Real Steel: Remnant League
Chap 8
"Again, no." I said, slightly irritated as Pietro and I continued working on Atom. Thankfully, Atom's core wasn't as damaged as we initially assumed. But that did not mean he didn't need repairs. Luckily, Pietro had all the necessary tools with him. Although, it was taking longer to finish our task as the others kept bugging us.
"Oh, come on. Can't you make an exception, Jaune?" Yang asked. "I, I mean we, really want to see a live Real Steel tournament and even get to fight in it. Heck, I'll settle for a low-tier tournament."
"Yang, all the WRB tournaments are over for the year. All that's left are the small ones the handlers host. And those are not at all suitable for beginners. Nearly all the handlers that attend have a couple of years of experience. You and the others only got your bots recently. Plus, you still need permission from Glynda or the headmaster to go to one of them."
"Indeed." Glynda said with a glare that told Yang and the others she would not give them permission under any circumstance.
"How long have you been a handler, Mr. Arc?" Winter asked, curious.
"I was eight when I got my first bot and had my first match. But I became an official handler when I turned ten." I answered.
"How many tournaments have you won?" Glynda asked.
"Around twelve or thirteen WRB tournaments. As for unofficial ones, I lost count."
"Wow. I didn't expect there to be so many WRB tournaments." Winter said, surprised.
"The WRB loves its tournaments and tries to host as many as possible. And since Real Steel is now legal, I'm sure the number is going to increase. But if you're talking about championships, then only four. The first one was against Twin Cities. The second one was against Zeus. And the two afterward were title defense matches."
"How did you enter the WRB, Jaune?" Ruby asked.
"Scouts."
"Huh?"
"At nearly every fighting event, official and unofficial, tournament style or underground, there are people who watch the matches to see if any handler and their bot are capable of fighting in the big leagues. If you impress them enough, they will enter you into the league."
"And I'm guessing Finn or the guy that's burnt was the scout that got you in?" Blake asked.
"The burnt guy's name is Archie. But, no. Neither of them got me into the WRB."
"Then, who did, Jaune?" Ren asked, curious.
"I don't know her name. All I know is that she approached me after Atom's fight at one of the tournaments a handler hosted. That WRB tournament was the match where Atom faced off against Twin Cities. After that, I never saw her again."
"I wonder if one day our bot can compete against some of the WRB bots." Nora wondered.
"How about we stick with the basics." Ren suggested.
"I think that would be a good idea." I agreed, recalling how my team and Team Rwby struggled to grasp the basics of making their bot walk properly.
"Alright. And we're done." Pietro said as we set aside our tools. I then closed Atom's back and front before grabbing his controller while Pietro activated Atom. It took a moment, but Atom snapped to attention almost instantly.
"Welcome back to the land of the living, Atom. How do you feel?" I asked as I had him stand up from the table. He looked around for a bit before settling his attention on me. "That's good."
"Hey, Jaune. We're back." Miltia said as she, Melanie, Neo, and Pyrrha returned. The trio had a proud smirk on their faces while Pyrrha was blushing furiously. Yet, she was smiling nonetheless.
"Is everything alright, Pyrrha?" I asked, worried.
"Y-yes. Everything is f-fine, Jaune." She stuttered. But I didn't believe her. However, before I could ask again, Neo tapped my shoulder to get my attention.
"Yes?"
'Um, isn't Atom's core supposed to be a light green?' Confused, I turned to Atom and realized his core and eyes were now a bright yellow-green.
"That's odd."
"Has that happened before, Arc?" Weiss asked with Glynda, Winter, and the others now worried.
"Yes. When I first activated Atom after I found him, his core was a very light green, almost white. But once I finished charging Atom, his core returned to its normal light green color."
"Have him lie back down, Jaune. Let me have a closer look." Pietro said before turning to Penny. "Penny."
"Yes, father."
"Bring me, my energy reader. I want to see something."
"At once, father." Penny said before running out of the room and returning a few seconds later with a strange device. "Here you go, father."
"Thanks, Penny."
"Come on, Atom. Let's make sure everything is alright." I said as I had him sit on the table again.
Pietro then moved to open Atom's back hatch. I was about to turn him off, but Pietro stopped me and explained that to get an accurate reading with his device, Atom needed to remain online. Nodding, I set down Atom's remote before stepping back. Pietro then picked up the device, activated it, and used it to scan Atom. But as soon as he did, the device lit up like Vale does during the Vytal Festival.
"That's interesting." Pietro said as he turned off the device.
"What's interesting, father?" Penny asked.
"According to the readings, Atom's levels are off the chart. It's almost as if something supercharged his core."
"Do you know what could have caused it, Mr. Polendina?" Winter asked.
"I have no idea. This is a first."
"Do we have to worry about it exploding or severely damaging Jaune's robot?" Glynda asked.
"I doubt it. The readings indicate that the new energy levels are not overwhelming Atom's systems. But just to be safe, I'll install a limiter and an emergency shutdown." Pietro answered as he grabbed the necessary tools. "If that's okay with you, Jaune."
