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Chapter 65: Showtime

"So this is it then?"

Three words and the atmosphere changed palpably within the dormitory, each member of Team WULF reacting with a varying amount of nervous shuffling, including Wolfram who had spoken as the four of them considered the words and the sense of finality that they imparted. As their room seemed to take on an airless, charged quality like humidity with out the inherent dampness Wolfram took a moment to study his team, using the silence that followed the question he had not truthfully needed or expected an answer to as an opportunity to compose himself as much as possible.

Ursinia seemed almost serene in the composure she affected, though Wolfram felt he knew her well enough to be sure that inwardly she was anything but. Every item of leather or metal about her person had been polished to an almost laughable degree, the sunlight gleaming as it was reflected from multiple surfaces which Wolfram noticed also include several of the segments of her scorpion tail, whose minute trembling gave the country girl away despite her best efforts to seem untroubled and the extra care she had taken to her appearance, or what she herself might have called 'Getting gussied up' in an effort to feel as though she were in control of some aspect of what lay ahead.

Diabla by contrast was visibly agitated in a way that even the fact her scroll beeped and vibrated periodically with messages from Huckleberry who wanted to wish the brawler and her own cousin good luck could do nothing to mitigate; alternating between pacing the area around her bunk in a way that was highly reminiscent of a stalking predator and rechecking the gauntlets she had worn with her uniform for no reason other than familiar comfort and then removing them to recheck and tighten hand-wraps that would like prove to be impractical at some point during the day though Wolfram was far from willing to criticise her, especially not given the hard and fiery look in her eyes which was unmistakably even more fierce than usual.

Laser was more difficult to read, though only because the blonde scavenger played at being unpredictable and inscrutable, using his irreverent humour and general aura of chaotic energy and assorted shenanigans to deflect unwanted question, a social equivalent of hiding in plain sight. Currently that sense of chaos was supplied by the fact that despite Team WULF having their first lesson of the day in short order he was still not prepared, on today of all days.

Friday had come and Vytal Tournament qualification matches would be held that evening.

Wolfram himself took a deep steadying breath before speaking again, another comment that he did not expect to receive an answer that left him idly wondering when he had become the sort of person who used idle chatter to drown out nerves that could not be tackled head on in any meaningful way.

"You'd think they'd give us the day off at least"

"Have you actually paid attention in any of our classes?" Diabla snorted, words less harsh than her expression would suggest as she surprised her team leader by responding at all "You've met our professors, which one do you actually think would give us the day off?"

"Chloris, Rose….Maybe one of the people who works at the college as well, we could probably get Scarlatina to go for it?" Laser offered, giving the question more genuine thought than Diabla had intended her attempt at a disarming retort to be treated to and simply scoffing wordlessly in response.

"No sense in bellyaching about it darlin'" Ursinia sighed "The tournament matches are gonna be on weekends, but that includes Fridays which means we might have to compete right after classes; makes sense for the Professors to make us do it this way"

"If we qualify" Diabla murmured, those words having a more lasting effect than even Wolfram's solemn proclamation only a moment ago as the idea of Team WULF's resident firebrand lacking in her usual steadfast and unwavering resolve in all things was truly a worrying one and the idea that the four of them could indeed fail at this critical juncture, or more accurately that one amongst them could fail on their behalf was suddenly thrust into the forefront of each of the teenagers' minds, surfacing after so many weeks of trying desperately to ignore it.

"We'll qualify" Wolfram growled the words out, entire body tensing as he spoke "I'll make sure of it"

"Just gotta get through classes first" Laser noted pointedly, a small chittering laugh smaller and more controlled than his usual cackling escaping him as he added "Probably best if you keep away from Astra….No point in losing all your steam early-"

"Or getting too riled up at the wrong thing" Ursinia added

"Does it have to be you that does this though?" Diabla asked flatly, the silence which followed her words making it painfully clear that the sense of and accusation that had gone unvoiced had been plain for all to hear and Wolfram stood straighter, raising his chin in defiance as he considered a response that wouldn't start an argument that he did not have the time, energy or the motivation for. The Vytal Tournament qualification matches were a simple affair, one on one fights with tournament rules with each team nominating a single representative to enter on their behalf in what was effectively a representation of the later rounds of the tournament itself on a smaller scale and when Team WULF had made their intentions to compete official it had felt only right and natural to Wolfram that he should be the one to fight on his teams' behalf.

Hearing that logic questioned was oddly more disconcerting than the possibility of losing.

"It has to be me" he confirmed, shaking his head before Diabla could interrupt "Not because I doubt you, any of you….You could all win this and take us to Vale, not because I think I'm better than you but because at the end of the day it's my responsibility-"

"Now see here, the way I-"

"Ursinia no!" Wolfram cut his partner off, he was usually willing to hear her wisdom but today he found himself unable "It's my responsibility because I'm the leader of Team WULF….This isn't me being high and mighty, I promise. This is me stepping up and doing what I need to, if we can't share the job then I'll shoulder it myself….I wouldn't ask you to be the ones out there, Diabla do you really want that pressure?"

"I-" Diabla's fiery orange eyes darted around the dormitory, mind clearly racing with flashbacks to the moment she had learned that studying at Atlas Academy had slipped beyond her grasp, something that Wolfram had not intended and promised himself that he would make amends for later.

"Damn it" she finally spat "Don't let us down….And that isn't me doubting you, I don't I just…."

"Yeah" Wolfram nodded in understanding "You've got things riding on this, don't worry I get it"

"Well now that's all in apple pie order and the varmint has finally remembered how to tie his darn shoelaces are we gonna get a wiggle on?" Ursinia drawled, donning her hat as she stood and prepared to leave, the comment managing to draw a smile from both Diabla and from Wolfram who nodded and repeated his earlier comment.

"This is it then" he rolled and cricked his neck and shoulders in a satisfying way as he made for the door "Vytal Tournament here we come"

Team MARZ were in high spirits, the usual tomfoolery that accompanied the four teens whenever they entered the campus mess hall positively charged and amplified by the looming challenge ahead of them; though this heightened state only exacerbated certain behaviours and interplays between the four teens rather than hone each of them to a razors' edge, that would come later when the situation called for it.

