14 - ||

A few moments earlier

I breathed in deeply, relishing in the crisp cool evening air as I walked towards the air strip, intent on watching the lights of the city below for a time while I waited for the stars to come out, keeping an ear open to track the conversation as it continued animatedly as it had been for the last few minutes after dinner.

I'd managed to get back in time, and after some frantic and truly epic struggling from all parties involved, managed to vanquish the beast from hell that Nora had managed to conjure up with her cooking, to the relief of everyone.

Well…

Almost everyone.

Nora pouted, some of the ingredients still stuck to her outfit as the rest of us tried not to laugh

"I mean c'mon. How does someone mess up a making a cookie that badly?" Sun asked with a chuckle, wiping a tear away from his eye as he did so.

A faint blush appeared on Nora's cheeks at that. "They were supposed to be pancakes." Nora mumbled, scuffing her shoes on the ground as she did so.

We all stopped at that. "Since when is a pancake supposed to look that…burnt?" Sage asked, one eyebrow raised inquisitively, genuinely curious as to the reasoning behind Nora's logic.

Nora perked up at that. "Well it all started when I added the red slush dust into the mid…"

I cut in, interrupting Nora before she got ahead of herself again. "For the last time Nora, dust is not to be used as an ingredient in any type of food." I said firmly, trying to make sure that it got through to our hammer wielding teammate this time around.

"EVER." Ren said bluntly, still more than a little peeved about the way he'd been knocked through a window when Nora's creation had used a screaming Scarlet as a projectile missile.

The others all nodded in agreement, save for Neptune who seemed to be coming down on Nora's side for this argument. "Oh come on, what about…" Neptune argued, trying to put forward his own opinion.

"Dude, your cousin Vulcan's molten chilli plate is not a good example of food." Sun countered, instantly shooting down Neptune's example if the stricken expression on his face was any indication.

"It's not that bad." Neptune said weakly, raising his arms as if trying to fend off some great blow.

"You can use it to strip paint off a wall!" Scarlet exclaimed, with a wave of his arms. "We literally used it to do that, remember!"

Oh yeah. I remember that.

Good times.

"Besides, even if the food didn't work out, it gave us a reason to give go out for noodles instead." I said consolingly, trying my best to cheer Nora up from her funk. "I really appreciated it after the match."

"Speaking of the match," Sun segued looking at me turning to look at me, walking backwards as he did so. "How the heck did you catch that arrow man?" Sun asked a wide grin on his face as he asked.

Ren nodded his own expression thoughtful. "I'm rather curious myself Jaune. I could you see you dodging it rather easily, but to catch it perfectly like that?"

I chuckled hesitantly, one hand coming up to scratch the back of my head. "I'm not quite sure, to tell you the truth." I admitted, going over the event again in my head.

"Okay then." Sage said calmly, the voice of reason of the group as always. "What do you remember happening? First thing that comes to mind."

"Alright." I said, trying to put it into words. "I guess I…saw the arrow." I said lamely.

"With your eyes closed." Scarlet said dryly, poking a rather large hole in my analogy.

I sighed. "Why do you think that I didn't bring it up?" I asked rhetorically, shaking my head as I did so.

The others laughed at that, having a bit fun with my dilemma.

All of them save Ren it seemed.

"Try it again." He said, his expression serious.

I looked at him quizzically. "What?" I asked, not quite sure what he was getting at.

Ren narrowed his eyes at me. "Try what you were doing before you saw the arrow, again." He elaborated, gesturing for me to attempt to do so.

I looked at Ren, incredulous but it seemed like he wasn't kidding about this.

Okay then.

Let's give it a shot.

I closed my eyes, trying to block out all distractions as I focused.

Okay Jaune, concentrate.

Think back to the fight.

What were you doing then?

Reach out with your senses.

Stretch them as far as you can go, then even further.

"Hey don't you think Jaune's face looks like he's constipated right now?" Sun suggested, a loud snigger following his question immediately afterwards.

"You know, I think I can see where you're coming from." Neptune's voice agreed, a laugh of his own breaking out quickly followed by the sound of the two of them high fiving.

I felt my one of my eyebrow's twitch dangerously as one hand tightened into a fist.

"Sage." I said firmly, my eyes still tightly closed.

"Got it." I heard him reply quickly followed by the sound of something crashing into the ground, no doubt Sun and Neptune after he cracked them over the back of the head with his fist.

"Thank you." I said appreciatively as the two troublemakers let out groans on the floor, Scarlet letting out a dry laugh of his own at the predicament his two teammates were in.

Okay Jaune enough fooling around.

You were there with Pyrrha.

Your eyes were closed.

And you reached out with your senses like tha…

"OH BLAST!" I swore, my eyes snapping open as I threw myself forward and tackled Sage and Scarlet to the ground, knocking the two unsuspecting targets to the ground with a cry of alarm from Scarlet and a muffled grunt from the more taciturn Sage.

In the corner of my eyes I saw Ren mirror my actions, knocking Nora to the floor. He couldn't have seen what I did so he must have assumed I had good reason for doing so.

And boy did I have a reason.

Then whatever it was I had felt coming zoomed over our heads, moving by so close that the wind shear would have knocked us off our feet if we hadn't have been pancaked by whatever that thing was in the first place.

It slammed into the ground with a sound like a dust crystal rupturing, grass and pavement sent flying as it skidded across the ground with a high pitch shriek of grinding metal before it finally came to a stop.

I raised my head, pushing myself off the ground as the members of team SSSN did the same. "Everyone okay?" I asked, looking for any obvious injuries that anyone might have picked up.

"We're fine." Scarlet said, brushing off his coat as he did so before draping it over his shoulders once, he turned towards whatever it was that had slammed into the ground and grimaced. "But they're not."

