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(Pine)
"Any mail for me?" Rosé asked me. She looked up at Yuma from her scroll on her bed. I was dozing beside her on my own browsing my scroll in silent companionship.
"One for you and there's one for Pine," Yuma mumbled. She handed me a pale tan envelope. I took it and sat up on the bed. I dug my fingernails under the crease and ripped it open.
I pillowed out a pale letter and began to read.
Dear Pine Telimess,
We would like to congratulate you on your recent tournament victory in Vale. In light of this you are personally invited to compete in our own tournament in Menagerie. The tournament is taking place the twenty fourth of September please return this letter accepting the slot if you wish to compete.
Regards, Kali Belladonna.
"What's up Pine?" Rosé asked.
"Because I won the Valean Tournament I've been invited to compete in another in Menagerie."
"I was invited too as the runner up."
"As first loser, you mean," I pointed out teasingly. She stuck her tongue out at me.
"Well, are you two going to accept?" Yuma asked.
"Can we miss school?" Rosé asked.
"Team trip!" Peach exclaimed. "Let's get out of this stuffy old school."
"Who said you were going?" I asked.
"Team trip?" Peach wondered, a little withdrawn. "Come on. I want out of here too."
"We should talk to somebody. Can we make an appointment with the headmistress?" Rosé asked.
"I don't see why not. But I also don't see how," Yuma pointed out.
"There has got to be a way. Let's ask the Prof," Peach said. She got up and stretched her arms way over her head.
I knew that Rosé was inclined to agree with her just on the principle. Yuma would as well so we were probably bound for Strife's office. He would be there if he wasn't mid appointment. We gathered ourselves and marched down the halls.
We made our way to the combat Professor's door and knocked. He was in and bid us enter.
"You four? I should be less surprised," he commented. He was examining a sniper rifle sword under his display cases. His most recent addition to his collection of aura-monger serial killers.
"Oh don't be like that, sir," Peach intoned.
"Yeah, okay. Alright. Anyways what can I do for you ladies?" He asked.
"What if we just wanted to chat about our mission?" Peach asked and thrust her chest out slightly as she did with her hand on her hip. "It was a Hydra."
"Did you get it?" He asked a touch sardonically. "Or is it my problem now?"
"We got it," I said. "That's not why we're here."
"We got invitations to a tournament in Menagerie. Pine and I both did," Rosé showed him her letter.
I stood there with my arms folded in place and tapped my foot on the floor.
He took the letter and read it quickly.
"And so you want permission to go? I can't authorize that. You need to talk to the headmistress."
"Yeah we were hoping you could set up an appointment with her," I said.
"I can. You'll have to make up for the missed work. You all want to go? Even you Miss Kisaragi and Miss Locheart?"
"Yeah. We're a team," Peach said.
"Gonna be a tough enough sell as it is. We'll head up to the headmistress's office. Follow me."
Professor Strife led the way to an elevator which we took up. When the door opened we were in a fish bowl overlooking the entire campus. There was a great glass curved desk with a chair and the headmistress was writing something.
"Cloud? How can I help you? And team RYPP?"
"Glynda… these students have something they wish to discuss with you. Are you busy?"
"Yes, always. But I do have some time to spare."
I walked over to the desk and showed her my letter. She adjusted her glasses on her face as she read it in its entirety.
"And you would like to be excused from classes for a few days. That can be arranged."
"I also received a letter, ma'am," Rosé cut in.
"For both of you, then. That is possible."
"Uh, what about us?" Peach asked.
"Did you also receive a letter?" Goodwitch asked.
"Well, no."
"Did your partner perhaps get invited?" Goodwitch pressed onward.
Yuma shook her head and Peach muttered, "not exactly."
"Well then it can't be helped. You must attend your classes. I can hardly condone you leaving. Perhaps if your partner was going I would consider it but you both shall remain here. I will authorize your trip, Miss Gainsborough, Miss Telimess. But the rest of your team is staying."
"Oh come on, team trip," Peach protested.
"I'm afraid my decision is final."
"Can we at least go see them off at the airfield?" Yuma asked.
"That's permissible. Is that all?"
There were generally nods around.
"Then you are dismissed. You may both pack your things and do well to remember that you are representing Beacon Academy."
Peach's shoulders slumped but it was what it was. There was nothing to be done. We left the fishbowl office down the elevator we came in with Professor Strife with us. When the elevator started Yuma bumped against him and squealed out an apology.
