Chapter 16
"What? What do you mean by that?" Percy cocked an eyebrow at the headmaster inquisitively.
Ozpin only sighed, "Exactly what it sounds like. Someone has bypassed our security measures, and inserted you as a one-man team into the tournament."
"Is… Is that even legal?" he asked, dumbfounded at the recent turn of events.
"Technically, yes. If a member of a team were injured, that team would still participate. As long as a team is able to participate, even with one member, they will continue. Thus, in your case, it's technically legal, since the other three non-existent members of your team are injured. You are to take the place of a team who is unable to participate because all four members of that team are injured. The official reason is that two have combative injuries, while the other two came down with food poisoning."
That was… bad. Like really, really bad. Percy didn't have a doubt in his mind that this wasn't the work of Cinder and her lackeys'. They were going to expose him and his fighting prowess on live television; the fight would be recorded, and Cinder would have so, so much material to go off of for analyzing his technique. And it would make him look like a cocky, arrogant jackass while doing so.
"That's… really bad. This is definitely Cinder's work…" Percy shook his head, pacing the room, "I sat next to them today while watching RWBY fight to stop them from discussing their plans or whatever, and I acted all friendly with them."
"I still don't understand why Atlas cannot arrest her," Ironwood frowned.
Ozpin sighed, "Because we have no concrete evidence to support the claim that Miss Fall is planning the demise of Vale or Beacon. Not to mention that she is a capable combatant, meaning it would create a massive scene."
Ironwood made a sound of understanding, and Percy sighed, "We are in a dilemma here."
Ironwood hummed, "But this could also be a great opportunity. If you defeat the four person team that goes against you, it would be a great show of strength and superiority. It would scare them."
Ozpin shook his head, "James, this is like you bringing your fleet here, in Vale. It's too much of a show of strength, too superior. And if Miss Fall is truly the person who attacked Amber all those years ago… she will not stop to get the power of the Fall Maiden, even if young Perseus displays his strength in front of her."
Percy tapped his chin thoughtfully, "Either way, we have three options here: I can, as General Ironwood said, showcase my talents in a display of strength, I can forfeit, or I can put up a little fight, restricting myself, but ultimately losing."
"A display of strength would surely shock our target," Ironwood said firmly, already having made up his mind.
"However," Percy countered immediately, "It would allow them to see all my moves on screen. The 'put up a fight' option isn't good either, since they would record the whole thing and get some moves of mine while also raising their suspicions of me, which are already pretty high thanks to me sitting next to them."
"Forfeiting wouldn't work either," Ozpin added, "It would lower Beacon's reputation to the masses, which would hurt Vale if there is a breach of Grimm during the Vytal Festival… what about a display of strength, but a different weapon?"
Percy shook his head emphatically, "I fought with Riptide during the Breach of Vale; if I switch weapons, she will know something is up."
Ironwood set his jaw in a grim line, "A display of strength is best. Keep in mind you already have great publicity, and this will surely raise the people's morale even further."
"Wait, what? Great publicity?" Percy cocked an eyebrow in question.
"You haven't checked your scroll or browsed the web recently?" Ironwood tilted his head and cocked an eyebrow right back at him.
"Uh… no?"
He hadn't. With the Vytal Festival and tournament coming up, he had spent all his time training his friends and also training himself in preparation for what was to come.
"Well," Ironwood chuckled deeply, "You're in for a surprise."
Percy whipped out his scroll at record pace, checking the Valean news.
Perseus Jackson and team save Vale! Perseus Jackson, the Hero of Vale! There were pictures of his face circulating the web, and more than a few comments about him. Percy's face burned bright red as he read a particular comment about wanting his babies. It was nice being on the right side of the law, for once.
"What about the other teams who fought the Breach? I don't understand why this is such a big deal…" Percy scratched his head, confused.
"You and your team, but you specifically, were the first to respond to the Breach of Vale. Imagine this: You're an everyday citizen of Vale, going about your everyday tasks, when suddenly, there is a massive breach, and Grimm, which most citizens have not and will not ever see in their lives, start pouring into the city by the hundreds. And one single man is holding them off for a moment, before his team joins him. The man decimates through the horde of Grimm, cutting them like paper, and, forgive me when I say this," Ozpin chuckled in amusement, "that man looks like a beacon of light in the darkness, pun unintended. You, as an everyday citizen, will understandably be shocked. The media jumps on it all like ravenous scavengers, eating it all up, and suddenly, overnight, you have become famous."
"Ah… huh."
