Sera was in Beacon's training room the next day to kill time. She was staring down the gun range and the paper target at the far end of it. Her eyes were narrowed with concentration while she moved her finger to the trigger of the rifle in her hands.
The spar fight with Yang had gone fairly smoothly. Ultimately, Sera lost, but she felt like she'd improved a lot since they'd first started. She just felt like she was spiraling, and the only way to save herself was to make herself as strong as possible. Then again… She wasn't sure why she's been feeling this way.
She just needed to make sure she could protect everyone.
Exhaling slowly, Sera squeezed the trigger, and the rifle went off. Almost instantaneously, the paper target shuddered from the bullet. She felt like something heavy was lifted from her back, and now she could breathe.
"Oh, wow," someone said from behind her. Sera turned around to find Ruby Rose standing far behind her. "You hit it!" she squealed. Ruby disappeared into a flurry of rose petals and appeared directly in front of her with a broad grin on her face. "Sera, you hit it! You shot something with a gun!"
Sera looked down at the rifle in her hands and set it down gently. Without saying a word, she hit the button to bring the target in front of her. The two of them waited patiently for the sheet of paper to arrive. Finally, Sera plucked it out of the air and brought it to her eyes. The bullet had hit it on the right side of the paper, just a few lines inside the target but still well away from the bullseye.
Ruby was bouncing in place excitedly.
"Huh." Sera put the paper down.
"That's it?" Ruby asked. "You're not excited that you managed to actually hit something?"
"I mean, of course I am. But it just feels almost trivial now. Like… It's progress, right? But also… I should've been able to do this already. What huntsman can't shoot a target?"
Ruby relented. "Well, I'm happy for you! We should celebrate!"
"We don't need to do that." She laughed and set the target paper down. "Actually, I think I'm going to hit the gym. You wanna come?"
"Ew, no." Ruby gagged. "Getting all sweaty with a bunch of random people? Count me out."
"That's part of the fun, Rubes." Sera picked up her bag. "Didn't you make all of get those matching 'Team RWBY' gym clothes just to, you know, go to the gym? They even have our names on them, and you numbered us one to five!"
Ruby crossed her arms. "I didn't think you'd actually make me go."
"You don't have to, I'm just messing with you." She laughed.
"I'll go eventually! Just not today."
"AKA, you're never going." She smirked.
"Will too!"
"Whatever you say, shortstop."
Ruby puffed out her cheeks and crossed her arms. Sera rolled her eyes playfully and headed for the door. "Well, see you back in the room! I shouldn't be too long."
Ruby grumbled to herself and stayed behind. Maybe she really did want to go out and celebrate Sera's accomplishment, but she wasn't going to press the issue. After all, it was just hitting a target.
Sera pushed the training room door open and headed for the locker room. It was a pretty short walk since all of Beacon's training facilities were in the same building. Minutes later, she was in her workout clothes and headed for the gym with her bag in tow. True to what she said. Ruby had elected to get all of them matching team gym clothes. Hers consisted of a white tank top with violet lettering and violet gym shorts. On the front, it said 'RWBY' with her symbol underneath, and on the back, it said 'Sera' with the number five below it, since she was technically the fifth team member. She thought it was cute, but this was the first time she'd decided to wear it. (If you know, you know.)
She finally made it to the gym and started going through her usual workout. Surprisingly, it was completely empty. She was halfway through dumbbell curls when the door to the gym opened, and a slightly familiar figure entered. A tall guy with blond hair wearing typical workout clothes watched her as he went to another set of equipment.
After a moment, she recognized him. It was that Magnus guy, the quiet creepy dude that usually accompanied his equally weird friends. Sera saw them in the tournament and thought their fighting styles were… odd.
It was hard to focus on the rest of her workout with him in there. The guy was strange, and she felt like he was staring at her.
Finally, after about ten minutes of uncomfortable silence, she dropped her dumbbell and faced in his direction. "Hey, you're that guy on the team from Mistral, right?"
Magnus halted his movements and hung from the bar he was using to do pull-ups. "What of it?"
"Nothing. I just thought you guys did well in your fight. A bit, I dunno, much, though." She spoke.
The corner of his mouth lifted into a smirk. "Is that right? Did we overdo it a little?"
"Just slightly." She responded.
Magnus dropped from the pull-up bar and strolled over to where she was. Sera tightened her stance and balled her fists lightly. She didn't like the aura this guy was putting out. It was almost sinister. He stopped in front of her, towering over her by at least a foot. He didn't even look down at her, but his piercing green eyes seemed to stare a hole through her head.
"I guess that just means that you'll have to watch your back if we face each other." He said, his face a mask of steely calm.
She said nothing, opting to meet his gaze in kind. She wasn't sure why, but something was just off with this guy. Like a psychopath.
Then he left her, marching out of the gym and shoving the door aside. Sera exhaled the breath she didn't know she was holding. She felt like a storm had just passed her by, and the sight of Magnus's intense green eyes burned in her mind.
"What the fuck?" She breathed hard. What was up with this guy and his team?
