Chapter 16: Atlas

"Whoooooaaaaa! Check out all those skyscrapers!" Tai gasped, his face glued to the glass wall.

"Impressive," Raven nodded in approval. "Atlas' reputation as the jewel of Remnant's technology is not undeserved, it seems."

"Yeah…" Summer stood there in awe. Aboard the airship, they had a perfect view of the Kingdom of Atlas. The massive aircrafts soaring gracefully through the sky, the technologically-advanced structures powering the cities, glowing with beautiful blue energy, the buildings so sleek and tall that it seemed they could hold up the sky…the place really was as majestic as the rumours said.

She could see the Kingdom's namesake, the renowned Atlas Academy, standing immaculately in the middle of the city. On her right, she could make out a strange mass floating above the Lake Pegasus-the largest lake in Remnant.

That must be the Amity Coliseum, she realized. Where we'll fight for the honour of our Academy…

Fighting down her nervousness, Summer took a deep breath. Ohhhh-kay, just calm yourself…you've trained these past few weeks…there's no way you can lose! Probably. Maybe. Hopefully.

It was funny, though. A few months ago, she'd rode on an airship identical to this one, carrying her to Beacon Academy. Back then, she'd been nervous, shy and alone. But today, she was sharing her experience with her good friends. It was a wonderful feeling, to realize how far she'd gone in less than a year.

"It feels good to be back home!" A voice came from behind her, disturbing her thoughts. It was Heather.

"Hey, Heather," Summer greeted her. "That's right, your hometown is Atlas, isn't it?"

The purple-haired Huntress nodded. "It is...though I think I've spent more of my life outside the Kingdom rather than in it. Last time I was here was right before I left to go to Dusk Academy in Vacuo."

"Huh. Well now that I think about it, I haven't been to my hometown in ages, either...do you at least keep in touch with your parents?" Summer asked.

"Well, Father does his best," Heather smiled wearily. "He's actually been the General of the Atlesian military since before I was born. A man like that has a tendency to be…completely swamped by his duties, to put it lightly. Same with my sister, who's one of the best and busiest Huntresses I've ever known."

"Whoa…" Summer murmured. "Sounds like your family's something pretty special."

Heather laughed. "Well, that just means I have plenty to live up to-not that I don't try my best." Rubbing her shoulder, she looked out the window. "Hah, it really is a beautiful day out, isn't it?"

"Well, that really depends, y'know?" grumbled Qrow, staggering out of the restroom and coming over to join the group. "Once you have a chance to stop barfing for a sec and look around, I guess it ain't half-bad."

"Oh, come on Birdy, just admit the view is amazing," Tai grinned. "Didn't you and Rae come from Atlas, too?"

"In the region of Atlas, not in the city itself," Raven corrected him. "This will be the first time either of us have actually set foot in the heart of the Kingdom."

"We've seen pics of the place, though-we know what it looks like," Qrow added.

Tai stretched his back. "Well, either way, looks like this trip is gonna be a lot of fun for all of us, eh? "

"Seems that way," Summer smiled.

Suddenly, an electronic voice rang out from the speakers. We will be making our landing within the next ten minutes. All passengers, please return to our seats.

"Uh oh! Don't want to get caught in the turbulence! See you guys in the cabin!" Tai said as he walked away. Summer and the others followed him.

Qrow was lagging behind, staggering toward the cabin while trying to hold in what remained of his breakfast, when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Just one moment, Brother," Raven whispered into his ear. "There is something I must tell you…"

It was a few hours later. After landing at the port, Team STRQ, HTHR and the other two or three teams that had qualified for the Tournament had checked into the hotel. They'd been allowed to explore the city freely and explore the Festival grounds, provided they returned before evening, and "avoided any unsavoury activity," as Professor Goodwitch had said with a stern gaze.

Which was precisely why Summer and Qrow now found themselves outside a nightclub populated by suspicious-looking people in black suits. How that had happened, Summer wasn't entirely sure.

"This is technically within the fairgrounds," Qrow pointed out gruffly. "It's not like we're goin' out of bounds or anything."

Summer glanced around nervously. "Ummm, that really isn't the issue here…We could always just check out the festival games…or the food stands…I've always wanted to try Atlesian ambrosia."

"Nah, that's boring. You wanna enjoy a festival? THIS is how you do it." Qrow grinned. "Trust me partner, I know what I'm doing."

Summer rolled her eyes. "You know, I get you're trying to act like a cool 'bad-boy' or something, but you really just sound obnoxious."

