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I am making no money from this.
Chapter 99: Underdogs
Astra had managed, albeit with some difficulty to clear away the fog of numbing, sickening worry that had been on the verge of consuming them before reaching the locker rooms where Athena-Jade was waiting for them just out of view a few rows of lockers away.
This was not to say that Astra was feeling confidant, though their thoughts seemed to be at least heading in something which resembled the right direction; specifically anything other than an endless spiral of defeatist misery.
Upon presenting the relevant identification to the people who oversaw entry to the changing rooms and other private and secured areas of the stadium and the aerial platform it was built on the Deer Faunus had been shown which direction they should head in to prevent them from venturing into lockers which were already taken, especially those being used by members of Team HONY and since arriving and exchanging only the briefest of pleasantries with Athena-Jade they had been sat in almost total silence.
Firstly they had emptied their pockets, Astra honestly questioned how much changing was done in these rooms though upon consideration realised that they could have at least brought a spare outfit to wear after their bout but the lockers all the same made a good place for them to keep things such as their keys, wallet and scroll to keep them being damaged whilst in their pockets. The scroll had been held back in order to exchange a few more messages and act as a mirror for Astra to reapply their signature make up to a standard they were happy with before being stowed alongside the other miscellaneous items and since then Astra had been simply listening to the muffled commentary of the bout between Atlas and Shade Academy students which would precede their own.
Upon realising that the match in question was reaching its' conclusion Astra let out a slow breath and rose to their feet, taking a moment to deploy and examine Buckshot Ares whilst cycling through each of the weapons' different components. They were exactly as pristine as expected, even after being handled by strangers to ensure that there had been no tampering and the familiar weight around their forearms was comforting to the leader of Team MARZ who quickly collapsed their weapons and made their way through the changing rooms to find Athena. The Bear Faunus had likewise arrived in her combat attire and regardless the pair had shared a dormitory for almost two years, meaning that despite the best efforts of all parties to maintain some standards and decorum there had been incidents where they had seen a touch more of one another than they would have liked.
As they approached with the intention of discussing strategy indecency was not something that Astra gave any consideration to, though it transpired that they perhaps should have.
"Hey AJ we need-HOLY SHIT, I'M SORRY!" Astra's voice raised even as it jumped several octaves and they all but threw themselves around the lockers to avert their eyes as though they expected a storm of gunfire to follow.
Which given what they had seen might be entirely appropriate.
"FUCK! WARN ME! Athena barked as she came into view a moment later, pale features flushed with the deepest shade of pink Astra had ever had encountered; though her clothes were fortunately in the correct place where previously her t-shirt had been hiked up to tantalise with the underside of her breasts visible and the many belts she wore to hold up her shorts had been unfastened whilst the shorts themselves were pulled low enough to display the merest hints of a trimmed patch of white curls, all of which had been in the view of her scrolls' camera
"Were you sending nudes?" Astra exclaimed, voice cracking as they struggled not burst into hysterical "Fucking seriously! Now?"
"Fuck off I-" Athena halted, letting out a low and wordless groan off raw embarrassment as she slapped a hand against her face and almost impossibly managed to blush more deeply before speaking in a much meeker tone
"I was nervous about the match and Hops and I don't….we've….I've never sent anything like that before, I've never taken those kinds of photos for anybody and I thought if I'm going to be nervous then I may as well be nervous about something I can do something about-"
"So you took your pants off….Perfectly sensible" Astra snorted, grateful at least for the fact their nerves had been abated for at least the moment, scoured away by their incredulity at the situation.
"You suck, you suck so fucking bad!" Athena gasped, evidently mortified by the idea of what had been intended as a risqué but ultimately private moment being intruded upon but understanding that ultimately had only herself to blame. The situation was prevented from being worsened however by Astra at least having enough of their wits about them to sense that someone was approaching the locker rooms from outside, with the unexpected break from procedure prompting the Deer Faunus to instinctively ready themselves and Athena-Jade to follow suit a moment later, the previous topic temporarily suspended as the sight of two shadows preceded the arrival of two new figures.
Astra and Athena relaxed immediately.
"Heh, surprised to see us?" Regalia beamed as she sauntered into the largely unremarkable space with an undeniable swagger and Zirconia following only a step behind.
"What are you two doing here?" Astra asked in open surprise, though the answer that they received was which, on reflection they felt that they could have expected.
"Every movie has a scene like this, the big pep-talk before a showdown" Regalia's expression brightened only to a falter "I don't know what I'm supposed to say but I wanted to wish you luck before you go out there….Heh, and Zirconia is scary good at getting into places"
"Zirconia should check her messages" Astra snickered, only to be immediately forced onto the defensive as Athena-Jade crossed the distance between them and began swatting at every inch of her team leader she could reach.
"You suck so fucking bad, you fucking pest!" the pale haired Bear Faunus exclaimed in horrified despair before quickly dragging Zirconia away from where Astra's attention could fall on either of them, though the Deer Faunus only laughed maniacally in response and offered a final taunt.
"No fucking! Or at least be quick about it, we've only got a few minutes!" Athena-Jade replied with words she would rather her parents never know were a part of her vocabulary, employed in a creatively vitriolic manner only for Astra to continue snickering to themselves until they caught sight of Regalia's shocked expression. It seemed that whilst the Racoon Faunus, after living within the crowded confines of her peoples' roving home was no stranger to the practicalities of sex there were still several matters in which she was sheltered and the movies she loved had done little to brace her for.
"You think they'd really do that here?" she asked in mild shock.
"It's a good way to get your head clear….Hell, I wouldn't say no to-" Astra stopped, mind screeching to a halt and jaw closing with an audible click as they realised not only what they had said but to whom they had said it "Sorry, my bad….Just forget I said that"
"Heh, it's fine" Regalia's smile wavered a little and Astra cursed themselves for even possibly making their partner and friend feel uncomfortable before they caught sight of the way she studied them as she asked "Are you okay?"
"Nervous as hell" Astra answered honestly, finding a faint smirk tugging at their lips before adding "I've managed to accept that I'm probably not gonna die, Honey's too nice for that….Still feel like this is gonna be bad though"
"She is nice, really nice" Regalia mused, bushy tail stiffening behind her and a faint look of concentration crossing her features before she came to a decision and pressed on "When I first realised….Y'know, stuff we talked about"
"Yeah" Astra nodded, throat suddenly dry as they considered broaching the subject of perhaps being open to dating Regalia at some point in the near future, as soon as they could be certain that they were in an adequate frame of mind to entertain such things.
"Well, she helped me figure it out….Because I was actually a little bit jealous of her and a little scared of her and she thought she'd done something wrong" Regalia gave a snorting laugh "Heh, really cliché"
"You never had anything to….I mean….Damn it this is hard to talk about without making an idiot of myself" Astra muttered, uncertain in ways they had not felt for some time now.
"We're getting away from the subject anyway. I came to wish you luck so….Good luck" before Astra could react Regalia had closed the distance between them and pulled her partner into a crushing hug and without the slightest moment of thought or hesitation Astra allowed themselves to melt into the contact.
Mind going entirely blank as they simply wrapped their arms around their partner and returned the hug.
"You can do this" Regalia said firmly "I know everyone has been saying stuff like 'it's okay if you lose this match' or 'you did well to get this far' or 'Honey really is one of the best'….Heh, that might all be true but you're my best friend and I'm gonna tell you what you need to hear"
"Which is?" Astra managed to murmur gently.
"I aint about how hard you hit, it's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward?" Regalia answered with a hint of uncertainty, as though she were unsure if the quote worked in the circumstances. Astra, as a silent response smiled and simply hugged her tighter as though they could wring an additional supply of hope and inspiration from the contact, whilst still forcing themselves not to become overly distracted by the enjoyable sensation of their partners' breasts and defined abs pressed against them along with the feeling of coarse but fluffy fur as they reached down to brush their fingers against her tail.
Until the sound of Athena-Jade clearing her throat left the two of them sputtering and breaking apart in what Astra could only consider a fair reversal of the embarrassment they had inadvertently inflicted on the Bear Faunus only a moment ago.
