A/N: There probably won't be a chapter next week. School stuff and all that, plus I'm experimenting with some new story ideas. Anyway, hope you enjoyed, this one's pretty long.

Chapter 13: Ace in the Hole

"Three...two...one...BEGIN!"

As the loud buzz of the speakers signified the beginning of the match, Raven and Tai immediately rushed forward to engage Team AZRE. The team of Haven second-years were said to be quite talented and well-coordinated, and they'd been on the list of opponents Team STRQ had decided to watch out for.

Qrow, meanwhile, transformed into his bird form and flew above the opposing team, intending to catch them off guard. Summer hastily took several steps back, aiming her bow. The biomes selected for this particular match were the Ocean and Lava environments, which didn't leave much option for cover. Keeping her distance from the other combatants, Summer carefully waited until her teammates were out of her firing line, before firing off an explosive arrow.

BOOM! The projectile detonated harmlessly against the shield of Athena Minver, AZRE's leader, who leapt in front of her partner, Zephyr Hale, to block the attack. As the arrow impacted her shield, it set off a momentary, blinding spark of electricity. Lowering the shield, Athena looked over Summer for a moment before turning around. "Take out the archer!" she yelled at Zephyr, before running to help out her other teammates.

Grinning, Zephyr retrieved a pair of sunglasses from his pocket and put them on with a flourish. A pair of metallic wings emerged from the mechanism on his back, and he launched himself into the air to avoid Summer's next arrow.

Well that's new. Summer desperately fired several more arrows at him, but it was much harder to hit a mobile target. A pair of miniature turrets sprouted from the ends of Zephyr's wings, firing two beams of ice Dust at her. Summer rolled out of the way and began running, briefly turning to aim another arrow.

She saw Zephyr gliding through the air, chasing after her. From behind, a black bird was catching up to him. Once he was directly above him, Qrow transformed back into a human and dragged Zephyr down into the ocean, and a brief struggle ensued underwater.

Qrow emerged from the water first, gasping for air while holding his sword in a defensive position. Zephyr burst out after him, using the edges of his wings as blades. As the two of them continued their scuffle, Summer joined in, using Phoenix Heart's blades to turn the tides of the battle.

"Such splendid teamwork from Miss Rose and Mr. Branwen!" Professor Lawrence commented from the speakers. "Let us see how Mr. Hale puts up under the pressure!"

Now outnumbered two on one, Zephyr was beginning to struggle. He fired another ice beam from his wing turrets, which Qrow blocked with his sword. Grunting, he retaliated with a heavy swing, which landed directly in Zephyr's chest. The Huntsman staggered back with a pained, desperate grunt, before turning and flying back into the air, intending to rejoin his teammates on the other side of the arena.

"No you don't!" Qrow growled, turning Reaper's Gambit into its cannon form and firing at Zephyr as he fled. Noticing that the winged Huntsman's movement was significantly more sluggish than before, Summer aimed her bow, carefully predicting his flight path. He turned back in midair for a brief second, and Summer took the opportunity. She let the arrow loose.

The projectile struck Zephyr's right wing, sending him spiraling out of control. Letting out a panicked yelp, he struggled to stay midair for a few seconds, but it only caused him to veer farther off his original path as he flew gracelessly off the edge of the arena. The buzzing from the speaker signified his elimination from the match, followed by roars and applause from the audience.

"My goodness! And with that, we have our first elimination of the round! But can AZRE turn their fortunes around? Let us find out!" The professor was yelling, prompting more cheers.

Qrow turned to Summer with a grin on his face. "Not bad, partner," he chuckled. "C'mon, let's go help-" Before he could finish, he was cut off by a large hatchet that struck him in the side and sent him flying several feet back.

Clutching his other tomahawk, Elmer Dorado, a tanned, amber-haired young man was running toward them. Swiftly striking Summer aside, knocking her to the ground in surprise, he made his way to Qrow, retrieved his weapon, and continued his assault before the dark-haired Huntsman could recover.

"Guh!" Qrow snarled, raising his sword to parry Elmer's next strike. One of his hatchets glowed blue, laced on the edges with ice Dust, while the other was red with fire Dust. As the two men began to meet each other blow for blow, Summer picked herself up and took a step toward them.

