Trouble Brewing
"So, your team made it past the preliminaries?" Sho asked his new companion, who was sitting across from him.
"Yes, our opponents were skilled, but we managed to prevail," Cinder replied as she took a sip of her cup of tea.
"Hopefully it wasn't dragged out," Sho said as he looked at a nearby monitor showing team JNPR going up against team BRNZ from Shade Academy.
Cinder followed Sho's gaze to see the primary girl on her list face off against the leader of team BRNZ. She took notice of how Sho's expression was not of awe but was more analytical, like he was judging them.
"I can't believe Jaune is having Ren take on a sniper on his own without any cover fire," Sho commented.
"Do you know them?" Cinder asked, intrigued with Sho's remark.
"They're friends of mine," Sho told Cinder.
"Oh…?" Cinder wanted to hear more. "But clearly you do not agree with the team leader's decision," she pointed out.
"Not entirely, Ren is fast enough to reach the sniper, but at times his methods can be too linear," Sho said, turning his attention back to Cinder. "His stamina is also lower than the rest of his team," he added.
"Then what do you think should have been done to aid him?" Cinder asked.
"The obvious choice would be to have Nora provide cover fire since Pyrrha is capable of holding off multiple opponents on her own," Sho answered. "Jaune may not be as skilled as his teammates, but he is able to hold at least one of the remaining three on his own," he added.
"I see," Cinder nodded her head. The plan Sho told her was a fairly simple one, one that she could easily point out flaws and even suggest a better one, but she kept her suggestions to herself. She wanted to know more about Sho and his relationship with some of the students of Beacon. "And when will your team's match start?" she asked the young man before her.
"I don't have a team," Sho answered, surprising Cinder. "I'm technically a reserve for any team that is shorthanded or in need of help for missions," he explained.
"That is unexpected," Cinder didn't expect that kind of answer. "You must be very capable if your headmaster didn't assign you to an established team," she commented.
"Honestly, I'm nothing special," Sho said before taking a look at the monitor once again only to see team JNPR together, talking to each other in the middle of a fight. "Are you kidding me?" he couldn't believe what he was seeing.
Cinder turned to see the match on screen and even she couldn't believe what she was seeing. The amber eyed woman was beginning to wonder if the girls of team JNPR were worth worrying about if the team's leader was actually stupid enough to leave his entire team open to attack. This opinion wasn't solely exclusive to just team JNPR as team BRNZ was not even capitalizing on what was essentially an easy win, but were just standing there arguing with Jaune over the situation.
"Fucking attack them you idiots!" both Sho and Cinder yelled at the monitor, drawing attention of many people around them. The two of them turned to face each other, caught off guard when they said the same thing. They also felt a little embarrassed with the looks everyone was giving them.
"Uh…who were you saying that to?" Sho asked Cinder.
"Team BRNZ," Cinder answered, quite surprised by her own behavior. "You?" she asked regaining her composure.
"Same," Sho answered.
Team JNPR may be his friends, but even Sho couldn't believe just how stupid they were acting.
"I would have thought you would be on your friends' side," Cinder found it odd that Sho would choose a team from a different school.
"I would but most of my friends aren't taking these matches seriously, I'm actually hoping they would face a foe that would force them to," Sho told Cinder.
"Why is that?" Cinder asked, very intrigued.
"Because outside of that ring, no one will hesitate to take them down permanently," Sho answered, his mind racing back to when team RWBY, Sun and Neptune encountered Lisker on the highway.
"I am sure they would be able to handle the creatures of Grimm," Cinder assured him.
"It's not the Grimm that worries me," Sho said.
"The White Fang?" Cinder guessed, trying to get the answer she was looking for.
"No, someone more powerful," Sho replied.
"Just one person?" Cinder felt that she was getting closer. She had a good guess of who Sho was referring to since the teal Guyver doesn't know about her master.
Sho didn't answer, instead he decided to focus on the match, which had finally ended with Nora taking out all of team BRNZ with one swing of her hammer.