"Astra….It's go time" her voice was clear and determined, filled with a sense of steely and unwavering focus, only for it to drop to something conspiratorial as the Deer Faunus closed the distance between them "So….That was cute"
"Drop it AJ" Astra muttered back as the pair trudged towards the mouth of the tunnel that would lead out into the stadium.
"No seriously, happy for you two. Hops and I have noticed something going on" Athena's words were gentle and supportive and yet still Astra could not help but choke on air "Still, Regalia said you're still just friends….You didn't have to lie about it y'know, I wish you'd spoken to me; it would have been nice to wing woman for one of you, I almost kinda did earlier and-"
"We're not-" Astra interrupted only for words to fail them for a moment, making do with a sigh before adding "I told you that we spoke about dating a while ago, I don't know where I'm at mentally….Things are still complicated"
"Oh….Sorry then" Athena's brow furrowed as she remembered the conversation in question only to flash her team leader a toothy smile "I'll simplify things for you….Break Regalia's heart and I'll break your everything"
"Provided that Honey doesn't beat you to it" Astra murmured, turning their attention away from Athena-Jade to stare expectantly and with a rising sense of finality at the light which would turn green at any moment to signal that the two of them were to make their entrance.
"Nah" Athena-Jade's smile became a rictus grin as she began the process of stretching and shifting her weight in anticipation "We can do this….I've come a long way from doubting what we can do as a team"
Astra was genuinely touched by the comment but had no chance to put the sentiment into words.
The light was green.
As far as Yang Xiao Long was concerned the doubles round of the Vytal Tournament was off to an incredible start.
For one thing there were few if any words at her disposal which could do justice to the sense of pride which came with being in such an esteemed position, though she was certain Blake would be able to expand her vocabulary in that regard. Yang knew intellectually of course that she was a hero and a living legend in the eyes of much of Remnant, her fame having expanded out far beyond the circles of those who followed the activities of Hunters due to both her own actions in the fight against Salem and her connections to her sister, her marriage to Blake, association with the head of the SDC and the fame of her own children. Despite this however and despite having spent most of her adult life being offered sponsorships and advertising deals which even on their own could have paid for a lifestyle more luxurious than she was comfortable with there was something uniquely prestigious about being offered the role of being a commentator at the Vytal Festival, introducing the next generation of Hunters to Remnant and watching as they came into their own, her words and unique charisma being so well received that her return at future tournaments was almost assured being enough to ward off any claims of nepotism.
And more importantly to push aside any mention of how her own foray into the Vytal Tournament, or the tournament in which her children had faced one another had ended.
Beyond her own personal feelings on the matter and arguably more important however were the matches themselves and Yang could say without a doubt that they were amongst some of the best that she had ever had the privilege of watching. Each and every bout had involved dazzling arrays of ingenuity and technique which she could appreciate both on a technical level as an experienced Hunter and as a teacher of the craft but also on a more base level for the simple spectacle it presented; to say nothing of the incredible array of weapons and engineering brilliance which she would certainly be discussing with her sister at length when the two of them next had the opportunity for a proper catch up. The match during which the leader of Team TRQS had unlocked her Semblance, thereby securing another upset of a victory for her team at the last moment had been simply breathtaking and had been followed by an equally hard fought, albeit more acrimonious and dirty affair where students from Atlas and Shade fought with all of the ferocity that could be expected from such a match up; although as a teacher Yang would be sure to use her friendship with Gangrel Slate, the Combat Instructor of Atlas Academy and an old friend from Beacon to ask if deliberately hyperextending and dislocating an opponents' knee was something he expressly permitted his students to do in simulations.
The next match however was the one which Yang had been waiting for.
Athena-Jade Slate, daughter of none other than that same Gangrel Slate and Yang's own former team-mate Weiss Schnee; Yang's own niece or close enough to one given that Blake and Gangrel had spent time in the same foster home as children, along with Astra Mars who, for all of Yang's hardest attempts not to play favourites or have biases where her students were concerned had been one of her most promising students in recent years and had obviously only continued to grow exponentially since progressing to Breaktide Academy would be facing off against the child prodigy of the Arc family and one of few people to ever be compared favourably to Pyrrha Nikos, Honey Scarlatina, a young woman whose reputation preceded her no matter how visibly uncomfortable the thought clearly made her.
As she sat, impatient in a positive way, watching the ongoing festivals and music festivals being streamed from elsewhere in the city whilst safety checks and repairs on the stadium were concluded Yang gathered her thoughts, with her initial musings that despite her best efforts to keep up with what the teenagers were listening to these days and remain able to relate to her students they simply did not make the kind of sound she favoured any more being pushed aside by a more tangible complaint, namely that her uncle and co-host was currently nowhere to be seen and had been reserved in an unexpected way during the last match, one which left Yang trying to shore up the gaps in their customary back and forth.
"Firecracker" the gruff voice of the man in question announced his return in a way which any sounds caused by his movement had failed to, the chair-bound veteran Hunter simply appearing beside his niece as though summoned by the fact that he had been thought about.
"Are you okay?" Yang asked, frowning slightly at the sight of his grave expression "You're looking less 'Funkle' and more 'What the hell have you dunkle….man'"
"I need to leave….Do you think you can host the next match or two, maybe the rest of the day on your own?"
"I mean I can" Yang answered, vague confidence being replaced by a slight waver "But what's happening, are you okay?"
"I'm fine" Qrow's voice became a low growl "But before the last match I got what might be a lead on something….It might be nothing at all but it's one I feel like it's something I need to check, something I don't feel comfortable leaving until later"
"Oh" Yang's expression was suddenly focused and her tone businesslike "Are you sure you don't want backup?"
"I need you here, keeping the crowds' occupied and making sure nobody has reason to think anything is wrong….Nobody else I'd rather have doing that Firecracker" Qrow assured her "I'm not expecting this to turn violent, it's not that kind of lead; but I will send word to Scar and see if he's available to hang back just in case"
"Good" Yang nodded, a wicked grin forming on her face "You're getting too old to try and live up to the Saturday morning cartoons based on you-"
"Those cartoons were always trash and I'm not old" Qrow grumbled, shaking his head with a lopsided smirk which undercut his irritated tone "Just don't make so many puns that the audience start leaving early"
"Would I ever do such a thing?….Now, let's start this match off with a Yang" Qrow's deflated sigh did nothing to remove the smile from Yang's face as she reached out with a golden cybernetic limb to pull the microphone closer and mentally adjust the lines she needed to recite, her anticipation growing as she saw that the maintenance crews were steadily trickling away from the arena itself.
It was showtime.
One thing which Astra had failed to mentally prepare themselves for, despite having already experienced it during Team MARZ's previous outing and been suitably galled by it at the time was that they, despite being a team leader, a capable fighter with an impressive Semblance, more than moderately attractive according to several sources and at least in their own mind fairly likeable were still simply not even remotely as interesting to the crowd as Athena-Jade or Honey.
In fact one could be forgiven for forgetting that this was the doubles round entirely.
"I am so sorry about this" Athena-Jade mouthed, utterly aghast to such a degree that Astra believed her without question or hesitation even if it did very little in the face of the Deer Faunus's current annoyance.
"It's fine" they ground out "I knew you two were famous, I knew you had fans….I should have known that people were gonna be excited about seeing you two go head to head; it just really sucks feeling like an afterthought"
"You're not" Athena assured them and Astra merely huffed before turning their focus and sea-green gaze to the opposite side of the stadium where Honey and Yuki were already waiting for them, the golden haired Rabbit Faunus replete with her gold-trimmed and pristinely kept white armour whilst her partner looked as threatening and imposing as ever, the sense of menace that her sheer presence exuded being amplified by the long black hooded cloak she wore which currently blew out around her in the breeze to reveal more of the glossy black tactical armour beneath it whose design had been modified to include more prominent edges. Even the fact that the fingers of Yuki's black-painted cybernetic hand moved incessantly felt more like preparations than idle or nervous fidgeting, a condition worsened by the sight of the older students' weapon in its' collapsed form fitted around the limb.
Astra cursed with their own mind and forced the worry aside, it had been a long time sense anybody had been able to bully them and it was high time that they stopped acting like a scared child about this fight.