Ozpin let an amused chuckle slip from his lips, "If you were to showcase your skills in Vytal Tournament, you would gain even more publicity along with lifting the morale of the people. Morale is what keeps away the Grimm. James brought a massive Atlesian fleet here, and that increases the doubt in people's minds."
"No. When the people of Vale see the power and might Atlesian fleet," Ironwood gestured to the skies through the window, "They feel protected. They feel safe."
"On the contrary, James," Ozpin shook his head, "If this is the massive fleet required to protect Vale… after the Breach… people are going to have this lingering doubt in the back of their minds: What is it that we're expecting to fight?"
"I must agree with Headmaster Ozpin on this one," Percy said, "Subtlety is the name of the game here, General. One must appear strong when they are weak, and weak when they are strong."
Ironwood only sighed in response, unable to argue with the two of them, "Very well. What would you have me do?"
"It is too late to withdraw the Atlesian fleet, otherwise it would signal to our enemies that we were weak, and the people of Vale would feel as if they were without our protection. Leave the fleet for now, because you have already brought it," Ozpin mused.
Ironwood grimaced, but didn't apologize.
"What the people of Vale truly need is a guardian, a symbol that will uplift their morale. And Perseus can be that beacon."
"Morale is a fickle thing," Percy mused, his sea green eyes roving over the office in thought, "but I think this is a given. I need to win with full conviction here, then."
"It would be best to obscure the view of the audience," Ironwood tilted his head, scratching his chin, in thought, "and as the cameras cannot record your tactics, you defeat all of them at once."
Percy nodded in assent, "That would be best… but how can I achieve that?"
"Play to your surroundings," Ozpin nodded, "If one side is a thick forest, lose your enemies in there, if it is water… well, you might have to make a splash and fight underwater. If it's the sand, make a sandstorm, somehow."
Ozpin you sly, sly fox.
If he could just use his demigod powers and amplify the other team's attacks subtly… he could create something that could obscure the cameras' vision."
"So the plan is to take them out in an utter display of power, but hide part of the fight?" Percy asked, receiving two firm nods in response.
"Good luck, Perseus."
Percy thumbed his pen, twirling it several times before letting it sit comfortably in his hand.
"This next match is going to be one you want to see! Welcome Team NDGO of Shade Academy! These lovely young ladies hail from the sands of Vacuo, and are a skilled team, certainly a crowd favorite, but they are going up against an unorthodox one man team consisting of the hero of Vale himself! Please welcome Perseus Jackson!"
Taking his cue, the demigod strolled onto the big stage with confidence, as if he hadn't been forcefully entered into the Vytal Tournament. Riptide was already in its sword form; he didn't want to take any chances of anyone noticing that it was just a little too fast for mechashift.
The cheers were deafeningly loud, and for a second, it felt like fighting in Antaeus' arena in the Labyrinth again. The arena boomed with every step he took, applause from every section of the crowd. Pictures of his face with hearts all over it were held up from the crowd, and more than a few fans screamed for his attention. His sea green eyes roved over the crowd, spotting his team looking confused, and demanding answers with their eyes glaring daggers at him. They would no doubt demand answers after the fight.
Instead, he gave them a little wave, and winked at them cheekily. Yang was going to make him pay for that later. Despite their visible confusion and anger, Ruby winked back and gave him a big thumbs up for support. Good ol' Ruby, always looking out for her friends.
He tuned it all out, ignoring the crowd and twirled Riptide comfortingly, his old friend shining golden in the light of the arena as he approached his opponents.
One of them had lightly tanned skin, with indigo hair brushed over to one side and a bandit look about her, with a crossbow in hand. Another had lightly tanned skin as well, but with dirty blonde hair swept to the left, and vibrant, violet eyes, wearing a green dress and holding some kind of gold spear. The one to her right had fair skin, with dark red hair swept the right and olive green eyes, holding a dagger. Finally, the last had fair skin, with curly black hair and a black dress filled with throwing knives.
The purple-haired one smiled friendlily, "I'm Nebula, leader of Team NDGO."
Perseus grinned back, "Perseus Jackson, you can just call me Percy. Leader of Team PRWBY, until they forsook me for being a horrible person and an even more horrible leader. I'll never recover from the embarrassment."
Nebula giggled slightly, as did the rest of the team as they introduced themselves. The blonde was Dew, the redhead was Octavia, and the black-haired one was Gwen.
The randomizers began spinning rapidly. After several moments, Team NDGO's side settled on sand.
"Alright, home turf. You're in for one, Percy," Nebula grinned at him cheekily, even as Dew shook her head at her teammate's antics.