Seeing her, Qrow shook his head. "I've got this guy!" He yelled. "Go help Sis and Blondie - they could use some extra help!" Grunting from the effort, he pushed Elmer away with his greatsword.

Over in the Lava biome of the arena, Raven parried a direct strike from Athena's lance, before attempting to retaliate with a lunge from Shadow Mobius. Athena raised her shield, and the crimson katana struck the golden plate with tremendous force. The recoil caused the shield to glow with electricity, and a wave of lightning struck Raven, sending her reeling back in pain.

"Hrahh!" Tai leapt toward Athena, his fist clenched, but was intercepted by a powerful kick that knocked him halfway across the biome, causing him to land flat on his face in the hard, hot ground.

"Ugh…" he groaned, picking himself up. On instinct, he raised his fists in a defensive position, just in time to block an incoming chakram that ricocheted off his shoulders and returned to the hand of its owner, Ramona Chrisler, a perky bighorn Faunus.

Grinning, Ramona threw both her chakrams at Tai, and before Tai could attempt to guard, the two thrown weapons ignited in flames. The blond Huntsman let his guard down in surprise, and as a result both of them struck him directly in the face, briefly searing his skin.

Yelling in pain, Tai's eyes briefly watered as he clumsily rolled away from Ramona. To counter her flaming weaponry, he activated the ice Dust in his own body, encasing his arms in ice. He charged at his opponent, knocking away Ramona's next chakram with ease, before engaging her in close-range combat.

While they fought, Raven's battle with Athena continued. As the Haven Huntress raised her shield yet again, an arrow struck its edge from the other side of the arena, setting off more sparks. As Athena looked in the direction of the shot, distracted, Raven took her chance and struck her opponent in the abdomen with her katana, taking off a good chunk of Aura.

"Need some help?" Summer called out, running over to her friend, bow still raised. She fired a few more arrows in Athena's general direction, disorienting her enough for Raven to land several hits on her without fear of striking her shield. Eventually, a solid strike from Shadow Mobius sent Athena's shield flying out of her hand. Thinking quickly, Summer grabbed it and flung the shield away with all her might, launching it out of the arena.

With Athena's strongest piece of defense gone, Summer and Raven began to attack more aggressively, but their opponent was still formidable even with only her electrified spear. Parrying a strike with her blade, Summer flinched as electricity flowed through her body. A yell from somewhere nearby caused her to briefly turn around. On the other side of the Lava biome, Ramona had Tai pinned to an lava plume that was directly behind him.

"Owowow…" Tai was muttering, the fire singing the ends of his hair. "You are so gonna pay for this," he snarled, trying to throw her over him into the lava. Laughing, Ramona simply somersaulted away from him. In midair, she brandished her chakrams with a flourish, before attaching them to the bottoms of her boots. Landing, she began zipping around the arena with her makeshift rollerblades, throwing several fiery kicks at Tai, who kept trying to land punches of his own, but repeatedly missed.

Finally, as Ramona leapt at him for another series of kicks, he managed to grab her by the legs and perform a powerful suplex. "Ugh!" she grunted. As she tried to get up, an arrow landed in the ground by her feet, which exploded into earth Dust that encased her boots in hardened mud. "Huh?" Tai looked to the side, where he saw Summer with her bow drawn, giving him an encouraging nod.

"Hey, thanks Summer!" Tai said, grinning. He turned back to a now immobilized Ramona, pulling back his fist before striking her with a devastating punch, sending her flying straight into the lava plume. Another loud buzz signaled Ramona's elimination.

"Hell yeah!" Tai laughed energetically, pumping his fist into the air as the audience cheered his name.

Over in the Ocean biome, Qrow knocked Elmer's tomahawk out of his left hand with a swing of his greatsword. As the tanned warrior ran to retrieve his weapon, Qrow leapt on him with all his might, and the impact of the tackle knocked them both into the water.

Not this again, Qrow thought angrily, blindly striking his opponent while struggling to get his head above water. As he finally managed to take a gasping breath, he saw that Summer and Raven's teamwork had backed Athena out of the Lava area and into the ocean. Seeing the sparks of electricity coming from her spear, an idea popped into Qrow's head.