"Are you two ready for this?" they called out, aiming for a tone somewhere between conversational and challenging.
"Absolutely, it's gonna be so much fun!" Honey exclaimed happily, proving to Astra and Athena-Jade once again that she was, despite her fearsome reputation an utter darling "My cousin and your brother are watching this together right Astra? We've gotta give 'em a show….Oh and AJ, tell Arctus and Diamond I said congratulations please?"
"We're more ready than you" Yuki's answer was shorter and far more blunt, delivered with a fond smile at her partner and girlfriends' friendliness and chipper attitude only for the expression to turn almost hungry and predatory as she regarded her opponents.
"Y'know….I really struggle to like her" Athena noted quietly.
"Yeah but those two were really good to Regalia so we struggle as much as we have to" Astra muttered, choosing not to divulge more than that before adding "But that's for later, now we need to pull off the upset of the decade"
And suddenly there was no more time for talking.
At least on the part of the competitors.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN AND ESTEEMED OTHERS, SPORTS FANS AND CHILDREN OF ALL AGES….WELCOME TO THE MATCH THAT EVERYONE HAS BEEN WAITING TO SEE, THE UNDISPUTED MAIN EVENT OF THE DOUBLES ROUND!" Yang Xiao Long's voice boomed out through the stadium and despite any reservations of their own or thoughts that their former teacher might be laying it on a little thick the sight of Yuki rolling her eyes was enough for Astra to steel themselves.
"IN A LITTLE BIT OF A BREAK FROM THE NORMAL ANNOUNCEMENT ROUTINE" Yang continued unabated "WE HAVE THE SHOWDOWN OF A GENERATION RIGHT HERE FOLKS!"
"Here it comes" Athena muttered dryly "I love you Aunt Yang but damn it all"
"MY OWN NIECE, THE ONE YOU'VE ALL SEEN IN THE NEWSPAPERS, THE DAUGHTER OF THE MULTI-TALENTED WEISS SLATE, THE ONE, THE ONLY, THE UNSTOPPABLE ATHENA-JADE SLATE!" the crowd went absolutely wild and Yang's follow up was almost lost beneath the din "SQUARING OFF AGAINST THE NIECE OF BREAKTIDE ACADEMIES' HEAD FAMILY, THE LATEST MEMBER OF THE EXTENDED ARC FAMILY TO CARRY ON THEIR LEGACY, THE ONLY PERSON WHO CAN POSSIBLY LOOK THAT BASHFUL WHILST WEARING FULL PLATE ARMOUR….HONEY SCARLATINA"
Honey blushed at that and tried to bury her face in the gorget of her armour, a display which did something to allow Astra's irritation to subside.
"BUT THIS IS A TWO ON TWO MATCH!" Astra kept a sarcastic comment firmly under their breath at that "SO LET'S GIVE ALL OF OUR COMPETITORS TODAY THEIR DUE! REPRESENTING TEAM HONY AND THE HALO ACADEMY OF NEW VALE WE HAVE HONEY SCARLATINA AND YUKI CHIHEISEN, FACING OFF AGAINST THEM WE HAVE ATHENA-JADE SLATE AND ASTRA MARZ REPRESENTING TEAM MARZ AND THE BREAKTIDE ACADEMY OF MENAGERIE! MAKE SOME NOISE PEOPLE!"
The crowd obliged with gusto and Astra felt for a moment as though the aerial platform on which they stood might actually be at structural risk.
"They're cheering your name too" Athena-Jade noted, nudging her partner reassuringly with a powerfully built shoulder before reaching for where her weapon was stowed, prompting Astra to shift their weight and raise their arms into something approximating a guard; not quite showing poor form or worse still a punishable foul by starting before the signal was given but still ensuring they were ready and trying to carry themselves with something approaching confidence.
"Yeah, yeah they are" they breathed out simply.
"AND NOW, WITHOUT FURTHER ADO LET'S SEE WHAT KIND OF BATTLEFIELD THIS MATCH WILL BE TAKING PLACE IN!" at Yang's words the shielding flickered into life around the stadium and the expected cacophony of moving parts filled the air as rotating biomes moved into view. At the end of the display what had been produced was a mass of raised and craggy outcroppings which ranged in height from merely enough to injure calves and knees upon to small cliffs and rock faces around Team MARZ's side of the field whilst Team HONY had been provided with an urban environment which Astra knew from old photographs was reminiscent of a down-town area of old Vale, something which the grandparents they had never known might have resided in
"ON TEAM MARZ'S SIDE OF THE FIELD WE HAVE THE MINI-CLIFFS, TO KEEP THEM ON….EDGE" Yang's smirk was almost audible, though not so much as the assortment of cheers and boos in response to the pun "AND ON TEAM HONY'S SIDE OF THE FIELD WE HAVE THE URBAN BATTLEFIELD….FOR THE TEAMS TO GO TO TOWN ON"
This time the groans were clearly audible.
"BUT THAT'S ENOUGH FROM ME, I'M JUST AS EAGER TO SEE THIS AS YOU ALL ARE!" Yang's evident enthusiasm lent more than enough weight to her words and Astra found themselves grinning wildly with infectious energy "THREE! TWO! ONE!….BEGIN!"
Astra and Athena-Jade were in motion the moment the signal was given.
"Okay what's the plan?" Athena asked, using glyphs to keep her pace steady and remain level with Astra who moved from one piece of cover to the next with Buckshot Ares deploying as they sprinted, a look of concentration on their features.
"Honey is a massive threat at close range" they said quickly "The key is gonna be stopping her from dictating the range and pace, which means taking away Yuki's ability to-"
At that moment Yuki made her presence known.
Astra's world exploded into pain and blurred motion as the cover they had been crouching behind was simply obliterated by a crack of lightning, rock being blasted out in all directions whilst Astra themselves was sent toppling backwards, head over heels and hitting the ground several times before rebounding off of a glyph which Athena-Jade had put in place to keep them from being thrown from the arena with a single strike.
"WHAT AN OPENING!" Yang exclaimed "TEAM MARZ NEED TO PULL IT TOGETHER QUICKLY, TEAM HONY DID NOT COME TO PLAY GAMES!"
"Shit" Astra cursed simply as they pulled themselves back to their feet to see that across the arena and despite the assertions of Yang Xiao Long Honey and Yuki were both still standing in plain sight and were currently stationary, as if daring their opponents to make a retaliatory strike so that any errors could be exploited without mercy; though the two young women had their weapons deployed and Yuki wore a positively evil smile which could be seen through the smoke of her own weapons' discharge.
Yuki Chiheisen wielded though perhaps wielded may not have been the most accurate word given that it was integrated into her arm directly; in essence the weapon was in one form a three-pronged claw similar to that which might be found on an arcade game which reached out beyond her hand and could exert crushing forces or do horrific damage with its' sharpened tips, when transformed as it currently was however the weapon formed an almost cartoonishly oversized drill with similarly devastating close-quarters abilities in addition to an extra function, namely that it could use the vast amounts of Lightning Dust it was always loaded with along with the rotation of its' various internal and external components to fire bolts of lightning with impressive range and frightening results.
Honey on the other hand carried something more elegant, traditional and at the same time state of the art whilst at the same time being somehow far more frightening than her girlfriends' fearsome choice of weapon. She had named it Light-Motif and it was in essence an expansion of the principles her Aunt Velvet had employed; the weapon was comprised of two adjustable shafts and handles which held vast but compact stores of Hard-light Dust along with an emitter and additional caches of extra Dust in various varieties to allow for maximum variety whilst also being smaller overall and more Dust efficient than her aunts' weapon even if it did lack the scope for larger structures and transformations, the two handles also being able to combine did however go some way to combat the slight loss of versatility.
It essentially allowed Honey Scarlatina to carry the handheld weapons of any two Hunters she had encountered before, which given her family and her upbringing allowed her access to a vast arsenal which could then be customised and used in ways even the creators of those weapons had not created.
At present Honey seemed to be proving a point by having the two components of Light-Motif held separately, with one creating a replica of her cousin, Eagle Arc's sword and the other forming a copy of Magnhild which rested over one shoulder.
