AN: Hey everyone! Alpha here. I'm thankful for all of your continued patience with me as I continue this story that I hold dear!
I had to actually break this chapter up into two chapters because of time. I hope you're all okay with that-there's a lot of moving parts happening here, so I wanted to give each of the primary stories happening here their due, and the best way to do that was to cut things off and separate them. Nobody likes cliff hangers, but everyone hates poor writing more, I think.
We're getting super close to the end of the first half of the primary story (after 3 years! My goodness!) and I wanted to make sure things progress as smoothly into the end of this as possible. Thank you all for your understanding, and let's get to the story!
For the first time since the tournament began, Ruby was beyond excited, far more so than she was nervous.
She knew that, more than likely, Yang and Blake would cross her and Weiss's path if they kept winning. And now, both teams were set up to square off.
Ruby and Weiss had watched the previous fight with Penny and Ciel in the cafeteria, and Penny could see the energy radiating from Ruby's entire body. The young teen was practically vibrating with excitement.
"Ruby, are you not concerned about how skilled and powerful Yang and Blake have become?" she asked, tilting her head to the side slightly with curiosity.
Ruby's eyes shone with anticipation. "Are you kidding? The fact they've gotten so strong is the reason I'm excited!" She pumped her fist in the air and grinned extensively, the move forcing Weiss to lean away from her to avoid getting punched in the face. "This is going to be even tougher than the Regionals, and I can't wait to get out there and kick Yang's butt!"
"Will you settle down?" Weiss scolded her. "It wouldn't do either of us any good if you knocked me out before the fight!"
Penny giggled as she sat and watched the two. "Ciel, do you think my father would mind if we accompanied them ringside?"
Ciel eyed her curiously. "I don't think so, but I'm not sure if that's technically allowed."
"We could ask Ruby's mother!" She replied. "Since she is a Gunpla Referee, she would know if it would be permitted."
"Why do you want to come with us ringside?" Ruby asked. "Couldn't you just see us from the stands?"
Penny turned back to her, her eyes shining brightly. "It was my hope that I would be able to face you in the tournament," she explained. "The Gundam Destiny Scythe's speed would have been a wonderful challenge to face while using the Gundam Hi-FX Polendina. Since I cannot do that, I'd like to see you and Yang fight in person, instead."
Weiss shrugged. "I don't think it would matter, as long as they didn't try to interfere with the fight. Salem Autry joined her team on the floor in the second round, after all."
Ruby smiled brightly and nodded. "Okay! I would love to have you there, Penny. It'd mean a lot to me for you to cheer us on!"
The group turned and watched the finale of the last match as the crowd erupted and the English announcers began to raise their voices in excitement. Peter Port and Amanita Peach were eagerly and excitedly talking about how things were progressing, and they watched as the G-Hopper was destroyed by Watts' Grand Bull Gundam Custom and how Team Godslayer quickly took out Jack's Nu Preliator, ending the first round of the semi finals.
"Wow…" Ruby stared on in shock. "I knew Hazel was going to be tough, but I've never seen a Gunpla take that much of a beating and survive still fully functional before."
Penny's face had a mix of emotions as they contemplated the total defeat of Team Jackrabbit. Weiss glanced at her, and couldn't help but feel like watching the carrot haired girl felt more like watching a doll emote than a person. Something about her felt almost artificial, like the uncanny valley was in full force.
Ciel noticed Weiss's look. She felt wearily uncomfortable with the look in the young woman's eyes. "When do you two go up?" She asked, hoping to divert attention away from Penny.
Weiss snapped her attention back to Ciel. "Oh. Probably in about half an hour," she replied. "They need time to reset and recharge the system's Plavsky Particles."
Ruby sighed, letting her tension flow out of her and smiling happily. "Okay, then I think we should finish up here and head down there." She turned to Weiss. "I can't wait to see what you did to the Sinanju. You gotta show me the specs once we're done!"
Weiss nodded. "You and me, Ruby. Let's do this."
Blake closed her book and looked at Yang, who was shadow boxing lightly in the corner of the rest area. "You ready?"
Yang grinned broadly and stood up straight, slamming her fists together. "Oh yeah! It's time for a little payback! I owe Rubes a good three or four uppercuts for that win she got on me in the Regionals!"
Blake giggled slightly, standing up and adjusting her cat ear beanie. "I love you," she said softly, walking up to Yang and kissing her lightly.
Yang returned the kiss, before pulling back and giving her a subtle, gentle smile. "I know. I love me too."
Blake rolled her eyes and hugged her, shaking her head and nuzzling Yang. "Dork."
"Heh. I love you too, kitcat." Yang wrapped her arms around Blake and held her for a moment, before looking up and spotting someone watching them.
