Here is the next chapter of The Grimm Rider. And I am so sorry if you all had trouble with chapter 13. There was some kind of technical problem on the website. But if it happens again, use the Fanfiction app to read the next chapter.
Today was the Vytal Festival.
Everyone was enjoying the fun festivities. Many tents and small shops with colorful flags were displayed in a large forest clearing with people walking about to experience it all. But they were more interested in the Vytal tournament. All teams from different huntsman academies came to participate. It was an exciting event to see the students show off their combat skills and what they have trained in their schools. But they did not just come there to see the students, no. They came all the way here to see the rumor was true.
And that rumor was the Grimm Girl.
The rumor of Voltaria enrolling in Beacon was true. Many came to see if the rumors were true. Voltaria was annoyed by how such a silly rumor can bring people from different kingdoms to this festival, so they could see her in action. Speaking of action, the teens and Glynda had their parts in the plan on stopping the criminals that will destroy Vale. She planned out the whole thing. They will make sure to play their part in the plan. But for now, they must watch through the tournament's battle. Team WAVE and Team JNPR were watching Team RWBY's first match. Their opponents were Team ABRN of Haven Academy. The members are Arslan Altan (the leader), Bolin Hori, Reese Chloris, and Nadir Shiko. The match was spectated by thousands of people at the enormous floating stadium, Amity Colosseum, and broadcast to many more people from all around Remnant. Voltaria knew how things would play out here but did not want to spoil the entertainment.
"KICK THEIR ASSES!" Wraith cheered through her and others' minds, he made sure only Team RWBY, JNPR, WAVE, and Glynda could hear him since he cannot let all the people know of his and the others' existence. Voltaria's entities helped Ruby and her friends send telepathic messages to one another, that way, they will not get spotted by the perpetrators.
"Wraith, behave yourself." Voltaria said to him calmly.
"I know, but this is freaking awesome!" Wraith said happily.
"Is it weird to see Wraith happy?" Tabitha questioned Regina.
"He's only happy when there's violence." Regina said to her friend.
The crowds were cheering in the stands, visitors from all over the world were watching both teams in the arena with two different fields. One field is a volcanic earth and the other is icy glaciers. Team RWBY and Team ABRN were giving it all on the battlefield. Ruby fires and swings her Crescent Rose at the opponents while Blake exchanges blows with Reese Chloris as her Gambol Shroud's blade collides with the hoverboard of her opponent until she flips away, readies herself, and charges in again. Meanwhile, Weiss used her Myrtenaster at the opponent. And Yang dodges the explosive force of Arslan Altan's powerful fist before returning fire with her own Ember Celica. Voltaria got to admit with Wraith, it is amazing to see her...friends in battle.
High above the action, two familiar teachers are sitting at a sportscaster's desk, with a microphone between them and the holographic image of the four kingdoms' symbols united. Those teachers are Professor Port and Professor Oobleck.
"Hello! It seems that we have another astonishing bout ahead of us! Wouldn't you agree, Professor?" Port said to Oobleck cheerfully.
Oobleck was annoyed at first and spoke. "Doctor." Before he brightens up excitedly again. "And yes Peter, I think it's safe to say this match may be the closest we've seen of the four-on-four round of the tournament!"
"For those of you just now joining us, welcome to the Vytal Festival Tournament, broadcast live from the Amity Colosseum!" Port added as he waves his arm to gesture at the entire event from his place on the gigantic screen over the crowds. It shows the coliseum in its full glory, as shuttlecraft transport people to and from the various floors while the entire structure hovers around the airspace of Beacon Academy. There were explosions at the scene throughout the battlefield, but the view shifts back to the announcers as they begin speaking again.
"If this is your first time watching, allow us to break down the rules." Port said and nodded towards Oobleck.
Oobleck holds up the appropriate number of fingers for each of his explanations as a hologram to his side illustrates the rules. "The tournament is divided into three distinctive rounds: teams, doubles, and singles. Age and school year are irrelevant! In this tournament, your only attribute being tested…is skill." He explained the rules.
Port nodded in agreement as another hologram pops up to do the same thing. "Correct! The winners of this battle will elect two of their members to represent them in the doubles round, followed by the winners of that round choosing one member to advance once again. The remaining combatants will then fight their way through the final bracket in the hope of achieving victory for their kingdom!" He exclaimed cheerfully as the hologram disappeared with the image of a victorious figure, sword raised and wearing a crown.
Oobleck pushes up his spectacles as he says. "And yes, Peter, these certainly are some spectacular spectacles on which to spectate on! I don't think anyone tuning in around the world is going to disagree with me on that!" He said as both men looked at the hidden camera that broadcasts all around the kingdoms. From a row of holographs above the patrons in the Mistral Distillery to an Atlas home with a group of friends seeing it together, a bar in Vale where everyone turns to view the screen, and outside a mobile home in Vacuo being watched by a few Faunus on a projection.
Port nodded his head. "Ahh, and why would they? Now, let's get back to the match between Team RWBY of Beacon, and Team ABRN, of Haven." He said to the audience.
"They sure like to make announcements." Wade mutters under his breath.
"Well, they did assist to be the announcers." AJ said to her boyfriend.
The two couples turn back to the battlefield to see Reese steer her board through the ice. She twirls herself until the board gets launched at Blake, but she is able to knock it away, only for Reese to direct it back at her opponent. Blake blocks it again, but the board rotates back to its wielder just in time to defend Reese as Blake delivers several slashes and kicks. Reese deflects each attack and spins her weapon around until she can flip away and ride it again, rushing towards a smirking Blake. She collides with the frozen shadow clone, and Blake uses his opportunity to slice the board in two, only for the halves to become dual katars that in turn fold up into bayonet-bladed revolvers. Reese manages to fire off a few green rounds before her tailbone collides painfully on the cold ground. Blake winces with sympathy while the audience 'Oooohhhh…' as they wince at the sight.
"That's gonna leave a mark." Wraith said with a grin.
"Show some sympathy, Wraith." Regina said with a sigh.
Meanwhile, Yang lands mere feet away from Arslan as she backs away before being pounded by two quick punches. The pair dodge each other's kicks then Arslan delivers her own hits, launching a series of hammer blows. Yang defends herself and retaliates, the clash ending with the two smashing fists and creating a shockwave of force from the impact. Both competitors are both serious in hand-to-hand combat, much to Wraith's joy n violence. Yang and Arslan are both thrown back, but Yang reaches her and tries delivering more blows before Arslan flips away then uses her rope dart to tangle up Yang's leg and land a kick of her own to send Yang skidding on the ground. As Yang tries to get her balance back on the slippery surface, Arslan rushes forward and knocks her back even further.
Nearby, Nadir Shiko tries aiming with his assault rifle at Yang before a sudden burst of frosty blue explodes behind him and leaves the whimpering gunner in a block of ice up to his thighs. The one that too the shot was Ruby as she was the one that helped her older sister.
"Got your back!" Ruby said, looking up from her sniper scope.
"But who's got yours?" Bolin's voice came from behind.
Ruby looks up behind her as Bolin twirls his staff, ready to strike, but a black snowflake glyph appears to his left and Weiss kicks him through it into a rock. Saving Ruby in the process.
"My BFF!" Ruby said cheerfully towards Weiss.
Weiss gave Ruby a deadpan look. "No." She said blankly before running off, unaware that Ruby pumps her fist, whispering to herself.
"Yes!"
"Me thought Voltaria BFF of Ruby." Hannibal said to the group.
"Hannibal, she considers Voltaria as BGFF. Best Good Friends Forever I believe." Regina said to Hannibal. "Or is it, Good Best Friends?"
"Who cares? Let's watch the battle!" Wraith exclaims happily.
Meanwhile, Bolin crouches with his weapon as he sees a white glyph appear in front of him. A second later, Weiss dashes by and slashes at him, then leaps up and attempts an aerial attack, which he is able to block. She readies her sword while preparing a glyph behind her, and Ruby uses it to launch herself straight up and come down spinning on Bolin, who manages to block the curved blade. Ruby grimaces and blasts herself away to Weiss' side, and Bolin rushes at them, rolling away from the shards of ice that rain on him and jumping over Ruby's swing as he continues running.
"Whaaat!?" Ruby questions in confusion.
Bolin manages to reach an orange crystal deposit and slice off a shard from it as he throws it to Reese over in the icy half of the stadium. With Dust in hand, Reese fuses it with her board, turning the aqua lights to a crimson shade. She winks at Blake, then uses the board's heat to free Nadir from his icy snare.
