Ironwood sat by himself in the break room with a cup of freshly brewed black Atlas coffee resting in his hand. He lifted the drink to his mouth and took a tiny sip before frowning at the bitter taste. He then set the cup down and quickly looked around to see if there was anyone else in sight. Upon confirming that he was alone, the general got up from his seat and began to search the break room for condiments specifically sweet cream and whip cream. Once he had the two ingredients, he sat back down and quickly got to work making the bitter drink far more palatable but it required one more ingredient before it could truly be called done. Fortunately, it was an ingredient that he already had on him but unfortunately it was also something that he could not afford to let anyone catch him using. Even his trusted aid Lt. Winter Schnee had no idea about this little vice of his and if he had his way, this would be a secret that he would take to his grave.

Ironwood looked around once more and when he was absolutely sure that he was alone, he reached into his coat and pulled out a metallic cylinder that was kept inside a hidden pocket. He then carefully opened the cylinder and sprinkled some of the contents over his drink. Not too much, don't forget what happened the last time you failed to practice moderation. Once he was satisfied he closed the cylinder and hide it back inside his coat, then he took a hold of the cup, closed his eyes, and drank the sweetened coffee. But he didn't just drink the coffee, he carefully measured out his sips, held the liquid in his mouth to really savor it, and made sure to lose himself in the aroma of his masterpiece.

"Sir, are those… sprinkles?"

The general opened his eyes and to his horror saw one of his assistants standing there, James you fool! He must have come in while I was drinking! Most men might have panicked but General James Ironwood was not like most men, he had Mettle, a semblance that made his willpower unshakeable! Once it was activated it became impossible to dissuade him from what he knew he had to do, he could not be shaken or led astray! He would never falter, not against endless hoards of Grimm breaking down the walls, not before stacks upon stacks of paperwork, not before whatever Nicholas Schnee was whining about this time, and absolutely not here in this breakroom with this scarecrow passing as a man! "Yes, yes it is. Is there a problem with that Officer Gravel?" He asked while unflinchingly staring back into Gravel's eyes that were beginning to fill with doubt, a concept that was now utterly foreign to the general.

"N-no problem at all sir I just never would have thought that you were into sweet things, that's all!"

"Hmmph, I suppose that would be considered strange to see a man of my position and reputation enjoying something as childish as rainbowed colored sprinkles in their coffee. But that is that kind of thinking that only creates division among allies."

"R-really?"

Ironwood heroically stood up from his chair and walked over to a window and pulled back the curtain, "Tell me what you see out there Officer."

The confused man went up to the window and took a peak, "I see Joe's Doughnut Emporium sir."

Ironwood then looked out the window himself, Shit! I was hoping that it would be a view of the street but maybe I make this work. "It's not the building that matters, it's the people inside it. People living out their lives just trying to do their best in a reality full of monsters. Frankly, it is a miracle that we've made it this far and that miracle was only made possible because we worked together, that can't happen if go around making assumptions of others." James you sly son of a bitch, you're still as smooth as ever!

"That… makes sense, I-'m sorry sir, it won't happen again!"

"Good man, now surely there was a reason that you came to see me," Ironwood said as he added extra sprinkles to his coffee.

"Y-Yes, sir! There are two things, the first is that the Council of Vale has decided to grant your request for custody of the recently arrested Rufio Basco. We are making the arrangement for transfer and by this time tomorrow he should be safely contained within the holding cells of your ship."

"Excellent, and the other thing?" This sweet cream could be a little creamier.

"Headmaster Ozpin requests an update on the prisoner, the same one that we are transferring."

"You can tell him that the prisoner is acting like a fool and insisting that he doesn't know anything, however, we know that he is lying. We have witness reports and video footage that prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that he met with a still unidentified individual and they openly plotted against the kingdom."

"They did?" Officer Gravel unintentionally asked out loud as he tried to wrap his brain around what he was hearing.

Ironwood nodded his head and took another delicious sip from his coffee, "Of course, Rufio denies everything and does it with the biggest shit-eating grin that I have ever seen but that won't last. First, we let him stew for a day, then we hit him with the facts, then let him stew a bit longer. After that, we offer him a lifeline in exchange for information and that will be the end of it. Mark my words officer, three days tops are all that it will take to make him talk."

Two months later…

"Pay up, Jimmy."

