It was an exciting day at Beacon, and for once, the chaos was appreciated. In the floating stadium, spectators from all over the world watched and went wild at the battle below.
On a field of volcanic earth and icy glaciers, Ruby Rose fired and swung her Crescent Rose at Nadir Shiko of Team ABRN. Blake Belladonna exchanged blows with Reese Chloris, the blades of Gambol Shroud colliding with her opponent's hoverboard until Blake flipped away, readied herself, and charged in again. Behind her, Weiss Schnee waved Myrtenaster at Bolin Hori, and Yang Xiao Long dodged the explosive force of Arslan Altan's punch before returning fire with her own Ember Celicas.
In other words, the Vytal Festival tournament was off to a spectacular start.
"Hello!" Professor Port greeted the crowd from the sportscaster's desk. "It seems that we have another astonishing bout ahead of us! Wouldn't you agree, Professor?"
Oobleck shot him a look. "Doctor. And yes Peter, I think it's safe to say this match may be the closest we've seen of the four-on-four rounds of the tournament!"
"For those of you just now joining us, welcome to the Vytal Festival Tournament, broadcast live from the Amity Colosseum!" Port smiled. "If this is your first time watching, allow us to break down the rules."
Oobleck pushed up his glasses. "The tournament is divided into three distinctive rounds: teams, doubles, and singles. Age and school year are irrelevant! In this tournament, your only attribute being tested... is skill."
Ben, in the stadium seats, munched on his popcorn. "I feel like he's just calling us out for being ignorant."
Kevin elbowed him. "They're just restating the rules for the folks at home, dude."
"If it makes you feel better, I do not know the rules either," Blonko added.
"I knew some of the rules," Kylie piped up.
"I'm just going in blind," Ceres said, resting her feet on the back of Cardin's seat. "Besides, we already know who we're going up against."
"And who's that?" Ben asked. Ceres simply motioned down to her foot rest, and Ben had to stifle a laugh. "Oooh, yeah, they're SCREWED."
Back on the field, Reese steered her board through the ice. She twirled herself until the board got launched at Blake, but the Faunus was able to knock it away, only for Reese to simply direct it back. Blake blocked it again, but the board rotated back to its wielder just in time to defend, as Blake delivered several slashes and kicks at her opponent. Reese deflected each attack and spun her weapon around until she could flip away and ride it again, rushing towards a smirking Blake. Reese collided with the frozen shadow clone, and Blake sliced the board in two, only for the halves to become dual katars that folded up into bayonet-bladed revolvers. Reese managed to fire off a few rounds... before her tailbone collided painfully with the cold ground.
Blake could only wince in sympathy.
Meanwhile, Yang landed a few feet away from Arslan. She backed away before being pounded by a flurry of punches and kicks until Arslan returned the favor, ending with the two smashing fists and creating a shockwave from the impact. Yang and Arslan were both blown back, but Yang immediately ran back towards her opponent. She tried delivering more blows, but Arslan used her rope dart to tangle Yang up. She landed a kick strong enough to send Yang skidding on the ground. While she tried to get her balance back on the slippery surface, Arslan rushed forward and knocked her back even further.
Nearby, Nadir Shiko tried aiming with his assault rifle at Yang... but a sudden burst of frosty blue exploded behind him and left the whimpering gunner in a block of ice up to his thighs. Ruby waved teasingly at him from behind her sniper scope.
"Gotcha back, sis!"
"But who's got yours?" Ruby whirled around to see Bolin behind her, twirling his staff and ready to strike her down. But then a black snowflake glyph appeared to his left and Weiss kicked him through it, right into a rock.
"Thanks for the assist!" Ruby grinned, which Weiss returned a small smile.
Bolin crouched, his weapon ready, as a white glyph appeared in front of him. A second later Weiss dashed by and slashed at him, then leapt up and attempted an aerial attack, which he was barely able to block. She readied her sword while preparing a glyph behind her; Ruby used it to launch herself up and come down spinning on Bolin, who managed to block the curved blade. Ruby grimaced and blasted herself away to Weiss' side, and Bolin rushed at them, dodging the shards of ice that rained on him and jumping over Ruby's swing.
Running past them, Bolin reached an orange crystal deposit and sliced off a shard. He threw it over to Reese, who was still on the icy half of the stadium. With Dust in hand Reese fused it with her board, turning the aqua lights crimson.
Ben grinned. "I gotta get me one of those."
Ceres was already thinking up blueprints. "Same."
Reese flew over to Nadir and melted him out of his icy prison. She turned back to Blake and slammed her board into Gambol Shroud, propelling herself backwards and knocking Blake through a frozen pillar. Reese attempted to use her board to slam her foe into the ground, but Blake dodged that, so she spun around in a flaming arc that her opponent narrowly avoided.
Blake launched the pistol part of Gambol Shroud at a nearby glacier and flew herself behind it. Reese followed and saw Blake under an arch with her back turned. Reese smirked before riding in to deliver a flaming slash, only to see that familiar black ribbon a moment too late. Blake pulled the ribbon, and Reese slammed body-first into it; with a final kick, Reese crashed into the wall of the stands before plummeting the ground, defeated.
"Ooh! A spectacular ring out by Miss Belladonna!" Professor Port declared.
"Looks like Miss Chloris should've worn a helmet!" Oobleck quipped.
Back at the fight, Arslan used her rope to swing around and avoid Yang, who was right behind her, using shotgun blasts to propel herself forward. Nadir jumped into the fray, aiming his rifle at Weiss as she summoned another glyph and launched Bolin at him.