It was Neo, who appeared to be giving them a little space but was smiling and waiting patiently for their embrace to end.
"Oh! Hey Neo!" Yang called out as Blake pulled away. The two greeted the young woman, who merely bowed respectfully towards them.
"Oh, is this the girl you told me about?" Blake asked, tilting her head to the side.
Yang nodded. "One of them, yeah. The other's Emerald, who was in that fight with Sekai's friends earlier." She turned back to Neo. "What's up? Haven't seen you since that day."
Neo shrugged, before signing to her for a few moments. Blake watched curiously, but didn't interrupt, figuring Yang would translate once they were done.
Once they had finished, Blake looked at Yang. "Is she here to see the fight?"
Yang nodded. "Yeah. It looks like one of her friends is betting on which team's going to take this fight," she replied. "Naturally, she's rooting for us."
Yang's smile made Neo smile in return, before the girl shifted her eyes to Blake. She tilted her head to the side curiously.
"Sorry, I suppose I didn't introduce myself." Blake bowed slightly in respect. "I'm Blake. It's a pleasure to meet you. Yang told me your name's Neo, right?"
Neo nodded, before pulling out her phone and typing in it. "It's a nickname," the text-to-voice function read out loud.
The three of them stood and had a short conversation, mainly talking about their first meeting, when Yang stopped mid sentence while describing her loss to Neo. "Actually, now that I think about it, I was hoping to find you again."
Neo gave her a quizzical look, so she continued. "When we were fighting before, you had this hologram projector that really tripped me up. How's you manage that?"
The ice cream-colored woman's eyes lit up, and her smile became a bit more devious. She signed to Yang briefly, before winking and shaking her head.
"I take it she's not going to tell you?" Blake asked, looking for a translation.
Yang shook her head and shrugged. "Nope. She said it's a 'trade secret.'" She looked up at the lights in disappointment. "Maaaan, that woulda been really cool to pull off in the fight."
The dismay in Yang's voice made both Blake and Neo chuckle a bit. She signed an apology to Yang, before putting her hands down in front of her.
Yang was about to say something, but stopped herself and checked her watch. Ten minutes until the fight. "Well, we got to go," she said. "Let's try and meet up sometime soon, yeah? I'd love to hang out with you again!"
Neo happily nodded, and stood aside as Yang looked down the hall towards the doors that led towards the arena. "Alright, Blake, let's go kick Ruby and Weiss's butts."
"I'm right behind you." She waved at Neo, saying her goodbyes, before jogging down the hall after Yang.
Neo watched the two leave, maintaining her smile, but inside she felt a knot form. She did like Ruby and Yang; the two had been very kind to her, more than she had expected.
It was almost sad to know what the others had in store for them and their friends.
Summer and Raven were locked in a staring contest, and Tai was stuck in the middle.
Ever since the semi final matches were announced, tension between them had been incredible. The friction in the air, a competitive nature that Summer rarely had but was being fully exhibited today, was causing sparks that all of them could see.
The Belladonnas were laughing behind them, as was Nikolas, who was sitting in front of them, while Winter, and Willow Schnee tried their best to remain neutral and ignore the banter.
"You realize that Ruby's not going to just lie down and let Yang win, right?" Summer challenged, a confident look in her silver eyes that seemed to outshine almost everything in the stadium.
"I believe you're putting too much faith in your daughter," Raven snapped back. "Yang and Blake have both been working extremely hard at my dojo. I daresay that Blake has managed to actually surpass most of the people in this tournament. Including Ruby and her little friend."
Winter prickled at the barbed tone Raven took, but Willow did her best to remain impassive to the comment, though she did secretly wish she had a drink in her hand. Nikolas roared with laughter.
"Oh, I have no doubt that Blake and Yang may have beaten Ruby and my granddaughter before," Nikolas replied, turning around and smiling at Raven. "But I think you'll find things have changed."
Raven snorted. "If you're referring to her Sinanju, I can assure you she lacks the skill or control to handle that machine. I tested it myself."
Winter shot a dangerous look back at Raven. "Is that so? Was this before, or after, her training with Ruby and Hathaway yesterday?"
Raven raised a doubt filled eyebrow. "Before, but I hardly think one day will make up for her lack of competency in piloting that machine."
Winter gritted her teeth. "What did you say?!"
"I feel like you're also taking Ruby's adaptability into account," Summer stated. "She's shown remarkable ingenuity in every fight. I think you'll find she's full of surprises."
"Oh, this is fun," Kali giggled. "I can't wait to start work tonight and tell everyone at the Gunpla bar about this."
