Summary:

All is peaceful in Vale in the wake of Penny's unveiling and the Vytal Tournament proceeds as planned.
Neptune comes to terms with his decision to help the White Fang as he faces the danger of fatal peril.
Pyrrha makes a decision that displeases everyone, but for some reason elates the mysterious Principal, Ozpin.

Notes:

I'm back.

Chapter Text

"Ladies and gentlemen," the announcer shouted, "welcome once more to the Vytal Festival Tournaments!"

"WHOOO!"

The cheer of the crowd was louder than a herd of Megoliaths, their vibrancy belying the dark business that just a few days ago had thrust them into despair. It had been a few days since Penny Polendina, dubbed Remnam't Protector, had taken to the field with the Atlesian Military and Huntsmen and routed the horrifying apparition of Grimm Creatures in the skies just outside Vale.

The people of Remnant were a hardy lot; fully aware that their world was one of darkness, the darkness that was the Creatures of Grimm, but amid that darkness, they fought valiantly, blazing with bright colours like polychromatic stars.

At this moment, the brightest of all the stars was their protector, an assuming young girl.

"Here to start off the doubles portion of this tournament," he hollered loudly, with an expression of pure joy, "the defender of Mantle herself, Penny Polendina!"

Penny suddenly landed in the midst of the crowd.

The redhead waved at the crowd, earning a flood of cheers.

She looked proudly at the faces of the people,herpeople. She was their defender.

There was no doubt about it.

"As much as we'd love to spend more time with Penny, we have a tournament to get through!"

"Introducing first, representing Haven Academy's Team SSSN, Sun Wukong, and Neptune."

The crowd cheered as the pair walked into the arena, their attitudes uncharacteristically subdued as they waited for their opponents to be announced.

"And their opponents, representing Beacon Academy's Team SYBR, Weiss Schnee and Blake Belladonna!"

"Are you guys okay?" Weiss and Blake couldn't help but ask in worry as they saw the exhausted and expressions of their friends.

"Well..."

The previous night.

A tall and somewhat skinny figure clad completely in black slinked through the alleys of Vale, trying to move as discreetly as possible.

"You came."

The voice came from behind the figure and nearly caused him to jump out of his skin, revealing a shock of neon blue hair as he turned to face the speaker.

He hurriedly tried to conceal it once more, regaining a modicum of composure before letting out a deep:

"Of course I came."

"Your friend came too."

Once this was said, a blonde monkey-tailed miscreant descended between Neptune and Wynn.

"And I thought I was pretty good at hiding," he said with a sigh, affecting disappointment at being discovered.

"The training of a street urchin can get you only so far," Wynn's statement carried so much venom that Neptune checked to see if she had fangs.

"What, I need to become a terrorist to progress?"

The faunus freedom fighter made no retort but instead walked away, motioning the Haven Academy students to follow her with a finger.

The duo followed silently and at a distance, observing their surroundings as much as they could.

Neptune desperately wanted to ask what he was doing here, but he noticed Sun's state; his short verbal spar with the White Fang member was uncharacteristic of him, it put the Haven Academy student, whose nerves were already frayed, at ill ease.

"I can't let you do this alone, can I?" Sun said simply as the pair walked ahead.

"I can take care of myself."

"Not against the sort of people you're planning to go up against," he said warningly, "you were told to leave your scroll behind, right?"

"...Yeah."

"They only tell people that when there's a chance that they'll be captured or killed. The former isn't necessarily a better option by the way."

Neptune understood the implication of the last sentence and the word "torture" impressed itself on his imagination starkly, doing further damage to his composure.

"...I see."

That information didn't change much for Neptune; he couldn't pull out now. His eyes were opened, and he'd never close them again, not for anything.

"I'm sorry if I'm being intense," Sun said after a dozen more silent steps, "I'm just worried, I don't think you should be doing this... but since you are anyway, I have no choice but to support you."

Neptune smiled at this.

Although he and his friends didn't see eye-to-eye on this, his friend was still willing to help him even if it came with fatal risks. This tangible support put him perfectly at ease.

"Thank you."

Within the slums, Neptune, Sun, Wynn and three other faunus, including the rat faunus, Tilling, that had met with him and Blake earlier stood around a digital map.

"The plan is this," Tilling began, wearing a wily smile on his face that made every utterance from his mouth seem somehow questionable, as though he wasn't weighing the matter ahead of them with sufficient gravity.

"A new shipment of girls will be arriving in a few minutes, Baron Bulla Brule will be there inspecting it. Unlike the last Baron, this one is working official business, so her security will be around her."

"This is an important mission, it's another step towards freedom, and I'm glad to take it with you guys."

