The following days had been pretty busy not only for the students of Beacon Academy but for the representatives of the other schools as well… and all thanks to the Vytal Festival Tournament. After the arrival of Winter Schnee, Weiss was taken aside by her older sister for some personal moment but more surprise arrived after that.
The next day, early in the morning, two other Airships arrived on Beacon's grounds. From the first one came out a fair-skinned woman with slate-blue eyes whose white hair were tied up in a bun, low on the right side of the back of her head. Her bangs were shaped around the left side of her face and a small, curled lock of hair reaching almost to her shoulders.
Her entire outfit was colored navy blue, white and gray, consisting of a white coat with sleeves that expose her upper arms, a red-lined high collar and a red brooch. Thanks to the number of time she had been seen on the news, Harry and Blanche had both recognized her.
She was the husband of the former CEO of the Schnee Dust Company (SDC) and the mother of Winter and Weiss : Willow Schnee. Of course, she was followed by some Atlesian Soldiers who seemed to act as her bodyguards.
Needless to say that both Weiss and Winter had been surprised but delighted by her arrival. The reunion was sweet… and Blanche even wiped a tear out of her eye.
From the second airship, came out of group of Faunus people but two of them had caught Harry's attention.
One was a tall, muscular man with black hair, a thick beard and yellow eyes who was wearing an open dark-violet coat with white fur trim at the top, exposing a patch of black fur on his chest. Over his beige colored pants was a matching sash that seemed to wrap around his waist and was secured with a large, silver metal buckle.
On his coat (more precisely at the shoulder) was a silver metal spaulder, which through a pair of curved stripped across the chest attaches as a clasp.
His black leather boots (with white toes) had a shape reminiscent of paws with claws at the tips. Generally, the man looked to be quite hairy as , from what Harry of his bare arms and the backs of his wrists, we could clearly see that he was covered in thick, black fur. Lastly, the guy seemed to possess retractable panther claws in his fingertips.
The other one was without a doubt female with a fair skin, blakc hair, a pair of black-cat ears on her head and yellow eyes. She looked to be a carbon copy of Blake ! Harry understood right here that the two were her parents.
Blake's mom was wearing a black hakama and sandals with white tabi socks. Over her attire, she wore a black shrug with a long right sleeve and a short left sleeve, gold-leaf trim adorning the opening on the front. Along with that, she had long, black arm warmers that seemed to extend to the middle finger. The left warmer had a purple band tied around the top and a pair of gold bangles around the wrist. Finally, around her waist, there was a black and gold sash that trails behind her, with a gold flower-shaped buckle at the end.
Like Willow they came with some guards to escort them…
Regardless of this, he had been the one to greet them along with Blanche as Blake was somewhere else at the time. At first wary of him, he took him a minute to explain who he was and they chatted for a bit before he lead them toward where Blake could be. Ghira and Kali Belladonna were really nice fellows who came here to see their beloved daughter (which was understandable).
They tried to come earlier but couldn't thanks to Ghira's position as Chieftain of Menagerie. While they walked, Kali and Blanche hadn't stopped chatting with one another as the former was curious as it wasn't common for a Faunus to be in love with a Human.
Ghira and Harry, for their parts, discussed over other things such as how was life in Menagerie or how it was to be Chieftain etc… but it was mainly about Blake and how her life at Beacon was.
After a moment, the little group stood in front of Team RWBY's room where Harry knocked at the door. It was Ruby who answered and after a short explanation from her friend, she told them that the Cat Faunus was in the Library as she wanted to let her and Yang have some time with Qrow.
Harry thanked her before he lead the group toward the Library where they indeed found the girl. Blake, after Blanche called out her name, had been shocked to see her parents but it was heart-warming to see them hugging one another tightly. Harry and Blanche had shot each other a brief glance before leaving the place.
Why ? Because they didn't wanted to intrude on such a personal moment.
The following days had been also pretty… interesting to say the least. Amber and Emerald went on many dates and we could clearly see that they were a couple… but didn't made it official yet. Harry, however, felt like something was wrong… why ? Because one day, he saw the two kissing each other in a corridor… under the eyes of Ozpin !
Harry was surprised that the Old Man hadn't tried anything and decided to keep an eye on him for good measure. Qrow Branwen had come to speak to him barely a day or two after their first meeting. The guy told him that he had guts for stepping in a fight between professionals but that he will pay for his little stunt.
Harry had only smirked at the guy, responding that he will wait and see. Of course, he had made sure to keep an eye on Yang's and Ruby's 'Uncle' as he was the only one beside him and Amber (at Beacon) to know who helped Cinder in attacking the Fall Maiden.