'So close,' Cinder thought to herself but decided not to pressure Sho. Instead she decided to accept Sho's silence as the end of the conversation. However, she couldn't help but look at Sho and wonder how someone so ordinary could have such amazing power and not use it to dominate. 'So much power, yet he doesn't use it like he should,' she mentally added before smiling to herself. 'But that's fine, soon enough his power will be mine,' she concluded as she continued to observe him.
Now that the match was finally declared over, Sho turned to look at his tablemate. He couldn't deny that Cinder was a very beautiful young woman, which was saying something since nearly every girl he met since finding himself on Remnant was attractive. Yet for some reason, Sho found Cinder's beauty far more captivating, which made him wonder why she wanted to talk to him. He remembered her mentioning that she heard about him, so there was only one real conclusion as to why a young woman from a different huntsmen academy wanted to talk to him.
"So, Sho…" Cinder renewed their conversation. "Who do you think will end up winning the tournament?" she asked, decided to change the topic slightly.
Sho thought about the question for a bit as he tried to think of who would most likely make it to the finals.
"Well, the safest bet would be Pyrrha due to her status as a four-time champion in Mistral…" Sho started. "But there is a good chance that someone else could end up the winner," he added, thinking about Russel and his Zoanoid form. "Unfortunately, I don't know much about the students from the other academies to really make a good call on any of them making it to the finals," he continued before remembering that Cinder was from a different school. "Uh…no offense," he quickly added, hoping that Cinder didn't take his statement the wrong way.
"Oh, don't worry about that, I was only asking for your honest opinion," Cinder waved off Sho apology. "But you're not wrong about not knowing much about the other competitors," she pointed out. "For my team, Mercury has the best chance of making it to the semi-finals, but that's if we don't face off against someone like Pyrrha Nikos during the doubles," she told Sho.
"I guess so," Sho agreed.
Before either of them could continue their conversation, Cinder's scroll started buzzing. She picked it up to see who was contacting her. She turned her attention back to Sho and smiled at him.
"I'm sorry, but I'm supposed to meet up with the rest of my team," Cinder excused herself. "I hope we can meet again Sho," she told the young Guyver before taking her leave.
Sho nodded as he watched Cinder leave, blushing as he saw the way she swayed her hips as she left. He couldn't help but watch this dark-haired beauty walk away, she was a captivating woman.
"Damn Sho, I never would have pegged you for such a player," a familiar male voice said from behind Sho, startling him.
Sho quickly turned around to see Cardin, Dove, and Sky standing behind him. All three of them had grins on their faces as they too were watching Sho's companion leave.
"How long were you guys there?" Sho asked Cardin, embarrassed that his semi-normal friends were here after he had a conversation with Cinder.
"We got here just as soon as that babe started walking," Cardin answered before he a seat while Dove and Sky grabbed a couple of spare chairs. "So, did you get her number?" he asked his friend.
"No," Sho told the CRDL leader. "I never asked," he added.
"Why not?" Dove asked. "She's smokin' hot," he pointed out. "Curves in all the right places, and the way she walks," he added, practically drooling at the mental image of Cinder's retreating backside.
"Yeah dude, chicks like that don't talk to just anybody," Sky joined in. "She's easily a perfect ten," he added, receiving a nod from Cardin while Dove continued to fantasize about Cinder.
"Which is why I didn't ask," Sho said. "Cinder is…" he was about to continue but he got cut off.
"Her name's Cinder huh?" Cardin interrupted. "At least you got her name," he added before letting Sho continue talking.
"And it totally matches her hotness," Dove added, his mind still on Cinder.
"Like I was saying…" Sho tried again. "Cinder is way out of my league, so there is no way she would just give me her number and besides we just had tea and talked," he told his oddball friends. "I'm pretty sure she was only talking to me just so she could get some information out of me to use for the tournament," he added.
"I see," Sky said. "Flirt with a guy from a different school, squeeze him for information, then ditch him," he summarized what he believed to be Cinder's plan. "A whole lot easier than simply spying on your opponents before the matches," he added. "Like that old saying, 'loose lips sink airships' am I right?" he asked.
