A/N: Hello everyone and Merry Christmas. Sorry for the long wait. 2023 has been a rough year. Anyway I have a couple of announcements before we begin this chapter.
First off, a while back I did a poll and asked around to see if you guys wanted to see characters from Halo make an appearance. Most of you welcomed the idea and so to make things flow a bit more easily I made a few changes to the timeline of Red vs Blue. In this story RvB and Halo will be part of the same Universe. In the timeline, Agents Carolina, Washington and the other Agents of Project Freelancer are actually the true Spartan III's that Dr. Halsey created just to spite Colonel Ackerson.
Now I bet some of you are wondering won't that create major plot holes for the story. Yes it will, So to help fill in the plot holes, I am working on a side story called RWBY - Warriors of Remnant: The Phantom's Daughter. This story will focus around Halo 4, Halo 4 - Spartan Ops, the first part of Halo 5, and the events of Project Freelancer in the style of Seasons 9 and 10 of Red vs Blue. Once this story ends it will merge into a late chapter of the Warriors of Remnant storyline.
I will say this now that chapter one of The Phantom's Daughter is already a third of the way complete and I will focus all my efforts to try to get it out as soon as I can.
Now onto the story.
[...]
Out in the halls of Beacon, Agent Washington silently followed behind the rest of the students with Tucker a couple of feet in front of himself. His mind going over the events of the first class he, Tucker, Donut, and Caboose had just finished. Something felt off when it came to the story of the mother and the adopted orphan girl. Almost as if Professor Silver was recounting the event from memory. Well there was a way he could find out.
"Elena, was that last story about you and your mother?" Wash asked.
"Yes and no," Elena responded. "The Claymore in that story was Teresa but the daughter was my adoptive sister Clare."
"I see," Wash said. "I have to admit, I respect her actions to defend your sister."
A faint smile formed on Elena's lips. "Thank you Wash; though I have to warn you and everyone else that the relationship we share also works in reverse. Should anyone take advantage or harm mom, both me and my sister will not hold back our rage." Tucker audibly gulped in fear.
"That might explain why I was so angry at those Grimm that hurt Cerise," Ruby remarked.
"It's not just Cerise," Yang added. "There was the time when this rude guy bumped into mom and made her drop her ice cream cone. You were so angry you tried to beat him up even though you were only three years old at the time."
"Yang!" Ruby whined, her face turning the same shade of red as her hood out of embarrassment. Earning her a small chuckle from the rest of her team and her friends.
"So, which class did you guys vote on to visit next?" Petra asked.
"Grimm Studies," Tucker said, as the group rounded the corner and entered Professor Port's classroom.
"We're going to eventually have to fight against the Grimm at some point," Wash pointed out. "It's best that we learn all we can before going out into the field and facing them in any missions we take. That, and we also wanted to apologize to your teacher for breaking through his glass window."
A sudden slap on the back of his armor caused the former Freelancer agent to turn and look at the person. "Apology accepted, young man," Professor Port said. "Would you and your friends like to help with today's lesson?"
"Well…" Wash thought about it for a moment. He really didn't want to, but then again it would be a better way for them to learn as most of the Reds and Blues had the attention span of a squirrel.
"Of course we'll help!" Caboose announced without a second thought.
Tucker knocked Caboose on the back of the head before grabbing him in a chokehold. "Ha ha, Caboose is such a kidder!" Tucker said jokingly before switching to a more aggressive tone aimed at Caboose. "Right?"
"Yeah, we'll help," Wash agreed. Earning him a look from Tucker.
"We will?" Tucker asked in shock, absentmindedly letting Caboose go.
"I feel dizzy!" Caboose stated.
"Yes, we will." Wash shot Tucker a look of his own, ending the argument right then and there.
"Excellent," Professor Port said. The three Blues and Donut followed the professor to the front of the class. "I'm going to have a live presentation today so I need some help moving my desk. Could one of you-" Before he could say anything else and to the amazement of all the students who had just arrived, Caboose picked up the desk and held it over his head with barely any effort.
"Where am I throwing this to?" he asked.
"You're placing it Caboose," Wash calmly answered. "Gently." Caboose simply nodded in response. "Alright Professor, where would you like it placed?"
"Uhh…" Professor Port was seemingly at a loss for words. "Just in the corner will be fine."
The former Project Freelancer agent guided Caboose towards the closest corner of the room. "Alright, now put it down gently," he calmly and slowly instructed. The cobalt sim trooper managed to follow his directions without anything going wrong. "Great job Caboose."