Speaking of which, it had been a while since he last saw Mercury… and after some research, he discovered that he had been arrested by some Atlesian Soldiers on Ironwood's orders ! Even better, he heard that Arthur Watts and Tyrian Callows also got caught but the latter died because he tried to escape (Thanatos had loved sending the guy to Oblivion for his crimes).
Qrow must have told his allies about how Amber's attackers looked like and Mercury must have told Ironwood who he worked with… but how come Emerald was still around ?
Ozpin had seen her but why wasn't she arrested yet ?
He didn't know but he will discover it one way or another…
Apart of that, the Tournament was going smoothly. Russel Thrush and Sky Lark from Team CDRL were defeated by Penny Polendina, Ruby's friend and later, Yang and Weiss had to fight against two people from Atlas Academy named Neon Katt and Flynt Coat from Team FNKI.
The first one (Neon) was a young girl with a light complexion with sea-green eyes and moderate red-orange hair with light blue streaks in her bangs. Waving behind her, was a pink cat-like tail, showing that she was a Faunus.
The girl wore a light blue cropped tank top over a dark purple bra, showing her upper cleavage along with dark purple short shorts under a pink combat mini-skirt and white belt with a yellow winking smiley face on the buckle. Two buttons could be seen fixed to her tank top over her right breast, one purple with a cat design and another green one with a heart. Her hair was done up in two pig tails.
The other one, Flynt, was a young, dark-skinned man with dark brown eyes who wore rectangular sunglasses and a dark fedora with a blue trim on his head as well as an earring on his right ear. His outfit consisted of a dark vest over an untucked white dress shirt, with a loose tie wrapped around the collar. Completing his attire was a pair of dark dress pants, silver dress shoes and a dark glove on his left hand.
The two of them had instantly started to antagonized Yang and Weiss, one because of her look and the other because 'the SDC was running Daddy's Dust shop'. Neon and Flynt, at first, had the upper-hands but in the hand, Yang and Weiss won the match.
Of course, the two of them were congratulated by their friends and a little party who thrown afterwards. Harry had voiced his disappointment at not being able to participate in the tournament but apparently didn't mind it as it gave him time to be with the 'Hottest Goddess on Remnant'… which had of course, caused Blanche to gave him the mother of all kisses.
After the fight, Team RWBY, mostly Ruby, Yang and Weiss got to meet Blake's parents and the meeting went perfectly. Ghira took a liking to the leader of the Team as she was too sweet and innocent for her own good while Kali was discussing with Yang and Weiss. The Cat Faunus went as far as asking them with Blake managed to get a boyfriend or a girlfriend yet.
From what he heard from Yang, Blake was as 'red as a tomato' and hadn't stopped 'spluttering in embarrassment'.
A part of Harry was glad to not have parental figures anymore or he would have suffered the same fate.
While Harry was dealing with the Tournament and personal thoughts, a certain someone in the Land of Darkness was still silent as she waited for the perfect moment to strike. Thanatos had asked her about what she planned to do and her only answer was that Hazel will use the virus Emerald inserted in the System.
However, she didn't tell him what she had in mind… at first at least because after threatening her with a 'little' portion of his aura, Salem revealed that she will wait until the very end of the Tournament before Hazel would activate the Virus.
Once activated, the broadcast will show a video of the Queen of Grimm would will reveal to the entire world what Ozma and his inner-circle had been hiding for years… before revealing the Relics.
Thanatos had listened to her words in silence but once she finished, he only nodded his head in acceptance as a feeling of excitement passed through his body.
Soon, the Twin Gods will be back and he would show what happen when you play with forces that aren't yours !
Once he returned to the Underworld, we came face to face with Summer who asked him when she will get to see her beloved daughters again. The embodiment of Death calmly responded that she will soon which had calmed the woman a bit.
While the two were discussing plans and other stuffs, at Beacon, the strongly anticipated finals round of the tournament begun… The finalists were Tang Xiao Long, Sun Wukong, Penny Polendina, Pyrrha Nikos, Coco Adel, and three others he didn't know or care to know about.
The fights had been long and hard but only four remained in the end : Yang, Coco, Pyrrha and Penny. In the minds of many people present, the winners this time would be the students of Beacon Academy.
Of course, the remaining four trained hard to be prepared for the battles : Pyrrha was helped by her 'favorite training partner' (Harry) while Yang was helped by her own teammates. Our hero and his lovely girlfriend Blanche, along with Ren, Jaune, Nora and the rest of Team RWBY had been there when Yang fought against Pyrrha, cheering for the two of them.