Ghira gave her a concerned look. It was clear he wasn't fully on board with her working at her old job, but he also knew that was mainly his overprotectiveness talking.
"Ruby is skilled-I have no qualms admitting that," Raven replied simply. "I just don't see how she can overcome Blake and Yang after all the training I've put them through."
The shimmer of competition shined in Summer's eye. "If I remember correctly, out of all the ones you fought 'seriously' the other day when they interfered with your fight with Yang, which one was the one who actually survived?"
Raven glared at Summer, who simply sat up with pride. "I think you'll find my little Rose Petal is full of surprises."
Winter's icy stare locked onto Raven. "And you should never count Weiss out in a fight. She is not the same person she was when you last saw her."
Nikolas simply smiled to himself. "Nor is her Gunpla going to be the same, if her recent enhancements were made the way I believe they were."
The air between the group was thick with tension. Sparks were about to fly.
Tai groaned loudly, looking up at the ceiling. "Ugh…I guess Qrow's the lucky one here, missing all this," he commented, feeling trapped between the competitive edges of all of his friends around him.
The two teams stared down across the battle table. Yang wore a confident and incredibly smug look, hands shoved in her pockets as she and Ruby's gazes seemed to portray a power struggle that had been building since the finals of the US Northwest Regionals.
"I think it's about time we settle this, don't you?" She asked.
Weiss, placing her carrying case down on the table, nodded. "Yes, I think so, too."
Ruby pulled out the Destiny Scythe out of the pouch on her belt. "Expect to lose again, Yang. I don't plan on going easy on you."
Yang laughed and grinned excitedly. "Heh, that's my kind!"
Through the entire engagement of pre-match banter, Blake stayed quiet, letting them all declare their intentions. She, too, was excited, but she also wasn't going to get swept away in the moment. Ruby and Weiss were her best friends, but she wasn't going to let sentiments distract her from her goals.
When she first entered the tournament, she didn't feel like she was that skilled. Alongside Raven's tutelage and Yang's skills and encouragement, she'd grown from a novice to an ace in a matter of weeks, and the support she'd gotten from all of her friends had helped get her here.
The best way to repay them was to give them her all.
Ciel and Penny looked between the two teams. They, like the rest of the stadium, felt the energy and tension. Penny looked at Ciel, her bright eyes sparkling. "Can you feel it?" She asked. "This is the kind of thing that I have been wanting to witness and experience since I began playing Gunpla Battle!"
Ciel gave her a small smile and a nod. Seeing Penny this animated was a treat; it made her look and feel truly alive.
Weiss opened the case and withdrew her Gunpla. The machine taken out of the case was clearly not the Gyan Noblesse Oblige. In fact, it was far superior to anything even the group had ever seen Weiss use before.
Shining in a brilliant silver anti-beam paint, with metallic blue Sleeves motif, was a custom Sinanju, built like a fusion of the normal Sinanju and the Sinanju Stein. It's shoulder pauldrons were enlarged slightly and flared like the normal Sinanju's, but lacked the spikes on the thruster flaps that hung down. Its backpack was large, black, and pointed downwards rather than behind it, but it was clear that it could rotate to some degree. With them pointed down, it gave the custom Sinanju a slimmer profile, and allowed for the addition of two lines of tree Rose Bits on the top of each backpack pod.
It held a Sinanju beam rifle in its left hand and a brand new, custom, giant knight-like shield on its right arm. The shield held a similar silver beam coating and metallic blue pieces around it, with a large bladed edge that completely lined the entire edge.
Yang whistled. "Wow, gotta say, that's hella impressive, Weiss. When did you build that?"
"Last night," she replied. "Although I had some help manufacturing it, the design and everything else about it is mine."
Ruby stared at the machine. She could see so many elements of Weiss's evolution as a builder in it, but could also see things that even she didn't understand at first glance.
"Now I get why you didn't ask for my help," she admitted. She gave Weiss an approving look. "Okay. Let's do this."
"GUNPLA BATTLE COMBAT MODE, START UP! MODEL DAMAGE LEVEL SET TO A!"
A brilliant starscape surrounded the area, as the field stretched over the table. Messiah, the giant ZAFT space fortress, floated in the center of the map.
The teams set their GP Bases and Gunpla down as the holographic cockpits rose around them. Weiss gripped the control orbs nervously.
Now, hidden behind the cockpit, she let out an anxious sigh. She hadn't been able to test the new Gunpla outside of simulations she did on Arian while waiting for the production of the Gunpla. It was meant to refine the creation process to match her skills as a pilot, and she hoped her training with Hathaway had improved things enough that the Gunpla would respond as the simulation had, but she wasn't sure.
