Arc 2: Lights

Chapter 13: Three Months Later

XxX

Jaune

"News has arrived that the other Huntsman academies will arrive later today," Port tapped his fingertips together excitedly. His voice boomed through the anteroom speakers."The Vytal Festival is just around the corner. I know you're all excited-I sure am-but there's still one thing we have yet to do! One wonderful Beacon tradition! My wonderful students, are you ready for the fights of a lifetime?" Port gestured expansively. The crowd's reaction was almost deafening. Jaune could hear them even from behind the doors. Hetensed, absentmindedly checking his sword and shield, glancing back at his teammates. They nodded at him.

"Are you all ready? Any last minute issues?"

Nora grinned, spinning her hammer in her hands.

"For this? Psh! We've been prepping for months. We spent our break training. Our break, Jaune. We're going to destroy RWBY." She slammed the hammerhead into the ground.

Ren smiled slightly beside her, subconsciously holstering and unholstering his pistols.

"While I wouldn't be quite that optimistic, I am ready. We are ready."

Pyrrha smiled, flicking her javelin from mode to mode with barely a thought.

"Let's show them what we've become."

Jaune grinned, focusing his semblance. Safe. He knew it wouldn't stay that way for long.

"Exactly. We've got them beaten for force projection. Hit hard, don't try to outspeed them, and stay together."

The others nodded. Jaune unsheathed his sword as the crowd's drum roll faded to silence.

"Without further ado... our Exhibition Bouts! First-years are up! On the left, the second-highest scoring team on combat exams this year...Team JNPR!"

The doors slid open. Jaune strode out into the flat arena confidently, knowing his team was arraying themselves behind him. His eyes flicked in both directions, noting the few rocks and trees spread irregularly around the field for cover. And... yep, that was a cache of uncut mixed Dust in the center of the arena. Of course Port would make part of the arena into an ammo dump.

"And, on the right, the first-year valedictorians...Team RWBY!"

The doors to the opposite end of the arena opened. Ruby and her team walked out into the arena, forming up into a tight diamond, Ruby rapidly whispering to the others. Moments later, they all nodded quickly before turning back to JNPR. That was... worrisome. Ruby's plans tended to be unpredictable. Worse, they tended to work really well. Danger 100 feet.

"Eliminations at Safe Aura Levels! The team with the most members standing at 15 minutes wins! Captains, give us your assent!"

Jaune raised his sword to the roar of the crowd. Moments later, Ruby lifted her scythe to the heavens. Port smiled, eyes twinkling as he raised his blunderbuss.

"Battle begins on my shot! 3! 2! 1!"

Bang!

Team RWBY vanished in a massive cloud of smoke. Jaune focused on his danger sense.

Danger 100 feet. Danger 150 feet.

"They're moving away. Keep watch for snipers. Circle up."

Pyrrha moved to his left, eyes scanning the smoke. Ren and Nora took their positions behind him.

The smoke cloud gradually dissipated, revealing Yang standing alone with her hands on her hips. "Real nice formation you've got there. Very by the book, very academic. It'd be a shame if someone were to mess it up." She rechambered her gauntlets, firing a single shot that missed all four of them.

Danger rapidly approaching, all cardinal directions.

Jaune's eyes widened. All? Wait, did that mean- he caught sight of a sudden sparkle on the ground below him.

"We have to-"

The ground exploded.

XxX

Sun

Sun winced. That had looked rough. However RWBY had pulled that little trick off, he knew one thing for sure: he sure was glad it wasn't him in that arena.. He glanced over his shoulder at Penny, who was watching the battle intently. He'd have to ask her for the recordings later.

"Penny, how'd they pull that off?"

The totally-not-a-cyborg-faunus tilted her head for a moment, never taking her eyes off the battle.

"I am unsure. I suspect it involves some kind of unknown dust compound that went critical. Did you see Yang's shot? It seemed to leave some sort of residue behind."

Sun nodded thoughtfully. Maybe he'd ask Blake about it afterwards. He could use some new tricks.

"That was pretty impressive. But they made one mistake." Sun looked back over his other shoulder to see Neptune dropping into the seat beside him. He grinned, flashing a quick two-fingered salute.

"What mistake was that?"

Neptune grinned back.

"They kept looking. Don't look at your own explosions. That's day one stuff."

Sun shrugged.

"If you say so. When'd you get in?"

"'Bout ten minutes ago. I assumed I'd find you watching the fights."

Sun laughed.

"Fair. Any idea where Sage and Scarlett went?"