"Okay" Athena demanded, voice filled with sudden admiration and a healthy amount of panic as she fell into position beside Astra "How the hell do we deal with that?"
"I have no idea" they admitted, before realising that there was no more time for them to plan.
Honey and Yuki were launching their offensive.
Far from the roaring and dazzling spectacle of the Vytal Tournament where Astra Mars and Athena-Jade Slate were fighting with everything they had, in a place whose contrast was so sharp as to be an almost deliberate juxtaposition another pair of figures were about to begin a challenge of another kind, one in which they would conspire to further their distortion and perversion of the natural order in the name of science, progress and most damnable off all in the name of the bright new tomorrow they intended to be a part of.
Albion regarded his surroundings and allowed himself to show the faintest traces of a shudder as he exhaled.
It was time.
The Chamber had been emptied of all others for the time being, with Nero having departed from the city and Kingdom as a whole in order to ensure that his long term goals were not interfered with whilst Carmesi Hueso was on standby and ready to intercede should his presence be required, however the Komodo Dragon Faunus had been instructed to remain at a secondary location in order to reduce any possible risk of distraction, going so far as to take the Cyber-Grimm with him and have them distributed elsewhere and using the planned events to further other aspects of the overall operation.
In the silence that remained, free of almost all diversions Albion adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses and allowed his icy blue eyes to become hard and yet alight as determination and a lust for knowledge settled within him; the lights had been dimmed and many of the plethora of devices, consoles and implements around the periphery of the Chamber had been deactivated in order to reroute additional power to the weapons and shielding of the secret base, alongside the specific tools required for the task at hand, namely Albion's own console bank and multiple screens and a docking system which seemed to take vast amounts of inspiration from those used to create the Cyber-Grimm albeit far larger and more advanced than those which produced even the most complex of the new varieties of hybrid horrors to be manufactured. This docking system and the unfinished metallic husk which resided within it, suspended from the ground by chain and cables was connected to a mass of pipes and tubing which reached like some enormous and monstrous tentacles or other feelers back towards the cylindrical container which took up the rear of the Chamber, the fact that it was bathed in what meagre light remained and the focus of the various defensive precautions making the bloated and wretched form within the fluid-filled the obvious focal point for all which was to follow.
Gestalt-Prime writhed their segmented form eagerly in anticipation.
"It is time?" the hybrid Alpha whose original form had been sundered and unmade beyond all recognition by this point asked, a rare note of uncertainty in their inhuman voice as they swivelled and shifted their mass on the axis created by the mass of burrowing tissue and roots which held them inverted and fastened to the upper surface of the containment tube. As they spoke all four of their atrophied forelimbs shifted with something which, in a more humanoid form might have been agitation of nerves whilst the mechanical components of their segmented mandibles chittered and whirred and the many sensors fitted around their Cyclopean eye blinked and flashed erratically; though the singular hellish orb itself remained locked upon Albion who struggled to meet the inhuman stare without quailing under its' force.
"It's time" the scientist answered, busying his hands now by adjusting the collar of the lab-coat he wore overtop of his cream coloured suit. In response Gestalt-Prime swivelled again and sloshed the viscous liquid which they floated within, displaying more mobility and vitality than they had done in recent months; leaving Albion to watch with rapt attention and nevertheless an unwavering sense of revulsion which left the dark-skinned and white-haired man thankful that he was yet to eat anything as the warped and altered Grimm began to slowly collapse their own form, the various segments of distended flesh which had been stretched to translucence in order to contain the writhing and protean forms of the lesser Geist-eqsue things which were merged into the bodies of Cyber-Grimm violently imploding inwards with a series of muscle contractions which split rippling flesh along various seams and clouded the fluids of the tank with dissipating viscera.
"I am ready" Gestalt-Prime's voice, still bearing hints of screeching multitude it had once been; akin to trying to force speech patterns into the sound of tearing metal sounded strained as though, for all of their obscene power and durability the act of beginning the process of reshaping and unmaking themselves once again now that a true sense of self and attachment to a physical form had been established was an agonising one.
Albion took heart from that, the reminded that the monster before them could be felled being a welcome one.
"As am I" he nodded steadily "Though I must warn you….The process will be time-consuming and almost certainly painful"
"Time has lost meaning to me human, every moment I remain trapped within this ruined carcass is an eternity" Gestalt-Prime answered, showing an articulation which continued to astound and panic the man it was addressed at "I have experienced pain. This is not the first time my body was been remade in my own image or broken by other means"
"Then prepare yourself" Albion breathed out "Whilst the eyes of Remnant are elsewhere we have our opportunity"
With that the scientist began the process of beginning the final preparations and countdowns required for the creation process whilst Gestalt-Prime continued to liquefy and violate their own physical form in order to make their way through the cables and pipes and ooze themselves into the waiting metallic chassis which they would then sculpt and reform.
They would be not only the progenitor of the Cyber-Grimm, but also their first true Alpha and rightful leader.
Athena-Jade Slate had, much to the delight of the crowd found herself locked in combat with Honey Scarlatina.
Their exchanges of blows had been stretched across the centreline of the arena and yet had unleashed considerable destruction on the already artificially damaged cityscape and barren rocky surfaces sitting to either side of it, a pitched battle which had spanned the entire width of the arena several times over and conducted at near impossible speeds wherein individual assaults were only able to be parsed by the aid of a commentator well adjusted to such sights and the ability to replay incidents in slow motion for the crowds' benefit; though the cheering audience still felt the ground tremble with each particularly powerful strike all the same.
Refusing to allow doubts or fear to take any hold over her and using the fact that Yuki's opening gambit against Astra had led to the Deer Faunus keeping Team HONY's ranged fighter occupied Athena-Jade launched another barrage of attacks on Honey, not allowing herself to contemplate just how deftly the golden-haired Rabbit Faunus was keeping each series of attacks at bay in turn or how little effort she seemed to be expending in order to do it.
The first blow came as Athena charged and leapt from the craggy cliffs lining Team MARZ's half of the arena once again, hurling herself high into the air and readying Mould-Breaker in its' laser cannon form before firing from the hip in the next instant with a warping bass note and lance of ethereal green light which even Honey, for all of her vaunted power and skill was forced to react to urgently. The older girl crossed the Light-Motif across her chest and swiftly transformed each of its' components into a shield, one the broad surface which formed the sheath of Crocea Mors and the other Akuo, iconic shield of Pyrrha Nikos which were held at angles that allowed the hard-light constructs to diffuse an impressive amount of the attacks' power even as Honey was sent skidding backwards into the ruined cityscape and left with her armoured forearms smoking.
Pressing the advantage before even gravity could make its' presence known Athena-Jade conjured a glyph directly beneath her feet, coiled muscles exploding into motion once again as she struck the new surface and sprinting through the air as she shifted her weapon into its' hammer form and allowed it to trail behind her as she held it in one hand and used the other to unleash a saw-bladed and rotating glyph directly at Honey's face which the older and taller Huntress dropped into a low crouch and pulled her rabbit ears down over her face to avoid with a yelp. With her opponents' attention momentarily taken away from her Athena zigzagged through the air, changing the direction and height of her approach in order to deliver a crushing blow from an unexpected angle with the Dust powered booster fitted into the cylindrical head of her hammer blazing into life and transforming the strike into a blur of motion which carved an arcing path of destruction through everything it came close to.
Honey Scarlatina evaded the blow.
Rabbit Ears twitching minutely gave the briefest of warnings that were all but impossible to act upon before the Third Year student through herself into a backflip wherein she kicked Athena-Jade squarely in the chest, allowing the Bear Faunus's strike to pass under her before landing and closing the distance again with a spearing lunge wherein she used the Light-Motif to create twin copies of the immediately recognisable Myrtenaster.
Thunder sounded in Athena-Jade's ears and whatever comment her Aunt Yang had yelled out to the evidently impressed crowd went unheard by the girl who was simply galled at her opponents' choice to use her own mothers' sword against her in such away. The initial strike was blocked with a series of small glyphs which once again forced the pair apart, though only by a few feet and though Athena let out a wordless growl of exertion and the first half a dozen glowing constructs fell apart as hard-light blades were forced through them the small and stocky Bear Faunus ultimately prevailed, forcing Honey to block once again with a backswing of her hammer which was parried and redirected by a glowing copy of blades which had once belonged to Fox Alistair, the glowing form of weapons which had been shown to Honey by her aunts sparking as the shaft of her opponents' weapon scraped along them before Athena struck again, this time stepping up onto a hastily created glyph at chest height and throwing herself into a somersault intended to conclude with a downward slamming attack.