"If it means that Atom will be safe, then sure." I answered.
"Okay." Pietro said as he started working. "And once I finish with Atom, I'll get to work on upgrading everyone else's bots."
"Mr. Polendina." Glynda said, getting his attention.
"Yes?"
"Do you think you can install some sort of emergency kill switch in Team Rwby and Team Jnpr's bot?"
"Yes, I can do that. But would you like to have them in their bots controllers or on a separate device like your scroll?"
"Can you do both? One on my scroll and one on a separate device, so I have a backup."
"Of course." He answered as he finished installing the limiter and emergency shut-off switch into Atom. "Now, who's robot is up first?"
Three Hours Later
"Okay, and done." Pietro said as he put away his tools. He then grabbed a small remote and Glynda's scroll. "Everything is on here. All you need to do is enter a simple command, and your students' bots will instantly shut down. I will send you the code later. And this is the backup."
"Thank you, Mr. Polendina." Glynda said, taking her scroll and the remote.
"Can you show us what new features you added to our bots?" Yang asked excitedly.
"Actually." Winter interjected. "Mr. Arc will have to do so when you all return to Beacon as Mr. Polendina has an important meeting he must attend in a few moments."
"Right; thank you for reminding me, Mrs. Schnee." Pietro said before turning to Penny. "Come, Penny. We need you for this meeting."
"Coming, father." Penny said as she and Pietro left the room.
"Allow me to escort the rest of you to your vehicles." Winter said.
"Thank you, Winter." Glynda said.
Winter let out a small smile before motioning for us to follow her. I quickly grabbed Atom's controller and had him follow us. But since the helpers had already left, I had to give my team, Team Rwby, the twins, and Neo a brief rundown on how to operate their bots. Thankfully, they got the hang of it quickly, and we were able to leave the room and follow Winter out of the building. Once we exited the place, I realized that we had left behind the containers, and without them, there was a high probability the bots could fall on us as we traveled to the airstrip. Luckily, I didn't need to worry about that, as Winter had some Atlas Soldiers bring down the boxes. And with a bit of help from Glynda, we managed to get the robots in their storage units and on the vehicles in less than ten minutes. Afterward, we got on with some Atlas Personnel getting into the driver's seat and taking us to the airstrip. Although, I did wonder why Miltia, Melanie, Neo, and Pyrrha boarded the other truck. But I wasn't going to complain as I wanted to keep an eye on Atom to ensure he was alright.
"Hopefully, everything is alright, Atom." I hoped.
"Mr. Arc." Glynda said, getting my attention along with the others. The others are Ruby, Yang, Nora, Ren, and Winter. Winter had come along to ensure that we arrived at the airstrip safely and to talk with Weiss once we got there. But I had an inkling she wanted to ask me a few questions as I remembered that Weiss said she and her sister were big Real Steel fans.
"Yes?"
"Where do you store all your bots?"
"I own a gym my grandfather gave me a while ago. I keep all my bots there when I'm not using them. And if I have an upcoming match, I keep the bot I will use in my truck."
"How many bots in total do you own?" Winter asked. "I know you have Atom, Noisy Boy, Zeus, Ambush, and Twin Cities."
"Currently, I only have those five. I used to have a few others, but I had to scrap them as they became obsolete. I tried to salvage them but got nothing."
"How did you get into Real Steel in the first place, Jaune?" Yang asked.
"My family and I used to watch a couple of WRB tournaments whenever we had a chance. And I always had a fascination with robots and fighting in general."
"Is that why you wanted to become a huntsman?" Glynda asked.
"No. I wanted to protect people. And if I learn a useful fighting technique I could use for Real Steel, well, that is just a bonus."
"That's admirable." Winter said.
"Jaune." Ruby said, getting my attention.
"Yes, Rubes."
"Why did the Twins and the transfer student's bot look so human-like?"
"They are early generation 3. The very beginning to be exact, which also happened to be the time when most handlers and creators started moving away from life-like to flashy."
"How many generations are there?" Ren asked.
"We only recently entered the fourth generation of bots. But generations don't really mean anything, to be honest, as they are just a number. Even if we enter a new generation of bot building, handlers will still build robots from previous generations."
"Do you know why they started out looking similar to humans?" Nora asked.
"And how did Real Steel begin?" Glynda asked.
"Those two things actually tie in with each other." I answered. "But anyway. The reason why Real Steel took off was because the money moved on. And the reason for that was that the people wanted more carnage and action. While huntsmen and huntresses could give the people what they wanted, it was too expensive, and they could use their skills to protect the people rather than provide them with a show. So, after some debate and looking, the founders stumbled upon what they thought could be the answer to their prayers."
"And what was that?" Yang asked.
"It was the Robot Combat League. In some ways, you could say it is the predecessor to Real Steel. People would use a suit to control robots they built to fight."