"Sun?" Neptune paused. "When have I ever had any idea where Sage and Scarlett went?"

"Fair. What'd I miss at Shade?"

"Over the past four months? NDGO qualifying for Vytal."

Sun's eyes widened.

"Seriously? That's awesome. Anything else?"

"Besides them inviting us to a 'Qualifying teams from Shade' party tonight which is just SSSN and NDGO?" Neptune winked. "Not much. It's Vacuo, did you think there'd be more than 1 thing in 120 days?"

"Us and NDGO? How'd you set that one up?"

"How I always do, cap'," Neptune leaned back. "Irresistible charm. So, you in?"

Sun paused. On the one hand, it would probably be fun. On the other hand, it would be a waste to spend his time at Vytal with Vacuo people. What'd be the point? He lived with those nerds. This was the time to meet new people. He'd never have met Penny if he'd just stuck to Vacuans.

"I'm gonna have to call in a rain check. I've got my own stuff going on tonight."

Neptune shrugged.

"Suit yourself. Dew'll be disappointed."

Sun opened his mouth to respond, but Penny cut in.

"Sun? Who is your friend?"

He smiled.

"Right, I should introduce you two. Penny, this is Neptune Vasilias, an old friend of mine from Vacuo. Neptune, this is Penny Polendina, Atlas Huntress-in-training and totally-not-a-classified-military-project. They sent her out to track me after I accidentally stowed away on the same high-security Atlas ship she was riding to Beacon in."

"A match made in the heavens," Neptune faux-whispered. "Dew never stood a chance."

"What was that, Neptune?"

"Nothing, Cap'. Look, the fight's starting back up!"

XxX

Ruby

Team JNPR staggered up from the ground, buffeted by chunks of dirt from the explosion and the occasional sniper shot from Crescent Rose. Looked like they were still in their partner groupings. That was annoying. (But good for them, too. It was weird, fighting against her friends. On the one hand, Ruby wanted to kick their butts into next Tuesday afternoon. But she also felt a swell of pride whenever they did something right. In any other circumstance, she would have been rooting for them on the sidelines. And vice versa. Maybe they could all have an ice cream party later. That would be fun.) Ruby's head pulled back from the scope of her rifle as her finger lifted off the trigger. She turned back to Blake and Weiss, grinning widely.

"Good shots. Bumblebee on secondaries. Iceflower prime." Blake nodded, launching herself to join Yang. Weiss tensed next to Ruby, glyphs swirling into existence beneath the two of them.

"You sure Blake and Yang can take them?"

Ruby shrugged, switching out her explosive rounds for her battlefield control set.

"They'll have to. We need the speed advantage. Even without knowing how Jaune and Pyrrha do it... speed and precision have to help, right?"

Weiss nodded, chambering her rapier.

"I just hope it's enough."

Ruby grinned, feeling herself settling into her Aura.

"Don't tell me you've started believing the Oracle rumors too, Weiss. We just hit them. Looks like Dust works, right?"

Weiss grimaced.

"I suppose you do have a point."

Ruby laughed before focusing on Jaune.

"I'll take lead. Switch at will. Dust and harrying preference."

Weiss nodded.

"As I thought. On your mark."

Ruby inhaled, snapping out her scythe. Wait for it... Jaune levered himself to his feet, turning to look for Ren and Nora- Now!

"Go!"

She blurred, returning to her physical form behind Jaune as he spun too slowly, her scythe cutting into his Aura as she spun it through a full slice, rifle muzzle landing in his chest as he finally completed his turn. Fire. The bullet launched him back but he stayed upright, wiping a bit of sweat from his face as he spun his sword into place. Ruby launched herself forward and - Miss - Jaune dodged, sword artfully nicking her aura as she passed. Again. She sprung forward, halting herself with a bullet that should have slowed him down just enough to - Strike - Jaune's sword blurred out again, cutting into her aura. Her eyes widened. Sure, people said Jaune and Pyrrha were untouchable now, but that was an unexpected bullet from close range! That was just unfair! Good job Jaune, but what the heck! And she'd hit them before, she needed to find out what was different - But his sword was too close again - Crescent Rose spun, trapping his blade against the ground as she fired once more and Jaune leaned out of the way, wrist tightening on his blade -

"Switch!"

Ice shimmered into existence around the two of them as Ruby blurred backwards to face Pyrrha. Her scythe spun into a reflexive strike which Pyrrha dodged like it was nothing, blade just barely missing the other girl like it always did - Ruby grinned as her scythe completed its rotation, rifle barrel blocking Pyrrha's spear. Her finger tightened on the trigger.