"Can I have a cookie?" Caboose asked.
Wash nodded and pulled out a triple chocolate chip cookie from one of his armor's hidden pockets and handed it to the cobalt sim trooper. Caboose let out a cheer before taking off his helmet to eat the cookie.
Curiosity got the better of most of the students in the classroom as they tried to get a quick look at Caboose' face. He had light brown messy hair along with matching eyes. A slight five o'clock shadow covered the chin on his childlike face.
He quickly finished off the cookie and donned on his helmet. "That was yummy."
"Mission complete, Captain Caboose," Freckles announced.
"Yes, thank you Freckles!"
The school bell rang, announcing that class had begun. "Settle down everyone," Professor Port called out to his students before motioning to the four soldiers. "As you can see we have some special guests. Will you please introduce yourselves?"
Wash stepped forward and cleared his throat. "Good Morning, I'm Agent Washington."
"I'm Tucker," Tucker said as he casually introduced himself.
"My name is Franklin Donut, it's nice to meet all of you!" Donut said.
Everyone looked at Caboose who remained silent until he realized what was going on. "Oh, is it my turn?" he asked before clearing his throat. "I am Caboose, that is all."
"These fine gentlemen will be helping out with class today," Professor Port said before beginning the class' lesson. "Now then, I want to ask, who here knows how the Grimm are made?" Nobody raised their hand. "I see. No shame in that as there are currently only theories. We will never truly know everything about the Grimm, but there are three ways we believe on how they are created."
"One: Mating. We have yet to actually see this but it is assumed the Grimm reproduce like any other animal, despite being a soulless creature. We are unsure if there are males and females or if they reproduce asexually."
"Two: Summoning. There are theories that suggest that the Grimm can be summoned. It is also said that through summoning they can be controlled. This can make the Grimm a very formidable ally, or a deadlier foe."
"And finally: Despair. Grimm are attracted to despair and negative feelings, so it is assumed they are created the same way. Although it is not known how much despair there has to be for one to be born. But remember, all of these are just theories. Any questions?"
Nobody raised their hands. "You know, this reminds me of the time when I was on a field trip with a few students and a group of Beowolves attacked us." the class groans knowing nothing will stop him from telling the story. "Ah yes, it was when we were to do a study of Grimm activity when they suddenly appeared out of nowhere!"
As Professor Port rambled on about his misadventures, Wash snuck over to where teams RWBY, SPHR, JNPR, and JADE were sitting at. "Is he usually like this?" he asked. Ruby nodded her head in response, earning a sigh from the former Freelancer Agent.
Professor Port continued to rant on and on about how he was defeating the pack of Grimm. "And then the Alpha appeared. It was so big!" he exclaimed.
"Bow chicka bow wow!" Tucker yelled out on instinct, causing the entire class to burst out in laughter. Professor Port, however, sent a nasty glare at the aqua colored sim trooper.
"All right then, onto the demonstration," Professor Port announced. "Bring in the Ursa!" A pair of the Professor's assistants pushed in a large cage with an Ursa Major inside. "Today we will see how well weapons work against Ursai. Our demonstrator today will be Tucker."
"Wait what?" Tucker said, completely caught off guard.
With an evil grin, Professor Port stepped behind the aqua colored sim trooper and pushed him forward. Reaching over his desk, the Professor grabbed his blunderbuss ax and chopped off the heavy duty padlock.
Inside the cage, the Ursa Major sniffed at where the lock was and let out a roar. The Grimm charged through the cage door and set its sights on Tucker.
"Dude! What the fuck is your problem!?" Tucker yelled in a panic, ducking under the Ursa Major's right paw as it swung at him.
Wash, alongside Donut, pulled out their battle rifles and took aim at the Grimm. But Professor Port placed a hand on Agent Washington's rifle. "Don't you trust your teammate?" he asked the two. Wash and Donut exchanged a look before placing their weapons back onto their magnetic holsters. It would have looked weird for them to freak out and shoot the Grimm since it was supposed to be a demonstration. Even if the demonstrator for it was forcefully picked.
"Don't do anything stupid Tucker," Wash mumbled.
The Ursa Major tried to slam both of its paws at Tucker, only for him to roll out of the way and pull out his own battle rifle at the same time. Quickly aiming, he pulled the trigger and fired round after round at the Grimm, only for the bullets to bounce off the white and red armored mask and white bone plates.