"Alright. We can do this," she whispered to herself, and her Gunpla, closing her eyes to calm her nerves. "You hear me, Stalritter? You and me. We can do this."
Ruby's voice popped up to her right. "You ready?"
She slowly opened her eyes and nodded, facing forward and focusing on the simulated launch tunnel. "Ready. Weiss Schnee, Sinanju Stalritter, launching!"
The Sinanju jolted forward, throwing Weiss into the endless void. She watched as the black field was filled with small explosions and beam attacks from ships far off in the battle, and ones much closer and reachable. This was an active battlefield, not just a passive combat site.
Ruby flew next to her, keeping pace with the Sinanju, just as Weiss expected she would. If there was any machine that could keep up with her, it would be Ruby's.
"How's the new Gunpla?" She asked, watching Weiss.
The Stalritter flexed and moved slightly, its calf thruster pods rotating around the legs and its arms, feet, knees, and backpack moving to test their response times. Weiss was more than surprised and pleased at their movement; it worked even better than the simulations suggested.
"Pretty good, I'd say," she replied pleasantly. "Though I won't know the upper limits of its speed and power until we actually fight."
Ruby nodded, then looked ahead of them. "Well, doesn't look like we'll need to wait long for that."
She zoomed in and watched as Blake and Yang circled on opposite sides of a Nazca-class destroyer, Yang going high while Blake went low. The two were heading straight for Team WhiteRose, and doing so quickly.
"How do you wanna play this?" Ruby asked.
"I'll take Blake," Weiss responded. "I suspect Yang won't take kindly to fighting me. You can handle her on your own, right?"
"Oh yeah," her partner said, confidence flowing in her voice. "Be careful, okay?"
"You, two." She and Ruby split and the Sinanju dipped down, aiming its beam rifle at the 00 Bella and firing.
Blake immediately evaded the yellow blast. "Looks like you were right, Yang." She twirled around and dodged a second shot. "I got her. Go beat Ruby!"
Yang slammed her fists together, feeling herself assimilate with the Blazing Archon. "You got it. Take her out!"
The 00 Bella returned fire as it dodged another shot. Weiss raised her shield, letting the beam resistant coating refract the pink blast off of her.
Blake fired again, expecting the paint to have burned away, but was shocked as a second blast refracted. "Wait, how-"
Weiss smirked. Good. The armor was holding, as she expected. Mixing the beam coating in with the plastic had created a stronger defensive coating that would require more than one shot to weaken.
She clicked her left orb and selected an alt form, opening up several panels across the Gunpla that revealed extra control thrusters on the front of its shins, backpack, and exposed through the chest vent covers. She pushed the orbs forward and rocketed forth, closing the distance in a matter of seconds, taking Blake by surprise and forcing her immediately on the defensive.
Blake raised her shield and flipped her GN Sword up as Weiss's bladed shield slammed into the 00 Bella, roughly knocking it away with its superior mass and speed.
Weiss activated her additional thrusters and rotated her calf boosters forward to slow herself down and change speed, rolling into a turn to give chase as Blake caught herself and corrected her attitude. She flipped above Weiss as the Sinanju Stalritter rushed her again, flying up to avoid another slam.
Weiss rotated around again and opened fire, causing Blake to activate a GN particle shield to block the golden beam attack.
The Sinanju Stalritter followed the beam almost immediately, slamming once again into Blake with a golden beam saber bayonet attached to the end of its rifle. The blade's intensity forced Blake back, and she activated Transient Burst mode just to keep herself from getting forced back any further.
"What is this?!" She asked, panicking as she stabbed through her shield to cause Weiss to retreat. She had never seen Weiss so aggressive before, and in a machine that fast and powerful, she would overtake Blake if she wasn't careful.
Ruby watched from a distance as Blake teleported behind Weiss, causing her to turn and block her sword with the Sinanju's shield. Weiss's new Gunpla was amazing-so powerful and fast. It was like watching a completely different person fight as her partner.
"Ruby!"
She broke her concentration and looked to her left, seeing the Blazing Gundam Archon floating in the black void before her. Yang had her arms crossed, and her face appeared on Ruby's HUD, her grin shining brightly as she stared her sister down.
"I owe you from the Regionals, and I aim to collect," she declared. She unfolded her arms and balled her fists up. "I hope you won't take it personal when Blake and I send you guys back to the bleachers."
Ruby gripped her rifle tightly, holding it in both hands in front of her. "Sorry, Yang, but that's not happening." Her smile faded and she gave Yang a determined glare. "I worked too hard to get sent home now. This isn't going to be like the Regionals. I'm not going to underestimate you, this time."
