So how 'bout we go out separate ways, and I don't put a cap in that stupid hat a yours."

"If you think you can. I've heard rumors about ya, some vagabond picked up off the streets on pity." Oxon almost laughed at how wrong he was, while half of it was soot on, it was way off in more ways. If he knew the truth, the guy would likely be all the ready to fight him, they were on opposite sides of the light after all.

"I don't care what some shitty busker looking tool thinks of me." Flynn snarled at Oxon at the barb. "So why don't you scuttle back to your street corner and play a little ditty for the kids, yeah? Maybe they'll drop ya some lien."

Oxon shoved past the Atlesian and back towards his room. Though he stopped when Flynn snorted. "Somthin funny?"

"Just that it's clear that the Schnee has ya whipped. What, daddy's little girl paying you to get with her? Or is it papa Schnee himself? Has to help his brat with that too."

"I don't rightly care if you take shots at me, but at Weiss?" He lossed Patris from its holster and aimed it dead at his sternum. "I might just lose a few back."

The teen seemed unfazed at the threat. He likely thought himself safe, since students wouldn't dare attack each other in unsanctioned fights. But he wasn't a normal student. "Oh? Was I right? What'd she buy you? Or is it a straight up cash for kisses kinda deal? Money sure is convenient."

Oxon pulled the hammer back fully with a primal snarl, making the bastard at least pause. He was seeing red and this bastard kept pushing him. Darkly, he thought If it was just one student who went missing before the tournament, it wouldn't cause that much of an issue, right? He could tell Cinder the guy was onto them, she'd help him with the corpse. Kids trained in the Grimm infested woods all the time after all. What's one more lost to the trees and teeth?

No, Ox, this isn't like you. You're supposed to protect people. Killing someone just because they anger you isn't right.

Slowly, he released a breath and the hammer and put the gun back in its holster. Damn conscience. Flynn didn't realize how close he was to disappearing. He gave one last sneer to the son of the failed businessman before turning around.

"Aww, backing down already?"

Oxon turned his head to glare one last time. "If you want to scrap, then I'll gladly agree. But I got things to do that are minorly important, which is far more than being near you." Walking back to his room he waited until he was far enough away to pull out his scroll and called a previously uncontacted number.

"Oxon? To what reason are you calling me?" Cinder and her insufferably smooth voice came through crystal clear.

"You said we had control of the randomizer?"

"We do, is there any reason you're bringing it up?"

"Yeah,I have a request on the team we fight round one."

"Hmmmmm." He could hear her thoughtful smirk. "Well, I'd certainly be willing to play with the day's events if one of my dear allies asks."

"Thank you, Cinder." He looked back at the retreating form of the infuriating transfer. "Team FNKI. I got a bone to pick with their leader."

"Consider it done, dear Oxon."

