Jekyll was losing his focus. Who would have guessed that constantly watching fight after fight just to judge if the students in question were good enough to represent Beacon would get dull eventually? Not him. Perhaps it was the constant excitement eventually sapping out what little adrenaline he had left that exhaustion and the stiffness of being on his seat for so long would eventually take over. He couldn't even tap into Hyde just to feel good; how bad was it that being Hyde couldn't make you feel good?

The freshmen and sophomores had the highest representation. With them being the bright future of civilizations' defenders, they would be featured more. There were at least three teams on Jekyll's count along but he was sure that he had forgotten a few teams here and there. He lost himself when it came to the selection process.

Juniors and seniors had the fiercest competition. Since this Vytal was to be their last Vytal before they would graduate, they are fighting ferociously for a chance at winning that tournament. A final hurrah of sorts before they officially leave behind their academies. Turns out, there were two brackets for this but the freshmen and sophomores had the most attention. Most cared for the bright greens more than they do seasoned veterans, never mind the fact that said veterans were greener than actual huntsman veterans.

Four days. It will take them four days. One for the freshmen. One for the sophomores. The current one is the juniors, and Jekyll only knew of that because of the teams currently on the roster: the same ones that had first entered Beacon Academy when he had first become part of Beacon's staff.

Teams JNPR and RWBY were already there. Whoever ends up winning this match would represent Beacon. For JNPR, there was the fact that Pyrrha Nikos had been expected to participate only for that expectation to be dashed away in the finals on account of Beacon being attacked. For RWBY, it had more to do with Yang having made it to the finals but never knowing what the results would be on similar accounts. Both teams have unfinished businesses and had their stakes on it.

It seemed that both teams had some upgrades to their weapons. Jaune Arc's armor was already present but it would appear that the others had changes to their outfit as well. Be it more armor for protection or some sort of stylistic change.

Jekyll looked at the jacket that draped on his shoulders. Should I get a change in wardrobe, too? Peach and Greene didn't have one, though... Nah.

The match was rather simple. Both teams are essentially going to capture the flag in the middle and carry it back to their home base. If neither team was able to bring it back, whoever held it until the time went out would be declared the winner. Additionally, if all members of the opposing team were knocked out, the match was called there.

Their combat arena were not the plain ones used for combat class. It was meant to simulate the random chance of the Vytal tournament, though cruder than the real thing. Platforms would rise and fall alongside the force behind the combatant's swings. There was no weather and no aquatic arena for them to fight in.

JNPR were on one side, the same side as his own, with RWBY on the other. Ruby waved massively that Jekyll wasn't sure if that was for JNPR or for him. Either way, he wasn't defeating any allegations of favoritism on his part. With his engagement to Winter, Jekyll half-wondered if he should have opted out of this one match. But someone needed to be here and Fran was far too focused on the electrical output for this match. Jekyll could still see the impatient tapping of Fran's foot from where he was; he could only imagine the amount of electricity being used right now.

Opposite to his side, where team RWBY was, was Peach. Mulberry and Greene were on either side. All of them looked exhausted right now, sitting through these matches, and there was one more expected tomorrow for the seniors who had every reason to represent Beacon being their final year.

Professor Goodwitch stepped onto the center of the arena. "Now students," she began. "I am sure that all of you should be familiar with the concept of Capture the Flag by now, seeing as to how every single one of you were eager to watch in hopes of finding some weakness in your potential opponents."

All of the students chuckled to themselves. The collective made it loud enough for them all to hear. Jekyll himself sighed. He saw Mulberry moving his lips but no one could hear him. Greene was close to just lying her head there on the desk. Peach was aching to stretch her wings.

Glynda looked to Fran who nodded in response. No matter what happens, Beacon was being as efficient with its electricity use as they could. In some respects, it was one area that those two got along with, conserving finances anywhere was always going to be a benefit. Jekyll never understood the extent of their camaraderie but he wasn't about to pry.

The platforms moved as lights turned on and that familiar sound was once again heard. It was mind-numbing to hear it for hundredth time this week. Jekyll would be avoiding this part of Beacon for the foreseeable future. No one would get him there unless he was made to fight himself. Even then, they'll have to fight him to get him to come here.