The two teammates were helpless as Weiss created a whirlwind underneath them, slamming the two together. And then she formed a giant ice fist straight up from the ground to trap the two. Once they were captured, the fist reformed itself into a ball that proceeded to roll around the field. Arslan glanced over and rolled her eyes, changing direction and sliding into the path of the ball. She readied her stance and drove her hand into the sphere, shattering it completely and freeing her teammates.
"It's all yours." Weiss grinned at Yang. Knowing what to do, Yang blasted herself forward and skimmed over the ice wall. She caught Blake's pistol as her teammate used Ruby as a launch pad to jump off of towards the remaining members of ABRN. The three could only watch in horror as Blake whipped a screaming Yang around, helpless to stop that devastating punch from literally knocking them out of the tournament.
The buzzer sounded off, the crowd went wild, and the team celebrated with the appropriate reaction.
"...holy shit, that worked?!" Ruby yelled.
"That was not the way I expected it to go," Yang huffed.
Ben stretched out his arms, hearing the satisfying cracks in his shoulders. This was going to be fun: Zeta Squad vs Team CRDL. It would be an excellent warm up for the rest of the tournament.
Zeta Squad already knew this match would be easy, but the way Cardin and his team were swaggering, as if they had a chance, just fueled Ben's desire to beat their asses senseless.
"We've been training hard, y'know," Cardin said, during the environmental 'spin'. "Don't think we haven't been studying your moves during training time."
"...so you've been voyeuring us?" Ben joked. "Ewww."
Cardin turned red. "No! Not like that! We're just...studying your every move..."
"Can't blame him," Kevin said, faux flexing. "Can't help if Ben, Blonko, and I get all the attention from both sides~"
"Please!" Cardin huffed. "If we'd spy on one of you, it'd be her!" He pointed a finger at Ceres.
Ceres glared at him and cocked her gauntlets. "Alright, we were just joking at first, but now I'm really looking forward to hurting you," she said, smoking leaking from her mouth.
"I'm glad I was excluded from your ogling," Kylie added.
Cardin blanched as the buzzer sounded.
Ceres struck him with enough force to make him skid back. He tried to counter, only to hit Kevin's arm shields, courtesy of Bashmouth and Doppler. He fell to one knee then rolled to dodge as Kylie came down from above, digging True Rebel into the ground.
"Jesus Christ!" Cardin yelled as Ben ran at him. The boy immediately went for a spear kick, but Cardin grabbed his leg and grinned. His eyes burned, his Semblance at the ready. "Nice try. I'm not falling for that one again."
"I figured." Ben grinned as he kicked Cardin square in the jaw. Cardin lost his grip on the boy, and Ben reached into his pocket and pulled out the ball bearing projectiles. He flipped back as he kicked the now soccer ball-sized bearings into Cardin's chest. He hissed as Ben pulled out some more and dropped them on the ground.
"Time for the shootout." Ben grinned as he kicked the balls at Cardin. He raised up his weapon and started to deflect the attacks, sending them flying across the arena...
And then one hit Ceres in the head. She turned around and glared. You know that one scene in the Justice League cartoon where Wonder Woman gets hit by a soldier and she gives him a look that says 'You're dead, jackass'?
Yeah. Cardin was right to be worried.
"Here lies Cardin Winchester- date of birth, April 11, 2000. Date of death, November 10th, 2018." Ben said out loud as he watched Cardin scramble away from Ceres. "Cause of death: attempting to be clever. He will not be missed."
Ceres rushed in with a flurry of punches straight to the boy's chest, before throwing him to the ground. And then she put her gauntlets together and released three massive explosions, lighting up the field in blue light.
"A SURPRISING FIRST KNOCKOUT FROM MISS CERES NORTH!" Oobleck shouted, and the crowd went wild. From the stands, Velvet Scarlatina erupted in cheers, much to her team's shock.
Suffice to say Velvet was a Ceres fan.
Blonko sent a few energy arrows at Dove Bronzewing, but he blocked the arrows with his sword. "I was told you were the most skilled member of your team," the alien noted, changing the Prototool to its staff mode.
Dove smirked. "Yeah? And what of it?"
"Nothing," Blonko said. "I just wanted to know how much I should hold back."
Dove charged at Blonko, but Blonko used his staff to pole vault over him. He landed with a flip before rushing at Dove with a flurry of hits. Dove blocked them all with his sword, before smirking lightly. He pulled the trigger at the handle of his blade, releasing a bullet that hit Blonko dead in the chest. He stumbled back as Dove dragged his sword along the ground.
"Impressive weapon. How many uses does it have?" he asked casually.
"Plenty." Blonko grinned as he shifted his weapon to its bladed function. The two continued to clash blades as the others fought in the background.
Kylie fired some shots at Sky Lark, who quickly dodged them. "Missed me!" he taunted as he swung his Feather's Edge at her. Kylie didn't even flinch as she blocked the halberd with her weapon.
"That boss of yours is something, ain't she?" Sky taunted. "She free?"
Kylie cringed. "She's taken, buddy!" she huffed as she let go of her weapon, turning herself into mist. Sky fell through the smoke, landing flat on his face. He groaned as he looked up to see Kevin, gleefully looking down on him.
"So, wanna see how far I can throw you?" he asked. Kevin grabbed him by the leg and swung them easily. Sky screamed as Kevin suddenly let go, sending the bastard into a tree in another area, knocking him unconscious.
Kylie reappeared as Kevin stumbled around a bit. "Pro wrestling much?"
"Hey, you know he deserved it."
