RTX 2017!
That's right, I'm at RTX Sydney, and I'm having the time of my life. Got the RWBY Volume 3 DVD, some T-Shirts, the Aussie expansion of Million Dollars, But…, and I've had my first experience with VR gaming. And that was just the first day!
Anyway, as of this writing, I'm currently waiting in line to see the Volume 4 finale. I'm looking forward to seeing how that Nuckl… Knuc… that horse Grimm dies. And could RWBY be set to reunite? This is gonna be good!
Chapter 45: My Time Has Come
"This all you got, ya drongos? C'mon, I'm right here!"
The clouds of black smoke rising from so many dead bodies of Grimm was almost too thick to see through, but if I squinted hard enough, and kept my ears alert, I could just see the bushes on the brink of the treeline rustle and move. The remaining pack of Beowolves weren't stupid: what I had killed was most likely the weaker members of the pack. The stronger Grimm, the Beowolf Alphas, would be hanging back, studying my fighting style and waiting for me to make a mistake.
But if I deliberately let my guard down…
Sheathing my blades, and holstering the cannons back onto my shoulders, I turned my back on the forest, and began to tap on the holographic interface on my wrist. With luck, it would appear as though I was preparing to leave. But in actuality, I had begun to channel all but a sliver of my Aura into one concussive blast. The remaining Aura was being rerouted to my boosters, which emitted brief plumes of energy, hopefully aiding in my deception.
This was one hell of a gambit.
*ROAAAARRRR!*
Breaking branches and a bone-chilling snarl told me that one of the Beowolves had taken the bait. Whirling around, a cannon clicked into place on my shoulder, and with a pull of the trigger, a bright blue flash erupted from the barrel, enveloping the Beowolf Alpha in the beam. Within the blink of an eye, the Alpha disintegrated into dust. As the beam vanished, the cloud of smoke cleared, and the branches ceased their rustling. Looking into the underbrush, I saw the last of the Beowolves turning tail, and galloping back into the wilds.
I had won.
Turning my attention back to the projected image on my wrist, I tapped on the screen, hearing the cannon click away as they compacted back into my backpack. As I channelled my already regenerating Aura to my booster rockets, I opened the messages on my Scroll, and typed out one to Yang.
'Aura's stable. B there soon.'
Hitting the SEND button, I closed the hologram feed, tapped on the booster rockets, and began what I hoped would be a short flight to Amity Colosseum.
Soaring through the sky was a liberating feeling. It gave me a moment to think clearly, without the general hubbub that accompanied the streets and shops. Up here, it was peaceful, quiet, and a safe haven for my private thoughts. Of course, going through clouds wasn't pleasant, as it would leave me sopping wet, sleepy birds would always prove to be a constant obstacle, and the chill of the wind was never pleasant, but aside from that, flying was, quite possibly, one of the best experiences Remnant had given me.
As the clouds parted, Amity Colosseum quickly came into view. It was a floating building, held aloft by some unknown mechanism. Gravity Dust, magnetism, whatever it was, it was a testament to the technology Remnant had on hand, as well as a living symbol of the unity of the four kingdoms of Remnant. With a shield over the open ceiling, and integrated environmental arenas that could be changed on the fly, Amity Colosseum was the perfect place for the Vytal Festival Tournament.
Pulling up to one of the docking pads circling the perimeter of the colossal architecture, I tapped on the jets, and fell to the ground, landing perfectly. Looking through the crowd, I saw a hand rise above the throng.
"Hey, Darrel! Over here!"
With a grin, I made my way over to where Ruby was.
"Hey, Red Reaper." I smiled. Ruby sighed irritably.
"Don't tell me you met up with Midni. That guy's always called me that. It got on my nerves back at Signal." She growled. I just ruffled her hair, with a smile on my face.
"Ah, c'mon, it suits you. With the scythe, and the red hood, it, uh…" I trailed off, as she gave me a withering look.
"So, you get back okay?" I asked, hastily changing the subject.
"Yeah, Dad managed to get an express ticket for me. How was your date?" She inquired. I just rubbed the back of my head.
"Well, y'know… it went well, I guess." I shrugged nervously.
"More than well. We both had a good time, right?"
Yang marched up, clapping a hand on my shoulder, startling me somewhat. Trying not to let slip that my heart rate had accelerated by a sizable margin, I inhaled.