Ironwood groaned and looked at his friend Qrow who had his hand out and was wiggling his fingers, "Really? You're going to do this now just before I step on out there with Ozpin to start the Vytal Festival?"

"Hey, you're the one who bragged about how you were going to make Rufio talk in only a couple of days, you even made a bet that you could do it, and what happened?"

"I lost the bet."

"That's right and then you bet that you could break the guy in a week and what happened?"

Ironwood sighed, "I lot that one too, and then I made a bet that I could do in and two weeks and so one and so forth."

"I'm glad you understand buddy! Now pay up."

"You first."

There was a confused look on Qrow's face, "Why?"

"Earlier today you wrecked some of my robots, you break it you buy it."

Qrow's eyes slightly widened when he realized what Ironwood was going on about, "You're talking about that fight I had with your Lieutenant, who I remind you threw the first punch so I'm not a fault since it was self-defense!"

"Self-defense doesn't apply in situations where the attack was provoked," he looked Qrow right in the eye and poked him in the chest with his finger. "You provoked Lieutenant Schnee shortly after her arrival to a festival where she was hoping to spend some quality time with her younger sister and you destroyed two of my Knights to do so. Pay up."

"Fine," Qrow pulled out his scroll and pressed a few buttons before pausing. "Who do I send the money to?"

"Make a donation to the Poledina Clinic and while you're at it, apologize to Winter."

"Ugh, fine! But that apology is going to cost you and I'm in the mood for some nachos."

Ironwood started laughing.

"What's so funny?" asked an irritated Qrow.

"Nothing, nothing I was just thinking about how not too long ago you would have been asking for a drink instead of nachos. Oh Qrow, I'll admit that I had doubts when you told me that you were quitting drinking but look how far you've come."

Qrow shrugged, "I can't take all the credit, I have a good psychologist, a reason to try, something to look forward to, and people to back me. Which reminds me, we got to get moving! The main event will start soon and I don't want to risk being late to Yang and Ruby's first match."

"Then let's go and find the others."

Amity Arena's locker room was gorgeous which wasn't unexpected, it was, like the rest of the arena, a place designed in a collaboration between the most brilliant and creative minds of the four kingdoms. The designers understood the significance of what they were building and poured their every being into every corner, this locker room would be a place that would be used by representatives of those four kingdoms. This locker room is where they would prepare to face each other not in battles to the death but in friendly competitive fights to remember the bloody history of the four kingdoms and to celebrate the era of peace that they now found themselves in. And so the designers painstakingly made sure to incorporate elements of their own culture into every inch of the locker room and beyond in the hopes that competitors and the audience would take the time to gaze at something new and perhaps ask a few questions to somebody from that respective kingdom, maybe make a new friend the process or perhaps a friendly rival or just sit down in front of one of the many TVs and make some new acquaintances.

Jaune was not sitting in front of any of the TVs, he was standing in front of a large mirror and using his reflection to check his combat outfit to make some little adjustments here and there as a way to help keep his mind off of the tournament. Then he took a moment to just take in his whole look, "The coat and boots look as good as usual but I wonder if the vest is a little too much?"

"Naw, you look great dude! Absolutely nailing that nautical look!" Said a girl wearing a hoodie over a sweater and who was using the same mirror as him to help to apply some kind of black grease under her eyes. "I especially like that mechanical hook hand of yours, how'd you make it?"

"I didn't, a friend of mine made it for me, she's actually a competitor here."

"Oh, man it's gonna suck if you end up fighting her, do mind me asking who is she? I'd love to meet a fellow engineer."

"You're an engineer, what did you build?" Jaune asked out of genuine curiosity.

"A hoverboard that's also two guns."

Jaune stopped everything that he was doing and looked at the girl with awe and disbelief, "Are you pulling my leg?"

"Nope," she said as she put on elbow and kneepads, "I'm being super serious!"

Jaune pointed to where Ruby was hanging out with her team and Penny, How come Penny is never with her team? "Do you see the girl dressed in gothic lolita with a red hood? Her name is Ruby Rose and she's the one who built my arm along with her own weapon. The buff blond next to her is her older sister Yang and she also built her own weapon and no, I'm not going to tell you what either weapon is."

"Thanks, dude, and good luck at the festival!" The girl started walking towards Ruby but stopped to say, "I'd love to return the favor and introduce you to my captain but she's not really into dating and the other two are already going out with each other."

"That's fine, I may not look like it but I'm a married man."

