Hyuuuge thunderstorms over here – which I'm kinda happy about since it's been swelteringly hot of late. Less thrilled with the repeating power cuts happening all day. Real fun, that.

Also, it's so humid. The air is wet, the temperature is high, and it's oppressive.


Cover Art: Mystery White Flame

Chapter 38


The tournament was more exciting than Jaune expected it to be.

When he'd thought about it before, he'd thought it all sounded a little ridiculous. Students made to fight in matches for an audience of people who didn't understand anything about it, and who were betting on kids like they were racehorses. The rules of the tournament, and the random arenas and the lessening team numbers, all combined to make it seem like it was poorly designed as well. Flynt and Neon were more into it, so he'd just assumed it was a personal thing and he just wasn't the kind of guy to be into it.

But he'd been wrong.

It was the atmosphere which did it. People were roaring, the commentators were good at hyping things up, and the fights, while undeniably amateur in some cases, were explosive enough to have even him on the edge of his seat. There were numerous times where the entire stadium would gasp at the same time, and him with them, and then cheer or rise to their feet in wild applause.

Was it peer pressure? Conformity? It felt like the excitement of the audience was working its way into him and making him feel excited as well. Whatever it was, he was grateful, because it had him cheering on Ciel, one foot on the railing alongside Flynt, roaring their support into the deafening cacophony. Neon, meanwhile, had a huge foam hand in Atlas colours of white and blue, which she was waving over her head like she was at a rave.

Only a few seats down from them, a team from Mistral were doing the same for the other team, likely their friends, and insults that felt more good-natured than aggressive were being thrown between one of them and Flynt. Even Penny was on her feet, hands gripping the railing so hard it was bending in places.

"Go on, Ciel!" she shouted, at a volume louder than anyone would expect of such a small girl. "Win! You can do it!"

Ciel was doing well but her team were flagging. Unlike their own team, hers was one which would only get stronger as they were forced into 2v2 and then 1v1, because Ciel could stop being dragged down by her lazy teammates. That was another reason the tournament was strange. Some teams, like Pyrrha Nikos', would be weakest at the start and almost unstoppable later, while others like their own would have really good odds early, but would get weaker as things went on.

It was honestly a little wrong in his head that teamwork and strategy were being pushed aside, left somehow "less valuable" than individual skill consolidated in a single person. A team with skill spread evenly over its members had less chance of winning this tournament than one good person on a team with three ailing pensioners.

But, at the end of the day, it wasn't his tournament and maybe there was a reason it was like this. Maybe it sold better, or got better ratings, or they'd tried it the other way and it didn't work out. It was always easy to look at something and poke holes, but the correct response was to take a moment to try and figure out why something was done a certain way.

"And Ciel Soleil takes down her opponent!" called the commentator.

Jaune's attention snapped back in time to watch Ciel dash past her fallen foe and engage another from behind. The Mistral team beside them groaned, while Neon leapt to her feet and started waving her foam finger with both hands. It was a quick clean up from there. Ciel's team rounded up their opponents and put them out, though two of Ciel's team were also knocked out along the way.

Penny screamed in joy and leapt on him, hugging him tight enough that he had to use a little aura to protect himself. Flynt, meanwhile, turned around and double-high-fived another Atlas team behind them, then they all went full hooligan and started shouting "ATLAAAS! ATLAAAS!" The chant spread among the Atlas teams in the competitor's area, to the groans of many, but a quick response from the Vacuan teams chanting, "VACUOOOO! VACUOOO! VACUOOO!"

It was a mess. It was also a place filled with changing, cheering, howling and laughter, and Jaune supposed that was what the Vytal Festival was meant to be all about. Cooperation, peace, and forgetting all the horrible stuff in the world like Grimm and terrorism. In that, if nothing else, it succeeded beyond all expectations.

There was necessary downtime between each fight to change the arena, see to the injured – if there were any – and, inevitably, to run adverts. The festival was as commercialised as might have been expected, and Jaune tuned out from the latest ad for an energy sports drink guaranteed to give YOU the strength of a Beowolf. The monstrous creature on the screen (computer-generated) roared and tore the top off the can, then downed it in one go.

"BEOWOLF!" sounded the dramatic voice overlaid across it. "Unleash your inner beast!"

"Tell me that's not in poor taste," said Neon.

"I can't," he replied. "But what can you do? This is the Vytal Festival. Everything is Grimm, fighting, or huntsman-related, and if I have to listen through another commercial on Huntsman Body Spray, I'll go crazy."

"But Jaune!" teased Flynt. "It keeps our huntsmen dry and in control out in the field. How can you not like it?"

"The last thing I care about in the field is body odour. And no, it does not protect your pits like aura. I can't believe half these taglines."