"Thanks Reese!" Nadir thanked his teammate.
Reese comes back to Blake and slams her board into her enemy's blade but propels herself backwards and knocks Blake through a frozen pillar. Reese attempts to use her board to slam Blake into the ground, but Blake dodges that, as Reese spins around in a flaming arc that Blake narrowly misses thanks to her shadows. Changing tactics, Blake launches the pistol part of Gambol Shroud at a nearby glacier and launches herself behind it, as Reese follows her and sees Blake with her back turned to her under an arch. Reese grins before riding in to deliver a flaming spiral at the shadow clone, only to see the ribbon Blake is launching to trap her opponent a moment too late. She pulls tightly and causes Reese to slam body-first into the string, only to use a final kick to knock her out of the stage. Reese crashes into the wall of the stands before landing on the ground, defeated.
Reese's Aura level drops in the team display until her image is crossed out. Seeing this, Reese angrily slams her fist on the ground. "Ooh, a double whammy! Reese Chloris is eliminated by ring out and Aura level!" Port said through the microphone.
"Oh, she really should've worn a helmet!" Oobleck said with a nod.
"HAHAHA! That was hilarious!" Wraith laughed in amusement.
"She should've paid more attention in her surroundings than chasing her opponent." Voltaria explained Reese failed tactics.
AJ saw Arslan dodging Yang's attack. "Well, I think that she does better tactics than her teammates." She pointed out.
They followed AJ's gaze and saw Arslan use her rope to swing around and avoid Yang right behind her, shooting multiple shots to propel herself forward. Nadir comes into the picture, aiming his rifle at Weiss but doesn't have time to react when she summons another glyph and launches Bolin at him. The two teammates are helpless as Weiss creates a whirlwind from underneath them and slamming the two together until she forms a giant ice fist straight up from the ground to trap the two. It reforms itself into a ball that rolls around the field, making half. The audience laughed in amusement. Arslan sees her team in this state, she rolls her eyes, annoyed, before changing direction and sliding into the path of the ball. She readies her stance and drives her hand into the sphere. Her force was so strong that the ice spheres cracked under her power and freed her allies.
"Now that's power!" Wraith exclaimed in delight.
"Hmm...It seems that she has better control of her aura than anyone else." Regina said calmly as she watched the battle.
"Yang!" Weiss called out to her; Yang turns to look just as she creates a large frozen slide-like shape. "NOW!"
Knowing what to do, Yang blasts herself forward and skims over the wall of ice, catching Blake's pistol as her teammate uses Ruby as a launch pad to jump off towards the remaining members of ABRN. The three only have a second to look horrified as Blake whips a yelling Yang around to land a devastating punch that sends the trio flying into their elimination. Soon, a buzzer sound came, indicating that the match is one by Team RWBY.
"YAAAAAY!" Ruby cheered happily at their victory.
"Yes!" Yang also cheered at their victory.
"And that's the match! Team RWBY is victorious!" Port said through the speakers.
Weiss was looking around and sounding surprised. "We...did it?" She said in astonishment.
"WHO-HOOOO! Go Team RWBY!" AJ cheered to her friends.
"All right, Team RWBY!" Wade cheered as well, clapping loudly.
"Yeah!" Evo cheered along with his team.
Voltaria simply claps her hands while her entities cheered at them through their minds. Ruby was looking at her sister for confirmation as she smiles and leaps into the air, screaming.
"WE DID IIIIII-"
Ruby was suddenly down and suddenly hunched over. "-...is anyone else starving?" She asked hungrily.
Blake was looking cool as her arms were behind her head. "I may have worked up an appetite." But suddenly, a growling of an angry beast from her stomach proves her statement, much to its owner's embarrassment as she holds it, trying to calm it down.
Weiss sarcastically shrugged her arms. "Gee, if only there was somewhere on campus to get food around here." She said sarcastically as they basically were surrounded by a myriad of tents and small shops wreathed in colorful flags in a large forest clearing as people mill about to experience it all. "Oh, wait."
The area was filled with many fun activities and food shops that allow any visitors to buy souvenirs and eat delicious foods. But this is also a great opportunity for visitors to get to know others from other kingdoms, sharing a form of bond. Yatsuhashi Daichi can be seen flexing in front of two girls nearby. While a pair of Atlesian Knight-200"s on patrol walk past the girls as they talk.
Ruby did not get Weiss's sarcastic tone as she took Weiss's shoulder. It's okay, Weiss, I forget about the fairgrounds, too."
Weiss gave Ruby a blank look as she knocked Ruby's arm away. "I was being facetious?"
Ruby freaks out and quickly says. "Gah! Well, if you were hungry, why didn't you say so!?"
Yang gestures to her Teammates. "Come on! I know just the place."
Ruby, Blake, and Weiss start to follow Yang, but Weiss suddenly stops as she hears a ringtone on her Scroll. Pulling it out, she sees the caller ID labeled "FATHER", and glares at the device, putting it back from where she got it, unanswered. As they were about to leave, Ruby suddenly hears Regina in her mind.
"Ruby, behind you." Regina warned her.
Alerted, Ruby quickly spins around to see Emerald, who becomes surprised to see Ruby's sudden reaction. Ruby was also surprised by this, but a hidden suspicion was under her eye. Regina was able to warn Ruby just in time before she could pickpocket Ruby's red wallet that was filled with Lien.
"Oh, hi Emerald." Ruby greeted her, acting all cheerful and unaware of her true intention.
Emerald snapped out of this and greeted as well with a fake smile. "Good to see you, Ruby."
"So, uh...what brings you here?" Ruby asked, trying her best to keep her cool.
"Just left the stadium after your amazing fight! You guys were awesome!" Emerald said with praise.
"Don't fall for her tricks." Regina warned in the girls' minds. "It's her way to get your guards down."
"We understood, Regina." Blake said to Regina in her mind as she played along. "I heard your team progressed to the next round too."
Emerald responded with a shrug as Weiss continued the conversation as she followed Blake's act. "You know, I feel that we haven't seen your other teammates." Weiss said, hiding her suspicion under her voice.
"How'd they do in the fight?" Yang asked Emerald, doing her best to act all innocent and cheerful like her younger sister.
Emerald did not see through their act as she tilted her head up in thought, remembering how she blasted opponents with Thief's Respite, then slashed behind her. Mercury kicked out a shotgun blast with Talaria. And their leader known as Cinder did the same with her own target, landing the poor soul at the feet of their teammate. The male slowly opens his eyes as he sees a mysterious black-haired girl with green eyes leaning over him, staring down as her green eyes blink into a pair of pink and brown irises as she smirks at the poor victim as she stomps on her victim's face into darkness. Emerald soon comes back to reality, nodding her head happily.
"Really well." Emerald said happily.
Ruby and her team looked at her with awkward cheerfulness as Regina showed them what Emerald was thinking through the match, shocked by how brutal they were towards the poor team that faced them. But they had to play along to stop the evil plan that will unfold.
"That's great. Um...why don't we all go and get a victory food together?" Ruby suddenly said, making Blake, Weiss, and Yang panic in their mind.
"Ruby?!" They scolded her in the mind, still connected thanks to Regina, as Ruby mentally cringed at this, just realizing that she was inviting the enemy.
Luckily, Emerald declined their offer. "Oh, gosh, that's so nice of you, but my teammates are all kind of…" She looks back with Team RWBY following her gaze as they see Mercury at a shop, sniffing the inside of a boot, looking perplexed after he does so. They were mentally disgusted by this, especially Weiss. "...introverted. Really socially awkward." Emerald finished.
Yang made a small nod and awkwardly said. "Ooh, yeah, I could see that."
"Oh yeah, looks like Merc and I are going to move on to the doubles round. What about you guys?" Emerald asked them in an innocent tone.
"Don't answer her question, she might try and sabotage your battle." Regina said in their minds.
Understanding this warning, Ruby shook her head at Emerald. "Sorry, but you have to find out in the match." She answered.
Now it was Emerald's turn to be spurious at these girls, but quickly changed her personality. "Well, if Mercury and I see you down the line, don't think we'll go easy on ya." She said with a smirk.
"She's baiting you all to lose your focus, don't fall for it." Regina added, saving them from Emerald's manipulation.