"As you can see bullets can bounce off the Ursa in certain places," Professor Port addressed the class.
A sudden click caused Tucker to look down at his rifle to see the flashing ammo counter at zero. "Ah balls," he griped, only for the Ursa Major to knock his battle rifle away and pin him to the ground. "Shit shit shit shit." Struggling under the weight of the Grimm, he reached for something attached to his leg. The Ursa Major roared at Tucker, raising its right paw in the air. Ceasing his chance, Tucker grabbed what he was reaching for and slammed it into the Grimm's chest. The Ursa Major froze for a second before disintegrating, revealing a faint whitish blue glowing blade where he had stabbed the Grimm.
"What's that?" Yang asked, pointing to the strange looking sword as Tucker picked himself up off the floor.
"Oh, this is uhh…" Tucker glanced towards Agent Washington who slightly shook his head while gesturing for the aqua colored sim trooper to keep the truth a secret. "This is a military special weapon, the details are classified." The entire class stared at the sword in amazement. "Okay, please stop staring. You're starting to make me nervous." He quickly deactivated the blade and placed it back on its holster.
With the demonstration over, Professor Port continued to teach his lesson while Agent Washington helped him out here and there.
[...]
The first day of the second semester of the school year, classes were in full swing once again. Ozpin knew, however, that he had no time for rest. A few problems had decided to present themselves, of which required his full attention.
First off, was the fact he needed to get both the Reds and Blues a place to stay at during their stay at Beacon. Luckily the solution was found quite quickly. Teams CLOD and GYCR had graduated at the end of the previous semester and their old dorm rooms were now vacant and ready for use. Though there was also a staff building that could be used, at the moment it was currently filled with all the items and dust he had originally stored in the Dragonhouse. He needed to get that place cleared for any more potential other worldly visitors. Even then it may not be enough.
Laid out on his desk was a large blueprint for a new staff building. Originally, he was going to have it built at the same time as the new student dorm building. But with the warehouse that was hastily converted into the Dragonhouse instead of being torn down, Ozpin now could only build the new staff house and pray that construction costs wouldn't skyrocket in the next four years.
Another problem, though one he was happy for, would probably delay the date on when the school would break ground on the project. That morning, Glynda had informed him that she was going to file for maternity leave and would be leaving a couple of weeks after the first years began their first school sponsored missions. In the meantime, her husband would start helping her with her classes. Once Glynda's maternity leave began, her husband would fully take over her class until classes began again the year after next. He felt truly happy for her. Glynda deserved time off from work and to be with her husband and daughter.
A sudden ding from the elevator gave the headmaster a momentary reprieve from his current dilemma. The doors to the elevator opened up to reveal a tall dark skinned man wearing forest camo military clothing. His four year old daughter stood excitedly next to him. She was wearing a light green dress with a light purple over shirt, peach colored stockings, and a little bow on her shirt collar that matched her pink shoes "Uncle Ozpin!" The little girl ran towards Ozpin as fast as her little legs could carry her. She rounded Ozpin's desk and gave his leg a strong hug. "Hi!" She said, her emerald green eyes beamed with pure joy and innocence.
"Marion, what did we agree about just a moment ago?" Her father calmly said as he walked into the headmaster's office.
"Not to run in Uncle Ozpin's office," Marion said sheepishly.
"Atta girl," her father praised as he picked her up into his arms. "Now what do you say?"
"I'm sorry for running in your office Uncle Ozpin," Marion apologized. "I won't do it again."
"Good girl." Her father pulled out a package of Swix Chocolate bars from one of his pockets. "Now do you want to help me eat these while I have a chat with Ozpin?" Marion's eyes lit up and nodded her head excitedly as her father handed her one of the Swix bars before putting the other one in his mouth in a similar way to how he used to hold cigars in his mouth before he gave up smoking for both his wife and daughter.
"It's good to see you Oz," the man greeted.
"It's good to see you too, Avery," Ozpin said, returning the greeting. "Also congratulations on becoming a father again.
"Thank you Oz. Though I take it that this little meeting isn't just about me taking over for Glynda when she goes on maternity leave."
Ozpin shook his head before sitting down at his desk. "Please take a seat. There's a few things that we need to discuss. It's about the Dragon Faunus Prophecy. We believe it's coming true."
