The following day was another boring class. But they were yet again given homework and the rest of the day to do what they want. This time, they would actually get some training done.
Team ANVL and team RWBY joined together after class and lunch and went to their secret training spot.
After they arrived it was decided that they needed to know what specifically they have to train. And what better way than sparring with each other?
It was clear that Pyrrha and Alabast were superior fighters so they were deemed 'bosses' the others would band together to defeat.
The first team that was decided on was Ruby and Weiss. Much to Weiss' annoyance and concern, but she was the one that decided to become a better teammate. She just didn't expect to have to put that to the test so soon.
Ren would have joined them, but he already knew what he had to train. And he didn't want to fight Pyrrha since he already knew the outcome.
The fight was over faster than anyone expected. Or than anyone would have liked to admit.
Pyrrha single-handedly wiped the floor with Weiss and Ruby. They couldn't touch her with their weapons and Pyrrha either dodged or blocked their dust shots. Ruby was fast but predictable and Weiss had perfect form but it was repetitive and predictable. Pyrrha didn't really even need to use her semblance. Ruby and Weiss had little teamwork, mostly because Pyrrha wouldn't let them have the chance to make a plan and she would mess with any plans they did make.
Alabast was very amused by the rather short fight. It was fast paced and lots of things happened, but watching the fight he realized his team was looking very good already.
He knew that Nora can take a hit and hit things hard. Ren… well Ren was more of an all-rounder and didn't specialize in anything. He was levelheaded, had good technique, disciplined, and his Semblance was more oriented towards Grimm than people.
After the fight Ruby and Weiss were panting and resting on the ground. Ruby sprawled out like she was about to make a snow angel and Weiss simply sitting on the ground. Pyrrha gave them solid advice on how to improve while also helping them back up to their feet.
Next was Alabast's turn.
He decided that he would get a bit serious. Because it was decided he had to fight Yang, Blake, and Nora. He was confident that if he tried a bit he would win.
Alabast knew that Yang would certainly charge in first and planned accordingly.
He held Nights Fall in his right hand.
"3"
"2"
Ren counts down to signal the start.
"1"
Alabast doesn't move right away. He knows a little bit about his opponents and Blake is the only cautious one. Yang and Nora prefer to charge fist and hammer first into a fight while leaving caution to their teammates.
Before anything else can happen, Yang charges towards Alabast. She fires off rounds behind her to propel her through the air towards her target.
Alabast predicted something like this would happen.
Yang throws a haymaker with her right fist, hoping to finish this fight before it can even start. She heard Nora brag about Alabast's strength, and she saw him defend against the Death Stalker when it first appeared. But she is fully confident in her strength.
As Yang is about to hit Alabast she can practically feel the punch connect, yet the next moment Alabast has dodged the blow.
With a simple tilt Alabast had avoided the punch. It was easy, with the punch being telegraphed for what felt like years.
This didn't stop Yang. She quickly started throwing out a barrage of punches that a normal person wouldn't be able to avoid. Alabast let's the punches hit the air where he previously stood while Yang continues to chase him.
Around the 36th punch Alabast moves to the left of Yang, and before he can deliver a punch of his own his highly trained senses warn him of an attack coming from above. A hammer comes from the sky, falling with a large amount of force.
The hammer is none other than Magnhild, Nora's weapon. The orange haired girl holding it as if she's about to hit the last mile in a wack-a-mole fair game.
Nora falls from the sky and brings the hammer down on Alabast… or that was the plan at least. Because the next thing she knew she was flying back into the air away from where she was about to land without hitting anything.
Alabast had grabbed the neck of the hammer with his left hand and redirected it back up into the air.
He could have dealt a devastating blow, but he had a slight flashback to the night when he grabbed Nora by the throat. This was her freebie, and he wouldn't give her another one.
Yang saw this chance and didn't hesitate to take advantage of it. While Alabast had grabbed the hammer she prepared to hit his exposed left side.
*Bam!* *Boom!* *Ting~*
"What?" Yang looks at where her right fist is pushing against.
Not only had she hit something, but she also fired a round from her shotgun gauntlets. The punch alone should have knocked Alabast back, but the explosion should have sent him flying with how open he was.
However, as the smoke clears in a second, Yang sees that she had only hit metal.
Somehow Alabast was able to block the blow. Not only was it on the opposite side where Nights Fall was wielded, but it was also practically a surprise attack. Clearly it wasn't as much of a surprise as Yang had intended it to be.
It was at this moment when Yang realized she will have to work together with Blake and Nora to beat this guy.