Honey prepared a shimmering facsimile of her Uncle Yatsuhashi's oversized sword and prepared to prove once again that she could equal the power at her opponents' disposal only to realise a moment later that the blow itself was a ruse of sorts as a glyph began to form at her her feet; she blocked the overhead hammer blow only for the ground to erupt in icy spears. Honey leapt and flipped from one rising and jagged spire to the next only to be caught off-guard in a fraction of a second between leaps as her opponents managed to draw close and deliver and leaping, acrobatic cartwheeling kick in mid-air which was rendered more inconvenient that painful as it thudded against her armour.
As Athena-Jade set about lining up another oblique angle of attack Honey took the moment to begin slipping into alleyways and rubble-strewn side streets of her own side of the field which she had sent backwards into, only for Athena to deploy her laser again in order to lance through several walls and begin bringing buildings down in display which was sure to please the crowds.
Honey merely pursed her lips for a moment before responding.
Privately, with adrenaline singing its' way through her veins and every nerve alight Athena thought she might have been making progress or at the very least putting on an admirable show, sharp teeth clenched too tight to allow any sort of witty banter between her opponent and herself as she managed to, against all odds put the prodigal student on the defensive; yet all of her feelings of pride and accomplishment were snatched from her in an instant by the sight on Honey leaping into the air and moving with speed and grace that defied all physics and sense; the golden-haired girl bounded from one piece of falling rubble and debris to the next as though it were nothing more than a child's game of hopscotch and as she did so Athena saw, with rising panic that the Rabbit Faunus had combined the two halves of the Light-Motif into a single weapon which she then activated.
Produced a double-ending replica of Crescent Rose.
Once again Athena found herself unable to enjoy her Aunt Yang's assessment of the ongoing fight as was instead forced to flee the wrath of her opponent. Ruined buildings which she attempted to perch on or take cover behind were sundered completely each time Honey threw the weapon and allowed it to return to her hand in a way which put Carmesi Hueso's use of his own rotating blade to shame; finally catching Athena in mid air and shattering the glyph she had been using to bridge a gap between buildings to send her toppling to the ground.
Even then the assault did not end.
"WITH HER OWN WEAPON!" Yang's words seemed to penetrate through Athena's panicked and thrilled daze enough for her to drag herself more quickly into a crouch from which she could defend herself more adequately, swinging Mould-Breaker with all of its' Dust-enhanced might and throwing up glyphs at the head of the weapon all on simple, yet relentlessly honed instinct. The Bear Faunus's sharp instinct proved to be the only thing which spared her from certain defeat at Honey drew close and with the Light-Motif still its' combined form created a copy of Mould-Breaker which, owing to being formed from both halves of the generator was in fact larger than the original and indeed far larger than Athena herself whilst also being infused with both Fire and Gravity Dust.
Athena was flung backwards with such force that when the dust settled she remained crouched in the base of a shallow trench-like crater carved several dozen feet along the surface of the battleground with a glyph flickering behind her to indicate that her Semblance had spared her from being forcibly ploughed into the arena.
As the ringing in hear ears subsided and was replaced by the din of the crowd Athena realised that her opponent was talking to her.
"Hey, this really is fun" Honey shifted her weight from foot to foot and gestured for Athena to stand, even now being generous and sportsmanlike enough to allow her opponent to rise and continue to fight; an opportunity with Athena gratefully took.
"Yeah it is" she managed to flash a toothy smile despite the leaden weight in her arms and pain in her shoulders "I think the crowd are definitely enjoying it"
"Oh sure" Honey beamed, far too kindly and cheerily for one as ferocious in combat as herself "Two of the most famous competitors still in the competition, ties to famous families of Hunters and we're having a proper showdown against each other…..But can I ask you something?"
"Sure" Athena nodded, happy for a chance to simply catch her breath after successive avalanches of attacks had proven to be for nought.
"I get not wanting to be caught up in the family name and wanting to be your own person, not stuck with a load of baggage and expectations and stuff….I really, really do" Honey began with an earnestness which caught Athena by surprise only for the snowy haired girl to be further baffled as her opponents' expression turned stern.
"But why the heck are you holding back?"
"What? I'm not-"
"Yes you are" Honey was fierce now, shoulders hunching into something much more close to a proper fighting stance "We all saw what you can do in the last round, this isn't anything close to that….Don't tell me you've given up?"
"Given-" Athena-Jade remained fixed to the spot for a second, utterly stunned by the temerity of the accusation; a moment later a sound escaped her, one which even Honey for all of her well-deserved reputation was forced to be wary of.
A soft chuckle, growing steadily into manic cackling?
"Me give up?" Athena demanded as she twirled her hammer and braced herself "You've got no idea who you're talking to!"
"Sounds like I'm talking to the real Athena-Jade right now" Honey's eyes gleamed with something proud and hungry, a chance for her to be tested once again against another relentless and overwhelming force as the Bear Faunus prepared to truly throw all restraint aside and begin fighting this battle in earnest.
"I was trying to play smart Honey, save my strength and hold something back for the long game!" the younger girl bellowed, eyes flashing with an emotion mixed of rage and glee "BUT IF YOU WANT EVERYTHING I'VE GOT THEN LET'S DO THIS!"
Within her own mind Athena-Jade simply allowed herself to give into the joy of being able to indulge her most gung-ho urges and make good on her promises to Astra; that this battle would be a spectacle no matter its' outcome.
Glyphs swirled and overlapped at her back, beginning to form incandescent wings and claws as she put the technique she had added to the legacy of the Schnee family Semblance into use.
Astra was certain, for a brief delirious moment that they could hear Regalia's voice clearly amidst the chorus of thousands and that the Racoon Faunus was urging them onwards, assuring them that they could indeed do this.
And then reality reasserted itself in the form of another crushing blow which managed to, conversely almost knock Astra senseless.
The leader of Team MARZ would admit, though likely never in the presence of their current adversary that upon being informed by Professor Branwen that Yuki Chiheisen was comparable to her partner in terms of the threat she posed they had been tempted to scoff and laugh and had only restrained themselves from doing so out of respect for the professor who would certainly not take kindly to such behaviour; Astra had fought Honey Scarlatina previously and found such claims simply preposterous. Such thoughts were a luxury which Astra had been thoroughly disabused of since their bout had started however, with Yuki's opening attack threatening to end their time in the Vytal Tournament in a single blow and everything which had followed in its' wake being similarly obscene in its' heavy-handed might.
With the latest assault coming from Tundra Cyclone in its' drill form.
"THAT'S A BIG HIT FROM CHIHEISEN BUT MARS IS MANAGING TO HOLD HER AT BAY FOR THE TIME BEING!" Yang's declaration barely reached Astra's ears over the sound of steel meeting Hard-light and stone being cracked around them as Yuki drove into them, a single-handed thrust of the weapon mounted into her cybernetic arm providing enough force to send the Deer Faunus skidding backwards in a cloud of dust and gritting their teeth through the pain which lanced through their arms and back under the jarring impact, forcing Astra to defend themselves and once again use the shield component of Buckshot Ares which in turn forced them to stop shooting.
Allowing Yuki to dictate the range, direction and pace of the fight once again.
"Oh they've seen nothing yet" she chuckled darkly, the force of her collision into Astra' immovable defence having freed a few strands of hair from the twin buns she wore and allowed them to fly free, giving her a manic but unmistakably fierce and imposing look when combined with the predatory grin she wore. Before Astra could react Yuki pressed her advantage by halting Cyclone Tundra and unfurling the drill into its' three-pronged claw form, the size and reach of the weapon allowing in this form its' individual digits allowing Yuki to begin reaching around the edges of the curved wall of rose-tinted Hard-light Dust Astra was using to keep her at bay.