Russel Thrush darted towards Ben, swinging his blades at the boy. Ben dodged them with ease; Russel's style was sloppy and full of mistakes, but ultimately hyper offensive. Ben could barely get a hit in.
Russel grinned as swung one last time- a small tornado formed from the blades of one of his two weapons, and Ben was sucked into it and flung upwards, leaving him much more vulnerable to Russel's attack. Russel dug his other blade into the ground, sending sparks of energy across the battlefield and towards Ben. Multiple bolts of lighting shot out of the ground, shocking Ben to his core. He screamed in pain as he crumbled to the ground.
"Ow..." Ben hissed, still twitching from the shock.
"Not so tough without your aliens now, are you?" Russel taunted, walking over to finish him off.
"Well, duh," Ben coughed. "However...with my teammates..."
Russel raised an eyebrow as Kylie's True Rebel wrapped around his legs. Kylie yanked hard on her chain, and Russel fell face first on the ground. He grumbled as he looked up to see Ceres holding a massive fireball in her hands.
Russel learned the true importance of teamwork that day.
That, and how much blue fire HURT.
In the midst of all the chaos, Dove and Blonko continued their duel. Blonko was shocked at how careful and precise Dove's style was. Yes, his group was made up of savage boys...but he was perhaps the most redeemable.
And the most honorable, oddly enough. Dove paused as he looked around. His allies had been knocked out or thrown out of the ring. And Blonko's team had a clear advantage.
Dove withdrew his blade and knelt down. "I surrender."
Blonko raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"
"I see no other way this duel can continue. Your team's strength is far beyond our own," he declared.
"...I see." Blonko said. He too withdrew his weapon.
"It seems that Dove has decided to go out in an honorable way," Port blared over the speakers. "What a strong sense of dignity."
Cardin groaned as he weakly stood up. "I-idiot..."
After that match, the gang decided to go back down to Earth and grab a meal. The carnival that had taken over Beacon's campus had plenty of food stalls and makeshift eateries to choose from.
...of course, our group was only going to eat at a place with the coolest name- such as Dragon's Inn. How could you pass up a place that had the word 'dragon' in it?
"So," Ben asked between bites of chicken tenders. "Who won the other matches?"
Min paused to think. "Uh, well, robot girl and that really scary redhead won their fights with their teams," she answered. "So, there's a chance you'll face them in the semis. Then some music band from Atlas...some all girls group from Haven...and a few schools from Vacuo."
"I already expected Cass to win," Yang said, biting into her corn dog. "Her team is crazy hyper offensive. I've never seen anything like it."
"Her Semblance is gonna be tricky to bypass," Ruby added, stealing some fries from Ben's basket. "Anything we throw at her would just be fuel to her fire."
"We could use something like electricity rounds," Weiss suggested. "They'd have to be used sparingly, though."
"And it depends on whatever her partner is going to be. If she chooses someone like Emerald or..." Blake paused to think. "What was the name of her other partner?"
"I dunno, actually. She's just short, pigtailed, and full of spite," Ruby said. "I relate to two of those things."
"That adds another question: who are we sending into the finals?" Blonko asked.
"We've already decided on Yang and Weiss," Blake explained, dipping her fries into ketchup. "Weiss has some good ranged attacks, a strong Semblance that can empower others, and a defensive buff thanks to her armor. Yang serves as our physical offense, being able to tank hits and get stronger from them. It's not on par with Cass, but it'll do."
"Well, obviously I'm gonna rep our team," Ceres said, sipping at her soda. "I wiped the floor with Winchester."
"By the way, can I just say," Kylie interjected, "that the name 'Winchester' makes me think you beat up one of those dumb hunks from that crappy CW show."
"I wish I did," Ceres sighed. "But...if I had to pick..." she paused to think. "Kevin."
Kevin looked up from his third hot dog. "Wait, seriously? Why me?"
"Similar to Weiss, you have a very versatile powerset. Kylie's powers could fuel my own flames, but you could do that and so much more. Not to mention, you have a bit of an edge over Blonko because you have more unique weapons, and more of a niche over Ben because you subtly transform," Ceres explained. "...that and you yeeted a guy. I love a partner who can yeet a person."
"Can confirm," Ari added.
The group arrived back in time to see Cass' team utterly destroying two members of CFVY. They only caught the tail end of the fight.
However, what shocked them was the fact that Cass was nowhere to be seen. Instead, Mercury and Emerald had taken over the spotlight.
"And with an amazing upset, Emerald and Mercury are making quick work of Coco and Yatsuhashi!" Oobleck declared over the speakers.
"So, they're not sending Cass forward?" Ben asked, raising an eyebrow. "That's weird."
"Well, to be fair," Ceres said, "Mercury seems to be Cass' go to guy. Maybe it's just favoritism?"
"Well, whatever the reason, I can see him going to the finals." Yang cracked her knuckles. "And I'm so ready to throw down with that guy..."
"That is only if you both make it to the finals," Rook pointed out.
Yang pouted cutely. "Aw, don't jinx us!"
Rook put his nose in the air. "It is not a jinx if I am simply stating the obvious."
"And here I thought you were a good egg, Rook," Blake grumbled.
A holographic roulette wheel showed up again, landing on the bright image of sunny dunes and stone formations until the real thing emerged from the field. A small circular light mimicking a sun appeared overhead, causing most of the crowd to don sunglasses.
...most of them.
"I'm blind," a shadeless Ben deadpanned, eyes boiling from the light.
"Oh, hush," a bespectacled Ruby said.