Sections were elevated while others sank low. They structured themselves into some kind of maze, with its own twists and turns as its own obstacle.

"Let's go!" Nora shouted. Despite being on the opposite end, even Peach had to clean out her ears from the sheer volume. Jekyll's condition, being on the same side as JNPR, didn't need to be said. It was much worse for his teammates.

Jaune Arc had said something but every ear there failed in those moments.

Glynda Goodwitch once again gave a rundown of the rules and the conditions for winning. By now, everyone's hearing was getting back into action. She soon moved to a safer location.

"We will begin," said Glynda. "In three, two, one. Begin!"

The alarm sounded and the match begun. The two teams took their steps to meet their enemy head-on. As expected of team JNPR, Jaune and Pyrrha led the charge, shields out. Nora was behind them. Team RWBY had sent Yang and Weiss as their response with Ruby following behind. Ren and Blake had parted from the rest of the group, likely already aiming for the flag.

"Hold the phone!" Ruby suddenly declared, making the rest of her team pause as well. She pointed at Jaune, then to Pyrrha. Weiss and Yang did the same with the latter whistling.

Whatever it was that they had seen had cost them the initiative. Jaune and Pyrrha kept their shields up and walled-off team RWBY while Nora broke off from the group as well. Ren and Blake were hidden from Jekyll's eyes.

Good thing I have my scroll. The scrolls had given him a bird's eye-view of the arena. He could even switch to different cameras that are capturing the igniting carnage. His eyes narrowed. It took him a while. Oh, I see. Congratulations, then. Seems like everyone is getting into a relationship.

Jaune's shield had bronze accents to them. What took RWBY's attention was that the bronze, near the point of the shield, was designed specifically to be similar to Pyrrha's own circlet. The bronze being similar enough to Pyrrha's own was another statement that was made.

Jekyll shook his head. Pyrrha had a bit of white on hers as well. They were more silver in color, but the shining light made them white, as white as Jaune's own armor.

It was the strangest way of announcing it. But it was also a tactical decision, born out of the teams' familiarity with each other. The fact that team RWBY was distracted told Jekyll that team JNPR had kept that secret for a long time.

Whatever strategy that team RWBY had come up with was immediately destroyed. Yang and Weiss had to split from each other just to get past the two-man shield wall. Ruby already used her semblance just to get past those two. The Xiao-Long-Rose sisters were the first to reunite as they aimed for the flag on one side. They split up, intending to pincer their way to the flag.

But Nora arrived first on the other one. She had leapt over the elevated platforms and landed at the center. The flag was right there, ready to be taken.

Yang moved out of the corner, catching Nora's attention. A shot from Yang's weapon forced Nora to move. Nora would have fired back but her focus was on the flag; she soon realized that she had been distracted. Ruby had the speed and agility and took the flag for herself, retaking the initiative for team RWBY.

Jekyll caught Jaune's reaction of shaking his head. Team RWBY knew how to adapt quickly.

From a distance, Ren could be seen closing in on the map. Blake was absent. Only Greene would be able to know where she would have gone. Jekyll caught Greene being especially observant on those two.

From a grenade launcher to a hammer, Nora swung her weapon at Ruby. Despite their weapon of choice, neither really hurt the other's aura, more focused on securing the flag. They were mere jabs, testing the waters. Nora won that exchange as Ruby had been knocked back.

But Yang was close enough that she took the flag once it had fallen out of Ruby's hands. Nora didn't get a chance to even reach out for it.

Momentum quickly went to team JNPR's favor as Ren came in, daggers swinging against Yang. With Ruby far enough from the two, Nora managed to get one hit on Yang, forcing her to drop the flag.

Ruby tried to reach out but Ren had the superior reach in that moment with Ruby's scythe being behind her instead of in front. Ren back-kicked her and used Ruby as a platform to reach the flag still in the air.

Yang launched herself upward to take back the flag. She copied Ren as she used Nora as the platform. With those gauntlets, she had better control in the air compared to Ren.

