Chapter 13: The Tournament Continues
The Vytal Festival is now in full swing, and the tournament is underway. As expected, Team JADE has passed the first round, no problem. However, a looming evil overshadows the tournament. Jason is suspicious of Team SIKE, believing to be the Tuffles that threaten his life, now he must keep a close eye on them as the tournament continues!
Jason sat cross-legged, meditating as he waited for the second rounds of the tournament to begin. He was working on his mental fortitude to better control his Primal State. If he didn't, he would never be able to defeat the Tuffles.
"Ladies and gentlemen, Jimmy Firecracker here back at the mic for the second rounds of the Vytal Festival Tournament. I hope you all are as excited as I am!" Jimmy announced.
The crowd erupted with cheers as Jason stopped his meditation. While he usually could continue despite the noise, he didn't want to miss any of the action that would soon come. Especially if he would be competing.
"Now, for the first match of the day, let's see what we will get!" Jimmy announced as the random selection began. Soon the teams were selected, and Jason perked up as he was first to go again this round.
"And we have our teams Jason Shin and Damian Shade vs. Coco Adel and Yatsuhashi Daichi! Let's hope their match lasts longer this time." Jimmy announced as Jason and Damian got up to go to the stage.
Before they left, he gave a signal to Evan and the others who now began to search for Team SIKE to keep an eye on them. As they walked down the steps, Jason couldn't help but smile. While there was still the looming threat of the Tuffles, he wasn't going to let that ruin the fun of the tournament for him.
Amber sat down in her seat, accompanied by Doctor Oobleck and Professor Port to watch the tournament matches. She had finally gotten permission to watch from Ozpin after they managed to confirm the identities of her attackers when she picked them out from the transfer student list.
Apparently, they already resigned from the tournament and left Vale, but even so, to be careful, Ozpin still had Amber be accompanied by the two teachers for safekeeping.
She was excited to watch the fights. She never got the chance to be at such a public event before due to her status of being the Fall Maiden. She was always forced to stay hidden. But now that she was here, she was given what was to her a once in a lifetime opportunity. She was especially curious about how the alien boy would fight.
Would he fight similar to how humans or faunus fight, she wondered? Ozpin had told her that he used a power similar to aura called Ki, but in doing so, he has no semblance, and to see someone like that fight was going to be an interesting sight.
"Well, sitting with the crowd sure makes you appreciate the festival even more, don't you think, Oobleck?" Port asked.
"Yes, though I wouldn't mind announcing like we originally were this is nice." Oobleck agreed.
"Are you enjoying yourself, Amber?" Port asked, taking Amber out of her thoughts.
"Oh, yes, I am. I quite enjoy these kinds of events. I just wish it lasted longer." Amber answered.
She wanted to experience it all, especially now that her scar had healed. Turning their attention back to the ring, Jason and Damian finally stepped on top of the ring with Coco and Yatsuhashi doing the same across from them.
"Now that our fighters are on the ring, let's see where they will be fighting!" Jimmy shouted as the screens spun several options until it landed on forest, destroyed city, geysers, and savanna.
"What an amalgam of areas this is going to be interesting, folks!" Jimmy announced.
"I never thought we'd get to fight. This is going to be fun!" Jason exclaimed as he and Damian met Coco and Yatsuhashi in the middle.
"Right back at you, after your performance in the first round. You and your team are a force to be reckoned with. This makes the tournament way more fun." Coco agreed.
"I, too, believe this to be entertaining. I wanted to cross swords with you for some time after seeing your skill." Yatsuhashi added.
"Well, that makes two of us." Damian agreed as they both drew their swords, respectively.
"How about we make things more interesting," Coco suggested.
"What do you mean?" Jason asked.
"A little wager, if you win, I'll treat you to some food, if we win, you go on a date with Velvet," Coco explained. Everyone in the ring was shocked by this suggestion and even some of the audience, especially Velvet herself.
"Wait, you like Jason that way?" Ruby asked the bunny faunus.
"Not like that, but Coco thinks otherwise that, and she likes to tease me." Coco deadpanned as she put her face in her hands in embarrassment. She became even more embarrassed when Jason gave his answer.
"Sure, why not." Jason agreed.
"Wait, you're seriously okay with that?" Damian asked.
"Yeah, why not? It's just a friendly wager, plus she's right. It does make things more interesting, and I don't plan on losing." Jason explained as he got into his fighting position.
"Someone's confident," Coco smirked as she readied her weapon.
"And the match starts in 3, 2, 1, and BEGIN!" Jimmy announced, beginning the fight. Jason immediately jumped back to dodge Coco's attack as she rained bullets at him, while Damian and Yatsuhashi charged right at each other and locked blades.
"Can't run forever!" Coco yelled as she continued her onslaught with Jason jumping out of the way.
"I agree, so instead, I've got another idea," Jason replied as he stopped dodging, letting Coco's bullets hit him.