It was a dust-plane.

It looked like a bullhead only slightly bigger, as if it was designed to carry cargo rather than passengers.

And it looked like it had gone through the ringer, there were tears throughout the fuselage and the body of the vehicle, one of the turbines had been torn off completely in the landing while the remaining one was on fire, spewing thick black smoke all the while.

"Jaune!" Nora's voice called out, and I turned to see her pointing at my face. "You're bleeding."

I raised a hand, brushing under my nose where she was pointing and found fresh blood splashed across my fingers when I pulled them back.

That's new.

"I'm fine." I said, waving the others off before I turned my attention back towards the ship. "C'mon there might still be people inside that need help!" I called, Sun already leaping ahead of me, the rest of his team in close pursuit as we came up to the crashed plane.

"Scarlet, go get help, whoever they are they're going to need a medic." Sun yelled out, Scarlet peeling away from us to sprint towards the Academy proper.

The rest of us slid to a stop by the only door to the ship we could see, but it was sealed shut, no clear way of opening it visible from the outside.

I had no idea how to open it.

"Neptune tell us what we need to know." Sun commanded, falling into his role as leader of team SSSN.

Luckily, we knew someone who had been learning about every vehicle there is since he learned how to walk.

Neptune rubbed his chin, his eyes darting about as he scanned the wreckage for any clue he could use to help identify the craft before him. "Looks like a model BH-4702, with some aftermarket modifications if the engines are any indication." He walked up to the door, thumping a fist against it and listening for the sound it made. "Heavily reinforced, looks like a Rhodes package retrofit. The bulkhead seals itself to help reinforce hull integrity in the case of a crash landing, but to release it we need to cut through the deadbolts in one strike or they'll weld themselves in place." Neptune explained stepping away from the plane to make way.

"Sage, you're up." Sun ordered the largest member of team SSSN who stepped forward cricking his neck as he unsheathed his massive blade, holding it before him with both hands firmly grasped around the handle. "Neptune, give him a target."

Neptune bought out his rifle, the dust within it glowing with supressed power as he levelled it at the vehicle, one hand darting up to slide his goggles down over his eyes as he focused. "Slice vertically starting from the bottom and finishing at the top. On my mark."

"Mark."

Sage moved, his sword piercing through the reinforced metal of the bullhead as if it was water with the force of his swing, Neptune's blast following immediately after it and flooding into the newly provided opening, the energy flooding the electronics within.

There was a dull buzz and the previously seamlessly sealed door cracked open a fraction, not much but enough that I could force my fingers inside it and heave at it.

The door groaned in protest but didn't' budge, still locked into place, the crash clearly having knocked it out of its track.

Before I could ask for help I found the others hands all grasping the door, all of us heaving with all the strength we possessed, the metal groaning in further protest but still not budging.

"Alright screw this." I muttered pulling back from the door as Ren cursed under his breath.

This door wasn't budging anytime soon, not unless we get a lot stronger fast.

I looked up, a grin spreading across my face.

Idea.

"Neptune, shoot Nora." I ordered, pointing at the bubbly berserker of team JNPR.

"What are yo…?" Neptune said before he stopped, clearly remembering just what Nora's semblance was. "Got it."

He pulled his rifle off his back and without hesitating, shot Nora clean in the chest, the electricity rippling across her entire body.

Nora flexed, the electricity taking on a pink tinge as she powered up grabbing hold of the door and pulling with all the might granted by her semblance enhanced strength.

The door gave out its loudest protest yet before it finally came free, crashing to the ground with a heavy thud.

Smoke billowed forth from within and I found myself coughing, trying to force the tainted air away from within before my eyes opened wide in shock. "What the heck?" I breathed, unsure of what was just going on here.

The smoke wasn't coming from the fires of the failing engines having pierced the hull and reached the inside of the cabin. It was coming from what looked to be a tea pot, white smoke billowing out of it, although it seemed to be on its last legs, nearly run through.

The smoke, not the dark black of the rest of the crash was instead an off grey, almost white colour with a scent that was almost sweet to the senses.

"Euphoria." Sage murmured, a hand coming up to cover his nose and mouth. "Don't breathe it in. It causes one to relieve their happiest memoires, but traps the user within their own mind until the drug has run its course."

"Would explain why none of the people here are conscious." I replied, my own hand coming up to help shield my nose and mouth. I knelt down grabbing one of the dishevelled forms on the cabin floor and lifting them with a grunt. "Come on, let's get these people out. We don't know if this thing might reignite."

I walked slowly out of the ship, my progress slowed by my comatose passenger, only the slightest of movements in his chest showing any sign that the man was still alive, not responding whatsoever as I laid him down out of harms way before returning to the ship for another.

"Not my best landing," A voice coughed behind me and I turned to see a redheaded woman stagger out of the cockpit, blood streaming across her temple and a broken gas mask hanging loosely from her neck. "But not my worst either." She said with a chuckle before grimacing, a hand moving to clutch at her ribs, her legs crumpling beneath her.

I moved, catching her before she fell, another low hiss being let out by the woman I'm presuming was the pilot of this ship. "Easy now. What happened to you?" I asked helping to lift her out of the vessel's interior and into the clear air of Beacon.

"The Grimm. Attacked the town. Overran the defences. Got out who I could but we crashed. Euphoria to…" The woman's voice trailed off, her head lolling to the side.

I placed her on the ground, my hand coming up to her neck trying to find a pulse, desperately hoping that she hadn't just died in my arms.

Nothing.

Wait!

It's there!

It's faint, but it's still there.

A strong hand pushed me aside and I found Sage now in front of the unconscious woman, having just dropped off an armful of unresponsive passengers. "I'll do what I can to stabilize her until help arrives, go help Sun and Neptune bring in the last of them."