"Yeah, yeah." I agreed.
"Good to hear. I'd hate to have to let slip this arrangement to Dad." Ruby snickered.
"Don't you dare, Ruby. Dad will know when he needs to know." Yang warned.
"ATTENTION. TODAY'S OPENING FIGHT WILL BE COMMENCING IN TEN MINUTES. TEAM RWBY OF BEACON ACADEMY, AND TEAM ABRN OF HAVEN ACADEMY, PROCEED TO THE COMBAT ARENA. THOSE WHO WISH TO SPECTATE, MAKE YOUR WAY TO THE STANDS."
That was our cue.
"Alright, let's go, sis." Ruby ordered, before disappearing in a flurry of rose petals. Yang just sighed in mock irritation.
"As you say, o fearless leader!" She yelled out to the departing red speck, before turning to me.
"You sure you're okay with sitting out?" She asked. I nodded.
"Yeah, it's fine. I know the team'll make it without me."
Yang pulled me into a hug.
"Wish us luck." She whispered in my ear. I just patted her back soothingly.
"You don't need luck, Sunfire. You've got skill." I responded. Yang pulled away from my shoulder, and gave me a smile. However, it quickly faded away, to be replaced with a serious glare.
"Um, after we're done here, we need to talk."
"What about?" I asked, worry seeping into my voice.
"Not here, too many ears. I'll explain after we've won." She answered, before tearing away, and sprinting to the ready room. I watched her go, with curiosity in my mind.
What does she want to tell me?
Watching the fight unfold from the audience stands wasn't the best, but rules were rules. It was clearly four on four, and I was the fifth. Besides, after the teams matches, Kor would be showcasing his hologram arena to the attendees, with me as the promoter. Between matches, Kor was hard at work installing the technology into the arena of Amity Colosseum, kept under strict guard and in view of tournament officials. After all, a professor of Beacon Academy installing an unknown technology into the arena likely wouldn't sit well with officials from other academies.
But I trusted Kor. This was no act of sabotage, only an attempt to further the training methods of Huntsmen and Huntresses. An act of gracious altruism, if you would. After all, the Vytal Festival was all about all kingdoms coming together, and celebrating their mutual armistice. It was the perfect place to demonstrate new technology that would surely benefit the kingdoms.
As the central platform rose up, the eight surrounding sections of the octagonal arena glowed brightly, and a scrolling hologram appeared above each of the segments. Looking at the digital pamphlet I had received on my Scroll, I quickly saw that all the arenas would be randomized, with two randomly selected biomes for the teams matches, and four for the doubles rounds. The singles round wouldn't have these. Instead the central arena would be used for singular combat, with no interference, and no assistance from anybody. For all intents and purposes, it was like some grand fighting game back home, like Mortal Kombat, or Super Smash Bros.
As I looked back up to the field, I saw that half of the arena had been selected. The symbol was a black, jagged cone, and an ember on top, with a reddish glow. But the other half of the hologram roulette was beginning to slow, until finally… a snowflake, and a sheer cliff face.
The superstructure surrounding the central platform where RWBY and ABRN were standing retracted backwards, and revealed a dark underground pit. Out of this pit emerged an arena that was quite bizarre: half of it was frozen over, with glaciers and icicles dotting the frigid landscape, while the other half was a hellish volcanic landscape. Thinking back to my first real experience with Kor's hologram arena, it was a very similar sight; obsidian spikes, flows of burning lava, and a ground stained black with ash and hardened magma.
"Three! Two! One! BEGIN!"
Professor Port's bombastic voice rang out from some unknown speaker, while RWBY and ABRN began their fight. Blake retreated up to a high glacier, with Weiss disappearing into the cold ice, almost perfectly camouflaged in the tundra. Ruby and Yang dashed forwards into the volcanic arena, where Yang began to fight with one of ABRN's members, while Ruby dashed up a cliff face, unfolded her scythe, and began to scan the battlefield.
Looking back down to the pamphlet, I quickly scrolled through it to see if there were any details about ABRN. Finally, I reached the current combatants page, which showed live profiles of the teams in battle. As I looked through Team ABRN's pictures, I tapped a picture of the third one, a green haired girl with anti-glare marks under her forest green eyes. The picture widened to a torso shot, and a basic profile of her appeared next to her.