"Good. Because I'm not holding back." The Blazing Archon ignited as Yang fully assimilated, its glowing hair-like beam mantle extending from its back and golden fire spurting from the exposed Plavsky Particle pieces on its body. "So what do ya say we cut the crap and do this?"
Ruby shifted her rifle forward, narrowing her eyes and focusing on Yang. Her grip on her control orbs tightened with tension as she waited and watched. "Yes. Let's."
The Blazing Archon ignited its thrusters and launched itself, Plavsky Particles trailing its trajectory. Ruby fired a yellow bolt at her as she closed in, but Yang quickly altered course by creating a Plavsky Particle platform to push off of and close the distance to Ruby's right.
The Destiny Scythe activated its beam shield to defend against an incoming, fire-engulfed fist. Its shield fluctuated wildly under the intense power from Yang's blow, but Ruby smiled as the energy levels remained stable. Good, she thought. It seemed like the shield's power draw from her revamped RG System had indeed equalized, like she expected. She had anticipated opponents like Hathaway going forward, remembering the devastating Forbidden Breaker's charged particle cannon, and wanted to be sure such an attack wouldn't shatter her shield if she defended against it.
Compared to that, Yang's fists were child's play.
Ruby raised her left arm and fired off a shot from the palma fiocina, which Yang front flipped over the Destiny Scythe to avoid. She swung her foot down in a heel kick, but Ruby dodged and transformed her scythe from rifle mode.
The massive pink energy blade cut through space, forcing Yang to lean back and move to the side to avoid it. She tried to move in for another blow, but Ruby countered by rotating the scythe blade around one hundred and eighty degrees and swung again, nearly taking Yang's left arm off at the elbow in the process.
She transformed the weapon back to rifle mode mid swing just as Yang lashed out with a knee. The Destiny Scythe's own leg raised and defended itself from the blow, before firing another palma fiocina shot that forced Yang back.
She returned fire with a Blazing Shot, launching a potent, concentrated fireball at Ruby, who avoided it with a quick side step. She returned fire with three blasts from her rifle. Yang ducked two of them and slapped the third away, using her fiery fists to defend herself. "Not good enough!"
Yang and Ruby circled each other, looking for an opening while testing each other's defenses at range. Yang unveiled her 90mm clavicle Gatling guns and occasional Blazing Shots and arm mounted shotgun blasts, peppering Ruby with countless small beams, shotgun pellets, and fireballs that she blocked with her left shield. She returned the favor with shots from her rifle and head Vulcans, trying to throw Yang off by targeting her limbs. Their fight had them drift close to Messiah, and away from their partners.
The Blazing Archon ducked under a particularly close shot, before swooping low and landing an uppercut that slammed into the chest of the Destiny Scythe. Ruby grunted as her cockpit shook, unable to avoid the follow up blow as Yang lifted her up and kicked her away, causing her to slam into the rocky surface of the space fortress.
The impact caused Ruby to bounce off of Messiah, drifting back towards Yang as the Blazing Archon moved in for a flaming dive kick. She had to think; that blow would be too strong for her shields and she couldn't escape in time.
Rotating her large beam cannon forward to her hip, Ruby fired, slamming into Yang's foot. The stored Plavsky Particles used for the kick protected the Blazing Archon, but it halted Yang's dive to a crawl as she struggled against the intense attack.
Yang broke off the attack as the beam dissipated, allowing Ruby to right herself just in time to evade Yang's next attack. The Blazing Archon stopped itself and turned in time to intercept a brutal kick to the head, raising it's forearm to block Ruby's foot. The impact still knocked her sideways, but Yang suffered no damage as her gauntlets absorbed the attack.
The battles between the two separate pairs were fierce. While Ruby and Yang rallied for another go, Weiss found herself suddenly on the defensive as Blake blitzed her.
The 00 Bella teleported and slashed at Weiss, who dodged and stabbed at it with her bayonet, only to hit its after image. She raised her shield to defend against a dashing strike, but Blake again warped out of existence before the impact, appearing at her left side and dashing forward. Her GN Blade cut through Weiss's rifle, forcing the Sinanju to throw it away as it exploded.
She turned as another dash attack landed, Blake bouncing off her shield and teleporting once more, this time leaving behind four of her blade bits to assault Weiss as she came up from below.
The rapid strikes kept Weiss on the defensive. Her mobility was all that was keeping her from being impaled, forcing her to dance around the incoming attacks and block them when possible.
She grunted in frustration, sweat beginning to pour down her face. Her eyes flicked from left to right, avoiding more of the blade bit strafing runs as Blake slammed into her from above.
