Darkness Falls

The Vytal Festival Begins


There'll be no rest

There'll be no love

There'll be no hero in the end

Who will rise above

~ When It Falls (Volume 3 Opening)


The crowd cheered in the stands of Amity Colosseum as the Vytal Tournament went underway. Down in the arena, half covered in volcanic earth and half covered in icy glaciers, two teams battled it out for victory. Ruby Rose swung Crescent Rose around her body, firing off a few shots at her opponent. Behind her, Blake backflipped to dodge a strike from her opponent, the blades of her Gambol Shroud making contact with a black and green hoverboard. Weiss Schnee spun gracfeully on the ice field, waving Myrtenaster, sending a blast of ice towards her opponent. Yang Xiao Long dodged an explosive strike from her opponent and with a grin on her face, fired back using her Ember Celica.

High above the field in the commentator booth, Peter Port and Bartholomew Oobleck sat at the mics, the screen behind them displaying the four kingdoms' symbols united as one. "Oh my!" Port exclaimed with chuckle. "It seems that we have another astonishing bout ahead of us! Wouldn't you agree, Professor?" he turned to his collegue and friend.

"Doctor." Oobleck corrected. "And yes Peter, I think it's safe to say this match may be one of the closest we've seen of the four-on-four round of the tournament!"

"For those of you just now joining us, welcome to the Vytal Festival Tournament, broadcast live from the Amity Colosseum!" Peter announced to the audience viewing the tournament from their respective kingdoms. "If this is your first time watching, allow us to break down the rules."

"The tournament is divided into three distinctive rounds; teams, doubles, and singles." Oobleck explained. "Age and school year are irrelevant! In this tournament, your only attribute being tested is skill."

"The winners of this battle will elect two of their members to represent them in the doubles round, followed by the winners of that round choosing one member to advance once again." Port added. "The remaining combatants will then fight their way through the final bracket in the hope of achieving victory for their kingdom!"

Oobleck pushed up his glasses and nodded in agreement with his fellow Huntsman. "These certainly are some spectacular spectacles on which to spectate on. I don't think anyone tuning in around the world is going to disagree with me on that!"

"Indeed Barty." Port chuckled. "Before we get back to the fight at hand, a quick recap of the previous fight."

The screen behind the two professors displayed the kingdom symbols of Atlas and Mistral, before showing footage of the previous bout. "Now that was a fight for the tournament history books." Oobleck commented. "Atlas' senior Team GOLD was a kingdom favorite to win the tournament, but I don't think anybody expected the upset that happened."

"Yes. Haven's freshmen Team KNGT was brilliant in that bout." Port continued. "Indeed no one would've guessed that they would win. No doubt Headmaster Lionheart is proud, given how it ended with the two team leaders fighting for the final victory."

The screen replayed a one-on-one fight with Koalina Belladonna and Grayson Sleet, their weapons clashing. "Yes, after an intense divide and conquer tactic, the victor was decided when the the team leaders went head-to-head." Oobleck informed over the battle footage.

Grayson wielded a large, pale blue staff embedded with Water and Ice Dust Crystals. A light mist filled the arena when it made contact with Koa's glaive, powered by Fire Dust. Once the mist cleared, Koa was on her knees while Grayson was down for the count, his Aura completly depleated. "With just the bare minimum of Aura remaining, Team KNGT's leader, Koalina Belladonna, won the fight."

"Is there another chance for victory for Haven?" Port arched his eyebrow, resting his elbow by the microphone. "Let's see, as we get back to the match between Haven's Team ABRN and Beacon's Team RWBY."


Standing in the audience area, Selena Schade watched the match unfold. As a professor from Haven Academy, she made mental notes on Team ABRN's way of going about the fight, but she also kept her eyes on Team RWBY, interested in how they counterattacked.

Selena opened her scroll to her recent messages and tapped on the contact name at the top of the list.

Me

sent secs ago.

MSG: Your girls are holding their own out there. They might actually win this fight, ya think? Not saying you should count my students out yet. ;)

She smirked and closed her scroll, focusing her attention back on the fight.


Yang and Arslan are both thrown back from their head-to-head attack. Yang regained her footing and went in for another blow, but Arslan flipped away then used her rope dart to tangle up the blonde's leg and landed a kick of her own, sending Yang skidding across the icy ground. Nearby, Nadir Shiko aimed his assault rifle at Yang before a sudden burst of frosty blue exploded behind him, trapping him in ice up to his thighs.