With the call ended he looked to the rising sun. He'd get his chance to push that bastard into the earth, he'd make him eat his words, and a good pound of soil too.

~~~(XXXVI)~~~

As promised, he watched as the wheel spun and land on teams FNKI and CMOS. He left Weiss and her team to don his battle gear. She seemed surprised at the vicious grin he wore when Cinder came through on his wish.

"Good luck Oxon, the Atlesian academy is one with their military. So be careful." He patted her head as he walked out of the stands confidently. His team was full of murderers after all.

His gear was slightly different than it had been before the breach. Ferrus kept his promise and went all out with the materials. His boots and shield had some fun upgrades hidden away as well.

He's even recreated his sashes that he'd once worn proudy. The lead green sash bearing the white horse back on his right hip fluttered gently as he walked, it was the sigil of Prism, the land he abandoned. The black fabric with the azure war wheel of the Prism Guard hung on his gun belt, it was a thicker fabric and held its form as he moved. It rested below the freshly polished buckle bearing the branch sitting squirrel, his treasured birthday gift from Weiss. His third sash hung behind the green one and was closer to his flank. It was a new design, he couldn't use the sigil of his family in good conscience, so this one was a brilliant white fabric with a blue bull head emblazoned at its tapered end. Underneath the bull, flipped head down and facing the other way, was a golden squirrel, to pay homage to his old friend and the animal he was given.

I'll do you proud today, father, brother. Please let me show bravery and valor. Let me prove myself; as one of your blood.

His armor was thicker and of higher quality than before. It still had the same design, the thick leather chest piece fit snugly over the bark like scale male. His emblem had survived the goring, the Squirrel curled inside an acorn watched his back. When he upgraded his armor, he added a thick fur collar that wrapped around his neck with bronze clasps affixing it to the leather.

He thumbed his medallion gently before tucking under his armor. His "teammates" walked slightly ahead of him onto the stage. He wilted slightly at the loud cheers that were now directed at him and his group. Professor Port and Dr. Oobleck were the presenters for the fights, not a combination he really expected.

"In this corner, hailing all the way from Haven Academy! Give it up for team Cosmos!" The man pausedto let the crowds settle a bit. "You might know this group as the team to make the arrest of Roman Torchwick! And the "O" is known as the brave man who saved Numerous young children."

The crowds went wild for their introduction. It seemed their fame at the apprehension of their former ally made them a favorite of the crowd. How ironic.

"And their opponents, traveling far from the icy nation of Atlas! Snow some love to team Funky!"

There they were, announced with a noticeably shorter introduction. Watching them walk up, he saw one was an energetic faunus on… roller skates? Mercury let out a snort as he watched the ginger girl spin.

"We really have to fight these guys? This should be entertaining." Ever the meathead, Mercury only thought about either violence or how to cause issues.

"It was a request from our gun slinging member. He seems to have a bone to pick." The four became silent as the cameras and microphones focused on them. They couldn't admit to rigging the tournament live on TV after all.

"So we get to fight after all? Can't say I wasn't hoping for this." His other teammates must have been aware of the bad blood, the glares they gave him was telling.

Oxon only had a noncommittal grunt for the boy. He'd get what was coming to him. His partner though seemed like she was ready to continue the pre fight banter.

"Oh, is this that caveman you told us about? He does look rather simple." Another loud mouth. Lovely.

Hefting Bulls Breath, he propped it on his armored shoulder. "A caveman? How classy, coming from the most garish outfit I've ever seen. And I've had classes with Oobleck." There was a light "Hey!" over the intercom from the presenters booth. The crowd laughed at that.

"At least she's not wearing a loincloth like some sort of illiterate neanderthal." That was crossing a line, his people's traditions were not something to be mocked. He would hurt him for that. He whipped the gun down loosely aiming it at their leader, who was apparently named Flynt. What a dumb name.

"You take that back you bas-"

"Enough." Cinder laid an all too warm hand on his shoulder, the heat permeating through his many layers and ice dust undershirt. "It's no good to get too worked up now."

"Yeah, listen to your handler. Clearly the Ice Witch ain't the only one who's got you leashed."

His eyes flashed in anger at the insinuation. He slid his eyes to the seats he knew team RWBY was in. Weiss also seemed offended at the words this punk was saying.

"But really hon. The whole sultry femme fatale is a nice bit you got going, but you're definitely missing something." The girl with the tail gestured to her own figure, sending a playful wink at Cinder. "Might want to look into other roles."

Cinder narrowed her eyes while Emerald looked like she was about to burst a blood vessel. Jokes on the fool, cinder was binding herself. Not like he cared about defending the flaming bitch.