Avery chuckled as he sat down in a chair facing the headmaster. He adjusted himself so that Marion could sit on his lap comfortably. "Kinda figured that out when Marion pointed out the three dragons this morning."
Ozpin was caught off guard with that statement. "Last I checked Nalia and Cerise were the only two dragons on school grounds."
"Not anymore Oz," Avery said. "Heck, I nearly missed spotting the third one due to how small it was compared to the other two. If anything, I have to say it hatched very recently."
"Baby Dragon!" Marion cheered.
Ozpin sighed heavily. "I'm going to need to talk to Mr. Benson about this." With this new information he was going to have to move up his plan a bit. He glanced again at the new staff house blueprint. He now needed to break ground on the project within the next two weeks instead of by the end of the month.
"Something wrong Oz?" Avery asked.
"Yes there is. With how fast everyone related to the Dragon Faunus prophecy is arriving and with Vale hosting the Vytal festival this year, I'm afraid that we will run out of places to house everyone. I was going to build an extra student dorm and staff house to help relieve the housing stress. But the old warehouse that was scheduled for demolition had to be hastily repaired and modified so the dragons could live there safely. Now I'm down to only one staff house filled with junk and a second one that has yet to be built." Ozpin gestured to the blueprint on his desk.
"What about any empty student dorms?" Avery asked.
"There are two empty dorm rooms right now, but our latest arrivals are going to be moving into them tonight."
"Anything interesting about them?" Avery asked as he began to look over the blueprint.
"From what they have told me, they are from a space faring civilization that had won a war that lasted nearly twenty eight years." The headmaster noticed Avery's body stiffened for a moment before relaxing again. "Although, this group didn't partake in the war. From what I understand, two of them were tasked with preventing a group of terrorists called the Insurrectionists from causing problems while their military tried to end the war. The rest were simulation troopers that were to unknowingly help train the other two and their old team to react to unknown situations."
"What was the name of the program these people were working for?" Avery asked.
"They were called Project Freelancer, but the military they served was called…"
"The UNSC." Avery finished.
"You know them?" Ozpin asked, surprised leaking into his voice.
Avery smirked. "Yes I do, Oz. In fact, I trained those agents myself when they were still going through bootcamp."
"Do you think they could help us out?" the headmaster asked.
"Oz, you don't know how lucky you are. If anything threatens the students, they will regret it when these guys retaliate. It's not everyday that you get someone that can equal to half of James' entire army by themselves. Let alone two of them and their friends. And that's without Aura," Avery pointed out.
"I see." Ozpin glanced down at the blueprint again. Now if only he could find a way to remove the excess junk in one of the staff houses. It was just then a sudden idea hit him like a horde of Goliaths.
"Avery, once you start helping Glynda with her classes, can you see if you can use up the items that's taking up space in the last staff house while construction begins for the new one?" the headmaster asked.
"I'll see what I can do Oz."
[...]
The bell had just rang, signaling the end of class and for the students to begin heading to their next class. As Wash, Tucker, Caboose and Donut walked out of Professor Port's Classroom, Ruby immediately zeroed in on Tucker and bombarded him with questions about his sword. "Where did you get it? How long have you used it? Did you make it yourself?"
"Holy crap Ruby, calm down!" Tucker yelled.
Ruby instantly stopped. "Sorry, I just really like weapons," she said with a tone in her voice that was somewhat both embarrassed and meek.
"We've noticed," Wash said. "But we can't go into details about it due to classified military research and such."
"All right." Ruby said as she pouted for a moment.
"Don't worry sis. If I know you as well as I do, you'll figure it out within a few months, improve on it, and then find a way to add it into Crescent Rose." Yang said with a mischievous grin. Halcyon let out a happy little squeak in agreement.
What Yang had said instantly cheered up the young red Rider. "Then what are we waiting for! Come on guys! This way to Professor Goodwitch's class!" She took off down the hall, making everyone else have to either jog or run just to keep up.
[...]
As the group entered Professor Goodwitch's class, they found Carolina and the rest of the Reds waiting for them. "Ah, perfect. Reds, Blues, Agents, can you spare a moment of your time?" Professor Goodwitch asked. "I have something important to discuss with you."
"And why should we Missy?" Sarge asked. "For all we know, you could be leading us into a trap!" A simple glare from the professor was all that was needed to make Sarge shut up.
While the students took their seats, Professor Goodwitch led the Reds and Blues down to the ground floor in front of the sparring arena. "What is it you wanted to talk about with us professor?" Agent Washington asked.
