Nighttime came much more quickly than anyone could expect; It was the night of the finals and right now everyone was both in a mix of excitement and anxiety due to it being down to the literal wire. The Stadium was awash in cheers and roars of encouragement as the finalists for the Vytal Tournament Finals were brought together.
Sun Wukong, Yang Xiao Long, Mercury Black, Jae Cielo and Penny Polendina were each standing in the centre of the arena as the first match was about to be announced.
The rollers started to spin as everyone waited for the first of the singles to get announced; Unaware that behind the scenes of everything was Cinder manipulating who was going to be fighting who, starting off with….
"Yang Xiao Long vs Mercury Black! How will this pair of Brawlers get a win? Let's find out!"
The others quickly left but Jae stayed behind quickly; "Knock 'em dead, Yang." He said with a smirk as he walked off but he was quickly grabbed by the collar and pulled in for a quick yet equally passionate kiss. Earning a number of whoops and an equal number of jealous voices from the crowd.
"I'll do more than that later~" Yang smirked and whispered in his ear as she let him go off the stage to join the audience.
Mercury watched with a rather annoyed look as he stretched out. "Damned Demon…He thinks that Blondie's that good? Wait until he sees what we have in store for him and his friends."
Jae grabbed a seat with Nora and Ren since Pyrrha was mysteriously missing from the whole thing, "Looks like I'm out of it for now." He shrugged as her and Ren were both trying to help keep people from either bugging Jae with questions about him and Yang or trying to see if they can get the same treatment; "But I haven't seen Pyrrha at all since the Doubles…I hope she's okay…"
"She's probably still talking with Ozpin, I don't think it's anything to worry about." Nora remarked to try reassuring him after using her palm to shove away a rather persistent Dog Faunus from him.
"Besides, if something did happen then Pyrrha would just contact us on our scrolls." Ren added as he shot a glare at a rather mean looking boy trying to interrogate Jae.
"Yeah…I guess you're right…"
"BEGIN!"
——Meanwhile——
"James, perhaps you can explain yourself with this?" Glynda asked from behind Ozpin's desk with a look and tone so cold and sharp that it could probably split an Atlesian glacier; On Ozpin's desktop was what looked like a small plastic receiver that was barely any bigger than a nail from someone's pinky but the crushed appearance gave way to it's real purpose as a surveillance bug.
"Yeah, Jimmy…Perhaps you can regale us with WHY you have to bug a kid with something as intrusive as this?" Qrow added with a smirk since he was now validated in being suspicious of Ironwood from the start.
"Oz, what you have to understand is that I wasn't doing this for any malicious re-"
"You bugged one of my students…Without my authorisation or any good justification at all beyond paranoia." Ozpin may not have looked it but he was beyond angry at this revelation; "Worrying about security is one thing but this? You have crossed more than one line this time, General…."
"Please, you have to understand…With a Demon as unpredictably strong as Mr Cielo was and with his potential growth in the future, I had to ensure we could monitor him for any signs o-"
"Without. Permission….Or my knowledge." Ozpin reiterated as he wasn't tolerating excuses anymore. The fact that Ironwood went behind his back was inexcusable but his added anger came from the fact that Ironwood didn't even admit it, Qrow had gone to him with the bug himself. "I had already told you that we weren't taking those kinds of steps and you deliberately ignored what I said while also crossing multiple ethical lines….Please tell me that you can come back to me with anything noteworthy."
This was the hard part; Ironwood hadn't actually seen anything on the camera that would've proven his point about monitoring him for anything alarming and what he DID have was either going to make things worse or give them a reason to doubt his clarity. "I…"
"James…IF you still want us to trust you and take what you claim is your word then you will tell us what it was that you had recorded…" Glynda was practically spitting out each word with a renewed sense of anger.
"I….Very Well….Just remember that what I had done, it had been for the safety of Beacon and for Vale." Ironwood detailed before placing his scroll on the desk and allowed the feeds to play.
Each new clip had everyone confused as they saw Jae going through his life at school ranging from his conversations with the likes of other people but the tone changed once things took to the more…Intimate recordings; Various sights of Jae's naked body swinging around along with Weiss and Yang in various positions seemed to bring a raised eyebrow to Ozpin's face though Glynda looked more concerned that Ironwood recorded everything in full.
THWOK!