Sun somehow managed not to roll his eyes while he listened, and now he was ready to fight!

How did it end up like this?

The hall of the Ganesha Collection Agency (the company that owned the warehouses the Baron was using for the trade) was ruined.

The ornate pillars which had been there and the all the trappings of beautiful Dust Crystals had been destroyed in the fray.

"What a waste," said a woman in the midst of the ruined scene, sitting on some of the rubble as she repositioned her almost stocky but still graceful form as though to admire her handwork properly.

Suspended midair, as though held up by strings, were the White Fang members, all exerting themselves to their fullest but still unable to move.

This was the Baron's Semblance, Fisher's Bubble.

Those under the effect of the semblance were suspended helplessly midair, like fish in a barrel, just waiting for the cruel line of the Baron to put them out of their misery.

Two girls wearing similarly frilly clothing as the Baron prepared to shoot down the attempted assassins.

The Baron would have done it herself, but it was "too unladylike" and so she instead maintained her graceful position, her lips minding an ornate smoking pipe that looked too heavy for the dainty grace she put into holding it.

Perfect!

Neptune thought from his position in the ceiling; The Fang members had decided to engage with her first since they were more experienced and knew how to work in concert, while Neptune and Sun would back them up when needed.

He had fought off the urge to jump right in when they had all been trapped in Fisher's Bubble, but he steeled himself and followed the plan.

As agonizing beads of sweat dropped one after another, the Baron's bodyguards finally left her side to finish off the Fang members.

This was the opportunity he had been waiting for, and so he ran his finger down the trigger of Mecurius and let a shot ring out.

Bang!

Neptune was now falling from his position, the destroyed ground speeding up to his face as he landed unceremoniously. Despite his less than perfect landing, he had managed to jump away in time, finding cover behind some of the rubble.

His shot had landed, but one of the bodyguards had anticipated it, jumping in the way of the projectile and protecting her master whilst the other fired a shot at Neptune's position, causing him to fall.

Three golden clones quickly descended on the marksmen, preventing her from firing again by sandwiching her face between their heels with a concerted triple kick.

Immediately afterwards, the clones appeared before the Baron, their three-pronged attack hitting its mark to the elation of all the still suspended members of the Fang.

Despite the impact, the lady swung ferociously, sending all three clones flying backwards with so much force that their controller, hanging from the ceiling by his tail as he watched what went on, winced involuntarily, almost feeling the pain himself.

Suddenly, Tilling appeared behind the Baron. The Valean White Fang veteran had escaped at some unknown point and made a quick lunge at her with his needle-like blade, his attack way too sudden for her bodyguards to react in time.

Pain stabbed through the Baron's abdomen as the rat faunus' blade advanced effortlessly through her stylish sundress.

All the members there sighed in relief; Tilling's blade had found its mark.

Bulla was genuinely surprised; despite being caught off guard, she concentrated a large amount of Aura at the spot she was stabbed just in time.

Still, the blade gained admittance into her side with scarcely any resistance.

What was worse, her dress had been ruined.

"You guys are pretty rude, treating a lady like this."

Suddenly, the pipe in her hand twirled, stirring up wind currents as she made to strike the daring rat.

Tilling dodged to the side but was hindered by her foot on his tail.

The bang that resounded dwarfed the earlier bark of Neptune's Mecurius, leaving the entire hall silent until the howls of the injured Fang member rang out.

Tilling contorted in pain a few metres away from the Baron, but his tail still flailed under her pretty sandaled foot.

Neptune could barely recover from his shock and stopped engaging the bodyguard he had been tangling with for a second, allowing her to retreat to her master.

"I don't like pests that hide about," she shouted as she flung an unknown object at Sun's position, forcing the reluctant freedom fighter to descend on her with the reddish blur of his staff.

She simply arrested his motion, grabbing his staff and striking his chest with her open palm.

It felt something like the shock one felt when suddenly submerged in water, his breath escaped him, involuntarily and he felt cold even though his aura hadn't been depleted.

Was this the power of a Baron?

With the others defeated or otherwise incapacitated, the onus fell on Neptune.
His eyes glowed orange, signifying that Mechanical Advantage was low.

He looked forward, struggling to believe that all their effort was for nothing.

I can't believe I was so naive.

Although he had been scared at the beginning, and he thought he had steeled himself against this, the thought of death jarred him.

His hands trembled, barely holding on to his trident, and he thought that maybe he would collapse.

But even worse than that was the feeling of guilt; guilt for the many people that his reckless decisions would hurt.

What would Weiss feel when she didn't see him anymore?

What about his family?

He couldn't stand to imagine the sight.

Worst of all, he had dragged his best friend into this mess.