Being disturbed as all hell, she finished her workout, took a shower, then headed back to RWBY's dorm. She wanted to talk to Pyrrha about what Ozpin had told her and what she'd been shown in the bottom floors of Beacon Tower, but she had to keep her promise.
Sera was absent-minded for the rest of the day. She sat on her bed in the dorm and plucked at the strings of Jupiter into a dull tone. It rang out into a slightly off-key rendition of Mirror Mirror.
The others were having a conversation about something that seemed kind of intense, but she wasn't listening. That is, until Yang yelled her name from across the room.
"Huh?" she picked her head up, accidentally jerking her hand so the guitar made a loud twang!
"You're the deciding vote, Snowball. Which of us should move onto the doubles round of the tournament?"
She rolled her eyes. "I told you to stop calling me that. And didn't you guys already settle this?"
"Who cares! Make a decision," Yang laughed. "I think I should, obviously." She flexed her arm to show off her muscles.
They all looked at her expectantly. Sera exhaled and got to her feet, setting Jupiter on her pillow. "Okay, tough choice." She crossed her arms and went over to her team. "Let's see… Yang does have a point; I think she should fight."
"Boom!" The blond pointed at her team.
"But, who would she fight with? She and Blake have the best coordination."
Blake shied away from them and shot a glance at Yang.
"Would you want to fight in the doubles round, Blake?" Ruby asked.
"I don't know," she admitted. "I'm not sure I'm the best pick to. I mean, what about Ruby? She and Yang have always worked well together."
"True," Sera said. "But Ruby, is um, kind of inexperienced with fights against people."
"Hey! I beat up those Torchwick goons and White Fang, didn't I?"
"Yeah, but like, any huntsman in training could have, if we're being honest." Yang chuckled.
"Yang!" Ruby cried indignantly.
"So, if we're looking at huntsman versus huntsman fighting, who's the best bet?" Weiss asked.
Sera shrugged. "You or Blake."
"Me?" The heiress blinked.
"I mean, yeah. Your glyphs are like, really useful. They could change the entire outcome of a fight. So yeah, either you or Blake."
"Yikes, I'd have to fight with Weiss though." Yang noted.
"Hey!" Weiss said.
"There's always you, Sera." Blake said. "You're pretty good at fighting other students. Lately, you've taken down some pretty heavy hitters."
"Can't," Sera crossed her arms once more. "I have to fight with Pyrrha for JNPR's doubles round. And I already fought with them, so what would other people say about one student fighting on multiple teams in the tournament?"
"All right, all right." Yang said. "So, Weiss or Blake?"
"I think Weiss is the best choice," Sera noted. "No offense, Blake."
"None taken." The Faunus shrugged.
Sera tapped her fingers on her arm. "Let's be real here, Yang and Weiss are the most skilled against other huntsmen. Weiss with her rapier and glyphs can take down just about anything any other school could throw at her, so I trust her to not get too pissed at Yang to let it affect the fight. Meanwhile, Yang has her… well, Yang-ness."
Weiss's eyes widened slightly at her words. After all, the two of them have had a rivalry since they met. But they did pretty good for the school dance performance and have worked pretty well together in every spar fight they've been in, so maybe they didn't hate each other as much as they used to.
"That settles it! Weiss and I will fight in the tournament, and the rest of you can sit pretty and watch us!" Yang pumped her fists.
Ruby crossed her arms and looked away dejectedly. "I wanted to fight."
"You'll get your chance, sis." Yang patted her shoulder.
"Hmph."
"Yeah, don't worry. Who cares if you won't get to fight in some tournament? The real fight is the Grimm, right?" Sera said.
"I guess so…" The scythe-wielder's shoulders slumped.
Sera turned to Weiss and Yang. "You two will do great, yeah?"
"Of course!" Yang flashed a cocky grin. "We'll destroy them!"
"We'll do our best." Weiss curtsied.
"Great." Sera clapped her hands together. "Now, who's hungry?"
"I am!" Ruby shot a hand up.
The five of them got ready to leave for the cafeteria in hope of finding dinner. Ruby, Blake, and Yang were already out the door, but Weiss held back while Sera put Jupiter back in its case. Once the amnesiac was ready, she was met by her fellow whitehead standing by the door.
"Hey," she said. "I just wanted to ask you something—did you mean what you said?"
"Huh?" She blinked. "What? About working with Yang?"
"Well, yeah."
Sera straightened. "Of course, I did."
"I just…" She shifted uncomfortably. "Growing up, I was always told I wouldn't be good enough to be a huntress. My father wanted me to stay and learn how to run the company, but what he wanted isn't what I wanted. I trained to fight and be like my sister, and the rest of my family and their aristocrat friends resented me for it. I had to prove I could be the huntress I said I would, so… Thanks."
Sera blinked. "So, you're saying that you, who has the biggest ego I've ever seen, have always just been super insecure about your career as a huntress?"
Weiss's face morphed into an expression of annoyance. "Forget it. I hope you get beat up in the fight tomorrow." She turned to leave, but Sera grabbed her wrist.
"Weiss, just wait a sec."
The heiress turned around with a huff, crossing her arms. "What is it?"