"There's something that I need to inform the eight of you," Glynda stated. "In a couple of months, I will be going on maternity leave and won't be returning to my job as a professor here at this school until the year after next. During this time, my husband will be taking over my classes as Beacon's combat instructor and will be assisting me until my maternity leave starts."
"And you would like us to help him out when he teaches?" Carolina asked.
Glynda nodded. "If at all possible could you also spar with some of the students as well?"
"Uh… we may need to discuss that part amongst ourselves," Wash pointed out. "But we will assist however we can. Though, a demonstration spar would help us come to a decision sooner when it comes to sparring with your students." The rest of the Reds and Blues looked at each other and nodded their heads in agreement.
"I understand." Professor Goodwitch said before turning her attention to the students. More specifically, Yang. "Miss Xiao Long, would you care to explain why you have a dragon with you in my class?"
Aaron raised his hand. "Professor, Halcyon hatched last night and chose his Rider moments later." The Rider gestured his hands to Yang. "The reason why he's with Yang now and not with the others is that he needs to spend most of the first few days with his new Rider. It's safer for them and will help him grow both physically and mentally."
Glynda sighed before tapping her scroll a couple of times. A secondary clear hard light barrier formed around the training arena. "I'll allow him to stay, but on a couple of conditions. First, he is forbidden from joining in sparring matches. And second, if he becomes a distraction for the rest of the class, he will have to stay with the other dragons until class is over. Understood miss Xiao Long?"
"Yes ma'am."
A moment later the class bell rang, signaling the start of class. "Students, sit down and be quiet," Professor Goodwitch ordered. "I have an announcement to make." It took the entire class less than seven seconds to quiet down and take their seats. "Now class, in a few months, I will be leaving Beacon Academy to take care of family matters and won't be returning until each and every single one of you begins your third year of classes at this school. During that time, someone I trust most in this world will be taking over my classes. He will also be co-teaching with me until I take my leave."
"We also have some special guests." She gestured towards the soldiers. "These are the Reds and Blues, with agents Carolina and Washington. They will also be assisting with…"
"Mommy!" a joyful child's voice called out as her daughter, Marion, ran through one of the side classroom entrances towards her.
Glynda felt the normal frown that everyone thought was normal for her to have simply melt away. A bright smile replaced that frown as she picked her daughter up into her arms.
[...]
Carolina wouldn't admit it, but she felt part of her heart melt away at the sight of the professor's daughter hugging her mother. It didn't help when Donut chimed in adding a; "Aww, how cute."
What the former top Project Freelancer Agent didn't expect next was a voice that she hadn't heard in years. "Kick off the training wheels, Honey. It's time for these future Huntsmen and Huntresses to learn what it takes to step in that ring and play with the big boys."
Both Carolina and Wash instantly looked at each other. "No way. It can't be," Wash whispered. The same thought ran through her head as the both of them turned around to see a very familiar face walk into the room.
"Wash, Carolina, it's good to see the both of you again."
"Sergeant Major Johnson! Sir!" both agents said as they stood at attention and saluted. The rest of the Reds and Blues followed suit out of respect, though lazily when it came to Grif.
Johnson returned the salute. "At Ease. You don't have to salute me anymore as I'm just a civi. For now."
"Once a Marine, always a Marine," Carolina commented.
"Damn straight," Johnson affirmed.
"Avery!" Professor Goodwitch snapped. "No cursing in front of our children!"
"Yes dear. But aren't you supposed to be teaching and not spoiling Marion in front of your students."
"I was getting to that," Glynda retorted.
"I'll explain how I got here over a few drinks tonight," Johnson whispered to the two agents.
[...]
Yang couldn't believe it. The man that her uncle Qrow had rescued over five years ago and had become regular drinking buddies with, was going to be co-teaching with professor Goodwitch! She even saw him spar a few times with both her dad and uncle.
She watched professor Goodwitch gesture the man over to her side. "Now as I was saying, my husband and his friends will be assisting me until he fully takes over this class."
[Play: Halo 2 Anniversary OST - Africa Suite]
Johnson stepped forward. "All you greenhorns wanting to become Huntsmen and Huntresses, today is your lucky day. I bet some of you are wondering who I am. My name is Sergeant Major Avery J. Johnson. And starting today, I'm going to oversee your training to become some of the finest and dependable Huntsmen and Huntresses of your generation."