Ren resisted. Moving his body in unorthodox ways, much closer to an animal as he mimicked their movements, he kept the flag away from Yang who only pushed herself forward like a brute. Shotgun blasts were heard liberally as Yang and Ren were scrambling in the air.

Blake ambushed Ren, taking the flag for team RWBY. But Jaune and Pyrrha were there as well. Both of them would have went straight for Blake but Weiss' appearance had kept Pyrrha back. Weiss thought ahead and put down a Glyph that held Jaune in place in that moment; he slipped at the sudden loss of momentum.

Blake landed on the elevated platform. Team RWBY had followed Blake as they rushed towards their base.

But team JNPR wasn't about to fall behind. Nora moved to intercept them with Ren following behind them, drizzling them with his guns. Ren was agile and easily leapt onto the platform.

Pyrrha was the first to make it to the edge and she used it to leverage Jaune on the platform, ahead of Blake. There was a faint sound of humming metal as Jaune's balance on the platform hadn't been the best. A magnetic force pulled him when he would have been on the other side otherwise.

Blake, barring Ruby's semblance, was the fastest among team RWBY. But without the protection, she would be the most vulnerable. It didn't help that she wasn't the most direct when it came to combat as well.

Jaune stood in front of her. He may not be the best fighter among the team but young Jaune had two more years in Beacon. In that time, he had trained and caught up to the rest of his peers and that proved he was a threat now.

But neither of the two needed to fight at all. A pink trail of smoke was behind Nora as the explosion's force shook the platform they were on. Jaune held on but Blake didn't have that luxury. Jaune rushed forward, sword in the sheath, freeing one hand, and took the flag.

A fist came straight for Jaune but his shield took the brunt of it. He had better footing that he didn't fall down. Nora supported her team leader and clashed with Yang and a supporting Weiss. Nora wasn't using her hammer to fight, only to hold them back; she was disregarding any chance to strike them.

When there was enough distance, Nora smashed the ground, forcing the platforms into some kind of staircase. Pyrrha and Ren were caught in that as well as they tried to catch up.

Ren was the first to recover as he used that opportunity to use team RWBY's heads as platforms to hop on for him to reunite with his team. Pyrrha was the second to recover thanks to that.

Frustration clearly painted team RWBY's faces as team JNPR soon moved the flag closer to their own. Their aura levels were still green for the most part.

Jaune as a flag bearer was an amusing sight for Jekyll. It was a Servant thing. He looked to Fran who had a similar enough reaction despite her eyes being covered by bangs. Dare I say, it's more fitting.

He pushed aside the amusement and focused back on the fight. JNPR's movements was slower compared to RWBY. A flag-bearing Jaune Arc also decreased their fighting power; his sword remained in the sheath, and he wasn't using the flag as a weapon either.

It was an opening that team RWBY exploited. Ruby was the first to come in and took Jaune away. Rose petals rained on team JNPR then Ruby became solid again, swinging Crescent Rose, creating distance between Jaune and the rest of his team. The other three members of team RWBY kept them occupied.

Sword came out of its sheath too late as Ruby struck Jaune with the back of Crescent Rose. A Jaune in mid-air was a Jaune not holding onto the flag. Ruby took her chance and grabbed it. Jaune's attempt at reclaiming it made for an ugly looking fight in the mud, without the mud; there was no finesse nor grace in it, just a desperate attempt at reclaiming that which had been theirs. Ruby's speed outpaced anything that Jaune could do.

Yang and Nora engaged in their melee. Ren and Blake were too careful around each other. Pyrrha had been the first to break free from Weiss; she was the first to give chase to Ruby while Jaune kept Weiss distracted.

Some words were exchanged between the two since Weiss had been riled up and froze Jaune's feet. Jekyll couldn't hear it with how loud things had gotten already. Shotgun blasts, grenade explosions, ice forming, metals clanging and ringing, all of it combined into a horrid symphony of violence.

Bronze shield came flying for Ruby. It missed and only struck a trail of roses. When Ruby reappeared, there was a moment of pause for both teams. Jekyll realized it immediately; all the other teachers did too: the flag vanished with Ruby, allowing her to keep the flag without any sort of threat.