I nodded, leaving the woman in Sage's capable hands as I ran back to the downed ship, the fumes from the remaining engine now more than twice as thick as they had been moments ago.

We didn't have much time.

"Jaune!" I heard Sun's voice cry out from inside the ship. "I'm going to need a hand here, this guy's heavy."

I stepped into the ship to find the faunas struggling to lift a tall man from where he lay, face down on the ground, a series of crimson stains on his clothes indicative of the wounds he must have received. I grabbed the man's left arm, Sun grabbing his right.

"Alright on three." I informed Sun. "Three!" We both heaved and with a groan managed to lift the man up, his feet still dragging lightly on the floor behind him.

"How can someone be this heavy?" Sun complained, as we dragged the passenger out of the ship, one slow step at a time.

"Just think of it as carrying Sage." I suggested, biting back a grunt of my own. "Muscle weighs more than fat remember?"

We finally reached the others, Neptune laying down two small children onto the grass, their small forms covered in soot as Sun and I slowly lowered the wounded man down to the ground.

"You got him?" Sun asked, nodding his head towards our latest rescue. I nodded my head in return and Sun let go and turned back, sprinting towards the downed ship once more to see if there were any remaining passengers.

I grabbed onto one side of the wounded man's body, taking care to avoid anywhere where his clothes were stained with blood to avoid aggravating the wounds that were no doubt beneath them. I heaved, pulling him onto his side to try and put him into the recovery position when I froze after seeing the man's face. "Cobalt?" I whispered in shock, not expecting this in the slightest.

What the heck is then deputy sheriff of Dragon's Passing doing here?

Wait was the town that the pilot was talking about Dragon's Passing?

They were overtaken?

How?

Wait a second.

If Cobalt's here, than that must mean Lin is here too!

I turned going to call out for Sage, to try and get his help in stabilising the injured deputy when a fist seized me by the front of my jacket, pulling me down towards the ground.

Cobalt was awake, his breathing ragged, his eyes barely open. But when he locked eyes with me I found I couldn't even open my mouth to speak such was the force behind them. "It's coming." Cobalt whispered, his eyes trying to convey to me the severity of what he was saying.

I could see him try to say more, to force himself to stay conscious. But his eyes rolled back into his head as he collapsed back down onto the cold ground, his hand falling limply from where it had been clutching onto me.

Sage was still busy with the pilot so that left…

"Ren! Going to need your help over here." I called out loudly, trying to draw his attention towards me.

Ren slid to a stop before me and I witnessed his eyes widen in shock as he recognised just who it was comatose on the ground before him. "What do you want me to do?" He asked, dropping down so as to better examine the deputy.

"This is beyond my admittedly meagre medical expertise." I admitted freely, at a loss for what to do next. "And since Sage is busy, you're the closest thing we have to a medic at this point."

Ren looked at me for a moment, seemingly conflicted for a moment before it passed and he placed a hand over Cobalt's body, resting it over the centre of his chest. He closed his eyes focusing and I could make out a faint pink glow in the darkness, moving from my teammate's arm and into the injured deputy's body.

Ren pulled back his hand, panting, seeming as if he had run a marathon after whatever it was he had done. "I managed to slow the internal bleeding, but he's already lost too much as it is." He panted, his arms shaking as he did so. "He doesn't have enough energy left to survive anything else I could do."

I blinked.

What the heck had just happened here?

Had Ren just healed a guy by touching him?

I thought he might have had some mystic kung fu remedy stuff, but to heal internal damage with a freaking touch?

This was beginning to sound like something out of the stories that I'd read to the kids.

"Over here!" I heard Scarlet's voice call out and I looked up to see him sprinting towards us, Peter at his side making large leaping strides, that crossed the same distance with one bound that Scarlet would make with two steps of his own. Trailing behind them were medical personnel with the loud siren I'd learned to associate with Vale's emergency services vehicles, no doubt one of their airships making their way up towards the crash site.

I felt something bump into me and I looked down to see Ren, collapsed at my side, dead to the world as he breathed in and out.

I'm guessing that took more than a little out of him. "Ren, c'mon buddy, wake up." I said, shaking him lightly, trying to get him to wake up again.

Now was not a good time to be unconscious.

"Cobalt." I heard a familiar voice exclaim in surprise and I turned to see Peter standing before us, somehow having outpaced Scarlet by a good distance. Peter's gaze turned towards me and I found myself frozen beneath the pressure that followed it. "Did he say anything?" He asked, his voice faint but still somehow overpowering the cacophony of sounds that was taking place around us.

I sat there for a moment, stunned into silence before I shook myself going to answer the question. "He said that 'It's coming', whatever it is." I replied still unsure as to what the deputy could have meant by 'it'.

I mean, didn't exactly narrow the field down now did it?

But still.

What the blazes could have been able to take out Cobalt and presumably Lin like this?

I felt a hand clap heavily on my arm and looked up to see Peter by my side, a very serious expression on his face. "I think it's time for you to retire for the night, Jaune my boy." Peter said quietly but at the same time unmistakably firmly. "I've already sent your friends on their way."

I opened my mouth, going to say something, anything only to find myself silenced by the look that appeared on Peter's face.

I swallowed instinctively.

Well.

That's going to live in my nightmares for the next few months.

I hefted Ren onto my shoulders, nodding politely to Peter before I made for the dorms with all the speed that I could muster.

Not because I wanted to go to bed.

No sir.

Because I wanted to get as far as physically possible away from whatever the blazes had possessed Peter Port before it decided to tear out my spleen and make me eat it.

Before I'd even realised it I found myself staggering through the door to our dorm room, Ren lightly snoring from his positon over my shoulder.

