A/N: Chapter 40 of REKT. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or teams of RWBY, they belong to Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum. What I do own are the characters and teams of my OCs: REKT, GTSY, KACE and DAZE.
Special thanks to the reviewers and to the readers who Fav/Alert this story, I really appreciate it.
Chapter 40: New Challengers (III)
Inside the arena...
"You're mine, Pretty Boy!" Skyla crowed after Port announced they could begin the match, going right for Aero with her naginata drawn before anyone could move an inch. Jumping high into the air she came down swinging, hitting the kite-shaped shield the male threw up in time with a loud 'clang'. Somersaulting back the two of them raced off, lost in a fight of their own.
"I was hoping you'd come for me!" He replied, swiping at her with the dagger in his hand. Skidding to a halt he positioned his shield in front and fired a few more daggers from the barely noticeable slits. "Let me show you what I'm capable of!"
"Ha! You're gonna have to do better than that!" She replied, taking shelter among the trees while the projectiles embed themselves onto the trunks. Hoisting herself onto the branches she began jumping from treetop to treetop, "See if you can hit me within this dense forest!"
"Come down here so I can hit you!" He shouted after her, running below to keep her in his sights. "Stop running away!"
"Well there they go..." Grimsley sighed, the rest of the team just watching as a couple sparks danced into the air. "And here I thought it was supposed to be a team fight too."
"I mean I'm not against one-on-one, however," Thalia held up what looked like a circular shield – it was almost as large as her body and could possibly withstand even the craziest of power – that transformed into a submachine gun. She grinned and held the weapon confidently, locking and loading it immediately. " I prefer fighting as a support unit."
"Shall we get this on then?" asked Yuri as she pinned her hair up and out of her face so she wouldn't be blinded. She seemed to have a level head and didn't seem to be in some sort of rush. "What's the time limit we're shooting for?"
"Hmmm...I'd say no more than an hour."
"Then I'm off, time to see if we can beat that record." Some kind of capsule shot out from Yuri's belt buckle, extending to what seemed to be a quarterstaff. Holding it so that at least an inch of the end was sticking out, she rushed towards Eryn. The girl noticed her opponent closing in and jumped straight up, avoiding the blow that would've gone to the chest. "Nice dodge there."
"I guess I'm your opponent then." The green-haired huntress stated, landing on her feet and turned to face her challenger. Her weapon was drawn and held tightly within one hand, the blade glinting under the sun's rays. "That was some greeting though, I wouldn't want to get knocked back so easily."
"That you are." Yuri replied as she fixed her hand position on the quarterstaff. Her eyes locked in on Eryn's and she added, "And I am honored to be your opponent in this fight. Now come."
"I'll go after the other girl and let you deal with the leader." Zack spoke when he and Dalton were the only ones standing around; the girls moved to another area to continue their own battle. "It's only natural that this fight is like that."
"Even though this battle is supposed to be 'team oriented'. Seriously...I didn't imagine it to be like this." Dalton sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Any battle strategies and thoughts he conjured up were gone just like that.
"You thought the same thing I have."
"What the-?!" Dalton looked as Grimsley appeared behind him with a massive scythe held within his hands. Even Zack looked just as baffled, unable to think about what just happened. When did he move like that?! I haven't even moved one single step!
"Dalton! Hang on I'm coming!"
Ratatatata~ Ratatatata~
"Oh deary me, it seems my hand slip~" Thalia giggled, stopping the man in his tracks from assisting. There was a glint in her eyes when she continued, "But I simply cannot accept the fact that you blatantly ignored me and attempted to help your leader out. This after all...is our dance~"
"Some weird dance this is." commented Zack, transforming his Rokushakubo into its gun form and firing away. "Definitely not something I'd want to do a second time." Thalia grinned, changing her gun back to its buckler form and listened as the bullets rattled off the surface.
What was that move just now? I leaned forward in my seat with interest, my fingers curling tightly around the edge. For a split second it seemed as though he projected an image of himself behind his opponent...and then his body just warped to that spot. Could he have activated his Semblance? What an interesting thing to witness!
"Oh my, you seem to be shell-shocked...shooba-doo-wa." Grimsley stated calmly, keeping the blade of his weapon hairs width from touching the skin. "However I don't want you to go down too quickly."
"Heh," A broad smile crawled its way up the blond's face and he merely took one step forward, piercing the skin enough to draw blood. "I'd say the same for you."