Before more insults could be shared, the environment finally finished setting up. Half the stage was a flat tarmac with occasional bits of rubble, the other was a forest with a small stream running at its edge. Thankfully the woods were at his back, an environment he'd grown up in.

Convenient.

"Mercury, Emerald, deal with the blue and the white males. I have a cat to declaw." She turned to Oxon, who was sharing a vicious glare with the Flynt Coal. "I assume you wish to have him to yourself."

"You're damn well right. Fedora boy is mine." He raised his ax with one hand towards the trumpet user in a clear challenge. Flynt only smirked.

"Three… Two… One… Fight!"

With the signal given, each member of the teams split up to deal with their own target. Cinder met Neon with swords swinging. Mercury and Kobalt were both CQC types and clashed with kicks and punches. Emerald looked like she wanted to attack Neon for insulting Cinder, but she obeyed her orders and began dueling the white wearing whip user.

With an aura enhanced jump backwards, he surrounded himself in the familiar wooded environment, hoping the team leader gave chase. Tapping his heels, a few rows of spikes sprang from the grips, allowing him to quickly climb into a fairly dense chestnut.

The Squirrel of Prism was ready.

After a few moments of waiting, his prey had entered the dense stand. From his attitude this morning, he clearly believed Oxon was weak and no threat. He wasn't on par with most students, that was true, this situation was different. Nobody knew trees like he did, his armor was also ideal for blending in with the dense foliage.

"Where'ya at you shackled pet? Too scared to actually fight without a master to tell you how?" He was watching the forest floor for any threats, likely thinking him behind a tree. While his larger frame made it look like he would have trouble finding support on any branches, years of experience climbing trees gave him the knowledge so he knew where he could step to avoid creaking any of the wooden limbs. He waited until Flynt was close enough before he jumped.

Oxon knew not to yell and announce his presence when he leaped, the only sound was a slight rustling of leaves from above. He crashed into the unsuspecting musician and slammed his spiked feet into Flynt's back. The teen tumbled forward and barely dodged a heavy ax blow from above.

"And first blood between Oxon and Flynt goes to the ax wielder! I can say for certainty, nobody expected Mr. Adhmad to be so stealthy."

"Yes, yes! While we don't try to pry into our student's pasts, but it is known that the young man grew up in an environment like we see below. So the armored student of Haven is quite accustomed to these woods."

Could they not expose his tactics so plainly!? He had lured Flynt here for that reason, and it wasn't great that it was exposed.

"Fuck off Oobleck!" It seemed that while he'd been glaring at the screen, the trumpeter got back up.

"I guess I was wrong, you don't bang rocks together. It's actually sticks, huh?" Oxon tried rushing in quickly, but he was thrown for a loop when the trumpets' sounds actually sent him backwards. Apparently his weapon actually was the trumpet, not just a casual form.

Oxon dodged the next few blasts, using the solid tree trunks to dissipate the force. Quickly hoping from tree to tree, he climbed back up into a fairly dense oak. Its wide branches let him hop to a nearby tree. By hooking his ax's beard around another branch, he swung himself onto his foe, the momentum along with his weight let him slip through the sound waves with only slight trouble.

With a spin move, he crashed into Flynt. The heavy chop smacked him into a tree, cracking the trunk. Oxon winced at the damage.

Sorry tree... He gave a respectful nod and moved on from his silent apology and back to his foe.

"C'mere!" He swung his ax in fast circles, charging his semblance as well as dealing damage. The faint glow grew stronger with each hit. Flynt tried to blast him back with an earth dust infused beat, but Oxon's swing continued downward, though at the cost of his barrier. The dark skinned boy flew back, visibly confused at why Oxon's blow was unimpeded.

"There we have Oxon Adhmad's semblance in action! It's a defensive power that has been referred to as Kinetic Hyper-Armor!"

"Again Oobleck!? Look, I'm sorry I dissed your clothes, so stop telling everyone my strategies! Also, I never agreed to that name, it was all Yang's idea!" If he could stop being sabotaged by these professors for five minutes, that'd be great. Though looking at the scoreboard, he had his aura at ninety four percent, while Flynt was at sixty seven.

Unfazed by the upset combatant, he continued. "It allows the young warrior to shrug off hits after he lands a few of his own. But he has to land them."

"Just got to make sure to keep you back. Easy." Suddenly the guy became four of himself. Well, this was one heck of a turn.

"It appears young Flynt has just activated his Semblance! And quite a remarkable one at that. Ladies and gentlemen, feast your eyes on Flynt Coal's Killer Quartet!"

Finally, that green haired caffeine addict was talking about his opponent. But it wasn't nearly as helpful as he wanted. He gave one last glare at the screen before he was blasted back by the combined work of four trumpets. His back hit the trunk hard, easily transferring the painful energy into his body.