But before Yang could regroup with her teammates a fist comes from around the giant blade and hits her in the stomach.
She couldn't reel back from the heavy blow when a foot comes flying at her from the left.
Yang brings up her left arm to guard. The kick is blocked, but only for a moment.
At first, Yang felt like she had blocked a blow from an Ursa. But suddenly it felt as if she was trying to stop a a flock of giant Mevermore from flying away.
While Yang is strong, this kick was beyond what she could handle with such little time to prepare.
Her guard is destroyed and Alabast's kick sends Yang through the air.
Alabast lowers his leg back down and picks up Nights Fall, taking the tip of the blade out from the ground. As his foot touches the ground he can see Yang get to her feet after rolling on the ground twice.
Nora lands on the ground opposite of Yang and looks around. She's still a bit confused about what happened to her.
Without a word being said Yang rushed forward.
Alabast noticed that Nora didn't immediately charge at him but ran to the side.
Yang throws a punch, but Alabast notices their plan.
He deflects Yang's fist with Nights Fall and uses the hilt to block Blake's blade that would have hit him in the back of the neck.
Blake and Yang don't stop. They continue to try and land a single hit.
To the spectators, it looks like Alabast is effortlessly defending against the pair. His movements are so fluid that it looks like this was a play and he knew exactly where his opponents would attack.
Yang and Blake suddenly jumped away.
*Fwoomp* *Fwoomp* *Fwoomp* *Fwoomp*
Alabast looked to his left and saw pink grenades quickly approaching.
Yang and Blake didn't stop attacking. Yang blasted explosive shotgun shells at Alabast and Blake fired upon him with her weapon as well.
The shots all hit him at the same time and a giant pink and yellow explosion engulfs Alabast and the surrounding area.
Pink smoke clouds the air and obscures everyone's vision. Everyone is looking through the smoke to try and see what happened to Alabast.
As the smoke clears, everyone expects Alabast to at least have been caught in the explosion.
When the smoke fully clears, everyone is surprised. Not that Alabast only took a little damage from the explosions, but that he was nowhere to be found.
Ruby jumps to her feet as if she didn't just fight Pyrrha to exhaustion. "You guys turned Ashy into…. ASHES!!!"
Weiss wouldn't admit it, but she was a little concerned about what happened to Alabast. She didn't think Alabast had been defeated by that explosion, but seeing him nowhere in sight caused a voice of concern to echo in the back of her mind.
Pyrrha isn't concerned in the slightest. If she wasn't aware of how strong Alabast's semblance was she would be in the same boat as Ruby and Weiss but she experienced Alabast's Semblance firsthand.
Before anyone can say or do anything else:
"It'd take a LOT more explosives to turn me to ashes"
Nora's eyes widen when she hears Alabast's voice behind her. She quickly spins around, swinging Magnhild where she thinks the voice came from.
Alabast blocks with Nights Fall, Magnhild being stopped in its tracks leaving Nora open. Nora's footing is a little off-balance from the sudden blocking of her attack.
Not willing to give another freebie, he delivers a palm strike with his left hand. His palm hits Nora in her diaphragm and sends her to the center of the clearing.
Alabast points Nights Fall at Blake while looking at the three girls he is fighting. "I wouldn't stop if I were you"
A dark aura surrounds the blade with little wisps emanating from it.
Before anyone could react, a black dust round is fired from Nights Fall.
Blake isn't able to dodge and the enhanced dust shot hits her in the shoulder and sends her backwards into the tree line.
Everyone makes a mental note not to get hit by that shot. It appeared to need some time to charge up and is very telegraphed, but the shot itself was insanely fast and packed a hell of a punch.
The spectators of the fight remember they can check the combatant's Aura on their scrolls.
Alabast's Aura hasn't moved while Blake's is around 50% and she only got hit by that shot. Yang and Nora both took a decent chunk so far, and they also only got hit once.
Yang hits her fists together. "In your dreams, Ashy!"
Nora and Yang run towards Alabast in opposite directions.
Nora jumps a few feet in the air. "Up high!"
Alabast blocks with Nights Fall taking the full force of the hammer.
"Down low!" Yang shouts while sliding on the ground. She aims at Alabast's knees.
Alabast jumps barely a foot in the air before he does a spin. Nights Fall letting Magnhild hit the ground next to Yang while it follows Alabast's rotation.
Nights Fall misses Yang much like how Yang misses Alabast, but it collided with Nora.