"You think that's gonna be the move that wins you this?" Astra demanded, suddenly incensed at what they felt was a cheap trick in comparison to everything they had seen thus far and without hesitation the Deer Faunus responded, breaking their shields apart, allowing their forearm mounted blades to slide into place and unleashing a wide slash aimed for the inner workings of their opponents' weapon and the mechanical limb it was attached to and then using the moment of respite the counterattack bought them in order to bring their Semblance rushing into life.
Astra had already learned over the course of this fight that allowing their Aura construct to envelop them and increase their size and power simply transformed them into a far larger and harder to defend target and that their Semblance was one that could only be used sparingly and in short bursts against Yuki, though their initial burst of light, power and motion was rewarded with cheers from the audience and more importantly a satisfying thudding impact as they raised their leading leg and delivered a snapping front-kick whilst using their Semblance self to close the distance and strike Yuki in the midsection. As their glowing and fiery red Aura construct continued to grow Astra shifted their weight and brought an ephemeral right arm wheeling overhead for a wild and scarcely coordinated downward punch intended to slam their opponents' prone form several inches into the craggy rock on which she had been sprawled only for Yuki Chiheisen to prove herself more than capable of holding her own against such an obvious ploy.
"Not bad kid! But nowhere near good enough!" her convictions were given credence as she threw herself onto her back and met Astra's downward strike with an upward thrust of Cyclone Tundra which had remained in its' claw form, the grasping and oversized thing closing around the fist and forearm of Astra's Semblance self before rotating at a dangerous speed.
"WHAT A COUNTER! A CLAWSOME COMEBACK!" Yang's voice filled the arena and yet went unheard by Astra whose senses were instead overwhelmed by the mental feedback of having the arm of their Semblance self broken and torn away at the middle of the forearm as the spinning claw shattered the limb and reduced it falling, fading fragments like a cascade of embers and broken glass; the onslaught continued however and Yuki capitalised on Astra's stunned and pained condition by shifting her weapon into its' drill form from whence its' rotation increased to a more dizzying speed and Dust caches built around the elbow and bicep were engaged once more to send a lightning bolt arcing forward.
Blasting the head of Astra's Semblance construct apart.
The Deer Faunus was blind, deaf and utterly lost for a single fleeting moment before sensation was returned to them in the form of a painful crack as they fell to the ground, back and shoulder striking the edge of one of the miniature cliff-faces lining Team MARZ's half of the arena with enough force to crush the stone and leave Astra spinning as their descent finally carried them to a face down position on the ground. Time ceased to exist and the world was reduced to pain, nausea and a blur of spinning colours and a ground that seemed to sway and shift beneath their face as Astra dragged themselves to their feet and fought the urge to retch and heave for just long enough to become at least vaguely aware of the sound of their opponent rushing towards them once again.
"AND YUKI CHIHEISEN IS ON THE OFFENSIVE WITH THAT DRILL OF HERS, USING SHOCK AND ORE TACTICS!" Yang announced as the Third Year student once again fell upon her still staggering and dazed opponent, Astra managing to deflect the incoming drill of Tundra Cyclone with a glancing blow with the edge of their shields which they followed up by deploying the guns of Buckshot Ares and firing wildly, bullets ripping through stone and flinging dust and debris into the air which Yuki slipped behind as she was forced to make a hasty and yet temporary retreat. As the dust settled and Astra finally became more fully aware of their surroundings the Deer Faunus came to understand that they were breathing heavily and reduced to faintly trembling as their shoulders heaved and arms shook with each ragged pant and that they had found themselves in something of a pit within Team MARZ's side of the arena caused by cliffs and rocky outcroppings, along with blasted rubble surrounding them on all sides to create the sensation of an arena within an arena where Yuki remained perched some distance away and several feet above them as she watched her opponent intently.
Yet she refrained from attacking.
"You okay there kid?" the hostile fury that had laced her words and been prevalent in each of her actions abated and Astra, rattled as they were managed a weak and shaky laugh.
"Is now the best time to ask, you were literally in the middle of kicking my ass?" Yuki merely shrugged in response, her weapon shifting in response to the motion in a way which suggested that it was truly a part of her body whilst connected to her cybernetic arm.
"Didn't realise you couldn't see until you started shooting like that" she answered with a faux nonchalance which struggled to match something almost sheepish at odds with her customary demeanour "I'm good and I know I am kid, I've gotta be if I wanna have Honey's back….But come on I'm not an asshole"
"Yeah, apparently I need to thank you two for helping Regalia-"
"That was more Honey's idea than mine" Yuki chuckled "But seriously kid I like you guys, your team are cool. I wanna win, but I don't wanna be a dick to you about it….I'm not actually trying to hurt you for real"
"Well if you're that sure you're gonna win" Astra splayed their arms wide, general competitiveness being tinged with mild annoyance at Yuki's certainty at the outcome despite how reasonable it seemed at the moment to produce a wicked smile "Come and take a shot"
"Oh you got it!" with that Tundra Cyclone split into its' claw form and Yuki leapt, Astra retaliating by leaping upwards and using the surface of a craggy and uneven cliff-face in order to vault and leap towards their foe, an aerial spinning kick slipping beneath Yuki's guard and striking her in the ribs whilst Yuki's weapon clipped the Deer Faunus to throw the two of them back in opposite directions; each fighter sharing a savage look at satisfaction as they landed in matching crouches on opposite sides of the small enclosure of sorts in which they had previously been fighting before looking down, towards one another and then at a point ahead which they both raced for, seeking to move close the distance and at the same time ensure that the next exchange of blows took place on more even ground where they could move more freely.
The sound of the thrilled audience was lost beneath the sound of weapons discharging and both Astra and Yuki's Auras rippled visibly as bullets, bolts of Dust-made lightening and debris ripped loose by the firestorm pattered against them until finally Yuki was caught off guard and torn from her feet by an attack coming from an unexpected angle, lancing downwards from above to blast the older student into the air.
"AND SLATE MAKES A DARING BREAK FROM HER FIGHT WITH SCARLATINA IN ORDER TO OFFER AND ASSIST!"
"You know I'm not letting that slide right!" Yuki raged as she leapt to her feet, words seemingly directed at both of her opponents though her gaze trailed from the airborne and currently winged form of Athena-Jade Slate who was already slipping out of range back down to Astra on the ground as she added, with a faintly bemused smirk "Well it's been fun….But honestly this way is better, she did want a rematch with you, she wanted to see if you've improved from that expo you were both at"
A moment later Astra was flung back as lighting struck them again and as they rose to their feet, chest tight and burning they found that Yuki had already broken off and instead they would be facing a much more easily quantifiable threat.
Honey Scarlatina was advancing on them with a hard-light sword in each hand and a determined smile on her face.
Deploying the personal technique which she had added to the legacy of her family and its' inherited Semblance had earned Athena-Jade the favour of the crowd to a degree far beyond the support she had already enjoyed, the moment wherein she took to the air on incandescent wings being cheered on by thousands with her Aunt Yang proudest among them, representing the culmination of the Bear Faunus's hard work, a callback to her teams' previous victory and a turning point where the younger student had ceased to be such an obvious underdog as her first aerial pass forced Honey onto the defensive.
And yet still it had netted her less progress than she would have liked.
For several minutes she and the golden-haired Rabbit Faunus had continued to trade blows at lightning speed across the arena an even in the air on several occasions, summoned claws meeting hard-light weapons time and time again in a contest of skill, willpower and ingenuity. Glowing wings being shorn close to the shoulder by a sword which Athena vaguely recognised as belonging to an older Halo Academy student, Honey's glowing blades in turn being shattered beneath a mighty swipe of conjured Beowolf limbs which were obliterated a moment later as the Third Year student combined and twirled her weapons, a monstrous creation which bore the head of Crescent Rose at one end and Magnhild at the other breaking the claws apart in a shower of shimmering sparks before the two girls could lock weapons once more, Mould-Breaker being swung in its' hammer form being met by Honey wielding a weapon by the name of 'The Batwing' which had allegedly belonged to an Atlesian Hunter whose family Athena-Jade realised she was somewhat familiar with. The exchange had ended in indignity for the younger Faunus as Honey had managed leap onto the shaft of her weapon and send her sailing back through the air with a punishing kick to the face, slamming painfully against the wall of a ruined building somewhere within Team HONY's side of the arena.