On the other side of the field, a massive forest appeared out of thin air. It was shady enough to play off the desert dunes quite nicely. Ceres and Kevin walked out, Ceres happily basking in the fake sun. It felt rather nice, especially since fall was rapidly approaching. "Hopefully these two put up a challenge," she mumbled.
"Maybe some manners, too. I did NOT appreciate the middle finger one of those guys gave me," Kevin huffed.
"You didn't flip him one back?" Ceres asked curiously.
"What? No. Doppler did."
"Fuck them kids," Doppler quipped from the AntiTrix.
"Well don't you two seem interesting~" A voice quickly called out from near the dunes. Their opponents were tall and behemothic-looking Huntsmen...but up close they seemed to be similar to a lot of the other tournament fighters.
One had long and rough sandy blonde hair that was done up in a large ponytail, who was currently holding some kind of concealed weapon. The other, a fish-based Faunus, seemed fairly happy to be there, especially with the giant axe she was carrying on her back.
Ceres' lips curled into a smile. "I could say the same about you, kid."
"Kid? Hun I'm probably older than you by a few years, you ain't exactly hot shit around here." The woman smirked as she adjusted her jacket, winking at Ceres teasingly.
"Please," Ceres drawled, cracking her knuckles. "I'm willing to bet I could kick your ass at any age."
"Nice axe," Kevin complimented. "What kind of material are you using for it?"
"It's custom made, using the best that I could scavenge off the shores of Menagerie." The Faunus smiled as she put it to the side, the blade forming a crater as it landed in the earth.
Kevin's eyebrows shot up. "Damn. I'm impressed."
Werlyn grinned as she started to look over to her partner, Aurora, who was already wearing a cocky smirk and cracking her own knuckles. "Seems that they're already riled up," Aurora noted. "Honestly, I would be too if I wasn't a little nervous."
Kevin raised his eyebrow again. This girl? Nervous? He thought, scanning her stoic face.
"So, let's just get into it- I'm Ceres North, and this is my chosen partner, Kevin Levin. We represent Zeta Squad," Ceres announced.
"Aurora Diamond~" The blonde said as she rolled her neck, bouncing from foot to foot before motioning to her partner. "And this here is Werlyn. We're both representing Haven."
"Gotta say, you guys have been on a roll recently," Kevin noted. "Especially with that last match, with that Mercury guy. What are they teaching you over there?"
"Eh? Mercury?" Aurora tilted her head before looking to Werlyn. "Ain't never heard of a Mercury joining Haven; they might've been last minute additions but I ain't seem 'em around before." The faunus simply shook her head in agreement.
"...Alright, that's weird," Ceres noted, brow furrowing. But hey, no time to ponder that-
"3, 2, 1...GO!"
Ceres jumped forward and threw a punch at Aurora's face, but her opponent dodged perfectly and threw a punch of her own. Their respective fists collided with one another, but Ceres' shotgun gauntlet created an explosion between them that sent Aurora stumbling back, waving her fist in pain.
Kevin's arms changed to that of Black Ice's, narrowly catching Werlyn's massive blade in between his hands before it could slice him in two.
Aurora simply shook her hand and smirked before charging again, this time going for a sweeping strike in an attempt to separate her and Kevin.
Werlyn, meanwhile, simply gritted her teeth before stepping a foot forward and rearing her axe back, swinging again with much more energy behind it. Kevin slammed his fists into the ground and a massive diamond shot out, protecting himself from her axe once more. Kevin leapt back as he fired some crystals at Werlyn, but she blocked it with her blade.
Aurora punched Ceres to the floor, then kicked her in the back. Ceres hissed, but with a smirk Aurora threw her into the woods. Ceres quickly got back up and immediately shot multiple rounds of concussive energy. Aurora danced around the blasts, feeling the heat against her bare skin every time they passed around her.
Aurora was having a lot of fun as she dodged, her fists already sparking as she went for another series of consecutive strikes. She wanted to break Ceres' aura quickly so she wouldn't have time to get back up. All the while, Werlyn was trying to break her way through the crystals so that she could get up close and personal.
"She's determined," Doppler noted. "I like that in a woman."
"Dude, I have a girlfriend," Kevin growled as he shifted into Rainbow in the Dark's arms.
"Yes, but I don't," he huffed.
"CERES!" Kevin yelled out. She looked over and grinned- she threw a fireball at him, which he quickly cannibalized. In an instant he shot out a beam of pure energy.
Werlyn's eyes widened as she quickly reared back, slicing the beam in two. "Aurora, they seem to keep themselves together as a tactic to overwhelm the opponent," the Faunus called out.
The sandy blonde chuckled. "Let them team up all they want, they still don't have a chance against us~!" Aurora smirked before rearing back for a powerful gut punch.
Ceres held up her hand and caught the punch. She smirked before throwing it out of the way, punching the girl in the jaw twice. Ceres brought up her fist and fired a blast into Aurora's stomach, sending her flying back.
"You were saying?" she teased.
"Heh, like I said..." Aurora's body seemed to spark as her form was covered by a yellow glow. "You won't get the chance!" She smirked as she charged forward, socking Ceres in the jaw. She then threw out a rapid series of punches; it seemed her Semblance was like a supercharged battery, allowing her to boost her strength, speed and more at the cost of her aura. Ceres crossed her arms and shielded herself from Aurora's blows, but the girl was just so fast! Aurora was a lot like Yang, Ceres realized.
Of course, this girl wasn't as well equipped as Yang was. Ceres flipped back, hands igniting as she touched one of the trees nearby. It quickly caught on fire, which soon spread to the rest of the forest.
