Wow, we're getting close to the big finale. The Tournament is speeding up and a lot of fun to be had. Yet something wicked lurks around the corner. Since most of the matches are pretty similar to the show, I avoided just going into great details for them, and focused more on the observers. Kind of felt unneeded for everything to be seen from the fight perspective when the show does that fine. I did put enough information that if people aren't super familiar with RWBY, they can follow the plot.
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Thanks again to Wishez for agreeing to Beta this chapter.
Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or RWBY.
"So what do you think of the situation, Peter?" Bartholomew asked over the microphone as the two commented about the fight.
"Oh ho!" Peter's laughter boomed over the large announcer screen. "It would seem that one of my favorite students, Nora Valkyrie, has decided to charge up before the match using her Semblance."
"Quite so!" Bartholomew concurred. "Ms. Valkyrie's Semblance enables her to generate and channel electricity directly into her muscles. This allows her to leap explosively into the air, wield her mighty hammer, or, in this case, single-handedly send all of her opponents to the hospital."
In the stands, Team RWBY, along with Touma, were wincing at the display. Accelerator seemed nonchalant about it. Neo was cheering Nora on in the display of violence.
"Ouch…" Ruby covered her eyes as she dragged on the end of the word. "That's got to hurt."
"Hammer between the legs." Blake agreed, eying Touma, who had crossed his legs instinctively. "I do not envy him."
"Just means he's not going to have kids." Yang shrugged, but her eyes were full of worry. "I'm really happy when we reach the finals, it's going to be one-on-one, and Pyrrha's going to be my opponent."
"If you get that far," Accelerator smirked.
"Yang and I are doing the two on two matches," Weiss reminded him. "If she loses, that means I lost."
"Well I'll just blame it on her then,"
"Shocking," Ruby called over from her seat, raising both her hands up and exaggerating her movement. The gesture made everyone let out a laugh.
"Kill them! MISAKA shouts abruptly, but MISAKA secretly doesn't mean literally." Last Order was standing in her seat between Accelerator and Neo, waving her hands. Neo was laughing at poor Team BRNZ being knocked around by the energetic ginger girl. "MISAKA is just caught up in the excitement."
"Shame the rest of Nora's team doesn't have much to do." Touma pointed out to Blake.
"I'm sure they are fine with it." Blake was watching Jaune, Pyrrha, and Ren standing back. "I'm also positive Nora asked them to, or at the least, they are using this as a test for future fights."
The buzzer rang, and Team BRNZ was carried off the field on stretchers. Nora jumped up on the mountainside and raised her hammer high above her head, cheered on by the crowd. Some spectators were disappointed that they would not see Pyrrha fight, but Team JNPR was a close-knit team, and Jaune, Pyrrha, and Ren clapped for Nora before heading off the field. Team RWBY and TAN met them to congratulate them on their victory.
"Cheater!" Yang yelled out good-natured when they met up.
"If I can't use electricity, you can't use anger!" Nora countered as the two ran up and fist-bumped.
"Jaune, you better not use that against us!" Ruby warned.
"I don't know. It worked way better than we thought," Jaune smirked and looked at Pyrrha. "Are you okay with Nora being in the finals?"
"Hmm, well, I don't know." Pyrrha smiled back. "I'm pretty sure my manager will have a stroke if I'm not in there, but Nora has been working so hard." Yang paled at this.
"Nora might have to eat less of the tasty festival food if she's going to fight in the finals." Ren pointed out.
"Ah, nope!" Nora shook her head. "Pyrrha can do it."
"Looks like you're our backup, Pyr," Jaune said solemnly.
"I shall do my best not to bring us dishonor." Pyrrha's lips twitched.
"Ever since you two started dating, you've been much more open." Weiss pointed out. "I have to say, I was hesitant initially, but I suppose it's been good for you… for both of you."
"Coming from the person dating Mr. Moody," Yang whispered.
"Weren't you the one who got all upset at the thought of fighting an energized Nora?" Blake asked, crossing her arms and grinning.
"You probably could ask Professor Goodwitch to have you two face off in class," Touma suggested.
"If you do, I need to record it all." Accelerator agreed, turning to Weiss. "You can watch it during your team's movie nights."
"Hmm, I might actually look forward to them now." Weiss put the finger on her cheek.
"HEY!" Yang wasn't the only one upset at all the teasing directed at her. Ruby was upset, too, but for a different reason.
Didn't Weiss like their movie nights?
"If the rest of the rounds are this easy, we'll see you in the finals." Nora pointed at Team RWBY. "So don't you dare lose!"
"Right back at you." Yang retorted instantly.
Neo raised an illusionary sign that asked a simple question.
'What if you both lose before the final?'
Touma didn't get a chance to shatter that illusion of hers, as Ruby and Jaune quickly did it for him, causing the sign to break into what looked like glass shards before vanishing with a single hit from their fists.
The tournament overall was going great, and they had reached the two on two matches. Touma was sitting with his team in the stands, along with Team JNPR, Ruby, and Blake. Yang and Weiss had entered the stadium and were faced off against two of Team FNKI members from Atlas.
The first guy, Flynt Coal, was a young, dark-skinned man with dark brown eyes wearing rectangular sunglasses, a dark fedora with blue trim, with a dark vest over a white dress shirt. The girl was named Neon Katt, a Faunus with a bright pink cat tail. She had sea green eyes and moderate red-orange hair with light blue streaks in her bangs that were tied up into two pigtails. She wore a soft blue cropped tank top over a dark purple bra, dark purple short shorts under a pink combat mini-skirt, white gloves, a shooting star tattoo with a rainbow trail wrapping around her arm, and was zooming around on roller skates.
That girl was unusual with her colors—especially being from a conservative area like Atlas.
"Yang seems upset," Ruby said worriedly as Yang kept trying to attack Neon but missing as the girl zipped around her before striking the blonde with what appeared to be a pair of glowing nunchucks,
"Hmm, there's Ice Dust in there," Blake commented as Neon struck Yang's leg, coating it in ice. "Shame it doesn't work very well against Yang." Yang screamed angrily, breaking through her cold bindings as her hair glowed. "Though if Yang can't catch her, her Aura will eventually wane from those repeated blows." While Neon couldn't completely freeze Yang, the rainbow girl kept bolting by her at high speeds, smacking her around with her weapons and damaging Yang's Aura before retreating to avoid counterattacks.