"Hey!" he yelled, as loud as he could. "Sis! Summer! Over here!" Raven spotted him, and seemed to immediately understand. With a sudden burst of energy, she aggressively pushed Athena closer to the water, grabbing the end of her spear. The two women struggled briefly, glaring daggers at each other, before Raven wrested control and drove the electric weapon into the ocean with a forceful push.

Quickly, Qrow transformed into his bird form and flew away from the water. Looking down, he saw the entire ocean light up with electricity as Elmer screamed in pain, which was quickly followed by a third elimination buzz.

"A-ahh…" Athena stared blankly at the still-electrified water, realizing what had happened. Before she could react, Raven gave her a hard shove, before dealing the final blow to her with a decisive stab from Shadow Mobius. The audience exploded into frenzied cheering as the fourth and final elimination buzz rang out.

"Well, that concludes the match!" Professor Lawrence called out happily. "Though AZRE put up quite the fight, it seems it wasn't enough to match STRQ and their masterful teamwork! Please, give it up for the first victors of this year's tournament! There will be plenty more to come!"

Summer sighed in relief as the crowd's cheers grew to absurd, deafening volumes. "We did it!" she panted. She felt pride rushing through her; it had been a while since a battle had gotten her so exhilarated.

"And no casualties this time!" Tai added, stretching out his muscles. "Heh, those guys weren't half bad. Still, I've got a really good feeling about this! There's no way we're gonna lose!" He bumped his fists together in excitement.

"Just don't jinx us, Blondie," Qrow said.

"We will now adjourn for a short break - but first, let us see what will be our next match!" The randomizer screen popped up on the large holographic projection above the arena. The first team to be selected was…

"Team JADE, huh?" Qrow muttered, flashing a disapproving glare at Jin's face as it popped into view along with his teammates. "Well, this'll be interesting, at least."

Raven smiled. "It's been awhile since I've seen them fight...who knows? They may very well surprise us."

"And their opponents will be...oh my." Professor Lawrence's voice slowed to a crawl as four unfamiliar faces showed up below Team JADE. Their names were written under their portraits: Psycha Osmov, Locke Silverstein, Storm Columbus, Moss Creedo. "Our next battle will be between Team JADE of Beacon and Team PLSM, from home here at Shade!"

Rather than cheers, the audience went utterly quiet at the sound of that second name. Multiple loud whispers could be heard from several parts of the coliseum. It seems that the rumours about the mysterious Team PLSM had spread farther than Summer was aware of.

"Hmm…" Qrow glanced at the screen curiously. "So these guys finally show their faces, huh? Well, at least we'll get an idea of their fighting style. It's always a bitch to fight an enemy you know nothin' about."

"Well, we won't be fighting them today!" Tai added cheerfully. "Now, how about we have ourselves a celebratory meal at the outdoor buffet?"

Festival Grounds, Oasis

"So," said Tai, swallowing a mouthful of falafel, "What's the plan going ahead, team?"

Team STRQ were sitting at a table in the central square of the Oasis, which had been converted into the main fairgrounds for the Vytal Festival. For the duration of the tournament, prices for meals had been halved, which was necessary for most visitors to even afford any of it. And to Summer's dismay, the expensive Vacuo delicacies that they were eating were still very much expensive.

"Our first priority will be deciding which two of us will be participating in the doubles," Raven said, reaching into her bowl of kushari with her chopsticks. "Well, one of us. Naturally, I will be the other."

"Real humble, sis," Qrow grumbled, sipping a glass of water. "...but yeah, you're right," he admitted grudgingly.

"This'll be a hard decision…" said Summer anxiously, only half-listening. She was in the middle of texting Autumn to tell her about their victory - though the little girl likely already knew, since she would have been at home, watching the match on TV. Summer smiled as she imagined Autumn jumping up and down on the couch, cheering for her.

Coming back to reality, she said, "Either of you could go, I guess…" She felt bad that two of them were going to be left out no matter who they chose to advance to the doubles. She always thought the concept seemed rather backwards in a tournament that was meant to promote teamwork. Still, the rules were the rules. "Tai and Qrow both did really well. I mean, you both got a knockout each!"

Qrow sighed. "Not without help," he scowled. "Seriously thought I was gonna lose when fighting that AZRE guy. And technically, I didn't even knock him out either."