"Got your back, sis!" Ruby shouted, lowering her weapon and smiling at her older sister.

"But who's got yours?" the voice of Bolin Hori taunted, standing behind the young girl, twirling his staff. Suddenly, a black snowflake glyph appeared near the yellow-clad and Weiss kicked him through it.

"My BFF!" Ruby answered the question with a grin.

Weiss shook her head, "No." she deadpanned, her rapier clashing with Bolin's staff.

Bolin crouched low, his staff angled behind him as he faced off against the young heiress. Another glyph appeared behind Weiss, which her partner used to launch herself into the air. Ruby spun her scythe as she came down, which the Haven student blocked with his weapon. She pulled the trigger, blasting away from her opponent and landing beside her teammate.

With a smirk, Bolin rushed at the pair of Beacon Students, dodging their attacks and landing in the volcanic section of the arena. Using his staff, he knocked off a shard of the orange crystals around the area, tossing it to his teammate, Reese Chloris. She gave a thumbs up to her teammate and fused the Dust crystal with her hoverboard, the green lights turning orange. With a wink to Blake, she mounted her board and used it to melt the ice around Nadir's legs.

"Thanks Reese!" Nadir bumped fists with his teammate before she circled back to her Faunus opponent.


Up in the stands, Selena smiled. "Nice use of teamwork." she noted to herself. Her scroll vibrated and she checked the messages.

Qrow B.

sent 2 mins ago

MSG: Not half bad, but pretty sure my girls will win. Care to make a bet?

Before she could type a reply, a buzzing sound rang through the sound system and Selena glanced up at the large screen displaying both teams and each member's Aura level, a red 'X' now over Reese's image.

"Reese Chloris is eliminated by ringout and Aura level!" Port commentated from the booth.

"Oh, she really should've worn a helmet." Oobleck noted a few seconds later.

Selena winced, her scroll vibrating in her hand again with a new message from her old partner.

Qrow B.

sent a minute ago.

MSG: Double whammy, sorry Princess.

The blonde rolled her eyes and just messaged back an emotion with a slightly annoyed expression before turning her attention back to the fight. Arslan had freed her remaining teammates from the ice encasement, all three standing together.

Team RWBY used their teamwork to launch a finishing blow; Weiss created a sloped wall of ice, which Yang skated over using blasts from her gauntlest, catching the ribbon of Blake's pistol as the Faunus girl jumped onto their team leader's scythe, who used it to launch the pair forward. Blake whipped Yang forward, who delivered a high-powered punch to the remaining members of Team ABRN, sending them flying out of the ring.

Selena couldn't help but smile as the four girls cheered amongst themselves for their victory. She clapped along with the rest of the audiance, genuinely happy for Team RWBY's victory, even if it meant a loss for her own school.


Selena grabbed her large drink and pretzel order from the Amity concession stand, thanking the vendor before walking back to the arena. "Some interesting fights so far." James Ironwood noted as he joined his friend in the hall.

"Yep." Selena replied, popping the 'p'. "You're not upset that one of my freshmen teams beat your school's favorite to win the tournament, are ya?" She arched her brow and giggled, taking a bite of her pretzel.

"Not personally, but I am sure some other Atlas faculty are." James answered. "You're not upset that a Haven team lost that last match, are you?"

Selena shook her head, "Ya win some, ya lose some." she reminded, leaning into the railing above a row of seats. "I'm actually glad to see Ruby and her team progress. They're all talented Huntresses-in-training." The blonde sipped her drink. "This next Beacon team seems promising too." She pointed to the screen above the arena, depicting the next teams to fight. Team JNPR of Beacon and Team BRNZ of Shade Academy.


Down in the seats below, Team RWBY cheered on their friends, with Team KNGT behind them, also cheering for the Beacon team. Team KNGT collectively winced when they saw Nolan weapon make contact with Nora's abdomen.

"What?" Nova questioned wide-eyed, catching the redhead down below grinning as though the electricity didn't phase her.

"Just wait." Yang chuckled. "You'll see.

"Looks like one of my favorite students, Nora Valkyrie, is charging up to use her Semblance!" Port informed over the commentary system.

"Ms. Valkyrie's Semblance lets her produce, as well as channel, electrical energy straight to her muscles." Oobleck explained. "This allows her to jump explosively into the air, wield her mighty hammer, or in this case, absorb Nolan's attacks and send the young man flying!"