"You're welcome." Sera said. "I did mean what I said, and I'm sorry about your family. I know we piss each other off, but you're my friend, y'know? I wouldn't mess with you if I didn't think you were. You're a good fighter, and I'm glad that I got put into team RWBY and JNPR just to meet you all."
Weiss relaxed her shoulders as she listened to her teammate. "Fine, I forgive you."
"Oh, good." Sera said.
"You've been a good friend, even when having to deal with your amnesia. Even if we do piss each other off." The heiress said, muttering that last bit.
"So, we're cool?" Sera asked, raising an eyebrow.
A small smile spread across Weiss's face. "Yes, we're okay."
"Cool." Sera's shoulders relaxed. "You wanna put on another show for the school?" She joked.
Weiss rolled her eyes. "As if. That was the most embarrassing thing I've ever done."
"Why? We rocked!" Sera grinned.
The heiress put her hand to her forehead. "You're insufferable."
"Back to our regularly scheduled program, I see." Sera sighed. "Whatever, let's go before Ruby comes storming in here." She made for the door.
"Sera," Weiss said, and the amnesiac turned back to her. "Thanks again."
Her expression softened. "Don't mention it. Friends, remember?"
Weiss nodded, then followed Sera out of the room.
. . .
The next day came faster than Sera was expecting. After dinner, she crashed so hard that she didn't think she'd ever wake up. She probably shouldn't have eaten all those burgers and fries or drank a whole six-pack of People Like Grapes.
Sera groaned and rolled out of bed, literally. She hit the floor with a loud thud, and a quiet, muffled "Ow" emanated from her mop of bed hair.
"Dang," Yang noted. "Hit the sauce a little too hard?"
"It was just cola." Weiss rolled her eyes.
"Still," the blond swung her legs over the side of her bunk. "You guys ready for the tournament today?"
Sera picked herself off the floor and blew hair out of her face. "I need a nap."
"You just woke up." Weiss scoffed.
"…And?"
Weiss sighed and went back to brushing her hair. Sera stumbled into the bathroom to get ready for the inevitably long day she was about to have. Ten minutes later, she came out in her usual ass-kicking outfit—her violet cropped tank top under her white coat, a pair of skinny white pants, and her black and violet lace boots. A violet belt was secured around her waist with a silver oval-shaped buckle with an Omega symbol engraved onto it. She put her usual Omega-symbol necklace on and straightened her jacket, then clapped her hands together.
"Okay, now I'm ready to kick ass."
"I'll say," Yang commented.
Sera looked around the room, finally noticing the absence of a certain pair of girls. "Where are Ruby and Blake?"
"Already at the fairgrounds," Weiss said. "They wanted to, ugh, 'eat all of the food and get so stuffed they can't move.'"
"Sounds about right," Sera shrugged. She grabbed Jupiter from its stand and slung it over her shoulder. "So, we heading out or…"
"Yeah, just… Preparing." Yang shifted.
"Nervous? Yang Xiao Long, nervous for a fight?" Sera asked in slight disbelief.
"The students we face will be much stronger than in the first round," Weiss explained. "So, maybe we are a little nervous."
"Relax, you'll be fine!" Sera said.
"Easy for you to say, you're fighting with Pyrrha."
"It's not my fault that we're the dynamic duo of badasses," she said smugly. "Just watch, team JNPR is going to be the winner of the whole shebang."
"Not if we have anything to say about it." Weiss crossed her arms.
Sera cracked a grin. "Guess we'll just have to find out." She winked.
"Can we just get a move on already? We're going to be late!" Yang chided.
. . .
Once they got to Amity Arena, Yang and Weiss were immediately called by Professor Port to get prepare for their match. They'd made it just in time, thankfully. Sera thought it would've been funny if they were late, though.
She went to join her friends in the stands and watch the fight. Ruby and Blake had eaten too many snacks and were nearly put into a food coma. JNPR seemed excited about how their friends would do and could hardly sit still. Sun and his team were yelling and cheering.
Yang and Weiss walked out into the arena to face the other team. They were going to face a pair of huntsmen from Atlas that looked very… colorful. One was a tall dark-skinned dude dressed like a smooth jazz player and the other was a party chick on rollerblades and neon glow in the bracelets decorating her wrists.
That's when a familiar girl sat down next to Sera and drew her attention.
"Well, hey," Cerulean said with a wink.
"Oh, hey." Sera straightened her back. "What's up Cerulean?"
She shrugged. "I was just watching the tournament when I saw you. You did great in the first round!"
"Oh, thanks." Sera shifted. She was pretty sure Cerulean had some sort of crush on her, or something. She wasn't sure how to feel about it, so she's been kind of skittish when the blue-haired girl was around. "How did your team do?"
"Oh. Haha," she said. "My team lost like, embarrassingly quickly."
"What?" The amnesiac said with wide eyes. "Wow, I'm sorry."
"Pshhh, who cares? We had fun while it lasted. Besides, now we can watch the rest of the tournament without stressing about going through the tougher students."
"…Right." Sera said, remembering that she'd be fighting the tougher students.
"Oh, sorry! I didn't mean you. I'm sure you'll have no problem taking down the other teams you face. Who are you going to be fighting with?"