They'd been funny at first, like watching children play at something they didn't understand, but the humour quickly faded as it laid bare the sheer depth of ignorance the average person had for their life. Sure, he'd been ignorant as well when he signed up, but he'd taken steps to learn. The average person seemed to think the primary use of aura was skincare, and that huntsmen cared about looking and smelling good.

Never mind that deodorants and aftershaves could literally get you killed – either because the Grimm could smell them, or because your sense of smell was impacted by it, and you didn't notice signs of Grimm that you otherwise might have.

"Turn that frown upside down," said Neon, punching his arm. "It's dumb, we know, but we're here to have fun. Stop overthinking everything. Sheesh. I don't know what Ciel sees in you sometimes." Her eyes dipped low, teasingly. "Makes me wonder if it's something hidden away."

"Nah," laughed Flynt. "I've seen him in the showers."

"Assholes." Jaune swiped for them both and missed by a mile. "All right. All right. You win. Now does anyone want an Ursa-Burger, or are we holding off in the hope our fight happens today?"

"Murphy's law says if we assume it won't and eat then ours literally be the next fight."

"But if we don't eat then we'll never fight."

It was a tough choice made all the tougher as two more fights passed by. Jaune envied those who had already been, win or lose, because they could cut loose and just have fun. Theirs wasn't the only one stressing out. As the day went on, people became more anxious, fidgeting and going quieter as their time eventually came. It was like being in the waiting room of a dentist, knowing it wouldn't be anything too bad but panicking beyond all reason regardless.

And at least they didn't end up against Pyrrha Nikos and her team. They got to destroy a team from Vacuo who, by all rights, deserved more chances to show off. They were good, fighting together with excellent synergy, but simply falling to Pyrrha Nikos' years of experience in the tournament circuit. Jaune could already see why she was a favourite despite being a first year.

It wasn't just that she was strong or skilful, but she played the arena well. Most people were used to spars until aura out, but Pyrrha scored one ring-out, then managed to use another opponent to distract his own ally, pushing them together and causing them to trip over each other. It was honestly a little daunting.

"I'm kind of glad we agreed to let Flynt and Neon go on alone to the doubles now," said Jaune.

"Wow," groaned Neon. "Thanks."

Team RWBY were sent up against a team from Mistral, who they dispatched after a bit of a protracted fight. It was messy, but Ruby took more control than she had against them, so they were able to eke out the win. The only worry was that he'd heard from her that Weiss and Yang would be going on ahead, so they'd be without a leader. Weiss could probably do well, but it was up in the air whether Yang would listen to her in combat. It might just turn into a beating stick contest, and he had to admit that Yang had a big stick with her Semblance.

"And our next match is Team CRDL of Beacon. Their opponents: Team JCKP of Atlas!"

"Cash money!" cheered Flynt. "Another first-year team. Yes!"

Jaune grinned with him, feeling the relief hit hard. Losing in the second round wouldn't have felt bad, but going out in the first would have sucked, and there were a lot of older teams here they could have been put up against.

"Let's do this."

/-/

The team across from them had a look of confidence about them, and Jaune wasn't sure what to make of it. Four guys, the largest of which was clad in full armour as if aura was a secondary concern. The weapon he wielded, a large two-handed mace, was one of those weapons that made a lot more sense against Grimm than people, which Jaune supposed spoke well of the guy. Not every huntsman wanted to fight their fellow man.

That image was a little ruined by the one with a mohawk wielding two small knives that wouldn't penetrate deep enough into a Grimm's body to do much of anything. Did they use dust to plant charges or fire deeper? Or did a Semblance give it some value? It had to be something, because a pair of knives just wasn't going to cut it against an Ursa's thick hide and deep muscle tissue.

"No smokes," said Jaune, as the commentators droned on. "They saw us fight Team RWBY so they must expect that."

"What's the plan, then?"

"Would you think it too simple if I said overwhelming firepower? None of them even have any guns."

Flynt snorted. "Audience might find that boring."

"Do we care?" asked Neon.

"Nah. Just saying. It's fine with me. Keeps our abilities hidden. Ought to teach these clowns a lesson, too. Mecha-shift exists for a reason."

"Says the man who wields a trumpet," said Penny.

Somehow, Jaune found her ability to sass charming, especially since she'd been so innocent at first that she couldn't even call them by their names without adding "friend" before it. Penny was making great progress, and Neon must have thought so too because she laughed and held her hand out for a high-five.

"Man, even the toaster is bullying me now," groaned Flynt.

It was also a testament to how far Penny had come that she recognised he was making a joke and not an insult. The robotic girl simply shook her head, smiled faintly, and said, "Let us use Jaune's plan. It should work well. I don't know their Semblances, but they can't all have ones that make up for their lack of ranged options."

The four of them spread out evenly. The same for Team CRDL. They brought out their weapons and began stretching. Jaune, on the other hand, left his father's sword in its scabbard and swung around the SMG he'd been given by Atlas on its strap, letting it rest in an ease position against his chest, thumb brushing against the safety.