I walked forward those last few steps, dropping Ren onto his bed letting out a groan of relief as I did so, Nora already fast asleep sprawled out over her own bed.

I grabbed a blanket, draping it over the sleeping form of my teammate, stretching out after I did so before wincing, biting back a curse that was fighting to come out.

Urgh.

That's going to be sore in the morning.

The door swung open once more and I turned to see Pyrrha walking in, looking just as dead to the world as I was at this point.

"Pyrrha." I greeted, raising a hand tiredly to give an acknowledging wave as she walked in only for her to completely ignore me, seemingly unaware of my presence. "Pyrrha!" I said louder, trying to get her attention.

My partner jumped and spun, her breathing panicked, her emerald eyes wide open as they darted around the room before they caught sight of me and she calmed. "Oh hi, Jaune." She said dully, sounding utterly spent.

I stepped forward concerned, ignoring my own fatigue as I tried to figure out what had occurred. "Are you alright Pyrrha?" I asked plainly, too tired for anything other than the direct approach. "Everything go alright with Ozpin?"

"Yes." Pyrrha responded shortly before yawning in an exaggerated manner, arms stretching out wide as she did so. "Well, I'm exhausted. Goodnight Jaune."

Before I could get a word in edgewise Pyrrha clambered into her bed and under the covers, her armour shooting out of it moments later with some assistance from her semblance to be stacked neatly at the foot of her bed.

Part of me wanted to go over to Pyrrha, to try and talk to her, to figure out whatever had so clearly rattled her this badly.

The rest of me however was asleep and was quickly subduing the remaining fraction with ease.

I sat down onto my bed, casually pulling the sheets up, my armour thankfully already having been taken off before we'd gone out for a bite to eat.

My eyes closed, the lids coming down despite any commands to the contrary before I gave up the fight and surrendered to the embrace of sleep.

Peter sighed, rubbing his moustache with a sigh. Well, at least he knew why the ship hadn't shown up on any of the scanners.

She was a smuggler.

A good one at that.

But one with a heart of gold so it seemed.

She'd used her cargo, which would have gotten here more than a tidy profit for her, to save the passengers, the Euphoria rendering them not only unconscious but causing them to relive their happiest memories.

Thus preventing the Grimm from following the outpouring of sadness, shock and despair that likely would have followed in the wake of the destruction of Dragon's Passing.

And that was a whole other kettle of fish.

"Peter." Ozpin's voice greeted and he turned to see the headmaster of Beacon coming to a stop before the crashed ship. "What can you tell me?"

Peter gathered himself and went over the facts he had amassed mentally before he began speaking. "From what I can gather as well as the shocked mutterings of those that managed to shake off the Euphoria this ship was carrying the only survivors of Dragon's Passing."

Ozpin paused at that, seeing the size of the ship and no doubt making the same calculations Port had as well. "So few."

"Apparently this was the last ship to leave, and they crashed shortly after take-off." Peter revealed eyeing the devastated fuselage as he did so. "But by some miracle they survived that and managed to fly all the way here. But I've got no idea what happened to the ships that left first."

Ozpin placed a hand on his shoulder reassuringly. "We'll find them. But for now you need to get some rest, the finals are starting bright and early tomorrow morning."

Peter fixed Ozpin with a piercing stare at that before sighing, acquiescing to his command.

Besides, it wouldn't do for one of the commentators to fall asleep at his desk now would it?

I fought off the urge to yawn, my eyes still feeling bleary as I stumbled out of the section of the arena they'd set aside for food.

Ridiculously expensive freaking food.

Since when did a freaking cookie cost that much?

I could have used that money to buy ingredients and make a hundred damn cookies!

My stomach gurgled at me, audibly expressing its profoundly empty state.

But then again, that would take time, and I'm hungry now so here I am.

"Hey there Jaune!" A voice said brightly from my side, nearly causing me to jump out of my sleep deprived skin as it did so. "Here to wish me luck?"

I let out a dry laugh at that. "If by 'you' you're referring to Pyrrha, then sure, I'm here to wish you luck." I said with a grin, still idly wrestling with the packaging for this blasted cookie. "Seriously though, kick some ass out there mittens." I finished raising a hand to fist bump.

"Way ahead of you vomit boy." Yang replied with a cheery smile, her fist coming forward to meet mine solidly. Yang started making her way down to the arena floor before she called over her shoulder towards me again. "And thanks for the food!"

I furrowed my brow at that.

What did she mean b…?

I looked down, catching sight of the suddenly empty plastic wrapping that had previously held a coolie that I had been waiting in a line for too god damn long for.

"Give me back my cookie, Yang!" I roared, bounding down the stairs after the laughing blonde brawler.

"Hey it's not my fault you're cracker-lackin!" She cried back, the look on her face making it clear this was another one of her frankly horrendous puns.

"Yes, it very clearly is!" I roared back, going to follow after her before sliding to a stop before the Atlas security droids guarding the entrance to the stage.

Yang safely beyond my reach threw up a peace sign with one hand as she devoured my cookie with the other, the look in her eyes one of victory.

I narrowed my eyes at her, internally swearing sweet hilarious vengeance for this most grievous of misdeeds.

Maybe I should tell Ruby.

She'd be sure to side with me in a case of cookie-theft.

Oh the blackmail I could collect from her on her dear darling sister…

I refrained the urge to laugh maniacally.

Vengeance would be mine!

But first, time to re-join the rest of my friends in the best seats in the house!

I made my way back to the student's stands walking down those final few stairs before moving along the sides, giving an acknowledging nod to the members of team SSSN and RWBY that I passed in front of to reclaim my seat between Ruby and Nora, sitting down with a relaxed sigh.

Nora turned to look at me, a strange look on her face. "What happened to your cookie?" She asked, her head cocking quizzically to the side.