"Pyrrha Nikos," Sera hooked a thumb in the redhead's direction.
"Hello!" The girl in question raised a hand in greeting.
"Ooh, that should be fun." Cerulean clapped her hands together.
The starting buzzer rang through the arena, and the two teams jumped into action. The tall guy, Flynt Coal, blew a powerful soundwave from his weaponized trumpet and launched Yang away. Weiss held her ground with one of her glyphs, but now the two girls were separated.
"Off to a great start, huh?" Cerulean asked.
"They'll get it figured out," Sera said with certainty. "A couple of weirdos from Atlas? Please." She chuckled and took a sip from her cup of soda.
"If you say so." Cerulean shrugged. "So, what're your plans for after the fights today?"
Sera nearly choked on her drink. "Probably just spending time with my team—uh, teams. Why?"
She shrugged again and averted her gaze. "Just wondering if you wanted to hang out or something."
"Uh…" She trailed off. She saw Sun and his team silently bobbing their heads up and down behind Cerulean. Still, she was weirded out by how similar she and Neptune were. "Sure?"
Cerulean's eyes lit up. "Oh, good! What did you have in mind?"
"I don't know," Sera exhaled a laugh. "You asked me, remember?"
"Oh. Right. Well, maybe go to the fairgrounds later and stuff? There's a ton of games and rides."
Sera looked at her for a moment. The blue-eyed girl was watching her expectantly, awaiting her response. Her hands were clasped together, and she was sitting at the edge of her seat. "Sure? That sounds fun."
"Great!" Cerulean smiled wider.
"Ooh, that's gotta hurt!" Port's voice shouted through the speakers. Sera looked back to the stage, finding that Weiss and Flynt had gone up in a minor eruption of steam. She gaped at the sight of Weiss being covered in black ash while Flynt stumbled away from the scene with just a sliver of aura remaining. Meanwhile, Weiss had been eliminated.
"Well, shit," Sera sighed. It was one-on-two now, and at the rate Yang's fight was going, she was starting to have her doubts the angry blond could pull through.
"That was… something," Pyrrha commented.
Cerulean shifted in her seat. "I'll say."
"She's got this, though," Sera said, staring at Yang's distant form. "I know she does."
Sure enough, Yang did have this. Once she activated her semblance, it may as well have been over with. She managed to overpower both of the Atlas students, then knocked them out of the arena with an explosive punch. When she saw that her teammate had won, Sera's eyes widened in disbelief.
The crowd around her roared with cheering and applause, and she could just stare at her teammate waving to the spectators.
"She won," the amnesiac felt herself smile. "Ha!" She leaned back in her seat and took a sip from her soda.
"Of course, she did," Pyrrha chuckled. "Was there ever any doubt?"
"Well…" Nora rolled her eyes slowly.
"Quiet, Nora," Pyrrha said with a smile on her face.
Cerulean smiled and leaned closer to Sera. "I wonder who's up next." She looked up at the spinning wheels of students while Port and Oobleck congratulated Yang and Weiss on their victory. The heiress was still covered in soot and coughing. Funny enough, Flynt Coal and Neon seemed to also be congratulating them.
Then the spinning wheels stopped, and Sera's eyes widened when she saw her own picture on the screens.
"TEAM JNPR AND TEAM CFVY, WOULD YOU PLEASE GET READY FOR YOUR BATTLE?" Professor Port's voice boomed.
Sera traded glances with her red-haired teammate.
"Oh, shit," she muttered.
. . .
Minutes later, Sera and Pyrrha were walking to the center of the arena while the crowd roared around them. Given their situation, they were kind of nervous. Two freshmen students against two seniors? This was going to be an interesting fight.
They met Coco and Yatsuhashi in the center, staring down the two older students with both caution and apprehensiveness. Coco smirked at the two of them while Yatsuhashi regarded them coldly. Sera hadn't officially met him before, but Yatsuhashi was tall. She could tell that much just from the brief times she'd seen him, but now that they were face-to-face, the guy towered over her with ease. At lease seven feet tall, she thought to herself.
Then she turned her attention to CFVY's team leader, who was watching her intently. Ever since she'd met Coco, Sera had felt this strange rivalry with her. Both of them had a similar smugness about them, and she felt that same aura emanating from the brown-haired girl.
"So, is this where the dick measuring contest takes place?" Sera asked.
Coco smirked. "Something like that. You think you can handle us, Casper?"
She frowned at the strange nickname then turned away and pulled Pyrrha few paces away.
"What are you thinking?" the redhead asked.
Sera glanced over her shoulder. "I'm not sure. I know Coco has that big chain gun, and it'd rip us apart if it hits us. Apart from that, I'm not sure how well she can fight. Probably pretty good. Then there's Yatsuhashi, with that freakin' insane sword. I think either of us would be fast enough to get around it, but there's no telling what that guy's capable of."
Pyrrha nodded. "I agree. We might have to split them up, but I also think it'd be better if we stick together."