Percy snorted, "Pfff. Don't get too cocky now. I would love to knock you down a peg or two."
"I would love to see you try."
"You practice those one-liners in front of a mirror?" Percy cocked an eyebrow in question.
"I can confirm she does!" Dew chimed in happily, even as Nebula glared at her.
"You would turn on your team leader? Like that?"
"For a hot guy? Any day of the week!"
"Tch… it's almost like they're your weakness," Gwen rolled her eyes, Octavia agreeing wholeheartedly with her.
Percy ignored their playful bantering and bickering watching the randomizer as it gave him the sea.
Pffftt… it was almost as if the randomizer actually wanted a good fight… him with the sea and the Vacuan team with the sand… it was almost too good to be true. Regardless, he prayed that one of the members of that team had some kind of wind powers… maybe he could add to them and whip up the sand to create some sort of sandstorm. Or he could run into the water and decimate all of them there.
"A date with me if we win?" Dew offered, as Percy tilted his head in thought.
"But if I win, your team treats mine out to dinner."
"Deal," Nebula grinned, indigo hair flapping in the wind, "Dew needs to get laid, after all. So uptight about everything," she said, much to the chagrin of her teammate.
"Better make sure you win then."
"We will."
"Three, two, one begin!"
Percy immediately ducked as three throwing knives made their way over his head, and he retreated to the ocean. He started analyzing their fighting styles.
They had little to no range options, with only Octavia having her throwing knives and Dew making large, but slow cyclones of wind that were easy for him to dodge. They would have to chase him if he retreated away from the sands, and they also had the numbers advantage, boosting their own confidence. He pretended to retreat as he dove into the ocean water.
Luckily for him, they followed, with Dew stirring up a massive cyclone into the water. Percy only amplified it subtly with his powers, and soon enough, the cyclone became a hurricane.
He added some more water to it just to be sure, and when he was finished, the crowd couldn't see them anymore. Percy burst forth towards the four girls with speed, his patented, ward longsword appearing in his left hand. On ground, he was fast, yes, but under water, he was nigh-invincible. Ocean fights were different, very different. One could maneuver in all directions, adding much more variability to the fight.
Percy ducked under the slow swing of one of them, going from under, and piercing straight upwards. He slammed the longsword into her stomach, and the end result was a complete and utter loss of aura all the way into the red. Octavia tried throwing her knives, but they just straight up sunk into the watery depths. However, when Nebula fired her crossbow, the bolt straight up ignored gravity and water resistance. It zoomed towards Percy, taking him by surprise, and Percy managed to avoid it by the skin of his teeth. He quickly sketched a piercing ward and fired it at them,
Seeing this, they tried swimming upwards, but this was his domain, and he'd be damned if he let anyone escape from him, let alone best him. When they finally surfaced, they were met with an expel ward to the face, blowing them all backwards. Riptide hissed, bursting forth in a flurry of strikes that they clumsily tried to defend, but it was no use. Their auras had all dropped into the red. He willed the hurricane away, almost forgetting to keep himself wet, but he remembered at the last second.
The hurricane subsided, leaving all five of them drenched and miserable, even as Percy pulled himself out of the water, leaving no question as to who won the fight.
"And with that, Perseus Jackson wins the bout against Team NDGO! A spectacular showing from the hero of Vale, to be able to take on a full team of huntresses and come out on top!"
The crowd roared in approval, booming as they all clamored to see him. It felt good to have a good reputation for once.
"Good fight," Percy offered a hand, as he helped them out of the water.
"Ugh. You totally outplayed us!" Nebula shook her head in utter dismay, wet indigo locks swaying from side to side, "Either way, it seems like Dew won't be getting her date.
The girl in question only shook her head, even as they all congratulated each other.
"Scroll number?"
"For dinner with our team," Dew elaborated, drying out her locks of hair.
"Uh… six-"
"Young man, I do hope you realized that your voice is televised on national TV, yes?"
Percy's head snapped up as Oobleck chimed in, his voice extremely amused. Simultaneous groans were heard all over the stadium, as he realized his voice was being broadcast.
Thank the gods for his history professor saving his ass, otherwise he would have definitely needed to get a new scroll number.
"He's just like me when I was young!" Port laughed boisterously.
Percy wanted to shrink in embarrassment, but instead, he stood tall and confident, acting as well as he could.
"Later then?"
"That would be best."
Weiss stalked towards a whistling Percy, along with Yang as they made their way outside the colosseum.