"I swear on my inheritance Astra if you weren't holding my breakfast right now I'd launch you through the ceiling" Athena declared, words half yell and half groan as her face was buried in her large and strong hands so that she would not have to look directly at her friends' antics.
"The rich kid who left home to prove herself gives up her inheritance….That's gotta be a cliché right? Astra snorted in response, clambering into a seat between Athena-Jade and Regalia whilst carrying a perilously balanced stack of trays which wobbled at oblique angles until the Deer Faunus set them down and slid them across the table to the rest of Team MARZ "And besides, I brought food so I should be able to get away with at least one direct quote-"

"You suck, you suck so bad" Athena huffed, falling silent and blushing profusely whilst at the same time being reduced to a dazed and distant smile of giddy fondness as Zirconia, who was situated at her partners' other side rolled her mismatched eyes and leaned over to kiss the Bear Faunus's cheek to effectively end the matter.

As the two newly declared girlfriends had suspected, yet been too preoccupied to truly fear or care about in the moment, their kiss in the rain days prior and events both preceding and following it had been captured on camera and then sold to the press a particularly opportunistic member of the public and a such those same images had been plastered across news outlets of dubious repute all across Remnant owing to the celebrity of those involved; the fallout of this had been manageable though and whilst Zirconia had managed to pre-empt any familial awkwardness by contacting Damascus Nero to give him the good news herself Athena-Jade had suffered through a call from her mother whose well-meaning questioning and desire to be involved in her children's lives quickly bordered on inquisition whilst Coral had simply feigned being affronted at the whole ordeal, the Crab Faunus stringing several inventive curses together upon realising that she had not been the one to help her adoptive sister prepare for her date. The most egregious aspect of the whole affair however had been the fact that Athena's happiness induced dancing atop one of her own glyphs had also been photographed and that this image had been reduced to a meme in record time, being sent all across the student body of Breaktide Academy which had predictably meant that for over a day now she had been unable to leave her dormitory without someone seeing her and mimicking her blissfully unaware attempt at a two-step.

With Astra being the latest example.

"You did promise not to tease" Regalia noted, though the Racoon Faunus could offer no more aid beyond that as she was both trying to consume a toasted sandwich which Athena-Jade was left in baffled amazement at the sight of and also because she was trying not to snicker at what had been an admittedly better than most parody of Athena's dancing.

"I'm not teasing them for dating" Astra countered "I'm teasing them for going on one date and making out in the rain because they just cannot go without drama and aesthetic….Which by the way are supposed to be my thing"

"As our resident black-hair dye enthusiast with a spot for brooding in the bleachers reserved I'll trust your expert opinion on the subject" Zirconia's retort was quiet and delivered with deadpan bluntness and exquisite timing that Astra was left blinking in shell-shocked surprise and trying to process the swiftly delivered barb whilst Athena and Regalia were reduced to hysterics on either side of them. Eventually however the mirth subsided and more serious matters began to rear their heads, with Astra being partway through a mouthful of food when Athena nudged them, broad shoulder colliding with their leaner build with enough force to warrant a meaty follow-up slap on the back to stop them choking as she spoke.

"I was gonna ask if you're sure you're ready for the qualifiers….Choking on a fried egg is not filling me with confidence my Dude" she noted, borrowing something of the brilliance in put-downs that she had always admired in her sister in law, to which Astra offered a wordless sound of annoyance before properly responding.

"First of all fuck you" they choked out, clearing their throat and continuing on more comfortably "And secondly….I don't wanna sound like I'm being overconfident or cocky here but, yeah. Yeah I think I can do this"

"That's good to hear" Zirconia murmured, regarding her team leader intently "But still be careful"

"I know" Astra nodded "But I've trained, I've studied, I've practised. All it comes down to now is a one on one fight with another student and….Again, not sounding cocky but I'm good at this; we're all good at this, any of us could have stepped up"

"I wanted you to have this, I'll get my moment to shine….This is yours" Athena shrugged in response to an unasked question, flashing a toothy smile as she saw her friends' eyes on her. Whilst Astra was undoubtedly capable it was also true that Athena herself had managed to best them in single combat on multiple occasions however the Bear Faunus had, despite her determination to prove herself agreed to allow Team MARZ's leader to represent them in the qualifiers without complaint and agreed with the reasoning that whilst the Schnee family Semblance was a known quantity to the Hunter community the specifics of how Athena used it were not, allowing for at least some element of surprise that should not be so readily given up.

"It's just the waiting that's gonna kill me" Astra muttered, flopping back dramatically in their seat as they added "Seriously, we should have skipped class today….How the hell am I supposed to focus"

"You'll be fine" Regalia shrugged airily, patting her partner's shoulder gently "You can do this, you're gonna do great"

"We're gonna do great….Not just here, but in the whole tournament. Doesn't matter who they put in front of us" Astra found themselves grinning.

"Go Team MARZ!" Regalia exclaimed energetically, holding out a hand for her team-mates, only to sag visibly in her seat as her extended arm was regarded with silent confusion "Ugh, you guys I thought we were gonna do the thing….Y'know the group hand-thing"

"That was a thing like thirty years ago" Athena noted, sparing Regalia's feelings as much as possible only for Astra to nudge her firmly before laying a hand on top of Regalia's, Athena and Zirconia sharing a look before following suit and allowing Regalia to bring her hand up from the bottom of piled hands with explosive upwards motion.

Only for someone close by to call out that Team MARZ were dorks, prompting Astra to retort with something that drew the ire of the canteen staff and sent the four of them hurrying towards their first lesson.

"I don't like this" Carmesi Hueso's low rumble vibrated through cool and sterile air before being met with a scoff that was quickly followed by an exasperated and disgruntled sigh.

"We are aware of this fact knucklehead, you've told us….Several times in fact"

"Watch your tone-"

"Enough!" Damascus Nero displayed one of the benefits of the speech therapy he had endured early on in his rise to prominence when he had realised that no matter how lofty his goals might be they would go unheard if the masses simply chose to ignore him for his inability to articulate them; namely that his voice carried, forceful and with dangerous clarity as it brought a heavy silence to the Chamber which was currently as crowded as it ever was with the three men present. This meeting was not one of any true urgency, Gestalt-Prime's mangled, dormant and if current theories were to be trusted, uninhabited body was currently sealed away; the tube which contained it hidden beneath layers of sliding armoured panels, weapons still trained on the immediate vicinity of the monster as a matter of precaution whilst Nero, Albion and Carmesi gathered at the central bank of monitors and consoles though were not currently paying a great deal of attention to it; this was instead a more routine affair where the three of them could discuss developments, collate information and raise concerns without the need to worry themselves with concerns about prying eyes.