"At this rate, I won't have much choice," she muttered. Clicking her right control orb, she cycled over to the third slot, which caused her shield to split open. The massive, seemingly-solid kite shield split into two equal sized swords, flipping handles out that Weiss grasped in each hand. She swung the weapons and deflected two sword bits as she spun, dodging a third and roundhouse kicking Blake as she appeared behind her, just as Weiss anticipated.
The 00 Bella was rocked from the blow and tumbled in space, Blake forced to regain control after a moment. She looked up just as Weiss rushed her, delivering a cross slash with both swords right as Blake quantum leaped yet again, causing Weiss to hit her after image.
Weiss deployed all six of her white rose bits, having them circle her. They darted around, taking shots at the floating blade bits that accosted her yet again. The beams from the Sinanju's weapons attempted to cut the thrusters in the back of the blades, but they missed, hitting the blade faces themselves and sending them out of control into space just as Weiss recombined her swords to stop a stab from Blake.
The GN Sword bounced off of the kite shield yet again, which opened its top outward to reveal the handle of a large version of Weiss's original rapier, Myrtnaster. She grabbed the weapon with her left hand and unsheathed it from within the core of the shield. "I was honestly hoping I would be able to do this without revealing much about Racherin, but I can see now you're not going to afford me that luxury."
The shield's top remained flared outward in either direction, which sacrificed a little height for width and increasing defensive coverage across the body of the Sinanju.
Weiss activated her Special slot on her left orb just as Blake regained control of her wayward blade bits, shooting them forward to attack the Stalritter. Weiss countered with her shield, boosting forward and closing the gap between them. She thrusted forward, forcing Blake to block with the shield on her left arm, allowing the rapier to skitter across the surface.
And her eyes grew wide as she looked at the Sinanju, which until the thrust had been hidden behind the shield.
Its icy blue eyes were glowing brighter, replacing the white Gundam-like eyes it had before. But it was the Sleeves motif across its body that had taken Blake by surprise. Every exposed vent and line of the metallic blue motif was glowing the same icy blue color, and Blake realized where she'd seen that before. She also noted that several panels of the Sinanju on its legs, chest, head, shoulders, arms, and backpack had opened, exposing a blue psycho-frame.
She remembered their fight with Kyrus, and how his Unicorn had transformed. Weiss's Sinanju had done something similar. It had an NT-D mode.
But there was more to it. It was emitting Plavsky Particles from its vents, as well. In fact, these particles were swirling almost as readily as the 00 Bella's own GN Particles, and she noted the fact that Weiss had darted off a split second before getting blindsided by her stomping on the 00 Bella from above, sending Blake reeling.
The glare of sudden light coming from the Sinanju Stalritter flashed like a solar flare, catching Yang and Ruby's attention as they struggled to land a blow against each other. Both turned to stare at Weiss, whose performance had increased exponentially. She was now keeping up with Blake's quantum teleportation and Transient Burst mode evenly, with her reaction time boosted to near impossible levels.
Ruby turned on her comms. "Weiss! That mode! That's-"
Weiss smirked. "I knew you'd pick it up eventually. Yes, Ruby. It's not just NT-D. You probably guessed as much by now. It's also the RG System. It's not exactly the same as your own, but it's close enough to replicate the effects."
Ruby's jaw dropped, but her cockpit lurched just as she was about to ask for details. She looked up to see Yang pressing her back, grappling her scythe and forcing her to activate SEED Mode and the Voiture Lumier system to dodge a combo of blows.
Weiss returned her focus to Blake, who was once again striking out at her. Weiss blocked and parried attack after attack, as the 00 Bella switched tactics and was now attempting to press the Sinanju head on.
Yang back stepped to avoid a swipe from Ruby. "Hey, Blake, you gonna be good?"
"I'll be fine. Focus on Ruby!" Blake replied sharply, her focus entirely on Weiss as she came around for another attack.
The swords and shields clashed as the two Gunpla became blurs of purple and blue as they retreated, pressed each other, and retreated again. Blake's bits were consistently missing their mark, almost as if Weiss could read their movements, and Blake herself had her attention divided as the white rose bits buzzed about, firing quick, infrequent bursts her way between blows.
The impressive displays of piloting were being enjoyed by the fans in attendance, but in the skybox above the arena, Watts was scowling. His calculations for how the match was supposed to go had been thrown completely out of order by Weiss's surprising new machine and a sudden performance increase shown by the Destiny Scythe. His algorithm couldn't compensate for the changed variables.
Salem watched his perplexed expression as he typed away at his laptop. "Something wrong, Arthur?"