Ironwood ended up collapsing to the floor as a now fuming Qrow stood over him with a shaking fist; "You were recording not just him, but you somehow managed to make a video of my niece AND Ice Queen's sister?! I'm gonna kill you!" Qrow yelled out furiously though Glynda's Semblance stopped him before he could make good on his threat.
"I suppose it is a good thing that Ms Schnee was not present at our meetings General, otherwise this revelation would have made things difficult to explain to one of your prized special operatives." Ozpin remarked seriously though in all honesty; he was worried about what a teamed up effort that Qrow and Winter could do together with something like this.
"Pyrrha Nikos, I'll say this to you now as a vow; No matter what happens and no matter who we end up with in this relationship together…I promise that you will be the one to hold the nearest and dearest place in my heart, that I will do anything I can to ensure you remain safe and happy while we are a part of this."
On hearing that voice clip from what was undoubtedly Jae and Pyrrha, something else…Something ominously grim began to plant its seed into everyone's mind though the question was whether it was intentional or not. "James…Was this the reason why you chose to have Pyrrha Nikos as the next Fall Maiden and to ensure Mr Cielo receives Rebellion?" Glynda asked him with an unusually calm note in her voice as she was the first to come to this conclusion.
"I…All I wanted was to ens-"
"ANSWER ME, GENERAL!" Glynda finally snapped and fully yelled at him; "Because what you say next may very well spell out what kind of person you really are."
Ironwood retained his hardened gaze at her and simply repeated what he said before; "All I intended was to ensure we have the best chance to combat Salem…Regardless of whether it was too soon or not…We are struggling to fight back against her in case you've forgotten, Glynda."
She had expected him to say something morally ambiguous but to actually hear him come up with something like this was far, far worse than anything. She barely even had enough energy to speak and simply smacked him across the face before trudging back to Ozpin's table.
"Oz…You have to understand, it might be a difficult thing to suggest but we can't afford to hold back all of our options indefinitely…Surely you can understand what she can do to us." Ironwood continued to speak his case even after Glynda smacked him.
"She wants to divide us…to doubt each other and to start clawing at each other like wild animals just to make sure we can't band together against her…I do intend on making sure that our guardians are ready when they are fit to become them." Ozpin agreed though his narrow glare through his glasses indicated that this was far from what he considered a good idea. "But I hadn't expected for you to unintentionally aid her in this process…"
Ironwood had nothing else to say on the matter, his mind was now trying to figure out a way to rectify this. "Oz…What I did, I did to ensure we stand a chance."
Ozpin got up without a word and then looked out of the window; "The matches are about to start, James…I suggest taking the time to watch. But once this is over then we are going to be discussing at length what betrayal of trust means to a group like ours."
——Back on the Arena——
"Yang Xiao Long wins!"
The crowd broke into an uproar as the fight between Yang and Mercury was concluded, Team JNPR and the rest of Yang's team were the loudest to support her.
CRACK!
The cheers quickly turned to yells of shocks followed by volleys of booing and jeering as everyone watched Yang cripple Mercury in front of them.
"Cut the cameras, get them off stage now!" Port ordered to the others as the security that Ironwood set up had jumped in to apprehend Yang for her unsporting conduct, though no one was aware that there was something else at work…Something that made her think that she was about to be attacked and turned her self defense into a sore winner move.
"Yang….What the hell?" Jae could only think to himself as everyone else in the stands was evacuated for an intermission so things could be straightened out. "She'd never do something like that…"
"Well someone must have said something to set her off, I didn't see her get her hair messed with."
"Yeah, Yang gets hotheaded about things in a fight but she's not messed up enough to kick someone while they're down." Jae argued back in his head; "But that still doesn't answer the question, why?"
"You can't ignore the fact that we haven't heard or seen Mercury use a Semblance…like, at all?"
"If he had one, then he'd use it! What's your point in this?"
"I'm just saying…Things felt a lot sharper and more clear when we got close to that sword…But even for this…Something doesn't feel right…"
"Jae…Jae!" Nora then shook his arm since he looked rather shaken up; "You okay?"
"Y-Yeah…I'm just…Worried about Yang…" Jae mentioned as he was knocked out of his thinking; He kept true to his word in not telling but for some reason since he had been in close contact with that Sword, he began to feel his body change moreso then normal. It first started with a feeling of emptiness while he was away from the sword and he could feel a pull like gravity towards where it was. Next came the sudden headaches that came and went but eventually manifested into sharper senses; He was able to smell out where people were and even able to see Aura through their colour or by how strong it was but even then it was hit or miss.