"Oh please! Like you're one to talk!" Without waiting for an answer, Qrow kicked open the giant doors and strolled in with a painfully exaggerated swagger. Sighing, Summer followed him in. At the very least, I should try to keep him from doing something stupid…

One step into the club and she was nearly blinded by the bright lights emitted by the disco ball, and deafened by the disgustingly loud punk rock music blaring from the speakers. Hundreds of people were on the dance floor, performing strange, outlandish dance moves, some of which Summer really wished she didn't have to see. Okay. This was really a bad idea. I should convince Qrow to leave before we get into tr-

"Oy. You." A gigantic man wearing a thick black-and-red jacket pointed a finger at Qrow. "The hell's a kid like you doing in here? You better scram while you can still walk, brat."

"Kid?" Qrow grinned smugly, and swiftly drew his blade. "Buddy, you got any idea who I am? I'm a bona-fide pro Huntsman of Beacon Academy, and I can damn well stand up to a wimp like you."

He's chewing it so hard it's not even funny…Summer cringed internally. And I thought Tai was the over-dramatic one.

"Oh-ho!" The giant returned his grin. "I didn't think you'd have the guts to stand up to me. Of course, your tough words don't mean jack shit if don't have the skills to back 'em up. You DO realize what you're getting yourself into, right?"

Qrow smirked, and readied his battle stance. "Oh, you bet. You can still back out now, if you're too scared."

The giant cracked his knuckles. "As if! So boy, you accept my offer to duel?"

W-wait! No, no, not like this! Panicking, Summer reached out to her partner. "No, it's alright, we-"

"Of course!" Qrow transformed his blade into its scythe form. Turning back to Summer, he whispered, "Hey, I said I got this, okay? Don't do anything stupid."

"That's MY line!" Summer protested.

Unfortunately, the budding conflict had attracted the attention of the entire club. Cheers were breaking out. Yet again, Summer felt the stares of so many people on her.

This is going to end badly…she thought, despairing.

The giant readied his stance. "Excellent, excellent! Tell you what-out of respect, if you win, I'll buy you a free drink." With terrifying speed, he swung his enormous fist at the young Huntsman.

"Kh!" Surprised, Qrow dodged the blow and stepped back. Mustering as much strength as he could, he swung his scythe at the giant, aiming for his neck. The giant simply blocked the impact of the strike with one hand, stopping the weapon dead in its tracks. "What?" He grinned. "THIS is the extent of your strength?" With astonishing power, he wrenched the scythe from Qrow's hands and flung it at his body.

"Ghahhh!" Qrow was sent flying straight into the wall, creating a painful-looking crack. His scythe fell to the floor beside him. The crowd exploded into cheers. "Blood! BLOOD!" They screamed.

Snarling, Qrow grabbed his weapon and transformed it into its gun form. "Not yet, you son of a bitch!" he growled, firing a round of cannon shells at his opponent. They simply bounced off of him, not even harming him.

"My turn," the giant smiled. He charged at Qrow and rammed his face into the wall his fist. "Sorry kid, looks like you bit off more than you could chew." With powerful strikes, he continued to utterly demolish the young man, with a feral, primal fighting style that made him look more like a Grimm than a man.

I can't take this anymore. Summer really did not want to get herself involved in a fight like this, but she couldn't stand by and watch her friend suffer. She loaded an Ice arrow into her bow and, taking a deep breath, fired at Qrow's assailant. The giant was frozen, large protrusions of ice keeping his arms and legs stuck in place. "What?" he growled.

Qrow didn't waste a second-he grabbed his weapon and brought it down on the man's head with full force. Howling in pain, the giant struggled to break free of the ice. Qrow helped him out with that, blasting him back several feet with a point-blank cannon shot.

"Urghh…now that's cheating!" he complained.

"Hey, I didn't ASK her to help me!" Qrow grumbled, shooting an annoyed (but slightly grateful) look at Summer. "Still, I never said having an aid was breaking the rules!"

"I guess we can't back out of this one," said Summer resignedly. She readied her bow once more. The audience cheered for the new challenger.

Working together, the two of them slowly but surely began to overpower the giant's massive strength. Qrow met him blow for blow, changing between sword and scythe form when it suited him. While the giant was distracted, Summer fired arrows at his weak points to whittle down his Aura. Soon, his attacks felt noticeably weaker, and more sluggish.

