Yeah, sorry for scaring you guys with that last update. But I have the rest of the story planned out, and I'm ready to write again. So don't worry. This story ain't going up in smoke anytime soon.
I mean no offense to fans of Pyrrha.
Chapter 46: Prep Time
Fresh off the heels of JNPR's match against Team BRNZ, the outcome was rather anti-climactic, truth be told: while the fight had started off incredibly well, about three minutes in, combat took a back seat, while Jaune called an impromptu team meeting. After some time, where BRNZ tried to remind JNPR that they were in the middle of the match, Jaune just ordered Nora to hit them all with Magnhild. This resulted in BRNZ being slammed against the soundproof barrier encircling the arena, knocking them all out.
Like I said, anti-climactic.
Pushing through the throng of spectators, Kor had asked me to meet him at the arena after JNPR's match was over. Making my way to the ready room, I was about to enter, when a rough hand clapped onto my shoulder.
"Whoa there. Where do you think you're going?"
Turning around, I saw that the hand was attached to an armoured guard, who looked down to me, scrutinising me with apprehension. I just took a breath.
"Is Professor Kor here? I'm supposed to be helping him with his system installation." I answered. The guard just scoffed, and strode around me to the door..
"Nice try. Arena's closed. Now turn around and leave, or do I have to escort you out?" He snarled, hands reaching for his gun.
"It's alright, Guardsman. Let him pass."
The guard turned back to the arena, where I saw Professor Kor approaching, Scroll at the ready.
"I've requested his help, and he's only too happy to assist." Kor explained. The guard eyed him suspiciously.
"If you need help, why not ask one of the guards?"
Kor just shook his head.
"For one thing, this technology is very intricate. Second, I don't want to trouble the guards with my problems, and finally, I can't afford having this technology being leaked." He answered.
"Are you doubting our capabilities? You're saying we can't keep secrets?" The guard's voice had a dangerous edge as he put the question forward. Kor shook his head again.
"Darrel's helped me with the system since I began it's development. He knows the technology better than anyone else, sans me." He explained. The guard sighed, and turned back to me.
"Alright, you can go and help out Kor. But if I see even the slightest tampering to the arena's systems, I will hold your responsible. Do I make myself clear, boy?" He growled. I nodded.
"Crystal clear, sir."
"Good. Now move along." The guard sidestepped out of the way, allowing me passage. I stepped into the arena, and looked to Kor's workspace. The central octagon had risen, and various wires snaked into the revealed pit.
"Down there is where I'll be operating the systems. There's a small capsule down there, which connects to the holographic emitters. From there, I can load the system you want to partake in." Professor Kor explained.
"Incredible." I breathed. Kor nodded.
"However, I need to connect the wires to the emitters on the central arena, and I can't reach the inside borders. That's where you come in." He continued.
"But why not just use a cherrypicker?" I asked. Kor just looked at me in bewilderment.
"A cherry… what?"
"You know, a crane. A workman's lift." I explained.
"No, you've still lost me." Kor shrugged. I sighed exasperatedly.
"Ah, forget it. Earth tech." I droned, before kneeling down and grabbing a bundle of cables. But as I was about to take off, Kor held me back, and strapped a light on my forehead.
"It's pretty dark down there, you know. Plug the wrong cable in the wrong slot, and we'd be looking at something… bad." Kor instructed. I looked to him in confusion as I adjusted the light so that it was sitting comfortably.
"How bad are we talking?" I asked. Kor looked away.
"Let's just say that when the Beowolf model loaded, and the cables were mismatched… well, I'm just glad I'm blind." He responded darkly. I shook my head, trying to get what I thought Kor had 'seen' out of my head. Kneeling down, and grabbing a bundle of cables, I activated my jets, and hovered over to the underside of the central platform.
"Okay, I'm in position, Professor. What now?" I yelled across the chasm.
"Alright, there's a cable in that bundle that's blue with white stripes. You need to plug that into a port labelled '3DMC'…"
Half an hour later, and after plugging in numerous cables, my Aura had begun to get dangerously low. Flying back over to solid ground, I landed, and staggered forwards. Kor placed his firm hands on my shoulders, steadying me.
"Easy, easy now. Let's get some energy into you." He reassured, before easing me down on a crate and handing me a cookie. I took a bite, and immediately felt some of my Aura begin to regenerate. As I continued to nibble at the treat, Kor pulled his Scroll out, and began to tap on it.
"We're made good progress so far, Darrel. After SSSN's match against NDGO, we should have the systems finished. Just in time too; they're the last teams match, and the demo is right after that. Do you think you can do this?" He asked, looking up at me. I returned his gaze, and nodded.
"Of course, sir." I responded.
"Professor, it's almost time for the match between SSSN and NDGO. You need to clear the arena now."
A guard had strolled up, unbeknownst to Kor and I, nearly making me jump. Kor turned to look at the new arrival.
"Fine. The system's just about ready. It'll be ready for demonstration after their match." He responded. The guard smiled.