"...that feels familiar," Ben commented from the stands.
"Huh?!" Aurora looked back to the forest fire before grabbing Ceres and slamming her up against one of the fiery trees. "THAT AIN'T GONNA WORK CHIEF!" she crowed triumphantly.
Ceres grinned- she wasn't trying to cause a distraction, or even try to hide herself in the flames. If less oxygen was available to breathe, symptoms such as rapid breathing, rapid heart rate, and clumsiness would arise.
And it looked like it was working, if the way Aurora started whaling on Ceres was any indication.
Kevin, meanwhile, kept stalling Werlyn with his energy blasts, but he was running out of juice. "I could switch forms again, but I'm not sure it'd even matter," Kevin muttered, looking at the aura board. His opponent still had 90% of her aura intact.
Werlyn quickly vaulted herself forward, going for a wide swing with her axe. "Pay attention!"
Kevin gasped as he jumped back into the dunes. He dodged a few more heavy blows, before the fake sun overhead. He flashed an evil grin as he started to absorb the fake sunlight, but it was hard to continuously dodge Werlyn's massive blade and charge up. He wasn't a great multitasker.
Kevin tried to get that last bit of energy in, but Werlyn charged forward and slammed a fist into his chest. She wasn't going to let him get the jump on her...even if the heat around her was making her sweat. Kevin skidded back and started to pant. Yeah, it was hot out here. He started to hallucinate- for some reason, the forest across from him looked like...it was on fire...
Yeah, that was weird.
Werlyn quickly spun her axe a few times, ready to end this. Her Semblance finally came into play as her aura started to fan out like water. The sounds of growling could be heard from behind the Faunus' back. Kevin looked up- he wasn't sure if he was still hallucinating, but there was something MOVING behind Werlyn.
"Let's end this!" And with that she slammed her axe down. A large wolf-like creature jumped out from behind the Faunus, its body flowing like water as it charged toward Kevin, teeth bared and ready to chomp. He couldn't dodge in time- it clamped down on his right arm, preventing him from moving.
"Aw, shit!" he hissed.
Werlyn moved forward, letting her familiar do the rest as she got ready to push Kevin out of the arena.
"Cute trick," he said, his arm lighting up. "Here's mine!"
Kevin unleashed a massive blast of energy, hitting Werlyn dead in the chest and sending her flying.
She yelped as she was thrown back, her body scorching as she slammed her axe down, skidding to a stop. Werlyn panted as her familiar fizzled, but it still seemed just as angry as before. Suddenly, Aurora crash landed right next to her.
Ceres trudged out of the flames- some minor bruises on her, but she could still fight.
Aurora sighed as she looked back to Werlyn. "Oddly persistent?"
"You'd be surprised..." The Faunus growled as she quickly stood up, her watery familiar moving back to her side.
"So," Ceres huffed, looking over at the board. "We're at the end of the wire."
"How about we end this with one last blow?" Kevin said, wiping sweat off his brow.
Both Aurora and Werlyn looked at each other before nodding.
Out of nowhere a sudden "SWITCH!" was yelled- Werlyn and her familiar charged at Ceres, while Aurora blasted off toward Kevin. Kevin grinned as he quickly caught Aurora's fist and started to absorb her energy. "Thank you for that."
"Heh. No problem!" Aurora pulsed as she began to overclock her aura. If something could absorb her energy then she could overclock that individual, right?
Ceres' palms lit up again, and she bolted forward and struck Werlyn right in the face.
Werlyn was quick to block as her wolf jumped up and went for a pouncing bite. Ceres smiled as she slammed her hand onto the ground.
"BURN!" And half the arena erupted.
The light burned blue, somehow brighter than the sun. It was terrible. It was beautiful. It was-
"MOTHERFUCKER!" Ben yelled. "NOW I REALLY CAN'T SEE!"
When the light finally died down, and the smoke and ashes cleared, all four combatants' scoreboards were seemingly invisible...until Ceres was shown standing in the middle of the arena, fist in the air.
"...holy shit," Port said, taking off his shades. "Uh, I mean- ZETA SQUAD WINS, just barely! What an intense fight!"
As the crowd cheered, Aurora quickly let out a cough before calling out to Kevin and Ceres. "Hey, you two got guts! Keep that shit up and you'll be just as good as the top dogs in no time!"
Ceres helped Kevin up, grinning. "Gotta say- you put up a better fight than expected. Up for sparing once in a while when this whole thing is over?"
"You bet!" Aurora smirked as she slowly walked up and gave the pair a soft fist bump. Werlyn simply used her axe to keep herself steady as she dismissed her familiar.
Kevin hobbled over, offering a handshake. "I thought you had me there for a second."
"You certainly are a good fighter. I can't wait to see what you do next." Werlyn smiled as she shook his hand, gripping it tightly.
Yang blinked as she looked over at Weiss. "Cross our fingers that we don't have a battle THAT intense."
"Our turn," Yang said cheerfully as she and Weiss walked onto the battlefield. The field opened around them, and up rose a volcanic area, a sandy desert, steaming geysers, and ruined buildings.
"Just remember to keep proper form," Weiss reminded her, reloading her weapon.
"Right, right...so, our opponents are from Atlas, right?" Yang asked.
Weiss nodded. "That's right. Why do you ask?"
"You're from Atlas. What could we expect?" she said, now in strategy mode.