With Carmesi's concerns being the ones currently under review.

"We are trusting everything, the entire future we set out to build….To a madwoman, to the leader of a group of fanatical filth!" the Komodo Dragon spat the final word out with a venom that would be frightening to anyone not acquainted with the man and his impassioned ferocity, as it was when the youngest of the trio regarded the older man with his crimson eyes wild and furious Nero simply met his gaze with a stern look of his own whilst Albion huffed indignantly.

"You think this is about your ego boy?" the self-styled mad scientist demanded with a harshness that suggested a backbone Carmesi had thought the man lacking "You think I enjoy having to deal with Aefen Cruor and her merry band of lunatics? You think I didn't have concerns or that I did nothing about them or that precautions haven't been taken-"

"I said that's enough" Nero repeated, quieter now yet more dangerously insistent as his gloved fist clenched in a rare outward show of annoyance as he silenced Albion but focused on Carmesi "Yes, we are continuing to work with Aefen Cruor because her expertise is valuable and we are not so well supplied in the field of Grimm biology that we can overlook her, the fact that she was capable of rising to prominence within her organisation without being a true believer and effectively bend a sect of Grimm worshippers to her own will is possibly even more concerning than if she'd been genuine in her beliefs-"

"She has an agenda and could stab us in the back-"

"Not entirely out of the question" Nero conceded with a tone that made it painfully clear that he grew tired of the conversation "But I assure that I am more adept at the game of subterfuge than even I care for by now, Miss Cruor knows what we chose to tell her and nothing more, she has not and will not have direct contact with any member of our group in any way that allows her to identify us, all whilst I have the location of her operation and the means to do sufficient damage to her plans should they prove to run counter to our own….Now, given that I have made these assurances to you previously and you've provided no new grounds for concerns let us move this discussion along. Time is not a luxury we have, the Vytal Tournament qualifiers are being held at the academies today, students will be arriving to Neo Vale over the weekend; am I understood?"

"Understood" Carmesi rumbled the word out, standing stiffly to attention despite his obviously continuing grievances with the idea of the new alliances being forged in service of the plan.

"Good" Nero nodded "Which means that security will be heightened, no doubt the Hunters themselves along with the Council will be desperate to ensure that they have a perfect picture of the city to present….I'm inclined to give them that picture, have the various criminal factions that we supply to cease trading and hostilities with their neighbours for the duration and inform them that cooperation will be rewarded"

"An order than makes sense" Carmesi snarled with no small amount of bitterness, his own distaste for the various gangs he now dealt with colouring his words.

"We have other uses for them" Albion noted almost conversationally "A little recovery job….Use it as a proving ground, your own initiation process like you Hunters have"

"The joke was uncalled for" Nero chided, seeing that Carmesi was giving serious consideration to strangling the older man over the insult.

"What am I recovering?" the rogue Hunter finally ground out "And why does it involve bringing the scum?"

"A small sample of Grimm, a far less involved effort that capturing the subject was" Nero answered nonchalantly, judging Carmesi's response before continuing "Using others will be an opportunity to give those under our admittedly indirect training some experience in more extreme scenarios, I do actually have a shortlist of a few individuals who I would suggest involving….They will be useful for other endeavours made necessary by the changes to the plan, operations where plausible deniability is required and you cannot afford to be seen"

"You want to make these scumbags a viable fighting force?" Carmesi fought the urge to laugh in Nero's face at the notion, falling silent when the Chairman's expression did not change and it was instead Albion who spoke.

"They'll never be an army or anything close to Hunters, but they will have their uses….Very similar to what we've been having them do on a smaller scale, allowing us to move information and small items through several proxies"

"However it's time for the operations to be scaled up" Nero finished "Staged robberies, perhaps even a few genuine robberies and industrial sabotage to cover out tracks as our plans move forward….Technologies that cannot afford to be tied to our operations, robotics, Dust, vehicles, electronics….Weaponry"

"You're playing a dangerous game-"

"That you set up the pieces for when you chose the subject, you brought me more than I asked for and now plans are accommodating that fact" Nero countered smoothly "You did well and this will be the first fruits of your labour….You've trusted me this far Carmesi and I have never lied to you about my intentions"

"Fine" the Faunus breathed out, forcing himself to accept the truth of those final words and once again place his faith in the man who had offered a vision of a Remnant better than the one which had spat him out as the broken, rage-driven and pathetic man that on some level he suspected himself to be; forcing himself to accept that as much as he might detest any given detail of it the plan that Nero had devised was the path towards a better future and that he could and would compel himself to endure any fate in service of that goal, a sacrifice on behalf of all of Remnant. The moment lingered even as Carmesi turned and stalked away in the direction of the elevator which would lead him to the surface of Neo Vale's outskirts where the Chamber was hidden under the guise of an industrial setting however before he could go Albion took the moment to make one final comment, an obvious attempt to lighten the soured mood with what he no doubt thought was a joke

"On the bright side, Zirconia seems to have given us all enough cover to act with impunity until the next celebrity scandal occurs"

"A touch too far old friend" Nero's voice was soft and gentle yet had the unmistakable air of a warning about it whilst Carmesi simply strode on with a wordless grimace, one hand absently stroking the ragged scar which cleaved through flesh and scale which had been given to him by the Bear Faunus with whom Nero's ward was so infatuated.

Another sacrifice to made at the alter of lasting peace and freedom.

Classes at Breaktide Academy had, as predicted been something of a non-starter for much of the day thus far as both students and professors alike were entirely pre-occupied with the upcoming Vytal Tournament qualifiers only a few short hours away, though the faculty of the campus at least had the professionalism to try and pretend otherwise and persevere with the task at hand albeit with varying degrees of success.

