Chapter 10: Talon's Legacy
Last time our heroes went through rigorous training to become stronger. However, a new Tuffle threat has followed them to Beacon. These Tuffles are stronger and meaner than Talon ever was, and their goals go beyond killing all Saiyans. What happens next now!
Vale Commercial District…
Team JADE was currently in Vale to get some new equipment for the upcoming Vytal Festival Tournament and any fights they could get into like the one with Talon. While Jason and Evan just browsed, for the most part, not needing anything in terms of equipment for the tournament.
Alex and Damian, however, were looking at some light armor and weapon attachments. Alex looked at several different types of arrows to see which one did the most damage. While Damian looked at some armor sets, as well as several items that help him maintain his sword.
While Jason looked around, he found a pair of black arm guards that were light yet durable. He actually saw some use in these, knowing it could help him block light Ki attacks and decided to buy them, putting them on immediately.
"Wow, you were the last person I expected to buy a piece of armor," Evan commented as he watched Jason put the braces on.
"Yeah, but these just spoke to me, so I decided why not," Jason explained.
"Well, they look nice, and if you think that it's helpful, I'll trust your judgment," Evan said as he walked away.
Soon Alex and Damian got what they needed, and they all left the store and went on their way through Vale. Jason was looking around at Vale, enjoying the scenery as he and his team traversed through the streets.
"So, is there anything else we need to get while we're out?" Evan asked.
"I think we're all good right now. I feel like the tournament is a sure win for us." Damian smiled with Alex nodding next to him.
Jason was so focused on the conversation that he didn't notice the person in front of him. That is until he bumped into her. As he fell down, he immediately realized the situation and got back onto his feet to help the girl up.
"I'm sorry about that. I wasn't paying attention, my bad." Jason apologized. The girl just nodded in front of him, not saying a word.
"Are you okay?" Jason asked. The girl simply nodded again, still not speaking a word to him.
"Is she shy or just a mute?" Jason thought.
He took a closer look at the girl and noticed she had several odd features. She had hair that was split in two colors, pink and brown, the same as her two eyes, and was very small at that as well. The girl didn't even seem bothered by the whole ordeal.
"Well, sorry again. I hope I didn't hurt you." Jason apologized again.
He then noticed the girl had a piece of paper in her hands as she began to write on it. When she was finished, she turned it to him, and he read it. "It's fine, don't worry about it. Names Neo. Hope we see each other again, big guy ;)" She had said. Neo then gave Jason a wink as she walked off, leaving Jason confused at what just happened.
"Whoa, nice one. Looks like you're better at impressing girls than Evan, and you accidentally ran into her." Damian teased Jason looking at him, confused.
"That was just a fluke. I'm way better with girls than he is. I mean, look, he still doesn't understand what happened!" Evan shot back, pointing at Jason.
"Yeah, can one of you guys explain she seemed like she was okay but then she wrote on the paper and the wink, what happened?!" Jason questioned, confused.
Evan and the others simply laughed at their leader's oblivious behavior. Evan knew that Jason's mother hadn't been able to talk to him about love before she passed away, so he decided to educate his friend.
"So, she was hitting on me?" Jason asked, still not fully understanding.
"Looks like it, but don't worry about it. I doubt we'll see her again." Evan responded as he pushed his leader along.
"Huh, but if it's that easy, why can't you find a date?" Jason asked Evan, who glared at him, annoyed.
"It's not that easy. She must have been weird!" Evan yelled as he pushed Jason faster back to Beacon.
Elsewhere…
Roman Torchwick was preparing for the recruitment rally tonight. He had guards and other precautions set up to make sure nothing like what happened with the old warehouse would happen again.
"Where are these freaks coming from?" Roman questioned as he paced around, ordering some of the White Fang members to set up the stage.
Suddenly he heard the door to the new warehouse open then close behind him. As he turned around, he saw his trusty partner in crime walk in twirling her hush.
"Well, there you are, Neo. What took you so long I thought you were going on a quick trip to the store what did you decide to take a joy walk again?" Torchwick asked as he walked up to her. Neo just rolled her eyes as she hopped on top of a crate. She then began to write on a pad of paper.
"Uh, with this again, well hurry up, we don't have all day!" Torchwick demanded, receiving a glare from Neo.
She finished up her note and handed it to Torchwick, and it read, "I just bumped into a cute guy no reason to worry, and who do you think I am your maid? I can do whatever I want!" Torchwick looked up at Neo, who swung her legs and smiled mischievously.
"Oh, it was just a boy really, and here I thought you didn't like men," Torchwick commented, resulting in him being hit with a ball of paper.
He unraveled the paper seeing that it read, "I like men just not men like you." He looked back at her as she stuck her tongue out at him, causing him to sigh.
"Well, will you just come down and help so we can get this over with if you haven't noticed we're kind of short-staffed since the attack?" Torchwick asked, gesturing all around him. Neo rolled her eyes and jumped down to help as she passed Torchwick, he followed.
"Also, did you find any leads on who those guys were?" Torchwick asked. Neo just shook her head, and Torchwick sighed in annoyance.