"Thanks for the warning, Regina. We won't let her get into our heads." Yang said to Regina in a telepathic message while Weiss agreed as well. The two girls made confident smiles to lose Emerald's suspicion.
"Wouldn't have it any other way." Yang said as she gestured to her friends to follow her. "Come on, girls. Let's get our grub on. See you, Emerald."
As they waved their farewell, Emerald made a fake cheerfully expression giving her own wave. "See you later!" As soon as they leave, her expression immediately drops the act as she walks with Mercury and looks disgusted that she had to interact with them.
"So, how are your new friends?" Mercury asked casually.
"I hate them." She mutters out but adds. "However, they seem to be hiding something."
"Pfft...I doubt it." Mercury said as they walked off, unaware that they were being watched by Hannibal from the shadows.
Yang shows her team the place where they can get their food. It was a noodle shop, and they took their seats at the stools outside, ready to order. Yang was looking at the cook and said with a confident smile. "I'll have a bowl of the regular, please." Soon, a large bowl of noodles slides in front of her.
Ruby stared at Yang's meal in awe. "Oohhh...I'll take the same." She said and another large bowl of noodles slides in front of her. She clasps her hands in excitement and in delight as she stares down the food.
Weiss was looking at the food in concern, unsure if she can handle this. "Do you have anything with a low-salt...?" Weiss was cut off when another large bowl of regular noodles instantly slid in front of her instead. "Um...okay…" She suddenly said in surprise.
Instead of saying anything, Blake merely gives a nod and smile to the Shopkeeper, who returns the gesture as he rushes through one door of his shop, cooking up something from the kitchen, before he comes out the other door to leave a large bowl of noodles in front of Blake, but it has many fishes. Blake's eyes light up in delight as she drools over her order. She is a cat after all. Even though Weiss finds it strange to her teammate's behavior, she gladly offers her Schnee Dust Company credit card to the Shopkeeper, who accepted it.
"Aw, Weiss! What's the occasion!?" Yang asked Weiss happily.
"Consider it thanks for sending me to the doubles round." She said but her joy was ruined when the card was flung back at her, and the annoyed Shopkeeper pointed to his register that was beeping "DECLINED", much to Weiss's horror and shock. "What?! How can my card be declined? I was barely into my monthly allowance!"
Blake was looking around in a panic state as she attempted to slowly slide her bowl closer to herself before the Shopkeeper appeared and disappeared with her food, causing the poor Cat Faunus to slump over in defeat at the sight of her food taken away. "Nooo!"
"Maybe I could help?" Pyrrha's voice cam. Team RWBY looks up to see Team JNPR approach the stand with Team WAVE following from behind.
Ruby flings her arms wide in delight to see the red-haired girl. "Pyrrha!"
"Aw, you don't have to." Yang said with a smile.
"But she could!" Blake said desperately, she really wanted to eat her lunch.
"Well, I think you all earned it after that battle." Pyrrha said kindly.
"Mind if we join you?" Jaune asked them.
"Yeah! What about you guys?" Yang asked Team WAVE.
"Sure, we could eat, right gang?" Wade looked at his friends.
"Of course! And I'll be happy to help to pay for the meal." AJ said happily.
"I'm starving." Evo agreed with a nod.
They soon turned towards Voltaria, whose arms were crossed, as she gave her team and the others a blank look under her mask. She simply shrugs her shoulders as nodded her head.
"Fine, but only because Hannibal is hungry for noodles." Voltaria said to them. She was not lying. Hannibal was hungry for noodles as he smelled the food from afar.
Later, the bowls were all empty, as each of them were either content/happy with their meal or holding their stomachs sickly, mostly Weiss and Jaune since they have weak stomachs. The only one with many empty bowls was Voltaria as she was the one that ate twenty bowls of noodles. Not because she was hungry, it's because Hannibal took control of her and ate many noodles. Voltaria wasn't over full of this since Hanniabal has like a black hole of a stomach.
Ren turns to Pyrrha with a questionable look. "Are you sure it's wise to have eaten before a fight?" He asked her.
Pyrrha nodded as the Shopkeeper quickly gathered the bowls and vanished in his shop. "Of course! It will give us energy!"
Her response is when Nora simply gave a hearty belch which surprised the group, followed by Hannibal's belching through their minds. But Hannibal quickly said 'Excuse me' in their minds as he shows good manners for an entity.
Jaune was splaying himself over the counter, sickly saying. "If I barf, I'm blaming you."
Hearing this, Nora made an evil grin. "Ooh! Aim at the enemy!"
Ren gave his friend a disgusting look. "Nora, that's disgusting. But if you feel the urge…"
"Lie Ren, please avert the words you are saying." Regina said to him kindly which he acknowledged as she turned towards Jaune. "Mr. Arc, if you're feeling sick, just drink some ginseng tea, it will smooth your stomach."
Jaune gave a weak thumbs-up. "Got it."
"Pfft...wimp." Wraith mutters out.
Pyrrha shook her head as she stood up from her stool. "Well, we should be off."
"So, you think you guys are ready?" Ruby asked them.
Nora grins and gestures to each of her teammates. "Of course! We've got a world-renowned fighter on our team, one's basically ninja, I can bench five of me, Jaune, we trained all year, our weapons are awesome, Glynda barely yells at us anymore, and thanks to Volty's training Jaune, we can do this!"
"You're really confident in this battle." Wade said to Nora.
"Eeyup! And because we have someone that can-" Nora was cut off by Voltaria as she placed her chopsticks down.
"I'm not going to use my vision to cheat your way into victory." Voltaria answered quietly as she made sure that the shopkeeper or any guests did not see nor hear her.
Nora made a sad pouty face as fake tears were coming from her eyes. "Aww...why not?" She asked in a begging tone.
"You must earn your victory without my ability, otherwise; it will be your downfall" She answered Nora.
"...I don't get it." Nora said in confusion.
"I think what V is trying to say is that if we rely on her visions, we'll become paranoid and lacking our training." Wade explained what Voltaria meant.
"So, we just have to rely on our skills and tactics, right?" AJ asked curiously.
"Precisely." Regina answered them calmly while Nora slumped in annoyance, "Do not worry, Ms. Valkyrie, you all will succeed in this tournament."
"You really think so?" Nora asked happily but quietly.
"We know so." Regina said kindly.
Pyrrha chuckles at Regina's kind personality. "Regina's right, we don't need to fret. If anything, we should be looking forward to a fight with actual guidelines, and not, well...murderers."
"You do realize I'm sitting right here, right?" Voltaria mutters out, earning a small and nervous chuckle from Pyrrha.
Yang simply waves her hand. "Yeah, don't sweat it, we've all faced way worse before."
Blake counts off the threats on her fingers. "Let's see. Grimm invasions, violent extremists, a destructive sociopath…"
Ruby then added. "And that's all while we're still in training! Oh, imagine what it would be like to graduate!" She said happily.
Weiss scoffs and sarcastically mumbles to herself. "Maybe then I'll be able to pay for a meal."
"Don't worry, Weiss." AJ said with a smile. "I'm sure you can handle this."
"Thanks, AJ." Weiss mutters out glumly.
Soon, they heard crackling in over the intercom system, followed by Professor Port's voice. "Would Team JNPR please report to the battlegrounds immediately!"
Then Oobleck's voice came, adding into Port's order. "Yes! Like they were scheduled to, several minutes ago!"
Pyrrha smiles and shrugs at this. "Well, it looks like this is it." She spoke.
"Go get 'em!" Ruby said to Team JNPR as they walked away, even though Jaune was looking queasy. As they left, both teams went off to the bleachers to get to their seats. Voltaria kept herself hidden as everyone watched Team JNPR vs. Team BRNZ from Shade Academy. The team consists of three males and one female. The leader is Brawnz Ni and the members are Roy Stallion, Nolan Porfirio, and May Zedong.
Each team readies their poses, a circle of holographic roulettes starts spinning frantically through various symbols and colors. They waited for what arena that they would be in until it finally landed on a green pine tree and gray thunderstruck mountain. With these random selections, half of the field opens to reveal a tree-filled forest, while the other raises a small rocky outcropping to fill in the circle. Jaune narrows his eyes in concentration as Port starts the countdown. He remembered both Voltaria's and Pyrrha's training that will help him succeed in this battle. Ruby cheered loudly from her seat while the rest watched the battle.
"Three, two, one, begin!" Port announced and soon the battle began.