The days' lessons had, for the sake of fairness been limited purely to the academic rather than allowing anything that would require the active participation of the students; a choice which, whilst sensible as it ensured that no potential candidate in the approaching bouts would be unfairly disadvantaged by having to enter the arena with a pre-existing injury, depleted Aura or ammunition, damaged weapon or simple exhaustion working against them had also had the unintended yet still predicted and prepared for side-effect of allowing tensions to steadily build without any real outlet for them as students, even members of teams that were close friends began to regard one another with a growing sense of paranoia and suspicion entirely apart from the work of Hunting Grimm save for in the most harrowing circumstances, a festering mistrust as each student was forced to consider that one of people around them might be the one to meet them on the field of battle and deny their team the opportunity to compete in the Vytal Tournament, transforming every interaction into a possible opportunity to sabotage, misdirect or gather information at the last moment.

Naturally the Professors had sought to limit these tensions as much as possible before a fight could break out and ruin things before they could truly begin.

With the topic of the tournament impossible to ignore the professors had chosen instead to embrace the subject with open arms and find ways to turn integrate the Vytal Tournament and its' many aspects into their own subjects with varying degrees of ease, for Velvet Scarlatina and the chief engineer who presided over the campus forge and workshop it had been an easy thing to discuss the famous first round bout between Team CFVY and Team ABRN which had sparked with grudge between the pair which was in truth more theatre than genuine animosity or Team RWBY and their own legendary first round match against Team SSSN and many other tournament matches which the rabbit Faunus had witnessed over the years whilst the students listened with rapt attention as much as possible whilst performing last minute inspections and thorough cleaning of their weapons, refusing to be seen at anything less than their best for the occasion and cooperating with one another at Velvet's instruction as the Deputy Headmistress had made it clear that her stories would cease if she heard any arguments. Other professors had been less fortunate and successful in their attempts however, the history Professor, one of few members of the faculty who had in fact never been a Hunter in their own right struggling to relate to their students with quite the same enthusiasm and floundering when their attempts to discuss historic events at the Vytal Tournament had gone over poorly, proving far too close to home for many of the teens present especially at such an already tense moment.

Amidst all of this Astra and Wolfram had engaged in their usual back and forth with an energy that had been made all the more dangerous by the pervading atmosphere.

"Don't get cocky, you're good but you're not unbeatable" Wolfram noted, coldly toneless in response to the Deer Faunus's latest attempt to needle and rile him as the Second Year students made their way through the hallways and corridors at a steady, yet not quite hurried or urgent pace to get from one lesson to another, teams MARZ and WULF gathered loosely around them whilst a handful of their other classmates had managed to position themselves close enough to enjoy the entertainment that the sniping between the two provided, with Team VNTA and Nugget, the unfortunately named Chicken Faunus who lead Team NUGT being visible amongst them.

"Pretty sure you didn't beat me before" Astra replied airily, turning almost lazily so that they could walk backwards and treat their ex-boyfriend to a sly smirk that accompanied that particular barb.

"Fuck off" Wolfram said simply, aware of Ursinia letting out a sigh and taking a single step closer in order to separate the two if needs be whilst Athena-Jade turned away from Zirconia, whose hand she was holding as the two walked together for just long enough to shoot her team leader and friend a warning glance which they heeded just enough to change tactics in their teasing, though not enough to cease entirely.

"I'm feeling pretty fucking confident that I can take all challengers right now" Astra spread their arms, attention focused on Wolfram as they spread their arms to welcome the many retorts that came in response to that particular boast "I mean really, in terms of skill, defence, versatility, firepower, pure power….I've got the range darling, who's really touching me right now?"

"Nobody's touching you because nobody wants to touch you….Even Brooke got bored" Wolfram regretted the words the moment they left his mouth, it was a low blow that had been uncalled for and the ripple of winces and awkward laughter that spread out throughout their classmates in response to it only convinced him further. Before either team leader could speak again Regalia swooped in, standing at Astra's right hand yet positioned in such a way that she, like Ursinia could throw herself between the two of them if it came to that though from the expression on Astra's face it seemed more likely that the Deer Faunus would be inclined to simply flee. The Regalia shot Wolfram a harsh glare, more naked anger in her pale purple eyes than even their first encounter which had almost ended with the two drawing weapons on one another however when the Racoon Faunus spoke it was it was too her partner and with a voice far kinder than her expression and the way her squared jaw was set would suggest.

"Ignore him, he's not worth it"

"What the fuck?" Wolfram demanded "I wish Astra would ignore me, I can't step out of my dorm without them pestering me" the comment only worsened the situation and they saw sadness turn to anger in a single flash of the Deer Faunus's eyes.

"Yeah well, won't be a problem for much longer Wolfie….I'll be having fun in Neo Vale at the tournament; enjoy your dorm here. I'll send you a postcard or something if I'm not too busy" with that Astra turned and stalked away, their pace making them one of the first to reach the classroom that was their destination with the rest of Team MARZ closing ranks close behind them whilst Wolfram slowed and lingered just long enough for Diabla, who had been avoiding the entire mess as much as possible to close the distance and close a single hand around the back of her team leaders' neck with a crushing grip, reaching up to hiss words in Wolfram's ear with frightening force and venom.

"Stop fucking around, stop letting your ex get in your head right before a job, stop getting distracted" she released his neck and slapped him around the back of the head in the same way she often did Laser and locked eyes with him, steely grey meeting fiery orange as she added "Focus. On. Doing. Your. Fucking. Job"

That, Wolfram could admit was sensible advice.

Headmistress Coco Adel had sequestered herself away in her office, it's door locked and any request for her time and attention of less dire importance than the return of Salem herself wearing socks with sandals on the shores of Menagerie or at the very least a minor Grimm incursion or natural disaster being denied.

She was drained and exhausted in a way that seemed to seep into her bones and which mere sleep felt insufficient to overcome and for the time being her office, despite the overwhelming amount of work present on her desk in her roles as both Head of Breaktide and the Councilwoman seat she was in the early stages of extricating herself from, searching for a suitable successor who would be able to seamlessly transition into her vacated seat during the next election cycle and despite the fact that her office now held unfortunate and unforgettable negative connotations as it was the place where her son had been assaulted by an assailant whom she had never managed to capture or even identify the office would, for the foreseeable time be her fortress, her place where she could escape from the madness which lay beyond.

At least until it was time for her to referee the qualifying matches, at which point she would be forced to gird herself and plunge once more into the breach; braving the maelstrom of hormonal angst and chaos that her academy was on the verge of collapsing into.

It was days like these she almost wished she had chosen a simpler life.

