"The reason why I think you're a good pick for the Omnitrix is because you're kind." Ruby stares blankly for a good full minute. She was expecting a far more complex answer than what Chorina just said. "Is… something wrong with my answer, Ruby?"
"Wha- Oh, no, not really. It's just… There's GOT more to why I'm worthy than just kindness, right?" Ruby asked for clarity.
Chorina chuckled a little before continuing. "Actually, no. Omni told me about your motive for becoming a Huntress, and that's honestly what sold me on you being a good candidate for the usage of the Omnitrix over the originally intended wielder." Chorina said with a smile.
"My moti-" Ruby muttered before realizing what she meant, and thought back to the talk she had on the day she and Omni met. "You mean that the reason why I'm worthy of wielding the Omnitrix… is because I want to help people?" Ruby asked.
"PRECISELY!" Chorina exclaimed, making Ruby lean back a little. "Out of every potential candidate that has ever been selected to wield the Omnitrix in the past ten years, not a single one of them have displayed the kind of pure intentions that you do." Chorina explained to her, before leaning forward and even getting on all four of her limbs, crawling up to Ruby's face as she still sat down, only bending back a little from how close Chorina was getting.
"Ruby… You are THE candidate that I've waited TEN YEARS for. Would you be willing to go back to my homeworld with me and fight for your right to wield the Omnitrix and bring hope to the galaxy!?" Chorina asked Ruby as her tail was actively wagging excitedly and her eyes were practically sparkling from excitement.
Ruby didn't know what to say. Chorina was, according to her, the brightest mind of the Weza Izumokita, the species that created the Omnitrix. And now, here Ruby herself was, being asked by Chorina to wield one of the most powerful weapons of peace and equality promotion in existence.
"Ummm… Mother, you're leaning too close to her." Omni said, peeking up between her.
It was at that moment that Chorina realized how close to Ruby she was and backed up before sitting herself down again. "Oh. Sorry about that, Ruby. I got carried away in my excitement."
"I… don't know. Won't the intended candidate, who was meant to receive the Omnitrix, get really steamed that you want me to keep it?" Ruby tried to argue.
Omni awkwardly rubbed her arm. "Well, not that I want to offend anyone, but… it's not like we don't think he's worthy." Omni was soon cut off by Chorina.
"No no no. It's okay Omni." Chorina said before sitting in silence for a solid five seconds before saying… "We don't think he's worthy." Chorina stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
If Ruby was drinking something, she would've spittaked it out at how shocked she was. "WHAT!?" She exclaimed, shocked at the statement. "Bu- but- Butbutbut… If the selected candidate isn't worthy of the Omnitrix in your eyes, then WHY are they a selected candidate at all?!" Ruby said, flailing her arms around trying to understand the logic presented before her at the present moment.
Chorina sighed at that question as she rubbed her horns with her hands, in what seemed like a way to calm herself down. "It's because… I sorta… didn't have any other option." Chorina said as she rubbed her tail with her left arm.
That got Ruby to replace her shock with curiosity. "Didn't have any other option?" Ruby repeated.
"Many of the candidates that the Andromeda Planetary Confederacy picked out to wield the Omnitrix had been… unworthy to say the least. Many wanted fame and fortune, others wanted to be heroes, and very few, which one of I selected, wanted to bring honor to their species' name." Chorina explained.
Outlines of 6 variously shaped bipedal aliens were visualized as Chorina continued.
"I had to disqualify a gladiatorial Talpaedan, an Orishan vigilante, a Yoradurite explorer, a Galympics award-winning Rushinoid, and even an ever so creative Frealore prince… So I settled on the one alien candidate that I had found to be the most fitting for what I had hoped. An Aoukora from the Planet Aoka-Tau." Chorina explained.
"Ahem…" Omni got Chorina's attention as the Omnitrix's AI pointed up at Ruby, who was visibly confused at the names that were being dropped.
"Oh. My apologies. I forgot that you have yet to know the names of all these alien species." Chorina quickly apologized. "Anyways, Ruby… Will you please take the Omnitrix up for a little longer, until I can get you the approval needed to wield it?" Chorina asked her again.