"BEGIN!"

"Spread out!" barked Jaune. "Focus fire – armour!"

The four of them leapt back as Team CRDL ran forward, guns coming up. Or, in Flynt's case, his trumpet, and in Penny's case her knives. The armoured one with the mace was suddenly blasted from four directions at once, driven back by the sheer hail of gunfire and weaponry. His aura protected him, but the force of it still stopped his charge and sent him stumbling, as his hands came up to try and cover his face.

"Arghh!"

"Keep shooting! Put him down!"

Aura was, in a sense, just a number. You either had enough, or you didn't, and every attack, no matter how insignificant, tore another piece off that aura away. Guns were good at that, especially rapid-firing ones like his SMG. Each bullet might have only taken 1% aura off at best, but he had thirty-two in a clip, and wasn't afraid to reload while skipping back from the guy with the knives.

That didn't mean escape. The mohawk guy snarled and followed with some honestly skilful footwork, catching him in the head with a foot, and then stabbing a knife into his back. It probably took off a good 5% of Jaune's aura, but, in that time, he'd unloaded everything on Cardina and also managed to reload, and everyone else had been shooting nonstop as well. Better yet, Neon was skating away from her enemies and staying completely out of range.

"Cardin Winchester is out. Cause: aura!"

"Knives!" Jaune shouted.

He brought his gun up to block the next thrust of said weapon, narrowly diverting it over his head. The boy kicked under and hit him in the gut, but that was fine. A lesser hit to his aura than a knife to the throat. A moment later, the firepower from Penny, Neon and Flynt came burning down on his aggressor, slamming into him with the force of a meteorite. Worse still, for Team CRDL, was the fact that they now had the numerical edge, and Penny was free to come up behind him and wrap the guy in her wires. A grunt and a twist sent him sailing up and out the ring.

"Russel Thrush disqualified due to ring out!"

"Neon and Flynt retreat!" shouted Jaune, surprising them. They obeyed instantly, Neon skating away and Flynt making a break for it. Flynt's expression demanded an explanation. "Keep your skills hidden for the next round – Penny and I can handle this. Support without showing anything off."

They got the idea and Flynt saluted quickly, leaving Penny and Jaune to approach the last two. It still wasn't an even fight, and Jaune had no intention of making it one. This was their only chance to show off their 4v4 teamwork, and he'd be damned if he didn't make it count. Beyond that, the spectators would get a good idea how Penny and he fought, and they might even assume they were the strongest and thus going forward.

It'd be funny to see their expressions when they researched the two of them, only to realise they were facing Neon and Flynt.

"Damn cowards!" howled one of them, wielding a polearm. "You won't even dare face us!"

"Not if we don't have to." Jaune brought his weapon up.

They never stood a chance.

/-/

Jaune took it as a sign of his having done a good job, later, when Ciel revealed to him that their fight was being called "the most boring one yet" in online videos. They had a laugh about that, especially the comments insulting his team for their "cowardice" and for them "not being sporting" in the competition. It was beyond ridiculous.

On the bright side, most of the other teams in the competition seemed to think they'd handled it well. It was just the people who saw the tournament as entertainment who weren't thrilled with how quick the match was.

"It's a valuable lesson for everyone to learn," said Ciel. "I guarantee every fight after this will start with people running for cover immediately."

"I mean, they didn't have ranged weapons," said Jaune. "What was I supposed to do?"

"To listen to the comments, you were supposed to run in and fight them fairly." Ciel was leaning against him, the two of them lounging in one of Beacon's common rooms while they looked over fights on his scroll. They'd agreed to work together to do research so their respective teams could have an edge, but it felt more like they were just hanging out.

He couldn't say he was against it.

"Is this a Valean thing?"

Ciel laughed. "I think it's an armchair huntsman thing. People who know nothing telling us how to do our jobs. Speaking of, have you decided who will be sent on to the next round from your team? Is it yourself and Penny?"

"No. Atlas doesn't want Penny revealed."

"Really? Odd. Originally, the whole plan was to test her here."

"They say she's progressed enough by being on our team. They don't feel the need to push her any further."

"Hm. That's fairer, I suppose. Will you be in the crowd then?"

"We'll be staying here at Beacon."

Ciel drew away from him. "You will? Why?"

"Orders."

The specifics, he couldn't give, but Ciel knew about Penny, and she knew about the woman who attacked him before, so he figured she was at least approved to know why there were doing something. Sure enough, she nodded and leaned back into him. "Ah. That's a shame. Not a surprise, though. Winter requested I stay on Amity no matter what to keep watch. I assume you're doing the same but at Beacon."

"Sounds like it. Do you really think they'll try anything?"