Nora gets hit in the back with the giant sword and gets dragged toward the ground, barely able to keep hold of her weapon.
Yang sees an orange and pink blur for a second before she gets hit by it.
Alabast flings Nora into Yang and lands on his feet over the two girls. "Too slow"
Nights Fall digs into the ground with the tip of its blade.
"Good one…" Yang winces as she tries to get up with a little difficulty since Nora is still on top of her.
Alabast looks down at the two girls and shakes his head. It's only been a few days, is he already being affected by Yang's nonstop bad puns?
Blake decides it's time for her to get a sneak attack in.
Silently running up to Alabast she wields her weapon, Gambol Shroud, in its sword and sheath form essentially using two swords.
She stabs her sword at Alabast's back. It goes through his hair, but hits something hard.
Alabast didn't need to dodge as Blake struck Nights Fall's magnetic place holder. "Finally decided to stop running?"
Blake can't help the anger and frustration that wells up wishing herself. She launches into a full out assault, trying to cut Alabast down.
Dodging, Alabast makes sure to block or deflect every single one of Blake's attacks.
Nora finally gets off Yang and the pair watch as Blake seemingly pushes Alabast back single-handedly.
Little did they know, Alabast was just trying to test the waters.
Blake was attacking with everything she has and even uses her semblance here and there to try and land a surprise hit.
Every now and then a copy of Blake would appear for a quick second and help Blake try to make an opening. But, just as quick as the copy appeared it would disappear the next second.
Blake's Semblance is called Shadow and allows her to make a copy of herself that she can interact with. An example would be when Blake would fake an attack with the clone and use the clone to change her direction.
This was a little tricky for Alabast. Having to defend against Blake and her random clone distractions. But he kept up all the same.
Nora and Yang also jump into the fray to try and bring Alabast down.
Alabast shifts Bestia Fang on his left hand into its second form, with it covering all his knuckles now.
It was crazy how Alabast maneuvered while fighting against the three girls. He continued to keep up with them as they attacked. There were times he would be able to get a hit off on one of the girls, but the other two would jump in.
When Yang watches both Blake and Nora get flung away for the Nth time, something clicks.
"Raaaaaaah!" Yang stomps her foot down, causing the ground beneath her to break. Her hair ignites and glows a bright yellow as her eyes go as red as Alabast's.
Feeling the pressure Yang is giving off, Alabast's black Aura silently envelops him and Nights Fall.
Yang leaps forward and throws another telegraphed haymaker punch.
Alabast assumes it will be blocked easily, but when the punch hits Nights Fall he finds himself several feet back. The dirt beneath his feet gave way and there are two lines leading to where he previously stood.
There is a moments pause when Yang appears in front of Alabast again, this time ready to deliver a devastating uppercut.
Alabast leans back and watches as the yellow fist misses his chin, the wind from the blow still hits him hard but significantly less than if the fist connected.
He does a backflip and lands on his feet with his left hand on the ground. Running side to side he brings Nights Fall from his side to Yang, who punches the blade.
Alabast doesn't resist the newfound momentum of the blade and pivots on his right foot, dodging Yangs next punch. The momentum of Nights Fall continues and Alabast adds to it with his own strength as the blade comes back around and slams into Yang's open side.
The hit connects and would have completely broken Yang's Aura, yet a hammer help relieve some of the force.
Nora appears behind Yang with a smirk as she helps stop the sword.
Blake jumps over the pair and manages to land a few light hits on Alabast's back.
This small action gives the girls hope and they continue the fight. But now with Yang's punches proving to be much more effective.
Alabast takes a few hits from Blake and a strike from Nora's hammer. As he gets ready to throw Nora, Yang punches him in his stomach.
The wolf Faunus is sent flying a few dozen feet before he lands on his feet and digs Nights Fall into the ground to stop himself.
As the girls are about to charge him again they see the black Aura surrounding him grow thicker and his eyes glow red, much more sinisterly than Yang's.
"I believe that's enough of a test" Alabast takes Nights Fall out from the ground and stands tall. "Now that you three got serious, it's my turn"
In the blink of an eye, Alabast was already upon them.
They were able to react thanks to their years of training, but it wasn't enough to stop Alabast.
The giant sword crashed into Nora, Alabast made sure to soften the strike to only break her Aura.
Nora is sent towards the nearby building as her Aura breaks. She eventually rolls to a stop with Magnhild clutched in her hands.
Ren runs over to Nora, and when he kneels to check on her… she rolls over to face him and gives him a big hug.