She smiled. "Our teamwork versus theirs. I like it." The amnesiac glanced over at the two older students, who were standing idly and watching them silently. "I'll start with Coco, and you take the big guy. I've seen him do some kind of big ground pound attack when that train crashed in Vale. Maybe if you can stop his sword, he won't be able to use it. As for Coco… you might have to try and stop her bullets."
Pyrrha nodded in understanding. "It's all we've got for now, and there's no telling what they know about us."
Sera glanced at the sinister-looking seniors. "Look at 'em. Diabolical."
Coco swung her arms at her sides and blew a strand of hair from her face. "Man, when this is over, I'm gonna get a huge cup of coffee. You want anything, Hashi?"
Yatsuhashi said nothing.
"Of course, you do," she pushed her sunglasses up her nose. "As soon as we take these two down, we can—"
"Prepare yourselves, students!" Port's voice filtered through the speakers. "We are about to decide your battleground!"
The giant holographic rectangles appeared in the sky with multicolored logos of different environments. Then they began to spin, and all eyes in the stadium watched them with interest. Anxiety rose in Sera's chest as she watched them. She wasn't sure why, it's not like she had any certain preferences for the environment. She wasn't specialized in fighting in any particular setting, but the battleground did play a big role in how a fight goes.
Then the rectangles on each side of the arena froze, depicting a beach on JNPR's side and a forest on CFVY's side. Great, ocean and forest.
"Look's like we're going to the beach and taking a stroll through the forest!" Professor Oobleck announced. The crowd roared with approval, but Sera's shoulders sagged a bit. She didn't know how to fight with water as a factor, so she decided to try and take this fight to the forest.
"Looks like I can work on my tan," Coco grinned up at the artificial light that shined onto the beach. "I think you're good though, Yatsu." Yatsuhashi glanced at his tanned arms and grunted. Coco patted him on the forearm and smirked at Sera and Pyrrha. "What do you two think? Beach or forest?"
Pyrrha shrugged. "I'm partial to the forest, to be honest."
"Samesies," Sera added.
"Beach it is," Coco flashed a smile.
"Wha-? Why even ask?" the amnesiac stomped her foot, coincidentally when the chosen environments began to rise out of the ground and a timer appeared in the floating screens.
"To mess with you," Coco replied and unslung her bag from her shoulder. Yatsuhashi drew his sword, Fulcrum. Its tip dipped to the ground while he held the weapon one-handed.
Sera drew Igni from her back and did the same while Pyrrha drew her lance and got into her signature defensive position. The clock ticked down, and Professor Port counted the seconds aloud.
Coco and Sera stared each other down. Every nerve within her body trembled with anticipation. She held her sword tighter and gripped it with both hands as the time drew nearer.
"Zero!" Port announced.
Yatsuhashi lunged forward at a speed higher than anticipated and swiped Fulcrum at Sera. She barely had any time to react but managed to raise her weapon to block his attack. The huntress grunted and tried to shove him back, but Yatsuhashi was far stronger than she.
Pyrrha threw her javelin at the hulking man and managed to distract him long enough for Sera to leap backwards. Unfortunately, Coco took that chance to smack her aside with her weaponized purse. The redhead grunted in response, but she was quick to recover. With her semblance, she recalled her javelin and stabbed it towards the brunette. Coco ducked under her jab and knocked the weapon aside before rushing Pyrrha with a smirk on her face.
"Whoa!" Sera exclaimed when Yatsuhashi nearly took her head off with a wide swing. She jumped over the sword and tried to bring her foot down onto his head, but in an instant, he blocked it with his weapon and shoved her away. She landed on her feet in the sand, her boots sinking into the soft ground. With a frown, she looked up to see just how far she was being pushed back. Team CFVY was trying to force them onto the beach.
"All right…" she twirled Igni in her hand while Yatsuhashi approached her with a confident look on his face. "You don't talk much, do you?" She quirked an eyebrow.
He shrugged half-heartedly and lunged at her. This time, she saw it coming. Sera drew her shotgun and aimed it at his chest before blasting a shell at the taller student. Yatsuhashi's eyes widened, and he raised the flat of his sword to deflect it, but when he lowered the weapon, she was gone.
"Hello!" Sera announced and smacked him on the side of the head with her sword. Yatsuhashi groaned and whirled around, swinging Fulcrum in her direction. She ducked under the wide blade and shoved the tip of Igni into his chest, forcing him back.
"Oh, a clever play by Sera Calypso of team JNPR! It seems that placing her in the tournament was a wise decision after all!" Professor Oobleck commented.
Coco was in a heated melee battle with Pyrrha Nikos when she saw her teammate get knocked back. She raised an eyebrow, surprised that Sera had managed to land such a hit. Then Pyrrha brought her attention back to her own fight when a round shield slammed into her chest and knocked her breath out of her chest.
Sera retreated a few steps in Pyrrha's direction while Yatsuhashi recovered. He shot her a pointed look, then brandished Fulcrum and rushed her. She tightened her stance in preparation for the taller boy and readied her sword. She wondered if she could block a stronger hit.
Yatsuhashi swung his enormous sword in her direction, and she just braced herself for the blow. Fulcrum clashed against Igni and sent Sera flying in the opposite direction.