"Boom."

The Ice-Fire Dust bullet hit Pyrrha directly in the chest, launching her backwards with a flash of steam. Ruby followed her from below. If she could catch Pyrrha before she shook off that impact she might be able to finish this - Blur - Ruby spun into her semblance as Pyrrha's shield passed through where her left shoulder was. She reformed to see Pyrrha back on her feet and spinning her spear. Pyrrha lowered her chin, settling into a fighting stance. . Ruby grinned. Go. She leapt forward, stopping short of the spear's range, firing another bullet. The pure Dust sparked off Pyrrha's armor. Ruby grinned, before -

"Switch!"

Ruby whirled, firing a parting shot towards Pyrrha as she spun towards Weiss. Her partner stood winded next to a dome of ice, smiling darkly.

"Speed beats him. Any luck by you?"

Ruby grinned in response.

"Pure Dust should do it. Let's finish this."

XxX

Torchwick

"Tonight, at the docks. Final shipment. Expect resistance." Roman flipped his Scroll shut, laughing softly. It was time, was it? Thank the gods. He was tired of this small-town nonsense. He hadn't spent his childhood training just to spend it outrunning Vale police, after all.

"Neo, get ready."

The air around him coalesced into fragments of glass. Moments later, the fragments melted together into his subordinate. She tilted her head at him, smiling. He sighed.

"Showboat."

She pointed at him, message clear. It takes one to know one.

"And? I can still call it out."

She laughed silently.

"Anywho, it's time. Raise the regiments. We're hitting the docks tonight."

The girl's eyes widened slightly. Her smile grew predatory as her head tilted, eyes asking an unspoken question. Torchwick's smile sharpened.

"Why, yes, I do expect our friends from the White Fang meet to show up. Red's too heroic to let an opportunity like this pass her by."

Neo flicked her stiletto in and out of its umbrella sheath. He hmmed.

"Well, we need them alive. Red, the Schnee and the cat, at the very least. Yellow's fair game, though."

She regarded him silently.

"Yes, yes," Torchwick sighed. "You're right, alive doesn't mean unharmed. Have some restraint."

She laughed again, curtseying.

"I thought you'd like that. It's time to blow this joint."

XxX

Blake

Pink smoke billowed up around her, hanging in the air despite the light breeze. Shadows flitted in and out of Blake's vision, light and sound from Nora and Yang's fight making it impossible to detect Ren in the clouds. Sometimes Blake hated Smoke Dust. Was this what it felt like to fight her all the time? If so, she might have some apologies to make - she felt her Semblance pulse. Another clone killed, this one to her northeast. That put Ren somewhere in the northern half of her vision, unless he was moving quicker than she was. Blake dropped another clone, exhaling softly at the Aura drop as she ran north. She couldn't do this forever.

A bullet rang out right beside her and she whirled, blade flicking out. Nothing. Not even the sound of breathing. She focused before wincing as the clone died. Where was he? Normally she could at least hear footsteps. Here, though? Her senses reported nothing but noises, a patch of silence and the acrid smoke - her eyes widened. Silence? On a battlefield? She whirled towards the patch, eyes refusing to see anything there but an uneven gray. Her eyes narrowed. Semblance. She stalked forward, blade slipping into her hand, accelerating into a quiet run. Time to end this-

"And Lie Ren has been eliminated, leaving the score 4-3, RWBY!"

Blake's eyes widened as she stopped short. Moments later, Nora blasted through the cloud from the gray patch, hammer already primed to strike. At least it would be quick-

"Blake Belladonna has been eliminated! Score 3-3!"

XxX

Mercury

Mercury leaned back, tossing a few pieces of popcorn into his mouth as he watched the fight below. For untrained rookies, they were actually doing surprisingly well. That smoky bait-and-switch? He could appreciate work that smooth. He looked over at Cinder.

"Which ones of these are we watching, again?"

She inhaled slightly, muscles almost imperceptibly tensing. Mercury winced. Bad question.

"Three huntresses. Black, red and orange. Do try and keep your mind on your work." Her eyes flashed.

"Of course, of course," Mercury nodded. "Just confirming that."

He sat back. Moments later, a soft whisper entered his mind.

"Aww, was little Mercury too busy worrying about getting beaten up to focus on the mission? Don't worry, the people who are actually useful will protect you."