"Well, seeing as their Kingdom, academy, and armed forces are all merged as one, I think we can expect strict, militant fighters with advanced technology and carefully rehearsed strategies," Weiss explained. "My father adheres to a strict code of rules that he was made to follow in the military. This match should be rough-"
At that very moment, a rainbow zoomed past them. The trail was made by a pigtailed Faunus girl with roller blades and a cat tail swishing around her weapon, which appeared to be glow stick nunchucks. She stood next to a young African American man wearing a fedora and sunglasses, holding a trumpet in one hand.
"...I stand corrected," Weiss sighed.
"Hey!" the fedora wearer said. "You're the step daughter of my headmaster, right? Weiss, was it?"
She couldn't help but smile. "I am."
"And your other dad...Dust company guy, right?"
Weiss frowned. "...yes."
"My dad was in the Dust business too. Owned a little shop and everything," he said, before his smile dropped. "Till your father's company ran him out of business."
She spat out, "Of course he did."
Flynt was taken aback. "Huh?"
"Of course he did! Because that's how he operates," Weiss repeated, annoyed. "I'm sorry he did that to you, honestly. I could tell you stories about the shit he's pulled."
"...alright, damn," Flynt said. "I might feel bad about beating you now."
"Hey!" the cat girl piped up. "Blondie! Where'd you get your hair extensions?"
"...this is my normal hair," Yang stated.
"Ooooh~! Really?" The girl had a smug 'I don't believe you' expression painted all over her face.
She clenched her fists. "Yes! Do you have a problem wi-"
"You should try rollerblading sometime!" Neon cut her off. "It's super fun!" The Faunus started spinning in place with her roller blades. It was rather impressive, considering one's such luck with rollerblades.
(Assume it's Kevin. Everyone else does.)
Neon finally stood still. "See? Fun. It'd probably take you a while, though, since you're so, you know, top-heavy."
Yang blinked, and then saw red. She reached in her pocket and pulled out a scrunchie.
"Ooh, shit," Blake said from the stands.
"Wait, what's happening?" Lev said, confused.
Ruby shivered. "I don't know what that girl said to Yang, but she whipped out the death scrunchie."
"...the death scrunchie?"
"It's kinda like Goku powering up," Ben explained. "We might actually witness a murder today."
"CONTESTANTS!" Port's voice roared. "ARE YOU READY?!"
Yang got into a fighting pose. Weiss drew her weapon.
"3... 2... 1... GO!"
Right as it started, Flynt raised his trumpet to his lips and blew, issuing forth a sound wave that blew both Weiss and Yang back. Weiss created a glyph under her to stop sliding back, but didn't see Neon spinning into the attack and using it to push herself forward. She charged at Yang in a rainbow burst of speed and pushed her into the city section.
Flynt stopped blowing to take a deep breath as Weiss readies her Myrtenaster, a second passing until the musician started playing again. This time, Weiss used her darker glyphs to move her forward through the attack, making more and more to get closer so she could land a blow. However, Flynt suddenly stopped playing, and Weiss was forced to move forward, earning a kick to the back as she dashed past. She crashed through a red Dust crystal. Flynt grinned when he saw her lying in the area now spouting pillars of fire.
Weiss started gesturing all around her with her blade and spinning wildly to summon four glyphs. Said glyphs shot out an equal number of large ice chunks headed straight for her enemy. Flynt looked down and smiled, leaping forward onto his knees and blowing his horn just as a column of flame erupted right in front of him, diverting the fire to melt each of Weiss' frozen projectiles.
"Too bad all that money can't buy you skill," the musician taunted.
Weiss frowned before drawing a circle in front of her that formed into an icy blue glyph. "I noticed you brought me here so it would dampen my ice powers. Is that correct?"
"Matter of fact, it is," Flynt sneered.
"Cute." Weiss smiled. Suddenly, a massive beam of ice shot out of the glyph. Flynt barely managed to dodge the attack, but the beam of ice followed him. It chased him across the field, freezing the firey holes up and hardening them with melted ice.
Back in the ruined city, Neon managed to roll ahead of every blast from Ember Celica, skating on the railings and making faces at an irritated Yang. She continued to flip and slide over any terrain in her way, all the while repeating the mantra, "Never miss a beat, never miss a beat."
She eventually sped at Yang, hitting the blonde multiple times with her nunchucks. Yang grit her teeth, unloading the shells in her gauntlets. Neon smirked and cracked her glow sticks, turning them blue. She rushed forward again, dashing past Yang before she even realized that her right leg is now encased in ice.
"Ooooh~! Now you're bottom heavy too!" Neon teased, smacking her own butt for emphasis.
Yang, in utter fury, smashed her leg and freed it from the ice. Neon rushed forward again to encase her opponent's chest in ice so she could make a tasteless cold nipple joke, but Yang evaded the attack. Neon was about to spin around and counter but-
She suddenly tripped on something.
Neon looked down to see a single flesh-like spool of thread wrapped around a metal bar. Her eyes quickly scanned to see where the thread's source- Yang's arm! Neon yelled as she suddenly pitched forward, dramatically tumbling on the ground.
Neon groaned as Yang walked on over to her. "You know, I actually used to rollerblade when I was a kid," she said, her eyes turning red. "I dunno why I did it. I always found it frustrating to get back up when I fell..."
"Ah! Flashy eyes!" Neon teased. "Y'know, you're actually kinda pretty when you're angry..." She scrambled to get back on her feet, but the wheels on her blades were preventing her from getting back up. "Y-you know, I wasn't trying to say that you should go on a diet with all those jokes!"
"I'm not mad." Yang smiled, cracking her knuckles. "How about we make this EVEN?"