The girl's eyes widened in surprise but soon they returned to normal and a smile stretched across her face. She then extended her fist towards him, "Nice."

"Thanks and good luck to you as well," he exchanged a fist bump with her and returned to checking his appearance as she walked away. Or at least that had been his intention but a pair of strong hands grabbing him by the shoulders and pulling him down seemed to disagree.

Naturally, Jaune began to struggle against the stranger but then this mystery person began to speak and he immediately recognized her voice, "Don't be alarmed captain but it seems that your destined rival has arrived."

"Destined rival?! Nora, what are you talking about?"

"See for yourself." Nora then pushed him back up and turned him toward the entrance of the locker room where he spotted a man with red hair dressed in mostly white but on his shoulder was a distinct red coat whose stylings bore an unmistakable similarity to one Jaune was wearing. However, what really caught Jaune's attention was the cutlass and flintlock pistol hanging from the man's sides, proof that the man was a fellow scoundrel of the open sea.

Immediately Jaune straightened his back and looked Nora in the eye, "What do you know about that guy?"

"His name is Scarlet David and he is a member of team SSSN."

"Oh, so he's a friend of Sun?"

Nora made a shaky motion with her hands, "Ren was talking to Sage earlier-," she pointed to a dark skin man with tasteful tattoos and an open white trench coat that showed off his six-pack, "-and according to him the entirety of Team SSSN, with the exception of Neptune, is kinda pissed with Sun at the moment."

"What? Sun is a great guy, why are they mad at him?"

"Well, he did kinda ditch his entire team back at Haven so he could sneak aboard a ship to get here before they could, which is illegal and makes him a criminal. Not to mention that there doesn't seem to be any reason why he did it other than to be one of the first people to arrive here but that doesn't get him anything and he doesn't seem to be the type to care about something like that so…," Nora shrugged her shoulders.

"Point taken," Jaune turned his attention back to Scarlet. "Do you think I should talk to him?"

"Of course, you should, that's the whole reason why I pointed him out to you!" She then smacked his back hard enough to force him to take a couple of steps forward, "Go get 'em, captain."

Jaune began walking forward and tried to remember the advice that his father used to tell him, Just be confident, all you have to do is walk up to the guy and introduce yourself and maybe throw in a joke about being a pirate like him. Just a little joke, you don't want him to think that you are a weirdo whose personality is just, "Hey I'm a Pirate and that's the only interesting thing about me!" He shook his head and cleared his mind, I'm overthinking this. All I have to do is walk up to him, shake his hand and compliment his coat. After that, we get into some small talk about our fashion choices and teammates, and after that, we either keep going or depart as acquaintances.

At some point, Scarlet noticed Jaune walking toward him, and just like Jaune also noticed their shared sense of fashion. It put a smile on the man's face and he walked forward to greet his fellow captain, "Well well, aren't you a sight for sore eyes." He then walked up to the approaching pirate and offered his hand in a friendly handshake, "Captian Scarlet David at your service."

Jaune took the hand and gave it a firm shake, "Captian Jaune Arc at your's and can I say that I'm loving that coat of yours, where did you get from?"

"It was a gift from my Aunt, may I take a look at that sword of yours?" The hilt looks familiar but I'll need to see the blade to make sure.

Jaune unbuckled his sheath and handed it over to Scarlet whose strange request was starting to draw a little attention, "What's so interesting about my sword?"

Scarlet didn't say anything at first, instead, he drew the blade out of the sheath and began to closely examine the different parts of the rapier and feel the weight and balance of the weapon, This is a refurbished sword though there also seems to be some modifications, whoever did it did a bloody good job. "Where are you from?"

"Western Mistral."

Scarlet nodded and resheathed the sword before handing it back to Jaune, "Sorry about that, I should have explained first that I like to dabble in historical weaponry. Specifically, weaponry before mechshift technology became the sensible standard rather than an expensive tool for bragging rights."

"And what can you tell me about this sword?" Jaune asked genuinely curious about the history of his weapon of choice.

"A glance isn't enough to really know anything for sure but I'm comfortable saying that it was made in Atlas and that it was used in the Great War, I can explain my reasoning later if you'd like. But everything after that is a bit of a mystery to me especially since you said that you're from Mistral. If you had been from Vale or Vacuo then I would have just called it a war trophy but Mistral complicates things."