"What was all that? Why were you in the tournament as a one person team?" Weiss demanded, her hands on her hips as Percy put his hands on the back of his head.
"Well," he shrugged, "I was put in as a one person team because there were an odd number of teams in the tournament, and so I had to participate because I was part of a team that had qualified, that being Team PRWBY."
"How did you beat them all so quickly?" Ruby wondered aloud, silver eyes searching his enchanting sea green ones for an answer.
"Now that," Percy shot the pouting Ruby a small smirk, "is a secret."
"Why were you flirting with them, and why did you wager a date with one of them?" Yang demanded hotly, glaring at him through her lilac eyes.
He shrugged, hands in the air innocently, "First of all, it wasn't flirting, it was bantering. They were nice people. Second of all, I wanted to treat my team to dinner for once, and I saw an opportunity and took it."
"And what if you lost?" Weiss glowered at him, "You're such an idiot. You nearly gave out your scroll number on live television!"
Percy shrugged again, "First of all, I didn't know our conversation was being televised! Second of all, If I lost, I would have gone on the date. Does it matter? It's not like I'm in a relationship or anything."
Weiss was furious. He was her team leader! He wasn't supposed to be off dilly-dallying and frolicking with other women!
Before she could voice her anger, however, a ship flew overhead towards Beacon Academy. An Atlesian ship.
"She's here!"
Winter was finally here! Weiss hadn't seen her sister in so long, and the sight of her ship ignited a flame in her heart. Her sister was going to see how much she improved, and she would be proud! She had also wanted to meet her team leader, Percy.
"Who?" Percy only had a moment to ask, before Weiss grabbed his arm and started dragging him towards the landing pads.
Weiss grit her teeth as she dragged him, "I'm dragging you to meet my sister, who's a specialist in the Atlesian military, so please for the love of the gods, do not be an idiot, I'm begging you."
Percy smiled at her easily, "Of course."
Winter Schnee stepped out of her personal bullhead, her boots clacking on the pavement as the Atlesian Knight-200s followed behind her. The Vytal Tournament had been rather… interesting. Weiss had missed more than a few strikes… disappointing, but her team leader had proved unstoppable on the battlefield.
"Winter! I'm so happy to see you!"
Winter turned around to see her little sister running up to her eagerly. The corner of her lips twitched upwards at seeing Weiss for the first time in what felt like ages.
"Oh- your presence honors us," Weiss curtsied demurely, trying to proceed with Atlesian standards.
The boy- no, man, beside Weiss strolled up towards her.
He had black, disheveled hair swept to one side, along with sea green eyes, his complexion that of a Mistralian. He was handsome, with a roguish charm to him, she had to admit. She could still admire men from afar, after all. The man was several inches taller than her, but the way he held himself made it seem like he towered over her. There was an air of a weathered warrior's confidence about him that demanded attention, and he strode forth to grasp her hand in a firm handshake.
"Specialist Schnee, it is an honor to meet you."
"Perseus Jackson," she replied, already impressed by the young man's formality, "So this is the team leader that you wrote to me of. I must say, I'm impressed, both with your combat prowess and your team leadership skills. I wish to thank you for taking an interest in my sister."
"Of course," he nodded, "I treat her as I would any member of my team."
"He means to say that he trains us vigorously," Weiss butted in.
Vigorous training? Now that was something she definitely liked. Perhaps he was even better of a team leader than she'd thought.
"Regardless of his 'vigorous' training, however, you failed miserably in battle."
"B-But, we won!" Weiss protested.
"Only a novice would refer to that as a victory. I counted at least five strikes missed," Winter retorted coldly.
Weiss cringed at her words, as Perseus adopted a hard look in his eyes.
"There is no need to be so hard on her," he defended.
"One must be hard on their proteges, otherwise they may falter in battle," Winter replied coolly.
"Physically hard, during training, yes," Perseus argued, "but being mentally hard on them serves no true purpose."
"If words are able to get past one's defenses, one cannot be a true warrior at all."
"Ah, but that isn't the point of being mentally hard on them, is it? Intensive training must be balanced with uplifting words, otherwise one cannot succeed at all."
Winter pondered that for a moment. Was she too hard on her sister? Was she wrong? She shook her head slightly. He had caused her internal debate with no more than a few sentences and caused her to doubt herself for just a moment. He just kept impressing her with every waking moment.
"Thank you for the debate, Perseus. I truly enjoyed it," she inclined her head respectfully, "But I suppose that is simply the fundamental difference between our training methods. Regardless, I have business with the General and your headmaster."