"Weiss seems to be struggling too, MISAKA says as MISAKA expresses her worry. Weiss won't lose, right?" Last Order was sitting at the edge of her seat.
"Nah, she's faced tougher opponents," Accelerator assured her.
"I don't know." Touma frowned. "Anyone else thinks Weiss and Yang are more… riled up than usual."
Weiss was fighting Flynt pretty well, but they talked about something between them. What Flynt was saying to Weiss was making her angry and causing her to attack a little more wildly. The boy used a weird trumpet instrument that shot out powerful sound blasts that Dust might have amplified. Flynt could also make clones of himself to surround Weiss, who was trying to defend himself with ice walls and glyphs. She would lunge at one, and Flynt would either dodge or flank her with the others.
"Now that you mention it, she does seem to be a little more aggressive than normal," Blake muttered. "I wish we could hear what they were saying." Even her Faunus ears couldn't hear a couple of people talk in the arena far below them, surrounded by cheering.
"Don't you guys do team training or some shit?" Accelerator asked. "Why does it seem you all just fight as solo fighters? Weiss' glyphs could easily let Blondie there catch up to the skater girl."
"Well… could be a pride thing?" Jaune shrugged.
"We are confident in our individual skills." Ruby answered instead. "If they aren't going to team up, then we don't have to either. Weiss and Yang got this if they insist on a one-on-one battle."
"Isn't Weiss more of a support fighter?" Touma asked. "Her Aura isn't as powerful as Yang or Jaune's, but her glyphs can do so much."
"She wanted to go." Ruby reminded him. "And you can't argue with her."
"Tell me about it." Accelerator muttered, but there was a trace of fondness in his voice. Something Neo noticed, and she leaned forward in her seat to grin at him. Of course, the boy ignored her, especially when the short stack made a kissing face.
"Kick her butt!" Nora yelled at Yang. "Send Sparkles flying!"
"Nora!" Ren reprimanded.
"What? Obviously, when Yang punches her, she's going to explode like a piñata."
"You can think those things, but don't say them out loud."
"Weiss and Yang deal with our luck," Touma chuckled, gesturing to him and Accelerator. "I'm sure they will turn things around."
"Yang gets stronger the more damage she takes, and Weiss hates to lose, so yeah!" Ruby seemed to cheer up quickly. "Go, team! You got this!"
"Oh, that had to hurt!" Peter boomed over the microphone after a showy performance.
"Indeed, Miss Schnee seems to have really increased the versatility of her glyphs." Bartholomew agreed. "While it looked like she controlled Mr. Coal's sound attacks, I believe she used Gravity Dust combined with her glyphs to redirect the sound through multiple glyphs to reflect it back at him."
"Heh," Accelerator sneered. "She has been watching."
"MISAKA bet that makes you happy, MISAKA giggles as MISAKA notices your happy expression." Last Order giggled from beside him.
Neo made more kissy faces at him before leaning back on Touma's shoulder. Not that Accelerator cared what she thought. Most people's feelings didn't register with him.
Weiss had been backed up into a corner near some lava field rocks. Geysers of magma randomly shot up all around her while Flynt and his clones surrounded her. Using a trumpet as a weapon, which surprised many in the audience with how good he was, he blew into it, sending four different sound jets at Weiss. It looked like she was in trouble when two sets of glyphs appeared. Both sides angled to a point in the middle. Two of the clones' attacks were deflected one way, while the other two were the other way. More glyphs appeared and caused all the attacks to bounce and curve along a path of glowing white symbols before crashing back into Flynt. By coming from both sides, they amplified each other on impact, disrupting the three clones and causing Flynt to crumple.
Weiss then walked over to him, rapier raised.
"ENOUGH!"
Yang's scream was actually loud enough to hear from the stands.
Neon had been dominating the fight between them. Her speed nearly matched Ruby's, and her quick attacks continued with using Ice Dust in her nunchucks to slow Yang down while rapidly hitting her. Yang's blonde hair was glowing brighter and brighter with each hit, and she was breaking out of the ice quicker each time too. Neon didn't seem to notice this and was zipping around while making rude gestures and laughing. Which only pissed Yang off more.
Everyone at Beacon knew you didn't poke a sleeping dragon in the eye.
Unable to hit Neon directly, Yang focused all her anger and power into her fist before delivering a groundbreaking punch into the stadium below her. The ground shattered, sending large chunks leveraging into the air. The shockwave from Yang's giant temper tantrum shook the remains of the destroyed building field, causing them to fall too. Neon yelled out in surprise as some rubble caught in her skates, and she tripped, crashing into the ground. Yang grinned and jumped on the opposite side of a broken ground piece Neon was lying on. With a mighty heave, she launched Neon into the air like a giant catapult. Neon screamed as she flew through the air, her hair whipping around her face. She tried to control her fall, but it was no use.
She was going to hit the ground hard.
To prevent this, Yang cocked her arms back, and her gauntlets clicked. She let loose a red light shotgun blast that flew through the air and collided with Neon in midair. The force sent her flying and crashing into the barrier surrounding the battlefield. Sliding down, she hit the ground anyway with a loud thud.
Flying over Yang's head, Flynt was sent to join her.
Weiss brushed back her hair as she walked up next to Yang and high-fived her as the buzzer signaled the end of the match.
"Seems she picked up a thing or two from you, Accelerator." Blake commented.
"Eh, we might have discussed some basics." Accelerator replied, trying not to look too pleased. "She can't fully reflect, but deflecting consecutively to return attacks was within her ability."
"Yang's just as strong as always." Touma chuckled as Neo pouted. She had been rooting for the other team after seeing Neon smack Yang around. That skater girl could quickly become a good party companion when Neo got bored.
"Yeah, she is!" Ruby was standing up and cheering with the crowd. "That's my sister!" Once the fields reset back to the basic stadium, the pathway extended and connected the contestants to the stadium so they could leave. Ruby rushed to congratulate her bestie and sister as the rest followed.
"Easy win." Yang flexed as Ruby hung from her arm when they all arrived.
