Extracurricular.
Sometime had passed since the secret mission. Team RWBY had learned that Roman and the White Fang were operating somewhere somewhere outside of southeast Vale. Weiss discovered that the Schnee company records singled out Vale as the primary target for Dust robberies over the last few months. Along with that, they had also discovered that the villains had also managed to steal tech from the Atlas military force, including their newly designed battle mechs, along with that, Roman seems to have gained a new ally, a small girl who saved him from being brought in by Team RWBY. And finally, Lucina and her team had discovered that the White Fang had gained a powerful new ally in black armor, who defeated the whole team with no difficulty. All worrying news, but at least they had discovered something worth while.
But classes had not been standing still. During sparring class, Pyrrha was sparring against the entirety of Team CRDL. Something most of the students were watching with great interest.
Pyrrha strikes Cardin who tries to counter only to hit her shield before getting driven back. He falls to one knee then rolls to dodge as she comes down from above. Eventually, Pyrrha launches her spear at Dove Bronzewing and then knocks him down. Next she fires a shot at Sky Lark then blocks Feather's Edge with her shield. Switching from sword to spear and driving him back, firing another shot before knocking Sky to the ground. She attacks Cardin again who unleashes a short column of fire from the red Dust crystal in The Executioner by smashing the floor. She dodges the blast then blocks Cardin's swing before he and Sky attempt to double-team Pyrrha. Only for her to avoid them both before vaulting over Cardin.
Pyrrha throws her shield, which hits Cardin in the face and bounces back to hit Sky as well. She then flips backwards through the air to catch it then land on Sky, incapacitating him. Dove and Russel Thrush rush her together, but she is able to drive them back. Kicking Dove away who manages to recover, landing on his feet as Cardin leaps in to smash at her with his mace.
Pyrrha dodges and opens fire with the rifle-form of Miló, but Russel defends Cardin, deflecting every shot with Shortwings. He and Dove charge at Pyrrha, with Russel leaping into the air and performing a triple somersault. However, the double-kick attack is easily blocked with her shield. Russel and Dove proceed to strike at Pyrrha together, demonstrating precision through their ability to avoid hitting one another during the attack. She falls back still managing to parry every blow, as Cardin attempts to capitalize on the distraction. Pyrrha opens fire again but this time Cardin deflects the bullets with his own weapon. He charges at her only to be met with a knee to the chin, the two clash with Cardin receiving several hits. Russel ducks in under Cardin for a surprise attack, but also proves himself unable to wear her down.
Pyrrha dodges every slash then hits him with her shield, Dove moves in after Russel is knocked to the ground. After a couple of deflected swipes, he fires on her with Hallshott, but she is able to bull right through using her shield. Although he is able to avoid her attack, Dove finds himself knocked out of the fight by an errant swing from Cardin, who moves in for another assault. Pyrrha knocks Cardin into the air and then leaps after him. Cardin blocks a few hits but she quickly maneuvers herself to slam him into the ground before she kicks him away with a backflip.
Glynda approaches from behind Cardin who clutches his ribs "And that's the match".
"Lucky shot" Cardin said before he collapses.
"Well done, Miss Nikos. You should have no problem qualifying for the tournament" Glynda praised, showing no concern for the defeated bully.
Severa smirked. She would kill for the chance to beat up Cardin and his minions. But watching her cousin do it was good enough.
Pyrrha smiled "Thank you, professor".
Glynda tapps her Scrol "Alright, now I know that's a tough act to follow, but we have time for one more sparring match" She looks around at the observing students "Any volunteers? Ms. Belladonna?" Blake slams her book shut and stares wide-eyed at Glynda "You've been rather docile for the past few classes. Why don't you-".
Mercury raises his hand "I'll do it".
"Mercury, is it? Very well, let's find you an opponent" Glynda said as she looks over her scroll.
"Actually, I wanna fight... her" Mercury points to Pyrrha.
"Me?" Pyrrha asked in surprise.
"I'm afraid Miss Nikos has just finished the match. I recommend you choose another partner" Glynda said.
"No, it's fine! I'd be happy to oblige" Pyrrha said with a polite smile.
Severa wondered. Normally jumping in to another fight right after already being in a rather intense one would be unfair, as one of the fighters would be more worn out, while the other was fresh. But given the level of ease Pyrrha beat Team CRDL, Severa wasn't worring about her cousin loosing. But she was suspicious of why Mercury wanted to fight Pyrrha so badly.
Their spar begins when Mercury charges in and kicks at Pyrrha, but she lunges forward, blocks it with her shield, and sweeps his other leg from beneath him with Miló. He falls onto his back but then kicks his legs into the air, spins on his hands, and does a double back-handspring. The two stop and stare at each other for a moment as Pyrrha stands up from a kneeling position. She runs forward to attack, but Mercury strikes first, leading her to instead block the first kick with Miló and a second with her shield, before turning around and blocking a further barrage of kicks with her shield.