Both team JNPR and BRNZ had a brief fight at the center of the arena, but Team JNPR were quickly forced to retreat and stay in cover when Team BRNZ sniper known as May Zedong had taken up a position in the trees with her sniper rifle. Jaune orders his team to spread out and keep moving in order to evade May Zedong's fire as the rest of Team BRNZ presses the attack. However, Nolan has managed to best Lie Ren in close quarter combat and momentarily incapacitates him using his electrified baton.
"REN!" Nora calls her best friend in worry before scowling at Nolan. The hammer wielding girl takes a swing at Nolan, who promptly dodges it and again unleashes his weapon's power into her corset, though this causes a quite different reaction from the grinning Nora.
"That poor, idiotic boy had nooo idea who is dealing with." Wraith said through Voltaria and the others.
"Eeyup." They minus Voltaria agreed in their mind.
Port was excited at the sight before him as he spoke from his spot on the giant hologram screen overhead with Oobleck beside him. "Oh-ho! Looks like one of my favorite students, Nora Valkyrie, is charging up to use her Semblance!"
Hearing this, Nolan looks up at the screen with a panicked look. "What?"
Oobleck agreed with Port's words and explained Nora's semblance. "Yes, Ms. Valkyrie's Semblance lets her produce, as well as channel, electrical energy straight to her muscles! This allows her to jump explosively into the air, wield her mighty hammer, or in this case, absorb Nolan's attacks and send the young man flying!"
Nolan then turns back to his grinning opponent. "What?!"
Nolan finally takes his cattle prod away, but the damage is done. Since he didn't know that Nora can absorb electrical waves, she is basically charged up. Nora flexes her arms and pink lightning is seen coursing through her body. Nolan attempts to lift his hands up in surrender, but thunder starts sparking from Nora's Aura as she rushes at him. There's a split-second where Nolan's horrified face and Nora's victorious smile are seen close-up on the sides of the screens before the hammer hits head-on and Nolan bounces back across the field, crashing through a rock and staying there when he's stopped moving.
"Ooohhh...that' gonna leave a mark." Ruby winced at the sight.
"I know! And I can't believe it was on camera!" Wraith said in pure joy, laughing at the scene before him.
The battle was epic, Jaune planned to make May Zedong lose her sniper shot. His plan suggests that Nora absorbs the lightning at the mountain. So, when Nora starts climbing, Jayne, Pyrrha, and Ren give her cover. Luckily, thanks to Pyrrha, Nora reaches the top of the mountain and absorbs the lightning from an electrical storm that conveniently forms overhead. Nora destroys Zedong's cover with her grenades and hits the other three members of BRNZ with a devastating attack from her hammer. Things were going very well, until Jaune said to finish it off with "Flower Power" and "Arkos". But unfortunately, his teammates didn't understand his instructions, much to his frustration. After failing to explain his game plan to his teammates, Jaune groans a bit, putting his sword up to his forehead, and simply says.
"Nora, just...hit them with the hammer."
Hearing this, Nora gives one evil smirk at Team BRNZ. "Got it."
"Wait, what?!" Brawnz exclaimed suddenly as he and his teammates became scared.
Before anyone can react, Nora jumps over in front of Team BRNZ, then brings her hammer around to collide with all four screaming fighters as they soar straight into the force field surrounding the arena's rim, sliding down to the ground with arms and legs in bent positions they really shouldn't be.
"Now that's gonna leave a mark." Wade mutters out.
"HAHAHAHA!" Wraith laughs loudly in their heads. "That was hilarious!"
"Can you show some sympathy towards them?" Tabitha said to Wraith.
"I would, if I respected them." Wraith said to her, much to her annoyance.
"And with that, it appears Team JNPR wins by knockout, literally!" Port said through the speakers before adding. "Can someone go make sure they're okay?" Port asked any medical personnel to check on Team BRNZ.
The image of Team BRNZ being hit by Nora's hammer was on the screen. Oobleck and Port were at the desk as they explained the incoming match. "Ah, well, Vacuo fans are sure to be hurting after that one, but this next one will have them on the edge of their seats!" Oobleck said.
Port nodded as the scene displayed a picture of Team WAVE vs. Team FNCY. "Indeed, apparently, everyone will be literally off their seats when they see Team WAVE in action."
"Why do you ask? Is because Team WAVE is the only team that ever has a most fearsome member...the Grimm Girl!" Oobleck said the last part very seriously as an image of Voltaria was seen on the screen. "Also goes by the name Voltaria Eclipse!"
"That's right, folks. The rumors you heard about the Grimm Girl attending to Beacon are true." Port said towards the camera. "The mysterious girl that can talk to the Creatures of Grimm is studying here at Beacon Academy. People and reporters are lining up to get to their seats to see the Voltaria Eclipse in action. I mean, who wouldn't want to see a girl talking to Grimm? But do not worry, folks. She didn't feed any of the students to her Grimm. Trust me, I check the students list."
"Um...Professor Port, it's best to keep quiet of this situation." Oobleck whispers to Port.
"And why is that?"
"I just received word that a very stern looking Goodwitch is hearing everything from below and is NOT happy on what she is hearing." Oobleck said with a hint of fear as a video clip of a scowling Glynda Goodwitch appeared on the screen, tapping her Disciplinarian with her other hand. Not too pleased to hear what they are saying about Voltaria.
Seeing, Port cleared his throat nervously at sight of a not so happy looking Glynda, as he continued the speech while changing the subject. "In other news, Team FNCY from Atlas is ready to face such a team."
"That's right. The team leader of Team FNCY is none other than Francis Bright. The heir to the Bright Corp. and a high-ranking student to be exact." Oobleck explains it to the crowd.
"Agreeable! But can he or his team survive the ferocity of Ms. Eclipse? Er...I mean, Team WAVE?" Port corrected, not wanting to get to Glynda's bad side again.
"Man, everyone is talking about you, V." Wade said as he and the others walked through the hall towards the battle arena. "How are ya feeling about this?"
"Nothing." Voltaria answers to him blankly. "They're just waiting to see if I really can control Grimm or I am just nothing but a joke."
"You're not a joke. We saw you taming a Grimm during our first day of school. There's no way people think you're a joke." AJ said, walking besides her boyfriend.
Voltaria didn't say anything when they reached their destination. There, in the battlefield, they saw many crowds of people both humans and Faunus cheering at them. There were also many reporters at the stage, taking pictures of Voltaria hoping that she was a big deal. On the other side is team FNCY. Their leader is Francis Bright. He has bright yellow hair, sky blues eyes, and fair skin. He wore a Fancy looking suite and has a lightsaber as his weapon. His semblance is speed, making him extremely fast. His teammates consist of a male and two females. The male was Nathaniel Constantine. He's a high elite male from the Family Constantine. A mysterious family that has abilities like the Schnee family, using Glyphs and they used it to create or summon weapons or inanimate objects/creatures. Next is Cassidy Valentina, a peppy looking girl as her semblance is to manipulate people with a lovesick faze, but only effect on males, not females. Her weapon of choice is a bow that creates Dust Arrows with each dust change. And lastly, Yasmin Artemisia, a girl with a semblance to sense her opponents and knowing when to strike. Her weapon is a halberd.
The two teams stand on the opposite side of the arena as it randomizes which area they will take. After a few seconds, it reveals two different land areas. One was a desert, and the other side was a jungle, filled with tall trees and undergrowth.
"Here they are, folks! Two Teams, but one shall be victorious! Ready?" Port announced through the speakers. The two opposing teams got in battle position, except Voltaria as she glares at Team FNCY. "Begin!"
The two teams faced off. Weapons clashing as they made contact. Wade fires many rounds at Francis, who blocked them all with his rapier with ease. AJ and Cassidy ran to the jungle field, shooting multiple rounds at each other but their bullets would deflect when made contact. Evo and Yasmin had a battle with their axe and halberd, trying to tip each other off. Voltaria, on the other hand, was dodging Nathaniel's strikes, he summoned two ice swords and used them to strike at Voltaria, who dodged with ease as she predicted his every move. The audience were roaring with cheers as they were amazed to see the two teams battle each other.
"It appears that Nathaniel Constantine has chosen a worthy opponent, but can he handle her through the battlefield?" Oobleck questioned through the speakers.
"GO TEAM WAVE!" Ruby cheered for them.
"Ooohhh! You have some amazing skills you got there." Cassidy complimented towards AJ, who dodged another of Cassidy's Ice Dust arrows.