"Hmmm?" The dark haired Huntsman frowned before he felt a warm liquid dribbling down his front. Raising a hand he touched it gently, pulling back to see that he too was bleeding in the same area. "Oh? Is that your Semblance?"
"That's right. My Semblance allows me to inflict the same damage to my opponents. So do be careful where you strike."
"So it's a battle of endurance..." The leader of Team GTSY mused, backing off and watching his opponent wearily. "I am very excited to see what the outcome is."
"Wow have you ever seen anything like this before? Both teams seems to have separated and are participating in four mini matches!" Port commentated as he watched from the observatory box. "Each of the combatants are truly focused on their one opponent and aren't interested in helping each other out. What do you think Oobleck?"
"Frankly it's a very risky move! Everyone knows that strength in numbers will surely outweigh anything!" The green haired professor stated clearly just as an explosion occurred on the field. "However, I'm sure one team in particular has everything figured out but their opponents aren't making it that much easier!"
"They aren't holding anything back." Weiss stated, her eyes going from one battle to the next. Each one was interesting to watch so she couldn't keep her focus on one pair alone. "It's a brutal match down there for sure!"
"I don't think we'd have the guts to split up like what they're doing. Ironically because we've been having solo battles but I think this tournament proves that everyone battles differently and we can't take that for granted. Here, we have to think about our moves carefully." Kairos added, taking a huge sip of her drink that she placed on her lap. "One slip up could cost us our lives."
"There's so much happening I can't even keep up..." Yang commented, watching as Thalia and Zack moved their battle to where the geysers were. The platinum haired woman seems to be having the time of her life, taunting her much larger opponent who was grumbling profanities under his breath. Not too far away, Eryn and Yuri were dead-locked in a close combat fight. Both women were trying to outdo each other in terms of utilizing their weapons in the most optimal way. "I've never seen anything like this before and I can feel the amazing pressure in the air from here...!"
"It seems the duo in the forest aren't getting any where..." said Ruby as a spark caught her eyes. Some of the other students seemed to also forget about the forest battle but thankfully a monitor mounted in that direction managed to shoot some live footage. "I can't really see due to the thick foliage anyways..."
"The girl is basically keeping the boy on his toes." Blake explained since she got a clear view of the monitor, her eyes tracking every single movement. "But I have a feeling like their match is coming to a conclusion..."
"Huh? How do you know that?" asked Yang, giving her battle partner a questioning look. "Are you a psychic or something? Because if you are that'd be so cool!"
"I'm not a psychic but I feel as though none of them wants to prolong their fights."
"You're definitely no ordinary ninja." Dalton gasped, ducking as the scythe nearly cleaved his head off. Sliding back he quickly blocked the blade that was coming from the back with his mace. His clothes were ripped and his blood was mixing in with his sweat and grime. "Really now, no one can catch up with your movements."
"You seem to be keeping up with me just fine." Grimsley spoke, reappearing a few feet away. Tutting with his tongue he twirled his weapon slowly to the side. He was covered with nasty injuries and blood dribbled down to pool the ground. "I should praise you because I've never been pushed into the corner like this. May I have your name at least?"
"Dalton Dreygon."
"Well then Dalton...I must congratulate you for making this far. But this is as far as you'll go, I'm taking away your victory."
"What?!" The blond watched as the dark-haired male pointed his scythe straight up into the air. The weapon glowed brightly, seemingly sucking in as much Aura as it possibly could. "Is it...charging up power? How is it doing that?"
"Here it comes...see if you can reflect this attack back to me." Grimsley crouched before lunging forward. Faster than the eyes could see he swung his scythe around before coming to a halt, slinging his weapon over his shoulders. "Shadow Strike."
"Gwwwwahhhhh!" Dalton screamed as he felt the slashes pierce his body from every angle. Blood oozed from between his lips and he fell to the ground in defeat. No way...impossible. In that split second, my Semblance couldn't...couldn't keep up.
"And it seems like Dalton's Aura level has gone to 10 percent!" Port announced, holding the microphone close to his mouth. "Thus he is unable to continue the fight for Team DAZE!"
"Hmm...and just around an hour and thirty minutes." Grimsley mused before looking around, sticking his weapon into the ground and leaned against it. He was breathing heavily and was genuinely surprised that his opponent's Semblance didn't return the damage back to him. "Did everyone finish?"
"You look like a mess." Thalia commented as she walked up to him, smoke exited out the mouth of her weapon. She brushed a few strands of hair out of her face and huffed with annoyance. "Ick, I could use a shower myself."