"Well, let's just hope they don't show up again," Torchwick complained as he lit a cigar.
Outside…
"So, a recruitment is happening tonight, huh well, that makes things interesting. How about we crash the party." Kiran suggested as Silas and Iver stood next to him.
"Yes, this will be fun. I miss out on the first attack since you two decided to do it without me, but this time we will cripple the power of their operation by spreading a deep fear into them all, and this time no one will want to join." Silas laughed as he watched the warehouse.
"Well, it hasn't started yet. We should wait till it turns to night before we attack." Iver suggested getting a nod from the other two.
"Looks like Elias is going to miss the fun again." Kiran pointed out.
"Well, we can't all be out during the attack. We can't look too suspicious yet, and he currently trying to figure out who the Witch's pawns are." Silas replied. The three then continued to wait until the recruitment began.
Later That Night...
Jason laid wide awake in his bed, unable to sleep. He didn't know why, but he had a feeling something terrible was going to happen. The more he thought about this feeling, the more his thoughts were drawn towards Mura's prophecy, if you could call it one, it talked about a threat that Jason and Evan would help stop.
He didn't think much about it because he never knew when it would come, but now that he felt like part of what Mura said being taming the beast within had now made sense to him, he couldn't help but feel that this threat was near.
He then jumped up when he heard a small explosion in the distance. Jason looked at the rest of his team, who was sound asleep, not hearing the explosion. Eventually, Jason had decided to check out what it was on his own, so he quickly got out of bed and into his Gi. Then after opening the window, he flew off towards the origin of the explosion.
White Fang Rally...
Blake had been sent into a panic. She and Sun had infiltrated a recruitment rally for the White Fang to investigate their plan. As she watched in horror as the faunus around her were convinced into going on with this insane plan. All that happened before she and Sun had been recognized.
However, before the two could escape, loud noises came from the outside, catching everyone's attention. Suddenly the wall behind them exploded, shaking the entire building, everyone not currently part of the White Fang screamed in terror as three masked figures dressed in black stepped through the hole.
"Looks like we got ourselves a party, sorry we didn't really get an invitation, but we decided to drop in anyway." One spoke up as a ball of light emerged in his hand.
"Wait, is that Ki?!" Blake questioned as she ducked down, pulling Sun with her as the man blasted the crowd.
People began to flee and run out of the building as the three men began to blast everything in sight. Roman Torchwick, however, jumped into the mech that the White Fang had appropriated and turned it on to attack the men.
"We need to get out of here and inform the others!" Blake stated as she picked Sun up.
"Yeah, I don't think we can deal with this with just us." Sun agreed as the two ran out. Torchwick shot several bullets and hails of rockets at the three men trying to kill them.
"I am sick and tired of people ruining my plans. First, it was Red, then her friends, and NOW! IT'S YOU FREAKS!" Torchwick yelled as he punched one of the assailants.
However, much to his surprise, the man caught it with one hand almost effortlessly and picked up the mech throwing it out of the warehouse. He became more surprised when the man appeared above him and drove him into the ground.
"Don't tell me you actually thought your little toy could do anything, that's just laughable." The man smirked as he and the other two walked out of the building.
"Now, are you going to surrender and beg for mercy, or are you going to continue fighting and die like a man?" Another masked man questioned.
"Personally, I would like to have some fun, so please continue fighting, but first tell us who your boss is, and we may, may being the keyword mind you, just let you live," Another masked man stated. Blake and Sun were hiding behind a crate as they contacted the rest of their friends.
"Everyone, if you can hear me, we need…" Blake started before she was interrupted by Sun "HELP!" Blake gave him a look before she continued.
"Torchwick is here, we found him at a White Fang recruitment rally, and it was attacked by three men, they are strong! Strong enough to fight off Torchwick, who is fighting in a giant mech." Blake explained.
"And they shoot lasers, like actual lasers no joke we need backup like yesterday!" Sun yelled. This got the attention of everyone on the other side of the line immediately. If they could shoot lasers, that meant that there was a strong possibility that they could use Ki.
"If anyone of you can try to call Jason and his team, we could most likely use their help." Blake requested as she and Sun ran from the crate they were hiding behind as a stray blast hit it.
"This may be above our paygrade!" Blake added.
Jason flew at a high speed as he reached the origin of the explosion, and what he saw horrified him. The entire area was nearly destroyed as a fight between a big mech, and three men went on below him, but what made him most surprised was when he saw the three people shoot lasers.
"Ki, that was Ki, but how? I can't sense their energy?! No, they couldn't be robots, right?" Jason questioned as he touched down.
He then recognized the familiar energies of Blake and Sun nearby with the rest of Team RWBY on their way. He went over to check on his friends that were already there and saw that they were alright. He touched down near them just out of sight before running over.
"Scratch that he's actually here," Blake said as Jason walked up to them.
"Okay, so can someone explain what the hell is going on?!" Jason asked as he reached them.
"Wait, how did you know to come here?" Sun asked.