His eyes strayed to the blonde ruffian who was still trying to catch his breath.

I'm sorry.

With great effort, he stopped his hands from shaking.

This was the end, and the least he could do was face it bravely.

"Hey kid," a voice called from behind him, amusedly, "let me tag in."

Turning around, Neptune noticed a man clad in a fashionable black suit with a cloud of smoke around his head.

As Neptune looked at him, he realised that the smoke was all over the hall, and it seemed to shine as though fireflies danced in it.

"What do you say Bulla? Want to continue this?"

The Baron gave no reply and instead placed her pipe in her mouth coquettishly.

"The winners are TEAM SYBR's Blake Belladonna and Weiss Schnee!"
Neptune and Sun didn't stand much of a chance; they were still recovering from their injuries, and they were up against two main characters.

"How're you doing?"

Ren's question surprised Pyrrha, who had been meditating seriously in preparation for her match later.

"I'm okay," she said, receiving the cup of tea he had brewed for her, but keeping her eyes on him.

"I'm sorry for shocking you... with what I said earlier."

Pyrrha hadn't been expecting him to bring it up again, but she continued drinking from her cup.

"It's not something I'm proud of," he said, "it's something that's part of me, though. I don't shy away from it; I weighed those people's lives against ours and acted accordingly."

The red and bronze warrior dropped the cup and held onto her teammate's hands, all the while not taking her eyes off him.

"I'm not judging you," she said calmly, "I was surprised when you told me, but that's it."

Pyrrha thought that she might have been seeing things, but she was fairly sure that she saw him exhale as though he had been holding his breath.

"I can't imagine what you must have gone through making such a decision," she continued, her voice cracking slightly, "I know I wouldn't be able to handle something like that."

"You shouldn't sell yourself short," Ren said simply before rising up, "I'll let you prepare for your match. You'll do great."

Pyrrha looked as though she had something to say, but allowed him to walk out either way.

"Representing Beacon's Team NVL, Pyrrha Nikos and Nora Valkyries!"

"And represen... What's that?"

The announcer saw Pyrrha signal and signalled one of the crew to hand her a mic.

The entire arena was quiet, wondering what the Invincible Girl had to say.

"I apologise for this," she said earnestly, "but I must withdraw from this tournament. Thank you."

The revelation sent an uproar into the crowd.

What did she mean?

Was she injured?

Why?!

"It seems that we have a winner by default, please congratulate..."

In contrast to the shocked and letdown crowd, Ozpin was smiling gleefully. He had found what he was looking for.

Pyrrha found herself outside the arena, having already changed into a hoodie to avoid attention.

"Wait a second," came the voice of her teammate from behind, whispered so that they wouldn't draw stares, but loud enough for the redhead to hear and therefore heed.

"What happened?"

"I... I'm sorry for not telling you earlier," she said without turning her head towards him.

"That doesn't matter, I just want to understand why."

The question was easy enough.

Why?

She knew exactly why, but she hesitated to tell him for some reason.

"Could we go somewhere else?"

The pair found themselves at the same vending machine they'd had their earlier conversation.

Ren sat down, looking calmly around as though he didn't have answers he wanted to get from her.

The lack of pressure conversely made her feel uncomfortable.

"There's a million ways to beat around the bush here, so I'm just going to come straight out and say it; I couldn't do it."

"I couldn't do it because it would be the wrong thing to do."

"Because thinking about it made me feel slimy."

"Because I didn't deserve it."

Turning to look at his eyes for the first time since the start of the conversation, she held his onto his hands.

"But most especially because I saw the look in your eyes when you told me what you did. I saw you die inside over and over again with that single gaze. I see that it still holds you captive and... I don't want that!"

"I know what I threw away by forfeiting, but I'd throw something more valuable away if I took something that I didn't deserve."

Ren was at a loss for words.

His hands quivered in hers with a fury that he scarcely believed that he could feel.

His eyes looked back at her with defiance.

Who was she to pass such judgment on him?

Wasn't he a person?

What was in his eyes that was so grotesque that she would sacrifice everything to avoid?

He made to get up but was stopped gently by her hand. There was no judgement in her touch, it was familiar, intimate, it urged him to stay.

"I'm not condemning you," she said gently, "you're one of the best people I have ever known. You're kind, reliable and you make thebestpancakes. If I didn't have you these past few months I'm not sure what I'd have done. I am truly blessed having known you, and I wouldn't trade the time we've spent together for anything."

"Do I really make the best pancakes?" he asked after a while, the jest in his usually level tone evident.

The Invincible Girl placed her hand on her chin as though contemplating the question.

The action evoked a soft laugh from his lips that set her heart at peace.

"Thank you, Ren, truly."