"Uh-huh." Blake raised an eyebrow. "You just sat there as a punching bag for a while for fun?"
"I was… building up energy." Yang answered quickly.
Neo snickered and pretended to faint after jerking around like she was getting beaten up.
"Quiet, midget." Yang growled.
"The matches will just get tougher." Ren warned. "Overconfidence will be your undoing."
"But it was a well-fought victory." Pyrrha added congratulatory.
"At least nothing went wrong during it." Accelerator reminded them. "Things have been quiet."
"Yeah, I've been trying to pay attention but haven't seen anything suspicious at all." Touma agreed. "They are probably waiting until the finals to try anything for the biggest impact."
"Way to kill the mood." Yang muttered.
"They are right, though." Blake reminded her. "If we're lucky, nothing will happen, but if it does… it's best we stay on our guard."
"Luck and I don't go well together." Touma groaned.
"Eh, I've been there." Jaune shrugged.
"Says the guy with the girlfriend." Touma muttered to him.
"Hey, I bet you could get one if you tried." Jaune countered.
"I have!"
Everyone except Last Order, Pyrrha, and Ruby facepalmed. Jaune finally appreciated being on the other end of this situation when everyone knew Pyrrha was crushing on him. Ruby looked anxious and glanced at her team, while Last Order missed things completely.
"We'll keep an eye out." Accelerator told Weiss. "You all just focus on your matches."
"It's going to be Yang soon in the singles match." Weiss replied. "At that point, I can come with you."
"Yay, we can work as detectives together! MISAKA says excitedly as MISAKA wishes they had cool outfits." Last Order looked around as if a place would have them.
"Don't worry about that for now." Weiss assured her. "Just enjoy the festivities. We can handle anything weird going on."
"Try to win, though." Touma laughed, looking between Team RWBY and Team JNPR. "Would be a good final fight."
"So Pyrrha can beat the snot out of Yang, yep." Nora agreed.
"Please, I totally have a plan for when I face her." Yang huffed.
"Do you?" Ruby asked innocently, making everyone laugh.
The tournament was going well, despite the worries and hints of something sinister stirring beneath the water. The rounds went smoothly, even if there were upsets. One was Coco and Velvet losing to Emerald and Mercury. Team CFVY had been a favorite to win after Pyrrha, which was quite a blow to many. Pyrrha and Nora did breeze through their rounds quickly enough, even without a fully charged Nora. That didn't mean Last Order didn't give Nora a slight jump, but she wasn't supercharged. No one had any bad blood directed at them. Except for Jaune, but there was nothing he could do about it after a camera caught him hugging Pyrrha after her win.
"Huh, their aim was really good." Jaune commented to Touma and Neo, holding up the uncrumpled paper with the words, KILL YOURSELF, listed on them. Neo looked at it and slid a finger across her throat. "No, I don't think you should kill them."
Neo shrugged and gave him a look as if saying, 'Your funeral.'
"I appreciate the offer, though." The blond assured her, seeming to pacify her.
"She's just getting stir-crazy as she can't participate." Touma shrugged. "And Yang's been too busy for her to follow around and bother. Which is probably a good thing." Neo poked him hard in the side, making him wince. "We'll do something fun after the festival, okay?"
The way the girl smiled warned Touma that if he broke his promise, he would regret it.
"So, are you going to do anything about the threats?" Touma turned back toward Jaune.
"No, I talked to Pyrrha, and she told me they are just trying to get a rise out of me." Jaune explained. "Ignore them, and they will eventually lose interest and accept it. If I lash out, they will get what they want and use it as proof Pyrrha and I aren't good together. I don't want to cause her problems, so I'm going to be on my best behavior."
"Plus, they don't get to date someone like her." Touma winked.
"True dat." They shared a fist bump, and Neo rolled her eyes before jumping on Touma's back and wrapping her arms around his neck.
"You're lucky you're small." Touma groaned, grabbing her legs so he could give her a piggyback ride. Neo covered his eyes in response and kicked his side to make him march. She was a full-grown girl and acted like a kid half the time. Jaune shrugged and followed, knowing if he tried to stop her, he would end up with a parasol between his legs.
"About time!" Ruby called out as they reached their seats. "We were wondering what kept you." Neo had gotten bored of hanging on Touma, thankfully, or things would have been even more awkward trying to get to their seat. Team RWBY minus the Y, Team JNPR minus the J, who had been with Touma and Neo, Accelerator, and Last Order, were already sitting down.
The tournament reached the individual matches, and Yang was up against Mercury. The second one-on-one round was Pyrrha vs. Penny, and the winners would face each other. Penny was a dark horse to many with her floating, wired swords that Ruby had been drooling over. Weiss, Accelerator, Touma, Last Order, and Ruby knew how Penny was controlling them so effortlessly, though. They did keep her secret to themselves, even if Ruby felt bad hiding it from Blake and Yang.
It wasn't her secret to tell.
Pyrrha was now the favorite to win, but Yang and Mercury made it clear they were going to try for the top. Penny mentioned she was excited to try her best and hoped everyone had fun. Regardless of the outcome, RWBY and JNPR all promised to celebrate together as friends with no hard feelings. So they were going to try their best without worrying. Honestly, Yang would be upset if Pyrrha didn't. Same with the champion.
"Touma was a little slow." Jaune joked, squeezing past his friend to sit down next to Pyrrha and putting an arm around her. The redhead looked surprised at how forward he was.
"J-Jaune?" Pyrrha whispered. "Not that I mind…"
"Just really happy we can be open in our relationship." Jaune smiled at her. Across the stage, he could swear he saw some angry fans glaring at him.
"I am too." Pyrrha laid her head on his shoulder.
"AWWWWWWW." Nora gushed.
"Nora, let them be." Ren chuckled.
"Yang ready?" Touma asked, plopping down next to Ruby with Neo sitting down beside him.
"Yep, she said beating Mercury will be a nice warmup." Ruby giggled.
"That overconfidence of hers is going to lead her to making a stupid mistake." Weiss groaned. "Professor Goodwitch tells her that all the time."
"Well, it will be fun to watch then." Accelerator shrugged.
"I know it will be, but I still want to win." Weiss agreed.