Ruby had been about to turn into roses before the flag was forced out of her hand. The flag was being ripped from her by an unseen force. The flag soon came for Pyrrha.

Nora was the first to deal with Ruby with Yang coming for Pyrrha. Ruby turned into rose petals as she went straight for the flag. Weiss' Glyphs were following soon.

A battle of semblances, Jekyll commented. RWBY had Ruby's speed and JNPR had Pyrrha's polarity. Either semblance gave them a near unbeatable edge with capture the flag. Glynda was taking notes of this; the flag needed to disregard any and all semblances in the future, not like her own telekinesis could make it impossible for her opponents had she been involved.

"Sorry, Ruby!" declared Nora.

Jekyll cringed at the sight of Ruby smashed into the ground. The force had been so great that Ruby was stuck on Nora's hammer as Nora lifted it and flung Ruby high in the air. He didn't need to look at the aura reserves to know that it had to hurt.

Yang dashed for Nora who was readying for another strike. But Ren's agility intercepted her. Blake and Weiss were gunning for Pyrrha. Jaune forcefully broke free from his ice trap. He was hopping in place before he ran towards Pyrrha, complaining all the while about literal cold feet.

Ruby fell back to the ground but Nora prevented Ruby from ever touching it. Feet apart, hammer behind her head, Nora was ready to swing. She timed it right and struck Ruby for a homerun. A buzzer sound was heard and team RWBY lost not only their leader but also their edge in capturing the flag.

Jekyll raised an eyebrow when Pyrrha passed the flag to Jaune. JNPR had the advantage right now, so why not use it? Was Pyrrha a good sport that she would willingly handicap herself for the opposition?

He realized the reasoning soon enough. Team RWBY would focus too much on her. By keeping the flag on Jaune, they would have to split their attention. Pyrrha could always bring the flag back as necessary and without their leader, team RWBY would have to make decisions on their own. By the looks of it, team RWBY didn't have plans in place when Ruby would be compromised.

It was Yang that made the first choice. Shotgun blasts went for Pyrrha and Jaune. Each one keeping them distracted. Pyrrha focused her attention on Yang. Soon the shots went mostly for Pyrrha, removing the hindrance on Jaune's return back.

Blake moved fast that even Jekyll, despite being of the Assassin class, had missed what she had did. Greene certainly appeared proud at what Blake just did. All Jekyll knew was that Blake had appeared before Jaune, baited him into attacking her shadow clone, and took the flag as she punished his wide swing.

She didn't stay for long and ran. Ren was the first to catch up to her. The two exchanged one or two hits, Jekyll couldn't tell from where he was watching, before Blake left behind another clone.

A raised platform had walled her off, trapping Blake with an approaching Ren.

Ren fired his shots. Blake took her risk and charged at him. She leapt over Ren, aura taking much of the damage that Ren's weapons could deliver. She struck him down and made an attempt at keeping him there. But Ren moved his feet fast enough and recovered, all the while hard-blocking Blake's strikes and even putting her off-balance.

In that enclosed space, the two locked in close combat. But Blake's weapon had given her the range advantage. The rope of Gambol Shroud, her weapon, could give her the range which she used as though she was holding a whip. Blake had fine control that Ren was forced to play by her range.

But it was unsafe for Blake to maintain it. Ren had enough speed to not allow Blake to relax. Bursts of shots came out and forced Blake to move inches to the side. A pendulum of rhythm and control kept swinging between the two.

If Blake used her weapons and her semblance to their fullest potential here, Ren was using the environment to match. He jumped off of the walls, even countering Blake's weapons by parrying them. The whip-like motions may have allowed Blake the reach but that also meant that she didn't have a solid line, and one strike at the weapons proved themselves to hinder any momentum Blake's twirling could have given them.

Ren parried Blake's weapon and made it land on the wall behind him. Blake had to decide if she had to let go or pull it out; Ren used that opening and struck. Blake's back slammed hard against another wall and the flag flew away. Ren grabbed it and fled, Blake was still in the match but couldn't get up on time.

Ren turned around the corner and leapt further ahead. An spear of ice had struck the place that he had just been. His eyes narrowed at a Weiss Schnee, Glyphs all set.