"I could say the same thing about yourself." AJ complimented as well, firing multiple rounds of fire dust bullets.
"Thanks! But I do admire your cute boyfriend." Cassidy added, purring towards Wade, who dodged Francis's lightsaber attack.
AJ gave Cassidy a scowl and replaced her fire dust bullets with lightning dust bullets, firing endless shots at Cassidy, who barely missed the attack, before turning her guns into mini scythes and strikes at the girl in a fury of speed. Note to self, do not try to steal AJ's boyfriend or you will get pulverized by her in the process.
"Ohoho! It seems that this catfight has gotten feisty." Port announced, earning groans from Team RWBY and JNPR.
Back to the battlefield, Wade dodged Francis's attack, the cowboy fused both his weapons into a sword that lit itself on fire. Both combatants had a brawl with swords. Creating flash of lights whenever their blades collided. Evo swung his axe at Yasmin, who blocked it with her halberd. Both weapons clashed and created a shockwave that sent sand flying.
"Nice swing you got there." Yasmin complimented before pushing Evo off and then kicked him, sending him flying through the desert.
Evo skidded himself to a halt with his axe, anchoring himself in the process, before turning it into his electric guitar and releasing a powerful electrical wave towards Yasmin, who avoided the attack by jumping out of the way. Meanwhile, Voltaria dodged another of Nathanial's attacks. She got to admit, he's very skilled for a rich guy. Nathanial made a sly smirk before summoning a violet-red Glyphs that has the symbol of stars and summons a whip.
"Ah, shit! Heads up, kid!" Wraith warned through her mind.
Obeying his warning, Voltaria dodged Nathanial's whip attack, jumping from tree to tree as Nathanial's whip caused the trees to break in half. Voltaria lands on a boulder before dodging it as the whip contacts it, shattering it to pieces. Voltaria hid beneath the undergrowth as she listened through her surroundings. She blocked out the crowd's cheers and yells, so in order to find Nathanial. She sensed his aura. Luckily, his aura was stronger than the others as he relied mostly on his Glyphs.
"Show yourself, Grimm Girl." Came Nathanial's voice through the jungle. "The people wanted to know if you're the real deal or just an imitation of one."
"Oh, hell no!" Wraith roared in her mind. "Kick ass, kid! Show him no mercy!"
"For once, I have to agree. Show this simpleton some manners." Regina said towards Voltaria.
"Hmph, agreeable." Voltaria taught as her Grimm Holder made a small light.
Nathaniel searched through the jungle, whip in hand as he was ready to strike. He stopped when he heard rustling from the bushes. Smirking, Nathaniel raised his whip and struck at the target. However, he felt something strong grab hold onto the whip and it suddenly pulled in with him as well. Soon, the others stopped fighting when they heard a loud roar through the jungle arena and the audience fell into a deadly silence when they heard that. And suddenly, Nathaniel was seen flying out of the jungle area, yelling in pain as he crashed into Yasmin, who yelped at the sudden impact, and the two were sprawled onto the ground.
"Nathanial?! What happened?" Yasmin suddenly asked as she got up from the sand.
Nathanial's response was a groan as Francis and Cassidy came by this side. Nathanial lifted his head enough and mustered enough words that escaped his mouth. "She's the real deal."
Confused by what he meant, three of the members of Team FNCY and Team WAVE looked towards the direction of the jungle area before they heard the loud roar again. Something exploded out of the jungle and landed on the ground, creating a cloud of dust that surrounds the arena. Both Teams shielded themselves until the dust cleared, and once it did, they and the audience gasped in shock and horror to see what had appeared before them.
It was a Grimm.
But not just any Grimm, it's a type of Grimm that looks like a Gorilla, covered in black skin, with bone-like plates covering its body like an armor, has a red pattern or symbol resembling an eye is present on its back. It's twice the size of a Beowolf and twice as dangerous. There was a deathly silence from the audience as fear was slowly coming out from them until they saw Voltaria walking out of the jungle casually. She made her way to the clearing and stood next to Grimm with no fear or hesitation. She crosses her arms, and she stares at Team FNCY blankly under her mask while the Gorilla like Grimm beats its chest and releases a powerful roar towards Team FNCY.
"I don't believe it, folks! Voltaria Eclipse has summoned one of her Grimms in the battlefield!" Port exclaimed through the speakers towards the audience.
"And judging by what type of Grimm, it's a Beringel!" Oobleck added as he saw what Grimm it was. "It can only be located in the continents of Sanus and Anima, in deep forest or jungles, and this type of Grimm is a very tough one and shouldn't be messed with."
"In which case, don't mess with Voltaria Eclipse." Port shortens Oobleck's explanation.
"OMG, she is the Grimm Girl." Cassidy whispers to her group.
"What are we going to do?" Yasmin asked her leader.
Francis narrowed his eyes at Voltaria and her Beringel. They stood there watching them as the rest of Team WAVE came and stood beside the girl and her Grimm with their weapons ready. Francis activates his lightsaber and makes a battle stance towards Team WAVE.
"We fight till the end." Francis said to them seriously. They, and Nathanial, who got up, readied themselves for battle.
"Ooo! It seems Team FNCY isn't going down without a fight!" Port said proudly. "But can they handle such opponents?"
This caused the crowd to suddenly cheer at this sudden event. They never seen a Grimm in action before, let alone being controlled by the Grimm Girl! Many reporters were taking pictures at Voltaria and her Beringel, wanting to see more of the action between them. Team WAVE readied themselves as they glared at the Team FNCY.
"Let's do this." Wade ordered his team while Beringel beat its chest again with a powerful roar.
"Woohhooo! Go get 'em Team WAVE!" Ruby cheered happily.
"SHOW THEM WHAT YOU'RE MADE OF!" Nora yelled through the cheering crowd.
Soon, Team FNCY charged at them in full speed, Cassidy fired multiple shots at Team WAVE along with Yasmin, who's halberd is a plasma rifle. However, Voltaria made a sharp whistle and the Beringel instantly obeyed. It came in front and blocked their attack with his arms, shielding them from the blast. The crowd was in awe to see that, just a simple whistle, that Beringel obeyed her command. The reports were taking a lot of pics because of this. I mean, this is a story of a lifetime!
"Hit them hard." Voltaria said to her teammates.
"Ya heard her. Hit them hard!" Wade ordered before turning his sword back to his pistol and shotgun before charging with Evo and AJ.
"In coming!" Cassidy exclaimed.
"On it!" Nathanial exclaimed as he summoned two Glyphs from his hands. They created ice shard projection and fired towards Team WAVE. But the three dodged the projectiles in time before the Beringel came charging in and then released a powerful clap that created a shockwave that sent the sharp ice shards back to Team FNCY. The team retreated as the shards nearly hit them.
"By the heavens! Look how that Grimm is helping Team WAVE get the upper hand on the battlefield!" Oobleck announced in astonishment.
"This is big!" A reporter exclaimed as he took pictures of Voltaria and her Beringel.
"The top story of the four kingdoms!" A female reporter added.
"Woah, look at it go!" A male student of Shade Academy points at the Beringel as it tosses a giant stone towards Team FNCY, who barely dodged it.
"The rumors are true! She can control the creatures of Grimm!" A female Student of Atlas said in awe.
Team FNCY was getting low on aura as Team WAVE has the upper advantage. Wade and AJ fired multiple shots at their direction. Nathanial made shields to protect him and his team, but it wasn't strong enough when Voltaria's Grimm and Evo came as they slammed the shield with their strength. Evo with his electric guitar combined with Beringel's immense strength. The shield broke and gave Team WAVE the opportunity to fight back against Team FNCY. Wade and Francis had their sword duel while Evo and Yasmin had their own duel with their axe and halberd. Cassidy and Nathanial fired multiple shots towards AJ and Voltaria. But were blocked by the Beringel as it uses its body as a shield. Both Voltaria and AJ then advanced as Voltaria threw a red glowing card at the ground close to Cassidy and Nathanial before AJ ignited it with her Lightning Dust bullet. It exploded and sent two of their combatants flying out of the arena, indicating that they were out of the match.
"Both Cassidy and Nathanial are out by Ammolite Jewel and Voltaria Eclipse." Oobleck announced.
"Go Voltaria!" Ruby cheered on happily.
Francis and Yasmin avoided their opponents' attacks as they were thrown by the combination of blast from Evo and Wade. They were both sent flying high up to the arena before Wade looked at Evo seriously.