Jaune scratched his chin as pondered over what he had just learned, "Mistral and Atlas were allies in the war, so how did it end up in my attic? Maybe it was a gift, something given away after the war because the owner didn't think they would need it anymore?"

"Well that one theory, what can you tell me about your fami-!"

The TVs suddenly came to life and began projecting the image of two of Beacon's Professors sitting inside a small but cozy announcer's booth that overlooked the entire stadium. At first, everyone in the locker room was confused as to why they were now looking at the two men but that question was quickly answered. "Welcome ladies and gentlemen one and all to the main event! The one and only Vytal Festival's Rumble in the Heavens Smackdown Ultraplex to HELLLL!" Peter Port boisterously yelled into his microphone much to the annoyance of his cohost and fellow professor Dr. Bartholomew Oobleck.

"It's called the Vytal Festival, not whatever any of that other stuff was," Oobleck quickly corrected.

"That may be true but is it not an accurate name? And is not important to be very precise with your language?"

"Well… I suppose I can't fault your logic but how about we go through the proper channels before deciding to rename the whole event?"

"Good point Oobleck but maybe we should first explain how this tournament is going to work before we go any further?"

"Capital idea Port!" Oobleck took out his scroll and pressed a few buttons which activated some hologram projectors carefully placed around the entire colosseum, soon everyone could see the images of the two men. "For those of you just joining us, I'm Dr. Oobleck."

"I'm Peter Port and we welcome you to Vytal Festival tournament which is being broadcasted Live from Amity Colosseum!"

"For those of you who are tuning in for the first time, we'll quickly break down the rules." Oobleck pressed a few more buttons and an image of a graph appeared in the hologram behind them to serve as a visual aid.

Peter held up three fingers and began the explanation, "First off the only requirement to enter the tournament is to be enrolled at one of the four major academies which are, Mistral's Haven, Atlas' well Atlas, Vacuo's Shade, and Vale's very on Beacon! Age and grade don't matter here at the Vytal Festival, only skill!"

"That is correct! Furthermore, the tournament is split into three rounds, teams, doubles, and singles!" Oobleck pressed another button and the brackets for the tournament appeared but were blank. "In round one, the fights will be team vs team, then winners of the team battles will select two to represent them in the doubles. Then the winners of the double will select a single person to represent their whole team for the singles!"

"And because Huntsmen need to be ready for everything, the fighters will be selected randomly! Observe!" Right on the cue, a hologram of a slot machine appeared throughout the stadium and began to spin eventually stopping on two teams: JNPR and SSSN.

Then two more slot machines appeared right under the one displaying the teams and Oobleck was quick to explain it, "In addition, two stages will be selected randomly and be combined together to form the arena. In order to achieve victory fighters will have to be both adaptable and creative in order to acclimate and take advantage of any field that they may find themselves in!"

The two slot machines stopped on the images of a dessert and a beach, Port then jumped in to explain the significance of the pictures, "And just like that the arena has been decided and what battlefield it is, one side will be an arid desert and the other will be a pleasant beach with a not so pleasant surprise!"

"And speaking of surprise, it is my pleasure to announce the start of the Vytal Festival Tournament and our first two competitors!"

"Team JNPR and Team SSSN, come on down, and let's get this party started right!"

The TV's went silent as they did Jaune look at his new friend now turned rival and spoke the very first words that came up his throat, "May the best captain win."

Scarlet chuckled, "Try not to be too heartbroken when I do win, I just hope that you'll entertain me a bit before then."

Nora stepped in, "I could say the same to you and not just because we got Pyrrha! Your gonna see why Jaune's the leader and not her and it's not just because Ozpin arbitrarily decided to make him leader without any input from us or explanation about his thought process, though both are also true!"

"Thanks, Nora?"

Scarlet smiled, it wasn't a malicious smile but the sight of it did put up red flags within the minds of Jaune and Nora. Scarlet walked away without saying anything and as he did the rest of his team followed and they were smiling as well, they knew something that Jaune and his crew didn't. Or maybe they had a plan to beat Pyrrha, either what that was something that they would find out very soon.