"Unbelievable, has this once invincible looking foe given up and submitted to this fashionista?!" Jimmy questioned.
"Wait, hold up, his aura isn't going down. Is there a glitch in the system, or is this correct…I am being told that it is correct. It seems Jason is taking no damage!" Jimmy pointed out.
"Wait, what?!" Coco questioned as she looked at the screen, stopping her fire. Once she looked, she confirmed that indeed Jason's aura level had not gone down a single point.
"How is this possible?" She asked, turning back to him. Jason simply shrugged
"Well, you see…" he began as he opened his palms, letting every bullet Coco had fired at him fall to the ground crushed.
"I am really fast." He finished. Jason charged at Coco, and before she could react, he slammed his fist into her stomach, sending her flying onto her back.
"Oh, and that's a one-hit K.O. Coco Adel is out! Can't say that I'm surprised, but what a way to go, Jason had caught every bullet who knew someone could go that fast!" Jimmy announced.
"It's not fair. Why can't my semblance make me go that fast? It's all about speed?" Ruby whined as comical tears came from her eyes.
"Hey, who says you can't if you train hard enough," Yang reassured her little sister. Meanwhile, back with Damian and Yatsuhashi, the two continued to clash with their blades around the ring.
"You're pretty good, Yatsuhashi. I'm glad I got the chance to fight you." Damian smiled.
"I am also glad it has been too long since I got to fight another swordsman on my level." Yatsuhashi agreed.
Damian threw an energy slash at Yatsuhashi, who blocked it easily. However, Damian jumped onto his sword and then over Yatsuhashi delivering several attacks on him. Yatsuhashi quickly spun around at swung at Damian, who blocked the attack and pushed him away.
"Man, that training on Kai's mountain really helped. I don't think I would've been able to stand my ground against my attack otherwise." Damian thought.
Their battle eventually went into the geyser area of the ring, continuing to clash blades. Once in the area, both become cautious of both each other and their surroundings. One false move and they would be sent flying away.
"Looks like this fight got even more interesting," Damian smirked.
He felt nervous knowing that he had little chance of winning while in this area. While he could keep up with Yatsuhashi, but he couldn't do that and make sure he's not hit by the geysers at the same time. Damian was taken out of his thoughts when Yatsuhashi came in for an attack.
He quickly dodged it and made a quick slash into Yatsuhashi's side. As soon as he did that, Yatsuhashi blindsided him with an elbow to his face causing Damian to stagger backward. Before he could recover, though, he felt the ground shake as he looked underneath himself, seeing that he stood right above a geyser.
"Oh, Shit!" Damian screamed as the geyser exploded, and he was sent flying into the air.
Thankfully for him, he wasn't taken out of the match just yet. Damian still had a sliver of aura left on him keeping him in the game. Damian knew that he had only one more chance to win, and he had to take it, so as soon as he recovered, he charged at Yatsuhashi, who met him with full force. He and Yatsuhashi once again locked blades with both holding their ground in equilibrium.
"This is it now or nothing!" Damian thought as he set out on his plan.
Damian began to charge energy into his sword, concentrating on his semblance. He knew he could do it if he tried. He prepared to use his family's secret technique. However, like so many times before, the energy just blew up in his face sending Yatsuhashi and himself backward.
"Great another failure, whatever at least now I have an opening!" Damian thought as he charged forward and slashed through Yatsuhashi, draining him of the last of his aura.
"And Damian has made the final blow on Yatsuhashi, meaning he and Jason are the winners! What a match a great improvement from Team JADE's first match!" Jimmy announced.
"That was a good match. I would be glad to fight you again anytime." Damian said as he helped Yatsuhashi up.
"Thank you. I would also like to fight you again sometime." Yatsuhashi agreed.
"Well, guess we lost the bet. I hope you go easy on me. I heard from the others how much you eat." Coco sighed as Jason helped her up.
"Don't worry about it. I don't usually even let others pay for my food anyway, but if you want, you can buy my first round!" Jason laughed.
Back with the rest of Team CFVY and Team RWBY, Velvet sighed in both relief and disappointment. She was relieved that she didn't have to go on a date with Jason, not that she didn't like him. She just didn't see him in that way, but she was disappointed that her team wouldn't go any further in the tournament.
"Well, I would say that was surprising, but I had the feeling they would win anyway." Yang sighed.
"Yeah, but still, I thought they would at least have a chance." Velvet replied. Amber was astonished, she was told that he would be strong, but she never thought that he would be that strong or fast, for that matter.
"Amazing is it not, Mr. Shin never fails to amaze?" Oobleck asked.
"Yes, I couldn't even see his movements, especially when he caught those bullets," Amber answered.
"Oh, that was my favorite part. Someday I believe that he will go on many grand adventures just like I have." Port commented. Nearby, Team SIKE looking down onto the ring seeing the match had ended just as they expected.
"Perfect now, we just need to win in our match, and we can fight the Saiyan." Silas snickered with a smile on his face.