"There was a giant explosion most of the time, that means danger, so I decided to check it out," Jason answered.
"So, back to what is going on." Jason requested.
"Okay, so we were investigating Torchwick and the White Fang, so we infiltrated a recruitment rally. Torchwick revealed that mech, which he is in, then those three guys blew up the wall and started attacking everyone!" Sun spouted super-fast. To anyone else, it would have been inaudible jabbering, but Jason could understand him fully.
"Also, how did you get here so fast?" Sun asked.
"Don't worry about it," Jason responded.
"So this is a problem, and the rest of my team is asleep and won't be able to help, especially Evan, because he is a deep sleeper. Trust me, you can drop a rock on his crotch, and he wouldn't wake up." Jason explained.
"That's a very specific example." Sun pointed out.
"How do you think I know he wouldn't wake up if you were to do that?" Jason replied.
"Then what are we going to do?" Asked Blake. Jason stood up and looked at the current fight. It seemed that the three men were just toying with Torchwick and didn't take him seriously.
"For now, you and the rest of your team, when they get here, fight Torchwick leave the others to me," Jason ordered.
"Wait, your planning on taking on those three alone? Are you crazy?!" Sun questioned as Jason went over to the fight.
"Don't worry, he'll be fine. He's…super strong. Stronger than from what you've already seen." Blake stated, not wanting to give away the secret of Ki.
Jason flew over and attacked the nearest masked man. He kicked him away and spun around, elbowing the next one in the stomach sending him flying. But then he was put on the defensive as the third attacked him, almost overwhelming him with his strength.
Torchwick felt like he finally hit a stroke of luck as the tank boy from the docks attacked the three assailants. That is until he was attacked by Blake and Sun, who were soon joined by the rest of Team RWBY and Neptune.
"Oh, come on what is with today!" Torchwick complained as he fought the group. Back with Jason, he managed to get away from his attacker and hovered in the air.
"While I can't justify the actions of the White Fang, that still doesn't give you guys the right to kill them like that!" Jason shouted as the three men flew up and surrounded him.
"Well, it's not any of your business yet, Saiyan, so how about you just sit back and enjoy the show, but don't worry, your time will come soon." One of the men explained, causing Jason to go wide-eyed.
"How do you…then you're all affiliated with Talon, aren't you? That's why I can't sense your energy!" Jason claimed as he grew angrier.
"You'd be correct, but we are only affiliated with that old man in the littlest form imaginable, he created us to kill you and your kind, but we don't fully care about what he wanted, especially now that you killed him." Another explained.
"You could say that we are Talon's legacy, we are all that he left behind his clones. We are made to represent one part of him, I am his hatred for you, Saiyans, I am S." S began.
"He is Talon's intelligence K, and he is Talon's creativity, and he is I. Now we do have a fourth brother, but he is not here right now but know that he is his Talon's pride." S explained.
"What are you planning?" Jason asked.
"Now now, Saiyan, where is the fun in just telling you? It's much more entertaining to see you try and fail to find out." I replied.
"Don't call me that!" Jason yelled.
"Fine, then I will just stop you here and find your friend!" Jason stated as he powered up.
His body was surrounded by a white aura as he attacked the three. While when he first engaged them, he felt like he had the upper hand. But he soon realized that their number superiority and overwhelming strength proved to be too much for him as they threw him around. K kicked him up, then he was slammed back down by I then smashed in the gut by S's fist knocking the air out of him.
"Come on, where's that power-up you used against the old man and his tin can? This is getting boring?" S questioned as he grabbed Jason in the throat.
Jason's body then grew slightly bigger as his hair stood up slightly, and his eyes turned orange. He then headbutted S, causing him to let go, then he blasted the other two who tried to sneak up behind him.
"Now that's more like it, entertain us some more Saiyan!" S yelled as he charged back at Jason.
They both threw punches at each other, countering with almost every blow until I came from under them, knocking Jason away, but he quickly recovered. K came up from behind Jason into a full nelson, but Jason countered by flying up and back down on the ground, putting most of the force on K.
Jason was barely keeping control, and he knew he couldn't keep this up for long if he didn't end this soon. That he would lose control and go feral and attack anyone he saw, just like when he was training.
Jason couldn't remember what happened, but he was told that it took the combined power of his team and Mura to stop him. Jason got up to face the other two, but before he could fight, they disappeared and reappeared in front of him, hitting him with great force. He was sent flying into a nearby crate knocking him out of his power boost.
"Well, you have become very powerful. If you were to master that form, you could actually pose a threat to us, but as it stands, you are nothing. I'm disappointed I was hoping for more of a fight, but I guess I'll just kill you now and save us the trouble of doing it later." S declared as he rose his hand.
"What are you planning on doing? Jason asked.
"It's none of your business, Saiyan, but know that there would have been nothing you could have done about it to stop us." K sniggered.
"Enough talking time to die, E will just have to get over your death," S said as he blasted at Jason with a giant ball of energy. But instead of killing him, his image shattered like glass, and he was gone.
"What?! The hell just happened?!" I questioned, confused.