"Glad to hear that. The general's very interested in what you have to offer. Please, for everyone's sake, don't disappoint." He responded, before about-facing, and marching away. Kor sighed.
"Damn guards. Always putting pressure on." He muttered. I just walked to his side, and gave him a nudge.
"It'll be fine, professor. Your system's ready, and we've got a great turnout." I consoled. Kor looked down at me, a smile creeping across his lips.
"You're right, Darrel. This'll go off stupendously." He responded, before walking away to the exit. I watched him go, before diverting my eyes to the holoemitter embedded in the arena. A black gem, dark as pitch, and giving off a low hum. I couldn't wait.
Fighting through the crowds was difficult, made all the more difficult by so many attendees carrying placards of Sun's washboard abs. But somehow, in all the commotion, I managed to meet up with RWBY near one of the numerous entrances, and we were barely able to grab seats together.
"Good luck, Neptune!" Weiss yelled through cupped hands. But Neptune paid the cheer no mind, instead choosing to focus his attention on his opponents, team NDGO, an all female team that was representing Shade Academy. With a flirtatious wink, and a twinkling smile, Weiss's hands fell, and her expression turned to shock. But it was short-lived, as the heiress leapt to her feet, one foot on the edge of the arena barrier, and a defiant finger pointing in his direction.
"BREAK HIS STUPID FACE, NDGO!"
Out of the corner of my eye, I could've sworn I saw Ruby pump her fist, and emit a silent squeal of ecstasy, drowned out by the noise of the crowd. Whether that meant anything or not, I could barely guess. Looking back to the arena, half of the roulettes had stopped on an image of rolling dunes and stone formations. From those arena segments, an arid landscape emerged, and a bright light shone from above.
"Desert. That's a home field advantage for NDGO, right?" Yang asked.
"Don't forget, that's Sun's environment, too. He told me he grew up in Vacuo, remember?" Blake responded. But before we could give a reply, the second half of the arena had stopped on a teal image. One with a crashing wave and a palm tree. An ocean biome, most likely.
"Hey, what's up with Neptune?" Ruby wondered. Taking a look at the self-styled Casanova, a quick glance revealed that he had gone from cool intellectual to petrified loon. Rigid as a board, and eyes staring a million miles away–
"Oh, no". Blake muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose. Yang and I looked to her. She looked up, her exasperated look glaringly obvious, even if half of her face was out of view.
"Neptune's… afraid of the water."
Yang looked concerned, while I suppressed a snicker. This didn't go unnoticed by either Blake or Yang, as they turned to look at me, confused.
"Something tells me the gods of irony are laughing their asses off right now." I clarified.
"Huh?"
"Neptune was the name of the god of the ocean back home."
"Wait, I thought Neptune was the name of a planet in your dimension." Yang pointed out.
"Yeah, it's complicated. I'll explain later."
Blake and Yang looked to each other, and simply shrugged, before turning back to the battle. As my gaze returned to the arena, I saw that Neptune had warped to the top of a mesa on the desert biome. The remainder of SSSN and NDGO looked up at him, before NDGO charged into the desert, with Sun and his other two teammates, Sage and Scarlet, hot on their collective heels. But it wasn't long before Dew Gayl had eliminated Sage by summoning a dust devil to throw him out of the ring. Sun retaliated by quickly eliminating Octavia Ember, evening out the playing field.
In the meantime, Scarlet had retreated to the shipwreck on the ocean biome, and was engaged in a fanciful duel with Nebula Violette, quickly besting her by sending her tumbling to the sand below. As he looked down, he hooked Gwen Darcy's ankle via a grappling hook built into his flintlock pistol, and jumped down, sending the knife-thrower to the crows nest. But it wasn't without consequence: Gwen's knives slid free from their sheathes on her skirt, raining down to Scarlet. Thankfully, every single knife missed him.
At the same time, Sun smacked a nearby palm tree, caught two falling coconuts and hurled them towards Dew. Dew merely batted them back, setting them aflame as she did so. Sun was able to dodge them, but Scarlet wasn't so lucky. One projectile smacked him in the face, spinning him around, while the other smacked somewhere a bit more sensitive. The crowd groaned in sympathy, as did I, but part of me was glad, in a way. At least the universe didn't see fit to torture only my sensitive areas.
Sun dodged another tornado summoned by Dew, cartwheeling onto a nearby sandbar while yelling out for Neptune to help him. Neptune only responded by pointing to the desert biome, clearly making a flimsy excuse to avoid going near the water. The two argued inaudibly, while Nebula shot Gwen free, and Dew prepared to attack Sun from behind. But her attack was interrupted by an energy blast from Neptune's gun, sending her splashing into the water. As she recovered from the discharge, Nebula and Gwen joined her in the water, clearly hoping to exploit the aquaphobic's weakness. But instead, Sun leapt to the desert biome, while Neptune unveiled his trident. He nervously tiptoed to the water's edge, and dipped the prongs of his weapon into the drink. The effect was immediate: the water pulsed with energy, and the three girls twitched uncontrollably as the electricity coursed through them, blackening their bodies and leaving them smoking. The buzzer sounded, and the match was over. SSSN had emerged victorious.