"Well, if this means you're giving the position over to me, I'll gladly accept - though uh, yeah, I guess I needed Summer's help too," Tai said with his usual grin. "Hey wait," he said suddenly, turning to Summer. "There's no reason you can't be in the doubles, either. Maybe you can go!"

"Me?" Summer asked, surprised.

Tai nodded encouragingly at her. "I mean, yeah. You really helped us out during that match. And I've seen you training - you're a great fighter and a great support. You're just as good as either of us!"

Summer frowned. "Hmm…" He's right. I honestly didn't consider the idea that I could go to the doubles round...do I really want to though? She was certainly confident in how much she'd improved, but was it enough to take on some of Remnant's strongest Huntsmen? She doubted it. And surely Qrow, Raven's brother, or Tai, her partner, would be far more suited to fighting alongside the dark Huntress. I...I'm not so sure...

"Excuse me!" Someone's voice came from beside her. "You dropped this, good lady."

Summer turned to see a young, handsome swordsman with brown hair, holding out her wallet to her with an amicable smile on his face. "O-oh, thanks!" she stammered, grabbing it out of his hands and putting it back in her purse.

"You should be more careful. The world is a dangerous place for lovely young maidens like yourself," he said, still smiling. "But you'll always have people like me to protect you, so have no fear!" The boy winked at her, flashing his perfect white teeth.

"...Uh. Thanks, I guess." Summer turned back to her meal. Well, he's a bit dramatic…

"H-hey, wait!" The boy said frantically, glancing at her in surprise. "Come on, show me a little more respect that, lady! Don't just ignore me!" His bravado had instantly dissipated.

"Locke! There you are!" A girl's voice came from nearby. Looking the direction of the voice, Summer saw three people - a proud-looking girl with a long pink ponytail, a muscular young man wearing large black gauntlets, and a short, dark-haired girl with a green beret and bandages over her left eye - walking over to them. "You wandering off and flirting with random peasants is really getting on my nerves," the pink-haired girl snapped. "How many times do I have to te-oh." She stopped abruptly as she caught a glimpse of Summer.

"Um…?" Summer asked nervously.

"You must be the silver-eyed girl I've heard about," the girl muttered. "Hmph. You don't look like anything special to me." Without waiting for a response, she turned and began walking away briskly, grabbing Locke by the collar and dragging him away with her.

"Wait just a minute," said Raven quietly, but loud enough that the new arrivals could hear her. "You four were on the randomization board earlier today. You're Team PLSM, aren't you?"

...What? Summer, Tai and Qrow stared at them in surprise. These four were the mysterious team that was said to be top contenders for the grand prize? Other than the buff young man with the gauntlets, none of them looked particularly menacing.

"That's right, we are," said the girl disdainfully. "I'm Psycha, and these buffoons are Locke, Storm and Moss." She pointed to her teammates as she said their names. "And sorry that I don't remember your names, but maybe I'll see you in the arena later. Not that it's likely, if your joke of a match earlier was any indication."

Qrow glared at Psycha. "And I guess this means you and your team could do so much better?" he snarled. "I sure as hell didn't expect the mysterious Team PLSM to look so damn wimpy."

"Hey, who you callin' wimps?" Storm growled in a low, guttural voice. "Ya think we can't kick your asses, huh? How 'bout y'fight us right now, huh?" His gauntlets were giving off sparks.

"Calm down," said Moss, leaning upward to pat him on the back. "We'll defeat them when the time comes...or when it doesn't." Her soft voice was barely audible.

Psycha was still staring down Summer, an irritated scowl now forming on her disdainful face. "Headmaster Thane said to look out for 'the silver-eyed girl and her team'. Unbelievable. Looking at you, I'm insulted that he even thought you might be a threat to me." She spat in Summer's face. "Save yourself the trouble, wench, and just go back to whatever peasant farm you came from."

Tai stood up, his face flashing in anger. "Hey, lay off you rotten bitch!" he yelled at her. "You've got no right to talk to Summer like that!" The tattoos on his arms were beginning to glow red with energy.

Locke stepped up to him. His smile had turned into an unpleasant smirk. He drew a silver sword from the scabbard on his back. "Do you want to fight us here? In public, surrounded by innocents?" he asked mockingly. "Any scum who would do that is a villain in my eyes. I'll gladly cut you all down."