"Hraaah!" With a grunt, Qrow pushed the man back with a powerful swing. Quickly, Summer readied an explosive arrow and shot the giant right in the stomach. The impact sent him flying right onto the middle of the dance floor, scattering the dancers. Groaning, he tried to get up, but his strength had faded.

"Did…we…hahh…win?" Qrow asked through short gasps.

Summer put away her bow and quiver. "I…think so."

Still lying on the floor, the giant broke into a coarse laugh. "Heh heh…not yet. If you get to bend the rules, so do I…!"

Qrow frowned. "The hell's that supposed to-"

He was interrupted by the sounds of about a hundred guns being cocked. Every single person in the club was now pointing high-tech rifles and machine guns at the two of them. Behind them, even the bartender had pulled out a pistol. Oh, no.

"What?!" Qrow yelled, panicking as he readied his sword once more.

"You know who I am, kid?" The giant chuckled from on the floor. "You may have skills of a hunter, but I got connections. Someone like you could never take me down!"

Summer gulped. "W-w-what should we do? We're cornered!"

"I-I don't know!" Qrow tried to keep his cool. "I didn't think this far ahead!"

"You were thinking at all?"

"This is NOT the time for that!" Qrow snapped.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to teach you both a lesson in respect," the giant sneered. "Your violent fates will serve as a fine example of those who mess with the Gehen-"

He didn't get to finish his sentence. Out of nowhere, a series of projectiles flew into the crowd, exploding and incapacitating most of the gunmen. "Huh?" Summer and Qrow looked around in confusion.

A young man leapt into the crowd holding a golden double-barreled shotgun. Before they could react, he raised his gun. "Too slow." From the bottom barrel came a rapid burst of fire, scattering everyone. The gunmen ran for the exit, now completely ignoring Summer and Qrow. Firing more explosive shells from the top barrel, the new arrival began dispatching the mooks left and right.

"Arghh!" Some of the gunmen who'd tried to flee were flung back by a bright blue flash. "Sorry, there won't be an escape for you." A beautiful woman with light blue hair wearing a fancy aqua suit stepped into the club, an enormous steel gauntlet radiating blue energy clamped onto her arm.

"What…where did…" the giant spluttered, struggling to get up. "Y-you're-"

He was cut off yet again, this time by a crimson bullet embedding itself in his chest, sending him crashing back down into the floor, unconscious. Two more girls strolled into view, the taller of which was holding a smoking sniper rifle. "Eh. You don't need to know," she said cheerfully, twirling her scarlet hair.

Within seconds, all the remaining gunmen had been subdued. The four new arrivals wiped them all out without so much as an ounce of effort. Holy crap, Summer thought, awestruck. Who the heck are these guys?

Dusting off his clothes, the young man casually walked up to the bartender, who was still holding his pistol, hands shaking, his eyes looking as if he'd just wet himself. "Four lemon tequilas, please. Oh and," he gestured to Qrow and Summer. "Two sparkling ciders for the minors, if you don't mind."

"Uh…uh….y-yes! C-coming right up!" Stammering furiously, the poor man began pouring them their drinks.

"Well, that's done with." The man with the flamethrower-shotgun-whatever turned to Qrow and Summer. "You two sure know how to pick the worst fights possible, huh?"

"Er…" Summer's head was still reeling from the arrivals of these new faces. This young man was quite good-looking, with chocolate-brown hair, dark-brown eyes, and a neat flannel shirt. "Um…thanks for the help."

"No need to thank us-we were just here on business," the man smiled. "You two are Huntsmen as well, right? I bet you're here for the tournament."

The bartender, still looking like he could have a stroke any minute, put six shot glasses on the counter. The young man and the three women all took their drinks.

"So. Since you're still here," he said after a sip of his tequila. "The name's Latte. Latte Adel. Nice to make your acquaintances."

"Hey, you're…" Qrow muttered. "Aren't you Atlas' star pupil? Sis mentioned you once or twice."

"Oh! Someone's heard of me?" Latte grinned. "I'd like to meet this fine lady sometime."

"Which means…" Qrow glanced at the girls. "You guys are…Team LIME?"

"Bingo!" The redhead downed her drink in one gulp. "Won't find a better gang of Huntsmen anywhere on the continent, baby! And now you owe us for savin' your asses-hic!"

"Come on, Marguerite, don't bring blackmail into this," Latte sighed. "Hey Isa, you think we'll be able to explain this mess to Onyx?"