This brief pause in the hostilities however had allowed Athena-Jade to shift her weapon into its' ranged form and compose herself, taking several steadying breaths before bringing her partial summon, the technique which she realised she needed a more grandiose name for raging back into life and from there taking to the air above the battlefield once again, this time with a plan in mind.
Her intentions were simple and yet showed the kind of quick-witted cunning which she admired in Astra and she hoped that the Deer Faunus would appreciate her efforts; realising that it would likely take the best of efforts of the two of them combined to overwhelm Honey Scarlatina Athena intended to switch opponents with her team-mates, hoping that Astra could hold the leader of Team HONY at bay whilst she attended to Yuki, whom she felt inclined to believe would be less challenging and from there the two of them could work in tandem.
With her plan set in motion all that remained was for her to defeat Yuki Chiheisen, something already proving vastly more difficult than anticipated.
Honey had broken off to engage Astra in a showdown between team leaders and a supposed repeat of their previous outing against one another and now Athena was in the air raining down crackling, thrumming beams of light which left the air around her tingling in an attempt to gun down Yuki Chiheisen which grew steadily more frantic as the older girl evaded assault after assault and steadfastly refused to fall again.
"AT THE RISK OF SOUNDING LIKE I'M COACHING MY NIECE OR BEING FAR TOO BIASED HERE-" Yang's voice intruded upon Athena's worried thoughts, prompting a bemused snort and muttered comment about it being far too late for that now "SLATE IS GONNA NEED TO CHANGE HER TACTICS IF SHE WANTS TO BE IN WITH A CHANCE, CHIHEISEN IS ON THE MOVE AND IT LOOKS LIKE SHE HAS A PLAN!"
"Crap!" the airborne Bear Faunus cursed in surprise, paying more attention to the scene as a whole and allowing a touch of anger to creep into her thoughts on realising that she had allowed herself to fixate on a single target to the exclusion of all else. Yuki had not simply been running from barrages of laser beams but had in fact been sprinting at full-tilt towards Team HONY'S side of the arena and more specifically one of the tallest of the faux ruins within it, a structure which put Athena uneasily in mind of the battle in the heart of Port Alistair the previous summer. Eventually Yuki reached the wall of her target and left the crowd openly amazed and Athena more begrudgingly impressed as she began to sprint vertically along its' surface without the use of a Semblance, simply implements in her boots similar to those worn by Laser Greenback and simple determination.
"IT LOOKS LIKE SHE'S BRINGING THE FIGHT TO YOU AJ!" with her Aunt Yang's voice spurring her into action Athena gave a toothy smile as the bout, for a single fleeting moment seemed to become something she was more readily familiar with and felt prepared for and she fired her weapon from the hip, its' recoil pushing her back several feet through the air and sending a lancing beam of light through the outer wall of the building Yuki was scaling several floors above her and sending chunks of falling debris into the older students' path.
Yuki countered.
Time seemed to slow to a crawl and Athena could do no more than watch in shock as Yuki not only continued forwards but leapt upward to drive the claw of Tundra Cyclone into the largest chunk of the falling wreckage, a mass of stone, masonry and rebar larger than Yuki herself which the Third Year student used her weapon and all of her Aura-fuelled strength to seize and pull into a spinning motion which culminated in what appeared to be a throw only for Yuki to simply not release the wreckage and instead allow herself to be towed along behind it.
With propulsion handled, in the most comically unhinged of manners Athena was forced to try and evade as her opponent turned her attention to attacking; doing so by revealing yet another function of her weapon and sending its' three-pronged claw outwards, digits splayed wide with a motion which ripped the debris she was holding apart and sent skull-sized chunks flying out in all directions; weaving through the air and creating glyphs with which to block and keep herself from being pelted distracted Athena for just long enough for Yuki to activate the Lightning Dust stores of Tundra Cyclone once again and send lightning bolts arcing through the air from the tips of the whirring claws to strike falling debris and blast it apart with explosive force.
"OH YOU'VE GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!" Athena demanded in open outrage, forgoing her chance to counterattack in favour of gesticulating wildly at the sight which greeted her; namely that of Yuki hovering unsteadily in the air as her weapon, which still crackled with lingering power served as a propeller.
"Oh behave, it's no worse than your parent having a glider mode for their weapon!" Yuki shot back, punctuating her words with a smug grin which Athena could not help but find a little impressive when paired with the way her outfit fanned out dramatically around her. A frown crossed the Bear Faunus's face as she realised that she had no answer to that particular point
So instead she opened fire again.
"Damn it, DAMN IT!" She felt her composure slipping and a fury beginning to build up within her once again as Yuki simply collapsed her weapon in mid-air and allowed herself to fall towards the roof of another faux building with breathtaking control, avoiding lasers as she went. Sensing that this was not a fight she could win from range the way she had planned to Athena instead shifted Mould-Breaker back into its' hammer form and readied her incorporeal Beowolf claws before diving towards Yuki in the moment she landed on the edge of a roof in a crouch.
Yuki lunged and the two met with a thunderclap which shook the arena.
Athena had no chance to ponder exactly how Yuki had mustered such force, if it were a Semblance or some other unseen piece of equipment she had carried into battle; instead there was a moment where she was swooping at her foe with her weapons at the ready and then in the next moment the Third Year student was directly in front of her, cybernetic arm reared back and Tundra Cyclone taking on its' drill form so that it could be thrust forward like a spear at Athena's chest.
"You did good kid, you should be proud honestly! But here's where this ends for you!" the older girl exclaimed forcefully as she struggled to overcome Athena's defences whilst simultaneously keeping the Bear Faunus from countering by perching on the head of her hammer much as Honey had done previously, keeping Athena from using any of her impressive hand to hand or close quarters fighting.
"Pleased with less than a win? You clearly don't know me!" Athena replied, every word a challenge as she engaged the Dust booster in the head of Mould-Breaker and began to spin through the air at a dizzying speed in a desperate attempt to shake Yuki free whilst at the same time using the Beowolf arms she had summoned, each of which conjured a Glyph of its' own in an effort to block Yuki's drill-arm.
"I don't need to know you to know how this ends!" Yuki's voice cracked under strain of exertion and yet her efforts were rewarded as she once again used the attack which had served as her opening to the match and discharged a bolt of lightning from the tip of her drill, this time at almost point blank range.
Athena's Semblance shattered and crackling arcs of lightning wreathed her body as she was sent streaking through the air towards the forcefield protecting the stadium beyond the arena.
"No!" she managed to gasp the word out even as every muscle convulsed and betrayed her and her breathing was made difficult by the smoke billowing from her body along with the burning and seizing of her chest yet still, even with her Aura visibly wavering she refused to be defeated. Her world narrowed to a single point, every sound and sight beyond that of Yuki Chiheisen now in the distance becoming unimportant as Athena used the last of her strength to shift her weapon back into its' laser mode and take aim at an opponent who was now falling through the air and had no means to evade.
Athena fired.
In the next moment pain engulfed her once again as she struck the forcefield and her Aura collapsed entirely; what followed was a moment of insensate uproar from the crowds, taken up primarily by the overwhelming feeling of dread as the ground, particularly the very edge of the arena itself rushed up to meet her at a frightening speed.
Then there was only silence.
Athena had struck the edge of the arena head first, neck bending at angle that was upsetting to watch before the teenage girl rolled over the edge of the arena, weapon slipping from her fingers and simply remained limp and crumpled on the ground with her head visibly and profusely bleeding for several moments wherein the entirety of the stadium, her fellow combatants and her aunt within the announcers' box could only wait in petrified silence, a single bated breath shared between them.
And then Athena-Jade slate sputtered back into consciousness and dragged herself to her feet, weak, unsteady and nauseous with the pain which had overtaken her entire being; her vision swimming and rendered lesser by both her inability to open her left eye and the blood now pouring into her right from where her scalp had been split on the edge of the stadium. Fighting the urge to vomit and forcing herself to remain where she was she found herself doing the only thing that made sense in that moment, raising a single hand and giving the crowd, her friends and family watching her and all of Remnant a thumbs up.