Ruby looked at the Omnitrix in deep thought. 'If I do wield it, it could mean that some alien bounty hunters will come after it again like last time, and who knows what that could mean for me and my friends?… But if I do give it up, and it winds up in the hands of someone unworthy of its power, then…' Ruby thought long and hard about what she should pick, until she looked at Omni hovering near the Omnitrix, and… saw her clasping her hands close to her chest, and… shedding a tear that turned to pixels after leaving her face, making Ruby gasp.
"It's obviously a hard decision to make, so I'll gladly give you some ti-" Chorina was cut off by Ruby.
"I get it now." Ruby let out, earning Chorina and Omni's attention. "Don't worry about it. I'll… I'll do it, I'll use the Omnitrix, if only for just a little bit more." Ruby said.
Chorina shot up onto her feet before celebrating. "YES! Thank you so mu-" She soon caught herself in her words before she restarted her words. "On behalf of the Weza Izumokita and the APC itself, I humbly thank you for accepting this grandiose task." Chorina said with a bow.
Ruby raised an eyebrow before she smiled and stood up. She then offered her hand to Chorina for a handshake. "Don't worry about it. After all, I do like helping people." Ruby said as Chorina smiled and accepted the handshake.
Chorina spoke as she let go of Ruby's hand. "Now then, since you've made your stance on this clear, I think I should tell you something about the sparring matches while we've got…" Chorina brought up her arm and pulled the coat sleeve on it back as she pressed her pointer finger on a part of her suit, causing a blue ring to form around it, and make a holographic depiction of the time appear on a screen projected from her suit. "About an hour and a half before we go to the sparring matches." She stated.
(15 minutes later, with Mesin…)
Mesin walked into another clearing Ozpin had let them use to dock their ship at for the moment. He tapped the top of his glove as he brought a screen in a similar way to Chorina did with her suit.
He tapped what appeared to be a keypad on the screen before the ship appeared out of thin air seemingly. Mesin smiled at the sight. "Good thing this ship has a cloaking feature on it." He said before walking up to the ship and placing his hand on a scanner right by the door on the side of the door.
He walked into the ship before the inside lit up and whirred to life, with the screens and lights inside lighting up. Mesin nodded as he looked around. "Good. Looks like no one snuck in while we were away." Mesin said to himself before walking up to and kneeling down to a console with a holographic screen and keyboard.
"Simply gotta insert the communication apertures, get on the correct line, and…" Mesin muttered to himself as he typed on the solid hologram keyboard, before pressing one final key, and the screen brought up a black window with the four curved lines on it.
The screen eventually managed to cut to the view of a frog-like alien entity with green skin and light-blue eyes, and wearing a black and blue striped suit. He appeared to be scratching his back with claw-like knuckles.
"Flydisk Alpha-1 Communication Officer Delono speaking. Wh-" The frog-like alien, named Delono spoke before seeing Mesin through the screen. "OH! Mesin, you're back!" He stated as he sat up straight.
Mesin cracked a smile on his face before speaking. "This is Flydisk Alpha-1 Defense Commander, Mesin Olaxi, speaking. You hear me loud and clear?" Mesin asked as Delono answered.
"Affirmative. I hear you loud and clear, sir." Delano spoke in response. "You and the others have been down on that planet for over 14 hours. Did something happen in terms of retrieving the Omnitrix?" Delono asked him.
Mesin smirked as he shook his head. "What DIDN'T happen in terms of trying to retrieve it?" Mesin asked himself. "Turns out the Omnitrix had wound up latching onto someone resident of this planet. A young girl named Ruby Rose." Mesin told him.
Delono was shocked at what he just said. "WHAT!? But, that shouldn't be possible, right? The Omnitrix was specifically programmed not to randomly latch onto someone without proper authorization from Chorina herself. How did-" Mesin raised his hand up to silence Delono.
"I personally have some theories, but I'd like to put them aside for now. Right now, I need a progress update on your end." Mesin told him before continuing. "How're repairs on Flydisk Alpha-1's outer hull where the Headhunterz broke in from going?" He asked, sounding stern about that particular situation.
"Oh. Right. Our repair team needs another few hours until the damage can be fully repaired. The laser blasts our ship got hit with somehow neutralized the auto-repair functions built into that specific part of the ship." Delono stated. "From what I heard being said from the briefing on the matter at least." He clarified.