NAME: REESE CHLORIS
TEAM: ABRN
ACADEMY: HAVEN (3RD YEAR)
WEAPON: PROPULSIONAL HOVERBOARD / CUSTOMIZED REVOLVERS
Interesting… Looking at the other members of ABRN, I saw that Arslan Altan, the dark-skinned leader of ABRN, wielded a dagger with a retractable cable, effectively making it something akin to a rope dart. Bolin carried a staff, with collapsible curved blades in the ends, and Nadir brandished an assault rifle which had a retractable blade in the barrel. All interesting methods of combat. Simplistic, yet effective. But as far as I could tell, only Reese and Nadir had weapons that could be utilized at any range. Bolin had no form of any combat other than melee, and Arslan's range only extended as far as her retractable rope.
Yang might struggle, but Blake, Weiss, and Ruby all had good range in their weaponry. All in all, this would all come down to skill and awareness on the battlefield.
"Decided to sit out?"
Looking up from my Scroll, I saw a familiar face. Kimba. Even though she had utilized her Semblance to vanish amongst the crowd, her lion ears were a dead giveaway. With a bucket of popcorn nestled in her arm, she took a seat beside me.
"Yeah. I don't like it, but it's the rules. I go in, and people will complain." I sighed, shutting the holographic interface and looking to the match. Kimba placed a hand on my shoulder, rubbing it softly.
"I understand. Popcorn?" She offered the bucket to me, letting me take a handful of the buttery contents. As I began to nibble on the kernels, she lowered her voice, so that only I could hear.
"Ozpin is going to tan my hide for this, but under the circumstances, you deserve to know. Are you familiar with the Story of the Seasons?"
"The what?"
"The Story of the Seasons. It's a fairy tale from time immemorial." She explained. I just tilted my head quizzically. Now it was Kimba's turn to sigh. Reaching into the folds of her robes, she pulled out a small book, and placed it on the armrest between us.
"Go through every single page in this book. Read every word carefully, and commit it to memory. I'll talk to you again when you're done." She whispered in a hushed voice, before getting up and leaving, abandoning her popcorn bucket. I watched her vanish into the crowd, and looked at the tome sitting beside me. It seemed to be an older publication, as the pages were a tinge of yellow, and the cover had faded. But the title was still visible.
THE STORY OF THE SEASONS
Flicking the book open, a wall of cursive writing greeted me. It was hard to decipher the calligraphed text, but with all the noise in my ears, it was virtually impossible. Snapping it shut, I stashed the book in my backpack, and began to munch on the discarded snack Kimba had left behind as I watched the match unfold. No point leaving it to rot.
As Professor Port and Dr. Oobleck explained the format of the tournament to the citizens watching at home, I looked through the icy climate to see Reese spar with Blake. Blake managed to slice Reese's hoverboard in two, but the bifurcated board simply clicked into the shape of revolvers, with twin bayonets bolted to the barrels. Reese was only able to squeeze off a few shots before landing butt-first on the glacial battlefield. The crowd groaned, while Blake winced, as shown on the gigantic display high above the arena.
Meanwhile, Yang was caught in the middle of combat with Arslan and her rope dart near the center of the arena. Trading blows, the pair of them each launched a fist that slammed heavily into the opposite, creating a shockwave that shattered a few of the nearby rocky stalagmites, and blasted the pair apart some meters. Yang was on her feet in an instant, and resumed her brawling with Arslan, but the dark-skinned warrior was ready this time. As Yang flipped in preparation to launch another punch, Arslan simply wrapped the wire of her dart around her ankle, yanked it to force her opponent off balance, and with a stunning kick, she had slammed Yang to the icy half of the arena. As she tried to regain her balance, Arslan charged forwards, knocking Yang even further back. She skidded past Nadir, who quickly tried to get a shot at Yang. But before he had the chance to shoot, the ice he was standing on travelled up to his torso, ensconcing his legs and lower abdomen in ice.
That action had to be from Ice Dust, and only one combatant could make that shot. A quick scan of the battlefield revealed Ruby on one knee, atop a rocky plain on the volcanic half of the arena. Behind her was Bolin, twirling his staff and preparing for a sneak attack. Ruby turned back to look at him, but before he had the chance to attack, Weiss had charged in out of nowhere, using a black glyph to send him flying away.