He quickly fled out of the way of another blast, again using the dense trees to his advantage. The sound bounced off the trunks in wild directions, but the force was greatly reduced. He managed to hop back into the canopy, jumping from tree to tree to close the distance, Oxon propped his rifle on a dry and dead branch. Using it to steady himself quickly, he fired a few rounds at Flynt. A few shots landed, but the heavy sound waves from his instrument halted the momentum of the rest.

"Why can every brother's damn weapon stop bullets? Other weapons I can understand. But some bass boosted asshole? That's just absurd." The branch he used as cover splintered under the Quartet's force, throwing him out of and into another tree.

A loud buzzer sounded from above and was followed by welcome news.

"Oh! There goes both Kobalt and Ivori! Both knocked out via aura by Mercury and Emerald. How will team FNKI come back against a four on two?"

"Yes, how unfortunate of Ivori to accidentally attack his own teammate."

"Guess you're not as good a team as you thought." A sudden bit of cruelty wormed its way out of his mouth as he watched Flynt look stunned at the screen. Without resistance, he approached the distracted teen from behind and whispered so the cameras and microphones would not pick anything up. "Now I remember what you were blaming Weiss for, your dad not saving his dust business. Guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, failure runs in the family, huh?"

Oxon dodged the wild swing from the furious team leader. The close proximity of the two meant he couldn't utilize his weapon easily, but his semblance came in handy. Dodging and blocking one person was simple, but four? Not quite so.

"You worthless garbage! I'll make you eat your words!" It was very unsettling hearing that from four mouths at once.

If he blocked one fist and dodged another kick, the other two were in position to hit his unprotected areas. Well, he still had armor, that helped block a good amount of damage. He grabbed one of the clones by its stupid undone tie and threw it at another. Surprisingly enough, that caused both to go back into the original.

With just two left, it was much easier to put the pressure on him so he couldn't bring out his clones. It was working well, Oxon was whittling down Coal's aura and boosting his own semblance. After he crushed the final clone on a torn stump with his boot, he turned to smirk at his opponent.

"Not so smarmy now, are you?" He knew something was up when the boy grinned and glanced behind Oxon. He didn't have enough time to react when a sudden force froze his legs to the ground.

"Having trouble boss man?" Neon Katt, the speedster of their team. She must have seen her partner was in trouble and came to his defense.

"Only mildly, what about the others?" Bullshit it was mild, Oxon had seventy percent left compared to his fourty even.

"I froze two of them together, the silver haired boy too, should buy enough time to beat this Shnee pet." She glanced at Oxon who was using his ax to break free. "I can't believe this guy is giving you trouble."

"Apparently the bastard is some kinda tree hugger, and quicker than he looks." Oxon glanced at the orange cat girl, it seemed that her wheels retracted into the soles. Wheels and roots do not exactly mix. He'd freed himself by the time they finished strategizing. He stowed Bulls Breath and drew Patris and Fratris, he needed a gun for each of them.

Suddenly the girl jumped in front of her partner. The sound waves sent her flying at him at a blitzing speed. He barely avoided a direct hit, but he did feel ice sprout up on his back. Shoulder checking a tree broke it off. Then he went through the tree after a strong blast from the trumpet.

His semblance was still active as he flew through the air, enough to hopefully ignore one more hit before he needed to build it back. Landing in the stream at the edge of the woods, he realized he was out of his turf. Getting back up, he slightly regretted his cold undershirt. The dust reacted with the water he was soaked in, he could feel frost forming. The water matted down the fur around his neck as well, making him very uncomfortable.

"This isn't anything new, I've been colder before." To his side, he saw Cinder and Emerald running towards them, but they were still a ways off. Shaking his limbs of water, he held his ground in the running water knowing the cat couldn't follow, his main worry was Flynt. He reached for a few rounds he'd received from the sisters of RWBY, they said it packed a punch, it was time to test that. Once the last one in the tube, he spun the long rifle to chamber a round.

He stood in the water, focusing on aiming his rifle at the noise from the woods. They were loud, clearly unused to walking on leaves and branches. Once he spotted the stupid fedora, he let a shot rip. The special round was a whole other beast compared to regular ones. He wasn't sure what was in it, but the recoil made him stumble back slightly.

If he wasn't imagining it, he swore he could hear Ruby cheering louder.

The round hit Flynt in the forehead, knocking his hat right off. Oxon laughed as he rubbed his forehead at the pain. That was quickly stopped when the stream he was using to prevent Neon from chasing him froze. He was trapped in thick ice up to his mid shin.

"Gotcha!" The girl with the rainbow trail sped her way down at him unimpeded on the frozen surface. He tried to shoot her, but her speed and the unusual recoil of the boosted rounds prevented him from landing a shot. He barely avoided the hit by using his shield as a ramp for her, forcing her to fly over and past him.