Team JNPR was walking through the Colosseum hallways making their way to the fighting ring for their first match in the Vytal Festival. Ren was silent and contemplative while Nora his partner and girlfriend was practically vibrating with excitement. Meanwhile, Pyrrha was softly singing a little nursery rhyme to keep her mind off of the crowds, apparently, even superstar athletes like her still had butterflies in their stomachs. As for Jaune, his heart was beating out of his chest partially due to excitement over being able to fight in Amity Colosseum in front of the entirety of Remmenant and partially due to nervousness for the exact same reasons. There was also the issue of whatever Team SSSN was planning but it was more of the first reason rather than the latter two. Jaune Arc, the one-armed pirate cosplaying son of an accountant was a contestant in the single biggest sporting event in the whole world, the Vytal Festival! More importantly, his participation was a massive step towards his goal of becoming a Huntsman, the fact that his team had a very real chance of winning the tournament was neat but that was secondary to everything else.

"Are you alright?" Ren asked as the end of the hallway came into sight.

"I'll be fine, it's just that all of this feels unreal. A few months ago I had some doubts about my abilities but now, now I feel badass."

Ren chuckled, "I feel the same. A lot has changed and while not all of it is good, most of it is."

They were close enough now that they could hear the cheering audience and even glimpse the arena they would be fighting in. It was a three-ringed area in the shape of a hexagon, the outer ring was a pit filled with special synthetic sand from Vacuo whose purpose was to put some distance between the fighters and the audience as well as provide a safe cushion for anyone who fell in. The second ring was a platform rising above the sand and that was where most of the fighting would take place. The third and final ring was a perfectly circular disk right in the middle and was more than big enough for both teams to stand, SSSN was already there and waiting for them while waving at the cheering audience.

The cheers only became louder once Pyrrha stepped into view and it wasn't a surprise, this was the first tournament that she had participated in since she retired from professional fighting. The world was watching her and as her teammates, the world would also be closely watching them and judging their every move. Everything that they did would be put up against an arbitrary measuring stick that they would never be able to be good enough for her, but they didn't care. Pyrrha didn't care what her fans thought of her friends, and neither did Nora or Ren, or Jaune. In fact, Jaune didn't even notice how people were looking at him, he was too busy trying to see if he could spot Tock in the crowd, She's probably in the VIP lounge.

A hard light shield activated and covered the area as a countdown timer appeared as soon as JNPR was standing with SSSN on the disk, then the arena began to change as the clock ran down. The panels that made up the middle ring were pulled into the inner parts of the stadium by brilliantly designed mechanical arms as new panels were put into place and secured by those very same arms. Sandy dunes and wind sheered stone formations rose behind Team SSSN while a sandy beach with crystal clear waters and even the wreckage of a wooden ship appeared behind JNPR. It was a true marvel of engineering and a testament to the power of the united kingdoms but there was one person who was not appreciating the sight.

"I-Is that, w-w-water?" Neptune asked as he took a step back.

Nora flashed the scared young man a wicked smile as she eyed his weapon that she knew used electrical Dust to attack, a perfect match for her Semblance which fed on electricity. "If you'd like, we can fight over there." She pointed at the sand dune that was the furthest from the water.

"Iwouldlikethatverymuch, thankyou!"

Sun's eyes widened in horror as he realized that his friend was walking into a trap, "Um dude, did you forget th-!"

The timer hit zero and a buzzer went off signaling the start of the match. Neptune without any hesitation much less second thoughts, began to run towards the sand dune that Nora had pointed at as she followed closely behind. Sun reached out to his friend to try and stop him from making that mistake but rapid-fire gunshots rang out as Ren intercepted the Faunus forcing him away in an attempt to avoid taking too much damage. Meanwhile Sage found himself under the relentless assault of Pyrrha who was quickly proving that her reputation was well earned.

As for Jaune, he was crossing blades with a pirate and having the time of his life, "Argh! Ye think that you and yer crew mangily flea-bitten sons of an ugly bar wench can just waltz in and not pay yer respects?!"

Scarlet responded by pulling out his pistol and attempting to shoot Jaune in the chest but the blond pirate had come in close and was skilfully using his hook and sword to make the act of aiming a difficult one. "You think this wise boy? Crossing swords with a pirate?" He angled his pistol down towards the floor and pulled the trigger, the bullet didn't hit Jaune but the sound made him instinctually take a step back and gave Scarlet the space he need to put the next bullet in his chest.

Jaune's Arua flared as it took the hit and his response was to swing and fire his hook, the blade flew through the air and caught Scarlet off guard as it struck his leg from behind causing him to fall on his back. Jaune then recalled the hook as he leaped into the air towards Scarlet and pointed his sword to the ground as he fell in an attempt to skewer the other captain while he was prone. But Scarlet was able to shift his body to avoid the blade and with another shift, he was able to kick Jaune's leg to throw him off his balance. He then grabbed Jaune by the vest and pulled him down to the sand where he attempted to put the man into a chokehold but his opponent quickly caught on to his intention and pulled away, upon realizing his failure Scarlet decide to pull away as well rather than pursue.