"Whoa!" she yelped and recovered in midair. She performed a backflip and landed on her feet, her arms shaking from the force of his attack. "Okay, better not take another one of those…"
Yatsuhashi smirked and leaped into the air, raising Fulcrum above his head with both hands. Sera's eyes widened at the implications. "Pyrrha!" She shouted.
The redhead shot her a look, then glanced up to see what the fuss was about. She gritted her teeth and shoved Coco away before sprinting towards her teammate. "Switch!"
Sera jumped backwards just in time for Pyrrha to take her place. She raised her shield and blocked the powerful attack, sending a shockwave through the arena while the ground at her feet cracked.
"Holy shit…" Sera murmured. Then Pyrrha went on the offensive, spinning and slashing her javelin to push Yatsuhashi backwards.
"Huh, imagine if that was you," a voice said behind Sera, and she whirled around just in time to see a brown bag heading straight for her head.
Sera grunted and covered her face while she flew backwards. Igni clattered out of her hand and landed in the sand just before her shoulders slammed into the ground. Sand blew upwards upon impact and covered her, and she spat some of it from her mouth before climbing to her feet.
"Ugh," she dusted her clothes off. "This is why I hate sand. Coarse, rough, and gets everywhere."
"Tough luck," Coco strolled towards her, spinning her bag on her finger. Then it transformed into an enormous gatling gun and she grinned before pointing it in Sera's direction.
Her eyes widened at the weapon. She'd seen what this weapon could do. Slicing Nevermore in half like butter, cleaving off parts of buildings, and turning an entire pack of Beowolves to mush.
The gun fired, its deafening roar resounding through the arena. Sera immediately dashed to the side, a trail of bullets following her and making the sand kick up.
"Shit, shit, shit!" She cursed. She was heading for her sword, but Coco seemed to notice that. She shot the ground in front of her, just feet away from where Igni lay.
"Uh-uh," she clucked her tongue. "What kind of fun would that be?"
Sera glared at her and drew her shotgun, then beelined straight for the older student. Coco grinned and pointed her gun, unleashing a wicked volley of bullets straight for her. She darted to the sides and jumped over the string of bullets, amazed that she hadn't been hit. With a smug grin on her face, she drew closer and closer to the brown-haired girl.
Coco frowned and waved her machine gun in circles in Sera's direction to make it even more difficult to evade. The amnesiac dove to the side and slid on her knees through the sand, the barrel of her shotgun pointed at Coco. She pulled the trigger and saw multiple pellets ping off of her weapon and aura, then got to her feet and quickly reloaded before holstering the weapon.
She was just yards away, sprinting straight at Coco while she recovered from the unexpected blast. Sera jumped straight into the air just as she started to fire again and landed on the barrel of her gun. Coco blinked at her and tried to shove her off, but Sera used the momentum to launch into the air and draw Jupiter from her waist. She was directly in the glare of sunlight, and even Coco's shades couldn't shield the brunt of the light.
The guitar expanded until she was holding it in its axe form, and Sera grinned as she raised it above her head. "Gotcha!" She laughed.
"Sera!" Pyrrha shouted from off to the right. The amnesiac glanced to the side to see what was wrong, but instead she saw Yatsuhashi heading straight for her in the air. Her eyes widened.
Yatsuhashi's feet slammed into her side and knocked her off-course. Sera screamed before she got interrupted by crashing into the water in the beach environment. Thankfully, the water softened her land. On the negative side, that hit took a pretty sizeable chunk off her aura.
Pyrrha rolled her eyes and ran towards her friend, with both Coco and Yatsuhashi looking in her direction. Coco let loose a volley of rounds while Yatsu ran to meet her in the middle. Pyrrha blocked and evaded the bullets with her shield and semblance, but every so often, one of the rounds grazed her in the side and shaved off a bit of her aura.
"Oh, no!" Professor Port said. "It seems team JNPR may be in a bind! Young Sera's aura has dropped dangerously low, and Miss Nikos's is near the halfway mark! Can they turn this around before it's too late?"
Pyrrha's emerald eyes shot to the side when she saw something violet gleam in the sand. Igni lay just a few yards away from her, so she used her semblance to launch the weapon towards Coco.
Coco was aware of Pyrrha's semblance. When she waved her hand, a spike of anxiety shot through her while she wondered why she'd done that. Then a large sword slammed into her side and made her gun fire off-course, a stream of bullets hitting her teammate square in the back.
The force of the gunfire made Yatsuhashi lose his balance and fall onto his side, grunting when his shoulder slammed into the ground.
"Sorry, Yatsu!" Coco shouted, then glared at the redhead that was rapidly approaching.
Pyrrha twirled her lance and transformed it into its rifle form, then took aim at Coco while maintaining her sprint. She fired round after round at her, slamming the lever up and down to reload her weapon.
A few bullets hit Coco square in the chest and made her groan, and that gave Pyrrha the chance to get right in front of her. She slammed her shield into her before transforming her gun into a sword and slashing at the older girl. Coco did a backspring and transformed her chain gun into its default form, just in time to block an attack from Pyrrha. Then Yatsuhashi appeared behind her, and she had to evade to the side to avoid his sword.