As Bolin steadied himself, Weiss used a glyph to speed past him, and back over his head, landing in her battle-ready stance. Never taking her eyes off of him, Weiss cast a glyph behind her, which Ruby leapt on. The glyph launched her skyward, who flipped head over heels to bring the enormous blade of Crescent Rose down in an overhead strike. Bolin merely leaned back, and blocked the strike. Ruby fired her weapon, catapulting herself back beside Weiss.
Bolin charged, dodging an onslaught of icicles from Weiss, and a swipe from Ruby. As Reese pulled up behind him, Bolin sliced a bit of volcanic crystal free from a nearby formation, and tossed it to her. As she caught it, she stabbed her hoverboard with the crystal, changing the colour from windy green to burning red. Throwing it down, Reese leapt atop the board, and skated past Nadir, freeing him from his icy shackle.
As Nadir grabbed his weapon and reentered the fight, Reese resumed her assault on Blake, blasting her through an ice formation. But Blake recovered quickly, dodging another strike and using Gambol Shroud to retreat. Reese didn't see her withdraw, and turned back to find her. As she glided around, she saw Blake merely standing there, her back to Reese. The skater girl grinned at the easy opening, but I knew Blake.
As Reese struck what she thought was Blake, the illusionary rogue disappeared, quickly replaced by the spinning sickle of Blake's weapon. Reese barely had time to react, before she was ensnared by the black ribbon, and kicked out of the arena by the real Blake. As Reese hit the barrier encircling the arena, a buzzer sounded. Looking up to the screen, Reese's Aura had dropped to the red. Eliminated by ring out and Aura depletion… that had to suck.
Meanwhile, Arslan and Yang were duking it out on the ice, while Nadir aimed his rifle. But before he had the chance to even steady his aim, let alone pull the trigger, Bolin had crashed into him, courtesy of Weiss and a black glyph. As they steadied themselves, another glyph appeared at their feet, sending a flurry of ice shards and the two boys whirling in a miniature snowstorm. But Weiss wasn't done. Once the artificial inclement weather had ceased, an enormous hand, completely made of ice, seized the dazed boys, and began to roll away, both Bolin and Nadir trapped in the crystal prison.
Arslan saw the boulder, and with a roll of her eyes, skated to a halt in it's path. Winding up a strike, one punch completely shattered the ball of ice, causing Bolin and Nadir to tumble free, their skin discoloured ever so slightly from the cold, but otherwise unharmed. Weiss called out to Yang, and constructed a long quarter pipe from ice. Yang grinned, and jumped on, using the recoil of Ember Celica to propel herself. Blake ran alongside her, and threw her the blade of her weapon. Leaping atop Ruby, one shot from Crescent Rose and a jump from Ruby sent Blake soaring through the air, right as Yang skidded free of the frozen ramp. With Blake performing an almighty swing, Yang flew towards the remainder of Team ABRN with the speed of a comet. The titanic impact caused all three combatants flying into a mountainside of the volcanic half, and the resulting shockwave completely disintegrated every single icicle and stalagmite in the surrounding area.
Three buzzers sounded in quick succession. ABRN was out.
I don't remember ever cheering harder or louder in my entire life.
I also don't remember feeling any hungrier in my entire life, either.
After the match had concluded, and I had reunited with the team, the four of them took an airship to the fairgrounds, whilst I had flown down myself, as my Aura was beginning to spike. As we regrouped in the middle of the on-campus fairgrounds, the smell of various kinds of food filled my nostrils.
"Is anyone else starving?" Ruby whined, clutching her belly.
"I may have worked up a bit of an appetite…" Blake answered, before a hungry growl that could be comparable to a starving Ursa emanated from her belly. With wide eyes, she rubbed her stomach gently. Yang snickered.
"Gee, if only there was someplace on campus where we could get some food. Oh wait." Weiss drawled, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Ruby placed a hand on her partner's shoulder.
"It's okay, Weiss. I forgot about the fairgrounds too." She consoled, clearly blind to the acrimony that lined her statement. The heiress looked at Ruby.
"I was being facetious?" She clarified. Ruby threw her arms in the air.
"Gah, well, if you were hungry, why didn't you say so?!" She exclaimed. Yang flashed a Lien chip.