"And we already are guaranteed to win." Iver agreed, laughing. Close by, Evan and Alex, along with Mura, were watching them closely, Kai was around, but he was so stoned that he was no help.
"I can't really hear them, but I swear I heard him say Saiyan, but I could be mistaken," Alex stated.
"Yeah, I think you're right, but still, that's not proof enough. We still need to keep an eye on them for a while longer." Evan replied.
They continued to watch them closely as the matches went on. Team SIKE was called up for their fight, which their members Elias and Iver took the stage winning just as easily as they did in their first match.
"Well, one thing we can be certain of is that they're strong," Evan stated as he watched them exit the ring.
"Yes, undoubtedly they are stronger than even trained huntsmen and huntress's I would not be surprised if their power came from Ki, but since I cannot sense their energy, I cannot say for sure." Mura agreed.
"I think we need to stick close to them so we can hear what they're saying," Alex suggested.
"That's easier said than done. I don't really have the ninja type skills to do so without being noticed," Evan commented.
"You never know till you try," Alex replied. However, what Alex said came to be true because when they went to follow the team, they all seemed to disappear all at once with no trace left behind.
"Well, that's not good." Alex sighed.
"Yeah, I'm getting the feeling they are who we think they are, who else could do that?" Evan asked.
"Though they could have done it with Ki, there is still the possibility that it was a semblance. However, that chance is very little, so I think it would be safe to say that they are the Tuffles, but the question is, what do they want." Mura explained.
"Well, Talon wanted to kill Jason, so I think it would be safe to say that is what they want, but if so, why haven't they done so yet? They have the power to do so if they team up on him, I have the feeling that they have something else in the works." Alex hypothesized.
"If they are planning on doing something beyond killing Jason, then what is it?" Evan questioned.
"Whatever it may be, it has to be dangerous," Alex replied.
They decided to regroup with Jason and Damian to converse their suspicions with them. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to them, Qrow was nearby, also watching Team SIKE. He overheard their conversation and decided to find Team SIKE as fast as possible to make sure nothing terrible happens.
Emerald Forest…
"That was annoying. I thought they would never give up." Kiran complained.
"To be fair, we disappeared on them, which is why they left," Elias commented. They had left and hidden in the Emerald Forest so that the people watching them could not follow.
"Whatever, in any case, they are catching on to us, so we need to be careful, and just to be safe, we need to move the plan up." Silas began.
"Kiran, I need you to make the Saiyan and Elias's match to be first in two days. Think you can do that?" Silas asked.
"Can I do that?! I can do that easily!" Kiran answered.
"Perfect now. What shall we do with the other one tailing us?" Iver asked.
"I'll let one of you take care of him. One less huntsman around here won't hurt our plans." Silas ordered.
"I'll take care of it," Iver said, smiling as he disappeared behind them. Qrow had heard everything they had said, they, in fact, were the Tuffles he was told about, and they knew he was watching.
"And here I thought my semblance affected everyone but me." Qrow thought as he ran away. However, before he got too far, Iver appeared in front of him.
"Now, where do you think you're going, buddy? The fun is just starting." Iver proclaimed as he approached Qrow.
Qrow quickly pulled out his weapon and charged at Iver, ready to attack. He slashed at Iver's head, but he was easily blocked by Iver, who countered by punching Qrow directly in the stomach knocking the air out of him. Qrow coughed up spit as he was sent through a tree. He felt that he had two broken ribs and severe bruising on his back.
"Damn, Oz wasn't kidding when he said they were strong! My aura can't heal me fast enough. I need to get away as fast as I can to inform him of what's happening!" Qrow thought as he slowly got to his feet.
"Oh, good, I thought I broke you already. Now I get to play with you some more." Iver jested.
Qrow transformed his weapon into its scythe form and charged back at Iver. He knew that he probably couldn't land a hit, but if he can create a distraction or knock him off balance so that he could escape. But once again, he was knocked away for Iver rushed him at a blinding speed slamming his fist into Qrow's face sending him into another tree.
"Is that seriously all you can amount to? If so, then consider me disappointed. I'm going to end it now, farewell." Iver declared as he pointed a finger at Qrow. Qrow tried to block with his arms, but Iver shot a blast from his finger going through Qrow's arm and into his chest, causing him to collapse.
"That was boring, well there is always next time." Iver sighed as he walked away, leaving Qrow to die in the forest.
"Damn is this how it ends? They are too strong. If anyone engages them, they'll die. Those kids on Team JADE may stand a chance, but if anyone like Ruby or Yang were to try, they die. I have to warn Ozpin…I have to…" Qrow thought as his vision went dark.
Beacon…
"So that girl was your older sister?" Jason asked as he ate lunch.
"Yes, she is Winter Schnee, an Atlas military specialist," Weiss explained.
"Wow, she sounds important," Evan commented.