"My data predictions are presently useless," he replied, eyes glued to the inconclusive numbers being displayed. "In almost every fight so far, data has been consistent for White Rose and mostly consistent for Bumblebee. But that new Sinanju and all of its unique features has my system baffled. And Ruby Rose's machine has had some kind of performance upgrade. It's moving faster and is more agile than expected, and its power output seems to be at least thirty percent higher than it was during the end of the last match she was in."
Cinder turned to him, curious. "You said 'almost.' What were the fights you couldn't predict?"
"Outside of the first round matches, the main fight I had trouble with was specifically the battle between Bumblebee and Graceful Fist, to an extent. Blake's performance exceeded expectations and, while I could reasonably account for Yang's skill, her bringing in a new Gunpla partway into the fight had tripped me up slightly. But at least the Blazing Gundam Echelon and Blazing Gundam Archon's abilities were the same, even if their power output was radically different."
He watched the Sinanju dart around, keeping pace with Blake's 00 Bella. "Unlike now. Weiss Schnee's Sinanju Stalritter is nothing like her Gyan. Its weapon setup, control, speed, and the incorporation of the RG System and Newtype Destroyer mode has me scrambling to compensate. And the build quality is exceptional."
Cinder glanced out the window at the arena screens. "Then let's test them." She smirked. "Messiah has a super weapon, right?"
Salem and Watts looked at each other. The Gunpla engineer cocked his head to the side a bit, curious. "I'll bite," Watts commented. "What are you thinking?"
"Why not fire it? See what they do? We can even add a little oomph to it with a slight change of Plavsky Particles."
Salem gave her a cold look. "Cinder, I understand your interest and fascination with manipulating the outcomes of this battle, but we can't simply tip our hand so readily. Ozpin is watching this battle like a hawk."
"I know." She shrugged and looked back out the window. "But as it stands, Watts doesn't sound like he has enough to base a conclusive strategy for our team to fight either of these builders. Perhaps testing their limits by implementing some hazards might do the trick."
Watts hummed to himself as he thought. "She's right." He began typing furiously into the computer. "Firing Messiah would give me greater data on their performance, as they move to avoid the attack. And, best case scenario, it actually eliminates one or two of the fighters in the process. They are all almost in line with its firing arch right now. Once it fires, we can also begin pelting the area with return fire from the various fleets, and create an increase in obstacles using the Plavsky Particles as a basis."
Salem paused for a moment, rolling her Arista gem necklace gently between her fingers, thinking. Her eyes moved between the two, who waited expectedly for her orders.
It was a risk. But, perhaps tipping their hand a bit might be beneficial. "Can you create a distraction to throw them off our trail, Arthur?"
"I've had contingencies in place for that very process," he responded confidently.
"Fine. Do it. I'll amplify the attack, but be discreet. We will only have one proper opportunity. "
She had her reservations about this strategy, but she also knew that, thus far, Watts' data had been invaluable in determining their team composition and ensuring their wins. If committing a little risky maneuvers helped ensure long term success, then it was worth it.
Watts returned to his laptop, beginning to hack into the Battle Table's system to gain access to the program while also beginning decoy infiltrations elsewhere using a mini computer he pulled out of his briefcase. He smirked; this was going to be fun.
The battle had enraptured Summer. She was on the edge of her seat, watching as Ruby and Yang fought on even ground against each other. This was everything she could have hoped for!
Her phone was buzzing in her purse, and she didn't even care. She couldn't take her eyes off of the screen.
After the third ring, Tai noticed her screen lighting up and reached down, grabbing the phone and looking at who was calling. "Babe, it's Takeshi."
Summer immediately snapped out of her excitement and looked at the phone in surprise. She picked it up, unsure of what her partner wanted. "Hello?"
"Summer! There you are! What are you doing?"
His voice sounded frantic, which immediately raised her concern. "Um…I'm with my family in the stadium watching the fight, why? Is everything okay?"
Takeshi's voice got quieter, and a heavy tone filled it. "There's been a breach in the cyber security. We've been seeing shadows but this was a blunt force attack, targeting the Battle System's table. Whoever is doing it is active, right now!"
Her silver eyes grew wide and she looked back at the table, panic filling her. After a moment, her face grew stern. She was mad. Mad at whoever was trying to ruin her daughters' experience here. That was not going to go unpunished. "I'm on my way to the server room."
"I'll be there shortly. Don't enter without backup!"
She hung up, and noticed all the eyes of the group were on her. She wanted to explain, but time was a factor. "I have to go. Work stuff. I'll catch up with you later."
She kissed Tai on the cheek and then scooted past him and Raven, hurrying down the stairs as fast as her business suit and skirt would let her move.
The group looked at each other with concern. Something was happening.
Qrow watched as the teams clashed. His nieces were having a blast; this fight was better than he could have hoped for.