"Nora?" Ren asks, confused since he thought she was seriously hurt.
"That was a close one! Hehehe~" Nora was exhausted, but she always has energy to hug Ren.
Yang and Blake didn't get to watch Nora before they had to deal with this… feral beast.
Alabast ducks under Yang's punch and grabs her wrist. He covers his back with Nights Fall to block Blake's attacks as he brings Yang up and over himself.
The blonde girl can't stop from being tossed over Alabast and comes crashing down into the ground.
Nights Fall does it's job and stops Blake for the few seconds he needed to deal with Yang.
But as he lets go of Yang's wrist and turns to attack Blake he feels something grab his tail.
Alabast stops his attack on Blake with Nights Fall and looks over his shoulder to see Yang grabbing his tail as she stands up.
"Heel… boy!" Yang struggles to joke while she stands up.
Nights Fall swings towards Yang, but a black ribbon wraps around its hilt and forces it backwards.
Blake uses the ribbon attached to her weapon and tries to stop Alabast from hurting Yang.
Alabast decides to let Blake to have the weapon if she wants it so bad as he sweeps Yang's feet with his left foot.
Yang's eyes go wide when her world goes sideways and she sees the bottom of a boot descending towards her face.
Blake nearly falls backwards when Alabast let go of Nights Fall. She attempts to throw the weapon as far away as she can and spins to attack with her sword.
Alabast blocks Blake's sword with the back of his fist protected by Bestia Fang and with his free hand he reaches out towards Nights Fall flying through the air.
A black tendril shoots out from his hand and wraps around the hilt of Nights Fall. The tendril brings the weapon back to Alabast's hand instantly.
Blake can only watch as the giant blade looms over her.
She remembers why Alabast was viewed so highly by Sienna Kahn, the High Leader of the White Fang. Blake wasn't told the specifics, but got the general idea of what Alabast did. This is the first time she saw him fight clearly. In the past, she remembered sneaking away from the guards and stumbling upon a young wolf cub training alone for hours on end…
*Bam!* *Crack!* *Fwoosh~!*
Alabast stomps his foot down next to Yang's head, destroying the ground. Simultaneously, Nights Fall destroys the standing Blake clone and threateningly stabs the ground in front of where the real Blake is sitting with wide eyes.
The black Aura surrounding Alabast fades away, leaving nothing to cloud his appearance as he rubs the back of his neck.
Yang's eyes return back to their usual lilac and her hair calms down. "It's been a while since I've been beaten this badly"
"… you're… welcome?" Alabast looks down at her, not particularly sure what she means by that.
Yang sits up and rests her right elbow on her knee. "Did you have to hold back? You gave us girls false hope…. Or do you like leading girls on? You heartbreaker~"
Alabast puts Nights Fall on his back and crosses his arms over his chest. His right eye twitches while looking down at the blond girl. "The reason we did this is to see who needs to improve what. So if I ended the fight instantly it wouldn't have done anyone any good"
Yang smirks. "Awwww~. No need to get defensive Ashy, I know you're actually a big softie under all that doom and gloom"
"Says the girl who needs to work on her temper-tantrums and dealing with people fighting with their legs" Alabast pinches the bridge of his nose in mild annoyance.
"Says the guy who needs to work on his social skills" Yang fires back jokingly, hiding her slight annoyance at the term 'temper-tantrum'.
"Ashy!" Ruby shouts as she appears in a blizzard of petals. She circles Alabast and inspects his body, lifting up his arms, checking his back by moving his hair, caressing Nights Fall to see if it was damaged, and she even lifted his shirt up to see his abs.
"Hey!" Alabast pulls his shirt down and glares at Ruby.
The girl smiles awkwardly and takes a step back while nervously laughing.
Yang rubs her right hand. "I've punched through walls like they were paper, but your abs… they're definitely in a league of their own"
Alabast doesn't bother giving a response as he walks away towards the others. He sees Ren carrying Nora on his back to bring her towards Pyrrha and Weiss who were resting in the shade.
Nora had a giant smile on her face with her arms wrapped around Ren's neck, her feet lightly kicking asynchronously.
It doesn't take long before Ruby starts moving around Alabast as she asks various questions. Her eyes sparkle as she asks her questions faster and faster. Alabast somehow is able to keep up and only gives brief answers, mostly being 'No'.
Yang watches Alabast walk away with Ruby being her usual weird self. She can't help shaking her head at the unlikely pair. Looking to her left, she finds her teammate sitting still and decides to give her some silent company.