"-miss a beat?" The strange words meant nothing to him, and he sure couldn't focus on them. The sudden force of the sound waves after the near dodge would normally have him blasted back, but the circumstances he found himself in meant he was made to feel it all.

Struggling against the sound waves, he aimed a shot at the trumpet. Taking that out would end the threat. Steadying the sights, he squeezed the trigger once they lined up on target. The loud shot rang out once more, and the shot hit its mark. It must have impacted some sort of dust storage. The multicolor explosion enveloped Flynt's form but no buzzer sounded. Glancing at the central screen, the asshole has sixteen percent. Just one above the red.

That's some bullshit right there.

Cinder finally caught up to him and he saw Neon failing to hit an elusive illusion thief.

"Having fun?" He looked up at the woman, she was standing on the frozen stream with a light smile. It would have been attractive if not for who it was on.

"A real blast, I don't suppose fate made it so I had these woods at my back?" She gave a grin but no words as she walked to the edge of the water. Laying her hand on the frozen surface, it melted instantly, freeing his cold legs. "'preciate it."

"Now, why don't you go and finish your mission? One must defend the honor of their special friends." The meaning wasn't lost on him, he got up and once his face was hidden from her view, he frowned at what she implied.

Walking to the wood's edge, he saw a frantic Flynt trying to quickly repair his weapon. Though it looked like it would need to be done professionally. He casually walked up to the kneeling boy and gave a not so friendly smile.

"Well, ain't that a real bummer." The hatless and weaponless looked up at him. Oxon still had a steady glow surrounding him, meaning any blow thrown would do nothing. Not like the difference in aura began, Oxon still was in the yellow.

"Come to gloat?"

"Pretty much." He looked at the battle between a slightly singed Neon and Cinder. Nobody insulted her and got away. He lazily aimed Fratris at the boy. "You gon' surrender? I think I'd be in your best interest to throw in the towel."

Something flashed over Flynt's face and he grabbed some vial and punched Oxon with it. He wasn't worried, his kinetic armor would absorb the fist's blow. Except it didn't go how he thought, instead of punching him, Flynt flung the vial at his chest. Yellow dust bursting on his chest and stomach. And suddenly he was enveloped in pain.

His semblance was wonderful for physical hits, but less so for dust effects. Worst of all was fire and shock attacks. His soaked, metal, armor acted like a huge conduit for the electric current. His body began convulsing from the attack. He could do nothing but watch as Flynt got unsteadily back up.

"All talk after all. That's too bad." Oxon's hands were involuntarily clenched as he fought through the pain and spasming muscles. He'd fallen to his knees in the shock as well. "I'm gonna enjoy this, then maybe I'll go up against the spoiled girl herself in the doubles."

He wouldn't get the chance, even if Oxon got knocked out now, there were still three others ready to knock him out. Cinder would not allow their team to fail. Oxon felt the current beginning to die down as he watched Flynt pick up Bulls Breath.

Oh hellll no.

"Lots of little signatures here, they family cheering you on back home?" He casually strolled up in front of Oxon, holding the weapon like a club. "Guess they're going to be disappointed."

"You- you don't de-deserve to even read their n-names." Stupid electricity messing with his voice. His inner one worked just fine though.

Get up Ox! Show him the might of our people!

He desiccated their memories!

Put him in the ground!

Flynt began to swing down as Oxon burst through the pain. He knocked aside his own weapon, grabbing the bastard by the throat. "Eat bark!" Surging to his feet, he pushed aura into his limbs as he held the teen with one hand against a tree. With a light toss up, Flynt's body hovered a bit in the air. He waited for the boy to fall back down a bit before kicking him in the head and through a dead tree.

The loud buzzer signaled his victory over the team leader. Oxon let himself rest under a smooth barked tree as he watched Cinder deal the finishing blow on Neon, cementing their victory with the final buzzer. Walking back towards the exit as the professors announced their win he dipped his hands into the water to wash off a bit of sweat from his face.

Looking into the water he saw his lonely face, and wished he saw his family beside him. He knew it was foolish, he had to move forwards. He shook his head, got up, and raised a victorious fist towards Weiss. She gave him an excited wave from her seat.

I did it. Do you see that? Did I make you proud dad? He never got an answer, but he felt like he was making progress nonetheless. Eventually he would atone for the sin of leaving.

~~~(XXXVI)~~~

And Oxon shows his improvement in combat! Good thing he was able to get home field advantage in the woods. Sound waves bounce after all.

I hope everyone enjoyed this fight! It's such a quick chapter since I've been on and off planes for over 12 hours! Ughjhjj :)

My start date for work is delayed as well. So more time to write!