"Well, you don't have worry about me giving away any of you guys' secrets away," Sho told his friends. "I don't think she considers you a threat," he added, smiling at how Cardin started to sputter.
"She doesn't think we're a threat," Cardin growled out, clenching his fists as his opinion on Cinder dropped slightly.
"Well you guys did just let Russel do the fighting for you," Sho pointed out. "Once they figure out a way to take him out first, then whichever one of you guys is left will be easy pickings," he explained.
"Aw…crap, I didn't think about that," Cardin said as he started to panic over who to select for the doubles.
"Well, we have at least a day to figure it out," Sky raised one finger to empathize this fact. "Tomorrow is the last day of the team matches," he told his friends. "Which would give us a better chance to find out who we would be up against," he concluded.
"Which means, whoever we might face decides which of us is paired with Russel for the doubles," Cardin said, feeling slightly better.
"If he feels like fighting in the doubles," Dove interjected.
"I'm sure he will," Cardin said, slightly annoyed with Dove's comment.
"Come to think of it, where is Russel?" Sho asked.
"He's with his girlfriend, walking the fairgrounds," Sky told Sho.
Other side of the fairgrounds
"What is with all of these people walking up to me and asking for an autograph?" an annoyed Russel complained as he and Nebula managed to getaway from another small group of people.
This was a whole new experience for Russel as he never expected to be mobbed by people wanting his autograph. His apparent fanbase was fairly small, but they all were eager to meet him and asked for his signature or to take a picture with him. quite a few of them asked if he could change into his "monster" form but he declined, claiming the transformation wears him out when in truth it was because he didn't want to strip off his clothes since he didn't have any spares with him. Plus, Russel was positive Nebula wouldn't appreciate him stripping in front of other people except her.
In regards to his clothes, Russel took Aptom's advice in dressing simple clothing, so as to not put an enormous strain on his wallet, Russel was dressed in a simple dull green T-shirt and gray pants. He had a spare pair of his normal boots, but he knew that it was only a matter of time before he tore through them the next time, he Zoaformed.
"You did single handily take down an entire team of third-year students," Nebula pointed out, leading Beacon's resident Zoanoid toward one of the game stands. "That's pretty impressive," she added.
"I guess," Russel said, looking at the prizes that were on display. "Or maybe it's because of me Zoaforming," he admitted.
"Zoaforming?" Nebula repeated the word, it sounded so alien to her.
"That's what Sho calls it when I transform," Russel said as he took out a couple of Lien. "Apparently, the word 'Zoaform' is used for Zoanoids, Zoalords, and any other creations that are similar," he explained as he was handed a toy gun to play the game.
"Really now?" Nebula replied, amazed that Russel was told this. "It's still kind of crazy you know," she added in a lower tone as she watched Russel hit one of the moving Nevermore targets. "All our lives we've been told stories about humanity emerging from light and other silly fairy tales. Then suddenly we're being told by a friend of yours that we were created by aliens to fight in intergalactic wars only to be abandoned because of one experiment worked too well that it actually scared the crap out of them," she mused over the whole thing.
"Yeah that sounds about right," Russel missed one of the targets. "Damn," he muttered as he refocused on the targets. "You're taking this a whole lot better than I thought you would," he mentioned after hitting the next target. "I kind of expected you to be so freaked out that you wouldn't want to be near me ever again after my first time Zoaforming," he admitted to Nebula what he thought after her reaction to his first transformation.
"You really thought I would dump you just because of that?" Nebula was shocked that Russel thought that would happen. "Why would you even think that?" she asked.
Russel fired his last shot and counted the number of targets he shot down. He had a total of twelve, which was pretty good in his book. He spotted a prize that caught his eye and pointed it for the Carny to retrieve.
"Well, I turned into a crazed monster," Russel told Nebula. "I attacked anything without a care because I was so focused on taking down Aptom," he admitted. "I only returned to normal after he knocked me out and the next thing, I knew I woke up with you hugging me, crying your eyes out," he continued.