"Now listen up!" Johnson ordered. "I hear that there's a big festival and a tournament coming up in a few months. The whole world is going to be watching each and every single one of you compete against teams from the other three academies. Well I say let them watch and be amazed at the potential of you future Huntsmen and Huntresses. Let them see what it means to be a Huntsman! Show them the skill and strength you possess that would strike fear in anyone that would be your enemy! Show them your unbreakable will and courage that would make the Grimm cower in fear at your mere presence! Show them the hope of the people that you all carry on your backs into the future! Show me what it takes to enter that arena!"
"Now who's going to volunteer first?"
[End Song]
Yang could feel each word motivating not only herself, but each and everyone of her classmates. Halcyon, however, was radiating excitement and in turn exciting her. She felt him crawl off her shoulders and into her lap before giving off a 'confident roar.' Well as much as he could for a hatchling his age. The 'Roar' only came out as a squeak, but Yang got the message. Halcyon wanted to see his Rider fight for the first time. A smile formed on her lips as she picked up the hatchling. "Alright, I'll do it for the both of us. Just stay with Ruby until I'm done. Okay?" Halcyon let out a low happy hum.
She handed Halcyon over to her little sister and momentarily watched him relax into the soft scratches she gave him. Now all she needed was an opponent and she knew who she wanted to fight. Yang looked over to the newly formed team JADE and was surprised the person she wanted to fight was already standing up to volunteer himself first.
"I'll go first, Sergeant Major," Jad called out. He then turned to look at the blonde Rider. "Care to dance Yang?"
Alright, I'll give him credit for that. Yang thought to herself. But let's see what happens during the fight before he can earn the chance to take me out on a date. She stood up and answered his challenge. "Bring it on!"
"Get changed and prepare your gear," Johnson ordered. "You both have ten minutes. Go!"
Before Yang could turn to leave, Blake grabbed her arm. "What is it Blake?" she asked.
"Just a piece of advice," Blake stated. "When fighting my little brother, watch out for his tail."
Yang looked at her partner with a confused look. She resisted the urge to double check to see if Jad did have a tail. "What are you talking about?"
"Trust me on this, Yang." Blake said before letting go. "Good luck."
Ten minutes later Yang was standing inside the sparring arena watching Jad hand Compassion to Elena before he walked into the arena as well.
"Are you going to hold back on me by not using your family's claymore?" Yang asked.
Jad shook his head. "No I'm not. Compassion can pass through Aura. Which makes it an illegal weapon to use in a spar or tournament. So I won't be using it for this fight. Though when it comes to fighting Grimm and people trying to kill me, all bets are off."
Yang smirked. "How nice of you." She paused for a moment as an idea formed in her head. "Though if you're up for it, let's do a bet to make this fight a bit more interesting. If you win this fight, I'll let you take me out on one date."
Various oohs reverberated from her fellow students and the Reds. Many students took this same bet back at Signal and during this school year when they wanted to ask her out and no one had ever won against the Blonde Rider before in a hand to hand fight. Though what made it interesting was what happened when the person lost both the fight and bet. Sometimes the loser would have to pay up some Lien, fetch something she needed, or in team CRDL's case, be at Jaune and Velvet's beck and call for an entire week without any complaint.
"But if I win, you have to…"
"Tell you some embarrassing childhood stories of both me and Blake." Jad quipped with a grin of his own.
"Jad! Don't You Dare!" Blake yelled.
"Deal!" Yang quickly accepted before Blake could protest anymore.
"Jad, you better win or so help me I'll bury you in an unmarked grave!" Blake angrily growled.
Jad chuckled as he raised his hands and set himself into a close quarters combat stance.
Yang raised her fists. "Whatever you do. Don't hold back and come at me with everything you got."
The lights in the room dimmed, allowing the overhead projector lights to focus in on the arena. A screen overhead turns on and starts displaying both Yang and Jad's Aura meters. "Now I want a nice clean fight," Johnson announced. "First person to drop their opponent's Aura into the red or whoever has the most Aura when the timer runs out wins. Begin!"
[Play: CRMNL - Born For This]
Yang threw the first punch with her right fist towards the center of Jad's chest. He countered it by bringing his left arm inwards and up. Allowing Yang's punch to slide up his arm and over his shoulder. In doing so Yang was thrown slightly off balance. Jad used the opening to allow his own fist to strike her left shoulder. Yang was glad that she paid attention to Aaron's quick lesson during the party last night. She focused part of her mind to block the pain of the punch from transferring over to Halcyon.