Yang picked up Neon by the collar and unleashed a blinding barrage of punches powered by her Semblance. Neon used most of her aura to protect herself, but it wasn't enough. By the time Yang landed the final blow that sent her into a building wall, she was at 50% aura.
Neon quickly got up, using the wall to the support herself. Yang walked forward, cracking her neck. Neon growled as she cracked her glowsticks again- they turned a menacing red color. She smashed them on the ground, creating a massive explosion that launched Yang back. Neon grinned as she sped at her opponent. This time, Yang was smarter- she used her wire to jump from building to building, like Spider-Man swinging around New York City.
Plus, it was the only place Neon didn't have advantage of.
Back at the extinguished lava area, Weiss and Flynt continued to face each other off. She unleashed a stream of wind at Flynt, who matched her power with his own trumpet blowing, creating a standstill.
Weiss quickly gestured to form several more glyphs around the field. She bounced off each one, striking Flynt with each attack, until he put his foot down and started playing once more. Weiss was still propelling herself around, but nothing prepared her for a second Flynt appearing next to the first, and then another, and another after that, each color-coordinated musician joining their waves of music together to send Weiss flying back.
Ben's gonna sue for that move, she thought.
"I'M GONNA SUE FOR THAT MOVE!" Ben yelled from the stands.
"You like that?" Flynt said, walking forward as his duplicates disappeared. "It's my killer quartet. Shocking, isn't it?"
"Eh," Weiss said, brandishing her weapon. "Is it weird to say I've seen something like that before?"
"...kind of," he admitted.
"Figured," Weiss said before plunging her weapon into the ground. A glyph surrounded her as Flynt prepared to unleash another blast of sound.
"There was another reason I froze this place over," Weiss told him. A massive wave of heat shot out of her blade, melting all the ice and causing steam to rise up. Flynt's vision was obscured, but he didn't even flinch- music erupted from his trumpet and blew away the smog.
He expected Weiss to be behind him, or even above him, but to his shock the girl was nowhere to be seen.
...mainly because she went to go help her teammate.
Neon sped around the corner as Yang happily maneuvered herself around the place. This was a very stark difference between what was going on earlier, and Yang basked in the irony.
Neon sped around another corner to see Weiss standing there politely- Neon passed her by and immediately skidded on the icy trap Weiss had laid out. She smiled as Yang grouped up with her.
"Looks like she's not an ice skater," Weiss teased.
Yang grinned. "Did Weiss Schnee seriously just make a joke? This day's crazy enough."
"How are you doing, though?" she asked. "Think you got enough energy for one last attacked?"
"I got enough energy to go around," Yang reassured, reloading her gauntlets.
Neon stumbled back to solid ground just as Flynt regrouped with her. "Never seen you so mad before," he joked.
"You know, when I started teasing her and stuff, I just thought it'd get her angry!" Neon huffed. "Guess that death scrunchie wasn't a joke."
"...death scrunchie?"
"It's a girl thing," Neon dismissed.
Yang confidently stepped forward as Weiss' time dilation glyph formed underneath her feet. Yang fired dozens and dozens of shotgun blasts, and the two ducked out the attack. Flynt blew his trumpet again, and Neon used the sound waves to propel herself forward. She swung her nunchucks around, ready to hit Yang one last time-
Yang smiled. Enhanced by the glyph, she rushed forward and sent a devastating kick to Neon's chest.
Flynt gasped as Yang shot him a look. "Hey Flynt! Play Despacito!"
"That's a dead meme-" Neon quipped as she was thrown at Flynt. The two collided into one and other, knocking out both their auras and winning Weiss and Yang the fight.
Weiss walked on over, pleased over her victory. "You know, I'm not sure that was proper form."
"Really?" Yang laughed, taking her hair out of the scrunchie.
"WHAT!?" Neon yelled as she shot back up. The girl looked devoid of color.
"We lost? We lost?" Her expression suddenly lit up. "THAT WAS AMAZING! Oh my gosh, you guys were super crazy awesome! We should definitely party together sometime, right Flynt?"
"That was some move, Schnee," Flynt said appraisingly. "I dig it."
Weiss and Yang just smiled at them.
"Now, for the moment you've all been waiting for! The one-on-one finals!" Port happily announced.
In the center of the battlefield's stage, Yang Xiao Long smirked confidently as she looked down the line of final fighters. There were a few new faces mixed in with Ceres, Penny, and Mercury at the other end of the line.
"Barty, why don't you explain the rules?" Port asked.
Oobleck cleared his throat. "Ah, it's quite simple, Peter. Instead of a bracket system, each round of the finals will be randomly determined immediately before the match takes place!"
"Much like any good hunt, there will be zero time to prepare!" Port laughed.
Oobleck nodded. "Ah, yes, yes! Now, let's see who our first match will be!" The energetic doctor pointed out to the screens above the stadium. The roulette spun dramatically before it stopped on-
"Yang Xiao Long and Mercury Black!"
The crowd cheered, as well as the rest of RWBY and Zeta Squad.
"You got this, sis! Break a leg!" Ruby yelled.
"So, how much money do you wanna bet on Yang?" Lev grinned, nudging her shoulder.
Ruby paused to think. "I'm going all in. I wanna double my winnings!"
"Oooh, risky!" he laughed. "What about you, Ben?"
"Dude, I've lost every other betting pool," Ben grumbled. "Leave me out of this."
From across the stadium, Cass couldn't help but smirk as she looked down at her scroll.
"What's up?" Emerald asked curiously.
"Quick last minute change," Cass answered, putting away blueprints. "I trust you can handle this?"
She nodded. "Of course."