"Yeah, but you should have seen Weiss yesterday when she arrived, she was all like…" Ruby began before she was cut off, but Weiss punching her off the chair.
"Anyway, she's going to be here for the next couple of days, which means we get to spend some time together! Now, if you don't mind, I am actually going to meet up with her now." Weiss smiled as she got up and left.
"You okay, Ruby?" Jason asked.
"Yeah, I'm okay." Ruby groaned as she got back up.
"I never knew Weiss cared so much about her sister. Seems she has a stronger sisterly bond than you and Yang." Evan laughed.
"Hey, she does not!" Ruby yelled.
"Yeah, we have a great bond!" Yang agreed, sharing a high five with her sister.
"Well, anyway, who do you guys plan on sending to the next round?" Damian asked.
"It's going to be ice queen and me," Yang answered.
"Nice can't wait to see it," Jason replied.
"Yeah, I wish I could fight to show off how good I've gotten to Uncle Qrow," Ruby replied.
"You have an uncle here?" Evan asked.
"Oh yeah, the coolest uncle ever, when he's sober," Yang answered.
"Apparently, when he got here, he attacked Weiss's sister, and they fought in the courtyard," Blake commented.
"Really! Ah man, I can't believe I missed that." Jason groaned, disappointed that he missed such action.
"I wonder where Uncle Qrow is though I haven't seen him since yesterday." Ruby pondered.
"Yeah, we were going to play some games with him, but he never showed," Yang said.
"Maybe he's at a bar if he drinks like you said," Alex suggested.
"Yeah, you're probably right. Knowing him, he's probably getting hammered in a bar and checking out girls." Yang agreed.
"If he's checking out girls, then he should talk with Evan about that." Jason laughed.
"Oh come on!" Evan yelled.
"It's just a joke, man," Jason smirked.
"Whatever," Evan pouted.
"I still can't believe you agreed to Coco's bet that was hilarious!" Nora exclaimed.
"Yeah, Velvet was really embarrassed, though," Ruby commented.
"Well, I just thought it would be fun with the extra challenge, and to be honest, it was," Jason explained.
"Well, no harm, no foul right," Jaune said.
"Yeah, exactly." Jason agreed.
"Well, we should be going. We have some things we got to get done. See you guys later." Evan said as he and the rest of Team JADE left the area.
"I think it would be best if we tell them, don't you?" Damian asked.
"Once we have definitive proof that they are the Tuffles, we will inform them, but for now, since we don't know for sure, we should keep quiet about it to not cause any panic or stress," Jason explained.
"He's right, plus if it turns out that they aren't the Tuffles, we will have caused panic and stress for no reason." Evan agreed.
"Well, I should get going. I have a lot of training to catch up on if I want to master my Primal State." Jason stated as he parted from the group. Jason could now use the power for three minutes without going berserk, but that is only if he didn't go all out. If he did, then that time would be halved.
"I only hope that I don't need to use it." Jason thought.
He only could manage to increase his time by a few seconds at a time, and it almost felt like he hit a wall in his training with it. Jason thought about Mura's vision and what it said about him that he must tame the beast within and accept who he was.
What it meant by that and how he would go about it, Jason had no clue, but he had to find out. He had been doing some form of image training where he would bring the image of his ape self in his mind, but it felt like that was going nowhere, so he soon stopped that training.
Now he just meditated to increase his Ki control and metal strength to better grasp the power. Jason sighed as he arrived at the rooftop of Beacon to meditate, concentrating his energy and senses, feeling the energy of everyone in Beacon and in the city.
However, Jason paused his meditation as he felt a certain energy signature. He recognized it as someone he met before, but it was still strange to him. Jason must have only met him recently, for he could quite put a face to the energy he was sensing. But none of that mattered. What did matter was that whoever it was, they were seriously hurt, and their energy was fading fast.
"Whoever this is, they need help. I need to help them before they die!" Jason thought. Jason took off as fast as he could towards the energy leaving a large trail of energy behind him.
As he reached the energy signature in the Emerald Forest, he immediately saw signs of battle in the area. Whatever happened here, it happened recently, and it must have been rough on whoever lost. Jason looked around until he finally found who he was looking for. His eyes widened as he recognized the form of Qrow Branwen bleeding out on the ground.
"Hey, you still with me, can you hear me?" Jason asked.
The only response he got was some small grunts from Qrow, who remained unconscious. Jason knew he had little time to work with here, sensing that Qrow was dying, so he quickly picked up Qrow and flew him to Beacon.
"His injuries and the way the area was damaged. This was the result of Ki. I'm sure of it, that means the Tuffles were behind this, and with luck, Qrow may know who they are now." Jason thought as he touched down at Beacon.
Hours Later…
Ozpin was relieved to see Qrow was still breathing and now no longer on death's door. If it wasn't for the actions of Mr. Shin, then it would have been a different story. Qrow had come to after an hour of arriving at Beacon and confirmed everyone's suspicions that Team SIKE was the Tuffles, and they planned on killing Jason in the finals.