"Looks like he got away, but there's nothing to worry about for now. Let's just leave. There's nothing more we need to do here." S commanded as he flew off with the others following.
Jason didn't know what happened. One second he was staring at Talon's offspring about to kill him the next. He was somewhere else but still close by. He sensed a quick use of someone's semblance but didn't know who's it was until he looked up and saw Neo above him sitting on the edge of a crate.
She winked at him as she got up and disappeared, seemingly teleporting to where Torchwick was. Jason looked over to where his friends were and saw that they got Torchwick out of the mech and had him cornered until Neo intervened and got him out of there, escaping in an airship.
"She's one of Torchwick's allies that's just great. But if that's the case, why did she help me?" Jason wondered as he got up.
His body was sore all over with a couple of bruises, but thankfully he had not sustained much damage. He would be all better, given some rest and food. Jason walked up to his friends, who were not particularly happy with Torchwick's escape.
"Great back to square one," Blake complained as she walked off in a huff. Everyone then turned to Jason, who had arrived with smiles.
"Good to see you in one piece. Guess those guys didn't give you much trouble." Yang chuckled as she patted his back.
"Yeah, but they were strong, and they got away, I don't know what they have planned, but that's not the last we will see of them," Jason explained. Everyone looked at him with concern, those of Team RWBY knowing that something like the fight with Talon was going to happen again.
"Hey, where's Sun and Neptune?" Jason asked.
"They got launched far away, but they messaged that they were okay," Ruby answered.
"Changing the subject back should we be concerned with those guys?" Weiss asked.
"No, I don't think they plan on doing anything soon, so for now, we should head back to Beacon and get some sleep," Jason answered.
"Leave those guys to Evan and me. You guys just worry about whatever you were doing out here for, which speaking of was what?" Jason asked.
"We were looking into the White Fang and Roman Torchwick to see what they were planning. Whatever it is, it's not good." Blake answered begrudgingly.
"She seems more annoyed than the rest, best leave her be for now." Jason thought as sirens began to be heard from the distance.
"We should go. I'd rather not be interrogated by the police again." Jason said, getting nods from the rest of the group as they returned to Beacon.
Next Morning…
"So, you failed again." Cinder stated as she spoke to Torchwick on her scroll.
"Look, what did you want me to do? I had THREE OF THEM that attacked shooting lasers and pulling apart the mech like it was made of clay!" Torchwick began.
"Then I was attacked by those kids again while Mr. Tank guy fought the competition! And of course, Neo helping the guy!" Torchwick yelled as he glared at Neo, who just rolled her eyes.
"No, I think she did the right thing. If he can fight with them on equal grounds, then he can be of use to us to deal with those people. Now I want you to go to the south and help our remaining members. We can't afford any more mistakes." Cinder explained as Neo smiled smugly at Torchwick.
"For now, we will begin looking into who these people are and what they have against us, and once we find out who they are, I will take care of them personally." Cinder continued. However, the scroll began to experience loud interference that screeched on both ends.
"Ah, what the hell is your scroll broken?!" Torchwick questioned.
"I can ask you the same thing!" Cinder rebuked.
"It's neither actually. It's just me chiming in on your conversation." A voice said, coming from the scroll.
"Who, who the hell are you?!" Torchwick asked.
"I am the man who has been attacking your small meetings. I do hope that you enjoyed our appearance at the party. I know I do since it finally gives us the chance to talk, Ms. Cinder, was it?" The voice questioned.
"Yes." Cinder answered begrudgingly.
"Well, it's a pleasure to meet the Witch's pawn." The voice said. Cinder's eyes widened at the man's words; how, how could he know who she served.
"Now, I will get straight to business and tell you what I've been waiting to since me and my brothers arrived in Vale." The voice continued.
"And what would that be?" Cinder asked with anger filling her voice.
"Stay out of our way, and if you know what's good for you, you'll leave Vale and end your little escapade." The voice explained.
"And why should I do that?" She asked.
"Do you believe I'm scared of you? I have powers that you couldn't even imagine." Cinder cautioned.
"Yes, your little maiden powers are powerful, but you only have half, don't you. And even so, those powers are nothing to me but a children's plaything, I have true power, Ms. Fall, a power that when compared to yours, makes it look pathetic." The voice explained.
"You believe you are strong because that's what your mistress told you, but in reality, to me, you're just a child having a tantrum, now this is your warning stay out of our way, or you will die. We now know who you are. This world belongs to us." The voice stated before the line went dead.
Cinder pocketed her scroll, her face filled with anger. Who did that man think he was talking to her like that claiming to have such great power. She knew now that she had to find this man and kill him along with his associates. Cinder then walked out of the bathroom and into her dorm, where Emerald and Mercury waited for her.
"Cinder, are you okay? You look mad?" Emerald asked.
"I'm furious, actually." Cinder answered as she recounted what her conversation of she just had over the scroll. Emerald and Mercury looked shocked, knowing that their entire operation could come crumbling down.
"So, what now do we abandon the mission, or are we going to find these guys?" asked Emerald.