I twitched, one hand snapping into a fist unconsciously. "Yang stole it." I said bluntly, my stomach growling loudly to express its own displeasure on the turn of events.

I felt Ruby patting me consolingly. "There, there." She said, continuing to pat me as if I was Zwei more than anything else. "I too know the pain of that sticky fingered blond snatching perfection out of my hands."

I bit back a laugh at that, even as Blake smirked lightly and Weiss tried to hide her smile behind her hand.

I turned my attention towards the centre of the arena as the floodlights switched on, illuminating the area in incredibly bright light.

Standing there were the eight selected fighters for the one on one portion of the tournament. Yang stood on the far left, Ember Cecilia out and ready as she smiled confidently for the camera. It blurred to the right moving past a series of rather unfamiliar faces as well as four other familiar ones. Sun was there, irreverent as always as always as he shifted from one foot to the other, both his hands tugging on his shirt, seemingly bored by the waiting.

Then at the far end there was Penny, her expression blank as she stood beside Mercury who stood rather lazily beside her, his arms loose, moving through the air like limp spaghetti.

And at the very end stood Pyrrha.

My partner.

Who was clutching at her armour with one hand, looking very much unsettled, just as she had been since last night.

I narrowed my eyes.

Just what the blazes had happened when she met Ozpin yesterday?

Whatever it was, it had thrown Pyrrha for a loop, and it showed.

"Now, for the moment you've all been waiting for!" Peter's voice boomed from the speakers, the words echoing throughout the coliseum. "The one-on-one finals!"

The crowd erupted into cheers, throwing their hands up into the air, expressing their joy and excitement for what was to come.

On the screen displaying the view within the commentators' box, having waited for the cheers from the audience to die down, Peter turned to face his fellow staff member. "Barty, why don't you explain the rules?" He asked, playing it up for the crowd.

"Ah it's quite simple, Peter." Doctor Oobleck nodded towards Peter in thanks. "Instead of a bracket system, each round of the finals will be randomly determined immediately before the match takes place!" he explained, wildly gesticulating as he did so.

I let out a low whistle at that.

No preparation whatsoever before you face your opponent.

So you had to be ready to fight any of the other finalists at the drop of a hat.

Looks like the tournament's kicking the difficulty up a notch.

Oh, they're still talking pay attention Jaune.

"Now, let's see who our first match will be!" Doctor Oobleck concluded, pointing at the screen dramatically.

As soon as he finished his proclamation the roulette reels appeared on the giant screens above the arena, blurring through the eight faces with tremendous speed before they finally began to slow. The one on the left stopped first, displaying Mercury's mug shot in front of the emblem for Haven Academy.

Looks like Mercury's up first.

This'll be interesting.

If the doubles round proved anything it's that he's been pulling his punches or rather kicks in his earlier matches. I'm interested to see how much of a difference there is when he's going all out.

The reel on the right slowed to a stop, revealing a familiar face staring back down at me.

Yang Xiao Long.

"Yang Xiao Long and Mercury Black!" Peter announced rambunctiously, his cheerful voice filling the arena once more.

I let out a breath.

Hoo boy.

This one's going to be an absolute slug fest, I can guess that much.

I heard Ruby yell at some form of encouragement for her sister but I ignored it, my thoughts still troubling me.

Two close range fighters slugging it out in the centre of the arena is sure to be a thrilling match for anyone watching.

But at the same time…

I was worried.

Yang may be a close quarter's fighter, but if my spar against her and her previous matches were any indication, she wasn't as good as defending against kicks as she was punches.

And Mercury's fighting style focused almost entirely on kicks.

That and Mercury always seemed to be just one step ahead of everyone else. It could have just been skill but something about him just seemed…off…to me.

And the feeling was becoming steadily more apparent as I witnessed more of him in the matches.

"Would all other combatants please leave the stage!" Peter's voice commanded from the speakers, the excitement of the crowd ramping up in preparation for the match to come.

The other finalists departed from centre stage, leaving the two fighters alone in the centre, Yang walking forward to stand beside her opponent.

The stage shifted, the outer quadrants pulling away, only leaving the centremost panel of the coliseum remaining. This section then extended up into the air, a clear separation between it and the rest of the arena now clear to see.

I saw spotlights swivel on their hinges overhead before turning on, beams of light being directed onto centre stage, all attention being naturally drawn towards it.

I saw Yang and Mercury talking briefly but whatever it was they were saying was drowned out in the roar of the crowd.

"Three!" Peter's voice boomed out, the crowd shouting out alongside him.

Both fighters hands came up into tight guards, no slacking off from either side as they both edged closer, closing the distance between them with every step.

"Two!"

They were even closer now, their hands almost touching as neither side ceased their advance towards the other.

"One! Begin!"

The instant the fight started Yang reared back, her arm winding up for a heavy blow, just as Mercury leapt up, body twisting as his legs lashed out, the fist and boot clashing into each other with a dual exchange, the sound of gunfire echoing throughout the arena as a shockwave erupted from the point of impact, sending both fighters backwards, the airborne Mercury more so than Yang.

Mercury sprinted forward lashing out with a leaping kick that Yang gracefully flipped over before firing a projectile from Ember Cecilia at Mercury that he swiftly spun to avoid, his arm clashing against Yang's own.

I felt my eyebrows rise as I witnessed Mercury engage Yang purely in hand to hand combat, and match her, the furious exchange between the two of them ending with a duel impact sending the both of them staggering backwards once more.

Looks like he hasn't been slacking with his arms either. He just hasn't had to use them for the previous matches.

I'm not quite sure if that bodes positively or negatively for Yang.

Yang slammed her hands into the ground, turning her backwards tumble into a controlled flip, while Mercury simply kicked out with his legs, a blast of air sending him flipping backwards to land gracefully on his feet.