"Well, she'll get hit more at least, and would that be the best compromise for you two?" Blake asked with a shadow of a smirk.
"I guess." The two white-haired teens agreed.
"Yang's really strong though, MISAKA reminds you as MISAKA wonders if Mercury is really that strong."
"He wouldn't get to this point if he wasn't." Blake pointed out.
"WOOOO, it's starting!" Ruby and Nora cried out as the stadium erupted again.
Blaring music went quiet as the large projection screen of Peter and Bartholomew appeared above the crowd.
"The Semi-finals are sure to be an exciting match," Bartholomew's voice rang out. "Unlike the previous matches, there are no specialized fields. The arena will be bare, and it's all up to each of the amazing young men and women competing to fight with all they got."
"Right you are, Barty." Peter laughed. "These last few matches really will showcase their abilities. With one on one battle, no one can hide behind their team members. All eyes will be upon them. It's why each team has sent out their best fighter. There are no do-overs here. Once you fall out of the ring or have your Aura lowered below 15%, you lose. Everything is riding upon their shoulders."
"So, no pressure." Bartholomew agreed. "Let's give it up for our first two combatants. First, hailing from Mistral and Haven Academy, Mercury Black!"
The gray-haired boy strutted across the landing toward the center of the ring, waving his hands to the crowd and hamming it up with his confident swagger.
"It looks like Mr. Black is ready," Peter chuckled, amused. "But he's going to have his work cut out for him against our boisterous blonde brawler, straight from right here at Beacon, Yang Xiao-Long!"
Yang raised her fist and bounced into the ring from the other side. The crowd was cheering, with Ruby screaming encouragement the loudest. Yang was the home team's favorite, so naturally, she had the most vociferous support. Mercury didn't seem bothered by it and approached her, grinning. Both of them stood in the middle as plates moved to give them a wide flat arena to fight in. No buildings, ice, or rocks would get in their way.
Both of them raised their arms in a fighting stance.
"Three!" Peter boomed.
The two of them started to inch closer together.
"Two!"
Their feet shifted slightly.
"One!"
Their hands met lightly in the middle in a quick tap.
"GO!"
Yang pulled her arm back to deliver a powerful punch as Mercury simultaneously jumped into the air. Spinning without touching the ground, his foot made contact with Yang's fist, causing a shockwave that forced them both back. The two teens grinned, and Mercury began running forward. He tried to sweep Yang's leg, but the blonde jumped over him as she fired a downward shotgun blast from her gauntlet. Mercury pushed off to the side and avoided the explosion as he chased after Yang.
"Get him, Yang!" Ruby cheered.
"Go, Yang!" Jaune added. "Pyrrha wants to beat you next round!"
"Jaune!" Pyrrha lighting slapped his shoulder as she laughed.
"They are pretty heavenly matched, though Mercury prefers using his legs to attack, while Yang likes punching, but they both can use their entire body." Weiss explained to Last Order. "So this should be a pretty even fight."
"MISAKA still wants Yang to win. MISAKA admits as MISAKA can't keep her eyes off the fight."
Accelerator was watching the fight, too, with a little less interest than the others. To him, fights like this were insignificant. No amount of punches or kicks could bypass his reflection, let alone when he actually used his Vector Manipulation powers in more aggressive ways. Raw physical might was useless against his ability. However, he could appreciate how much work the students here in Remnant put forth in their training. Watching Weiss' training with and without Last Order was a common occurrence, and he had seen some team training. They didn't have his power, so they had to make do with what they had to survive in a world of monsters.
Similar to back home. But at least here, people were smart enough to learn and not keep bothering him with random attacks that only led to injuries. Accelerator lost track of how many times random punks hit him with a bat, only to break their arms as the weapon was reflected backward instantly, and the change in direction was too much for their bones.
Touma, meanwhile, was transfixed while watching this fight. It was like an action movie back home. Sure, he saw plenty of spars in class, but the students always held back a little. Mercury and Yang were giving it their all to win this time, with plenty of room to move around however they wanted. Both of them seemed to be enjoying themselves as they were grinning. It was a really even fight, and both of them were taking minor blows from each other as they looked for an opening in the other's defenses.
So why did something feel off?
Being no stranger to fights, especially against people stronger than him, Touma's instincts were warning him. What could be the problem, though? The crowd was cheering and enjoying themselves. Guards were standing nearby in case something happened. Mercury and Yang were enjoying themselves, so why was he worried? With how unlucky he was, Touma learned to trust his instincts. It was then his eyes fell on the girl next to him. Neo wasn't looking at the stadium like everyone else.
She was looking into the stands down to the right.
Neo hadn't noticed Touma seeing her look over, so he traced her line of sight. Still trying to figure out what she was looking at, his best guess was the green-haired girl Emerald sitting next to Cinder and Ilia. Why was Neo focused on them, though? The side of her face showed anxiety and a little nervousness. Touma frowned at this and quickly hid it as Neo turned back to face him, surprised he was looking at her.
"Enjoying the fight?" Touma asked her.
Neo grinned like normal and gestured that she liked seeing Yang get pummeled.
Just like normal?
Maybe he imagined it? Touma turned back to the match and saw Yang was in trouble. Mercury was shooting white light orbs out of his feet at Yang, who managed to dodge them, but they started to circle around them like a dome. Dozens, if not a hundred, of these lights, spun around them as Yang delivered a punch to Mercury's shoulder. The boy lifted his leg up to knee Yang in the stomach, but her other arm stopped it. While blocking the direct hit, she couldn't prevent him from lifting her into the air. Mercury then jumped up to follow her before doing a vertical spin kick, which Yang barely raised her arms to block.
The blonde was slammed down into the ground with a loud crack as the floor broke.
Gasps and cheers filled the air as all the glowing orbs suddenly flew down at Yang, slamming against her and causing an explosion. Touma wasn't sure if this was some kind of Dust or Mercury's Semblance, but it was quite a show. Though he did flinch at the thought of how much damage Yang took. Mercury walked away nonchalantly as the stadium dust rose, dusting himself off and grinning at the crowd.
BOOOOOOM!
Then the supernova went off.