Professor Strife left us for his office and we made our way back to our room.
Peach flopped down on her bed. "This is such bullshit."
"It's not like we're getting out of school work. We still have to do it," I pointed out.
"Yeah but you get to leave, explore, and have fun. While we're stuck here."
"I would have liked to go with you but there's nothing to be done," Yuma agreed with Peach. "We'll cheer you both on from here."
"Thank you Yuma. I wanted you both to come too," Rosé agreed.
Peach groaned.
"It's just another tournament," I noted. "It's not a big deal."
"You get to travel the world. That's why people become huntresses," Peach bemoaned.
"Menagerie is a dump," I disagreed. "Rosé will see. You're not missing much."
"That should be mine to find out," Peach went on.
"Enter some tournaments?" I gestured. "Don't know what to tell you."
"One day I'll see for myself," Peach decided.
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The Vale shipyards were massive and built into the side of a cliff. A mountain right in the middle of Vale where airships docked without losing elevation built of grey and blue glass glass and metal.
We took the airship to Vale and then a train to the shipyards in the middle of the night. Yuma and Peach were sorry to see us go but we had a flight to catch and real combat to compete in. It was time to see if Professor Strife's training was paying off. I thought it was. He seemed incredibly experienced and on point but there was really only one way to be sure.
It was dark when we walked out into one of the hangers. Rosé and I had some luggage with all our gear. We watched through the blue windows. Up and out. Atlas airships were coming in to land. Lots of them. An entire fleet was choking up the airspace along with a circular floating platform.
Peach's scroll pinged. She checked it. "It's a message from my friend. In Atlas. How is this possible?" She asked.
Then a dust bomb went off.
Glass shattered and my body was flung into a metal girder. My wing was battered and bruised and I lost hold of my luggage. I dazedly sat up. Rosé hadn't fared much better. She was dangling off the side of the hanger in open air. I rolled over to her and hauled back over the ledge.
Peach hauled us both to our feet. People were running and screaming and the airship to Menagerie was going down to the lower city. It collided with the lower part of the mountain and slid down the slope.
Shattered glass was everywhere with bent metal. The tunnels and domes that made up the shipyard were torn open. An Atlas ship was going down.
A girl in a red trench coat and black under shirt with a knife and a gun dashed past us. She was quickly followed by two nearly identical girls with a double ended glaive and the other had a long sword. One was in an orange trench coat with black undershirt and the other was the same only in yellow.
They were wearing masks and we're moving towards a docked Atlas ship. They may as well have been screaming we're guilty. I pulled my staff and shield and Rosé opened fire with her rifle. Peach let loose a thunderbolt. The girls preternaturally flipped out of the way.
Yuma breezed in front of them and got between them and the airship. They surrounded her with their weapons ready.
"Get out of our way," the girl in red spoke.
The rest of us moved in on the three girls and hemmed them in. They looked back at us.
Then the girl in red jumped and fired her pistol right in Yuma's face. She followed it up with a lighting fast double jab of her knife.
The girl in orange shot at me with her long rifle and the girl in yellow cocked and fired her repeater straight at Peach. I took to the air and flew forward when an enormous hand wrapped around my foot and pulled me back. The man was enormous and he slammed me into the ground. He had brown hair and brown eyes and whiskers on the side of his face.
"You girls go ahead," the man rumbled. The girl in red nodded and side-flipped over Yuma and kicked her in the back.
The man reached behind his body and took two enormous red dust crystals and slammed them into his forearms. His body caught fire. Rosé stepped in and slashed his body but he punched her in the head so hard she went through most of a back-flip. Peach stepped in and punched him twice in the chest and followed it with an uppercut to his head. Then she kicked him in the side of the knee. I knew how hard she could hit after four hits and the kick made him stumble to the ground. She fired a straight at his face and he held up a hand and stopped it. He yanked her in and clotheslined her with a flaming arm and then he stepped on her chest.
Yuma took a massive shot to the back from the girl in orange. And she was sliced by the girl in yellow as she went by.
When she turned to look at us the man wrapped his burning hand around her head and picked her up into the air and flung her into a wall hard enough to crack it.
A purple eyed girl with black hair jumped down with her blade on the burning man and a nearly identical black haired man swept a great halberd into the brown eyes man's side.
"I know those two," Yuma managed. "They're Lila and Noir Engelbert. They're wanted people."
"What do we do?" Peach asked.