"AND THAT IS WEISS SCHNEE'S DAUGHTER EVERYONE!" Yang Xiao Long's voice exploded through the air "A DOUBLE TAKE OUT IN THE DOUBLES ROUND AND SHE FOLLOWS IT UP WITH A DAMNED THUMBS UP; LIKE MOTHER LIKE DAUGHTER AND WEISS I KNOW YOU'RE LOVING EVERY MOMENT OF THIS AT HOME!….THAT LAST HIT FROM SLATE TOOK THE LAST OF CHIHEISEN'S AURA AND WAS IN BOUNDS, SLATE'S AURA WAS BROKEN AND SHE WAS REMOVED FROM THE ARENA; WHICH MEANS BOTH TEAM HONY AND TEAM MARZ ARE DOWN TO THEIR LAST FIGHTER!"
Athena had done it, she managed a weak and toothy smile as her perceptions became skewed and muddy, the entire world seeming to tilt.
"It's up to you now Astra….You can do it" she mumbled as she finally allowed herself to collapse, vaguely aware of medical staff already rushing to catch her.
Author's Notes:
FIRST OF ALL, 150K VIEWS ON FF NET.
Also, I didn't intend to drop a chapter on the same day Vol.09 came out but now I kinda wish I'd planned a little better; maybe I could have gotten the milestone 100th chapter out on the same day a new volume dropped but oh well, chapter 99 on Vol.9 day.
Anyway….How about that for a start to the mid-season finale? How about that for an end to a chapter?
ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?
….Next chapter is the 100 Chapter milestone and the mid-season finale of Vol.06, get ready we're gonna have some fun.
But anyway, let's summarise shall we?:
Seriously I imagine accidentally showing up at your opponents locker is probably one of the biggest pre-match fuck ups you can make.
Changing rooms when everyone wears one outfit all season are kinda funny when you think about it, although as of Vol.8 we have a canon answer because we saw Mercury packing multiple copies of the same outfit.
There are no excuses for going on camera without properly applied mascara and eyeliner.
Oh come on, there's no that it hasn't happened; there are definitely students who have fucked or taken nudes in those changing rooms before….AJ is just following tradition.
Also, AJ has bush enjoy the mental image you horny fuckers.
I mean "If I'm gonna be nervous then I'm picking why" is a completely sound argument.
Regalia is right of course, sneaking into the lockers for a prep talk is tradition.
"Zirconia is scary good at getting into places" oh dear.
I originally had Astra finish the sentence and say they would probably get head if they could, but then I realised that Regalia is Demisexual/Romantic and on top of her usual willingness to try new things if it was Astra who asked….She's have their cock in her mouth within a minute. So instead we get Astra cutting themselves off and worrying about making Regalia feel awkward or uncomfortable.
fter all those movies Regalia really can give a good pep talk and a good hug, both of which were needed.
So now Athena-Jade and Zirconia are the ones just assuming Astra and Regalia are a thing, oh how the turntables-
"I've come a long way from doubting what we can do as a team" oh that's gonna sting by the end of the volume.
Yang is living her best life, as she should.
But also yeah, going into a Vytal Tournament with the name Xiao Long seems to be a bad idea.
Ruby is more openly the weapons geek but you can't tell me that Yang isn't just as much of a nerd about engineering and the two of them, with Penny definitely involved absolutely geek out together.
Vaccuo Vs Atlas is always dirty, in earlier stories in this series there are Atlesian characters who refer to telling someone to fuck off as "The Vaccuan response".
And Gangrel Slate of Team GRAP, my first RWBY OC absolutely teaches his students to fuck opponents up.
Compared favourably to Pyrrha Nikos, let that sink in.
"You're looking less 'Funkle' and more 'What the hell have you dunkle….man'" that was some excellent punnery on my part and you know it, fully in character whilst getting the Dunkleman in from Yang.
So Qrow heard from Astra that Nero wants to start up his own defence force and now he's going to chase that up; the tide might just be changing….Except Nero is already out of the Kingdom.
Sorry Astra, we as the readers love you….But you really are second fiddle.
Honey and Yuki will both fuck you up, but Yuki looks like it.
Honey remains a darling and that fact she and Eagle Arc are cousins and thus she's sort of loosely connected to AJ and Astra through their siblings continues to be a cute thing.
Yang absolutely hamming it up with the announcements is just fun to write.
Honestly thank fuck the singles round doesn't have terrain and biomes cos coming up with new stuff to use in interesting ways is getting to be a challenge….Although I realise that we've had Ice fields, but never snow.
Qrow warned Astra about Yuki and they still focused on Honey….They paid for that.
But more importantly we finally get to see Team HONY's weapons, or at least these two; Yuki has Tundra Cyclone which is a claw, drill, lightning thrower and Honey has Light-Motif, which is basically a variant of Velvet's weapon.
But the tournament isn't the only thing happening, Nero did tell Zirconia that something would be happening when they spoke last chapter.
Honestly this scene is more just to serve as a filler and something to transition to and from between the fight scenes, whilst also setting up for the meat of the thing next chapter.
Yeah enjoy the mental image of Gestalt-Prime casually collapsing their own organs and Grimm-spawning sacs.
Gestalt-Prime new body pending.
Of course the crowd wanted Honey and AJ to face off.
Double shields….Come on now, that's Astra's thing.
Glyphs mean that AJ can actually double jump.
The image of the rabbit Faunus having to duck her ears did make me smile.
Double Myrtenaster acting is just taking the piss.
A mini city fight, with AJ's laser ripping through buildings, 'cos we haven't had a city fight in a while and we're due for one.
The rubble-sprint and double Crescent Rose was cinematic as fuck in my head, the weapon reveal being like the first time we saw Darth Maul's double-bladed lightsaber….With an even bigger version of Mould-Breaker to follow it up.
Absolutely a darling, letting AJ get up and everything.
Oh boy, she brought AJ's pride into it….May as well have just gone and challenged AJ from the first few chapters.
The end of the scene felt pure anime though.
I actually initially planned for the Astra Vs Yuki scene to be from the perspective of Regalia and Zirconia in the crowd, but we'll see them again next chapter.
Astra was right when they said controlling the range and pace of the fight would be key, but Yuki already figured it out as well.
The claw being able to reach around the forcefield just felt right, otherwise Astra having a shield feels a bit too much; besides Yuki fights Grimm that are bigger than people.
Giant body = giant target, gotta use that Semblance carefully especially in a fight where you can lose by ring-out.
That was an absolutely brutal counter from Yuki and could have been a cliffhanger on its' own.
I have actually used Shock and Ore as a drill pun before, in FADE Legacy and it was Blake and Yang's daughter who made the joke, so callback?
Just some proper confirmation that this is still basically an exhibition match and that Yuki is really not a bad person.
The whole attacking while running parallel thing is a trope or cliché and I'm not sure if it's based in any actual sword fighting technique, but it also does beg to be used as a setup for someone to intervene….So, not we get a switch up of who's fighting who.
The blow by blow between Honey and AJ at full strength was fun and a good little lead in to AJ's view of the switch around, also yeah the Batwing was a little nod to the DC crossover.
AJ having a reason for doing it was a must as well and it's a pretty solid one in my opinion, she knows Astra plans faster and with more success than her.
Yuki really did show off why team HONY are more experienced students this chapter, hell both of Team HONY did with the way they made working around AJ's laser look easy.
Yes the propeller mode is dumb, no it's not any less dumb than Astra's glider landing strategy….Or Jaune's in canon.
I feel like Yuki's punches would have to be animated exactly the same way Yang's are….Just, with a drill on the end of her fist.
The mid-air grapple and death roll leading into an absolute show-stopper of a finish.
Yeah that could very easily have been a fatal accident, something for Nero to point at the next time he says something about Hunters and a picture that will be all over Remnant; Weiss Schnee's daughter laying on the ground covered in her own blood with what looked like a broken neck for a second.
But it is kinda sweet and funny that for all of her desire to not be stuck in her families shadow or coast on the name….She really did 'Pull a Weiss' there, right down to the thumbs-up.
….But now get her to a medic.
As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.