"Is it still ongoing?" Winter asked.
"There is the occasional tournament. But there are far fewer as it has fallen out of favor to Real Steel."
"Have you ever participated in it?" Ren asked.
"Twice. The first time was to help someone test a new exoskeleton, and the other was to act as a warmup for the champion."
"So you have been surrounded by robots nearly all your life." Glynda said.
"Pretty much."
"Do they pay well, Jaune?" Nora asked.
"Initially, no. However, that's only because you have to pay for certain expenses, and newcomers don't make much. But after a few good matches and a few victories, your payout increases to the point where you can live comfortably off the income you earn from fights."
After that, the others did not ask any more questions about Real Steel. I was thankful for this as I wanted to keep an eye on Atom. After about an hour, we reached the airstrip with the Atlas personnel taking the containers off the trucks and loading them onto the bullhead. Although, before I could get on, Pyrrha pulled me to the side and handed me my motion sickness pills. I smiled before taking them and thanking her. We then boarded the bullhead once the Atlas soldiers finished securing our bots. But I wasn't surprised when Neo and the Twins grabbed me and forced me to sit between Miltia and Neo. Yet, I didn't miss the longing glance Pyrrha sent our way.
'Hopefully, everything is alright. But I'll ask her again when we get back to Beacon.' I thought as I felt Miltia and Neo snuggle into me.
Two Hours Later
Beacon Academy
"Mr. Arc." Glynda said as we got off the bullhead after arriving at Beacon Academy.
"Yes?" I asked while looking toward the Atlas Personnel as they conversed with some helpers I hired to bring my bots back to my gym.
"Please come with me to the headmaster's office. There is something we need to discuss regarding your status as the Real Steel champion."
"Okay."
"Do you want us to come with you?" Pyrrha asked.
"It'll be okay, Pyrrha." I said with a smile. She smiled and nodded before running off with the others. But as she left, I made a mental note to talk to her later. And possibly plan some time together as we hadn't been able to in a while. Hopefully, the Twins and Neo don't ruin it. Although, I am still curious about what they discussed with Pyrrha when we were at Pietro's lab, as they were gone for over an hour.
Headmaster's Office
"Mr. Arc. Do you know why I had Glynda bring you here?" Ozpin asked as he took a sip of his coffee.
"No." I stuttered.
"Well, as you know, everyone in Beacon and some other academies know you are the Real Steel Champion. This would mean you have extensive knowledge and experience controlling bots, right?"
"Yes."
"And you know each team now has a bot of their own, correct?"
"Yes." I answered as I felt like I knew where Ozpin was heading.
"To keep it simple, it has come to my attention that most of the students are having trouble controlling their bots. And to prevent any future injuries or mishaps, I would like you to tutor them."
"Oh." I said, slightly surprised. But it did make sense that Ozpin would choose me to tutor the other students.
"I know this is sudden, but the sooner the students understand how to control their bots, the better. Plus, we plan on having future tournaments here at Beacon between the teams and eventually the teams of other Academies."
'Sudden is an understatement.' I thought. "Yeah, that makes sense."
"We are willing to compensate you for any expenses that may arise should you agree, plus some extra lien for helping the school."
'Okay, so I won't have to worry about paying for any damages that occur to the bots. And some additional lien is always nice.' I thought, going over everything before answering. "Alright. I'll help everyone learn to control their bots."
"Thank you, Mr. Arc." Ozpin said before opening his desk's drawer and pulling out a paper and pen. "Now, please sign this so this can be official."
"Okay." I said as I signed the paper. "When should I start?"
"It is Thursday, so I would say Saturday we can begin. That way, I can inform the other students and give them time. The classes would be on the weekends to not cause chaos with everyone's schedule. Also, for the next few weeks, you will be teaching them outside in the front courtyard. I have some people renovating a room you will use when the weather outside is unfavorable." Ozpin answered.
"But will you be willing to teach some of the students at your gym, Mr. Arc?" Glynda interjected, surprising Ozpin.
"I would need to make a few calls to get some others to help me transport the bots, but yeah, I can teach them at my gym." I answered.
"Is it far?" Ozpin asked.
"Not that far from the airstrip we use to get to Beacon."
"Very well. I believe that covers everything we need to discuss. Again, thank you for helping us, Mr. Arc." Ozpin said, getting up. Nodding, I got up and exited the room.
"Well, that was certainly something. I should contact Finn and see if he knows someone who could help me train the others or at least help transport the bots. I wonder how my team and Team Rwby will react to this." I said as I walked toward my dorm. But after a few steps, I felt a sudden weight on my back. I didn't need to guess to know it was Neo on my back as the familiar scent of her perfume filled my nostrils. And the subtle tightening of her arms around my neck told me she wasn't going to get off. Yet, I wasn't planning on asking her as my mind had drifted back to something else. And that was Atom, as I was still unsure what caused his core to glow. 'Hopefully, it's nothing serious. Wait. Could my aura have caused it?'