"Of course, I was crying," Nebula said, focusing her attention on Russel. "I was so scared that he paralyzed you when he knocked you out," she told him, the fear that she felt that day resurfacing.
"But that's what I don't get," Russel said as he was handed his prize. "I could have hurt you without a second thought. I could have…" he trailed off.
"You could have killed me," Nebula finished for him before turning him toward her. "You could have, but you didn't because I was far away from the fight," she told him, staring into his eyes. "Yes, I was scared when I saw you change, but I was more scared of you getting killed in that fight," she admitted. "But here you are, alive and in complete control over yourself when you transform. So, I know that you are still you," her tone more serious than before. "So, don't hand me that bullshit excuse. Just tell me that you're scared that I would think differently of you," she cupped her hands around his face. "And I will tell you just how stupid you're being right now for thinking that I would leave you for such a shallow reason," she firmly told him.
Russel looked into Nebula's eyes and saw that they were starting to get all teary. He found himself remembering why he loved this girl standing before him, which caused him to smile. She could easily see right through him whenever he's troubled and would set him straight. It still surprises him that he was so lucky to find a girl like Nebula.
"…yeah, I was scared that you would see me differently," Russel finally admitted. "I really am an idiot," he added, smiling at the NDGO leader.
"Yes, yes you are," Nebula agreed smiling back, her tone much softer now. "But you're my idiot," she added before kissing Russel.
Russel wrapped his arms around Nebula, his right hand placing something on her right shoulder, which she felt. Nebula broke off the kiss to look over her shoulder to see a small stuffed turtle placed there. The purple haired girl gave a small squeal before picking it off her shoulder to give it a hug, which brought another smile to Russel's face as he continued watching her gush over the little plush turtle.
"Isn't this touching," a male voice filled the air, grabbing the young couple's attention.
Russel looked to his left to see Aptom approaching them. Nebula saw the older Zoanoid coming toward them and stopped hugging the stuffed turtle.
"You did pretty good during your match kid," Aptom complimented the younger Zoanoid. "You're a lot better than I thought," he added.
"T-thanks," Russel stuttered a bit.
"You better show me more of what your capable of next time," Aptom said before leaving the two teens alone.
"That guy still gives me the creeps," Nebula said once she was sure Aptom was out of hearing range.
"I don't know, he seems alright to me," Russel said as he watched Aptom continue walking. "Plus, I don't know any other Zoanoids, so he's the only one I can ask for advice," he pointed out.
Nebula considered what Russel said to her, while it was true that at the moment Aptom was the only other Zoanoid that her boyfriend knew that could help him understand what he is, yet she still couldn't help but be wary of the more advance Zoanoid.
"But never mind that, your team's match is tomorrow, so let's go have some fun today," Russel decided to change topics before leading Nebula deeper into the fairgrounds.
Beacon Academy: Night
While most of the students were sleeping after having an exciting time with the first day of the Vytal Festival tournament, Sho was standing in the center of the auditorium, his eyes closed while numerous training drones floating around him. The drones scattered about as they waited for Sho to give the command to begin training protocol. Sho took a deep breath as he thought back to every match he had seen during the tournament. When he stopped looking at the matches from a critical view and remembered all the people cheering, Sho came to a realization.
"A tournament that's more about entertaining people…" Sho softly said to himself. "What a joke!" he shouted as he mentally summoned his armor. Once his armor attached itself to his form, Sho gave his command to the drones. "Begin rapid fire protocol, weapons output high, random movement," he ordered the drones.
"Command received," the drones complied as they began their attack.
Inside his office, Ozpin watched the live video feed of Sho in the auditorium. It was a good enough distraction after reading the medical report he had received about one of the members of team JADE. Ozpin was quite surprised to find out that the boy's wounds from Russel's claws had not healed, but the most shocking thing was how the young Faunus' Aura would not close the wounds, in fact the boy's Aura would not activate. It was as if the boy's Aura was somehow resealed, or worse, rendered unusable.