He sighed and leaned towards Emerald, voice dropping to a whisper.

"Trying to seduce me with your mind? Really? You're that desperate?"

She grimaced.

"Ass."

He smirked.

"With pride. Also, 'actually useful'? Projecting much?"

"Projecting?" Emerald laughed. "Scoreboard, Mercury?"

"'Scoreboard?' Have you finally forgotten how to use complete sentences?"

"I mean Atlas. And I'm not the one who talks too much."

"Atlas doesn't count," Mercury grimaced. "That was a fluke."

"I repeat, scoreboard."

Mercury opened his mouth to respond before a sudden heat had him silent.

"While I appreciate your... commendable urge to make me proud," Cinder's voice was eerily calm, "I will ask both of you to stop jeopardizing the mission because of your petty egos."

Emerald and Mercury nodded hurriedly, both completely silent. Cinder smiled.

"Good. Now sit back and enjoy the fight like good little students."

XxX

Jaune

The dome shook as Jaune's shield clanged off the side again. The ice moved a little more. A few more hits and he might start cracking the thing, just in time for Pyrrha to get knocked out. At least they'd taken out one member of RWBY, right? And Nora might finish Yang, so that made 2. Hell, Pyrrha might take Ruby or Weiss with her before she went down. But him? Despite all the training he'd done, all the practice he'd undergone... all he had was hype and showmanship. A useful semblance, sure, but nothing earthshaking. Nothing that was enough to make the difference in a fight of this level. That was why he'd started...Oracle. It started small, just a few dodges that shouldn't have been possible in Goldwitch's class. But, as he'd gotten faster? He'd pushed himself, leaving closer and closer margins on the edges of hits, dodging earlier and earlier. After a while, he'd even started believing the rumors a bit. Not that he could see the future, of course. But the ones that he was untouchable? Those resonated. But now, trapped as he was? He knew he wasn't invincible. All he had was a utility Semblance.

"One minute left! Make your final eliminations now! The score is still 3-3!" Port's voice somehow carried through the ice walls. Jaune tensed, hacking at the dome with renewed energy.

The dome shook, walls thinning. Jaune's eyes widened. Why - Weiss must have pulled some of her Aura away from maintaining it to finish Pyrrha, he still had time - One side of the dome shattered outwards. Jaune rolled through the hole to one knee, scanning the 2 on 1 fight before him. It looked like he still had a chance to help-

"Pyrrha Nikos has been eliminated! The score is 3-2 RWBY!"

The crowd gasped as Pyrrha sunk to one knee. Jaune's muscles tensed, focusing entirely on his surroundings and danger sense. Danger 25 feet. That probably killed his chances, but he could at least try and survive. Danger holding steady. He could feel his perception narrowing, focusing entirely on the enemy before him. Danger app-approaching-danger attack coming danger close 15 feet - They turned back to him. Ruby blinked once before spinning into her rose state to come out Gods knew where - Danger close, back left, 2 feet - he threw his entire body into a thrust, closing his eyes, trusting to his Aura. Now or never.

Jaune opened his eyes. The tip of his sword was resting against Ruby's throat, no Aura in the way. She was staring at him, eyes wide in disbelief.

"Ruby Rose has been eliminated, right at the buzzer! The score is 2-2! This bout ends in a tie!"

A/N: And I'm back! College is great, but damn if it isn't hard.

Story:Overall: This is definitely a setup chapter, lots of hooks throughout. Think of this as the arc 2 version of 'good and bad days'.

Bout overall/part 1: think of this as my replacement for the food fight, albeit with more tactics and actual relevance to the story.

Sun, neptune and penny: I am surprised every single time by how easy everything with Sun in it is to write, and Neptune thus far appears no different(yes, the explosions line was a nod to Better Left Unsaid).

Ruby/Weiss and Jaune/Pyrrha: Tactics are king, and this showcases the difference between Jaune and Ruby (and RWBY/JNPR)as tactical thinkers-Ruby's better at conscious improvisation, Jaune at using unconscious partnership.

Torchwick: I hope I did Neo justice.

Blake/Yang vs. Nora/Ren: Similar point to the first partner section, but with added emphasis on disguise and camouflage. Care to guess why?

Mercury/Emerald/Cinder: New character time! I honestly tried to stay pretty true to the show with them, since I really like what RWBY did with these three. Also, yes, that whole scoreboard discussion is plot-related, because of course it is.

End of the bout: Yes, Jaune's semblance goes weird on purpose. Yes, it has limits.

Please review!