"We will for the moment bide our time and work in the shadows, we will not leave, but for the moment, we shouldn't do anything to raise suspicion and leave some of the dirty work to Neo." Cinder explained.
"Yeah, and besides, there's no way that guy is as powerful as he claimed he was," Mercury stated. However, deep down, after seeing what those people had done, he had some doubt that they were just making false claims about their power.
"So do you think they'll actually listen, or are they going to continue?" Asked Elias as Silas handed the scroll back to him.
"Well, after speaking with her once, I can tell that she's the type of person who doesn't take threats seriously. She still believes that she is stronger or at least will be if she retrieves the full powers of the fall maiden and thinks that she can still take us on." Silas began.
"However she knows that we have uncovered her identity and now have the advantage, and now she won't do any more steps in her plan personally, meaning that her plan will have more bumps in the road. Finally, if she truly does try to challenge us, we will show her personally the gap between our power when we kill her." Silas explained.
"Yes, and now that her plan is handicapped, let's say I have no doubt that we will achieve our victory without any obstacles." Kiran elaborated.
"I am concerned though about what she is doing in the southeast. I have a feeling they are planning an attack. It would sure as hell explain all the dust they stole." Iver brought up.
"If it is an attack, I say let it happen, we shall aide in preventing it from making us seem less suspicious. Then once we demonstrate our power to the world, it will seem all the more frightening that we have taken out a city that survived an attack like that," Kiran explained.
"Interesting well, I see no reason to not go with such a plan, now I think we've done enough for the night we have, as much as I hate it, classes tomorrow," Silas said as they all went to bed.
Jason had gone up to Ozpin's office to explain the situation to him the day after the fight, while he expected him to be concerned that someone connected to Talon was planning to do something in Vale. Still, he seemed calm like everything was under control.
"Just leave this matter to me. If we need you for anything, I will inform you." Ozpin explained as he dismissed Jason.
Jason knew that Ozpin was taking this seriously. Someone of his status would be used to keeping a calm demeanor when he hears bad news. He then pushed those thoughts from a couple of days ago aside as he focused on going to class. Today was a good day for his favorite class was today.
Combat class, while he usually never fought because people feared his strength, he enjoyed watching the fights that took place, especially when his friends fought. At the moment, Pyrrha was single handily handing Team CDRL their asses as she mopped the floor with them.
"I seriously wonder what was going through their heads if they thought that they could beat her four on one." Jason thought as he watched. Soon the match ended, and unsurprisingly Pyrrha had trounced them.
"It looks like her reaction time has improved. She didn't even use her semblance during that fight." Jason thought.
As the match ended, the lights turned on, and Glynda took the stage, announcing that they had time for one more match. The person who volunteered to fight was someone Jason hadn't had much interaction with. His name was Mercury Black, and what was strange about him volunteering was that he wanted to fight Pyrrha, who just finished fighting.
"Well, her stamina has increased significantly since she trained with Kai, so another fight right after her last one shouldn't be a problem." Jason thought.
As Mercury took the stage, Jason couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine, he felt his energy, and it felt cold instead of warm. It was odd because Jason could also feel that he had no intention of bringing any harm to Pyrrha, but at the same time, he had an ulterior motive.
The fight started, and Mercury sent a relentless amount of attacks at Pyrrha. He seemed to be one who fights with his feet for the most part as he disarmed Pyrrha. Then when it seemed like he would hit Pyrrha, Jason felt her use her semblance to move his foot away.
Afterward, he was sent back, and Jason could see a smile on his face as he forfeited the match, surprising everyone. However, Jason could tell now what his ulterior motive was. He wanted to find out what Pyrrha's semblance was so he could prepare for it during the tournament, at least that was his assumption. Glynda looked disappointed and turned to the rest of the students.
"Well, since that match didn't last long, we do have time for one last battle, any volunteers?" She asked.
Immediately a hand shot up, and it belonged to another man Jason did not have much interaction with, he had only talked to the guy once, and this was the first time he made his presence known in class.
"I wish to fight, ma'am." Elias volunteered.
"Very well, Mr. Elias Plant, is it come down to the stage and for your opponent…" Before she could continue, Elias had interrupted her.
"Actually, I would like to choose my opponent as well, Professor Goodwitch, if you don't mind?" Elias asked.
"Very well, as long as it's not Miss Nikos, I would like to not have a repeat of the last match or at least tire her out any more than she is," Glynda explained.
"I'm fine, though, really professor," Pyrrha responded.
"Don't worry, I do not wish to fight her. I would like to fight him." Elias clarified as he pointed to Jason. Jason immediately got up, surprised that someone actually challenged him to a fight but was happy to oblige.
"Very well, Mr. Shin, if you and Mr. Plant would please come down to the stage," Glynda instructed as both went down to the stage. Once they got there, they took opposite sides of the stage, both getting into a fighting stance.
"So he's a martial artist too huh, this should be interesting." Jason thought as Glynda signaled the beginning of the match.
Before the match started he took notice of how Elias looked.