The blue haired girl-Isa-shrugged. She touched her gauntlet to her glass, cooling the drink with icy energy. "Unlikely. I think the Headmaster stopped forgiving us after that stunt with the stripper."

Latte groaned, holding his head in his hands. "Ugh…I thought we agreed never to speak of that again."

While they continued chatting, Summer turned to Qrow, confused. "Wait, these guys are…participating in the Tournament?"

"Sis looked up every possible threat to us before we left," her partner muttered. "These guys were near the top of the food chain. Team LIME, second-year students of Atlas."

He pointed to Latte. "Latte Adel, their leader. He won the Jupiter Tournament in his first year, and now people call him the "Peerless Flames.""

He pointed in turn to the three female members. "Isa Teal, the "Glacier," Marguerite Scarlet, the "Blood Mongrel," and Esther Prezo, the "Youthful Breeze." According to Sis, they're all prodigies, and chronic ass-kickers."

"Seriously?" Summer got a better look at them. The four of them were certainly different from any Huntsmen she'd ever seen. Their weapons were insanely high-tech, as to be expected from Atlesian craft. Even though they were only a year older than her, they looked much older and wiser. So this is what we're up against…!

"Seriously," Marguerite burped, and grinned at Summer. "We heard your fight from outside. You guys don't seem half-bad, either! Hope to see you in the ring soon!"

Esther, a petite girl with cream-colored locks and light-brown eyes, stared at Qrow. "Oh…it looks like you've got a few bruises from that battle. Here, let me help!" Closing her eyes, she muttered a short chant, and began to glow with Aura. "Become calm as the wind, and steady as iron." A small beam of Aura entered Qrow's body, and sure enough, his bruises disappeared.

"Whoa…" He touched his face in shock. "I don't just feel better, I feel ready to take on ten of those assholes."

"That…wouldn't be the best option." Latte gestured to the hordes of unconscious men on the floor. "Who exactly do you think you were fighting?"

"Uh, I don't know, a bunch of idiots with big egos and guns?"

"This club is owned by the Brotherhood of Gehenna-a cult of Grimm worshippers," Isa said with a stern frown. "You picked a fight with one of their higher-ups."

"Oh….shit," Qrow muttered.

Summer frowned. "Wait, Grimm-worshippers? Those exist?"

"Basically, some buncha loonies think that Grimm are angels or messengers of some grand deity sent to cleanse the world of sin and scum or some hullabaloo," Marguerite slurred. "Most of em are small and can't do shit, but The Brotherhood's a bit more of a pain in the ass than most. Their leaders've managed to avoid gettin locked up for some years now. They're just my type, really."

"We were actually supposed to spy on their base-this club-and get intel on them for the police." Latte sighed. "Unfortunately, it seems we weren't counting on…er, outside interference."

"Oh, um…sorry about that…" Summer looked down for a moment, then frowned. "Wait, why am I apologizing?" She scowled at Qrow. "This was all YOUR fault! Why did you have to pick a fight with him?"

"He started it," Qrow muttered, sounding like a child.

Latte laughed good-naturedly. "Don't worry about it. What's done is done. More importantly, you seem to know who we are, so how about you guys introduce yourselves."

Summer and Qrow gave their names. "Summer Rose and Qrow Branwen of Team STRQ, eh?" Latte murmured. After a second, he grinned a them. "You sure sound like a team we need to look out for-not something we're used to, if I do say so myself!"

"Heh! Damn right!" Qrow grinned, his bravado returning immediately after the praise. "If you're really as good as they say, how 'bout we go for a prac-"

"…Sorry, but it's getting late, and we need to go." Sternly, Summer grabbed her partner's hand and dragged him out of the club. "If Professor Goodwitch found out we were here, we'll probably never get the chance to face you anyway."

"Killjoy…" Qrow grumbled.

"It was nice to meet you!" Esther called to them. "Hope to see you in the arena!"

"Seeya, newbies!" Marguerite laughed, flirting with the unfortunate(?) bartender while downing her tenth glass.

After Qrow and Summer had gone, Isa turned to her partner. "So what do you want to do about the cultists?"

"Well…the main objective was to clean them out, one way or another…" Latte sighed. "Let's just report honestly this time, and hopefully Headmaster Onyx'll let us keep our heads." Turning his head to the ceiling, he became lost in thought.

Summer Rose, huh? Looks like they were right after all…

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, the moment you've all been waiting for. Welcome…to the Vytal Festival Tournament!"