"Evo! Get ready to fly!" Wade said to his friend, pointing his pistol towards Beringel.
Seeing this, Evo nodded and charged at the Beringel at full speed. Voltaria snaps her finger at Beringel and commands. "Throw him up."
Obeying her, the Beringel allowed Evo to get on his big palm before flinging him up towards the two remaining Team FNCY members. They didn't have time to react when Evo turned his axe into a guitar and created a powerful shockwave that created a thunderous explosion. Both Francis and Yasmin crashed on the ground as their aura levels reached to zero, indicating that they had lost the match, and the winner was Team WAVE.
"Victory goes to Team WAVE!" Port announced loudly and everyone cheered for the group.
Evo landed down with ease as he and two of his teammates cheered along with the crowd. Voltaria was sitting on Beringel's shoulder as it roared while beating its chest to victory. The audience was amazed to see how easily a Grimm could be tamed by just a little girl. But few were shocked by this, especially Cinder Fall. She stared at the girl with wide eyes. For the first time in her life, she was shocked by this sudden event. She only knew one that can control the Creatures of Grimm, but this girl…this girl knew how to control one, a dangerous one to be exact.
"Cinder…" She heard Emerald speak. Cinder's amber eyes glanced over to Emerald, who was looking at Voltaria with a shock expression. "How…how did she do that?"
"I don't know…but something about her seems…interesting." Cinder said with a sly smirk.
After the battle was over, Voltaria returned Beringel back to her Grimm Holder as they left the arena. The next match will start within another hour, giving them time to get something to eat. As they walked through the hall that shows the exit, they were greeted by the sight of Glynda Goodwitch, who waited for them, which surprised the group, except for Voltaria as she knew that she would be waiting for them. The teacher looked at Team WAVE sternly with her arms crossed. Wade, AJ, and Evo were nervous about this, wondering if they were in trouble, but to their surprise, she didn't come here to scold them. Instead, she was here to congratulate them.
"Congratulations on your victory, Team WAVE." Glynda said calmly, causing the three teens to sigh in relief, but tense when Glynda turned towards Voltaria. "Although why did you summon your Grimm in the arena? You cause a major stir from the audience."
Voltaria simply shrugged at this matter and said to her. "Constantine asked for it, he wanted to know if I was the 'real deal'." Her fingers quote the last part.
Glynda shook her head at Voltaria's word, although she didn't want to admit it, Nathaniel did ask for it. "Well, then…why don't you all head to another exit."
"Why is that?" Evo asked Glynda curiously.
"Because at the end, there's a bunch or reporters that wish to speak with Volatria's ability." Glynda informs them before the entities appeared from the shadows.
"Ah, shit. We forgot there were gossipers outside." Wraith said to them before looking at Glynda. "Want us to get rid of them?"
"No, security is working on that." Glynda simply said to them. "But you have to find another way out."
"Leave that to us, Ms. Goodwitch." Regina said to her kindly before she and the other entities swirled around them before teleporting them to a corner of the fairgrounds.
"Hmm…interesting escape." Glynda commented on them as the entities retreated to the shadows.
"Why thank you." Regina said to her kindly. "Now, you all enjoy yourselves, after all. It is time for festivity."
"Yeah, we promise to meet up with Team RWBY and JNPR after our match." Wade said to them.
"Where are you meeting?" Glynda asked.
"On a smoothie stand." AJ answered Gynda.
"I see. Then I advise you all to keep your guard up. From what Tabitha reported me about our culprits, they're making their moves." Glynda said to them.
They nodded and headed off. Voltaria stayed behind a bit and looked at the people walking by. She wasn't sure if she could go out there. I mean, she did just reveal that she can tame and control Grimm. She basically revealed herself to the enemy. Heck, even the entire audience saw it. Was it a mistake to do it? Or was it a mistake to even attend Beacon. Glynda notices Voltaria's sudden behavior changes and becomes quite concerned by this.
"Are you all right, Ms. Eclipse?" She asked, snapping Voltaria from her trance as the young girl looked at the people walking by.
"Was it a mistake?" Voltaria suddenly asked.
"I'm sorry, what?" Glynda asked, didn't get what she was saying.
"Was it a mistake to come here?" Voltaria asked Glynda again. "When Professor Ozpin offered me a chance to study at Beacon, to hone my skills until surpass them and become a huntress, but…but I feel that the people will still see me as the mysterious girl that can talk to the monsters that threaten their lives." Voltaria touched the red gem of her Grimm Holder gently, sensing her Grimms inside.
Suddenly, she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder, causing Voltaria to look up towards Glynda. And to her surprise, Glynda's eyes softened by this. "It was not a mistake." She began calmly. "When you arrived here at Beacon, I thought like any other students, wanting to become a huntsman to protect humanity, but you, on the other hand, wanted to find a purpose here. To know more and help others to prevent a terrible future. And you coming here is no mistake at all."
Voltaria listened to her words carefully, feeling something tightening her chest, and this feeling that she tried so hard to forget, has come back to her. She only felt feelings with her mother, the one who loved and understands her. And now…now, she has grown a bond towards Glynda, think of her as a second mother to Voltaria. It was both strange yet relaxing at the same time for her. Voltaria lowered her gaze and slowly whispered out to her.
"Thank you…Professor Goodwitch."
Glynda heard this and nodded in acknowledgment before letting her go. "Now, let's go meet up with the others, you don't want them to be worried."
Nodding, both Voltaria and Glynda went out of the corner and towards the smoothie shop. Though Voltaria did receive some shock looking faces from people who were passing by. They both entered the smoothie shop and were greeted by the rest of Team WAVE along with RWBY and JNPR.
"Volty! You made it!" Ruby cheers happily as she drinks her raspberry smoothie.
"What took you so long?" Yang asked, holding up her strawberry smoothie.
Voltaria glanced over to Glynda under her mask before looking over to them. "I was…thinking, that's all."
"Do you want to order a drink?" AJ asked kindly, "I'm paying."
Voltaria looks at the variety of drinks on the menu board before sighing. "Sure, why not. I'll have the blackberry smoothie." She said blankly.
Wade smiled and raised his drink. "Now yer talkin', V. What about you, Professor? Any drinks you want?" He asked Glynda.
Glynda simply snorted and adjusted her glasses. "I'll have the mango, thank you very much."
"Sure thing, Professor Goodwitch." AJ said as she bought their drinks.
"So…who's the next team in the tournament?" Ruby suddenly asked.
"I believe Team SSSN will be on next, facing Team NDGO from Shade Academy." Glynda answered before receiving her drink from AJ and thanked her.
"Wait." Wraith suddenly came in their minds, startling the group except for Voltaria, who was sipping on her straw of her drink. They're still getting used to the entities coming into their minds. "Are you talking about the monkey, the red-head, the frowny-face, and the playboy?"
The group looked at each other, not sure what to answer, before Glynda simply replied through her head since they shared a mental link because of them. "If you are relearning about Sun Wukong, Scarlet David, Sage Ayana, Neptune Vasilias, then yes. Why do you ask?" Glynda dared question the entity.
Wraith made a devious chuckle. "Oh, no reason. Hehehehe…"
"...What is he up to?" Ruby whispers out.
Regina sighs. "I don't know, but something tells me he is up to know good again."
Back at the stadium, Team RWBY, JNPR, and WAVE got to their seats, waiting for the tournament to start. Ruby was excited about the match while Voltaria casually waited with the others. Although there was a group of photographers close by, getting some pics of Voltaria as she waited at her seat.
"Sorry about the reporters, V." Wade apologized to her. "I know yer not into getting the center of attention."
"It's alright, Wade." Voltaria said in a calm yet blank tone, using his first name which surprised him, "I don't let this fame get over my head." Wade smiled at this, finding it nice for her to open up to others now.
"May I sit here?" Came Glynda's voice as the professor came over to them.
The students nodded. "Of course." Blake said as Glynda between Voltaria and Ruby.
"By the way, how are your 'companions' at Emerald Forest?" Glynda asked, referring to Amaryllis and Ripper.
Understanding what she meant, Voltaria responded. "They're fine. Vision is keeping an eye on them as he shows the tournament."
Glynda nodded in understanding. "I see."
At the sportscaster's desk, both Oobleck and Port show the image of Team WAVE's victory on the screen. "As Team WAVE has one the last match, here is the final round of the four on four." Oobleck said.