He never got a good look at him the first time they met but the boy had pitch-black hair and dark blue eyes. His skin looked human-like but had a slight gray look about it. He wore a black shirt with the same colored pants. Then his shoes were yellow and he wore a red belt. Unknown to him the rest of Elias's brothers looked the same and wore similar clothing due to being Talon's clones.
Jason and Elias charged straight at each other, clashing in the middle of the stage, then both backflipped away from one another and stared each other down. Back up on the bleacher's, Mercury and Emerald were watching the fight with great interest.
"Looks like we actually get to she the Tank kid fight. Let's see if he's as strong as Torchwick says he is." Mercury whispered.
"Yeah, we may be able to use him in our plan if we're lucky," Emerald replied as they returned their attention to the match.
Jason threw a punch at Elias, who ducked under it, throwing a punch of his own, which was caught by Jason. He then flipped over to send a kick to Jason's face, who let go of Elias's hand to dodge the attack. They charged back at each other and continued attacking and countering each other's attacks perfectly.
"Man, this guy is pretty good, this is going to be a fun fight!" Jason thought.
Jason then stepped it up a notch, and the next time Elias threw a punch at Jason, it passed right through him. The spectators gasped at this as Jason disappeared and reappeared behind Elias, kicking him in the back, sending him away.
"Wow, he disappeared and reappeared almost like Blake with her semblance!" Ruby exclaimed.
"Not really that's just the afterimage technique. You see, Blake's semblance leaves a copy of her to take the attack for her. The afterimage technique is just Jason moving too fast for the naked eye to register," Evan explained as everyone turned their attention back to the fight except Blake, who was reading a book.
Jason went to follow up on his attack but was intercepted by Elias, who quickly got on his knees and kicked Jason upwards. He went for his own follow-up attack but was once again fooled by the afterimage technique, and Jason grabbed onto Elias throwing him back to the ground shattering it. Elias got back up as Jason landed, and both went for another attack until the bell rang, marking the end of the class.
"Well, looks like we're out of time. We'll continue some other times, students, and remember the dance is this weekend and your first mission on Monday." Glynda announced as she dismissed the class.
Jason turned to Elias and gave him a bow, which he returned as they left the stage, Jason was going to talk to him, but he seemed to almost disappear. Elias walked up and out of the classroom as it ended, he wasn't able to get a full analysis of Jason's techniques and strength.
But he had enough to know that Silas was right when he fought him a few days ago. Elias had to hold back a majority of his strength just to make the match fair.
"Get stronger, Saiyan. I wish to fight you for real with all of my strength when I end you." Elias whispered to himself as he continued to walk until he reached Mercury and Emerald and proceeded to complete his second task of that day. Elias purposely bumped into Mercury and apologized quickly as he left.
"What the hell that guy is good at fighting but apparently can't watch where he's going!" Mercury hissed, annoyed.
"Don't worry about it, but that fight was interesting. It looks like Roman wasn't lying when he said that the kid was strong." Emerald recalled changing the subject.
"Yeah, and I feel like he was holding back. We should keep a close eye on him." Mercury agreed. The two continued on until Mercury felt something in his pants.
"What the…what's this?" He asked as he pulled out a piece of paper.
"Did you put this in my pants as a joke?" Mercury asked Emerald.
"Do I look like the kind of person who would pull a lame prank like that or would ever touch your pants?" Emerald replied.
"Whatever," Mercury said as he opened it.
His eyes widened as he read the contents of the paper, confusing Emerald, who took the paper to read it for herself. When she read it, her eyes as well widened at the sight, it read, "Remember to stay out of our way!" They both contemplated what the note said and decided to relay it to Cinder, who was unhappy, to say the least.
"Great, I forgot about the dance, can't we just not go?" Jason asked.
"Nope, we're going, and I'm making you, besides going to the dance is the best chance to get a date!" Evan explained, putting his arm around Jason.
"Oh really, then who're you going to ask to the dance because I doubt that anyone we know would want to go with a connoisseur of women like you?" Alex asked.
"Not you too!" Evan yelled, annoyed.
"To answer your question, I have a couple of people in mind," Evan answered.
"Is one of them, Yang?" Jason questioned, making Evan sweat drop, knowing that he was found out.
"Shut up!" Evan shouted, annoyed that he was easy to read.
"Well, hopefully, whoever you ask is okay with going with you," Damian smirked.
"Yeah, so changing the subject slightly, do any of you have ideas for dates?" Evan asked.
The remaining members of Team JADE looked at one another and, in unison, said "No." Evan facepalmed at their response.
"Yeah, I should have expected much." Evan sighed.
"Well, I have no interest in seeing anyone right now, so I'm just going to go for fun," Damian explained.
"Same here." Alex agreed.
"And I didn't want to go in the first place, so I have no one in mind to ask, not that I like any girl we know in that way," Jason added.
"You guys make the worst wingmen." Evan sighed, giving up on them.
"Well, I'd rather work on the new Ki attacks I've been working on, but since I have no choice, I guess I need to find a suit." Jason groaned.