Yang unleashed a flurry of projectiles at her opponent but Mercury made use of that same blurring speed he'd used so effectively in the duo's matches, sliding out of the way of her attacks before he propelled himself forward, flipping through the air to make his next attack even more powerful.

Yang saw it coming and locked her guard, successfully blocking the powerful axe kick before it crashed into her. She pushed him backwards, Ember Cecelia whipping out in an attempt to shoot the speedster from point blank range only for him to duck under it, the projectile whistling over his head.

Then his boot lashed up, snapping into Yang's chin with such force that it seemed more like an uppercut than a kick, the force behind it causing Mercury to flip casually through the air, landing in a crouch, smirking. Yang on the other hand had been hit cleanly but from the way she landed, I'd say she wasn't out of the fight yet.

She thrust both of her arms behind her, firing her weapon and propelling herself forward after Mercury, seeking to make this an ultra-close range fight once more. She lashed out with a vicious combo, Ember Cecelia firing the whole time, peppering the blocking mercury with a series of glancing blows, but no clean connections.

Yang then changed up her strategy, lashing out with a spin kick only for Mercury to meet her strike with an identical one of his own, before his foot lashed out again, shoving the off balance huntress backwards, lashing out with a flipping axe kick which would have slammed into the blonde brawler had she not rolled out of the way in time.

"He's moving even faster than the last match." Ren noted, his expression one of utter focus as he examined the fight. "And his aim has improved as well."

I flicked my eyes over towards him. "You think he's still holding back?"

Ren shrugged. "Wouldn't surprise me at this point."

I turned back to witness Mercury slamming his boot into the ground, the reinforced steel of the platform deforming and shattering beneath the force of the strike.

Nora let out a frustrated sound. "It just doesn't make sense!" She exploded, throwing her hands up into the air.

"What doesn't make sense?" I asked, intent on figuring out what Nora was going on about.

"His boots! They're not working like they should be." Nora continued, her frustration still clear to see. "He's fired at least half a dozen rounds at this point yet the bullets surrounding his weapon haven't even shifted."

"How does one fire without using the bullets?" Ren pondered, thinking on the conundrum Nora had provided.

I went to reply when the conflict in the arena started up once more and our conversation was cut short as we returned our attention towards it.

They stepped forward again clashing once more, but it seemed as if Yang was getting the hang of Mercury's kicks, the blonde ducking and weaving out of the way of the attacks before she leapt forward, an uppercut stunning him before a projectile enhanced elbow smashed into the centre of Mercury's chest, sending him tumbling backwards.

The teen from Haven was quick to force his feet down, intent on not sliding off the edge of the stage, but his opponent was quicker, a lightning fast one-two jabs sending a series of shimmering red projectiles chasing after the back flipping Mercury before one caught him centre mass, the resulting explosion sending him tumbling off centre stage.

That was it!

Yang had just won the match!

But then Mercury's legs lashed out like he was kicking the air and a visible explosion of air roared out of his boots, sending him rocketing back up to centre stage, rotating through the air rapidly before he landed with a crouch.

So its official, he can literally jump off nothing, changing his trajectory near instantly in the process.

Looks like he just went a few more notches on the dangerous list.

Mercury kicked it up a notch, his feet lancing out with a series of unbelievably fast kicks assaulting every angle, even knocking aside both of Yang's gauntlets when they came up for another attempt at shooting him.

The kick based fighter let out a roar as his latest kick slammed into Yang's guard, and despite her defence Yang found herself blasted off her feet by Mercury's projectile assisted strike, but it seemed the speedster wasn't content to leave it at that. His leg lashed out like a scythe, a whistling projectile just like the ones I'd witnessed him use in the match against team CFVY hurtling at her, Yang juking to the side at the last moment.

There was silence for a moment before Mercury bought a leg up and began rapidly snapping kicks off into the air, spinning as he did so, seemingly aiming at every direction, the whistling projectiles being fired constantly by Mercury's boots with every new kick.

At first I was questioning the sanity of Mercury's plan at first glance but as the time drew on I saw that the projectiles weren't progressing in a straight linear path.

Instead they were circling around the arena, almost as if they were waiting for the right moment too attack.

The crowd let out a loud ooh and I turned to see Yang's body soaring up into the air, one of Mercury's kicks having snaked its way through her guard.

He leapt up after her, spinning in the air before one of his legs crashed into Yang's airborne form, sending her plummeting like a meteor to crash painfully into the arena's floor.

Then I spotted the pseudo-tornado shift, the dozens upon dozens of projectiles that made it up drastically altering their course, all of them slamming down into the defenceless form of Yang Xiao Long.

I winced as I witnessed it, one eye flicking up to keep an eye on Yang's aura levels as the other kept a close eye on the still ongoing match.

"C'mon Yang, get up." I murmured, hoping my friend was still conscious after that incredible assault.

Looks like Mercury's a firm believer of the 'there's no kill like overkill' philosophy.

The crowd roared its approval of the visually stunning technique, as Mercury walked away from the downed Yang, casually brushing off his pants with his hands before doing the same to his right shoulder.

I smirked.

My eyes flicking up to the screen revealing Yang's still present aura.

Fight's not over yet bucko.

A conflagration of flame erupted around Yang, the young huntress standing firmly on her feet once more, arms outstretched. She slammed Ember Cecelia together her once lilac eyes now taken on an angry crimson hue.

And it looks like Yang just activated her semblance.

She surged forward with a furious battle cry, her right fist slamming into Mercury's block with enough force it sent him skidding backwards despite it. Yang charged forward again but Mercury was by no means staying on the defensive, lashing out with a series of scything kicks that the gauntlet wielder dodged smoothly, before casually raising one arm and stopping his next kick cold.