"Hard to say. The Whie Fang are seemingly demolished after the train crash, but it only takes one person to cause a scene. They might just be wanting to cover all their bases with this, but there is still the huntress you faced before out there."

"There's also the girl who tried to kill me."

"Her too." Ciel sighed. "It seems to me there's still more going on whether or not we believe it. Be careful tomorrow. Stay with Penny, and don't take anything for granted. Beacon won't be safe with most everyone on Amity."

"You know me." Jaune squeezed her against his side. "I'll be careful."

/-/

Penny and Jaune watched Flynt and Neon leave with almost everyone else from Beacon, including many of the teachers, leaving the school ominously empty. It wasn't entirely so, as some students had chosen not to attend, unable to afford tickets, and some just didn't care. There were Atlas soldiers as well, though nowhere near as many as there was on Amity.

"What would we do?" asked Penny. "We are but two people to watch over all of Beacon. How can we possibly see everything?"

"I wish I had a good answer."

"Maybe we just stay here, outside." Penny gestured to the open lawns and the plaza in front of the academy. "Anyone coming would cross our path, and we should be able to see them. Unless you have a better idea…?"

"No. Yours is a good one."

Jaune slid down to sit cross-legged, and Penny did the same after a moment. They watched as the aircraft took off for Amity, ferrying the students there. The colosseum was visible in the sky even from Beacon, a rare sight in Vale, but, in Atlas, a city floating above another was commonplace. It was surprising how quickly he'd gotten used to it.

"I don't sense anything," said Penny.

"It wouldn't be now anyway. It'd happen during the fights."

"If it's today at all."

"If it happens at all," added Jaune. "This is all just in case." He pushed his legs out, sitting down more comfortably. "Though I have to admit I'd feel a lot safer if there were more people around. A place like Beacon feels creepy when it's this quiet."

"I'm here."

"I mean more the atmosphere." Jaune smiled her way to try and ease her worries. "I guess it's a human thing. We don't like not having other people around us. Or some of us don't. It helps that you're here, but such a big building being silent gives off an ominous feeling. That's all."

"Hm. Is that so? Then I will have to keep that in mind." Penny looked up suddenly. "I'm receiving a transmission. It's…" Her face scrunched up. "Odd."

"Odd how? A scroll call?"

"No. It's garbled. No, not garbled, artificial. Code. It's…" She shuddered, then shook her head. "It is a string of numbers, letters, and symbols. To you, it would be meaningless, and it doesn't make any sense to me either. It's a program I can't run – or one that my systems don't recognise."

"What does that mean?" asked Jaune.

"It means someone is broadcasting an unknown signal out across the area – and that signal is intended to do something, but I do not know what." Penny pushed herself to her feet. "It is familiar, though. I recognise strands of Atlas software inside."

Jaune relaxed. "Then it's on our side?"

"No. Strands of Atlas software. Not the whole thing. Like it is meant to connect and operate with it but is an outside file. I-" Penny cut off with a gasp, bringing Jaune to his feet. "Something is wrong!" she cried, suddenly afraid. "I am receiving signals from targeting systems and identity tags from Atlas military technology. It is requesting my ID verification codes!"

"What does that mean?"

"It means they are requesting to know whether I am friend or foe. It is a targeting safety system that prevents them from harming our own soldiers or civilians, but it should not be active – and it should not need to ask." Penny closed her eyes, concentrated, then gasped again. "My verification codes have been denied! I've been flagged as Grimm!"

"What? How-"

"You have been flagged as Grimm as well!" she gasped. "No, not you – everyone! It's targeting everyone as Grimm-"

Seconds later, a burst of gunfire tore out across Beacon, making them both duck for cover. It wasn't aimed at them, however. It wasn't even close to them. Instead, a set of windows across the building exploded inward as tracer fire pummelled Beacon Academy.

"We're under attack!" howled Jaune. "Contact Winter!"

"I can't! All signals are blocked!"

"How? How is that even-" The answer came immediately. "The CCT! Shit, we need to get to the CCT now and fix this!"

There was no time to think further. Already, he could see giant machines stomping around Beacon, scanning the area. The mass-produced versions of the prototype model, now somehow malfunctioning and going crazy. They had to get in touch with Winter, Ironwood, or Warden, but for that to happen they needed a working communications system.

"Go ahead!" yelled Penny, when a huge mech stomped toward them. "I will dispatch this and then follow!" Her blades shot out her back, piercing into the machine's weapon arm and pulling its arm aside, forcing the minigun to fire harmlessly into the ground. "Go!"

Jaune ran. He didn't doubt Penny would be fine – she was far superior to anything here, and anything Atlas could field. There was screaming now, coming from the school. Panic and fear, but, hopefully, training would kick in and they'd start fighting back. Hopefully. Jaune just prayed there was nothing as bad going on at Amity.


Next Chapter: 15th July

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