"Oh yeah, I forgot we don't have any formal attire," Evan replied.
"Guess we're going shopping then," Damian said.
"Yay, I love shopping," Jason muttered as they went to the bullhead to head into the city.
Hours Later…
Needless to say, the whole experience of buying a suit was a disaster, or at least when it came to Jason. He couldn't find one he felt comfortable in. It was almost like the first day of school when he put his uniform on for the first time. Thankfully they found the right one that Jason could deal with, though he still complained about it and returned to Beacon.
"Ahhh, that was exhausting!" Jason complained as he flopped onto his bed.
"That's only because you couldn't find a suit that met your standards!" Evan replied, annoyed that it took them the rest of the day to buy their suits.
"Whatever at least it's done, by the way, did you hear Yang and Weiss are planning the event?" Damian asked.
"Really, I thought Team CFVY was overseeing the dance," Jason replied.
"They were, but apparently their mission is taking longer than expected," Alex explained. Jason's thoughts were now on Team CFVY. While he didn't know all of them, he hoped that Velvet, Coco, and their team were okay.
"So while we're all alone, do you guys want to talk about Talon's little leftovers?' Damian asked, getting everyone's attention.
"They seem to be after me again, but unlike Talon, they're patient, and I think even smarter unless Talon was turned senile, plus they seem to have a bigger goal other than wanting to kill the Saiyans and me," Jason explained.
"You know every time you talk about the Saiyans, you talk like you're not one of them. I mean, who knows, maybe you're not, but still, the evidence at this point is kind of substantial to point towards them." Evan stated.
"Well, even if I am a Saiyan, I don't care. I was raised here on Remnant as a faunus, so that's what I'll be though I now lack a tail." Jason replied.
"Well, whatever floats your boat, pal," Alex said.
"Okay, well, for now, I think we should keep an eye out for them," Evan suggested as he walked towards the door.
"Where're you going?" Jason asked.
"I'm going to ask out some of the girls on my list to the dance. Unless one of them says yes, then I will just go with them." Evan explained as he left.
"How much do you want to bet he gets rejected by everyone?" Jason asked.
"I'll take some of that action!" Damian responded with Alex nodding beginning their little bet. An hour passed before Evan returned to the room with a face with mixed emotions on it.
"So, how'd it go?" Asked Alex.
"Well, let's just say I have a date, on terms, but a date nonetheless," Evan answered.
"Crap, I lost!" Jason muttered.
"What was that?" Evan asked.
"Nothing, don't worry about it," Jason replied speedily.
"So who're going with?" Jason asked.
"Well, I'm going with Yang on the condition that I only make eye contact with other girls and that I only look at other girls if I talk to them," Evan explained, embarrassed. Upon hearing this, Jason burst into laughter, getting a glare from Evan.
"No way she's making you not look at anyone, *Laughter*, and you can't check out girls like you normally do, I guess … *Laughter* … that's what you get for being a perve." Jason laughed as he fell to the ground.
"It's not that funny!" Evan yelled, but it made it no less funny for Jason.
"Well, I'm actually surprised she agreed," Damian said.
"Yeah, I mean, we are just going as friends, but still, who knows, right," Evan replied as he dropped onto Jason, elbowing him in the stomach knocking him out.
"And that takes care of that." Evan smiled, placing Jason on his bed.
Beacon Dorms…
"So, we're still going to be able to pull this off, right?" Mercury asked as he read his comic on the floor.
"Of course, no matter what they say, their threats do not frighten me, now tell me about the invincible girl." Cinder ordered.
"Well, she's not exactly invincible, just smart." Mercury began.
"Yeah, her semblance is polarity. She can control all metal." Emerald continued.
"But she only makes slight changes to not get noticed like during our match today, she only made it look like I missed," Mercury explained.
"That's why during last year's Mistral Tournament, she narrowly lost to Jason Shin. He had no metal for her to manipulate." Emerald further explained.
"Speaking of him, it seems Roman was right. He is strong, and he doesn't show off his full strength from what we think at least." Emerald continued.
"And can we talk about how he grew several feet in a year that just seems unnatural even for a faunus?" Mercury asked.
"Not now!" Emerald snapped at him.
"What I'm just saying it's weird look how short he was and how tall he is now. Hell, even when he was short, he was strong." Mercury pointed out.
"It matters not. He may be of use to us in getting rid of those pests. Add them both to the list." Cinder stated as she continued to sew.
"Now, all we have to do is wait patiently and take away what little power they have." Cinder explained.
Ozpin's Office…
"Oz, are you sure because our situation just became much more dire if you're right?" Ironwood asked as he stood in front of Ozpin's desk.
"Mr. Shin has informed me that he encountered three assailants claiming to be clones of Talon with a fourth one somewhere out there." Ozpin began.
"At the moment, we don't know what their objective is, we do know that eventually, they'll come after Mr. Shin, but it seems like they want more than that." Ozpin continued.
"For now, we need to do what we've have been doing with Salem's spies, so keep an eye out and move when necessary," Ozpin advised.