"Any time now, Sera!" Pyrrha parried a strike from Yatsuhashi and slammed her shield into him. Coco smacked her with her purse and made Pyrrha stumble, but the redhead was quick to recover. She spun on her heel and swiped each of them with her sword, then kicked off of the ground to get some distance.
Sera groaned in annoyance while climbing out of the salty water. She wiped wet hair off of her face and sighed. When she saw the state Pyrrha was in, she rolled her eyes and brandished Jupiter. "Hey!" She yelled in their direction. Coco and Yatsuhashi glanced at her, finding an extremely irate girl in wet clothes and matted hair. Coco couldn't help but smirk at her.
The amnesiac ran at them, covering the distance in seconds. Yatsuhashi separated from the others to meet her head on, and axe clashed against sword when they swung their weapons. Sera planted both feet on his midsection in a drop-kick to shove him away, then whirled around and slid a shard of electricity dust into her weapon. Without even a pick, she brought her hand down on Jupiter's strings and shot a bolt of violet lightning into her opponent's chest.
Yatsuhashi grunted at the impact, dark smoke trailing from his chest. He glared at Sera and brandished his sword, and she flashed a grin before raising Jupiter. They crossed blades again, but this time, Sera was ready. Her boots slid across the sand as Yatsuhashi slammed into her, shoved him back to dislodge their weapons. She swung Jupiter's blade towards him, but he blocked it just in time. She tried again, and again. The two of them traded blows, blocking and parrying each other in an attempt to land a hit on the other. Every attack from Yatsuhashi made her arms turn to goo when she blocked it. After a particularly nasty one, she was left with her teeth chattering.
"Jeez, how strong are you?!" She grunted and swung Jupiter at him. He was impossibly good with that big sword—faster than she could ever imagine. It was like Fulcrum was an extension of his own arm. If she could somehow get it away from him…
With that thought in mind, she fought harder. After a few moments, when Yatsuhashi was about to hit her with an overhead swing, she screamed.
"Wait!" she held a hand up. Yatsuhashi froze, blinking at her uncertainly. Sera smirked. "Do you wanna see something cool?"
"…" the tanned boy stared down at her. Apparently, his curiosity got the better of him. He shrugged.
"Bye!" Sera took off running with Jupiter in her hands, right towards Pyrrha and Coco.
"…!" Yatsuhashi grunted and went after her.
"What's this? Miss Calypso is… running away?" Port scoffed.
Then she saw her target, just between her and the others. A wide palm tree. She glanced over her shoulder and saw that Yatsuhashi was right behind her, an annoyed look on his face. Remembering what she'd done in Forever Fall when she first woke up, Sera planted her foot on the trunk and ran up it a few steps before launching herself back and over her opponent's head. She drew her shotgun and winked at Yatsuhashi in midair before pulling the trigger.
The first shell hit him in the hand and blasted Fulcrum out of his grasp. The second hit the guy square in the face and sent him to the ground. Sera cackled in victory and landed on her feet, smoothly holstering the gun before drawing Jupiter again.
"Ooh, well played, Miss Calypso!" Oobleck said approvingly.
"I concur! It's strategy such as that which truly makes a huntress worthy of her title," Port added.
"Yes! But what will our own Yatsuhashi do without his weapon, and with his aura so dangerously low from those blasts?"
"Huh?" Coco whirled her head to see her teammate on the ground and his sword laying far away from him. Yatsuhashi sat up, his eyes swimming from the direct shotgun blast and groggily glanced over to Fulcrum. He tried to claw his way over to it, but Sera was quick to plant her foot on his wrist.
"Nuh-uh," she grinned from above him. The huntress held Jupiter in its guitar form, a pick in hand while she placed her fingers onto its strings. She quickly twisted the volume knob on Jupiter and raised her hand to the sky.
"Clever girl…" Yatsuhashi murmured quietly.
Sera brought her hand down hard, her pick striking Jupiter's strings to unleash a devastating power chord that cracked the ground at her feet. A blast of violet electricity arced in every direction around her, making her look like a Tesla coil while the electricity danced along her opponent's body and made his teeth chatter.
"Jeez!" Coco clamped her hands over her ears to block out the sound.
Pyrrha smiled as she watched her teammate grin up at the sky, purple lightning enveloping her form.
When the dust cleared, Yatsuhashi was laying unconscious with his ears ringing. His aura meter dropped to zero.
"With an amazingly deafening blast from her weapon, Sera Calypso has knocked Yatsuhashi Daichi out of the match! After disarming the young man, she unleashed the full brunt of her power against the powerless huntsman! Outstanding!" Port shouted into the microphone.
"And Miss Adel seems to not be faring too well against the infamous Invincible Girl! Things… don't look good for team CFVY," Oobleck said.
"Keep it up, Miss Calypso, and you very well might take Miss Valkyrie's place as my favorite student!" Port said boisterously.
"Hey!" Nora cried indignantly from the stands.
Coco gritted her teeth and turned to face the two opposing students. She removed her sunglasses and shoved them into her jacket pocket before shooting them a glare. "Guess this just got more serious."