The two teams were now all glaring intensely at one another. Around them, other people were turning around, noticing the tension between them. Some of them began whispering to one another.

Thankfully, the situation was resolved by the buzz of the loudspeakers. "The next match will commence in ten minutes!" Professor Lawrence announced. "Would Team PLSM and Team JADE please head to the auditorium for their match!"

"Hmph." Locke put his sword away. "We'll let you off this time, ne'er-do-wells."

Letting out an annoyed sigh, Psycha turned around and began walking away, signaling for her team to join her. After a few moments, she paused, and tilted her head back towards Team STRQ. "You should all pay attention to this next match," she said. "Maybe then you'll see just how outclassed you really are." With that, they continued walking away without a word.

"Well," said Qrow. "Looks like Latte was right. They sure are...something."

Tai clenched his fists in anger. "You know what? Forget the grand prize," he snarled. "From now on, we're gonna keep winning, so we can beat those assholes in the arena! They're gonna pay for talking down to us!"

"...Summer? Are you alright?" Raven asked her friend, noticing her silence.

"..." Summer held her head down. Just for a moment, the way that girl Psycha had talked down to her had brought back memories of her old school, and the kids who had bullied, belittled and scorned her. "...Yeah," she said quietly. "I'm fine."

Shovelling the last morsel of taro stew into her mouth, Summer stood up. "Come on," she said to her team. "Let's get to the stadium before the match starts."

Amity Coliseum

The stadium was full once again. "Welcome back, everyone!" the professor called out. "It's time for our next match, and it seems like it will be quite a spectacle! We've just seen how formidable the students at Beacon can be, and Team PLSM are more than ready to show why they're in the top running for the championship!" The audience cheered.

On the arena, the randomizer had selected the Urban and Forest biomes for the match. Team JADE stood side by side, quietly whispering battle strategies to one another. Summer had wondered if they might have to sit out of the tournament after the injuries they'd sustained during the attack on the Huntsman's Guild, but it seemed they'd made a full recovery.

Team PLSM were opposite them, all four of them appearing completely relaxed and confident. Up in the audience, Summer noticed that Psycha was now carrying something on her shoulder. It was some sort of small mechanical bird. "What's that?" she asked her teammates. "Is that bird thing her weapon?"

"Guess we'll find out," said Qrow.

"Whatever the case, let's be sure to take notes watching them," Tai muttered. "I don't care if these guys really are as good as they say. No way in hell are we losing to them!"

"Well, I think we have all waited long enough," declared Lawrence over the speaker, and the audience was instantly hushed in anticipation. "Three...two...one...and let the match begin!"

As the buzzer rang, Psycha immediately turned and ran into one of the buildings in the Urban district. Moss dashed forward with blinding speed, heading for the forest in order to seek cover. Quickly, Jin leapt at her, attempting to intercept the young sniper.

"Hrahh! No harming the lady!" Locke leapt in his way, blocking his scepter with his sword. Snarling, Jin pushed him backward. "Augustus!" he yelled.

Hearing his call, Augustus Clover ran over to him, his massive convex shield held out in front of him. He rammed it into Locke, knocking him away. Letting out an irritated yelp, Locke held his blade against his opponent's shield. "You think that will be enough, do you?" he said. "Well if you think you can take down a true hero of justice like me, you've got another thing co-"

He was interrupted by Augustus roughly shoving him away, From his free hand, he then held out his lance, which opened up at the ends to reveal a large cannon. He fired an explosive round that struck Locke and sent him collapsing, back first, onto the ground.

BUZZ. Augustus and Jin both looked up at the scoreboard in surprise. Locke's Aura had just been depleted below acceptable levels. He'd been eliminated.

Rather than cheering, the audience immediately fell into utter, baffled silence. After a second, confused whispers could be heard among the crowds.

"...What?" Tai looked bewildered. Summer shared his sentiment. She was rather certain that that had been the fastest elimination in Vytal Tournament history. And if anything, she'd have expected Jin's team to suffer a casualty first.

Now looking back in the arena, Summer noticed Psycha standing atop a building, looking down upon the battlefield without a word. The robot bird was still perched on her shoulder.