"You're staring into space again Coco….Are you sure you're okay?" it was the voice of Qrow Branwen that came from the computer where a video conference call was beginning, the bearded and greying man confined to a many-legged and mobile chair regarding her with a mixture of mild bemusement and genuine concern in his crimson eyes as he filled in for Professor and Headmaster of the Halo Academy of New Vale Lie Ren as the schools' representative in this meeting whilst he and his wife and right hand woman Nora Ren, formerly Valkyrie were preoccupied with qualification matches of their own.

The idea of students trained by Arslan meeting those trained by Nora in combat was enough to liven Coco up, if only to cause her to shudder at the prospect of property damage on such a vast scale.

"Tired" she answered simply, working out a crick in her neck before adding in a hushed murmur "I don't know how Ozpin did it"

"He was the Wizard….He cheated by bending time" Qrow answered with a straightforward bluntness which, by some bizarre emotional alchemy left Coco feeling a little better, the knowledge that her perpetual exhaustion was due to being limited by the flow of linear time in the same way as everybody else and a failure on her own part being reassuring in its' own way. Stretching out for a moment Coco regarded the open windows on her computers' screen displaying those present for the conference call and those who were not; Qrow who had taken the call in what appeared to be an office available for his students to call upon him rather than his own quarters which housed enough intelligence gathering hardware for it to be more aptly described as a lair, the office being largely bereft of personal touches save for a few photographs Coco could see of Team STRQ, Ruby and Yang at various points and finally a collection of photographs of Eagle Arc, the daughter he had never known until she was a student at the academy he was now a professor. Headmistress of Atlas Academy, General of the Atlesian fleets and holder of two votes within the frozen Kingdoms' Council by virtue of that fact Winter Schnee, a woman who would appear stern and imposing in her bearing and silent sense of control and charisma even were it not common knowledge that she was one of the finest Huntresses that Atlas had ever produced and had risen to head of its' famed and clandestine Specialist Branch before the age of thirty as General Ironwoods' most trusted officer.

Beyond these two figures whom Coco, for all of her vaunted confidence would never quite believe herself an equal and peer to there were two blank windows, one denoting Shade Academy of Vaccuo whose representative was absent and another which offered audio only, the image of a waveform flickering as the voice of one Haven Academy of Mistral's senior staff spoke in a curt and stiff manner that had plagued them for much of the discussion though Coco could understand, this Professor was not a member of the inner circle so to speak and they knew it.

"If all arrangements are concluded?" the question was plainly rhetorical though the speaker waited a moment to at least offer the pretence of politeness "Then I wish to see my students perform at their best and speak with those who succeed before they depart. I wish good health, fortune and safe journeys to your students"

"And to yours Professor" Coco bowed her head respectfully before the Mistrali Professor could leave the call, finding that she did in fact have a professional respect that bordered on fondness for the woman after their interactions; finding her to be what Arslan would have proudly declared 'a Mistrali warrior in the truest sense' as she she left Winter cleared her throat, the sound of her prosthetic leg tapping against the floor of what Coco assumed was her office aboard her flagship rather than Atlas Academy itself ringing metallically.

"And since the Vaccuans couldn't be bothered to communicate-"

"They reached out to Ren directly ahead of time" Qrow interjected, expecting the historical tension between the Kingdoms of Atlas and Vaccuo to lead to at some interplay between Winter and her counterpart in any situation "The Vaccuans do things in there own way, more importantly they're the only Kingdom that doesn't need to send their students onto another continent for the tournament; direct rail links and normal relations exist between New Vale and Vaccuo so they don't share a lot of the concerns that Menagerie, Mistral and Atlas do. Given the status of Vaccuo at any given time it seemed redundant to waste the time"

"Be that as it may" Winter breathed out "Now that it's just the three of us are there any more matters regarding the transit and accommodations of students?"

"None that come to mind" Coco answered with a slight shrug.

"Ensure that the relevant paperwork for each of your academies' students arrives before the kids themselves do, we'll handle the rest. Ren and Nora have been running themselves ragged to make this perfect"

"All that effort, just for a student from my academy to bring the trophy back to Menagerie" Coco grinned, unable to keep herself from the mild teasing and being surprised as Winter matched her expression with a wry smile of her own, cultured Upper Atlesian dialect coloured by years of military service surrounded by those from the poorest depths of the Atlesian Hives.

"You have me at a disadvantage" she gave a dignified chuckle "You were a member of my unit, which means I can't discredit your abilities without discrediting myself and I can't truly cast any aspersion about your students abilities in comparison to my own when my niece is a student of yours"

"I'll tell her that her Aunt Winter is rooting for her" Coco's grin widened and it was Qrow who cleared his throat, most likely because he understood that if he were to enter the fray and begin taking bets and making predictions on the outcome of hypothetical matches then they would the entire evening.

"Winter, you wanted to discuss something?"

"Indeed" she nodded, all business once again "The Benefactor, as they were calling themselves. What progress has been made on that front?"

"Admittedly little if any" Qrow admitted forlornly "Though we've been stepping up security in regards to smuggling and organised crime in order to break up any operations similar to what was operating in Menagerie-"

"I can send you any information that you don't already have regarding it" Coco chimed in.

"Thank you" Qrow nodded "This far it seems that whatever this Benefactor was doing that required a Grimm specimen was halted after the attack on Port Alistair and the dismantling of so much of their existing infrastructure….We can only hope that they're reeling and trying to adjust, which gives us more time"

"One can hope" Winter clearly fought the urge offer a derisive comment at the idea of relying on optimism "However the fact remains that we have an unknown actor with unknown goals and a history of facilitating violence who has integrated themselves into Neo Vale and is continuing to operate there whilst a Vytal Tournament is drawing closer….This things have a habit of ending badly, historically speaking"

"And on that ominous note" Coco sighed, rising from her seat "I have qualification matches to referee"

It seemed that her office was no longer a sanctuary, though the bleak thoughts Winter had filled it with would certainly follow her wherever she went until answers were found.

The sound of a scroll vibrating filled Team MARZ's dormitory and was quickly followed by the sound of bunk beds creaking faintly as Athena-Jade reached over to once again pluck the offending device from where it was charging, leaning precariously over the edge of Zirconia's bed to catch her scroll as a small Glyph formed beneath it and sent it travelling up and into her outstretched hand. This was followed by a momentary pause and then a wordless groan of annoyance from the Bear Faunus which piqued her partner and now girlfriends' attention.