"Damn." Koa and Tyro both muttered in unison.

Nora flexed her arms as pink lightning sparked from her Aura, her fists clutching the hilt of her hammer. She swung and sent Nolan bouncing across the field, crashing through a rock and out of sight from everyone.

"Ohh, that's gotta hurt." Gunny winced.

"Okay, kinda glad we didn't go up against them in the team vs team rounds." Nova added, crossing her legs. "That chick is a little scary."

Tyro glanced to his red-haired teammate, "Nove, you can be just as scary when you're in the heat of battle." he informed, the other two members of Team KNGT nodded in agreement. Nova just scoffed and folded her arms over her chest, focusing her attention back on the fight.

"Go get 'em, Jaune!" Ruby cheered from the row in front of the Haven team, pumping her fist into the air.

"Well, he's certainly improved." Weiss noted, observing how Jaune was holding his own in the fight.

"Yeah, but he ain't got nothing on Pyrrha!" Yang added.


Down in the arena, Nora made it to the top of the peak on JNPR's side of the field, raising Magnhild in the air as lightning struck, powering up once more. The sniper wielding May aimed her weapon at Nora, but the shot was blocked by Pyrrha in a split-second save. Nora switched Magnhild to its grenade-launcher mode and fired six projectiles at the Shade team's side of the field, a few trees bursting into pink flames. Nora then jumped from the peak, her weapon switching modes once more, and she slammed her hammer down in front of the three male members of BRNZ, sending them hurling back towards their teammate.

"This is it, guys! Let's finish 'em with team attacks!" Jaune called out, raising his sword. "Ren! Nora! Flower Power!"

The two partners raised their brows in confusion, "What?" the redhead asked, clearly confused.

"F-Flower Power." Jaune repeated, lowering his weapon as he faced his teammates. "That's your team attack name." Seeing the still confused looks on their faces, the blonde leader sighed heavily, "Guys, we've been over this! Flower Power is Ren and Nora. Ren brings the flower, Nora brings the power!"

The magenta-eyed male rubbed the back of his head, "How do I bring a flower?" he questioned.

"No, silly, not a flower." Nora chuckled at her partner. "Flour, like in baking."

"Why would I bring that?" Ren questioned again.

Team BRNZ shook off their disorientation from the strike and prepared themselves to counter, only to see their opponents talking amongst themselves. "Hey!" Brawnz called out. "What do you think you're doing!?"

"Trying to have a team meeting, thank you very little!" Jaune rolled his eyes and turned back to his team.

Team BRNZ exchanged confused glances and shrugs before their leader yelled out, "We're in the middle of a fight!"

Team JNPR's leader retorted in a louder, more annoyed voice, "And we're in the middle of a conversation!"

"Um, Jaune?" Pyrrha spoke calmly and softly.

"Yes, Pyrrha?" the blonde replied, still annoyed.

"I think that he means that we're all in the middle of a fight." the crimson haired warrior reminded.

Hearing the crowd's cheers Jaune realized that he and his team were fighting in the Vytal Tournament. He sighed heavily and shook his head, the hilt of Crocea Mors against hit forehead. "Nora, just...hit them with your hammer."

"Got it." Nora grinned and charged forward, knocking Team BRNZ out of the arena before they could comprehend what was happening.

"And with that, it appears Team JNPR wins by knockout, literally!" Port's voice announced over the broadcast system. "Can someone go make sure they're okay?"

From her spot, Selena couldn't hold back her laughter at how the fight ended as she applauded along with the rest of the crowd. She texted her old friend as her laughter died down.

Me.

sent secs ago

MSG: Now that was a true KO! Kinda reminds me how you and T took out those Atlas snobs when our team competed in the tournament.


In downtown Vale, at a venue known as the Crow-Bar, a lone Huntsman sat at the counter, a collection of empty glasses to his side. He had black hair with some graying streaks and wore a tattered, red cloak on the back of his two-toned grey dress shirt. He took another swig of his drink, glancing at the screen in the corner, displaying 'Team JNPR Defeats Team BRNZ!' under a clip replaying the final strike of the fight.

"Those kids weren't half bad." The bartender shrugged, wiping a glass and setting it under the counter.

The Huntsman mumbled a "Meh" as he raised his drink back to his lips. Beside him, his scroll screen lit up with a new message from a contact named 'Princess' and the picture depicted Selena, bathed in the glow of sunset with a soft smile and her blonde pigtails flowing behind her. He stared at the image for a few seconds before opening the message and reading it.