"Yer a quick-thinking one ain't ya?" Jaune commented as he tried to think of his next move, My hook and pistol together should give me an advantage in a range fight but I have to sheath my sword to grab the gun. And if I do that then Scarlet will shoot me again, my Aura can take it but I'd rather avoid unnecessary damage. Can I use the hook as a distraction? No, he'll see it coming.

Scarlet carefully rose from the sand, "Okay, I'll admit that yer a sailor worth his salt but can ya say that about the rest of ye crew?" He slightly shifted his eyes towards the scoreboard, I'll nail him in the chest when he takes a peak and then I make my way over to the wrecked ship and get the high ground. However Jaune wasn't falling for the obvious trap, Plan B it is then. Scarlet aimed his gun at the ground in front of Jaune and fired sending sand into the one-armed pirate's face.

Jaune was able to block the sand with his arm before it could get into his eyes but it was too late, Scarlet was out of sight. "What!?" Jaune quickly looked around and spotted his friends fighting the other member of SSSN but could not find Scarlet. How did he do that? For a moment he was tempted to look for his adversary but he quickly thought twice about it. He's probably trying to lead me into a trap, instead, I'll try to very help the others, he quickly sheathed his sword and pulled out his pistol.

Ren was not having a good time, his feet felt unsteady in the sand, he was sweating, he had a headache, there was sand inside his clothes, and despite the unflinching passivity on his face, the truth was that he was becoming quite frustrated in his fight with Sun. I got to put some distance but how can I? The monkey Faunus wasn't attacking him at the moment, rather Sun was swinging his gunchucks in a wild chaotic flurry that wasn't just for showing off, What a ridiculous weapon concept but it is effective. I can never tell when he is going to fire those things and when combined with his clones… Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see something moving towards him from the left, he then dashed to the right and opened fire with his twin pistols destroying one of Sun's clones as another one appeared behind him and attacked him with a flying kick. Ren was able to narrowly dodge and would have stabbed that clone with his blades but then a bullet struck him in the leg which was followed up by the clone spinning around and delivering a kick that connected with his face and sent him tumbling into the sand. Sun then charged in to finish the fight but a second gunshot rang out and the leader of SSSN back off to avoid this new attacker before fleeing behind a sand dune.

"Are you okay Ren?" Jaune asked.

"No, my Aura can only take one maybe two hits more before it goes into the red. Where's Scarlet?"

"I don't know, he threw some sand in my eye and vanished, I don't know where Sun ran off to either." Jaune then remembered the smile on Scarlet's face back in the locker room when the fight had been announced, They have a plan for Pyrrha! "Ren, go help Nora and when you're done find Pyrrha and help her." Ren nodded and ran towards the booming sound of grenades while Jaune left to find his partner. It didn't take him long to find her and when he did he uttered a silent curse when he saw that she was fighting Sage, Sun, and Scarlet all on her own. I need to help her but how do I do that without getting in her way? I need to calm down, Pyrrha can hold them off for a bit. What I need to do is figure out their plan and how to disrupt it.

At first glance it seemed that Team SSSN's plan for dealing with Pyrrha was just to overwhelm her with numbers, CRDN tried that during sparing class and it didn't work. Sun was there when it happened so he'd know better than to try it. On closer look it became clear that the plan was actually a bit more complicated than just superior numbers; Scarlet was standing on top of the mast of the beached ship and using his gun not to try and hit Pyrrha but rather to limit her movement, I can shot him before he notices me. Meanwhile, Sun wasn't fighting Pyrrha at all, rather he was sitting in a meditative stance and letting his clones do the fighting for him. Why is staying out of the fight? Is he trying to avoid facing Pyrrha directly because he's scared of her or is it the case that he can't? And finally, was Sage who was moving far faster than most would have thought possible by jumping around, There is a flash of green light whenever he jumps, is it a Semblance?