"We have the evidence now we have to take them down. We have the resources to do so, and if necessary, cancel the tournament!" Ironwood demanded.
"You know we can't do that. What are we supposed to do? Storm Beacon with your troops and attack them, and if we cancel the tournament, people will ask questions, so what are we going to tell them that aliens have come to attack us?" Qrow questioned.
"If we do that, it would cause mass panic, drawing the Grimm, which is the last thing we need." Qrow finished.
"I understand that Qrow, but we can't let them continue. We can't let them kill Mr. Shin here during their match on broadcast with all the kingdoms. Wouldn't you think that would cause more panic than storming Beacon?" Ironwood asked.
"We can't storm Beacon, nor can we cancel the match. If we do, they will just attack Vale here, and now, so right now as it stands, we can at least buy two days to prepare. I will not let them kill me during the match and win!" Jason yelled, catching everyone's attention.
"I know how strong they are, and Qrow can vouch for this that those robots of yours won't do anything to them, and I am the only one around who can take them on with strength-wise." Jason continued.
"Alone, it would take a whole group of veteran huntsmen to even do anything to them, and there are four, so my plan is to fight and win during my match in two days, then corner the other three in the area and stop them," Jason explained.
"Mr. Shin, I understand your concern and your resolve, but this is a serious situation. This needs the utmost care. We can't risk any lives if we don't need to, and this match would be in a public area with people all over the world watching as you were to demonstrate your power. Are you saying that you're willing to take the risk?" Ozpin asked.
"Yes, sir, I am," Jason answered.
"Even if we did storm the building, they're not here." Glynda interrupted.
"What are you talking about?" Ironwood asked.
"They never returned to Beacon, meaning that they most likely know that their cover is compromised and went into hiding until the finals," Glynda explained.
"So, does this mean we have to go with the kid's plan?" Qrow asked.
"It seems that way." Ironwood sighed, not liking this in the least.
"For now, we need to go about business as usual until two days from now, I will inform everyone who knows about them of the current situation. I can imagine your nieces will be quite worried about you, Qrow." Ozpin explained.
"Yeah, what else is new." Qrow sighed as he pulled out his flask.
"Wow, Ruby was right. You do drink a lot." Jason commented.
"I don't drink that much," Qrow replied.
"Oh please, I'm sure you bled out mostly alcohol from your injury." Glynda retorted.
Qrow quickly stopped chugging down his flask as he looked at Glynda, annoyed as he put the flask away. Jason laughed at this but quickly came back to his thoughts on the events to happen in two days. He knew now than ever that he had to gain full control of his Primal State to fight against the Tuffles, and in two days, it was do or die.
"I'm going to go train for my match in two days, so unless necessary, I would appreciate it if you don't bother me." Jason requested as he walked out of the room.
Later…
Qrow laid on his bed alone in the infirmary. He had finally got some sleep for two hours until he awoke again. He was annoyed that he was stuck in here with nothing to do, and with his dwindling supply of alcohol, it was going to get worse. Suddenly the door of the infirmary burst open as a stream of rose petals came right at him.
"Uncle Qrow, we heard what happened. Are you okay?" Ruby asked as she put Qrow in a bear hug as Yang entered the room.
"I would be better without the pain coming from my wound your causing," Qrow answered.
"Oh, sorry," Ruby replied as she got off Qrow.
"Geeze Ruby, you always rush things. They said he was okay." Yang commented as she reached Qrow's bedside.
"Yeah, it's going to take more than a laser to my chest to kill me." Qrow Boasted.
"I still can't believe they are here for the tournament. Why can't we just have a normal time around here? Not that I dislike excitement, but stuff that risks the lives of everyone is just terrible." Yang said.
"That's just how the world is, kiddo, danger around every corner. However, I do agree that this whole alien stuff is outrageous." Qrow responded.
"But what are we going to do about them? Jason is the only one strong enough to fight them equally, and Evan is the next best fighter against them, so what are we going to do against them?" Ruby asked. Everyone began to ponder this and thought it for a long time and came up with only one answer.
"Stay together as a team and don't engage alone. If your alone, you won't stand a chance against them." Ozpin explained as he entered the infirmary.
"But even as a lone team, you still may find some difficulty, so only engage them if you have the numbers and only if necessary." Ozpin finished.
"But Professor isn't there anything we can do otherwise the gap between us in terms of strength is too much, isn't there anything we can do to lessen that gap?" Yang asked.
"Not in one day, but over time if you train your physical strength and your semblance hard enough, you may just get onto their level," Ozpin answered.
"Still, though, I've been training most of my life, and I couldn't last a minute against one of them." Qrow objected.
"True, but you didn't train to go up against a threat like this," Ozpin argued.
"Yeah, I trained for something else, but I guess the universe has finally showed us how little we are," Qrow replied.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Ruby asked.