However, much to everyone's lack of surprise, the result was quite easy to guess : the redhead won… with slight difficulty but she won.
The fight between Coco and Penny was also a sight to see but in the end, the Atlas girl won.
The finalists now were Pyrrha and Penny…
Of course, Harry had told Thanatos who had told Salem. The Queen of Grimm had smiled at this but then drop him the bombshell : everything will start during this fight.
"Who do you think will win ?" Harry asked his girlfriend as the two of them were in the fairgrounds of the Festival, sitting on some benches.
"Pyrrha obviously… Don't get me wrong, Penny is a remarkable fighter but well with Pyrrha's Semblance..." Blanche answered with a tiny smile.
The two of them had decided to have another time for themselves before assisting the next match. However, Harry also wanted this because he knew that later, his 'life' will change entirely… for the better or worse.
"True… Look like Beacon is gonna win after all..." Harry retorted with a soft chuckle and a raisebrow.
"So it seems..." The White Wolf Faunus answered back with a nod.
"Blanche… I have to tell you something..." our hero began to say in a soft tone.
His words seemed to made her curious as she turned her head to look at him, yellow eyes locked into emerald green.
"What is it dear ?~" she asked him gently with a face showing nothing but concern.
With a hand, he cupped her head before saying with nothing but love and sincerity "I want you to know that you are the best thing that ever happened to me and regardless of what will happen, I will always love you as you are my Light in the Darkness…"
Blanche looked stunned at those words but she would be lying to herself if she said she wasn't touched by them. However, her mind went blank as she processed the middle part of his sentence
"regardless of what will happen, I will always love you"
He was speaking as if he was going to kick the bucket !
"Harry what are you saying ?" the White Wolf Faunus asked him, full of concern now thanks to his words.
Our hero shot her a look of pain and hesitation before opening his mouth to answer… only to be interrupted by the sound of someone approaching them.
Turning his head, the duo saw Amber and Emerald running toward them and the former had an alarmed look on her face.
"Amber ? Emerald ? What's with the face ? Is something wrong ?" Harry asked them with worry as he pulled his hands away from Blanche's face.
"Harry ! Blanche ! You have to help me stop the fight !" Amber cried out to them alarmingly as sweat fell down her face.
"What ? Why ?!" Blanche asked her friend with shock, surprise and confusion.
"Because if Penny fights Pyrrha, she will die !" Emerald was the one who answered.
Emerald had become really much more than she was before. Thanks to her relationship with Amber, she became even more open with her feelings but didn't tell anyone about who she worked for and/or who worked with her.
"And why that ?" The White Wolf Faunus asked the green-haired girl with narrowed eyes of confusion and alarm.
"Because Penny is an Android !" Amber answered after catching her breath.
Amber didn't know that the Gods will arrive soon as both Harry and Thanatos agreed that she didn't needed her to worry about that as she was having a great time with Emerald.
"WHAT ?!" Blanche and Harry cried out at the same time in shock and stupor.
The latter was also frustrated : no wonder the girl always seemed cheerful and happy ! No human would be that excited ! … Well scratch that, some human could be like that
*cough* Ruby Rose *cough*
*cough* Nora Valkyrie *cough*
Also no wonder he heard no heartbeats from her ! Being an Android, a creature of Metal, she doesn't need a heart !
"How do you know ?" Blanche's voice stopped him in his thought and he looked back at not only her but Amber and Emerald as well.
"Well… you see..." the green haired girl began to say with hesitation clear in her tone but was stopped by her lover
"It doesn't matter ! Right now we have a fight to stop !"
"RIGHT !" Emerald, Harry and Blanche all cried out at the same time before the little group rushed toward away from the fairgrounds.
However, as they ran, Blanche couldn't stop glancing at the love of her life as she was still pondering his words from earlier.
"What is he hiding ?" she thought to herself with suspicions and concern as she ran beside him.
00/(Time Skip)/00
It took them a moment but the little group of four managed to reach the Amity Colosseum thanks to a kind pilot who allowed them to climb on his Bullhead after the situation was explained to him.
The airship then stopped near the highest docking bays where usually publics came out of their Bullheads
"Thank you sir !" Amber and Blanche thanked the man before dashing away, following by Emerald and Harry.
The four friends ran toward the seating area where the public was. There they saw the stadium were many people were sitting around a round arena where two familiar forms facing each other could be seen in the middle of it : Penny and Pyrrha !
"There they are !" Blanche cried out while pointing at the two fighters who had thankfully not started the combat.