"Is something wrong?"

"My sister being a pest….again" Athena grumbled as she carefully lowered her scroll back down onto the desk she had plucked it from and shuffled back along the length of the bed so that she could resume cuddling with Zirconia and simply enjoying the brief moment of closeness and privacy.

"Judging by her and the way both Astra and yourself treat your older brothers I can only assume that this is a regular part of being a younger sibling" Zirconia's casual response drew a playful and clearly exaggerated pout from the Bear Faunus.

"What's that supposed to mean?" the answer she received was without words, instead the Grasshopper Faunus casually closed the small amount of space between them and brushed her lips against Athena's for a kiss that silent and contented. Classes had ended for the day and yet the two girls had found themselves with a small amount of time to spare, roughly two hours between the conclusion of lectures and the beginning of the Vytal Tournament qualification matches which they would naturally be attending to offer Astra the moral support that they would certainly need despite their outward bravado, with no plan for their Friday evening beyond that and their belongings already packed on the assumption that they would be successful, such was their confidence they had returned to the dormitory whilst Regalia took Astra to the mess hall and convinced the Deer Faunus to eat and keep their energy and spirits up; thus allowing Athena-Jade and Zirconia a moment of privacy of the kind which was rare given their living arrangements, time for the two of them to simply be alone together and explore their new relationship which had thus far amounted to the two of talking much as they often had albeit with much more physical contact and teasing in the form of text messages from Athena's sister.

"You're lucky you're cute" Athena whispered the words against Zirconia's lips with a toothy smile, which her girlfriend simply rolled her mismatched eyes in response to; shifting her weight slightly and adjusting the uniform she still wore.

"Indeed I am, now where were we before your sister so rudely interrupted us?"

"You were telling me about how you used to sit in on some of Damascus's business meetings and take notes on people because nobody suspected the little kid of anything….You've been mysterious and basically a secret agent this entire time, which is really cool"

"I think you exaggerate a little" Zirconia noted gently, fighting the urge to wince as the joke cut dangerously close to the truth and deciding to alleviate that by offering an answer which held enough truth that was more misrepresentation that outright lie

"He wanted me to have other options open to me, from the first time I told him I wanted to help people by fighting the Grimm he tried to show me that there were other ways….I think he might be more happy if I was a doctor, but he has always supported me even when he was clearly worried about me….I've told you that he was very overprotective for a while"

"Swapping the scarves and shawls for a surgical mask and a tricked out scalpel that talks….I could see it" Athena joked, daring enough to drape an arm across Zirconia's toned stomach and rest her hand on a shapely hip "But you being a part of the family business like that is cool….I think Mum and Uncle Whitley are both happy Coral is so eager to be part of the SDC because neither Arctus or I were ever really interested"

"What would you be doing if you weren't a Hunter?" Zirconia asked, eyes alight with genuine interest.

"Is it weird that I've never thought about it that much?….It's always kinda been what I knew I was gonna be" the Bear Faunus shrugged "But I guess if I had to choose something else then I'd want to help people too….I could talk to Diamond and get work with one of the charities her Mum is a part of, or with Aunt Blake as a Faunus and workers rights activist….Then again all the jokes about a Schnee in that role have already been made. I think I'd still want to do something more direct, maybe a firefighter?"

"You're not tall enough" Zirconia pointed out with a smirk that earned her a pout and playful poke in the ribs from her girlfriend though inwardly the rogue was elated, Athena's comments giving the Grasshopper Faunus further conviction that her partner was a Huntress for the right reasons and when Nero's plans were revealed would listen to reason and would continue to do what was needed to help people within the new order rather than cling to the position of power Hunters occupied in the current structure; that this would allow for the two of them to be together even once the truth was known left Zirconia with a swooping feeling in her stomach and an urge to kiss Athena deeply that could not be ignored and was only bolstered by the effect that imagining her girlfriend in a firefighters' uniform, upper portion unfastened had on her.

"What was that for?" the shorter and more muscular of the two girls breathed out, dazed and smiling if somewhat breathless as they broke apart.

"You just reminded me of how much I like you" Zirconia rasped quietly as she reached out and gently ran her fingers along one of Athena's thighs which was regrettably still clad in a pair of uniform trousers before kissing the Bear Faunus again and this time Athena-Jade was a little less slow on the uptake, returning the kiss enthusiastically as her hand which still rested on Zirconia's hip trailed upwards as the two grew more intense, briefly caressing her girlfriends' chest before being positioned beside the taller girls' head as Athena positioned herself atop her; Zirconia's hands were similarly adventurous and as the Bear Faunus straddled Zirconia's waist a portion of her shirt rode up enough to reveal the powerful core muscles below, a sight which drew a whine of something akin to desperation from Zirconia and she quickly slide her hands under the fabric to trace the contours of Athena's pale skin; Athena responding with an arched back and breathless gasp before quickly shedding her tie and unsheathing the retractable black claws of her fingertips so that she could divest herself of the shirt even faster, though she had only managed to attend to two of the buttons, unfastening rather than simply tearing in a display of supreme restraint before Zirconia matched that restraint by reaching up to gently clasp her wrists.

"No….Not like this" she rasped and Athena visibly sagged to such a degree that it was almost an implosion "We don't have time….If we're not at the outdoor training arena before the matches start that Regalia will come and look for us"

"You're right" Athena let out a defeated sigh, conceding that having the Racoon Faunus walk in on an intimate moment would be a kind of embarrassment from which she would never recover and also that she was perhaps being a little too hasty, a side-effect of having wanted moments like what the two of them had been enjoying for so no long now that having them within her grasp was accompanied by an almost physically painful longing; she relented however and climbed off of Zirconia, taking a moment to give the Grasshopper Faunus a sultry smile, looking up at her through half-lidded eyes and lean down to slowly kiss along her hips and toned stomach and relishing the way the girlfriend's body coiled and Zirconia's hand curled in her snowy white and shaggy hair as a gasp escaped her.

A moment later however Athena was hopping down from the bunk and helping Zirconia down after her, the fact that her legs were cybernetic doing nothing to aid how suddenly unsteady on them she had become; the Bear Faunus's blushing and punch-drunk smile broken only by a single grumbled comment.