Princess.

sent a minute ago

MSG: Now that was a true KO! Kinda reminds me how you and T took out those Atlas snobs when our team competed in the tournament.

The corner of Qrow's lips turned upwards as he read the message, his eyes focusing in the contact image as he downed the rest of his drink and motioned for another.


"Vacuo fans are sure to be hurting after that one, but this next one will have them on the edge of their seats." Oobleck reported.

"Team NDGO of Shade is certainly a crowd favorite, but these lovely ladies are going against some of the toughest, testosterone-filled teammates we've seen so far. I'm of course talking about Team SSSN!" Port added, his voice barely being heard over the cheering crowd. A group of Haven students held up posters of the four boys and screamed at the top of their lungs as the team made their way to the center of the arena. "Sun Wukong and his team are certainly a force to be reckoned with, and although he'll be representing the Mistral Academy of Haven, I'm sure his friends and family back in Vacuo will be cheering him along!"

Team SSSN waved at the crowd with wide grins, the leader's growing ever wider when his eyes landed on Koa in the audience and he shot her wink with a swish of his tail. Koa simply shook her head, but returned the gesture with a friendly smile as she appaluded with the rest of the crowd.

"Now this is gonna be exciting." Tyro predicted, leaning back in his seat.

"We all know who Sun is gonna be showing off for." Nova giggled, elbowing her partner in the side with a laugh.

"Shut up." Koa rebuffed, doing the same to her firery-haired partner, her cheeks having a faint pink tint.

"Alright boys, let's see how you handle this." Selena thought to herself as she watched the holographic roulettes spin to determine the terrains for this fight. Her scroll vibrated and she checked the screen, seeing two messages appear.

Qrow B.

sent 4 mins ago

MSG: Festival's got ya gettin nostalgic, huh Princess?

sent 3 mins ago

MSG: Just from looks, I'd say Haven's bout to lose another fight.

Selena arched her brow, quickly typing back her reply.

Me.

sent secs ago

MSG: Don't count my guys out yet.


The arena was split with a desert field on NDGO's side and a tropical shipwreck on SSSN's side, much to the fear of the blue-haired male on said team.

"Uhh, what's wrong with Neptune?" Ruby asked, glancing to her new Haven friends in the row behind her.

"Well..." Koa began, her cat ears twitching. "...Neptune is kinda Aquaphobic."

"Huh?" the younger, silver eyed girl raised her brow in confusion.

"He's afraid of water." Nova, Gunny, and Tyro all clarified in unison.

"Yep." Koa confirmed.


As soon as Oobleck counted down and began the match, Neptune left his team and rushed to the large rock formation in the desert field.

"Neptune, what the hell are you doing?!" Sage called out to his teammate.

"You know...just gaining the higher ground!" Neptune replied.

"On the enemy's side?!" Sun yelled, exhasperated.

"They'd never expect it." his partner shrugged off, holding his weapon.

The dirty-blonde haired girl in a green dress shrugged her shoulders, "He's not wrong."

"Open fire!" the team leader ordered, the four girls charging ahead towards the sands. The remaining boys of Team SSSN followed shortly after.


Selena chuckled to herself as she watched the fight, keeping her eyes on the four boys from Haven. Sage and Dew fought one-on-one, his massive broadsword clashing with her spear, creating medium gusts of wind that kicked up the sand around them. Once it cleared, Sage saw Dew create three small tornadoes that swirled around him, slowly merging into one giant twister, which caught him and tossed him out of the arena.

Octavia slid in front of Sun and Scarlet, spinning her sword creating a wave of flame that kicked up more sand, temporarily blinding the male redhead. Sun jumped out of the sand cloud and called for his partner, who was still on the top of the rock formation.

Neptune jumped down from the rock and readied his weapon. The female redhead attempted to use the same tactic, but Neptune slid his goggles over his eyes and fired his weapon. Octavia blocked the blast, giving Sun the opening to deliver a kick to the side of her head.

Up in the stands, Team KNGT collectively winced at the blow their monkey Faunus friend delivered to the Shade Academy girl. Selena, however, was impressed with how they used the desert terrain to their advantage, evening the odds to three-on-three.

Dew attempted to eliminate Scarlet the same way she did Sage, but her attack only aided the male's Semblance, allowing him to glide through the air and land on mast of the shipwreck on Team SSSN's side of the arena field.