"I'll tell you when you are older, kid," Qrow answered.
"So, the only thing we can do is sit and watch?" Yang asked.
"While we would prefer you to do so but I think that you all will do what you think is right," Ozpin answered.
"Now your uncle needs his rest, it's best we leave him be," Ozpin advised as he escorted the girls out of the infirmary.
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I miss the days when Salem was our only problem, and that was only a couple of months ago," Qrow complained as Ozpin walked back up to him.
"Yes, it has been a very hectic few months causing us to learn that there are dangers more dangerous than any Grimm out there in the universe." Ozpin agreed.
"I almost wish that those Atlas scientists were able to figure out that alien tech we handed Ironwood," Qrow commented.
"Yes, sadly, they have barely been able to understand the core concepts of the devices, especially the remains of Talon's android body. The pod that Mr. Shin came in is still a mystery as well." Ozpin explained.
"What do you think the chances are that we manage to take these guys down, Oz?" Qrow asked.
"I won't lie, Qrow. While I would want to be optimistic, I don't think that we will be able to do so without sacrifice." Ozpin answered.
"That's what I thought." Qrow Replied.
Emerald Forest…
Jason sat alone in the middle of the Emerald Forest, meditating, concentrating his energy. He knew he had to continue his training. Still, due to the slow progress, he was making, he needed to take some more extreme methods to control his Primal State.
"As long as I'm out here, I won't be able to hurt anyone." Jason thought.
Jason stood up, ready to take on his Primal State until he sensed someone approaching from behind. He turned to see a girl appear from the forest with a surprised look seeing him there.
"Oh, I'm sorry I didn't know anyone was out here." She apologized. Jason felt like he had met her before but couldn't quite remember when or where he did or what her name was.
"Aren't you the…you know the alien boy?" She asked.
Once, she asked him that he immediately remembered who she was. She was that girl in Ozpin's office when he went to tell him about Team SIKE if he remembered right, her name was Amber.
"Oh right, that's who you are!" Jason said, surprising Amber.
"I'm sorry, what?" Amber asked.
"Oh, sorry, I couldn't quite remember who you were until just now, but yeah, I guess you could say I'm the alien though I don't call myself that," Jason answered, clearing up the confusion.
"Oh, okay, can I ask what are you doing out here?" Amber asked.
"I'm just doing some training. I guess Ozpin hasn't told you about the current situation." Jason answered.
"What situation?" Amber questioned. Jason went on to update Amber on what was happening currently with the Tuffles.
"I can't believe that something like that would be happening, I know there's evil in this world but still." Amber gasped after hearing the information.
"What evil do you mean, the Grimm?" Jason asked.
"Oh…yes the Grimm, that's what I mean." Amber stuttered. She didn't know if she should tell him about Salem even though she knows sensitive information about him. At the very least, she knew that she could tell him about the maiden powers.
"Well, I'll help, however I can with my power." Amber offered.
"What power is your semblance special?" Jason asked.
"Well, no, the thing is I have a power of what's called a maiden. In short, it's a type of magic." Amber answered.
"Really! That's so cool, can I see some?!" Jason asked with stars in his eyes.
"I guess I could show you some," Amber answered as she cupped her hands to create a ball of flame. She then upped the ante as she controlled the weather, making a short thunderstorm above their heads.
"Wow, that's really cool. If I didn't have Ki, then I would totally learn magic." Jason grinned.
"Well, not everyone can learn magic. In fact, only the four maidens can use it, and in turn, only girls can have that." Amber explained.
"Well, that sucks, by the way, why did you come out here?" Jason asked.
"Oh well, I'm not used to crowds, so I decided to come here to be alone outside," Amber answered.
"Yeah, it can get pretty crazy back there. Well, don't let me keep you, but while you're here, try to avoid this area because I am doing some serious training that will get dangerous." Jason advised.
"Oh well, then I will be on my way. See you later then." Amber waved as she left.
"Yeah, definitely!" Jason replied as he turned to continue his training.
"Okay, let's get started." Jason thought as he took on his Primal State.
His hair stood up as his eyes turned orange, and his muscles growing in size, he could feel the primal instincts growing, and he gave his all to stay in control of himself.
He began to charge up his Ki to full power, then taking to the air, he started to shadow box around the area and blasting randomly in the tree line or any stray Grimm that he found.
Close by, Amber watched, astonished she had wanted to get a glimpse of his power in person and not on video, and it was far greater than she thought possible.
No doubt, Ozpin was right when he said that the power of Ki dwarfed the maiden powers entirely. She decided to leave the area as Jason advised knowing that if she stayed too long, she would get hurt.
Ozpin's Office...
"Two days?! I didn't think they would do something like that in front of so many people!" Evan gasped as Ozpin explained the situation to Teams JADE, RWBY, and JNPR, save Ruby and Yang, who were told beforehand so that they know about Qrow's condition and Jason for he already knew.