"If Astra doesn't win now then they fucking suck"

Astra Mars was, for all of their bravado a nervous and emotional wreck and yet in a state of affairs that would have been the subject of incredulous stares if they voiced their concerns aloud it was not their pending entry into the arena that troubled them.

It was, almost predictably to do with Wolfram Ironside.

They felt that they owed their ex boyfriend an apology and with that came uncertainties and nerves that their overwhelming and swaggering confidence could not compensate for. Astra had been genuine in their discussion with Wolfram wherein the two had resolved to make an effort at simply being friends once again, not putting the months they had enjoyed together aside entirely but no longer allowing their interactions to be defined by a relationship that had failed and seemingly been outgrown by one of the parties involved; yet despite their best efforts the Deer Faunus was struggling to deliver on their honest intentions and that had manifested itself in the teasing and bickering of recent weeks which had steadily devolved and become more insistently vicious until it resembled little more than a spiteful demand for attention and achieved nothing beyond hurting the feelings of both Astra and Wolfram, no matter how calm the leader of Team WULF had outwardly appeared.

Astra could see Wolfram's signature gunmetal armour, freshly polished and gleaming in the afternoon sun in the front rows of the bleachers on the opposite side of outdoor training area, his positioning suggesting that he was eager to battle and earn Team WULF's place in the Vytal Tournament; it was a sight which distracted them from the spectacle taking place between them in the arena itself until they felt a nudge at their shoulder and the familiar brushing sensation of Regalia's tail briefly touching their elbow as it swished animatedly behind her which brought them back into the present moment where they could appreciate that the torrential downpour of a few days prior had passed and the afternoon air was fresh and pleasant without any of the airless dryness and blistering heat that defined the summer months on Menagerie, ideal conditions for what was to come as combatants would not be battling against the elements as well as each other though as slight distraction came in the form of Regalia herself, clad in her combat gear though she had no reason to expect to need it whilst clutching a comically large tub of the popcorn that the mess hall was serving for the occasion and pressing it towards Astra in an obvious offer which they accepted only because they knew it would dishearten her if she did not.

"Okay, but only a little though. I don't wanna be sluggish when I'm down there" with that Astra popped a handful into their mouth, chewed and promptly gagged upon realising that it was another of their partners' culinary experiments "Seriously? You seasoned popcorn, who the fuck does that?"

"People who put salt on it?" Regalia offered cocking her head quizzically, as though it were an obvious fact.

"Right, maniacs!" Astra countered without missing a beat "Popcorn comes in sweet and toffee flavour, not salt and definitely not chilli powder and….Is that garlic?"

"Heh, yeah" the Racoon Faunus chuckled, proud of herself as she tried the results of her creativity and pondered "It needs something….Lemon juice maybe? Oh and I just got a text from Athena, she'll be here with Zirconia any minute they both wanted to get a shower and change first. Who's fighting?"

"It was Team BASL and Team NAVY when you left, Sooty won it for Team BASL; honestly though Basil would have been the one to do it but it's second years now-"

"Oh, oh Team VNTA vs Team NUGT!" Regalia exclaimed happily, casually clambering around and partly over Astra in order to watch things from a more advantageous position in a display which made Astra grateful that Headmistress Coco Adel was too focused on the match itself to pay attention to the stands. In the centre of the arena itself, currently a flat circular plane of open space as opposed to any of the countless other configurations the versatile and technologically advanced stadium could take two students with whom Astra was only passingly acquainted despite their having shared classes and lived in close proximity to one another were engaged in a fight that was as desperate as it was skilful; Nimbus of Team VNTA who had clearly been deemed the most suited for the prospect of single combat out the four teens and taken the place of their team leader, someone who knew of because they had sat next to Ursinia in General Studies for a period and had played basketball against Athena-Jade a handful of times and Nugget of Team NUGT, a team as unfortunately named as the Chicken Faunus who led it and had; despite their best efforts been regarded as something of a laughing stock amongst their peers though now it seemed that their luck was changing as Nugget held the upper hand and showed no signs of relenting.

"I think he might just have it" a quiet rasp filled with moderate surprise announced the arrival of Athena and Zirconia, hand in hand as expected, with the Bear Faunus reaching out to bump her knuckles against Astra's in a show of support though her eyes never left the stadium itself. Nugget wielded two weapons which, like Diabla Fuego's gauntlets 'Peace and Quiet' collapsed into identical dormant states despite being different when active and the Chicken Faunus's weapons were given names which suggested that he had long since come to accept the jokes made at his expense; in one hand was 'Cluck-Stick' a hefty baton with a crackling Dust implement at its' head and in the other was 'Cluck-Shot' a short-barrelled, pistol gripped and blocky looking shotgun and both weapons were being used to deadly effect, the match ending only seconds later as Nimbus's spinning hook kick glanced off of her opponents' cheek only for Nugget to use the momentum to deliver Cluck-Stick into his adversaries ankle with a painful crack, sending Nimbus toppling to the ground and levelling Cluck-Shot at her chest until she was forced to admit defeat.

"AND WE HAVE A WINNER!" Coco Adel's voice triggered a wave of cheers and applause which began as a polite, if confused smattering but quickly became the spirited roar of a crowd which was to be expected; something which left Nugget looking visibly overcome and on the verge of tears which he remedied by stowing his weapons and helping Nimbus to her feet in a display of showmanship.

"TEAM NUGT WILL NOW GO ON TO REPRESENT THIS ACADEMY IN NEW VALE….Congratulations and I hope you conduct yourselves in a way that befits your position and the trust I place in you" Coco's last words were quiet, uttered to Nugget himself who nodded in trembling, chest-swelling pride before the Headmistress spoke again.

"AND WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, OUR NEXT MATCH WILL BE BETWEEN…..WOLFRAM IRONSIDE OF TEAM WULF-"

"GO GET 'EM WOLFIE!"Astra called out, voice lost beneath a sea of cheers and whoops as the armoured teen hopped the railing separating the bleachers from the stadium, stalking animatedly into the centre of arena with arms splayed wide; his exact words lost in the din though Astra could be certain that it was a string of vehement challenges and promises uttered for his as yet unknown rival in much the same way that he and his fellow fans of Blackwater Cove's football team behaved in the stadiums' stands. Astra cheered again and resolved that they would speak to him after the matches had concluded, the thrill of victory hopefully going some way to smoothing over what had been said between them.