"How did you do it? Finishing your match I mean..."
"Oh I lured my opponent over to the rocks." She pointed to where Zack laid face down, his weapon not too far away embedded into a rock and almost split it in half. "The timing of those geysers were hard to pinpoint, but once I got the pattern I waited till he stepped on one and then fired off bullets till his Aura dropped to 15 percent. He has such a hard time maneuvering in midair so he became an easy target."
"Thank goodness you didn't kill him."
"You make it sound like we're bad people." Both of them turned to see Yuri approach them with Eryn slung over her shoulders. The dark-brown haired huntress had multiple cuts from the katana swipes and she hastily wiped the blood running across her palm on her clothes, leaving a red streak across it. "We aren't that savage enough to kill a down opponent."
"You didn't hurt her too badly did you?" asked Grimsley, a concern tone laced in his voice.
"Just knocked her unconscious but it's nothing too serious." Yuri replied as she laid her opponent gently on the floor. There were bruises and red spots where the huntress landed her blows but those were just external injuries. Internal injuries would have to be checked by the medical unit. "She's really good actually, I'd want to spar with her again."
"Right~?! Can we play with them again?" Skyla asked, tugging on her leader's pants. She had the biggest grin on her face and she snuck up on them silently enough that they were startled by her appearance."I didn't have enough time to run my sword through his body!"
"You need to clean up that bad habit of yours." Yuri frowned, tapping her teammate's head with a closed fist. "They aren't like the Grimm you know."
"I don't see your opponent anywhere." Thalia noted, giving the smaller girl a look. "What did you do to him?"
"So we ended up playing tag in the woods, him trying to get me with his daggers while I used the trees for cover. Well I was so caught up in the game that I almost didn't notice that we were really close to where the arena ended. When I noticed he backed me up into a corner...or so he thought! I managed to trick him into coming closer and then I kicked him out of the arena." Skyla chirped before pointing with a hand. "You see? He's over there sitting on the ground."
God damn it...how could I let a girl like her beat me?! This is embarrassing! Aero wallowed to himself, his back facing his opponents. His clothes were ripped and he may have scratched his elbows and knees from running or brushing up against the tree trunks. Eryn wouldn't let me hear the end of this for sure! Neither would Dalton...I'm so screwed!
"And it seems like our winner is Team GTSY! Lets give both teams a round of applause!" said Port while the arena erupted into screams and shouts as students began to yell to their hearts content. "Both teams fought bravely but ultimately Team GTSY moves onto the double battles!"
"Wow...are they seasoned veterans or something? I've never seen anything like that before!" asked Ruby as the medic team rushed onto the stage, tending to the wounded. "It was so awesome!"
"I've never seen those Semblances before either...was there something in the books that I missed?" Blake wondered, thinking to herself. "Something I'd want to investigate in my spare time."
"Now I definitely wanna spar against him!" Yang pipped up, her eyes honing in on Grimsley as he walked away with his team. He didn't leave the battle unscathed but assured the medical team that he would get checked up at some point and that they should tend to the other team first. "He almost wields the same weapon as Uncle Qrow...except it changes into guns and not a giant ass sword."
"Yang I hate to be the bearer of bad news but...you won't last long against him." Weiss frowned, wondering if her teammate could think of any other strategy instead of jumping head first into trouble. "If he can do that much damage then I wouldn't want to take him on without being fully prepared first."
"The best way to find out is if I demand a sparring match with him!" She smacked her fists together and grinned. "I'm getting fired up just thinking about it!"
"Don't get too far ahead of yourself." Efram chuckled, stretching out his arms and back because he sat too long in the seat. "I don't think he used his full power because his opponent was capable of wounding him in the same way. If you were to fight against him at full strength you could lose."
"Maaaaan, does no one have faith in my abilities?" Yang pouted before she thought about it. "On second thought you guys may be right...Okay then, I'll just ask him at a later time if he'd be willing to spar with me a bit! It's the least he could do right?"
"Don't ask us because we aren't him!" Timber laughed. "But I think he'll be okay with sparring against you if you ask polietly."
"That concludes all the matches for today. Please leave the coliseum in a CALM AND ORDERLY FASHION!" Oobleck's loud voice caused all the students to grit their teeth with pain, their hands raised to cover their ears. "Thank you very much!"
"Someone should wrench that microphone away from Professor Oobleck otherwise ears would bleed." The blonde brawler grumbled, her hands already up to block as much of the noise as possible. "I'm also willing to bet he's having a field day since he's able to broadcast his voice with volume to a large range audience."