Yang swung her left fist and connected with Jad's right arm below the elbow as he blocked. Jad gave off a surprised look when he glanced at the armor covering his lower right arm. It had dented inwards leaving a fist size impression.
The two began trading several punches until Yang ducked under a high sweeping kick from Jad's right foot. She expected him to kick her in the stomach or chest and send her back a few feet. Instead a large Aura whale tail slammed into her side and sent her flying into a nearby wall. Yang cursed herself as she felt her aura drain down to seventy-five percent. Blake had told her to watch out for a tail and here she was paying the price for ignoring it.
The Blonde Rider gritted her teeth and picked herself off the ground. She extended Ember Celica and started air boxing. In turn firing Ember Celica at the silver-eyed man. He leapt back to dodge the first few dust rounds, then slammed both of the palms of his hands together. The Aura Whale tail receded back into his body and a total of eight metallic like Aura arms grew out of his back. Half of the arms began defecting the Dust rounds away from Jad's body, keeping the drain on his aura to a minimum.
Yang fired Ember Celica behind herself and launched into the air. Jad threw a punch at the Blonde Rider, only for her to fire Ember Celica again to twist her body around and dodge the hit. Using the momentum generated, along with her semblance, she punched through a second arm, then a third and a fourth. Yang landed with a roll and launched a powerful uppercut. Four of the remaining constructs shattered when Jad used them to block. Still the uppercut landed and he was sent back a foot. When he landed, Jad took a quick moment to recover and look over what remained of his semblance.
Yang used the moment to check her own aura levels. She was now in the lead. Jad's Aura had dropped down to fifty-five percent. She faced her opponent and watched him reabsorb his construct. In doing so, his aura meter refilled by one percent. A few more good hits and I win. Yang thought.
Jad got up and changed the Blonde Rider and the two continued to trade punches with each other. Jad ducked under a right jab and countered with his own. Yang felt her aura drop a little when his punch hit her left cheek. It dropped even more when he kneed her in the gut and then followed with a headbutt with an aura construct of what looked like the horns of a muskox.
A red haze started forming around the outside of her vision. Time to end this. Yang grabbed Jad's right ankle as he tried to kick her side. Using her semblance infused strength, she started ragdolling Jad into the arena floor in a similar way to her favorite part in the Defenders movie. She released her grip on his ankle and let his own momentum crash him into the floor. "Puny Jad," She stated as she enjoyed the moment. In return Jad let out a painful whine that closely matched the scene from the movie.
Both Yang and Jad burst out laughing as Jad dusted himself off the floor. The two looked at their aura meters. Yang was holding steady at forty-eight percent while Jad's aura was nearly in the red at twenty-nine percent. "Sad to say this, but you are never going to win if this is all you got," Yang declared.
Jad rolled his shoulders, closed his eyes and took in a relaxed breath. "Don't count me out just yet. I still have one more trick up my sleeve," Jad affirmed in the Second Language. Yang felt an eerie calm wash over the both of them. When he opened his eyes, her own eyes widened. While Jad's eyes were still the same silver color, but the pupils had changed into cat-like slits.
Yang was on edge. Part of her wanted to finish the fight and win the bet. But another part of her mind was warning her that she was in trouble. A third part of her mind was confused as to why Jad was using those eyes. The only time she had seen those eyes was when her little sister Ruby had passed an advanced lesson from Teresa ten days after Cerise was attacked in the Emerald Forest. Ruby had learned how to combine her sixth sense with her eyesight and no longer needed to use a blindfold. While Ruby still couldn't read the yoki flow, the end result was that her eyes changed into that very same state when it happened.
But right now there wasn't any Grimm nearby and if there was a yoma disguised as someone Teresa and Elena would have dealt with them already. So why…
Yang's train of thought was interrupted when Jad threw an open palm strike to her left shoulder. She tried to block it with her arm, only to meet open air and pain in shoulder. She tried to throw a close right jab but again only met air as Jad had already moved out of the way.
The Blonde Rider was on the defensive now. Every time she tried to counter, Jad would already have moved out of the way or counter her own with one of his. It was pissing her off. She was mopping the floor with him moments ago and now she couldn't even touch him. Why? Why was this happening? Her semblance was practically useless unless she managed to land a hit. And at this rate, he was going to weaken her Aura before she could retaliate… Wait… Aura? No way… That's impossi… The next thing she knew, she was on the floor after Jad had delivered a powerful right hook and the buzzer that signaled the end of the match sounding in her ears. She couldn't believe it. She had lost.