Fire erupted from the crater, and the smoke and debris were blown away. The flames vanished as fast as they came. Stepping out of the cavity was a very pissed-off Yang, her blonde hair glowing brightly as the air around her shimmered from the rage. She smacked her fists together, causing a small shockwave as her lilac eyes flashed dangerously red.
The ground cracked as she kicked off.
Mercury's expression changed from smugness to surprise as he raised his arms to block the punch. Little did he expect Yang's Semblance, which could absorb damage she took and added to her own to counterattack, to be so powerful. He may have blocked the attack, but not the force behind it. The blow forced Mercury back, slicing the stadium floor. Yang didn't let her opportunity go to waste and actively hunted down the boy in pursuit.
Blow after blow, Yang rang down a barrage of attacks since she managed to unbalance Mercury. The boy wasn't a slouch and spun around to deliver a kick to the side of Yang's head. Yang ducked under it and delivered a powerful blow to the side of his stomach and then a follow-up jab to the side of his face. Mercury stumbled backward again, disoriented as Yang pushed forward. Another punch to the face, followed by a blow to the other side, an attack to the gut, and then move to the head. Over and over, Yang was relentless as Mercury's Aura began to drop rapidly.
He couldn't even counter because of the ferocity of the assault.
One final punch followed. Yang delivered a powerful uppercut into his stomach and a shotgun blast at point blank. Mercury's body bent as he was lifted into the air. His silvery white Aura flashed as it broke. He slammed down onto the ground, gasping as the buzzer rang.
The display showed Mercury's Aura had gone below 15% while Yang was above.
"GO, YANG!" Ruby screamed, deafening Weiss and Touma.
Yang raised her arms in triumph as she turned toward the crowd. People were clapping and cheering. Even Mercury got up to congratulate her. He walked to her, hand outstretched.
Then the unthinkable occurred.
Yang suddenly turned around and delivered a punch toward Mercury's leg.
"AHHHH!"
The crowd gasped, and silence fell over the stadium.
"I swear, he attacked me!" Yang told her team when they were alone in their room, along with Touma and Accelerator. Last Order was across the hall with Team JNPR. So was Neo, as everyone knew Neo wouldn't help the situation. "He lunged at me and was about to strike me from behind!"
The tournament was postponed for a bit as things settled down. Security took Yang away, and the crowd was in a frenzy. Ruby, Blake, and Weiss rushed to find her, but she was taken to Ozpin and Ironwood. Somehow, Ozpin managed to get Yang on house arrest for now, and she wasn't allowed to leave her room. Ironwood wanted a lot more discipline, including arrest. Yang explained what she saw, what happened from her point of view, but Ironwood seemed skeptical. Ozpin at least had listened. They couldn't spend too long dealing with her, as they had a large riled-up crowd to pacify.
"Yang, we were all there!" Ruby protested. "You beat him, and then when he walked over to shake your hand, you punched his leg out!"
"I swear!" Yang shook her head. "That's not what happened. The video has to be wrong. He attacked me! I knew I won and was waving to the crowd when he said it 'wasn't over' and lunged at me. I turned around and punched the leg he was kicking at me. Nothing else. I swear!"
"Could it be stress?" Blake asked Weiss. "She's seeing things from all the pressure?"
"Could be…" Weiss muttered. "Yang may be violent and brutish, but she's not someone who would attack a defenseless person." Yang looked up in relief when someone finally backed her up. Ruby wanted to be, but she couldn't shake what she saw.
"I know what happened!" Yang cried out, looking around for more support.
"What do you think," Touma asked Accelerator. "Hallucinations?"
"Probably." Accelerator agreed. "Weiss is right. She's hot-tempered and annoying…"
"I can hear you." Grumbled Yang.
"... but even she's not that stupid to attack someone like that." Accelerator finished.
"You think someone caused everyone watching to see something different?" Ruby gasped.
"No, hallucinations are different than illusions." Touma replied. "If Neo was standing in the arena, I could see her capable of putting an illusion around the two of them. Everyone would see that, but the illusion would eventually be shattered. Illusions are external. Hallucinations are mental manipulations where you think you saw something. It affects the way your brain processes information. The audience wasn't hallucinating, Yang was."
"You think someone was messing with her mind to see Mercury attack her?" Blake asked.
"With the wide variety of Semblances, it's possible." Touma shrugged. "It would explain everything. And we know a group of people is trying to interfere during the Vytal festival.'
Silence followed that pronouncement, as everyone considered it. Due to the craziness of what just happened, they all had wholly forgotten their worries about the group using Torchwick and the White Fang to attack Vale. If they had been distracted and knew about them, could that have been their plan all along to get rid of them?
"So I was just a casualty!" Yang fumed, her hair glowing slightly as her eyes flashed red.
"You seem to know a lot about this." Weiss looked at Touma and the Accelerator. "Do they have ability users in your world that can do that?"
"There's a Level 5 that has pure mental manipulation." Accelerator told her. "Can take over crowds of people, modify memories perfectly, change personalities, pretty much anything. A hallucination of this level would be child's play to her. There are Level 3's that could easily do something like this. Short stacks illusions are pretty decent, so I don't see why there couldn't be someone who can do this hallucination."
"See!" Yang gestured to Touma and Accelerator. "They know something is up!"
"I knew there had to be a good explanation!" Ruby darted forward and hugged her sister. "We have to tell Ozpin!"
"With what proof?" Blake asked, looking around. "Ironwood would just say we're making an excuse. Unless we know for sure who has a hallucination Semblance and a motive."
"That's a good point." Weiss rubbed her chin. "With the stadium full, the number of people in position is far larger than we can reasonably narrow down."
"I… might have a lead." Touma admitted slowly, causing every head to turn toward him. "Not for sure, but something I can follow up on." He remembered his 'partner's' expression during the time he was in the stands. Neo looked uncomfortable and was staring at Mercury's teammates. Could they be involved? Roman and Neo were pretty tight-lipped about that for their own protection. Still, he had to try. Why Mercury's teammates would want him injured if they were up to something was beyond him, but he had to check every lead. "Not for sure, but I'm going to check on it, just in case."
"Do you need help?" Blake asked, standing up with him.