"It would make sense if they're doing it as a show of power, every kingdom will be watching for the tournament if they do this, they will be demonstrating their strength to the world," Alex suggested.
"That makes sense if they were to do that who would want to challenge them." Blake agreed.
"Normally I would say Atlas would take them down, but after seeing what that old man did when he fused or whatever with his robot against the Atlas forces, I don't think anyone even Atlas would fight them," Weiss commented.
"Where's Jason? Shouldn't he be told about this?" Jaune asked.
"Mr. Shin already knows and is currently training on his own in the Emerald Forest," Ozpin answered.
"It's probably for the best too, Jason could barely take them in his Primal State, and he can't use that for too long, especially at full power, so he needs to do his best to gain full control," Evan explained.
"But what about us, what can we do?" Ren asked.
"The best thing we can do is stick together and fight them as a unit, never be alone," Evan answered.
"Exactly as I was thinking, Mr. Knight, you can't engage alone if you do, it means death," Ozpin said.
"Yeah, even with my power, I don't, I won't be able to fight them alone like Jason, but I have faith that he can win in two days," Evan responded.
"This is going to be bad. Is there going to be any assistance from the fleet the general brought?" Pyrrha asked.
"Yes, but they will mostly be assisting in evacuating the people from the stadium, which I would like you all to help with." Ozpin began.
"Engaging the Tuffles is a last resort option that I wish for you all, but whatever decision you make is your own, and I cannot stop you," Ozpin answered.
"Of course, anything we can do to help we'll do," Weiss said.
"But if those Tuffles come around and we have to fight, we'll fight!" Damian declared. Everyone agreed that they wanted to help and will fight if need be even if they were in danger of dying.
Deep In The Emerald Forest...
Jason was breathing heavily as he landed on the ground. He had used up all of his energy from energy blasts and being in his Primal State. It had been a couple of hours since he started to train, and he made some progress expanding his control for another minute at full power.
Thankfully he only lost control once but managed to reel it back in before he did any damage to himself or the city if he went to it in his uncontrolled state of mind.
"Dammit, it's still not enough. I need full control for at least ten minutes, or else I won't be able to win!" Jason thought as he fell to his knees.
"I can't stop now. I have to keep going." Jason breathed. He crawled for a little trying to move and continue his training. However, with all his energy drained, he was too tired and collapsed from exhaustion.
The Next Day...
The Next day finished the two double rounds with Teams RWBY and JNPR going forward in the tournament. One would think that they are excited, but they didn't show it. Instead of thinking about their win, they couldn't stop themselves from thinking about what was going to occur tomorrow with the Tuffles and Jason's match between them.
"How do you think Jason is doing?" Ruby asked.
"I'm sure he's fine, just training up a storm," Evan answered.
"Okay, it's just you'd think he'd want to come to see the matches since he likes fighting so much," Ruby commented, worried for her friend.
"Trust me, he's fine if there's one thing he likes just as much as fighting, it's training. Once back, when we were still training, he spent a whole year alone training with the gravity dust vein, though as of recent he's been pushing himself further than usual, I can assure you that he won't do anything that will get him killed." Evan explained.
"Yeah, don't worry about him, sis we've seen him take beatings before. There's no way he could do anything worse to himself than what we've seen." Yang reassured her sister.
"Why are you so worried, anyway? This is Jason we're talking about. He's sure to be fine. What's making you so worried don't tell me you have a crush on him?" Weiss asked.
"What no... I'm just worried about a friend. I don't like him like that!" Ruby stuttered, embarrassed.
"Aw, you don't have to hide it, little sis. If you have a crush, you have to tell me." Yang teased, after seeing Ruby's reaction.
"I'm serious. I just like him as a friend!" Ruby continued.
"Yeah, I think that's enough teasing Ruby. We should rest up for tomorrow." Damian advised.
"He's right. We need to be at full strength in case things go bad, but if you're really worried, then I could just take you to him." Evan agreed.
"No, I'm fine. I don't need any more teasing today." Ruby mumbled as they all went their separate ways.
Each one of them was going to prepare for tomorrow in their own way, some training to further grasp their powers, others resting to regain their strength for the possible fight to come. The one thing that each and every one of them was doing was mentally preparing themselves for the situation.
Some were scared at the thought of going up against an opponent stronger than Talon others were determined to stop the Tuffles from completing whatever their plan is. Evan was using his time to meditate and train to become as strong as he can for tomorrow.
"I'm not going to stand by while people plan to kill my friend this time, I will take them down with my power, and Jason won't have to do all the work." Evan thought as he went on with his meditation.
The Day After...
The day of the finals finally arrived, and tension was in the air for the members of Teams JADE, RWBY, and JNPR save Jason, who had yet to arrive.
"Where's Jason? Shouldn't he be here by now?" Jaune asked.
"I don't sense him anywhere around the arena, so either he's hiding his energy, or he's late, but I have faith that he'll show for now we should locate Team SIKE," Evan explained.