"Nice one, Scarlet." Selena praised, a smile on her face as she watched her student clash swords with Nebula and managed to knock her off the ship's mast. He then used the grappling hook from his pistol to hoist Gwen up the mast, only to narrowly avoid her knives falling from the tassets over her dress.

Sun dodged Dew's attacks, leaping across the small islands of the shipwreck field. He landed near a palm tree and an idea struck him. He knocked a couple of coconuts from tree and launched them at his opponent.

"Again, nice job using the terrain to your advantage." Selena noted. However the move backfired as Dew swung the projectiles back at the Faunus, who dodged, but his teammate was struck by both, dropping his Aura to the point of elimination. Selena winced as Scarlet hit the ground, rolling onto his stomach.

She checked the message on her scroll from Qrow, and rolled her eyes.

Qrow B.

sent secs ago

MSG: Ouch. Not sure how your kids are gonna make it out of this one, seeing as one of them is afraid of their terrain.

She quickly typed her reply, while also watching as Sun dodged attacks from the three females ganging up on him.

Me.

sent secs ago

MSG: Don't count my boys out yet.


Sun jumped out of the path of Dew's spear, while Nebula freed Gwen from the ship's mast. "Dude!" the monkey Faunus called out to his partner. "I know you're afraid of water, but you gotta-" he was cut off when a blue bolt of electricity struck Dew in midair as she came up behind him, knocking her into the water.

"There! Are you happy now!?" Neptune yelled back from the desert field. "Also, I am not afraid of water, and I have no idea what you are talking about!" he added, failing in covering up his fear that had held him back the whole duration of the fight.

Dew shook off the hit from Neptune's weapon, Nebula and Gwen landing in the water on either side of her, their weapons ready to fight.

"Neptune!" Sun screamed, gesturing to the three women in the water.

"Fine" the blue haired male sighed. "Just get out of the water!"

Sun jumped onto the center plate of the arena, his partner landing beside him. Neptune unfolded Tri-Hard into it's trident form and tip-toed to the edge of the water. With eyes closed, he plunged the sparking prongs of the trident into the water. The shockwave struck the three females, dropping their Aura levels within seconds and they sunk to their knees.

"And with that, Team SSSN moves on to the doubles round!" Port announced.

Team KNGT jumped to their feet and cheered, pumping their fists and applauding. "Yeah! Nice job guys!" they cheered in unison.

"Aw, that was so close!" Ruby sighed heavily, leaning back in her seat.

"Looks like the dorks made it to the next round." Yang chuckled as she clapped her hands.

Koalina smiled as she watched Sun and Neptune celebrated their victory by dancing in the middle of the arena, a light chuckle escaping her. Sun looked out into the audience, his blue eyes finding Koa in seconds and he gave her double-gun gesture with a wink. A faint blush rose to the cat Faunus' cheeks, "Emphasis on dork." she chuckled, tucking some hair behind her ear and glancing away.

Nova lightly nudged her best friend's side, "Your dork." she giggled.

"Shut up!" Koa hissed, nudging her partner back.

"That concludes the matches for today." Oobleck's voice announced over the sound system. "Please leave the Coliseum in a calm and orderly fashion!"

Everyone winced at the raised voice at which the teacher shouted the last part. "Come on, let's go congratulate 'em." Tyro voted, motioning for his teammates and Team Rwby to follow.

As they exited their row, Weiss glanced up and saw a ribbon-adorned airship fly over the Colosseum and she stopped in her tracks, causing Ruby to bump into her. "Weiss?" the younger girl questioned. "What're you doing?"

"She's here." the white-haired girl smiled.


Selena leaned against the wall as everyone exited the arena, typing up a message on her scroll in a group chat.

Group: Team SSSN & Team KNGT

sent a minute ago

MSG: You all did great today and to celebrate, I'll treat you guys to dinner. Meet me outside by the airships. -Prof. S.

She smiled and headed out to the airships just outside the arena, waiting for her students. Her scroll buzzed in her hands and she opened the new message.

Qrow B.

sent 2 mins ago

MSG: See you soon, Princess.

Selena's eyes widened, reading the message again to make sure she read it right. A smile crossed her lips as she tapped on the contact image; a picture of her and Qrow leaning against the balcony railing of her home in Mistral, her head on his shoulder.

"Prof!" Sun's voice snapped her out of her daze. She looked over and saw her eight students waving at her before speed-walking towards her.


A/N: Volume 3 has begun, yay! Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. As always, reviews are appreciated.