"We'll stop by later…You need to make sure that you're all set and ready for the match if you're picked next." Ren assured Jae and lightly pat his back, even though they couldn't tell what exactly it was; the two could easily tell that something was wrong.
The trio made their way back to their room and saw that Pyrrha was on her way back too; "Pyrrha!" Nora smiled a little as she saw the fourth member of their team show up though the fact that a few seconds after they met up again was when Yang was escorted into Team RWBY's Dorm with a squad of armed guards and a stone faced Ironwood.
"What…What happened?" Pyrrha asked as she was confused and worried about what could have happened as the four entered their own dorm to give Yang some space.
Nora and Ren filled her in on what they saw at the tournament while Jae sat on his bed thinking things over and what the voice in his head posed as a theory, each new turn in his mind seemed to give way to more questions.
"Jae?" Ruby's voice pierced the latest train of thought that cycled around to turn his gaze. "Make sure you get a win for Beacon okay?"
"It's what Yang would want…Plus I know that seeing you kick butt would put a smile on her face regardless~" Weiss agreed and gave him a wave as they left to go get some drinks to help offset the overload of fighting.
"I'll…I'll do my best." Jae mentioned and gave them a thumbs up to reassure them but inside he felt more uncertain than anything for a multitude of reasons, along with a budding worry for Pyrrha since she wasn't seeming like herself since she got back.
"Well, you heard the little lady! No more moping around, Mister!" Nora said like a drill sargeant and changed into some workout gear which consisted of a white shirt with her emblem on it, pink shorts, sneakers and a bright pink headband. "We're gonna whip you into shape for the next big fight!"
Both Jae and Pyrrha watched her bouncing about in exercise with the same level of confusion and slight amusement at her antics.
"She is right, you know." Ren added though he seemed a little more peppy when he talked as held on to what looked like a tall glass of green, though the blush of embarrassment was hiding nothing as Nora managed to get him a new apron; This particular one was a violet coloured one that had a pocket in the front but there was also a tri coloured flag near the vest and the message on the front looked custom made as Nora falling over laughing at seeing the combined sight. Emblazoned on the front wasn't a funny message about doing something to the cook but it just had two words on it
"Bi Ren? Are you going somewhere?" Jae asked curiously though he did start to get it when Nora fell over onto the floor wheezing.
Ren felt his cheeks darken into a bright red; "I hate you for that joke." He mentioned softly though he couldn't help but smirk a little and chuckle as well.
"It got you laughing, didn't it?" Jae quipped as he then had the glass placed in his hands; "It's uh…What is it?"
"This blend of herbs and vegetables will help you with maintaining a strong sense of power both inside and out of your own body." Ren mentioned as the famous juice started to gurgle and ooze about in the glass like it was begging to escape.
"It's uh…" Jae found it hard to get the right words without sounding ungrateful for his teammate's efforts. "It's very green."
"Please, there's no need to thank me. I'm merely looking out for you and ensuring you can perform at your best." Ren insisted as he saw Jae eyeing the drink and how to best consume it.
"Thank you? You sure that's a drink? It looks like slime you scooped out of a lake bed." Nora admitted, feeling equally as icked about it as Jae did though she was a tad more honest about it.
"Funny that you mention it, the algae in this does have some vital nutrients that can aid digestion…Why not see for yourself?" Ren offered as he placed the juice to Nora's lips and had her drink a little.
Nora was wideyed at first but then her face grew greener and greener before she finally felt her stomach kick back against the assorted garden in her gullet and grabbed a trash can to heave it up again. "What. Is. Wrong with you?!"
"Me? You wasted perfectly good juice like that, it's meant to be healthy for you." Ren retorted as he looked shocked to see Nora so rejected by the juice.
"Don't do it Jae! It will poison you from inside with it's lake bed goopiness!" Nora pleaded with him dramatically as Ren watched unamused and Jae looked confused.
"There was absolutely nothing wrong with that, if it's the taste that is wrong then it is merely because the most potent medicines taste the most bitter." Ren mentioned with an oddly energetic defense for his concoction.
"Ren, if it looks the same coming up as it does going down then there's something wr-"
"Guys!" Jae interrupted them both and decided to get between them; "Maybe we could use some fresh air…It doesn't help being cooped up in here." He remarked but then smiled a little when he saw Pyrrha giving him a thankful glance.