"Yup," Sera said, putting extra emphasis on the 'P.' She strolled towards the brunette with Jupiter resting on her shoulder.
"There's no shame in forfeiting," Pyrrha said kindly.
"Ha! As if," Coco smirked. "I've been waiting for a challenge like this!"
Pyrrha frowned slightly, then used her semblance to pick up Igni from the sand and toss it to Sera, who caught it with ease and sheathed it across her back.
"Sticking with the freakin' guitar, huh?" Coco rolled her eyes.
Sera tapped her fingers onto Jupiter's neck while it rested along her shoulder. "It's starting to grow on me."
Coco shrugged. "Fair. Now are we gonna fight or what?"
Pyrrha rushed her and tried to swipe at her with her lance. Coco evaded to the side and brought her bag up fast and hard, uppercutting the redhead under the chin.
Sera ran in and swung Jupiter, but Coco batted her weapon to the side and slammed her bag into her face. She stumbled back and clutched her face, groaning in annoyance.
"When did you get so fast?" She spat.
Coco shrugged smugly. "The gun slows me down."
Then Pyrrha appeared behind her and knocked her aside with her shield and Coco stumbled to the side. Sera followed up by smacking her in the ribs with Jupiter and the coffee-themed girl grunted from the hit but quickly wrapped her arm around the guitar and swung her feet to kick Sera in the chest.
"Oof!" The amnesiac groaned as all the air in her lungs suddenly escaped. She landed on her back and wheezed as she picked herself up.
"It seems that Miss Adel has not given up quite yet!" Oobleck noted.
"Yes, but her aura is dangerously low. If she's not careful, one good hit could finish the fight," Port commented.
The stadium was silent. All eyes were on the trio of students fighting each other. The quietness sent a chill up Sera's spine.
Coco shot to her feet and lunged at them, a fierce look in her eyes. Her bag knocked aside Pyrrha's shield before she punched her square in the face. Pyrrha grunted and quickly brought her foot up to kick her in the side, then swung her opposite hand to slice into the girl's aura.
Finally, Sera's breathing returned to normal, and she was back in the fight. She ran towards Coco just in time for her to knock Pyrrha away. In place of the redhead, she saw a cocky girl with white hair sprinting at her. Coco fell to her knees to avoid Jupiter swinging towards her head, then slammed her bag into the amnesiac to shove her away. Then Pyrrha jumped over her teammate and brought her javelin down on her head.
Stars swam across Coco's vision from the hit, and she stumbled. "Ugh…" she groaned.
Sera and Pyrrha stood beside each other, their chests heaving from how long this fight was dragging on. They stared at their opponent for a few moments, then glanced at each other.
"Together?" Sera panted.
Pyrrha nodded and readied her javelin and shield. Sera brandished Jupiter and morphed it into an axe.
"I go high, you go low?" Sera asked.
"Whoa, whoa," Coco pointed at them. "This isn't over yet."
The redhead glanced at their aura meters on the big screen. Pyrrha's was at a quarter, Sera's was just below hers, and Coco's was dangerously close to the red line. "I'm afraid it is," she said.
Then they rushed her. True to what they'd planned, Pyrrha aimed for Coco's legs and used her shield to sweep her off the ground and turn her horizontal. In an instant, Jupiter swung down to hit her in the chest and slam her into the sand.
Coco gasped sharply when her back hit the ground, knocking her breath out. Her aura visibly shattered before her shaking eyes closed and her body went limp.
"Told you it was over," Pyrrha said, then put on a kind smile and stretched her hand out to the fallen girl.
Coco bit back a curse and took her hand, then Pyrrha pulled her to her feet. "Thanks," she muttered.
"An impressive knockout by team JNPR! With that, they advance onto the singles round to determine the winner of the festival. Who will proceed? Will it be Pyrrha Nikos, or Sera Calypso? Stay tuned to find out!" Port announced.
Sera panted hard and smiled at her red-haired friend. "We kicked ass!" She laughed, then patted Coco on the back. "Good fight, too. That was even more fun than the first round!"
Coco smirked and slid her sunglasses onto her face. "Yeah, that was a good time." She glanced over to Yatsuhashi, who was finally picking himself off the ground. "You okay, Hashi?"
Yatsuhashi looked in Coco's direction. His ears were still ringing from Sera's musical blast, so he could see that Coco was speaking to him, but all he could hear was the ringing. "WHAT?" he shouted.
Coco rolled her eyes. "Great. If you made him deaf, I swear I'll—"
"He'll be fine," Sera grinned. "First-concert ear ringing. Give him an hour or so."
The brunette scoffed, then walked in her teammate's direction while shaking her head. Pyrrha glanced at Sera with skeptical eyes. "You sure he'll be okay?"
"Positive," she nodded affirmatively. "…Maybe."
Pyrrha laughed and put away her weapons. "Come on, I think we deserve something to eat."
"You read my mind," she exhaled and slung Jupiter across her back. She and Pyrrha put their arms around each other's shoulders while they exited the arena. Mostly to support each other's weight. They were about to fall over.
"So," Pyrrha glanced at her warily. "Who's going to the singles round?"