Multiple ice spears rained on Ren. Nora had appeared behind Weiss, forcing her to back away. Blake had recovered and intercepted Nora.

Ren took his risk and went flung himself towards Weiss. His aura flaring as he burst out in speeds that almost matched Ruby's own. Ren's aura control was terrifying; Jekyll was half wondering if he should learn a thing or two from him.

But that desire for glory had cost him. Many Glyphs had surrounded Ren from all sides and even all angles. Weiss' Glyphs sped her as she struck Ren multiple times, bouncing off from one Glyph to another.

She maintained her grace as she moved. Skating around like the arena was an ice ring and striking as though she were hitting the counts of a dance step routine. Nora may have broken free from Blake's distraction but she was too late to stop Weiss from bringing forth a summon, a Boarbatusk, and bowled Ren out of the arena like he was the pins in the alley. A buzzer sounded.

Weiss ran. Nora chased Weiss. Blake chased Nora. Pink smoke followed Weiss. Shadowed swings nearly cut the tips of Nora's hairs.

Pink explosions eventually forced Weiss against the walls, dropping the flag.

A buzzer sounded. Jekyll's attention was soon drawn towards Jaune. He had been knocked out of the fight, leaving team JNPR with only two members left.

Nora was fighting on two fronts. A Blake willfully fighting outside of her style just to protect Weiss against Nora who always charges headfirst into battle, Weiss needed to get up quickly if she wanted to win.

Is it ironic? Jekyll commented. He hoped he hadn't said out loud. A faunus, and a White Fang member at that, former granted, defending a Schnee.

Weiss lost her balance. Bronze shield came flying back and struck Weiss as she was getting up. Pyrrha's weapon shifted quickly from javelin to sword and back as Weiss was obliterated until she had been knocked out of the fight. A buzzer sounded.

Jekyll's attention had been out of the fight in that moment as his eyes went to the ceiling. He swore he heard something from there. But with how things had been going on, he might have been hearing things amidst the chaos. His eyes had to be playing tricks on him as well for he thought he had seen a shadow move.

Putting his attention back into the fight, despite Weiss' exit, the flag did not go to team JNPR. Blake had been the first to act and took the flag for herself. She ran ahead while Yang engaged with both Nora and Pyrrha, emphasis on Pyrrha.

Polarity needed focus to use and Pyrrha being distracted by Yang's cover fire didn't allow team JNPR any means of getting the flag back.

"Just get the flag!" Pyrrha shouted.

Nora nodded once and followed Blake. Jekyll wasn't sure how Nora would catch up. Blake was the speedier one among them and Nora didn't strike him as being similar, that assumption went to Ren.

He was proven wrong.

Pink electricity sparked and surged from Nora, surprising even Fran. Immediately after, Nora left behind a trail of electricity as she quickly closed the distance between herself and Blake. Blake had been forced to use a shadow clone just to evade a swing from Nora's hammer. At that speed, the force behind it would have been enough to knock Blake out of the fight.

On the other side, Pyrrha was covered in a growing cloud of explosions. Shotgun blasts kept striking at her bronze shield as Yang relentlessly emptied all of her shells. When all that ball of flame had dissipated, all that remained was the shield.

Pyrrha had been on Yang's side. Now that Yang's ammunition was spent, Yang's fighting prowess decreased significantly. Pyrrha had struck Yang just enough to get her into the air. Then, Pyrrha used her semblance and flung Yang out of the arena; it was followed by a buzzer sound.

It didn't take long for another sound was heard.

"The victor is team JNPR," declared Glynda. Jekyll had missed what Nora had done.

The arena returned to a platform of equal footing. It was as equal as it could get given the damage that was done. It didn't take long for the systems to shut down. Fran intended to conserve every single watt of electricity.

"Congratulations," said Glynda once team JNPR had gathered. "With this victory, you four will be among our representatives for this year's Vytal tournament."

Jekyll swore he had heard something again, someone cursing.


AN: I'll admit the majority of the sequences here is pretty much ripped from Cake Station's R.U.B.Y. OVA 2 - Invincible Girl which you can find on youtube. There is little changes that I've made from there.