"Right, we need to keep them in our sights." Pyrrha agreed. They all split up and searched for the stadium but came up empty-handed. There was no sign of them anywhere in the stadium.
"Uh, they're not here. You don't think they changed their plans due to the fact we found them out, would they?" Weiss asked.
"No way if they did, they would have made a move by now," Alex answered. Before they could talk any further, the finals began as Jimmy Firecracker began to announce the event.
"Ladies and gentlemen, today marks the final day of the Vytal Festival, and that means the finals of the tournament are about to commence. Are you as excited as I am, folks?" Jimmy questioned, getting a roar from the crowd.
"Well, let's waste no time an see who will be the first to fight!" Jimmy announced as the random selection began. However, the members of Team JADE, RWBY, and JNPR knew that it wouldn't be random, and once it was done selecting, they weren't surprised to see who was picked.
"And there you have and what a match up Jason Shin vs. Elias Plant. Both have demonstrated amazing feats of power. I can't wait to see such power clash!" Jimmy announced.
"Okay, so their plan is the same, but neither are here," Evan said, confused at what was happening. However, everyone was shocked to see Elias walk up to the ring like nothing was wrong and stood there waiting for Jason.
"What, but that's impossible. We searched everywhere!" Jaune complained.
"Maybe they weren't here yet. I mean, they can fly right, so maybe they waited until the match was announced." Blake suggested.
"That makes sense if they knew we were on to them, they wouldn't just sit in the open." Alex agreed.
"Uh, it seems our second competitor has yet to arrive due to the rules. He has five minutes to show up for the match before he is disqualified." Jimmy announced.
"This isn't good, Evan can't you sense him anywhere in Vale?" Ruby asked.
"No, I can't sense him anywhere. I don't know where he is!" Evan answered in a panic.
"You don't think he overexerted himself during his training, do you?" Damian asked.
"I mean, I want to say no, but it could have happened for all I know," Evan replied. Three minutes had passed, and there was still no sign of Jason anywhere, and he was running out of time.
"Jimmy Firecracker here, folks, and it seems like our second contestant is still nowhere to be seen, and he with two minutes left, it looks like he will be disqualified." Jimmy began.
"I'm sure this will disappoint many of you like me. Does that mean Jimmy Firecracker has to come down there and fight in that boy's place? Well, I hope not because frankly, I am terrified of their strength, but still here's hoping our second contestant shows up." Jimmy announced.
"This isn't good! What are we going to do if he doesn't show they'll probably go on a rampage?" Nora questioned.
"I don't know. I still don't sense him, but one thing for sure, we need to be ready for battle in case he doesn't show." Evan explained.
"Wait, what's this? It seems our second fighter has finally arrived!" Jimmy exclaimed. Everyone quickly turned their attention to the ring, seeing that Jason was walking up to the ring.
"You're late. I hope whatever you were doing, it was worth it." Elias stated as Jason arrived onto the ring.
"Sorry to disappoint you. I was just recovering from my training to fight you, Tuffle." Jason replied.
"So you do know who I am well, that saves time. I guess Iver couldn't finish the job on that huntsman like he was supposed to." Elias responded.
"Tell me, what are you planning? I doubt all this was just to kill me?" Jason asked.
"Tell you what if you beat me, I'll tell you everything, but right now my mouth is shut, Saiyan." Elias asserted.
"I had a feeling you would say that fine, then let's get this started. I won't let you hurt anyone. What started with Talon ends now!" Jason declared as he got into battle position.
"I will tell you this. The only thing I have in common with that old man is my DNA." Elias replied, getting into his own battle position.
"Alright, ladies and gentlemen, the match you've been waiting for without further ado begins in 3, 2, 1, and GO!" Jimmy announced. Immediately both Jason and Elias charged at each other until they clashed in the middle sending a shock wave through the crowd.
The finals have begun, and the Tuffles plan is underway! Jason must now fight against Elias, the Tuffle clone of Talon's pride. Has Jason's training given him the strength and power he needs to defeat his opponent and the rest of the Tuffles, and what are the Tuffles ultimate goals? Find out this and more next time!
Author's Note:
Wow, what a build-up, I know, ending it on a cliff hanger like that, but still, I hope you enjoyed it. Only a few more chapters until I end the Vytal arc! Now, if you are confused by what I mean by that, it just that I have several arcs planned out for this FanFic.
They go with the current volumes and then beyond. So everything from chapter 1 to now and the next couple of chapters is called the Vytal arc. So I have several arcs and villains for them for the future. Then I have what power Jason gains when!
So if you're wondering, Super Saiyan is not happening in this arc, so don't give your hopes up. And if you think I just spoiled Jason getting Super Saiyan, I mean, come on, this is a fanfic with a Saiyan lead, you should have known it was coming at some point. Anyway, I do hope you enjoyed this chapter. See you next time.