"No… it's best I do it alone…" Touma gulped, knowing how Neo wouldn't give anything if Blake was around. "Besides, you should be here for Yang."
"Good luck." Ruby's mouth was dry. "You'll tell us… if you find out anything, right?"
"Of course, we're in this together." Touma nodded. "Yang… I fully believe you. I know you wouldn't do that."
"Thanks, man." Yang gave him a weak smile as he left.
"Okay, so he'll follow up on his lead; what about us?" Weiss asked. "We can't just sit here and mope."
"I kind of have to." Yang spat out bitterly.
"We should assume the people who caused Yang to hallucinate would also be targeting the other matches." Blake realized, and then her Scroll buzzed. She wasn't the only one. Everyone else's Scroll did too. Picking it up, she frowned as she read the message. "Looks like Pyrrha versus Penny will be the finals since Yang was disqualified."
Slumping down, the blonde looked thoroughly depressed.
"We might have to make some assumptions to continue, but let's assume this group plans to interfere with Penny and Pyrrha." Weiss told them all. "Would they get anything out of having one of them win? Or having both of them lose?"
"If Pyrrha lost, it would devastate a lot of fans." Ruby pointed out. "Thought could cause negativity and attract Grimm. They wanted more Grimm in Vale during the Breach attempt."
"They would get a better reaction if they captured Pyrrha and had her go missing." Blake interjected. "Even if capturing her might be difficult, if not impossible."
"Maybe they are planning to mess with Penny and Pyrrha to have them kill each other by accident?" Yang whispered, and everyone looked at her. "Think about it. If whoever messed with me could have easily made me aim at a different spot, like the head. Mercury's Aura was low…"
As the girls talked, Accelerator processed what he knew for sure and what the logical outcome would be.
The hero discovered from Torchwick that there was another group pulling the strings. This group was responsible for the stolen Dust that was used in the underground subway to blast open the tunnels and allow Grimm to enter the city. Lives didn't matter, and they were trying to cause mass hysteria. What their goal was in the end, Accelerator didn't care. They could be trying to destroy Vale or distract people so they could steal something. Wasting time pondering something with near-infinite possibilities was pointless.
So if he continued with the logic that the group wanted to cause as much havoc as possible. It was only natural they would target the final match of the tournament. The tournament was being broadcast all over Remnant and Pyrrha was a famous top-notch fighter that was in a league of her own compared to other students, minus him, of course. Penny was a robot designed with combat capabilities and Aura. This would have shaped up to be a good match.
But Accelerator knew he was missing something.
But what?
Penny wouldn't be in danger, even if she got injured. Accelerator had destroyed her arm, and she still managed to walk all the way back to Beacon with Ruby, Weiss, and Touma. Pyrrha, on the other hand, would be susceptible to being stabbed more. Aura only protected so much, and once it was weakened or a mighty blow pierced it, they would still get injured. No skill Pyrrha had could prevent an attack she couldn't see coming. Maybe if the attack was metal and she used her Semb…
Accelerator's eyes widened.
"FUCK!" The word blurted out of his mouth when he realized the situation. Everyone else jumped in surprise at his outburst. "Damn it! So that's their game."
"What?" Weiss asked quickly. "You realized something?"
"Yes, and we need to act quickly if you want to save your friends." Accelerator stood up. "You two, come with me." He pointed to Weiss and Ruby.
"Us?" Ruby blinked.
"It involves the ginger's secret."
"Secret… OH!" Ruby blinked. "Right…. Blake, can you stay here and keep Yang company?"
"Sure… but what is going…?" Blake tried to ask, but the three suddenly left the room before she could finish her question.
"What is going on?" Weiss asked as they stepped outside. "This isn't like you."
"We don't have much time, and if we sit on our asses, we won't make it." Accelerator huffed. "I don't think you two want your friends to be killed, right?"
"But what did you realize?"
"Remember when Last Order found out about the Spartan's Semblance?" Accelerator asked. "And blabbed to us?"
"Yeah, Ruby and I knew it was polarity for a while, actually." Weiss admitted. "Ever since she helped Jaune in Forever Falls."
"Okay… now, what is special about the girl she's facing?" Accelerator pushed, walking up to Team JNPR's door.
"She's… OH!" Ruby's face went pale. "No, no, no…"
"Penny could get torn apart if Pyrrha's not careful." Weiss gasped. "If someone's causing hallucinations, so Pyrrha can't be sure what's happening…"
"Exactly… the brat will cry at losing her friends, and I don't want to deal with it." Accelerator growled, pounding on the door.
"Huh?" Jaune opened the door. "Accelerator?" He noticed Weiss and Ruby. "Why-… is this about Yang? What happened to her?"
"It's a long story, but we don't have much time." Weiss told him. "We need to talk to Pyrrha. Quickly. It's really important and involves some sensitive information, so it has to be done privately."
"And is the brat with you?" Accelerator asked.
"MISAKA is here! MISAKA waves as MISAKA follows Pyrrha." The champion had come up when Weiss said they needed to talk.
"What's going on?" Pyrrha asked. "Is Yang okay?"
"We'll explain everything later, but we need to talk privately." Ruby told her.
"Brat," Accelerator ordered Last Order. "Contact that Penny girl and tell her we need to meet up before the fight. Immediately. Do whatever she has to in order to come."
"MISAKA can ask, but Penny did say she wouldn't be available, MISAKA replies nervously even though MISAKA can tell this is an important situation." She pulled out her Scroll. "MISAKA will try."
"Can someone tell me what's going on?" Pyrrha asked, looking around between them.
"Someone is interfering with the matches, and you and Penny need to be warned," Weiss told her. "Accelerator realized what our enemies were trying to do."
"How did it go?" Cinder asked after Emerald returned to the room.
"Is Mercury okay?" Ilia asked worriedly. "He may have fake legs, but even I felt that."
"The medics wrapped his leg up, and he'll make a full recovery." Emerald smiled. "I made sure they didn't even notice the legs were metal."
"Very good, Emerald." Cinder nodded. "He'll meet us shortly before the surprising ending to this tournament. You know what to do in the next match?"
"Yes, don't worry, the audience will receive quite a shock." Emerald assured her. "I'll make it look good so no one will suspect us until it's too late."