Jaune then tried to put it all together, They seem to be trying to force her into the water. That would be a good way to limit her mobility not to mention Neptune could electrocute her with his gun. Damn, they really did think this through. But… Jaune aimed his pistol at Scarlet and fired, hitting the pirate right in the gut and knocking him off of the mast and into the water. He then tried to fire at Sun but the guy was already moving and moving fast and as for Sage, the guy was flying right towards him… Oh Shit. Jaune dove for cover just before Sage's massive blade carved up the earth where he was standing earlier, he then tried to shoot the guy but he already closed the distance and grabbed him by the wrist.

"Nice shooting," Sage complimented Jaune just before he leaped into the air dragging the pirate captain screaming along. As he reached the peak of his leap, he began to position Jaune right beneath the point of his sword so that he would be impaled once they landed back on the ground. Jaune swung his hook arm at Sage's wrist but the man refused to let go, but then several things happened one after another.

The first was the sound of a buzzer going off which was followed by Professor Port shouting, "And Neptune is the first one to fall!"

"Indeed but let's give him credit where it's due, not many would have lasted as long as he did against an opponent like Miss Valkyrie," Oobleck added.

The second thing which happened was that Sage became distracted by the announcement resulting in his grip losing just enough for Jaune to free himself with a kick to the man's wrist. However it was too early to celebrate, the kick freed Jaune but it also brought Sage back into the present and he was ready to rumble. Then the third thing happened which was Pyrrha shooting Sage with her rifle thus allowing Jaune to safely land in the water with a belly flop while Sage landed gracefully on his feet on dry land.

Jaune pulled himself out of the water and spot Pyrrha waving at him from the shore and shouting something that he couldn't quite hear thanks to the water in his ears. However, he did have a feeling that she was apologizing, She does that a lot. "I'm fine, just a bit wet." He then looked around to get his bearings and soon realized that he was standing right next to the beached ship, Didn't Port say that the Beach Arena had an unpleasant surprise?

"I should have figured that you'd end up here as well, Captain Arc."

Jaune spun around and spotted Scarlet standing inside the hull of the ship. He instinctively raised his gun to shoot his opponent but his hand was empty, "Huh? Where's my gun?"

"Did you drop it?"

"Oh shit, I think I did!"

Scarlet chuckled, "I didn't" He raised his one gun to fire but then the fourth thing happened when the buzzer when off again just as Jaune drew his sword and charged.

"And with that beautiful display of Acrobatics from Mister Wukong, the score is now tied with the defeat of Lie Ren." Oobleck shouted with uncharacteristic excitement that went unnoticed by the two pirates engaged in a flurry of swordplay.

"Indeed, and it seems that Miss Valkrie will be following soon after. Hold on a second! Pyrrha has arrived in time to save her comrade making this fight a two on two! But where are Scarlet and Jaune?" Asked Port as just Scarlet attempted to fire his pistol but was intercepted by Jaune's hook which sent the bullet flying into a wall.

"They appear to be inside the beached ship. Which reminds me, earlier you said that the beach arena had a nasty surprise, could you tell us what it is?" Oobleck asked just as Scarlet was able to kick Jaune away and level the pistol at him.

"The hull contains several barrels of low-power explosives!" Port eagerly answered.

"Wait! What!?" Scarlet and Jaune shouted together as for the first time they noticed the numerous barrels around them, each one a bomb waiting to go off. Suddenly the desire to continue fighting was all but extinguished since neither one wanted to

"Well…," Scarlet scratched his head as he tried to figure out what to do next. "Um, do you want to take this fight somewhere else?"

"I'd love to."

"Cool." Scarlet then stepped outside with Jaune following closely behind. On the beach, he could see Sage and Sun doing their absolute best against Nora and Pyrrha but it was clear that they were waning, glancing at the scoreboard only further hammered in that fact. Shit, their Aura levels are dipping fast but that really shouldn't be surprising. Sage was jumping all over the place and Sun made more clones than I could possibly hope to count, we pushed too hard to try and take Pyrrha out when we should have helped Neptune first and then try to take her out. Oh well, you live and learn.

"Hey, we're nearly tied." Jaune pointed out as he gazed at his and Scarlet's Aura levels and noted to himself that he was slightly behind, But not for long.

"Would you like to fight on top of the mast?" asked Scarlet.

"Sure," Jaune answered while aiming his hook hand to grapple his way up there but then looked over at Scarlet, "How are you getting up there."

His fellow pirate chucked and aimed the butt of his gun at the top of the mast and pulled the trigger while holding down a hidden button then the trigger guard, which was big enough to protect the entire hand, shoot out while revealing a thin steel cable attached to it. "My gun is also a grappling hook," Scarlet said with pride as he let go of the button and the hook started to retract, pulling him up the mast in the process.