"C'mon. I know just the place." She offered. But as we prepared to walk off, a familiar voice called out.
"Hey, just so you know, it'd be pretty hard to eat without this."
Turning back, I saw Emerald holding a red wallet, filled with Lien, and emblazoned with Ruby's rose flower sigil. Ruby turned back, and upon seeing the wallet, frantically started checking her pockets.
"Good to see you, guys!" Emerald laughed. Ruby took back her wallet, and shoved it into one of her pockets.
"Thanks! Guess I must've dropped it. Girl pockets are the worst…" Ruby complained. As the rest of the team pulled up to talk, Yang flashed a smile.
"What's up, Em?"
"Just left the stadium after your amazing fight! You girls were awesome!" She replied. Ruby blushed, and began cooing incoherently.
"I hear your team managed to progress through to the next round as well." Blake stated.
"Speaking of which, I feel like we barely see your other teammates." Weiss pointed out.
"How'd they do in your fight?" Yang asked. Emerald tilted her head and looked skyward, deep in thought for a moment, before looking back to us.
"Really well." She answered.
"That's great! Uh, why don't we all go out and grab a victory lunch together?" Ruby offered. Emerald took a sharp breath through her teeth.
"Oh, gosh, that's so nice of you to offer, but my team's kind of…" She trailed off, looking back to Mercury, who was sniffing a boot at a nearby stall.
"…introverted. Really socially awkward." She finished. I sighed.
"Yeah, I hear you there, Em." I said sympathetically. As I spoke, Emerald looked back to me.
"Y'know, I gotta ask; why weren't you in the fight with the rest of the team?" She asked. I sighed.
"We're a team of five. Rules called for four on four, so one of us had to pull out. As such, I decided to abdicate." I explained. Emerald pouted.
"Aw, damn, that's too bad. I was looking forward to seeing you fight." She whined.
"Still, Beacon's showcasing some new tech to the other academies, and I've been selected to demonstrate it." I smiled. At that, Emerald perked up.
"Ooh, can you give me a hint?" She asked, batting her eyes in curiosity. I shook my head.
"Sorry, Em. No hints to other academies. Them's the rules." I responded. Her shoulders slumped, and she looked away to Mercury, who was now sniffing a leather jacket, before looking back up.
"Oh yeah, Merc and I are moving onto the doubles round. What about you guys?" She asked the team.
"Well, as leader of the team, I thought long and hard about this decision…"
"We put it to a vote." Weiss interjected, her straight face perfectly conveying her completely deadpan tone of voice. Ruby's eyes looked to her nervously.
"Um, yes, but I decided that we should put it to a vote, and so…" She backpedaled.
"We voted for Weiss and Yang." Blake finished.
"I will happily represent team RWBY." Weiss stated, curtseying as she did so. Meanwhile, Yang slammed one fist into her open palm.
"We're gonna kick some butt!" She boasted. Emerald laughed.
"Well, if we see you there, don't think we'll go easy on you." She jokingly warned, giving a confident smirk. Yang grinned.
"Wouldn't want it any other way, Em." She returned the smirk, as Emerald turned away.
"Well, we're gonna catch some more fights. Enjoy your lunch!" She waved.
"We will! See you later!" Ruby smiled, waving goodbye. But as I watched Emerald go, I could have sworn that her happy grin twisted into a hateful scowl. Was it just me?
"Hey, Darrel! You wanna eat or what?"
Yang's yell caught my attention, and I jogged off to catch up with RWBY.
Walking up to a noodle bar in the fairgrounds, called A Simple Wok, I was surprised to see the same old shopkeeper who seemed to man nearly every store and stand I had been to. As we took our seats, he noticed me eying him in curiosity.
"Something wrong, sir?"
"Sorry, it's just… I've seen you everywhere. Managing stores, hanging up banners, driving trucks…" I began, before being silenced by a quick jab to the ribs, courtesy of Weiss' elbow. The shopkeeper just shrugged.