Over in the forest, David hid behind a tall tree listening for sounds. Quietly, he picked up a small stick by his feet and threw it as loudly as he could. Immediately, he heard a sniper shot ring out from nearby, barely missing its target. "Hmm…" David muttered, peeking out from the side. Sure enough, he caught a split-second glimpse of someone up in a nearby tree, hiding back behind cover.

"Heh. Got you," David grinned. He pulled out his weapon from his pocket - a homemade slingshot, with a high-velocity brace to maximize the impact of shots. Loading a Dust crystal into the catapult, he pulled back and fired in the direction of the sniper.

There was an explosion, and he heard Moss' cry of surprise as she darted, in a panic, away into the trees. Tracking her movements, he climbed up the tree and leapt through the forest in pursuit of her. David slung several more shots at her, swiftly dodging her bullets as he closed in on her.

"Hyah!" He flung himself forward into the tree in front of him, tackling Moss out of her cover. As they landed, the sniper wriggled out of his grasp, turning her sniper rifle into a long, thin dagger, resembling a stinger. She ran at him, yelling, making awkward stabbing motions with her weapon. David noted that the girl didn't seem very experienced with it. He easily sidestepped her and kicked her in the chest, knocking her several feet back.

"Uh-ughh…" Moss groaned softly, getting back up. She had her hand on the bandage over her left eye, as if trying to remove it. She glared at David, only for her good eye to widen in surprise as she saw that his slingshot was loaded again.

The projectile flew from the weapon and struck her, sending her tiny body flying in the air. A second shot knocked Moss clean out of the arena, as she slammed into the battlefield's boundary before sliding down to the ground. Another buzz quickly followed.

The confused whispers in the audience were growing more audible. Team STRQ stared at the arena in disbelief. It was Qrow broke the silence, saying: "Hey uh, is it just me, or do these guys kind of...suck?"

"This must be some sort of joke," said Raven flatly, not even hiding her disgust.

Summer had to agree. It had been barely a minute into the match and already the legendary Team PLSM were down two of their members. Sure, she supposed Jin and his team were more capable than she'd dare give them credit for, but this performance was simply pitiful. I guess they really were just all talk, huh…

Meanwhile, Psycha was still standing atop the building, still as a statue. Finally, she turned her head slightly, towards the bird on her shoulder, and whispered something to it. The winged construct lifted itself off her shoulder and began flying around the arena.

"Hah-ha! Take this!" Storm growled, launching a concentrated ball of electricity from his right gauntlet. Facing off against the three other members of JADE, the brutish young man was putting up a much better fight than his comrades. The blade of a double-edged guillotine axe flew into his stomach, but he seemed barely fazed. "Grahhh!" he yelled, as lightning enveloped his body.

Swinging around the guillotine like a mace and chain, Edward Crown aimed another strike at him, but this time Storm simply swatted it away with his gauntlets. As his own weapon flew back towards him, Edward retracted the guillotine's chain, turning it back into a normal axe.

Jin and Augustus were now teaming up on Storm, forcing him back. Jin slammed his scepter into the ground, activating his Semblance. The earth around Storm rose up to form rock walls, trapping the Huntsman inside. Cautiously, Jin aimed his scepter at the wall, ready to fire a beam of wind Dust. Suddenly, his eyes widened, and he turned to Augustus, who nodded gravely. The two boys quickly leapt to the side as a massive beam of electric energy burst through the wall, singeing the ground underneath.

Storm lumbered out, panting heavily with his arms held forward. Sparks were emanating from his smoking gauntlets. "Mmph! Think you're clever with your lil' tricks, huh?" he growled. He clenched his fists as the sparks exploded into large bursts of electricity, surrounding his body. Jin fired several energy beams at him, but they disintegrated when they touched the lightning.

"GRA-AAA-AAAAGHHHHHHH!" Storm yelled. His hair began to stand on end from all the lightning his gauntlets were generating. The audience looked on in anticipation, waiting to see what impressive attack he was about to unleash. Perhaps Team PLSM could still redeem themselves.

Suddenly, Storm's body stiffened, and his yell was cut short abruptly as his electricity fizzled out. Smoke rising from his orifices, he slumped over and collapsed, face-first, into the ground. There was the loud ring of the buzzer.