The Team made their way out to enjoy the outside and to take in the joys of the fairgrounds; Nora ended up busting the hammer game and won several stuffed animals so she could go away, Ren managed to earn good points at the shooting range while Jae and Pyrrha both watched the two.
"Jae…Thanks for helping out back there. I think after what happened with Yang, everyone's on edge and it looks like you are too." Pyrrha mentioned before turning her gaze to look at him. She wasn't completely out of it; The redhead did notice that something was on Jae's mind, though she couldn't blame him after what he saw happen in the arena.
"It's…It's no problem, I think we just needed the open space to stop the cabin fever and driving us crazy." Jae mentioned as he flashed her a small smile; "Wait, I got an idea, I'll be right back."
Pyrrha nodded as she waved at him while he vanished into the slowly lessening crowd; However all that did was let her go back in her thoughts, the revelation that Magic existed in the world, The Maidens and their role in protecting the world. "They..want me to become a Maiden…I want to help, of course but…At the cost of potentially losing myself? I would happily defend what peace we have…But if the worse happens then I lose what I have with everyone…I lose what relationship I have with Nora…With Ren…Jae…" Her thoughts spiralled further and further down until it culminated in the sight of Amber encapsulated in the life support pod and what it entailed.
"Hey…I know it can't top Ren's juice but…I know sweet stuff helps some people feel better." Jae mentioned as he held a spool of cotton candy out to Pyrrha who mumbled a thank you.
This time Jae knew something was up; He went to sit down next to her and gently put his arm around her to pull her in and rest her head on his chest. "Pyrrha…I know something's going on, I'm not sure exactly what it is but I'm not gonna make you tell me…So if it helps you feel better, I can sit here with you and help you ride this out."
Pyrrha was surprised at the suddenness of it all but on a smaller level; She was thanking everything around her for letting her have this moment of affection to distract her; "You…You being here is already making all the difference for me." She mentioned softly and let her hand rest on his chest as the slow thumps of Jae's heartbeat helped to relax her little by little.
Nora and Ren watched from a corner though realising that chiming in now would be poor timing on their part, decided to head elsewhere for another reason. "We can't seem to get a moment as a team together…Can we?" Ren asked jokingly as Nora walked alongside Nora while she carried a Ursa Teddy bear that was bigger than her.
"Well, you can't exactly blame 'em, they are a couple after all…Well…That and them being a thing with Weiss and Yang…I think that disqualification is overloading the sympathy." Nora pointed out as Ren looked at her in surprise.
"They're in a relationship but seeing other people?" Ren asked in confusion as he tried to do the math on how it worked when Nora inadvertently spilled the beans.
"Oh uh..Yeah, Jae helped them both out before and they decided that rather than fighting to get him for themself, they just share which is where the poly thing comes in." Nora explained with what she remembered Weiss stating about it.
Ren nodded as he mulled it over; "You think that…Maybe that doesn't sound like an…entirely bad idea?"
"Wait…Ren, are you saying that you want to…Be a part of it?" Nora asked him with a sudden look of surprise on her face; Sure there were a few times that she let her mind wander about Jae and Ren together but she hadn't expected Ren to come out and actually consider it.
"Jae's one of my best friends, Nora…Just like you are…He kind of knows what it's like to come from a place like we did…He's probably the only person I actively opened up to about my last home and he with his…I'm not sure that there's any other way for me to say that…I don't want him to feel bad anymore." Ren began to let his inner thoughts start to pour out like Nora's guts with the juice with Nora listening intently.
Nora was quiet throughout the whole thing; Not talking, not joking or teasing him, she knew where he was coming from and in all honesty: She couldn't blame him at all. "Ren…How come you didn't say something sooner? I mean, if you told me then I could've tried to set you guys up."
"I…I wasn't sure if he'd…If he feels the same way about me...I just think that he's only interested in girls that way." Ren admitted with a sad smile; "Though I wouldn't mind just being friends if he is."
Nora could feel that same pang of sympathy since she had to admit that Jae was just as close to her as Ren was; She had those exact same thoughts as before when she noticed him getting closer to RWBY and with Pyrrha, when Weiss approached her with the idea that they form one large relationship with each other without making it into a problem…She practically had to hold on to her bed to stop herself from bouncing excitedly. "For someone so smart and capable…You can be a real dummy sometimes." Nora remarked with a small giggle.
"W-What?"