Winter strode forth, the Atlesian Knight-200s guarding her as she moved towards Beacon's courtyard. Her sister's team leader was an enigma she was determined to crack.
Percy slinked away from the absolute all out spar that Winter and Qrow were having at the moment. He had had half a mind to intervene and stop the drunken Qrow before the all out brawl happened, but that would have blown his cover. Besides, stopping them wasn't on his list of things to do anyway. If they wanted to have a destructive flirting session that tore up the school's courtyard, who was he to judge?
Thankfully, due to their spar attracting all sorts of attention, Percy and his new found almost celebrity status were mostly ignored as he made his way towards the training rooms. He had to work off some steam. What he had experienced today had broken all expectations.
Powers? Maidens that had almost demigod-like powers with true magic and not dust? His head swam with information, and he desperately needed an outlet.
Thankfully, that outlet came in the form of a certain blonde brawler in the training room.
"Yang!"
Lilac eyes scanned the room, before they landed on him.
"Hey Percy! What's up?"
He gave her a strained smile, "Bad day. You?"
"Eh, not really," the blonde bounced on her toes, jabbing at the punching bag, "Today was pretty good, at least for us. We have our spirits up after yesterday's win, and you even got us some dinner! Even if you were flirting with that team."
"For the fiftieth time," Percy groaned in embarrassment, "I wasn't flirting with Team NDGO…"
"Sure, sure, whatever you say, hot stuff. Say, you need some stress relief?"
Percy nodded.
"How 'bout a spar? No weapons, no semblances, just aura and fists," Yang cracked her knuckles, grinning up at him cockily.
He smirked at her in response. Just what he needed.
"You're on."
Percy pummeled his fist into Yang's chest as she landed a boot to his. Snaking his arms around her neck, he grabbed her in a chokehold, before slamming her into the ground. She punched, kicked, and clawed back, elbowing him in the nose.
All technique had gone out the window. They grappled and punched like animals on the floor of the sparring room. It was primal, it was feral. But it was also a huge stress reliever, and strangely therapeutic. Nothing else in the world mattered at the moment. No stupid maidens, no scheming bitches, no fame and popularity. Just him and Yang, and their flying fists.
Yang straddled him, laying fist after fist into his tired blocks. He vaulted her off him, and slammed his fist into her face, receiving an uppercut in turn. Neither of them bothered even dodging; they were too tired. Just tired punches and tired blocks. Even through the pain, he smiled.
Finally, after what felt like hours of laying into each other, they both collapsed from exhaustion on the floor, spent and exhausted.
"That was… strangely therapeutic," Percy lay on the floor, panting in exhaustion shoulder to shoulder with Yang.
The blonde brawler propped herself up on her shoulder to look at him, grinning beautifully, "I aim to please."
"Ooh what is this?"
Percy whipped his head around to see Team JNPR entering the same room, Nora with a mischievous grin on her face. Pyrrha looked… unhappy, for some reason, and Jaune looked… embarrassed?
"Percy and Yang, all sweaty and on top of each other," Nora sang, quickly snapping a picture of them on her scroll.
Yang flushed red, and Percy groaned.
"Percy and Yang, sitting in a tree! Ooh, wait, tell me. Did you guys bang?" Nora leaned in, grinning like a Cheshire cat as she slowly pushed one finger inside a hole.
Yang hid herself behind Percy, and he groaned again, whispering to Yang.
"You owe me for this."
There was no response, only a fearful whimper, for none could stand up to the might of the Queen of the Castle…
Still, Percy was the one man who dared to try.
"Nora, we weren't banging, we were sparring," he sighed, preparing for the onslaught of little accusations that were about to occur.
Thankfully, he was saved. Except he wasn't thankful for what he had been saved by.
His ring began vibrating rapidly, and he suppressed another groan. So, so many meetings, and he had to be discreet about it all.
"Will Pyrrha Nikos please report to the headmaster's office?"
Never mind.
"I'll go with her," Percy butted in, before anyone else could. Maybe that was a bit suspicious, but there wasn't really anything to base suspicion off of, so racking up one strike didn't mean much to Percy.
Yet, in the back of Percy's mind, there lay a question: Why was Pyrrha being called to the headmaster's office?
He had a feeling that he wouldn't like the answer.
AN: Okay, so lots of people have been asking me if I'm going to change up the storyline. In short, yes. It would be far too boring if there wasn't a change in the storyline and he just tagged along with Team RWBY in canon.
Expect new characters, new plot lines, character rewrites, etc!
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'til next time!
Next Chapter: August 12th (1 week)
-thann3