According to the report, the boy would have to receive stitches as well as have the marks disinfected. This revelation was quite the eye opener for the Beacon Headmaster as this made Russel and, quite possibly, others like him very dangerous because a huntsmen's Aura was their greatest defense and Russel effortlessly destroyed that third-year student's career in one strike.
"I can only pray to the God Brothers that Mr. Thrush is the only one that has this horrific ability," Ozpin said to himself as he continued watching Sho's private training session.
He watched as the young Guyver dodge the drones' laser fire by simply shifting his body while barely moving from where he stood. The headmaster was impressed with how Sho was able to keep up with the drones' continuous assault. Upon closer examination, Ozpin could make out how the orbs on the sides of Sho's head moved along the organic grooves within his armor.
"It would appear that Mr. Fukamachi's armor is capable of not only offensive capabilities, but can also sense the movements of hostile threats and transfer this information to his mind at the same time," Ozpin surmised as he took a sip of his mug. "He would make an excellent guardian for the new Fall Maiden," he added before taking a look at the image of his candidate for such an honor.
Pyrrha Nikos
Unknown to Ozpin, he was not the only one watching Sho's private training session. Inside her dorm room, Cinder watched Sho effortlessly dodge the laser fire that was being more rapid as the drones increased their movement speed. Emerald, Mercury, and Neo were on the floor going over any and all possible information that could be used to undermine Beacon Academy.
'He uses the least amount of energy and doesn't waste his movements as he dodges each shot fired at him,' Cinder made a mental note as she continued to analyze Sho. 'Very few Huntsmen could ever maintain that kind of control,' she mentally added. 'It must be because of his armor,' she concluded. "Amazing," she finally said, drawing the attention of her two lackeys and Neo.
"Fawning over your new boy toy again boss?" Mercury joked, earning a glare from Emerald.
Rather than be annoyed with Mercury, Cinder simply smiled before putting her Scroll down.
"Toy, maybe," Cinder started as she considered the classification. "Boy, oh no, Sho is no boy," she added as she stood up. "With his power, not only would it be easier to take down Ozpin and complete our mission, but we would be able to keep a certain someone in his place," she told her group.
"You mean that jerk, Lisker?" Emerald guessed.
Cinder didn't reply but Emerald figured that was who her leader was referring to.
"And just how are you going to get him on our side?" Mercury asked, not convinced that Cinder could get Sho to turn against his peers.
"Is it that hard to figure out?" Cinder retorted. "I just need to earn his trust, his friendship if you will," she told her lackey.
'And here I thought she was going to seduce the poor kid,' Neo thought after hearing what Cinder was saying.
Team CRDL's dorm
Laughter, that was what Sky heard as he looked around but found nothing. The laughter was cruel and filled the vast emptiness. The halberd wielding student covered his ears in a vain attempt to block out the laughter, but it only grew louder as an image appeared in front of him. Sky's eyes widened in horror as he recognized what was before him.
"No…" Sky whispered.
Right before him was the cauldron, only it was much larger and in it were numerous screaming babies. The water in the cauldron was boiling so hot that the skin of the babies was practically melting off their tiny bodies.
"No….NO!" Sky screamed as he rushed toward the cauldron, hoping that he could do something to stop this.
However, he was held in place as two Faunus grabbed his arms. Sky looked to his left to see the Snake Faunus from the village before turning to his right to see the last person, Velvet with a sadistic smile on her face.
"How does it feel?" Velvet asked Sky.
"STOP!" Sky cried out as he struggled to break free.
"Why should we?" Velvet taunted the human. "This is just payback for what humans like you have done to us," she told him as the screams of the babies grew louder.
"STOP!" Sky jolted up from his bed.
Cardin, Russel, and Dove woke up after hearing Sky's scream. The three of them didn't say anything, they didn't have to because they knew why he screamed. Dove got up from his bed and made his way to Sky to place a hand on the boy's shoulder. Sky jumped a bit from Dove's touch but calmed down slightly when he saw his friend. Dove nodded his head toward Sky, letting him know that it was alright.