He glanced over at Ozpin, who up until this point had been silent, not responding to any of his small quips. The man had been staring out the window at the fight below, watching on the stadium monitors, but hadn't commented on how well any of the girls had been fairing. Likely still frustrated that Salem had somehow rigged the tournament to force him to watch his remaining two teams tear each other apart, even if they didn't know about the behind the scenes issues.
The silence, outside of the commentary from Peach and Port on the television, had been deafening, and he was about to say something when his phone rang. It was Summer.
"Hey, Sums, what's-"
"Qrow! Takeshi detected a data breach in the main server room!" Summer interrupted him, talking as she ran. "We think something's happening. Ozpin may know more."
Qrow glanced at Ozpin, who was still standing with his back towards him. "I'm with him now. Keep me posted, and I'll do the same. And be safe, okay?"
Summer gave him an affirmative grunt and he hung up. "Hey, Oz. Summer just said that they have something going on in the data room of the arena. I think Salem may be up to something."
Ozpin turned back to him, holding his cane up. The blue crystal mounted on top of the pommel was glowing a brilliant orange, and he wore a dire expression as he responded. "I already know."
Ciel was impressed by the speed and skill on display in this battle. Her data analysis practices with her uncle had barely prepared her for this; all four of these fighters had been rapidly evolving their Gunpla as the fight went on.
In fact, none of them were using machines that exactly matched the ones they had started, with Yang and Weiss completely replacing the ones that had initially entered the tournament, and all of their skills had increased at a rate that was difficult to measure even with complex equations and detailed calculations.
For the first time in what seemed like eons, she was captivated not just by the possible data streams, but by the beauty of the four machines and their battle.
She looked over at Penny, wondering what her partner thought of all of this. However, Penny wore a distressed look, and she wasn't looking at the battle. She was clutching the top of her shirt and looking at the table itself.
"Penny? Is something wrong?"
Penny's eyes seemed to move back and forth, like she was analyzing the experience and measuring her answer. "The Plavsky Particles…they're shifting. I can feel them swirling around the arena."
Ciel blinked, taken aback by Penny's admission. She didn't know what that meant. Swirling? There was an active battle; of course the particles were swirling.
Her eyes focused on Penny's chest, and narrowed when her suspicions were raised. "Penny…are you feeling the Plavsky Particles in your core?"
Penny nodded. "Yes. There's something happening. The density of the particles has increased drastically."
That revelation was incredibly concerning. This was what Pietro was always concerned about. Even though her Plavsky crystal was supposedly shielded from increased emissions, in an attempt to prevent it from spiraling out of control like what had happened during her uncle's testing of the Scramble Gundam on his island research lab, there was always a danger that Penny would in some way be negatively affected by some kind of variance in Plavsky Particle emissions.
It seemed that, whatever was happening, was indeed affecting her. There was no reason for the table to be outputting more particles than needed.
They'd need to tell her uncle about this the moment the battle ended. He likely was already detecting the spikes on his end, but to know that Penny was also feeling it…
That may complicate things.
WEISS'S GUNPLA
Sinanju Stalritter
Named "Steel Knight" in German for its metallic silver anti beam coating and imposing visage, the Sinanju Stalritter is the culmination of Weiss's ingenuity and Arian's outstanding Gunpla manufacturing techniques.
Weiss, with Ruby's notes on her RG System Kai in hand, has adapted the system into her model. She maintained the psycho frame pieces that the Weiss Sinanju had-mainly, internal pieces and the various vents across the armor and expanded them, allowing them to run through the Sinanju's Sleeves motif as well. In doing so, she has also including a Newtype Destroyer mode into the machine, though unlike a Unicorn Gundam's NT-D mode, her machine doesn't transform and it is less powerful due to the Sinanju not having a full psycho frame.
Despite this, when coupled with the RG System Kai's power output, Weiss can guarantee that the Sinanju Stalritter maintains peak performance for longer and can enhance her abilities further by coupling the two systems together.
Offensively, Weiss uses a Sinanju Stein beam rifle, head Vulcans, beam sabers, and six White Rose Bits (an upgrade from the Gyan Noblesse Oblige's four bits). In addition to this, however, she also has a transformable shield, which is a holdover from the Weiss Sinanju. Unlike the Weiss Sinanju's shield, which only had three modes (a massive blades shield, a sword and shield or two smaller swords), the Sinanju Stalritter has four-a rapier and shield, twin swords, a massive bladed shield, or a gargantuan buster sword. The entire shield system is coated with the same coating as the rest of the Gunpla and it too features a psycho frame.
Weiss opted to use a larger version of Myrtnaster over a normal longsword for her primary weapon to match her fencing and dueling style more.