Inside Crow Bar...
"Wowie! Now that was a match."
"Pssssssh! That was a mess if anything. Honestly there's still a lot left to learn...though that team seems much more fluid than those before them. Probably more battle experience."
"Come on man, you're being a little too harsh." The bartender looked at his customer with a very skeptical look. "Since you don't seem to like any of the Vale kids then what fight are you really here for?" The man glanced up before the sound of an airship flying past the window caught his attention. Turning his head slightly he could see some kind of streamers extending out from the wings and narrowed his eyes, watching as it approached the arena.
"That one." He replied stiffly and stood up slowly to his feet. Rummaging around his pockets he fished out the correct amount of lien, placing the money on the counter. "Whoo...Happy Vytal Festival." As he sauntered out of the bar, the bartender placed the glass he was cleaning down and reached for the dirty one. Unfortunately he pulled his hand back too quickly and the glass he cleaned fell to the floor, shattering into pieces.
"Aw, gee darnit."
"Ooof!" Ruby grunted when Weiss just stopped in the middle of her walk unannounced, her eyes glued to something in the sky. Rubbing her nose she asked, "Oh...what are you looking at?"
"She's here." The ice heiress breathed, her mouth forming into one of those relieved smiles. "She's actually here." Not bothering to contain her excitement she rushed outside the coliseum with Ruby hot on her heels. Rushing out the double doors she ran towards where the airship was docking.
"Weiss! Wait up!" Ruby huffed as she ran after the heiress, soon catching up to her teammate who focused her attention to the vehicle. "Who is that? Who is she?"
"It's Winter." Weiss breathed, watching the hatch opening and a few soldiers walk out. Her eyes lit up when a tall young woman, with a fair complexion, stepped out into the open. Her white hair was tied up in a bun at the rear left corner of her head while her bangs fell towards the right. A small curled lock of hair tumbled down the back and reaches below the left ear.
"Wait...your sister?" Ruby questioned, watching the older Schnee turn to address her crew. The white coat with a red brooch was a bit intimidating, but she left her upper arms exposed to allow breathing room. Her pants had garter incorporated into them which probably allows for mobility during a tight fight. She looks somewhat scary...but this is the first time I get to see Weiss' sister in the flesh.
"Winter!" Cupping her hands Weiss yelled across the courtyard, scaring Ruby at how loud her voice got. Hearing her name, the older sibling turned around, her slate blue eyes focused on the two young huntresses. "Winter! I'm so happy to see you!" She cleared her throat and added, with a graceful curtsy, "Oh, your presence honors us."
I have no idea what I should do in this situation...Ruby just stood in shock, letting Weiss do her thing.
"Beacon, it's been a long time." Winter finally stated, looking around at the school with a look of disinterest. "The air feels...different."
"I mean it is fall so it's probably colder..." Ruby chirped awkwardly, rubbing the back of her head with a hand. Giving her leader a very quizzical expression Weiss hastily smacked her over the head. "Owww...That hurt!"
"So, what are you doing here?" Weiss questioned politely, deflecting the question to Winter so she didn't have to watch Ruby nurse her newly acquired wound. "Something awesome right?"
"Classified."
"Oh, right. Well, how long are you staying?"
"Classified."
"Of course."
"You're just gonna take that answer?" Ruby whispered, getting a stink eye from Weiss who just smiled in response. The leader of RWBY then cleared her throat and said, "Well, this is nice...I think. God it's very awkward..."
"You're going to love it here! I know you travel a lot, but so much of Beacon is different from Atlas! Vale, too!" Weiss just exploded and had a motor mouth, something Ruby wasn't aware of. "The government and school are completely separate! Can you believe it? I–"
"I'm more than familiar with how this kingdom handles its bureaucracy. But that is not why I came." Winter interrupted quickly.
"Right! I'm sorry."
"Wow...you're apologizing. That's a first – ugh!" Ruby winced when Weiss attempted to strangle her. She quickly tapped on the arm while taking in air when she could. "W-Weiss! I'm t-t-tapping out! Tapping out!"
"Nor did I come here to watch my own blood fail so miserable in battle. But it appears I have no choice in the matter."
"But we won." Weiss, letting Ruby go, exclaimed, unsure why her sister wasn't happy. She thought Winter would be somewhat proud of what she had accomplished so far. "We're going onto the double rounds!"