"You know what I call that victory?" Professor Port asked to his colleague.
"Shocking?" Dr. Oobleck responded.
"No. Well-earned. What you said was stupid."
"Egh, that was so close!" Ruby sighed, slumping in her seat.
"Looks like the dorks made it to the next round!" Yang smiled. Blake looked to Sun and Neptune, who were celebrating their victory with a… well, I'd say 'dance', but it looked like they were having a fit. Sun looked in our direction, and flashed a double guns hand gesture, while grinning.
"Emphasis on 'dork'." Blake said, rolling her eyes and blushing.
"Oooh, does the kitty have a crush?" I sang, a teasing grin on my face. Blake flashed a scowl in my direction.
"Shut up."
"Sorry."
While Blake went to congratulate Sun in person, Weiss had gone to greet some more of Atlas's Special Forces that were arriving just now. Well, I assumed it was Special Forces; the ribbons trailing from the ship did seem to hint a higher status than most ground troops. Ruby went with her, while Yang disappeared into the throng, saying she wanted to get some practice in before the doubles round. That left me to head to Kor on the central arena, to see if I could help out in anyway. The guard waved me through without incident this time, and I approached Kor, who was keying system commands into his Scroll.
"Everything's ready, Professor?"
Kor looked up from his Scroll, a smile on his face.
"Ready as it can be, Darrel."
"Alright. So what scenario are we showcasing today?" I asked. Kor opened his Scroll again, tapped on the screen some more, and showed it to me.
"Actually, I think I'll let you choose. Just tap a scenario, and it'll give you the details." He offered, handing me his Scroll. Kor had come up with numerous scenarios. Tapping each one in succession, the details became apparent. One scenario was a rescue mission in a desolate urban wasteland, much like Mountain Glenn. Another was the elimination of a hive of insect Grimm, through the use of a thermobaric bomb. A third was the retrieval and destruction of sensitive information housed in an overrun lab. But one scenario in particular caught my eye.
"How about this one, Professor?" I asked, showing him the Scroll. Kor took it back, and gave a small smile.
"I thought you'd like that one. It's pretty advanced, but I'm sure people don't want to see basic." He responded, tapping on his Scroll.
"Alright, I've queued up the scenario for you. Just say the word." He grinned, snapping his Scroll shut.
"ATTENTION PLEASE. THE DEMONSTRATION OF NEW TECHNOLOGY BY BEACON ACADEMY WILL BEGIN IN FIVE MINUTES. ALL THOSE WHO WISH TO OBSERVE, PLEASE MOVE TO THE STADIUM ENTRANCES."
"And not a moment too soon. Come on, let's do this." I grinned, turning and heading to the ready room.
"Wait a second, Darrel. There's one more thing I need to tell you." Kor called out from behind me. I halted, and looked back at him.
"What is it?"
"I want you to make a speech about the system." He responded. All at once, I felt my stomach do a backflip and my heart skip a beat; now this I wasn't expecting.
"Um, Professor, I thought that-"
"I know, I should have asked you sooner, but if this goes well, the people need to hear the details. And honestly, there is no one better to explain, but you." He answered my question before it even has the chance to leave my lips.
"But I barely know anything about your system! What if I screw up?" I babbled nervously. Kor snapped his Scroll shut, and stowed it away, before putting a hand on my shoulder. Looking up at his bandaged eyes, he gave a warm smile.
"Darrel, listen to me. You yourself said there was nothing to worry about. Just stay calm, and let the words flow. I trust you." He soothed. His calm tone did help me relax, and he was right. I had told him that everything would be fine. It wouldn't do if I didn't follow my own advice.
"Okay. Let's knock 'em dead." I forced a grin. Kor smiled.
"You got it." He responded, handing me an earpiece with a microphone attached as he did so.
"I'll keep in contact with you via this. If you need anything, say the word." He reassured me, as I looped the device around my lobe, and with a swish of his robe, he walked away to the control housing, located underneath the centre of the arena. I watched him slip through a maintenance hatch, then heard the murmurs of the crowd as they began to file in. I just stood there, muttering to myself, and trying to come up with some good material. But no matter what I could think of, I immediately thought it wasn't going to work. Making speeches isn't my strong point. I just preferred to stay in the shadows while others more qualified than I did the talking.
After a few moments of contemplating words, I had come up with nothing. My heart was racing, and I wanted to get out of there as quickly as I could.
"Just breathe. Let the words flow."
Kor's voice crackled in my ear as the communicator buzzed to life. Closing my eyes, and sucking in air through my nose, I let the air out in one calm exhale. Kor's system was ready. I was ready. Everything was in place.
All there was left to do…
was talk.
Don't worry, the demo's planned out. You guys will see it soon enough.