The sudden disappearance of the audience's excitement was almost tangible. Lying on the ground, Storm was chuckling. "H-hah...whoops...up to you now, Psycha…"

"Ah…" said Professor Lawrence awkwardly. "It seems Mr. Columbus has just eliminated himself. He seems to have forgotten that being able to amplify electricity as your Semblance does not make you immune to it."

By this point, the audience had completely lost their patience. Boos and jeers could be heard from every part of the stadium. "What the hell was that?" "'Strongest team', my ass!" "I shoulda known Shade Academy were a bunch of liars!" Various insults were being thrown at Team PLSM now.

"Hmph! Aren't all of you forgetting someone?" A snobbish female voice rang out. It was Psycha, still perched atop the building.

"Ah, that's right," said Lawrence. "There is still one more member of PLSM still standing. Perhaps Psycha can still turn the tides?"

Psycha glanced downward at her teammates, as the three of them dragged themselves to the waiting area. "Pathetic," she said. "I give you three a chance to win this on your own, but it seems you really can't do anything without me. Well, fine. I guess I have no choice now."

Jin looked up at her, scowling. "You're the one who just stood up there like a bitch!" he yelled. "How about you get down here and fight us, coward?"

Psycha ignored him. She held out her hand, and a strange green glow began to emanate from it. Up in the air, the same glow could be seen. With a start, Summer realized it was the strange bird she'd had earlier.

"This school - no, this world - has been content with mediocrity for far too long," Psycha said. "None of you mongrels would survive for a minute out in the wild. The way the Huntsmen are now, we're all doomed. But that all ends right now!" She clenched her fist. "Take a good look, everyone. This is what a real Huntress can do!"

A sudden bright burst of energy drew everyone's attention to the upper limit of the arena. The robot bird was being bathed in a glow of green Aura. As it was enveloped completely, Summer could hear its cry grow from a chirp to an ear-piercing screech.

When the Aura faded, the bird was still there...but now it had grown to an enormous size. The mechanical avian was now twice the size of a Nevermore, and as it flapped its steel wings, the trees below swayed, some falling over entirely. Team JADE stumbled backward, struggling to retain their balance. Multiple people in the audience screamed.

"5 percent output should be enough!" Psycha yelled, directing her voice at the bird. "Come on, Bubble! Annihilate these cretins for me!"

SCREEEEEEE! The flying monstrosity, Bubble, opened its beak wide. From inside, bright flames were gathering, as its mouth began glowing with energy. Team JADE simply stood where they were, petrified with terror, as an enormous laser beam burst from the bird's beak, striking the arena and obliterating the ground below. The entire stadium was enveloped with a blinding glow. Summer covered her ears at the deafening sound of the explosion.

When the light cleared, the arena was covered in smoke. As it faded away, Summer saw that the forest had been reduced to cinders, and the buildings had all collapsed. Jin and his team were sprawled on the ground, unconscious. Psycha was standing next to them, completely unharmed, Her bird was perched happily on her shoulder, now small again.

"...Well." The professor took a moment to collect himself. "I-it appears that...the victor of the match goes to Team PLSM. Could someone please go check to see that Team JADE are alright?"

Psycha threw her head back and laughed, before strutting off to rejoin her teammates. In the audience, rather than cheers, all that could be heard were loud whispers and angry yells of "That's unfair!" and "Wh-what was that?!"

Team STRQ merely stared blankly at the carnage. "Was that their secret?" Tai muttered. "Those bastards...they're not even good at fighting! Not even close! They only won because of...what did that Psycha girl do? Was that her Semblance?"

Raven of all people appeared to be baffled as well. "I'm...not certain, myself," she said quietly. "This certainly...changes things."

"How the hell is anyone supposed to beat her when she's got that thing on her side?" Qrow growled. "Talk about bullshit!"

Summer sat there quietly for a few seconds. Finally, she spoke up. "I want to go to the doubles," she said, surprising her teammates.

"Huh? What?" Qrow asked.

"I said, I want to move on to the doubles round," Summer repeated. She wasn't sure what, but seeing that match had single-handedly convinced her that she needed to face off against Team PLSM herself.

It had been one thing for them to belittle her and her friends. But they themselves clearly had no skill, relying instead on a single cheap trick to win. These people were the worst type of bullies, far more than Jin had ever been.

They're no Huntsmen, she thought. And I want to make sure they learn that.