Cardin and Russel were quiet throughout the entire thing as well since the four of them knew that no words were needed.
Before the four boys returned to bed, Cardin took out a small box of sleeping pills and swallowed three of them before going to bed. This attack did not go unnoticed as Russel caught a glance of this out of the corner of his eye, but didn't say anything.
Now wasn't the time, because they needed their sleep so that the could continue to charade of being normal around everyone else tomorrow.
The next day: Aftermath of NDGO vs SSSN
"LET ME AT 'EM!" a Zoaformed Russel shouted while being held in a Full Nelson by Sho in his Guyver armor.
Opposite of the enraged Zoanoid was a cowering Neptune using Sage and Cardin as his human shields. Dove and Sky were trying to calm their teammate down. Off to the side was Scarlet with an icepack for his coconuts with Sun next to him. Anyone else near the medical tent was putting enough space between themselves and the Beacon Zoanoid.
"Just chill for a minute man," Sun said as he watched the mayhem unfold.
"A little help would be nice," Dove said to the blonde monkey Faunus.
"No dude, I think you guys have it under control," Sun replied being all nonchalant about the whole thing.
"Take it easy Russel," Sky told the Zoanoid. "It was just a match, we all know that there was a chance your girlfriend would lose," he explained to Russel.
"THAT SON OF A BITCH ELECTROCUTED NEBULA!" Russel roared as he tried to use his tail as a spear to reach for Neptune's head, the student of Haven Academy was lucky, the tail didn't reach that far.
"He also electrocuted Dew but you don't see me crying about it," Sky retorted.
"Isn't that because she more or less dumped ya after the dance?" Dove asked.
"Shut…up," Sky growled out.
"Didn't he also flirt with all of them before the match started?" Cardin pointed out that one detail.
"Why are you reminding him that?" Neptune whimpered, regretting that moment now that he was cowering from a very pissed off Zoanoid who was dating the leader of team NDGO.
"I'M GONNA TURN HIS SKULL INTO A COFFEE MUG!" Russel declared as he continued struggling against Sho's hold.
"That…," Sun was about to comment but was interrupted.
"Doesn't seem physically possible," all the boys except Neptune and Russel finished for Sun, each one of them had heard the phrase more than enough times.
"Can we please get past that joke already," Cardin said as he moved away from Neptune, much to Neptune's protest. "And you, just take your beating like a man," he told the cowering boy.
"What's with all this noise?" Octavia asked as she stepped out of the medical tent. "Can't you guys keep it down," she complained before looking at what was happening in front of her. "Uh…what's going on?" she asked.
"Russel's trying to kill Neptune for flirting, then electrocuting his girlfriend," Sun answered, nonchalantly.
"Oh…cool," Octavia replied before heading back into the tent. "I'll let everyone know that we'll have their revenge through Russel," she told everyone.
"WHAT!?" Neptune cried out in horror over how one of the girls was okay with his inevitable demise.
With Agito and Ironwood
"With all of this information, I believe it is possible to reverse engineer the Zoanoid transformation process," Agito told the General.
"I see," James said as he looked over the report that Agito gave to him. "All we need is the equipment to set up the first…Optimization Chamber?" he wondered if he was using the correct term as he handed the report back to Agito.
"Yes, and I will soon take my leave to supervise the project as soon as the Specialist arrives," Agito replied.
"Specialist Schnee should arrive this afternoon," James said. "But before that Olympus, I would like for you to accompany me for one final thing tonight," he told his Guyver ally.
"Is this about your alliance with Professor Ozpin?" Agito inquired.
"Yes, and I feel it would be better having you know about what it is we are fighting against," James told Agito.
"Very well," Agito agreed before taking a look at his report. "If you do not mind General, I believe it would also be for the best that we have Sho Fukamachi with us," he told James.
"Why do you say that?" James asked, curious as to why Agito was interested in letting Sho in on something very classified.