Port soon displays a picture of the four new challengers to his right, showing four beautiful girls on the screen. "Team NDGO of Shade is certainly a crowd favorite, but these lovely ladies are going against some of the toughest, testosterone-filled teammates we've seen so far! I'm of course talking about... Team SSSN!" He announced.
Few spectators in the stands were holding up signs with each male's face decorated with hearts, the exception being a simple image of a certain set of abs. *Coughs!*Sun's!*Coughs!*
"Sun Wukong and his team are certainly a force to be reckoned with, and although he'll be representing the Mistral Academy of Haven, I'm sure his friends and family back in Vacuo will be cheering him along!" Port said as Team SSSN walks into the center of the field, waving to the cheering crowds as they do so.
"They sure enjoy the attention." Voltaria mutters out.
Yang laughs at this when she hears Voltaria's words. "You know it." She said with a grin.
Weiss cups both her hands to sweetly call out to a curtain blue haired teen. "Good luck, Neptune!"
"I wouldn't cheer him on if I were you." Voltaria said to Weiss blankly, causing the girl to look at Voltaria in confusion.
"What do you mean by that?" Weiss dared to ask before Voltaria pointed at the arena and followed her gaze.
Neptune continues waving at the audience until he spots Team NDGO who are four beautiful opponents, which causes him to develop a confident attitude to be replaced with a flirtatious attitude as he addresses them charmingly. "Ladies."
"That's why." Voltaria answered blankly as Weiss became enraged by this as she angrily gets up and points into the arena.
"Break his stupid face, NDGO!" Weiss exclaimed in rage, scaring her team, JNPR, and WAVE, except for Voltaria and Glynda as they simply stared at her.
"This isn't going to end well." AJ whispers out.
Back to the arena, the teams stand on opposite sides from one another, ready for battle but Neptune was busy flirting with them. "Alright, girls, try and remember, hands above the waist." He said, gesturing himself, causing Team NDGO to stare him blankly.
Sun then grasps on Neptune's arm as he apologizes in his way to the girl team. "Ignore him, for he...Yeah, he's dumb."
Neptune simply gives a sparkling wink to the females, who became disgusted by this. Voltaria rolled her eyes at Neptune's attempt to impress the females. But it appears that he has no idea that they are not interested. Suddenly, she felt her entities returning to her. But one was missing.
"Regina, where's Wraith? He was supposed to be here after the patrol." Voltaria said through her mind.
"He was, until he suddenly disappeared to who knows where." Regina said with an annoyed sigh. "Honestly, how can he disappear in a time like this?"
"Hmmm, I see." Voltaria said, getting everyone's attention.
"What's the matter, Volty?" Ruby asked her friend.
"Wraith hasn't returned yet from the patrol. He was supposed to meet us here when they finished." Voltaria answered.
"Huh, it is strange, but he did act all weird when Team SSSN was mentioned." Yang said.
"Yeah! And then he went all evil with a laugh like this. Hehehee…" Nora added, playing out Wraith's laugh.
"It was weird." Blake agreed. "Especially when he suddenly took interest in them."
Soon, Voltaria's eyes widened in realization and facepalmed. "Oh, no."
"Is there something wrong, Ms. Eclipse?" Glynda asked Voltaria.
"I know what Wraith is up to and it's not going to end well." Voltaria said dully.
Before they could ask, a holographic roulette shows up, randomly choosing their area of the two teams. The first one was Team NDGO, it landed on a yellow image of sunny dunes and stone formations until the real thing emerged from below. A small circular light even appears overhead, causing most of the crowd to don sunglasses.
"Huh, now this is my kind of territory." Evo said, wearing shades with a smirk.
Nebula laughs as she looks back at their selection. "Alright! Home field advantage!" She said with a grin.
"Don't get too cocky! That's my turf, too!" Sun pointed out to her.
"I thought he was the cocky one?" Wade asked Blake, who responded with a shrug.
Scarlet was looking down at his attire as the roulette began again on the other side. "I hope I don't get sand in my shoes."
Neptune leans over and whispers to him. "Be cool, man."
Though he was not aware that the holographic roulette was spinning until an image stopped to reveal a blue symbol of tidal waves.
"Hey! The ocean!" Dew exclaimed.
Hearing this, Neptune's coolness washed away in fear as he turned and saw the random pick for himself. It's true what she said, their territory was the ocean. And Neptune well...let's just say his face shows it all as a slight whimper and escapes him.
Ruby was confused by Neptune's sudden change of behavior as asked to her teammates and the others. "Uhh…what's wrong with Neptune?"
"Oh, no." Blake mutters as her hand is on her face. Soon, a sandy beach and pirate shipwreck rises into the arena. Neptune stiffens up with fear while Sun pokes at him.
"Is there something that you want to share, Ms. Belladonna?" Glynda asked the cat Faunus.
Blake withdrew her hand from her face. "Neptune's...afraid of the water." She answered, surprising everyone, except Voltaria and Glynda.
"That's ironic, considering his name is Neptune." Voltaria said sarcastically.
"Hey, everyone. I'm back!" Wraith called out from them in their minds.
"Wraith! Have you been messing with the arena's randomizer?!" Regina questions him angrily.
"Maybe I have, maybe I did. Besides, I'm doing Schnee a favor, getting Neptune's sorry ass kicked." Wraith said with a dark chuckle.
"How do you even know Neptune's afraid of the water?" Blake asked Wraith.
"Oh, it's a special ability we entities have." Wraith with a snicker. "Once we possess someone, we can go through their minds and find out the deepest and darkest secrets!"
"I was not aware that you had possessed Vasilias." Voltaria said to Wraith in annoyance.
"Nah, I just went into Neptune's dream and found his greatest fear was the water. Heh, what a wimp." Wraith said with a snicker.
"You can enter people's dreams?" Pyrrha asked them in surprise.
"Yes, but we never use it often...until now." Regina said while they feel her glaring at Wraith.
"What? You know I get bored easily." Wraith said, earning an annoyed sigh from Regina, before turning back to the arena.
"3, 2, 1, BEGIN!" Oobleck exclaimed through the speakers.
With that said, Neptune quickly zooms through the enemy team and skids up the mountain behind them, surprising everyone, including his teammates.
Sage called out to him. "Neptune, what are you doing?!"
Neptune was now standing on a ledge near the top of the formation, yelling down to his friends with a hint of fear and nervousness. "Uh, you know, just gaining the higher ground!"
Sun called out next exasperatedly. "On the enemy's side?!"
"They would never expect it!" Neptune added loudly, not wanting to go near the water.
Team NDGO looked at him unsure as before Dew turned to her allies. "He's not wrong." She agreed.
"Hehehe, what a wimp. Can't get over his fear of the water." Wraith chuckles darkly at the scene.
"That's because YOU rigged it." Wade thought, glaring at the match.
"Meh, details, details." Wraith said, not caring about his actions.
Back to the match, Nebula calls out her first order. "Open fire!"
Soon, Team NDGO goes forward into their turf. Sage with his sword raised and Scarlet removed his coat before they followed them in battle. Scarlet comes upon Octavia Ember emerging out from a nearby arch and tries to slice her with his cutlass. However, she was faster than him as Octavia ducks under the swing and continues sliding away, past the middle of Dew and Sage getting ready to rumble. Sage hefts his weapon, Pilgrim, overhead with both hands and brings it down, only to get knocked back by Dew's spear. He glances up in time to see the blonde wave her weapon over the sand to create three small twisters that kick up dust in Sage's face. He looks around as they surround him but does not realize the danger until they coalesce into one big tornado that picks him up off the ground. With his weapon torn out of his grip and screaming in panic, he is totally helpless as the winds throw him and his blade out of the arena.
Sage slams the ground with fists upon seeing his image now crossed out on the holographic board. "And NDGO gains the advantage!" Oobleck announced.
Octavia slides in front of Sun and Scarlet, who ready themselves to fight her just as she spins her sword around and produces a wave of flame that kicks up dust in their faces. Sun manages to jump out of the cloud just in time to call for help in fighting the redhead.
"Neptune!" Sun called out to him.
