Chapter 9
"Begin!"
Pyrrha rushed forward trying to close the distance and nullify Penny's range advantage. The crowd went wild.
Meanwhile Ruby was panicking, her fists were clenched as she rushed through the crowd, constantly scanning for Emerald.
This is a horrible matchup, polarity only means bad things for electronics and Pyrrha doesn't know how easily she could hurt Penny.
The crowds cheered again as Pyrrha danced through Penny's sword barrage. Ruby still couldn't see the bright green hair of her target.
Did Mercury figure it out from their duel? But that still doesn't explain how they know about Penny.
She was missing something and didn't have the time to figure it out. The battle continued as she rushed from row to row. Where is she? Where?
Pyrrha grunted as she rolled along the hard surface of the arena. The duel was one of the toughest she'd ever had to participate in. Penny was a monster on the battlefield. The control she had over her swords meant she never had a moment's respite. Her ability couldn't have been anything other than a ridiculously powerful semblance or she was just plain inhuman. The jury was still out on which it was.
Pyrrha rolled as another sword impaled the ground. She needed to turn the tide and quickly. Pyrrha rushed to the side and focused, drawing on her Semblance to affect the flying swords.
What the? Are they connected and controlled by cables? That just makes it even more confusing. Is her Semblance some kind of Polarity like mine? Is hers stronger?
Pyrrha ducked under another blade and slashed out, severing the blade from its cord. It cranked uselessly to the ground. She moved before more of the swords could attack.
So not a Semblance like mine. She could have just picked the blade up again. Does it require a direct connection?
Pyrrha let loose several shots from her rifle as she ran around the arena. Penny brought several of her blades around to deflect each shot.
Pyrrha charged in once again, jumping over and ducking under swords and lasers. She lashed out with Miló only for another sword to appear and deflect her attack. Pyrrha spun to the side and slashed again, removing another sword from the girl's arsenal.
It was… exhilarating! Pyrrha had never faced such an opponent before. It had been a very long time since she had faced such a challenge. Her determination never wavered however, she was world-renowned, she was The Invincible Girl. She had her own pride as a fighter on the line.
Pyrrha pushed herself, she blocked several strikes and managed to relieve Penny of two more swords in the process. Penny gained some distance and then opened fire.
Pyrrha yelped as her Aura took a dive, her shield could only block so many of the lasers. She pushed through and chased after Penny, she released a roar as she lanced out with her spear, scoring a glancing blow.
She spun and launched her shield as Penny pulled back. It slammed into a wall of swords and bounced back towards Pyrrha. She jumped on top of it and flung herself over the wall. Using her momentum she brought her sword around and stabbed downwards. Penny took several small cuts before she ducked and sent her weapons towards Pyrrha.
Akoúo̱ bounced back off the ground and into Pyrrha's hands in time to deflect the incoming attacks. She hit the ground with a grunt and a roll before she came up into a kneeling position and opened fire. Penny took a few hits before her swords could intercept the bullets.
Penny was suddenly pulled back as the cords connecting her to two swords were reeled in. She planted the swords into the ground when she ducked.
Pyrrha went to give chase when she stopped in fear. Penny's swords had started to multiply. A dozen. Two. A hundred? Three? Pyrrha's heartbeat in terror. She pulled on her Semblance, she just had to deflect the swords back!
The swords descended.
Pyrrha huddled into a ball behind her shield.
Several swords slammed into her shield and sent her skidding across the ground near the edge of the ring.
She stood panting. Sweat dripped down her face. I was right. It was an illusion. She breathed a sigh of relief.
And then Penny came barrelling towards her. Swords continued to appear out of nowhere. She had to rely on her semblance to tell her which were real and which weren't, but she wasn't sure how long it would be before Emerald managed to get one up on her. She had to end this fight soon. So she did the only thing she could.
She went right for Penny.
Pyrrha's Aura tanked as she forwent defence entirely to make it as fast as she could to Penny. She thrust her spear out one more time.
It was deflected.
Several more swords slammed into her and sent her flying back. Pyrrha rolled and tried to stop her momentum. She jumped onto her feet, right on the edge. She turned back in time for Penny to slam her feet right into Pyrrha's gut.
Pyrrha went flying off of the arena.
The crowd was roaring. Some in anger and some in joy. Whatever the reason they all called out loud and clear.
The fight had been incredible. At least to them.
Ruby cursed internally as she walked back to JNPR's seats. She hadn't found Emerald and something was definitely strange about how Pyrrha had fought.
She was definitely under the effects of Emerald's Semblance, but where was she?
Jaune gave her a smile as she sat down next to him. Pyrrha may have lost, but Cinder hadn't won, that was the most important thing.
A few minutes later Pyrrha joined them, seemingly frustrated but also content.
"I wanted to win, especially because of how strong Penny was. But they got in the way. I don't think Penny was aware."
"We could have told her. I'm sure she would have helped." Jaune said as he gave Pyrrha a sports drink.
"We could have. But as much as I trust Penny, she would have probably told Ironwood. And you know what the deal was." Ruby replied.
"True I guess. Either way, they don't have many fights left before the tournament is over."
"I couldn't find Emerald. I'm starting to wonder if we misinterpreted the power of her semblance."
"What do you mean?" Ren asked.
"We assumed she had to be here in the Colosseum to affect her target, but she might not have to. If her Semblance can affect people through a live feed she could be anywhere on Remnant."
Jaune gulped. "Do you think it's that strong?"
"No, I don't. But we can't rule out the possibility. She's somewhere. We should keep an eye out."
"Gotcha. They're sure to be on the back foot now that their plan has failed, we should try to find them as soon as possible."
They split up and began to search the Colosseum. Ruby hoped they could find them before they did anything else.
Two hours later and no sign of Cinder or Emerald. The tournament had continued without a hitch. The final match had been between Penny and another Atlas student. Penny had replenished her swords and her opponent didn't manage to disable any of them.
Penny had won, easily.
Ruby and JNPR met up once again in defeat as Ozpin and Ironwood stepped onto the arena for the final speech.
"We congratulate Penny Polendina for her success in this year's Vytal Festival Tournament. We would like to also thank every competitor and all of you who have come out today to spectate the final day of the festival!" Ozpin spoke calmly into a microphone, the video showing a bright smile on his face.
"The Vytal Festival and its Tournament are a celebration of the peace and prosperity we have all been granted thanks to the hard work of those who came before us."
Ruby watched intently, waiting for something to go wrong, with a hand on Crescent Rose.
Ironwood seemed to jump and turn to look at Ozpin, who continued his speech unawares.
"Through the combined efforts of all four Kingdoms, we continue to train Huntsmen and Huntresses who protect us all." Ironwood drew his gun. Ruby's eyes widened. "As long as humanity is united the Grimm shall never extinguish us! Together we can-"
A shot rang out
Professor Ozpin, Headmaster of Beacon Academy fell to the ground, a bullet piercing through the back of his head and flying out the front.
A moment of shocked silence passed before the crowd screamed.
Ironwood looked like he had shut down.
Ruby was frozen in horror.
The Atlesian Knights opened fire on the crowd.
The attack had begun.
A/N: A perfectly normal end to the Vytal Festival Tournament. Nope, nothing strange or out of the ordinary here! Definitely no leaders of foreign countries shooting a local figure due to hallucinations or anything. At least Pyrrha didn't kill Penny this time around. Too bad Cinder isn't so focused on revenge that she can come up with back up plans. Poor Oz though, he never saw it coming(Insert Persona 5 music here).
I hope you enjoyed and I'll see you next time.