Pyrrha ends the barrage by hitting his leg away with Miló, creating an opening for her to ram her shield into him. He lands on his feet and slides to a stop some distance away. Apparently slightly impressed, Mercury tilts his head and gives a slight nod with a "Hm". He then leaps into the air and, with a spin, brings his foot down on Pyrrha's shield, making her jump back slightly. After landing on the floor and dropping to his hands and feet, Mercury spins with one leg out, but Pyrrha raises her foot over it and steps backward. He quickly stands and leaps into the air, kicking at her, but she blocks with her shield.
As Pyrrha turns, dives, and rolls away, Mercury continues his spin, swinging his leg high in the air, only to find that she has moved away from him. He chuckles while Pyrrha instantly rights herself, crouching on the floor with her shield in front of her. She flips Miló in her hand so that the blade points behind her. Mercury then charges forward, leaps, and lands three consecutive kicks on her shield. She moves her shield to the side and begins to raise Miló, but Mercury kicks her shield, then quickly switches in mid-air and kicks the arm with which she is holding Miló, before switching once again to kick her shield.
As Mercury lands the kick on her shield, Pyrrha flips Miló into the air, but before she can catch it, Mercury switches once more to kick her in the side. This forces her to move her arm forward and block the kick. He then turns away, spinning once again and leaving an opening for Pyrrha to turn around and catch Miló. Both combatants continue their spin to face each other, Pyrrha swinging Miló and Mercury kicking. Their attacks deflect each other, and Mercury turns in mid-air and kicks at Pyrrha's shield. Pyrrha swings Miló upward, scraping it against Talaria, but then Mercury kicks it out of her hand.
The two watch Miló stab into the floor, and Mercury triumphantly smirks at Pyrrha before spinning around and raising his leg up high to kick her. However, Pyrrha activates her Semblance as she moves her hand toward his boot. When her hand is about half an inch away, she repels his boot, sending him into an off-balance spin. He stumbles and drops into a kneel, gaining a thoughtful look on his face. Hearing footsteps approaching him, he looks behind him and rises to face Pyrrha, who is charging toward him shield-first.
Mercury puts his right foot on Pyrrha's shield, hops up onto it, and fires a bullet to propel himself from it, spinning in the air and landing in a kneeling position. A determined look on her face, Pyrrha continues to charge toward him, this time with Miló.
However, her opponent turns away from her and casually says "I forfeit".
Pyrrha almost stumbles as she stops beside him "You... don't even want to try?"
Mercury shrugs "What's the point? You're a world-renowned fighter. We're obviously leagues apart".
Severa glares at him. Leagues apart? He forced Pyrrha to use her semblance, something even Severa herself rarely managed to do. It was painfully obvious he could've gone longer, and who knows, maybe he would even have a decent shot at winning, unlikely as that may be. He gave up way to easily, and his smug look made it obvious he was up to something. Severa didn't like him at all.
"In that case... Pyrrha Nikos is the victor of the match... again" Glynda said in annoyance.
Emerald smirks. Mercury sneers smugly. Pyrrha has a annoyed and disappointed look on her face, and places her left hand on her hip. The Aura displays for Pyrrha and Mercury are shown as Mercury's is changed from green to red indicating his loss.
"Next time, you may want to think a little harder before choosing an opponent" Glynda said.
Mercury waves his hand "I'll be sure to do that".
An alarm sounds which jolts Blake who has nodded off.
"That is all for today. And remember, the dance is this weekend. But you all have your first mission on Monday. I will not accept any excuses" Glynda said.
As everyone began to leave, Severa wanted to confront Mercury for his suspicious reasons for giving up a fight he wasn't even close to loosing. But she was distracted when she noticed Blake... who was barely staying awake. She looked exhausted, and after giving it some thought, Severa realized Blake had not been herself at all recently... and Severa even felt like Blake had been ignoring her. Mercury could wait, Severa had a far more pressing matter to attend to.
Outside, Severa noticed Blake walking away and quickly ran up to her "Hey Blake, wait".
Blake shuts the book she is reading "What is it?".
"I just wondered if you're ok? You've been a little out of it recently" Severa said.
"I'm fine" Blake said, ready to leave again.
"Bull, anyone can see you are not fine. What is going on Blake?" Severa demanded.
Blake sighed, growing annoyed "You know full well what's going on".
"Oh, that. Alright I get it, you want to catch the bad guys. But you need a break, you are barely standing. I know, how about we go to that dance together? I mean, sounds a little silly, but I'm sure we can have a good time" Severa offered.
"I don't have time for a stupid dance" Blake said coldly "Now, if you'll excuse me. I have more important things to do".
Severa grabbed her arm before she could "Blake-".
Blake smacks her hand away "Damn it Severa! Could you stop bothering me for 5 minutes? Just because you are my girlfriend it doesn't mean that I need you yapping in my ear! In case you didn't know, there are more important things to do than waste time on a date!".
Severa looked shocked before her expression changed to hurt. Blake's team looked shocked by what Blake just said. Even Sun and his team saw and heard what happened, and even they looked shocked.
Blake calmed down and realized what she just said "Severa... I'm sorry, I didn't mean-".