The audience erupted into thunderous applause. The Amity Coliseum was filled to brim with spectators, all ready for a day of action, teamwork, and blood (hopefully not), sweat and tears.

"Before we get to the action, allow us to break down the rules!" The deafening voice of Atlas' Geography professor, Gaius Terrion, came booming from the speakers. The Vytal Tournament is divided into three stages-teams, then doubles, and finally singles! The tournament is a game of pure skill, so your school year will not factor into the randomization process!"

"INDEED!" The other commentator, Professor Pegasus, screamed into the mike with a bit too much enthusiasm. "Once the team matches have concluded, each team will select two members to advance to the DOUBLES! Once the tournament reaches its final stage, it's nothing but one-one-one SHOWDOWNS OF SPECTACLE! May the BEST TEAM TAKE THE CROWN! Hahhh…" he stopped to catch his breath.

"Loving the enthusiasm, Percy!" Professor Terrion nodded in approval. "For each match up until the finals, the arena will be randomly selected from a range of various terrains, to ensure no team is given an unfair advantage! Now, without further ado…our first match, Team HTHR of Beacon versus Team IVRY of Shade!" The audience cheered yet again.

"Show 'em who's boss, Heather!" Tai whooped. "Good luck, Harriet!" Summer called out.

It was the day after the incident at the nightclub. Thankfully, no one had found out about her and Qrow's misadventure. Looking around, Summer could see Latte and his crew cheering some distance away.

The randomization began, and the arena was transformed into a half-rainforest, half volcano. That shouldn't be too much of a problem for Heather's team, Summer thought. Team HTHR and their opponents faced down each other, ready to fight.

"Three…two…one…BEGIN!" As the crowd cheered a third time, both sides began their battle.

Torrence immediately charged forward, raising his switch-axe like a shield. Behind him, Heather, Harriet and Regal waited for an opening to strike.

"Not a bad strategy," Raven nodded. "Send in the defense to block the enemy's first assault. Classic tactic."

"Those chumps don't stand a chance," Qrow grinned.

Sure enough, within minutes, Heather's team had completely demolished the opposition. It had been less of a fight and more of a massacre. The pro-Beacon spectators were deafening themselves with their own cheers.

"That's what I'm talking about!" Tai laughed. "Oh man, what a way to start the tournament, eh?"

"What an INCREDIBLE display of TEAMWORK by TEAM HTHR!" Professor Pegasus hollered. "Now then, before the first break begins, let us determine the NEXT CONTESTANTS!"

On a gigantic projector, the randomization process sorted through all the remaining teams. Finally, the left side of the screen stopped on: Summer, Qrow, Tai and Raven.

Qrow whooped. "Perfect! Looks like it's our turn to kick some ass! Better sooner than later, huh?"

The right side of the screen stopped on: Latte, Isa, Marguerite and Esther. The audience burst into cheers, even louder than it had just a moment ago.

"Oh f #$." Qrow's shoulders drooped. "On second thought, later mighta been better…"

"W-w-we have to fight THEM?!" Summer stammered. "In the first round?"

Tai looked confused. "Who are they?"

"Team LIME…quite the fan-favourite among the Atlas crowd." Raven murmured with a smile. "Well, at least the challenge will be nice for a change."

"The tournament will now pause for a half-hour break!" Professor Terrion announced. "Tune in for our next exciting match! Peace be with you all!"

The auditorium began to clear out, students heading for the docking bay in droves. In the stands, Summer and Qrow staggered out of their seats, muttering encouraging things like "We're so damn screwed" and "Don't throw up, don't throw up". Tai had already rushed out-"Can't fight on an empty stomach! I'll order for you guys!"

Raven got up and followed her teammates. Suddenly, she felt her Scroll vibrate within her pocket.

She took it out and looked at the screen. 1 attachment. Sender: BlackBird.

Raven smiled to herself. Right on time.

Thanks for reading! I've been wanting to introduce Team LIME for a while now, they're probably the characters I had the most fun coming up with. And yes, their team theme is beverages.

Latte Adel=Lattes, duh.

Isa Teal=Iced Tea

Marguerite Scarlet=Margaritas (for some reason, I thought margaritas were typically red. I decided to not correct that mistake, because red is a creative colour.)

Esther Prezo=Espressos

I originally wanted to show HTHR vs IVRY (and give the latter actual characters), but I decided it wouldn't contribute anything to the plot and the fight would take up too much space.

Leave feedback and a review, whether you liked it or not!