"Whatever we can. Take them all down!" Rosé shouted and she kept blade first into the fray. Noir blocked with his halberd.
"Don't do this little girl. Sit down," the purple eyed man said. Then he swung his halberd down on her.
The flaming man swung a meaty fist right into Lila's face. She stepped back right into Yuma's shuriken. It rebounded thanks to Yuma's semblance and she caught it.
I jumped and slammed my shield right into the giant man's face. Peach stepped inside and punched him in the gut. Then she stepped back out and waited for me to make another opening. I spun my staff and he caught it one hand. He tried to pull me in but I flared my wings and smacked him with a giant beat.
Peach thrust a kick at the inside of his knee and it connected. He swung a hand at her but she weaved back out. I connected with my staff on the side of his head and Peach maneuvered in and let out three rapid fire punches to his wide body. Each blow was stronger than the last and final one staggered him. I brought my staff down in a two handed swing and he exhaled a torrent of fire on both of us like a dragon.
Rosé was flung bodily into the railing by a swing of the black haired man's halberd. Her head slammed into the one of the metal bars hard and she dizzily got back to her feet. Once she was standing the purple eyed man shouted, "stay down!" And he slammed her chest with his weapon hard enough to floor her.
Yuma was faring little better. The woman stepped inside with her blade and cut three quick slashes across Yuma's torso. Yuma raised her weapon to block but the woman caught one end of the shuriken and yanked Yuma forward into a knee. Then she picked Yuma up and slammed her into the ground.
The flames began to die down around the brown eyes giant. He didn't seem daunted by it though. He swung his fist in Noir's direction and clobbered him.
I jumped and brought my staff down on the back of his head. He hunched over a little from the blow but didn't seem too affected. He turned around and I tried to fly backward out of his reach but a meaty hand caught me by the wing like a butterfly and smashed me to the ground. He brought his foot down hard on my wing and I was sure that without aura my bones would have broken. As it was I still screamed out.
Peach jumped on the man's back and wailed on him with her fist. One, two, three, four, five, six, she pounded him down. He reached over his head and grabbed her and tossed her over the railing. I dived after her with my wings spread wide. She was screaming as we both fell through open air. I reached out and grabbed her and beat my wings frantically. I wasn't able to stay aloft let alone return to the top of the mountain but I was able to slow our descent and set her on the ground.
Once I did I turned around and took off to fly back up.
"Wait!" Peach called out but I realistically couldn't. It was ride or die time. I landed on the platform dangling over the edge of the mountain and found Rosé and Yuma battered to the floor. The two, I could only assume, siblings had the brown haired man pinned against the railing and they were wailing on him together in coordination. I ran over to Yuma who seemed dazed but conscious. I helped her to her feet and gather her weapon before making my way to the totally knocked out Rosé. She had a lump like an egg on the side of her head that was already starting to bruise. She could be concussed and getting knocked out could be super bad for you. As in permanent brain damage bad. She would need a radiologist, neurologist, and probably a psychiatrist. And that would just be the start.
I picked her up over one shoulder. She was a full grown human being. She wasn't light but I was a huntress so I managed. Carrying a person is awkward. They really aren't meant to be carried.
I turned back towards the fighting. The woman brought her blade down on the giants arms and the large man tried to close in and grapple her but she dodged out of the way. Noir stepped in and shoved his polearm right into the giant's chest and held him at bay. Then he held the long instrument in one hand and swung in a mighty circle, bringing the enormous blade down and around on the giant in a tremendous swipe. The giant braced himself to hold his ground but was slammed back.
The woman dashed in and delivered five rapid cuts to his back then she stepped back out of the way of his titanic paws.
Together, they drove him to the edge of the railing over which there was nothing but open air. Noir stabbed his armament forward and fired right into the giants chest knocking him back and thrust. The brown eyes man wavered in the open space and reached out and grabbed the polearm for something to hold onto. He held on desperately as he leaned way out over the edge. Lila stepped in and kicked him in the chest like she was shoving a refrigerator. He lost his balance and plummeted with waving arms.
There came heavy footfalls and the slow draw of a blade behind me. I turned to see the Professor with his half cape looking at the carnage.
"Where did they go?" He asked.
"Right there!" Yuma pointed at Noir and Lila.
"Not them. The other bombers. Probably girls. The real threat."
"In the ship!" Lila pointed. "Not us."
"Stay here," the Professor ordered us. "Keep your head's down."
Then he turned and glided away.
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-WG