Looks like Mercury just lost his strength advantage.

Sucks to be him.

Yang didn't hesitate, laying into Mercury with a combo of continuous heavy strikes, the same as the one she had used in her spar against me all those weeks ago. And I found myself wincing sympathetically as I watched the teen from Haven be bounced around like a ball between Yang's fists, Mercury's aura visibly breaking before one final blow sent him crashing into the ground, the buzzer signifying the end of the match sounding out loudly.

"What a way to start the finals!" Peter's voice boomed out, the crowd roaring its approval and satisfaction in the fight nearly making it impossible to hear myself think, let along Peter's words.

I saw Yang sigh, closing her eyes before opening them once more to reveal her regular coloured eyes. She pumped a fist into the air in celebration, the roars of the crows only escalating further in response.

"Yang Xiao Long Wins!" Doctor Oobleck announced, a large red cross appearing over Mercury's face, the entirely empty aura gage making it clear that he'd lost this match. The upraised platform began retracting, sinking back down to join the rest of the arena once more.

I started clapping loudly, wanting to show my support of my friend after winning such a hard fought battle, I could see Ruby and Nora cheering loudly, their words lost in the crowds jubilation.

I didn't blame them.

That was one heck of a fight.

Suddenly I saw Mercury charge at Yang, aiming a vicious kick at her back.

I went to call out a warning but it seemed Yang caught onto the intentions of her opponent, turning just in time to see the kick sailing towards her.

Yang scowled her arm bringing her gauntlet down with a powerful hammer blow slamming into Mercury's attacking leg, Ember Cecilia firing as she did so.

Mercury hit the ground with a scream, his leg bent at a very painful, very unnatural looking angle as he clutched at his injury, rocking back and forth as he did so.

Gasps of shock were heard from all around me before the crowd erupted, cries of horror, disgust and condemnation now flowing freely, boos and jeers ringing down from every part of the arena.

"My word!" Doctor Oobleck exclaimed, standing up from his seat in shock.

"Cut the cameras." Peter ordered someone off screen, trying to take control of the situation once more.

I saw Yang saying something to the still screaming Mercury as he lay on the floor when I saw Atlesian Knights make their way onto the field, accompanied by two soldiers, most likely to remove the disqualified Mercury from the field.

Until they encircled and pointed their weapons at her instead, shouting commands at her.

What the?

"She defended herself! What the heck are they doing?" I exclaimed, at a loss by what I was seeing in front of me.

I turned to my side to talk to my teammates only to see Nora horrified by my side, her face pale as she clutched at Ren's arm who was looking just as dumbstruck.

I turned towards the other to see Ruby's hands clutching her cheeks, clearly distraught and the rest of her teammates just as horrified.

"What do you mean defended herself?" Ren asked me, sounding confused as to what I had just said.

"I mean she…" I began turning back towards the arena only for my words to die in my mouth as I witnessed something.

On the screen above the arena, a video was playing, a replay of what had just happened.

It showed Yang casually circling Mercury from when she'd downed him, the kick-based fighter slowly making his way to his feet.

Then without warning, the Yang on the screen spun, her arm drawing back to slam her fist into the clearly unsuspecting Mercury's leg, sending him crashing to the ground with a expression of agonised confusion

That…

That was not what happened.

The crowd's outbursts only seemed to pick up after the replay, the jeers and cries of contempt filling the arena.

I turned around, looking at the others beside me and the crowd behind me, trying to see if anyone else had witnessed what I had, had seen Yang countering a cowardly attack from Mercury.

"Jaune?" Ren asked, and I turned to face him, the dumbstruck look melting off his face to leave something far more serious in its place. "What did you see?"

I looked at the scene taking place in the centre of the arena, Yang clearly confused as to what had just happened surrounded by Atlas forces, Mercury on the ground with his partner Emerald by his side, about to be carted off by the medical team to receive treatment for his leg.

I scowled.

"Smoke." I said bluntly, watching as Yang was taken into custody. "But no fire."

INTERLUDE

The mood within Ozpin's office was especially grim, the two headmasters having met up as soon as they were able after the disaster that had occurred during the broadcast of the first match of the Vytal Festival.

It was quite a bloody mess.

And that was putting it mildly.

"The movements of the Grimm have calmed down, for now." Ozpin stated, his eyes taking note of the information displayed on the series of screens before him before he dismissed them, turning his attention back towards Ironwood.

"For now." The General agreed, running a hand through his hair before sighing. "Not what I was expecting for the first one on one match of the tournament."

"Agreed." Ozpin said shortly, his hands coming together and steepling just below his nose, clearly deep in thought.

The broadcast of one of his students attacking an unarmed defenceless opponent had caused a rapid increase in negative emotions among the population, not only in Vale but across all of Remnant as the televised match was viewed across all four kingdoms thanks to the CCT.

This negativity in turn had caused a new swell in Grimm attacks, the defences of the kingdoms as well as most of the major outposts under siege by roving hordes of Grimm, drawn towards the emotions that had been given off by the civilians.

But this could not afford to happen again.

"Obviously what happened out there can't happen again." Ironwood stated clearly, making his thoughts on the matter known. "What the hell was that girl thinking pulling that stunt?"

"She may not have been." Ozpin said quietly, his tone quiet as he did so. "We won't know for sure until Tob checks on his lead."

Ironwood snorted. "If, and that is a big if, mind you," The general started gesturing with a finger as he did so, "the girl is in fact, somehow innocent in all this, it still doesn't matter. We need to stop this from happening."

Ozpin raised an eyebrow, unperturbed by James' theatrics. "And just what would you suggest then James?"