"No, it's ok. You want to work yourself to death? Go ahead, I won't be a bother anymore" Severa said, sounding angry and hurt before walking away, quickly wiping away a tear that threatened to spill.
Sun noticed this and gave Blake a small glare "Not cool, Blake. Not cool".
Blake looked down in sadness and guilt. She wanted to run after Severa and apologize again. But decided Severa needed some space. All she could do until then was focusing on her investigation and hope she could find something. And maybe after she is done, she'll try to fix things with Severa.
Latter that day, Lyre was walking towards Team RWBY's dorm. She was really nervous about something. She stands in front of the door, takes a deep breath before she knocks on it. After a few moments, Weiss opens up.
"Jaune I swear if you-" Weiss began but cut herself up when she noticed who it was "Oh, hello Lyre. Need something?".
Lyre blushed "Y-Yeah, I came here to ask you something".
"And what's that?" Weiss asked.
"Well you see, I was wondering you... I mean if you'd like to... dang it! This was so much easier in my head!" Lyre said, sounding flustered.
"Just spit it out already" Weiss demanded.
Lyre gulped at her commanding tone "Do you want to go to the dance with me?".
Weiss looked surprised "Huh?".
"If you don't want to it's fine. You probably have a date already. Sorry I will just leave" Lyre said, making a fool out of herself.
"Lyre, wait" Weiss said making Lyre stop "I... I will think about it, ok?".
"That wasn't a no" Yang said with a teasing smile.
"Shut up Yang!" Weiss warned.
Lyre looked surprised but smiled with a small glimmer of hope "Ok. Let me know".
She walks away, knowing she should hope for the best, but maybe prepare for the worst.
Meanwhile in Cinder and her team were gathered in her dorm room. Cinder was sewing a black dress as she sits on one of the beds. Emerald is sitting on the floor while looking at her Scroll, Mercury is lying on the ground and reading a comic book, while Líf was sitting on the floor with his eyes closed and legs crossed, looking like he was meditating.
"And finally, Pyrrha Nikos" Emerald said.
"Ah, the invincible girl" Cinder realized.
Mercury looks up from his comic "She's smart, but I wouldn't say invincible".
"Do tell" Cinder said.
"Her Semblance is Polarity. But you'd never know just by watching" Emerald explained.
"After she made contact with my boots, she was able to move them around however she wanted. But she only made slight adjustments" Mercury added.
"Just enough to make it look like she's untouchable. She doesn't broadcast her power, so it puts her opponent at a disadvantage" Emerald finished.
"Hmm... People assume that she's fated for victory, when she's really taking fate into her own hands. Interesting. Add her to the list" Cinder ordered and Emerald did as she said.
"She isn't the only one we should keep an eye on. Look up the girl named Lucina Lowell" Líf spoke up.
Emerald looked confused before looking up a picture of Lucina "Here she is. Her semblance is that she can enhance her strikes, and cut through almost anything. Other than that I don't see anything special about her".
"Focus on her eyes" Líf said. They did and noticed something.
"She has a birth mark in her left eye" Emerald said.
"Big deal. What's so special about that?" Mercury asked in a bored tone.
"You should spend more time reading history than cheap comic books Mercury. That is no mere birthmark, it's The Brand Of The Exalt" Líf said.
"Brand of the what?" Emerald asked.
"The Brand Of The Exalt is a special brand that's been passed down for generations. History says that thousands of years ago, the first Exalt was blessed with the power to strike down any evil. Which he proved when he slayed a malevolent being and brought peace to his homeland. The Exalt would then have a child, who would inherit his gift. This would pass down from one generation to the next, and continues to this day" Líf explained.
"So... she is special then?" Mercury guessed.
"Indeed. No one knows who the original Exalt is, his name having been lost to history. But the first ever named Exalt in the history books was non other than the Hero-King Marth, one of the old kings from before the great war" Líf explained.
"Wait, so this girl is some kind of princess?" Emerald asked.
"If the kingdoms had still been ruled by royals, then yes, she would be the rightful heir of a powerful throne. But since the days of kings and queens has passed, she has forever lost that birth right. And I have a feeling she doesn't know to much of her heritage. Given she is a simple student at this pathetic school" Líf answered.
"My, that really is an fascinating story, Líf. But tell me, other than her blood line, what makes her special?" Cinder asked.
"Her blood line is special. She holds the power of the Exalt. And even her sword is the great Falchion. History says it's an divine blade, forged from a being of pure light. And it's tied to her blood line, so only someone with her blood can wield it. In the hands of anyone else, it's no more lethal than a metal stick" Líf answered.
"Hmmm, alright, she has my interest now. Add her to the list" Cindered ordered, and Emerald did as told.
"Still, You should be able to take both of them no problem" Mercury said.
"It's not about overpowering the enemy. It's about taking away what power they have. And we will, in time" Cinder said.
Mercury sighs as he lays down "I hate waiting".
"Don't worry, Mercury. We have a fun weekend ahead of us" Cinder said while holding up her needles with an evil smile on her face.
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Tell me what you think.