[End Song]
"And that's the match!" Johnson announced. "Looks like you earned yourself a date with the lady. Be sure to treat her right, kid."
"Yes sir, Sergeant Major," Jad said as he offered a hand to help Yang off the floor. Of which, she gratefully accepted.
"I didn't hit you too hard back there, did I?" Jad asked as Elena handed him his family's claymore when the two walked out of the arena to the changing rooms.
Yang smirked. "It's going to take a lot more than that to really hurt me." She made eye contact with the young Claymore descendant. His eyes had changed back to normal and still carried the same kind look she saw in them last night. But now there was something more to them.
"You can read my aura, can't you? Yang asked.
Jad nodded. "My family has always been sensitive to both aura and yoki. One of my ancestors discovered that aura doesn't simply emanate from every part of the body all at once. It flows through the body similar to how yoki does for a Grimm. This little trick has been my family's greatest strength and our greatest secret. Not even Blake or Dahlia knows." A kind smile formed on his lips. "You are the first person to figure it out in a very long time."
"I still can't believe I lost," Yang whined.
"I will admit, you nearly had me there," Jad stated. "So, did you enjoy our dance?"
"Oh yeah, and I want a rematch in the future as well."
"Deal." Jad paused for a moment. "If you want, we could have it at the end of our date."
"Are you seriously using your one chance to ask me out on a date now?" Yang asked.
Jad chuckled. "Why not? You have the most beautiful aura I have ever seen."
Yang felt her cheeks redden in surprise. Most people would compliment on her hair or her looks. But this was the first time someone has ever told her that her aura was beautiful. She let out a sigh to calm her nerves and fished out her scroll. "Where and when?" she asked.
"How about we meet up after classes on Friday at the Dragonhouse, head into Vale and go from there," Jad suggested.
"Alright then." Yang said as they arrived at the entrance to the locker rooms with Halcyon waiting there for his Rider. He let out a high pitched squeak and hopped into his Rider's arms. From there, both Yang and Jad went into their locker rooms to change back into their school uniforms.
"Well Halcyon, what do you think of him? Should I go through with the date?" She asked.
Halcyon chirped happily before resting his head against Yang's neck and let out a soft purr.
"I'll take that as a yes."
[...]
A/N: Surprise! Sgt. Major Johnson is alive and has a family with Professor Goodwitch. I hope you all enjoyed the motivational speech that took me an entire month to get right. To be honest, I spent hours watching videos on youtube and even went out and purchased some of the Halo books so I could get his character right. Expect more Halo characters to appear with a few not being from the games.
Anyway, the other big thing is the Yang x Jad ship that's starting to set sail. Yes I know what happened in volume 9 and I will say that the way it was executed felt way too forced. While yes I'm not a fan of the bees ship, I can accept it if it's done right and being forced into a relationship or die is not the right way to do things. Now in this story things will be different. When it comes to team RWBY they will see each other as sisters and not as lovers and it makes it more fun to write. Besides, I really want to introduce some characters down the line but can't do that without some ships happening.
I need to mention that the first Year of Beacon takes place (at least for the Pacific Rim Universe) in the year 2024, which is also the year of the Dragon. To be honest I didn't notice until halfway through writing this chapter. Great timing right? Haha.
Now onto the Reviews!
Jacob9594: I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter. I do enjoy adding in new lore and hope you like what is to come in the future.
Hamm1999: If you are talking about the patch notes then sadly I'm not going to do that as it will break the writing flow unnecessarily. Don't worry, the TF2 Mercs are still gonna be epic as always.
MarauderPrime12: Glad you enjoyed it!
TheSilentChloey: It feels good to flex how strong Teresa is in such subtle ways. Don't worry, only the stupid would mess with her kids and suffer her wrath. *Koff* *Koff* Team CRDL *Koff* *Koff*
Zoran Dawn-Eclipse: It makes me happy that you enjoyed the story so far. I hope this chapter was well worth the wait.
That's all the reviews for now. I'll do my best to get more than one chapter out next year and look forward to the first chapter of RWBY - Warriors of Remnant: The Phantom's Daughter.
Merry Christmas Everyone! And have a happy Year of the Dragon!
See you all next chapter!