Jaune with his own hook was able to quickly catch up to him, "That's how you disappeared after throwing sand in my eyes!"

"Yes and no, I also used my Semblance which allows me to glide. Now, are we going to keep talking or are ye going to fight me like the sea dog ya seem to think ya are?"

Jaune used his Aura to first empower his legs to close the gap while barely giving Scarlet any time to react, then he shifted the Aura into his arms and unleashed a barrage of highspeed thrusts as carefully shifted his body around to alter the angle of each thrust. However Scarlet also used his Aura to empower his arms and use his saber in tandem with his pistol, which he was now held by the barrel to swing it like a club, to block the strikes and he did with mixed results blocking the majority of strikes but not all of them.

A buzzer went off and it was followed by someone shouting excitedly, it was probably something important but neither cared. The only thing in their head right now was the fight and Scarlet had quickly decided that he needed some space. So he activated his Semblance while performing a teeny tiny jump, without the friction of the mast to anchor him in one place Jaune's next strike unintentionally pushed him away and out of range. Scarlet then deactivated his Semblance and gripped his pistol properly to shoot at the hook that Jaune was shooting at him. It was a difficult shot but he succeeded in hitting the blade however Jaune simply pulled it back and charged in, but, Scarlet was ready and used his Aura to deliver a brutal vertical power blow that Jaune was forced to block.

A second buzzer sounded and just like the previous one it was followed by shouting and just like the first, it went ignored.

"Ugh," Jaune was caught surprised by the weight of the strike but he didn't buckle, instead he lashed out with his hook but it lacked the range of his own sword, and dual-wielding was a skill he was still learning. So he empowered his legs and stepped in closer, close enough so that he could start to do some real damage with his hook.

However, Scarlet was prepared for this and leaped off of the mast just as Jaune closed in, but he didn't fall. Rather he was gently gliding down to a dry piece of land while Jaune struggled to maintain his balance on the mast, "It's been fun captain Arc but I'm afraid that you're headed for some rough waters!" He then aimed his pistol at a barrel that was sticking out and fired, setting off a chain of explosions that destroyed the ship and knocked Jaune clean out of the fight.

"And Jaune is out with a bang! But can Scarlet win this on his own?" Port asked his co-host.

Oobleck shrugged, "A two versus one is already difficult especially when you are behind in Aura and one of your opponents is an undefeated champion. However we shouldn't count Scarlet out just yet, SSSN has proven that they are nothing if not full of surprises!"

Scarlet looked a the scoreboard and saw to his horror that both Sun and Sage had been defeated without his knowledge, then he remembered the buzzers he had heard. That was Sun and Sage getting knocked out… He took one last glance at the scoreboard and saw that his Aura level was lower than either Nora or Pyrrha, I don't think I can win… but I don't feel bad. I actually had fun, I had a lot of fun! A satisfied smile formed on Scarlet's face as he sheathed his sword and pistol, he then faced the cheering crowds and gave the audience a bow just as one of Nora's grenades landed at his feet, Well blow me down.

"And with one final explosion, Team JNPR has won the first match of the Vytal Tournament and will be going on to the double rounds! Give it up for JNPR and SSSN!"

Author's Notes: With that, we have finally entered Act 3 and my goal here is to focus a bit more on the festival itself rather than just the tournament. That doesn't mean that the fights from here on out will be ignored, it just means that they won't be the main focus or take up as much space as this one did. This fight was the exception and only because I couldn't resist the chance to have Jaune face a fellow pirate, speaking of pirates, the next chapter will be more a Tock focused one while showing a little bit of RWBY's fight to show how events here have changed them from Canon. Also, Sage's jumping ability and Scarlet's gliding are their actual Semblances as confirmed by the novels. And in case anyone was wondering; Neptune has the ability to move water which is appropriate given his fear of it. After all, what better way to avoid the things we fear than the ability to push them away from us?

And before I forget, NO, I am not going to ever explain the history or tell you the true name of Jaune's sword.

Sidenote, I am not happy with chapter 18 so I have been rewriting it in between chapters. When it is done I'll upload it alongside a regular chapter and mention it in the opening Author's Notes with a brief summary. It will NOT be mandatory reading, I am merely altering things so that they better match my standards.