"Good. See you at the meeting point." Cass got out of her seat and made her way to the exit.
"Would all other combatants please leave the stage!" Port yelled, making the group disperse.
"I am so excited to see Miss Yang fight!" Penny gushed to Ceres.
"Same here, kiddo. Though, you might wanna study her movements...there's a chance YOU could be fighting her next," Ceres told her.
Yang walked up to Mercury as the middle as the floor around them opened once again. A ring of spotlights rose up, automatically shining on the remaining two.
"Better not go easy on me," Yang said, reloading her gauntlets.
Mercury laughed. "You wish."
Both brawlers faced the crowds one last time. Yang glanced over to see her friends cheering her on, and she smiled. "Let's do this."
The two slowly advanced on each other, arms raised defensively until their hands could almost touch.
"Three! Two! One! Begin!"
Immediately Yang threw a punch, and Mercury spun his foot to meet it, creating a shockwave between the weapons that launched him back. Mercury rushed in and attempted to aim for Yang's foot with a running jump back kick, but the latter leapt in the air behind him and attempted to land a shot with Ember Celica.
The two each landed a spinning back fist that were both blocked. Yang's subsequent left hook and jab were continuously blocked by Mercury's forearms, while Yang ducked under Mercury's left hook. As he prepared a palm strike, Yang fired off another jab, while her opponent shot off a front kick, sending each other backward. The two did a back flip to stabilize themselves.
Smirking, Mercury dodged a barrage of rounds from Ember Celica while closing the distance, jumping into a downward axe kick that Yang blocked. He then leapt into the air to evade a low roundhouse and spinning back fist with a Dust blast, before delivering a kneeling flash kick to his opponent.
After she landed on her feet, Yang immediately boosted herself towards Mercury and attempted to launch several charged jabs at him; Mercury continued to block with his arms, before the two exchanged a spinning back high kick. Mercury then forced Yang back by striking the back of her knee with a low side kick, before forcing her away with a front flip that set up his Capoeira-style macao kick.
"Wow, rip-off," Lev huffed from the stands.
Mercury shot his foot out in every direction, each kick into the air accompanied by a silvery blast that was barely even aimed at Yang. She dodged each one coming her way and got in close through the circling barrage of shots, fighting with their fists again until Mercury kicked Yang into the air and knocked her right back to the ground, followed by the dozens of swirling shots that converged right on her.
When the blasts stopped coming down on his blonde opponent, Mercury got up from his crouch and laughed to himself. He confidently dusted off his outfit and was about to celebrate...
Until the smoke from behind him erupted into flames.
His momentary shock turned into another smile as he turned around to see the red-eyed Yang slam her knuckles together and come at him. Screaming, she landed a punch that sent him back, and she rushed him with punches, avoiding each kick to pound at him with an unrelenting bombardment of left-right blows. Her punches continued to rain down on him before she decked him in the stomach, his uura sparking up to try and defend him from the last hit to the face.
Defeated, Mercury landed on his back as the buzzer sounded over the roars of the audience.
Yang took a few deep breaths as she held up her fist, feeling like All Might after he had taken down All for One.
"WOW!" Professor Port yelled. "What a way to kick off the finals!"
"YEEAAAHHH!" Ruby cheered in the stands, shaking Ben by the collar of his jacket. "SHE WON! SHE WON!" She kissed him on the lips a few times, right before she continued cheering. Lev stared at Ben, looking like a smug cat.
"...not one word," Ben quietly begged.
"Oh there will be MANY words." Lev grinned, already planning a best man wedding speech. "Ari, you won't-" He turned to his left to see his friend gone.
"Hey." Lev tapped a clapping Kylie on the shoulders. "Where'd Ari go?"
"I think she went down to the stadium area to wish Ceres some luck," Kylie answered, shrugging. "Why, what's up?"
Lev smirked. "I'll just tell her later."
Yang wiped her brow as she turned to a defeated Mercury. "Better luck next time." She smirked as she went to walk off stage.
"There's not going to be a next time, Blondie!" Mercury hissed.
Yang turned around just in time to see Mercury surging forward. Yang scowled as she managed to both bring her gauntlet down on and shoot his leg before he hit her. The second she did so, the audience gasped in shock, and Mercury reeled back from the pain.
"AHHHH!" he yelled. "SHE FUCKING SHOT ME!"
People began screaming and yelling- what the fuck just happened? Yang walked back in confusion as her team looked on in stunned silence.
Mercury continued to scream in pain, but on the inside, he was laughing. This was perfect! Yang Xiao Long, top student and all around reliable girl, turned into a bloodthirsty bitch who rubbed salt in the wound. Atlesian Droids surrounded the girl as she looked around, dazed and confused.
"MERCURY!" Emerald yelled as she rushed onto the field. Mercury continued to whimper, using his teammate as a shield to hide his smirk.
"OUT OF THE WAY!"
His eyes shot open to see someone else rushing onto the stage.
Ari Caro.
A verified medic.
Mercury's eyes shrank in fear as Ari knelt down beside him. "You have the best luck today," she stated as she pried his hands off his wound. "I just came down to wish my partner luck. Hopefully the bullet missed the bone and..." Ari rolled up his pant's leg.
She stopped and stared at Mercury.
"...I have good news." Ari's voice turned dark, knocking on his metal prosthetics. "You'll walk again."
Mercury's eyes shrank again as he looked up on the jumbotron; everyone could see him and his exposed metal leg. Silence filled the arena-
"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Ben yelled.
A/N: Please leave a review, it helps us evaluate what we're doing and improve for better quality chapters in the future.