"Only a novice would refer to that as a victory. I counted at least three strikes missed." Weiss winced when she heard the number. Her spirit almost plummeted when hearing her sister's criticism. After ordering her soldiers to leave them be, Winter then took a deep breath and asked, "How have you been?"
Huh? It's almost as if she's acting like a robot...Ruby thought, tilting her head as she wondered about the sudden change in behavior. Does she have multiple personalities or perhaps this is how she communicates while on official business.
"Oh, splendid! Thank you for asking." Weiss replied almost automatically, as if she were programmed to say the lines. She also seemed to be using a lot of hand gestures. "I'm actually in the very top ranking of our sparring class. The rest of my studies are going wonderfully too. I'm–"
"Silence, you boob!" Winter smacked her, watching as a bump appeared on her sister's head. "I didn't recall asking about your ranking. I asked how you've been." There was a sort of sisterly love that flashed across her face that Ruby caught and she's made a mental note that Weiss' sister is almost like Yang. "Are you eating properly? Have you taken up any hobbies? Are you making new friends?"
"Well, there's Ruby. But I have others who aren't here at the moment that I'd hope you'll meet while you stay here." Weiss gestured to her leader who looked like she was going to explode into laughter. "What are you laughing at?"
"Heh, she called you a boob." Ruby snorted before prodding the bump on Weiss' head. "Boob."
"I see. So this is the leader you wrote of." Winter looked her over, judging her based on appearance and behavior only. "How appropriately...underwhelming."
"Uhh, thank you...I guess." Wow Ruby that didn't even sound like a compliment, why the hell did I thank her?
"Greetings Ruby Rose. I wish to thank you for taking an interest in my sister."
"You mean in a friend way...right? Cause Yang may have...said a few things..." Ruby took one look into the blue eyes and quickly covered up by saying, "I mean...oh, yes, of course! The honor is in my...er...court." She also added a little curtsy of her own after giving Weiss a glance.
"I have business with the general and your headmaster. But seeing as I'm ahead of schedule, why don't you take me to your quarters?" Winter neatly folded her hands over one another, looking between Ruby and Weiss with a smile on her face. "I'm sure it's a lovely sight to behold."
"Really?" Weiss squeaked as she began to fall in line with her sister, obviously ignoring Ruby who stepped aside to let them pass. "You don't mind looking at where we live?"
"Yes, I don't mind. I wish to inspect them and make sure they're up to my personal standards."
"Of course." Weiss said as if it was an obvious answer. Then she thought about something and added, "Just so you're aware, the bunk beds only look unstable."
"Bunk...beds?" questioned Winter.
"Oh sure, don't mind me...I'll reconvene with you both at a later...juncture!" Ruby yelled after them, clearly aware that she was going to be left behind. "Yeah, at a juncture!"
Elsewhere...
What the hell is going on?! I returned to the room to grab something when my mark suddenly felt really hot against my skin. Stumbling towards the bathroom I barely locked the door when I felt a familiar pull beckoning me. Feeling myself being separated from my body I began falling through empty space before coming to a halt, hovering in absolute nothingness.
"Well I certainly don't miss this place...nope, not one bit." Grumbling to myself I looked around the pitch black void and said in a loud voice, "Hey! Why did you bring me here? It's been awhile so it must be something good!"
Oh you don't know why we summoned you? Surely you must've felt a murderous presence that has made itself known on school grounds. The voices whispered close to my ear, almost tickling it. This is dangerous...really dangerous indeed...
"Huh? Like the presence of Grimm?" I asked curiously. "Honestly I haven't heard any news about those creatures since Mount Glenn."
You fool! Not the presence of Grimm...it smells like a very experience hunter. Even I can smell the numerous amount of blood from our slain brethren all the way here...oozing from a weapon she carries. She's killed a whole bunch of us! No mercy was shown!
"So what does that have to do with me exactly?" I crossed my arms over my chest. "Listen I'm still participating in the Vytal tournament so if you run things by yourself and get me hurt...well there will be consequences!"
You're gonna go meet her no matter what! A dark claw shot out from the dark, grasping for me as I jumped back and out of its reach. Oh yes! Someone who dares to raise her sword against us creatures has appeared! And as the Great One...it's your duty to fight for those who had fallen to that blade. It's your sworn duty!
"You are insane you know that?! Now send me back, I've had enough of this nonsense!" In an instant I was back into my physical body and lying on the tile floor. Standing up onto wobbly legs I noticed that I had a small gash across my head and frowned. For someone to get my mark all riled up...she must be very powerful. Just who is she I wonder.