"You'd be surprised how much I do 'round Vale, kid. I have a lot of jobs in this city." He replied, before pulling out a notepad, and taking our orders. I just shook my head with a slight smile. The limits of model reuse…
"I'll have a bowl of the regular, please." Yang said. The omnipresent shopkeep pulled out a heaping bowl of steaming hot noodles, placed it on the counter, and pushed it forwards. As Ruby ordered the same, I only ordered a half serve, as I was still feeling the popcorn churn in my gut. Weiss' request for a low salt meal went unheeded, as a third bowl, identical to Ruby and Yang's slid forwards. Blake and the shopkeep merely exchanged a nod, as he dashed into the back room of the stand, and emerged with a fourth bowl, filled to the brim with fish. As she began to literally drool over her meal, eyes sparkling and transfixed on her meal, Weiss handed the shopkeep a Lien card, emblazoned with the official logo of the SDC. While he worked the cash register, Yang looked to Weiss with a smile.
"Aw, Weiss, what's the occasion?" She asked. The heiress merely smiled back.
"Consider it thanks for sending me through to the doubles round." She replied. I turned to her and wrapped my arms around her into a hug.
"Thanks! You didn't have to, Weiss!" I said, squeezing her tight. But with a grunt, she forced herself free, and frowned at me.
"Do that again, and I won't, Conway." She growled. I just shrugged.
"Ah, come on, Weiss, I was just saying thank–"
*SCHWING*
I never got to finish, as Weiss' card buried itself into the woodwork like a shuriken, millimeters away from my fingers. Yanking them back in shock, we all turned to look at the shopkeep, who was now glaring at Weiss, as he pointed to the register, which flashed one glowing word in red capital letters.
DECLINED
"What?! How can my card be declined?!" She wondered irately. As she looked to her card, and started muttering about her allowance, Blake's bowl was snatched away from her, causing the poor girl to flop onto the counter with a pitiful whine.
"Maybe I could help?"
Looking up, JNPR had approached the side of the stand, with Pyrrha flashing a card of her own.
"Pyrrha!" Ruby squealed, throwing her arms up in joy.
"Aw, you don't have to." Yang responded, waving her hand nonchalantly.
"Butshecould!" Blake pleaded, her eyes wider than dinner plates.
"I insist. I think you all earned it after that last battle." Pyrrha responded with a smile.
"Does that include me?" I asked hopefully.
"I don't see why it shouldn't." She shrugged.
"I do! Because he wasn't in that last fight! What's up with that anyway?" Nora piped up, her head tilting in confusion. Yang sighed.
"Rules were clear. Matches are 4 on 4, so Darrel decided to abdicate." She explained. Pyrrha just shook her head.
"That shouldn't matter. You're a part of the team, and I've got a sizable paycheck from Pumpkin Pete's that's burning a hole in my wallet." She offered.
"Mind if we join you?" Jaune asked. Ruby nodded, and gestured to the seats on the other side of the stand.
Fifteen minutes of slurping later, our meals were finished, the bowls pushed away from us, our bellies in various stages of fullness. Ren spoke up.
"Are you sure it's wise to eat before a fight?" He asked. Pyrrha nodded, while the shopkeep cleared our bowls at lightning speed.
"Of course! It will give us energy!" She replied, before being cut off by an almighty great belch from Nora. Jaune groaned sickly, and faceplanted the counter.
"If I barf, I'm blaming you…" He moaned to no one in particular.
"Ooh, aim it at the enemy!" Nora grinned, her face twisted much like it was back when she had threatened to break Cardin's legs.
"Nora, that's disgusting. But if you do feel the urge..." Ren chastised Nora, before putting his hand to his chin in thought. Jaune flashed a thumbs up in response.
"Got it… uggh…" He groaned again. Pyrrha stood up.
"Well, we should be off. Our match is taking place in half an hour." She said. But before anybody could move, Ruby piped up.
"So, you guys think you're ready for the tournament?" She asked. Nora scoffed.
"Of course! We've got a world renowned fighter on our side…" she began, gesturing to Pyrrha, before jerking her thumb at Ren.
"…what's basically a ninja…" she continued, now pointing to herself with her thumbs.
"…I can bench five of me, and Jaune!" She finished, gesturing to the sickly boy who looked ready to live up to his nickname of Vomit Boy. As she continued rambling on, she counted her points on her fingers.
"We've trained all year, our weapons are awesome, Glynda barely yells at us anymore, and, uhh… Jaune!" She concluded. Ren glanced at him.
"Are you gonna take that?" He asked. Jaune just waved his hand tiredly.
"She's not wrong…" He mumbled. Nora just laughed.