Hearing his name, Neptune sees his leader fallback while Octavia attacks Scarlet again, Neptune leaps down from his position and cocks his gun. Octavia attempts to use another fire attack to blind Neptune, but he simply puts on his goggles and fires a bolt at his opponent, who blocks it with her blade right before seeing Sun leap out of nowhere to deliver a neck-snapping kick to her face. Now furious, a scowling Octavia tries to retaliate by bringing her blade down onto the Faunus. But the blow is countered by Sun's Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang in its staff form as he draws the weapon, then spins it all around his body while hitting several parts of hers. He ends it with a jab that knocks Octavia on her back in the sand.
"Oh! And we're down to 3-on-3!" Port announced in interest.
Neptune was fighting with Gwen Darcy as she circles him with her flying knives and Scarlet attempting to go weapon-to-weapon with Dew. She easily dodges a kick then calls upon another sandy cyclone to lift Scarlet up, and he revolves around the spiral until it launches him over the shipwreck. It seems like he's about to be eliminated as well, but he extends his arms and manages to dive onto a part of the mast. Noticing this, Nebula and Gwen rush to pursue him. Scarlet catches the beam and flips himself up almost losing his balance once the pole is under his feet. He eventually finds his balance right when Nebula closes in and launches an arrow with her crossbow at the mast, using it to jump right up to where Scarlet is.
Nebula folds up the sides of her weapon into a blade to cross swords with her opponent. Both gave trading blows while ducking and missing each other's attacks. Then Scarlet is struck by Nebula's hilt and counters with a kick to the head. Nebula circles the mast and deflects another blow then slams her blade over Scarlet's and forces him to lean back on the post. Luckily, he manages to get his sword back out from the trap and feign a swing at Nebula's feet before knocking into her with his elbow, causing the NDGO leader to fall into the sand below. From his position, Scarlet sees Gwen continue to throw her knives at Sun, and he smirks before whipping out his pistol and shooting the hilt guard as a grappling hook to get her by the ankle.
"Gotcha!" Scarlet called out with a grin.
The redhead uses the cord to lift Gwen into the air while he slowly comes down to the ground, only to land directly beneath her as she attempts to protect her modesty while knives start raining down from her dress. Scarlet quickly adopts a pose that somehow allows him to miss every single blade that comes crashing down into the sand at his feet, which he gives a sigh of relief to.
"That was a close one." Ruby said to the others.
"I don't think so." Voltaria stated, getting the others' attention.
Through Voltaria's prediction, Scarlet's luck ran out when Dew leapt towards Sun, causing the monkey Faunus to knock out two coconuts from a palm tree beside him. He throws the two coconuts at his opponent only to get them knocked right back at him, now spontaneously catching fire as they travel. Sun narrowly misses them both, but Scarlet gets one straight to the face, and the other lands in a place that makes him squeal in unimaginable pain while dropping his Aura levels into elimination. All the males winced in pain at this while Wraith laughed his mind off.
"HAHAHAHA! THAT'S HILARIOUS! HAHAHAH!" Wraith laughed out loudly.
Sun releases a sigh of annoyance. "Nuts!"
Dew smirked at this before she summoned a few water blue tornadoes that he tried to dodge around. "Uh, Neptune? Could use some help, buddy!" Sun called out to him, seeing he's already in trouble.
Neptune saw the water with unsureness before turning back to his leader with his excuses. "Uh, you know, uh, it would probably be better if you came over here! Yeah, I can guard this...sector! We're in lockdown mode!"
Sun was looking around infuriated as Nebula managed to shoot the cord holding Gwen up, freeing her in the process. "What are you talking about?! There's nothing to lock down!" Sun exclaimed in frustration.
"Lockdown! Right! You got it!" Neptune said before turning away again, trying to prevent himself to go near the water.
"Honestly, how can he be a proper huntsman if he can't get over his fear of the water?" Regina spoke to the group.
"He'll probably get over it…I think." Tabitha said to her with unsureness in her tone.
"Keyword: probably." Blake said with a sigh.
Sun was jumping out from Dew's attempt to pierce him with her spear as he called out to Neptune in frustration. "Dude! I know you're afraid of water, but you gotta-" He stops yelling when a blue shot knocks an attacking Dew out of midair and into the water.
Neptune was holding his gun and was the one who took the shot. "There! I helped! Are you happy now!?" Neptune exclaimed before pausing as he placed a hand on his chest. "Also, I am not afraid of water, and I have no idea what you are talking about!" He pointed at Sun, trying his best to hide his fear.
"Why he scared of water?" Hannibal asked Blake curiously.
"It's…hard to explain, Hannibal." Blake answered to him softly.
"It okay, me understand." Hannibal said kindly before watching the match, making Blake smile at him.
At the match, Dew manages to get back up as Nebula and Gwen join their comrade in the water, lifting their weapons and ready to fight once more. Sun was getting frustrated as he gestured at the three with both hands and then facing his scaredy-cat of a teammate. "NEPTUNE!"
Neptune, now can't hold it, exclaimed. "Okay, fine! Just get out of the water!"
Sun gets out of the way as Neptune jumps over to a spot near the coastal line next to Sun. The blue-haired teen unfolds Tri-Hard into its trident form before tip-toeing forwards (earning an annoyed look from Sun) with his eyes closed, plunges the sparking prongs into the water. The energy surges through the deep until the remaining members of NDGO are electrocuted and sink to their knees in the water, smoking and defeated. The sound of the buzzer was heard, indicating the match was over and the remaining members of Team SSSN had won. Knowing that they won, both Sun and Neptune chest bump each other in celebration while Port spoke in delight. "And with that, Team SSSN moves on to the doubles round!"
Port then turns towards Oobleck. "You know what I call that victory?"
Oobleck spoke with a pun. "Shocking?"
Port frowns at this. "No, well earned. What you said is stupid."
Back at the seats, Ruby leans back in her seat and sighs in relief. "Aw, that was so close!" She said, happy Team SSSN made it to the next round.
"You can say that again." AJ said with a giggle.
"Looks like the dorks made it to the next round!" Yang added with a grin.
Blake looks at Yang and then down to the arena where Sun and Neptune are dancing like fools, much to the audience's amusement, before the monkey Faunus gives her a special double-gun gesture with a wink. Blake blushed a bit by this and made a small smile from his target. "Emphasis on "dork"." Blake said almost happily.
Unfortunately for her, the entities could feel her sudden emotional change. "Please tell you're not falling over that monkey." Wraith spoke to Blake in her mind.
Blake blushed at this and glared forward, as if Wraith was in front of her. "Ever heard of privacy?" She asked Wraith rudely.
"Privacy, shmivacy, who cares? I'm outta here." Wraith before disappearing from the group.
Voltaria sighs and sends a telepathic message to Hannibal. "Hannibal, keep an eye on Wraith."
"Okay." Hannibal agreed before disappearing as well, going after Wraith. Suddenly, Oobleck's voice came over the sound system.
"That concludes the matches for today. Please leave the Coliseum IN A CALM AND ORDERLY FASHION!"
Everyone flinched from the unexpected volume change. Glynda sighs in annoyance at this and shakes her head, she is going to have a word with Oobleck after this.
"Come on, let's go congratulate 'em." Yang said to the others.
"I must go as well, Ozpin and I have to meet with Ironwood this afternoon." Glynda said before getting up but not before turning to Voltaria. "You better stay out of trouble."
Voltaria snorted at this. "Trouble sometimes comes to me." She said softly.
Glynda raised a brow at this but decided not to question it. She says her farewell and then leaves the group. As in doing so, the group heads off to congratulate Team SSSN. "By the way, Voltaria. Where did Wraith disappear to?" Evo asked Voltaria.
"Don't worry about Wraith. Hannibal is keeping an eye on him." Voltaria answered to him calmly.
"You know, I always wonder why Wraith isn't like Hannibal." Yang wonders.
"I wonder why as well." Regina agrees with Yang.
As they all started to head out to meet with Team SSSN, an aircraft with elegant ribbons flying from its wings passed over the Colosseum, causing Weiss to stop in her tracks to stare at it. Her sudden stop causes Ruby to accidentally bounce into her.
"Hugghh, uhhh…what...are you viewing?" Ruby suddenly asked when she was supposed to apologize to her.
But Weiss was too busy to even notice her since she was looking up at the craft with a strange expression that is a mix of joy and anxiety as she spoke with strain in her voice. "She's here!"
Ruby looked at her in confusion. "Who's here?" She asked Weiss, curious on what she was talking about.
Voltaria glanced up at the aircraft with a blank expression under her mask and said to Ruby the answer. "I believe someone that she idolizes is coming here."
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