"And we'll finally show Vale the leaders overseeing everything are weak," Ilia muttered. "Adam and his group will be ready to strike at Atlas afterward."
"Exactly." Cinder smiled warmly at her. "It's some give and take between our forces. Now, how about you go visit Mercury and keep up appearances. I'll visit him a little later."
"Okay." Ilia stood up, though she felt a little nauseous. Adam was known to be a little overzealous sometimes. She hoped he would focus on Atlas during the pandemonium. Cinder was planning to disable the defense systems to allow the White Fang to take the battleships for their own, negating the technological superiority. No longer would the White Fang have to fear the Atlas warships aerial bombing their homes. "But if he flirts with me again, can I hit him?"
"Sure, it's part of the fun." Emerald encouraged. Once Ilia left, Emerald let out a sigh. "I can't wait to get rid of her. Trying to keep track of what she knows and doesn't is tiring."
"Once this is over, we might just finish her off to help disguise our trail," Cinder considered. "No one will suspect her death as suspicious on either side once the chaos ensues. Is Roman in position?"
"Yes," Emerald nodded. "I also snuck him aboard a docked battleship. It's in for minor repairs, and the only people who might go on are a few engineers or mechanics. He assured me he can handle them without help. When the time comes, he'll be ready to upload the virus."
"Good," Cinder smiled. "I can disable many of the defenses from our little attack during the dance, but there are several systems I don't have access to. We need him to upload right when I take the defenses down to gain access to all of Atlas' toys."
"What if he betrays us?" Emerald pointed out worriedly.
"He won't." Cinder smiled. "He's in too deep, and I threatened the one thing he cares about. Just like how threatening him ensures her cooperation."
"And once he helps us?"
"He'll be on the most wanted list in all of Remnant, most likely shoot on sight. No one will believe he was being used. That loose end will tie itself up nicely."
"You always have everything planned perfectly, Cinder." Emerald gushed, eyes full of admiration. "It's all worked out just as you envisioned. From our attack against the maiden to enslaving Torchwick, the comm tower attack, and now this."
"As I told you, as long as you are doing what you're told, everything will work out if you follow me." Cinder reminded the girl. "There's only one possible loose end. I've noticed some mice scurrying around on the lookout. RWBY, JNPR, and our two unique intruders on TAN have been investigating. They are on to us and most likely alerted Ozpin."
"What?!" Emerald yelped. "Should we do something about them?"
"I already have." Cinder's smile was anything but pleasant, installing a dark sense of unease. "Should they have done something, I left a little present in Amityville Coliseum's Engine room. Let's just say no one would want to be below it."
"Mercury and I will need an escape plan then." Emerald muttered.
"Ilia has already seen to that." Cinder informed her, crossing her legs and leaning forward to prop her chin on her hands. "She'll have a small airship pick you two up and meet with me once I take the true prizes. After that, we'll discard her somewhere and continue on with the power few can dream of."
The woman reached out a hand and grasped the air.
"The power I deserve."
"Salutations!" Penny saluted as she entered the empty classroom and looked around. Last Order ran up to hug her, but Accelerator, Weiss, Ruby, and Pyrrha were standing around awkwardly in the back. "I'm sorry I took so long, but General Ironwood didn't want me to leave before the match. Last Order said it was an emergency, so I was able to get a small amount of leave time as long as I am back in 32 minutes. Ciel is monitoring the time, and she is very punctual."
"Sorry, MISAKA apologizes as MISAKA didn't want to disturb her friend before a match." Last Order told her. "But this is an emergency, MISAKA continues. You may be in danger!"
"What do you mean?" Penny asked curiously, tilting her head.
"Penny…" Ruby gulped. "You know how we have a secret about you that we promised not to share?"
"Yes, Ruby." Penny nodded. "You promised you would never tell anyone else about it due to us being friends."
Ruby suddenly looked sick and stared at the ground.
"I had to make an executive decision." Weiss stepped up. "Due to a matter of life and death, we had to inform Pyrrha here of the situation. She now knows you're a robot."
Penny went silent.
"I am worried this will cause problems…" The robot girl admitted nervously. "General Ironwood was very specific…" She zeroed in on Weiss. "Can you elaborate on the life and death matter?"
"Accelerator was the one to realize it." Weiss gestured to her boyfriend. "His reasoning… was well defined. You may not be aware, but there's a group of people trying to mess with the Vytal festival, and Yang was the first major casualty. We believe she was put under a Hallucination Semblance that made her believe something else happened when she attacked Mercury."
"Oh, my." Penny gasped. "Did you tell Headmaster Ozpin and Ironwood?"
"She did, but we don't have proof." Weiss sighed.
"But it has to be true because Yang would never attack someone when their Aura was broken." Ruby added hastily. "I should know, she's my sister. Just like I know you wouldn't do that, Penny."
"If you believe that, Ruby." Penny assured her. "Then I shall too."
"Good, get over the sentimental shit." Accelerator interjected. "Okay, so everyone here knows she's made of metal." He then glanced over at Pyrrha. "Why don't you show her why we're worried about your fight if someone is making you all hallucinate?"
"Since your secret was shared with me, Penny." Pyrrha continued the conversation. "I think it's only right that I share my secret with you." She held out her hand, and Penny's body shook before she was lifted into the air.
"This is sensational!" Penny cheered. "I seem to be able to fly!"
"It's Pyrrha's Semblance, Penny!" Ruby called up to her before Pyrrha gently lowered her to the ground. "It's Polarity, so she can control metal, not just poles."
"During a match, if you two are giving it everything you have," Weiss explained. "A single mental attack could cause you two to seriously hurt the other. None of us want that, but I doubt we can convince them to call off the festival and tournament."
"Not without evidence," Penny agreed, thinking about it. "This festival brings in a lot of revenue to Vale, along with helping exchange knowledge and foster relationships between the kingdoms. It's why we're continuing tonight rather than having a larger delay. I heard the General discuss this with Winter."
"My sister was involved in that decision?" Weiss asked in surprise.
"I believe she was just being informed of the decision." Penny corrected herself.
"So what is the plan then?" Pyrrha asked them.
"Refuse to fight and see what happens?" Accelerator shrugged.