"VERSUS!" Coco's voice had the entire crowd on bated breath as the randomised selection was completed, Astra's heart hammering in their chest until finally it felt as though it had stopped entirely.

"ASTRA MARS OF TEAM MARZ!"

Author's Notes:

Hahahahahahahahahaha I'm such a bastard.
I told you all that the mid-season finale was gonna be the Vytal Tournament qualification matches….Did you think I had nothing special planned for that?
Lol. See you next week for the mid-season finale.
Anyway, I'm writing this a couple weeks ahead of when I post it so I might be able to go seamlessly into the back half of the volume but I do need to take a week or so to plan that out and put some meat on the bones of what comes after the next chapter.
I've also got a plan for a Worm fic, a prequel and if I've got time then I'm going to write that as well but we will see.

Anyway let's summarise, shall we?:
If a chapter starts with "So this is it then?" then you know you're in for a time.
Yeah, they're all definitely nervous and realistically it's something that only Wolfram can do anything about.
Yeah Wolfram still has that "Main character" syndrome a little bit, but it's at least a little bit more positive now.
Is that Diabla being vulnerable in front of people? Progress.
The contrast between Team WULF and Team MARZ is insane, especially when we consider that Astra is usually the more nervous of the team leaders and only pretends to be confident.
Of course the date night kiss ended up on social media and of course it ended up being a meme….People taking the piss out of AJ's little happy dance every single time she's out of the dorm is just the start.
"As our resident black-hair dye enthusiast with a spot for brooding in the bleachers reserved I'll trust your expert opinion on the subject" when Hops claps back she does it with lethal force.
AJ would actually have been a good contender, but for obvious reasons it had to be Astra.
Regalia is so 90s it hurts sometimes.
Carmesi gets no respect at all from Albion.
It's a bad sign when Carmesi and Albion are on the same page, but also yeah they're both concerned about Aefen being brought into the villains team even if Nero is keeping her on a leash and in the dark on certain things; but right now the people involved in the big plot are Nero himself, Carmesi who's his muscle and field command, Albion who's his tech guy and the one most likely running counter-intelligence to keep Qrow at bay and now Aefen Cruor, a disgraced doctor of Grimm studies who has been brought in to help get Gestalt-Prime's conscious for a chat.
So, Nero is moving his patsies and proxies out of Neo Vale while the tournament exchange students are arriving and is going to be using them to begin gathering more resources, including weapons; all to feed in to an altered version of his original plan that involves what Gestalt-Prime can do….The Grimm that can absorb machinery into itself.
Also fun to note that Nero really does not like people talking shit about his kids, he defended Zirconia and Carmesi here even when he's told the Lizard that he's not his son.
Classes were never gonna be a success were they?
Yeah, everyone was getting a little bit paranoid, because everyone is either a potential opponent or potentially helping a potential opponent….Things like dropping laxatives in your teams' fighters' food when they walk by just to get one more person out of their own teams' way have definitely been done before.
Little callback to the Downward Spiral version of the tournament….The Team RWBY vs Team SSSN fight was literally just me trying to see how many anime references I could work into a single fight.
And of course these two idiots are bickering again.
Astra does indeed have the range darling.
Wolfram really did not take prisoners with the retorts, went a little bit harder than he needed to there and hurt feelings.
Then again Astra likes to play emotional games of fuck around and find out.
Diabla makes perfect sense….And also, she's got a date in Vale.
Give Coco a break.
Seriously, students trained by Arslan and Nora is a terrifying thought; but then consider….Gangrel Slate, Athena-Jade's Dad is the Combat instructor for Atlas Academy.
And Winter 'Captain Badass' Schnee puts in an appearance.
Atlas and Vaccuo will be at each other forever, in Atlas "Giving the Vaccuan response" is a polite way to tell someone to fuck off.
The banter between Professors is fun now, but just wait until the Tournament starts…..Oobleck and Qrow as hosts again, acting like Statler and Waldorf.
And here we have proof that Qrow and Coco are operating in the dark in regards to dealing with Nero on their various ends; there's really nothing left in Menagerie for Coco to find outside of Aefen who hasn't actually broken any laws yet and Nero's plans are being put through so many proxies in Vale that unless someone bumps into Carmesi there's nothing to give it away.
These two have earned the right to snuggle in piece, irritating little sister excepted.
Baby Zirconia just lurking on meetings, like a cross between Jinx from Arcane and Damian Wayne; enjoy.
Funny thing is that she isn't lying about the fact that Nero would probably be happier if she was doing something else.
AJ would absolutely be a firefighter or something like that, she wants to help and she's too bullheaded to be a doctor or nurse; she charges head first into problems that other people run from.
Yeah AJ does not wear skirts, so she's basically wearing a suit or close to it….Definitely gonna put her in a suit for the inevitable tournament dance.
Oh yeah, AJ was gonna literally Hulk-Tear that shirt off if she had to….They've only been dating 'Officially' for a couple days but come on, they've both had massive crushes on each other for almost a year at this point; they're allowed to be pent up when they start making out.
Well at least Astra is self aware enough to know that they're fucking up and why.
Astra is also right on the popcorn debate, salt is not for popcorn, salty taste is for fries and semen.
Team NUGT exist as nothing more than the culmination of a dumb fucking joke AND YET Nugget the Chicken Faunus is the only character from this story who has any fan art.
Wolfram came out raring to go and let's be completely honest with one another here….If you didn't see where this was going then you're an idiot; I telegraphed it to fuck.
But here it is, the culmination of Astra and Wolfram's arcs together, the end of all of their bickering….Their first kiss was during a training exercise where they had to fight each other, now it ends here; poetry.

Thank you to Lurkweed and Major Brony for their reviews on the last chapter.
Gush to any degree that feels natural.
Yeah I'm having fun building Nero up and it's important that he isn't just he 'Evil billionaire'….This is a guy with a point to make and a plan, he's not a Jacques Schnee.
I will say nothing about his long term goals, other than that we will see more of the shape of them by the end of Vol.04.
I will commit to nothing...However, Astra and Regalia's shipname is "Scrapmetal"
Yeah, Regalia is owed some good things.
Carmesi is a true believer in Nero and Nero's plan.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.