"If the threat you suspect is as great as you believe, then it would be in our benefit to have two Guyvers know what it is that we fighting against," Agito explained to the General.
James silently considered Agito's proposal. On one hand, having two warriors with powers that were far beyond anything he had ever seen, especially with Sho's Gigantic Guyver form, would be beneficial when he considered what they were up against. However, there was also the fact that Sho was one of Ozpin's students, meaning that he would be overstepping his boundaries if he tried to get Sho involved.
Not that it had stopped the Atlas General before given how he had talked to the Vale Council over how Ozpin had been very hands off when dealing with major threats. The fact that a White Fang sect had established its presence in Vale should have been the first warning bell for Ozpin, but the man had ignored it. While it was his men that failed to prevent the infiltration into the Vale CCT, James still found the fact the tower did not have a security group, not even a civilian contracted security guard, so naturally he felt the need to provide security for the tower. The incident that was known as the Breach however was the most alarming because despite how the creatures of Grimm were dealt with by the combined might of the students, the Atlesian Knights, and Sho's Gigantic Guyver, it was a coordinated attack committed by Roman Torchwick and the White Fang as Roman would constantly tell him after his capture and imprisonment.
All of this could have been prevented if Ozpin had been more decisive, at least that's what General Ironwood told himself after he had gone to the council so that he would take charge in providing security for the people during the Vytal Festival.
"Do you believe he would be willing to help?" James asked Agito.
"Fukamachi's trust in Ozpin has been wavering for quite some time, but I know that he will help if it means protecting those who are innocent," Agito told the General. "I have no doubt that he would be on our side when the time comes," he added.
James let out a sigh of relief when Agito told him that. It eased his mind that he had someone he could trust to stand by his side at these crucial times. Ever since he arrived in Vale, the Atlas General could sense that Ozpin and Glynda were holding a degree of distain toward him. Many times, Ozpin would tell him how his army would cause more trouble than relief. However, James could not shake off the feeling that something horrible was going to happen. Glynda would say that the man was just being paranoid and that he should trust Ozpin because of all of his experience. Yet, James found it harder to trust Ozpin when the man would constantly shoot down his advice and Glynda's condescending attitude toward him had hurt him deeply.
"Very well," James finally said. "You are dismissed Zeus," he told Agito.
"Sir," Agito saluted before taking his leave.
Later that afternoon
After, barely, managing to get Russel to calm down and far away from Neptune so as to prevent the resident Zoanoid from going through with his threat of severe mutilation, Sho decided to take flight around the floating island to clear his head. The teal Guyver hoped that the tranquility of the sky would help him and for a while it was working. It also gave Sho the chance to see everything going on below him.
"It's been close to a year since I've arrived on this world," Sho said to himself. "But it's not home," he sorrowfully added as he thought about his friends back on Earth.
Sadly, Sho's musing was cut short when he heard gunfire. He flew down, worried that something was happening. Once he was low enough to make out the appearances of everyone, Sho spotted two adults engaged in a battle against each other. One of them was a male wielding a large sword that had a gun attachment while the other was a young woman whose appearance reminded Sho of Weiss. The woman was fighting with a saber in her right hand, and was evading the gunfire. But Sho's focus shifted when he noticed the large crowd of people gathering around to watch this fight.
"If one of those shots were to miss…" Sho stopped himself from continuing that sentence and rushed forward to put an end to this.
The two combatants were about to lock blades as they rushed toward each other.
"Take her down Uncle Qrow!" Ruby cheered as the dark-haired man was her uncle and mentor Qrow Branwen.
Weiss, who was standing next to Ruby was shocked to find out that the man who just insulted her beloved sister was her partner's uncle. However, that did not stop her from cheering on her older sister.
"Teach him respect Winter!" Weiss called out to her sister.
Just before Qrow and Winter's blades clashed, two armored figures appeared right in front of them. Winter tried to stop her attack when she noticed the dark purple armored being standing five feet in front of her.
"Lieutenant Olympus!" Winter said loudly as she got closer to the dark Guyver.