"They can't!" Ruby admonished him. "The negative effects would be huge! It would also be a huge slap in the face to everyone who fought their very best up to now. We need to resolve the tournament or at least reveal the bad guys first to prove Yang's innocence."
"Could you have some kind of signal? MISAKA asks as MISAKA tries to come up with a good idea to help." Last Order put a finger on her cheek.
"No, the Hallucination Semblance seems to be able to affect sight and sound." Weiss replied. "So we can't use a gesture or code phrase."
"Hmm, might I make a suggestion?" Penny raised her hand.
"We're not in school; you don't have to raise your hand." Ruby weakly giggled.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Penny lowered her hand. "I have thermal scanners in my eyes that would let me detect heat signatures. If this person is using Hallucinations that affect normal sight and sound, they might not be able to interfere with thermal scans. If I use one eye set to thermal and one to normal visual senses, I should be able to identify if there are any unexplainable differences."
"Plus, their Semblance might not affect you since you're not flesh and blood." Accelerator added.
"Yes, but this way, I have multiple contingencies for all possibilities."
"Heh, not bad."
"Could we put a microphone in Pyrrha's ear to let her know she's seeing stuff?" Ruby revealed another idea that came to mind.
"That wouldn't tell you if I was seeing something different than you," Pyrrha replied. "It would just let you talk to me, and even then, for me to talk to you, I would need a microphone that would be visible. Not only would I have to keep telling you what I'm seeing, the culprit might adjust their power if they notice."
"Right… sorry." Ruby realized her idea was doomed to start.
"We need to consider all ideas." Pyrrha tried to cheer up the depressed girl.
"Could you use your Semblance to send out magnetic waves to detect Penny and her swords? MISAKA inquires as MISAKA knows MISAKA and her sisters can do that." Last Order looked at the champion, who was a little shocked at the question.
"I never considered that…" Pyrrha frowned as she thought about it. "I don't think so? While I can control things, I usually rely on my sight to see what I'm manipulating. Maybe if we had more time, I could see if I could mentally feel where metal items are."
"MISAKA thought she had a good idea; MISAKA sighed as MISAKA pouted in her seat." The girl's sad face melted everyone's hearts.
"It wasn't a bad idea, and if we had more time, we would definitely try it." Weiss assured her. She then turned to Accelerator. "Do you have any ideas?"
"Hmm, there's a couple things we could do in our limited time…" Accelerator frowned. "Here's my idea…"
"Spill it."
Touma crossed his arms as he stared at the multicolored girl sitting on his bed. He had left Team RWBY's room and picked up Neo from Team JNPR before dragging her to his team's room since Accelerator, and Last Order were out. Neo seemed fine at first to get some alone time with him until he started questioning her. Her first reactions were flirting and trying to embarrass him, but when that didn't work, she just clammed up.
"I know you know something." Touma told her again. They had been going in circles for ages. "You've been acting weird all day."
Again, Neo didn't do anything but stare at him stoned-faced.
"Neo… come on…" Touma rubbed his head. "I know you want to protect Roman… but if things get out of hand, he's going to get involved too. We can help, but you have to trust us like I want to trust you."
The girl finally shook her head.
"Why can't you tell me?" Touma asked. "Up until now, you've been willing to help. You make a great Huntress and even a hero. Countless lives were saved by you. Why regress now?"
For a moment, the pink and brown-haired girl looked unnerved and sat there motionless with her arms crossed. Finally, she moved and began to sign her answer to Touma. No tablet was needed with him as he took the time to learn to communicate long ago.
'Some things are more precious than others.'
Many people thought Neo was just a girl who wanted to cause havoc wherever she went. In some ways, that was partially right. However, Touma knew better. When Neo cared for something, she would go to great lengths to protect it. Those things may be rare, but they did exist. One such person was Roman Torchwick. Atlas may have thought Neo and Roman were lovers, but that wasn't it. They were family. Neo even admitted to the fact Roman was the closest thing to a real dad she ever had.
The two of them were family.
And both of them were willing to risk it all for the other.
Facing the world for someone else is something Touma understood completely as he sat down.
"I told you I would support you changing for the better," The boy told her softly. "But one thing you understand is how important someone can be to you." Neo looked up, eyes wide. "I, too, have people like that. When you stand against impossible odds to protect them. But in this situation… remaining silent is just going to cause him harm. Ozpin and Ironwood know he's involved. If something happens here… he's going to be their target."
Neo's hand made a fist as she gripped the bed.
"You know it's true, don't you?" Touma continued, trying not to push her too hard but to have her understand the truth. "I want to help him too. Remember? I told him when things get too bad, to come to Ozpin and me, and we'll figure something out. That promise is still on the table. He's important to you, Neo, and you're important to me too."
That surprised the girl, and she looked up in shock.
"It's thanks to you that I'm alive in this world." Touma smiled at her. "Sure, you like to embarrass me a lot, but you also stood by me through everything. Going on annoying missions, helping fight intelligent Grimm, even disarming bombs to protect a peace conference. If we leave Roman behind, he's going to fall down to a place we can't reach. Right now, we can still reach down and grab his hand. I don't care if he's a criminal. Right now, I just want to save the person closest to you."
"The next match will begin in 30 minutes!" An announcement blared through Beacon. There was little time left.
"Neo, you said you were on my side," Touma stared straight into her mismatched eyes. "That I'm the reason you're here. So, please. Help me help you. Tell me what you know. I promise I will do whatever I can to protect Roman and you."
Neo opened her mouth and closed it.
Finally, she began to sign.
'No matter what happens, will you be on my side?'
"Neo, as much as you drive me insane, I still consider you a friend." Touma assured her. "I will protect you."
Neo felt her heart skip at the force of his words.
"You know who caused Yang to hallucinate, don't you?"
Slowly, the girl nodded.
"Please, tell me who and what they are doing."
Neo took a deep breath and signed the answer to the boy's question. As she continued, Touma's mouth fell open in horror.
Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas; I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments I tend to respond to in the next chapter.
Wishez: Back at it with anoth- HELP! HELPPPPPP! HELPPPPPP MEEEEEEEEEEEEE! HELP!
Dark: Man, thanks to the s, Wish gets food, and yet he still complains.