"But they can be an even greater threat than the spies, Oz we need to find them. This is why I brought my men we need to act!" Ironwood demanded.
"If we do so, we risk causing panic, and you know as well as I that it is not an option. We'll find them, and when we do, I'll actually be happy for having your fleet here." Ozpin replied, causing Ironwood to calm down.
"Okay, but let's be careful nonetheless." Ironwood suggested.
"Of course, now I suggest we turn in it's late. I will see you at the dance tomorrow," Ozpin said.
"Yes, see you then," Ironwood replied, turning away to leave, but he soon stopped.
"Will Glynda be there?" Ironwood asked.
"Of course." Ozpin laughed.
Beacon Ballroom…
"So I have a question," Jason spoke up.
"Yeah, shoot," Yang replied.
"Why did you agree to go with Evan to the dance, not that it's a bad thing, but I didn't think that you liked someone like him?" Jason asked.
"You mean a pervert." Yang clarified.
"Yeah, that." Jason agreed. Jason had been helping Yang and Weiss with setting up the dance, and currently, he was carrying a large speaker the same as Yang.
"Well, it's not like I think he's a bad guy or a complete pervert, I think most guys check out girls like he does, and you know it's just as friends," Yang answered.
"Besides, I'm going to be turning heads tomorrow, and I decided having some arm candy of my own to make people jealous would be the cherry on top. Plus, I think it would be funny to see him avoid looking at anyone." Yang explained.
"Wow, that does not sound surprising in the least," Jason replied as he put the speaker down.
"Yeah, she likes doing stuff like this. You should have seen her during a party we had back in signal she did something similar just to mess with dad." Ruby commented.
"That seems so like Yang," Weiss commented as she walked up to Ruby and placed two napkins on the table.
"Now, Ruby, which one do you think we should use for the dance?" Weiss asked as Ruby looked at the napkins closely.
"Aren't they the same?" Ruby questioned.
"Of course, you would say that." Weiss sighed, picking up the napkins then turned to Jason.
"What do you think?" She asked as Jason studied them carefully.
"They look exactly the same except one might be a darker color than the other, maybe," Jason answered, getting a scowl from Weiss.
"You're both hopeless," Weiss stated before walking away.
"So, what about you, big guy? Do you have a date for the dance?" Yang asked.
"Nope, I'm just going to go alone. Honestly, I'm not a fan of stuff like this. For one, I can't dance, and secondly, I hate suits. Personally, I would like just to either go in my Gi or not go at all." Jason explained, rubbing the back of his head.
"See! I'm not the only one who doesn't want to wear formal clothes!" Ruby complained to Yang, who just rolled her eyes.
"Well, you are going to wear a dress, and besides, I'm assuming Jason is still going to wear a suit." Yang asserted.
"Yeah, I had to go buy one that was…great," Jason muttered. Soon the door to the ballroom opened as Sun and Neptune entered the room.
"Hey, guys, this place is looking cool nice job." Sun complimented.
"Thanks, and it's going to look even better with the fog machine!" Yang exclaimed, getting Weiss's attention.
"Hey, I thought I said no…" But before Weiss could finish, Neptune interrupted her.
"You guys have a fog machine, that's pretty cool." Neptune smiled.
"Well, we were thinking about it, yeah." Weiss laughed, walking up to Neptune.
"Is it just me, or is she acting weird?" Jason whispered to Ruby.
"Yeah, she's totally crushing on that Neptune guy, and it's so obvious," Ruby replied.
"So is Blake coming to the dance, or is she still acting…Blakey?" Sun asked.
"Still acting, Blakey, sorry Sun," Ruby answered.
"Is she still sulking over the whole White Fang thing?" Jason asked.
"Yeah, we want to bring her to the dance so she can finally relax and not slowly kill herself," Ruby answered.
"But don't worry, she'll come, and I'll make sure of it," Yang commented.
"Really, how are you doing that?" Jason asked.
"Don't worry, just know I have my ways," Yang replied.
"Cool, so what are you guys wearing?" Jason asked Sun and Neptune.
"Uhh, this, what else," Sun answered.
"Ignore him, for he does not know the way," Neptune advised.
"Hey, I might have moved to Mistral, but I grew up in Vacuo, and suits and Ties are not our thing," Sun explained.
"Lucky, my team is making me wear a suit," Jason complained as Sun put his hand on his shoulder.
"You poor soul." Sun consoled.
"Well, I guess I'm just going to deal with it. Who knows, maybe I'll have some fun, though I don't count on it." Jason said.
The devious Tuffles nature has been revealed, but what is their full goal, and what is their plan going forward? Will Cinder continue to ignore their threats, and what fate will fall upon Vale? Find out next time!
Author's Note:
Another chapter finished. I quite enjoyed writing this one. From here on out, this is where the RWBY story is going to change a bit. While many things will stay the same, some major events are going to occur differently, going forward. Next chapter, I do plan on ending Volume 2 while yes, it was fast, but there is not much story in Volume 2 for me to put in, and Volume 3 is where the action starts. See you next time!