Blake doesn't move a muscle, not even to relax when Alabast leaves. Her mind wanders, lost in confusion. How can the 'Mad Dog' of the White Fang act so… 'normal'? Sure she talked to him a few times, but that was before he became Sienna's attack dog who she sent on special missions. But here he is, flirting with her teammates.
Pyrrha had watched Alabast's movements closely. And after watching him get serious, she wonders how she would stick up against him. There hasn't been much competition for her in recent years, even at the tournaments. Could he find a way to counter her semblance? Can she counter his?
Polarity versus Darkness.
Which would win?
From what Pyrrha has seen, the answer is unclear. She has only seen Alabast use his Semblance a handful of times and it's mostly to teleport or summon a tendril to interact with his environment. Pyrrha knows her Semblance inside and out, but she still hesitates to give the win to Polarity with how little she knows about Darkness and what it's upper limit is.
Then there's another question: Without Semblances, would Alabast be able to defeat her?
She only uses her Semblance to assist her in battle, and she worked very hard not to rely on it too much. She has trained endlessly for over a decade to become as strong as she is now. Even so, could she defeat Alabast?
"You really pack a punch!" Nora exclaims, drawing Pyrrha from her thoughts.
Alabast looks at Nora resting on Ren's back. "Are you injured? I pulled back just enough to break your aura…"
"Oh! I'm fine~! No need to worry" Nora hops off Ren's back and gives a thumbs up.
Ren facepalms. "Again? Why do I fall for it?"
"Hehehe~" Nora chuckles.
Ren lifts his head up and-
"Boop!"
Nora pokes his nose before running off towards Yang and Blake, breaking the silence the two were enjoying.
Ren slumps his shoulders before returning to his spot beneath a tree and sighs.
Alabast walks over to Pyrrha and Weiss as Ruby follows him. He can feel her looking at his face and grabs her hand before she can touch him, he moves it above her head not even bothering to look at her. "Don't even try it Little Red"
"W-What?! Try… try what?! I wasn't going to try anything! I-! You-! We should discuss our training for the foreseeable future!… Yeah! That's what I was going to do!" Ruby scrambled to find an answer.
Alabast narrows his eyes at Ruby, not buying her answer for a second. He knows full well she was either going to grab his tail or try and 'Boop' him.
Pyrrha steps up. "That is an excellent idea Ruby"
"Thank you Pyrrha" Ruby holds her head high, even with Alabast still holding her hand above her head.
Pyrrha gives a nod to Ruby and looks at Alabast. "Should we… spar? It cou-"
Alabast let's go of Ruby's hand and scratches the back of his head. "No. I already have a training schedule for myself. If you don't know how to improve-"
"That's-!" Pyrrha stops herself. "I mean…. Sorry, that's not what I meant"
"Whatever" Alabast looks across the clearing and gets the urge to start training already. After that warm up he wants to get some form of normalcy he's had for the past decade, working out.
"Have you even thought of the homework we were assigned?" Weiss sarcastically asks Ruby.
This shatters Alabast's hopes with something he hoped to never do again. Homework.
"I've thought about it!" Ruby defends herself. "I just… don't want to do it…"
"It hasn't even been a week yet! How can-" Weiss is incredulous.
"I said I don't want to do it, not that I won't do it! Please stop yelling at me~…!" Ruby cowers a little bit.
Weiss shakes her head. "Perhaps we should take the rest of the day to start our homework and straighten out our training regiment. There is no way I will allow my teammates to fall behind in their studies or combat capabilities"
Alabast puts his hands on his hips and hangs his head a tiny bit, relieved that he doesn't have Weiss on his team.
"Team RWBY and team ANVL will be the best teams Remnant has ever had! Let's go do our homework and cool down!" Ruby cheers up and walks past Alabast, pointing out towards the dorms.
"Gah!" Ruby nearly choked when Alabast grabs her hood.
Alabast looks down at the 'wishy-washy' teen. "Who says we're going to do our homework together?"
Pyrrha puts a hand on Alabast's shoulder. "Wouldn't it be best to collaborate? With more people means more perspectives to find the correct answer"
"And it'll be more fun! And be done faster!!" Ruby adds.
Alabast let's go of Ruby's hood. Hearing that the homework will be finished faster is all he needed to hear to be convinced. "Let's get it over with"
"Yeah!!" Ruby cheers before walking off. "Let's go teams!"
He's defeated countless opponents. Both people and monsters, he can handle homework. It's not like it's harder than a giant scorpion trying to kill him.
Right?