Guyver 3 stood his ground as he caught the elder Schnee sibling by her shoulders. The two skidded a few inches before coming to a complete stop.
As for Qrow, the armored figure in front of him was not as considerate. The blade on his left arm lengthen and bent outward just as Qrow reached him. The younger Guyver quickly cut the blade of Qrow's sword off, much to his shock before he was grabbed by the throat.
Ruby and Weiss were at first stunned to see Sho and Olympus appear suddenly, but their expressions turned to horror as Sho grabbed Qrow by the throat and lifted the older man off his feet.
"I don't know who you are, but starting a fight with civilians around is not a good way of getting on my good side," Sho told the man he was currently choking.
"Sho, stop!" Ruby cried out as she approached her friend. "That's my Uncle," she told him.
"And what exactly was he doing, attacking an Atlas Specialist?" Agito asked with Winter standing behind him.
"He had provoked me and damaged Atlas property," Winter answered, regaining her composure that Qrow has manage to break with his callous attitude toward her and the Atlas Military.
"That's…not…" Qrow tried to speak, but Sho only tightened his grip.
"You keep your mouth shut," Sho told the man before turning his attention to Ruby and Weiss. "Is this true?" he asked the girls.
"Uh…" Ruby wasn't sure since she wasn't there to see the whole thing.
"My sister is correct," Weiss answered. "That man had damaged the Knights that were with us, insulted my sister in order to provoke her into attacking him," she told Sho.
"Damaging military equipment and provoking military personnel are serious offenses," Agito said as he looked at the damaged gun-sword on the ground. "I should assume that given the remains of your weapon, you are a huntsman," he continued talking.
"Y..yeah…" Qrow managed to cough out one word.
"So, why is that you saw fit to antagonize an ally during an event that is supposed to represent the unity of the four kingdoms?" Agito asked the choking huntsman, managing to get a good number of the people around them to talk amongst themselves. "After all, the conflict between the kingdoms ended a long time ago, so any grudges should have been buried," he added. "Or are you just some arrogant huntsman who believes he is better than a military force composed of normal people who simply want to help protect the innocent despite not having what it takes to become a huntsman?" he asked, once again getting several people to start considering that the Atleasian military isn't so bad.
"Perhaps this should be discussed in a more private area," a familiar voice said from behind the two Guyvers and Winter.
The large crowd made way for Ozpin, Glynda, and James to make their way toward the six people in the middle of the crowd. While Ozpin's face betrayed no emotions, Glynda and James were not happy with the disruption that was caused by this incident. Winter stood at attention once she saw her commander approaching while Sho and Agito simply looked at the three approaching. Qrow tried to break free of Sho's grip but had no luck while Ruby and Weiss tried to avoid Glynda's watchful gaze.
"Mr. Fukamachi, would you be so kind as to release Mr. Branwen," Ozpin requested.
Sho did not reply nor did he immediately comply to the request. Instead he turned his attention back to Qrow.
"I'm only going to give you this one warning," Sho kept his grip on Qrow's throat for a bit longer. "If I ever find out that you put another innocent person's life in danger again, I…will kill you," he told Qrow before throwing the drunk man toward Ozpin.
Qrow let out a yell before he landed face first onto the cement, right in front of Ozpin's feet. Sho and Ozpin locked gazes at one another as Sho's armor retracted alongside Agito's, much to the amazement of the people watching.
However, Sho's focus was on Ozpin and him alone. While it felt like an hour, it was only seconds before Sho turned around and walked away from the Beacon headmaster, ignoring his combat teacher telling him to stay put so that the matter would be fully resolved.
"Let him go Glynda," Ozpin told his assistant. "He will be come to us once he has calmed down," he assured her.
As Sho made his way out of the large crowd, Mercury had watched the whole thing and the realization was slowly dawning upon that this armor summon kid might be more trouble than he's worth if he was willing to attack one of Ozpin's top agents.
'And Cinder wants this guy on our side,' Mercury thought to himself as he snuck out to report back to his boss.