"I'm kidding, he knows I'm kidding." She tried to brush off her cracks about her leader, but to me, it didn't seem like she was kidding. On the other hand, I never was good at spotting jokes. But on the other other hand, there was plenty of reason as to why Jaune could only be described as 'Jaune' in that kind of list. On the other other OTHER hand…
I think you've made your point.
Sorry.
"Don't be so nervous! The worst that can happen is we lose, that is just a few more years of walking around school with everyone knowing we're failures, our friends will slowly abandon us to preserve their social status, we won't be able to show our faces in class, no one will sit with us in the cafeteria, Ren and I have no parents, we have no home left to go to, we'll be officially renamed Team Lose-iper!" Nora laughed madly, but the laughter quickly deteriorated to broken sobs, as the colour drained from her face, and she slammed her head on the table. Ren started to rub her shoulder, and looked up to us, unperturbed by his childhood friend's sniffles.
"So, yeah, we're feeling pretty fine." He summed up. Pyrrha smiled.
"Don't fret, Nora. Losing won't be that bad. If anything, we should look forward to fights with proper guidelines, and not… well, murderers." She thought aloud. We all nodded in agreement.
"Gotta agree with you there. At least it's just our school we're fighting for this time, not our lives." I agreed. Yang just gave me a sideways grin out of the corner of her mouth.
"Still, we've faced way worse…" She grinned.
"A Grimm incursion, violent extremists, a sociopath criminal, an evil genius…" Blake counted on her fingertips, but didn't get any further before Ruby let out a cry of joy.
"Ooh, and that was when we were in training! Imagine how it'll be when we graduate!" The reaper squealed. Weiss looked to the pile of bowls on the counter.
"Maybe then, I'll be able to pay for a meal…" She muttered. I just gave her shoulder a small, consoling rub, and flashed a sympathetic smile.
"Would Team JNPR of Beacon Academy please report to the Amity Colosseum battlegrounds for their match against Team BRNZ of Shade Academy?" Professor Port's voice blared out of the numerous speakers placed around the fairgrounds. I tell you, having Professor Port as the primary commentator was one of the best decisions that whoever was in charge had made. His bombastic voice got everyone's attention in a heartbeat.
"Yes, like they WERE SCHEDULED TO FIFTEEN MINUTES AGO!" Dr. Oobleck yelled, with a hint of annoyance, and a heaping of audio feedback in his voice. Of course, having Oobleck as the secondary commentator was one of the worst decisions that whoever was in charge had made. His speedy delivery bored everyone silly in a heartbeat.
"Well, it looks like this is it." Pyrrha sighed, taking Jaune's arm, and supporting him as they walked away. Ren simply hoisted Nora onto his back, and began to carry her quietly heaving body after their teammates.
"Go get 'em!" Ruby yelled after them. Right then, my Scroll began to ring. Pulling up the interface, I saw that Professor Kor was calling.
"Sorry, gotta take this. I won't be long." I explained, before removing myself from the stool, and dashing to a quiet area near some public toilets. I answered the call, and saw an audio waveform appear beside the bandaged face that was Kor's profile picture.
"Darrel? Professor Ozpin's allowed us to showcase the hologram arena between the last teams match, and the first doubles match."
"That's great!" I exclaimed.
"It is… but I need a little more time to complete the installation. I'm only allowed periodical access to the battlegrounds, and we only have permission to install the tech on the central platform. That's where you come in." He explained.
"Let me guess; you want me to be your gopher." I deadpanned.
"Well, yes and no. I can handle installing the projectors, but I'll need assistance to connect it to the control system under the arena."
"And you need me to fly underneath there to do it? I know that my Aura's practically unlimited now, but I emphasize "practically". If we can't get it done in time, then I'll probably be stuck down there, you know." I tried to sound reasoning, but I doubt I was doing a good job. Even so, Kor sighed.
"I'm aware. If your Aura drops too low, we'll stop, and wait for a recharge." Kor proffered. Even though it was an audio only conversation, and he wouldn't be able to see me. I nodded anyway.
"Deal. I'll be there after JNPR's match." I said, shutting the communication, and walking back to Team RWBY. The time was soon coming. Soon, everyone would know about this system.
And when it was installed in every academy around the globe, the Grimm wouldn't stand a chance.
Talk about tempting fate…
Anyway, I… got nothing else to say. See ya.