"What we need is to have someone down there to intervene." Ironwood said authoritatively. "Someone to prevent this kind of thing from happening again. We'll say they're a judge, I'll do it if need be."

Ozpin shook his head. "It can't be you James. A headmaster judging fights that his own students will be in?" Ozpin pursed his lips. "It'd look too much like bias no matter how you judged them."

"Are you saying you don't think I ca…" Ironwood started leaping up from his chair, clearly insulted by what his colleague had said before he was forcefully shoved back into it by an unseen force.

"Don't you start Jimmy." Tob's voice growled out from the doorway, his wheelchair bound form rolling in moments later. "We all know you'd do it fairly. But it doesn't matter what we think now do we?" He asked pointedly.

Ironwood stood there for a moment before the realization came to him and he raised a hand to hold his face. "The crowd." He said quietly, clearly imagining what would be going through their heads if he acted as a judge.

An Atlas official intruding in what had been widely regarded as utterly neutral ground, in such a way that the whole world would be privy to it?

It wouldn't end well, the resulting upsurge of negative emotions no doubt inciting another rise in Grimm attacks worldwide.

"What did you and Geppeto find out Tob?" Ozpin asked, clearly wanting to know more details about what had caused this debacle to occur.

Tob grunted, cracking his neck as he came to a stop, turning his chair to face the two respective leaders. "She got whammied."

Ozpin sighed, sinking his head into his hands while James looked utterly shocked. "How could that be possible?" James asked, baffled by this revelation. "Maybe she was drugged, some kind of hallucinogenic?"

Tob shook his head negatively. "According to Geppeto the blood works are clean, tox is negative too."

"Then how?"

Tob bought forward his scroll tapping it and bringing forward a close up of Yang moments before she assaulted the defenceless Mercury. "She's focusing on something. But it's not where the kid is." He said gruffly, Yang's eyes clearly focusing on a point much higher in the air than where Mercury was standing. "As far as she's thinking, she's defending herself."

Ironwood looked at the video for a few minutes before frowning. "That isn't what I saw on the feed."

A loud grunt came from Tob at that. "Yeah. That's part of the problem." He said vaguely before continuing on. "The feed I've got came from Geppeto, he was there watching the fight and I know he's got better vision than anyone else here because of his tech. Thing is, none of the other feeds show this."

There was silence for a moment before Ozpin leant forward. "They've been tampered with?" Ozpin asked seriously, the knowledge that someone could have moved past their security so thoroughly more than a tad foreboding at this point. "Why wouldn't it not show up on Geppeto's?"

Tob went to answer before Ironwood cut him off. "Because as far as they're concerned they were the only recording devices there. It's not as if it looks anything like a camera in the first place does it?" Ironwood asked rhetorically, his brow furrowed deep in thought.

"And as a result we've got video of a lass mutilating her defenceless opponent in what was supposed to be a peaceful spar, projected live across the kingdoms." Tob spat out, running a hand through his white hair as he did so. "I'm betting that didn't bring an upwelling of positive emotions from anyone viewing it."

So, it was official then.

Someone was trying to hijack the tournament, turn what was supposed to be a day of joy and celebration into the complete opposite, for as of yet unknown but no doubt nefarious reasons.

But at the same time they couldn't allow the tournament to be cancelled.

To do so would bring about a panic the likes of which their shadowy adversary couldn't even dream of into existence.

A rock and a hard place.

So the tournament had to take place

But at the same time without someone there to stop what happened to Yang from occurring again all they were doing was inciting further problems to occur.

They needed someone there to intervene, someone that everyone knew to be fair and above all impartial, not part of any of the various councils or academies. Someone that everyone had heard of, that was respected by all levels of society, someone that was beyond the possibility of reproach.

Someone like…

"I'll do it." Tob grunted his voice cutting through the silence between them all. "I'll be your referee."

Ironwood stood there, stunned by Tob's declaration.

True Tob would serve as perfect judge, more than perfect even, his renown would hopefully help draw attention away from the girl's actions on the previous fight as they turned their focus to him.

But at the same time…

"Are you sure, old friend?" Ozpin asked quietly, looking up from his desk to stare into Tob's eyes. "Once you do this, you'll be back in the spotlight once more. And I don't think you'll be able to slip away from it this time."

Tob shrugged. "Not much I can do about that now can I?" He asked rhetorically, before he turned his attention towards the General. "Any news from the survivors of Dragon's Passing?"

Ironwood grimaced, clearly not pleased with what he had gathered. "Nothing useful." He admitted, shaking his head. "None of the passengers that are awake actually saw the thing, apparently Lin was engaging it throughout the entire siege, trying to keep it away from them."

"And Cobalt?" Ozpin inquired, wanting to learn the fate of the one of the only people who were sure to have seen the attacker.

"He's alive, barely." Ironwood replied, bringing up the medical chart for the man in question on his scroll, looking through it briefly for any new facts. "He'd lost a great deal of blood, either from the battle, the crash or some combination of the two. Until he heals up, we're not getting any answers from him about Dragon's Passing."

"And with the upswell in Grimm activity we can't afford to send anyone out to check." Ozpin finished, frowning lightly as he did so.

Tob scowled, feeling the urge drink right about now.

He had a bad feeling about this.

INTERLUDE II

Within the broken shell that was once the bustling town of Dragon's Passing there remained only one thing standing.

The same thing that had rendered this place into a necropolis, the last of its wounds sliding shut revealing a pristine form once more.

REPAIRS COMPLETE

WEAPONS TEST RESULTS: ACCEPTABLE

CONSENSUS ACHIEVED

PROCEEDING TO PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: ELIMINATION OF JAUNE ARC

Then, with a sound akin to a rocket blasting off the destroyer of Dragon's Passing soared into the air on a one way trip to its destination.

Beacon Academy.