"Let'-" Harry began to say only for a voice to interrupt them
"Hey guys what's the hurry ?!"
Turning their heads, they saw the familiar form of Ruby Rose approaching them with concern on her face.
"Ruby ! We came to stop this fight !" Harry responded to the red teen who blinked in surprise before saying in an equal tone
"You too ?!"
"Yes ! Now we have to hurry if we don't want to deal with an accidental murder !" Blanche responded in alarm and those words caused the younger girl present to widen her eyes in equal alarm.
"Right ! But how did you know Penny was-"
"An Android ? Emerald told us… How she knew is beyond me though..." The White Wolf Faunus grumbled the last part suspiciously while eying the green haired girl.
Harry and Amber worriedly glanced at one another before looking back at the trio.
"I think it is best if we go now everyone..." our hero commented while looking down at the arena where we could see Penny and Pyrrha circling each other.
As the four approached, Pyrrha was dodging Penny's attack before deflecting another one with a serious look on her face. Penny frowned as she threw her arms forward ready to launch her swords at her opponents.
Seeing this, Harry's eyes widened before using his powers to move faster to soon becoming a blur figure.
Penny's swords were launched toward Pyrrha who managed to defend herself with her shield. The Android's eyes narrowed at this and launched herself forward just as Pyrrha charged her with a battle-cry while holding her own sword in her hand.
'CLANK'
The sound of clashing blades echoed in the air but in the audience, gasps of shock erupted as everyone widened their eyes in surprise and disbelief.
Pyrrha and Penny were equally stunned when they saw someone standing between them, using swords to block their blades. The someone was none other than Harry James Potter whose face showed nothing but sternness as he looked back and forth between the two of them.
"Harry ?" the redhead called out in shock as her emerald green eyes looked at him.
Penny was too stunned to say anything as her eyes were locked on him, unable to comprehend what was going on. Harry, instead of answering Pyrrha, used this moment of surprise to make a 360, taking both girls with him in one swift movement. Pyrrha and Penny both grunted as they impacted against the ground before slowly going back on their feet.
"What did you do that ?" Pyrrha asked him with slight anger and shock as she now stood on her feet.
Penny didn't say anything but her eyes said it all.
Harry opened his mouth to answer but someone prevented him from doing so
"To save your both of your life Pyrrha !"
Penny and the redhead turned their heads to see Amber, Emerald, Blanche and Ruby rushing toward them. In the seats, the public was watching the scene with a stunned silence, wondering what was going on… even the announcers.
"What do you mean ?" Penny asked the newcomers with confusion.
Ruby stepped forward to speak "Pyrrha if you use your Semblance on her, she will die !"
The redhead and the Android blinked at this before glancing at one another and looking back at the group.
"How come ?"
Ruby opened her mouth to answer but Harry interrupted her by answering bluntly "Because she is an ANDROID and your Semblance is POLARITY !"
"Harry !" Amber and Blanche cried out to him with fire in their eyes
"What ?" he asked them innocently.
"You had to say it like that ?!" the former asked him with a growl while crossing her arms over her bust.
"Honestly ? Yes… There was no other way to say it you know !" Harry answered calmly with a raised eyebrow.
Blanche, Emerald and Amber looked at him blankly for a moment before slapping their heads with a hand in perfect synchronization, muttering something under their breathes.
"There is always a better way to say things..." Ruby gently said to Harry who only shrugged before retorting calmly
"I prefer the blunt approach… Much more efficient if you ask me..."
Pyrrha and Penny ,for their parts, were staring at the newcomers (mostly at Harry) with shock before looking at each other in horror. If their friends didn't come, then Penny would have been accidentally destroyed and Pyrrha would be seen as a Murderer !
In the audience, people looked equally shocked by this turn of events and many started to whisper about Ironwood being a cheat for allowing an ANDROID to participate.
Harry, who was sheathing his blades, suddenly froze when he heard a voice in his head "It is time..."
It was Thanatos' voice…
Barely a second later, everyone present in the Colosseum noticed that the cameras started to malfunction as the images disappeared.
Soon enough, after a few seconds, the images coming from the broadcast suddenly tinted an ominous bright red with a piece hovering over the scene before revealing the face of a laughing womanHarry instantly recognized.
As he glanced around the Colosseum, Harry could clearly see the look of shock, terror and fright from the various people present. Back to the screen, Salem laughed for a few more seconds before looking at them with a dark smirk on her face
" Greeting people of Remnant ! For those who don't know me I am Salem, the Queen of Grimm !"
(To be continue…)