"The poly thing…As long as Pyrrha and Jae are both okay with it then w have nothing to worry about, plus they know us and I know he cares about the both of us so all we really have to do is as-"
"NONE OF IT MAKES SENSE!" Pyrrha broke their talk with her outburst in the distance as she was now on her feet and starting to feel like the walls were closing in.
"Look, I'm sorry…If what I said was bad, I'm sorry but…If you can tell me what's going on then I can help." Jae tried to explain and to help her calm down.
"I've always felt as though I was destined to become a Huntress and to protect the world…" Pyrrha made sure that she thought before she said each word and even though she was doing a good job in hiding what was troubling her, her voice wavered at the end. "But it's become increasingly clear to me that my feelings were right. But…What is being asked of me is incurring a very high cost and I don't even know if what I can offer will work...I don't even know if I can do it."
Jae could understand; When Ozpin and the others approached him about the Demon Sword, they had told him that what could happen may either change him for good…Or kill him, but he knew that if it meant that he could save the world and help to prove that he could be relied on; Then he'd step up a thousand times over to ensure that Pyrrha, Yang and everyone he cared about could be safe. "Pyrrha, you are one of the strongest, compassionate and most capable fighter that I know…I've seen you fight off a giant Scorpion and take on entire teams by yourself!" Jae regaled her with her achievements in the hopes that he could help inspire her; "You've shown me that if I had the right drive and the dedication to prove what I'm capable of then I could do anything…I know that if you did the same then nothing could or should stand in your way." He finished with a smile as he did his best to bring what he could.
Pyrrha covered her mouth as her mind ran millions of miles an hour; What should have been recognised as words of encouragement came out as something different and it was devastating her. "Stop…" She whimpered and backed away from him.
"Pyrrha…W-What is it?" Jae asked as he flinched from Pyrrha's sudden backstep from him; She had started to question him about destiny and how she was being offered a chance to make a difference and save the world.
"Jae…Please…Don't make me…I don't want to lose you or everyone I've grown to love!" Pyrrha mentally screamed but with her promise to uphold, she merely shook her head and stood back again.
"Was..Was it something I said?" Jae asked as he stepped closer, "Look, whatever it is that has you worried…We can figure it out together, overcome it! Do whatever we can to make it work!" Jae tried to help his case.
"STOP!" Pyrrha yelled out and thrust her hand forward, her fragile mental state and her peaked anxiety activated her Semblance and pushed Jae hard into the wall by snagging the armoured plating in his hoody.
"GH! Py-Pyrrha!" Jae grunted as he felt like he was put in a vice, though he quickly fell forward as Pyrrha let him go and he saw the look on her face; Her tears were pricking her cheeks and she looked absolutely heartbroken that she had done what she did.
"I….I'm sorry!" Pyrrha barely croaked out an apology as she ran off and away from Jae….Unaware that she and Jae had been watched by someone who quickly exited before either of the pair could see them.
"What…What did I say?" Jae asked himself as he felt completely helpless to do anything for Pyrrha on top of the guilt from making her feel the way that she did.
By the time that the next Final came about was one that had everyone both excited for who was next and worried if it was going to end in the same way. However it was Ruby Rose of all people who noticed that there was something wrong when she managed to pick Emerald out of the crowd when she was thought to had gone back to Mistral with Mercury before running into the man himself in one of the back rooms.
"Mercury? But…I thought you were hurt, your leg wa-" Ruby was questioning a lot of things but right now wasn't the time to ask all of them as she felt her body tense; "What's going on?" She asked him with every ounce of assertion that she could muster.
"Why ruin the surprise, Red? We haven't even started up on the main event." Mercury taunted her with that same smug look on his face as Oobleck called for the roulette to start.
"Our next contenders for tonight are….Penny Polendina of Atlas!"
"Mercury…" Ruby pushed on him as she held her postion, though the next words she heard sent an ice cold chill up her spine.
"Vs Jae Cielo from Beacon!"
Mercury sucked air through his teeth while pretending to muse. "Oooh, a Demon that can stop Giant Grimm barehanded vs metal…Yeah, I think you know how bad that can get…" He taunted with that same dirty look on his face.
"Salutations once more, Jae! I will make sure that this will be as fun for you as it will be for me!" Penny cheered happily as she was innocently bouncing about with the hopes of putting on a show for the crowd watching them.
"Three!"
"Two!"
"One!"
"Showtime!" Mercury and Port both announced at the same time, though the two had varying intentions as the next match for Vytal's Finals was now underway.