Mesin grunted at the news. "Alright. I'll tell Chorina about that. Any updates on the Headhunterz's whereabouts?" Delono visibly cringed at the question before he looked to the side and spoke to someone seemingly next to him.
"Hey Yandi, have we gotten any word from the boss on the Headhunterz yet?" Delono asked, making Mesin impatiently tap his left leg-like arm on the floor of the ship. "What do you mea-... Ugh. Fine. Thanks anyways…" Delono brought his focus back to Mesin. "Well apparently the location of both them and their ship has yet to be pinned down." Mesin facepalmed at the news.
"Why does that not surprise me? Keep me posted either way." Mesin pushed a key on the holographic keyboard and a solid hologram of a mechanical chip appeared from the side of it. He took it and inserted it into his upper right hand's glove. "If the Headhunterz cut in now, it'll only mean stress and chaos, and from what I gathered on this planet, the negativity from its residents is a magnet for these local creatures lurking around." Mesin told Delono.
"I'll notify the boss about this and make sure our combat drones are ready to roll at a moment's notice. If the Headhunterz make their move, we'll be ready to support you and Chorina." Delono said with a salute made with a sword-like tongue he had coming out of his mouth.
"Roger that." Mesin said before a thought occurred to him. "Oh. Before I sign off, have Kamysa and Zenari made it to their intended destination?"
Delono nodded as he pulled his tongue back into his mouth. "Yep. Soared down on one of our transport ships and everything. Should be somewhere in your area now." He answered.
Mesin gave a thumbs-up. "Got it. Hopefully this detour won't impact things too badly concerning them." He muttered.
"I'm sure it won't be too bad. They might be having the time of their life for all you know." Delono said.
(Meanwhile with Kamysa and Zenari…)
'I'm not having a good time right now…' Ghoadry thought to herself as she, Kamysa, and Zenari were asked multiple questions by this random girl who appeared out of nowhere.
Upon a closer look, she appeared to have short, purple hair with a black streak as well as matching purple eyes. She was currently wearing denim shorts and matching purple and white socks and sneakers. Her t-shirt was black and had an interesting design on it. It had a flying saucer in front of Remnant's moon. There was a tractor beam coming out of it with a classic alien at the bottom of it. Above the alien read "Moon Men III". She was also wearing fluffy, oversized earmuffs that looked like Princess Leia's space buns.
"What's it like being an alien? Do you have built in weapons? Can you grab stuff with your feet? Is the hair on your head actual hair? Are you all from the same planet or three separate ones? Are you a full robot or are you partially organic? How does the flame on your tail remain lit? Do those shoulder fins get in the way of your tentacles? Do you all naturally speak our language or are you using translators? What kind of metal are you made of? What's it like having more than two arms? What do those prongs at the end of your tentacles do? Do you guys probe cows? Do those headphones come off? Can your flame be put out with water? Can your fins and tentacles retract?" She said at a very fast pace that basically no one was able to keep up with.
Kamysa and Zenari merely tried to smile and answer the questions slung at them and Ghoadry the best they could while Teams WBY and JNPR were shocked at the enthusiasm this one girl was showing in response to seeing the three alien entities.
"Ummmm… WHO is this girl, exactly?" Yang asked, confused at the current situation.
"I think I remember her." Jaune noted as he pointed at her. "She's Fiona Lilac. Leader of Team FILM, and a resident tech head like Ruby. I'd say she's on par with Ruby in terms of being a lover of all things weaponry." Jaune explained.
"And apparently, a hardcore alien enthusiast." Weiss snarked as Blake elbowed her lightly. "What? Even Nora didn't ask this many questions to Chorina and Mesin when we met them." Weiss said in defense before her eyes widened upon realizing something that Jaune said. "And how is someone like HER a team leader anyway?!" The girl, named Fiona, stopped asking questions and turned her head slowly to Weiss. "...Crap."
Fiona then shot over to Weiss in a rush. "Did you say Chorina and Mesin?! You must know them well enough to be on such a first name basis with them! How did you meet them? Did they abduct you? Did they want to know about the Schnees? Are they interested in using Dust as an energy source? Can you please answer my questions? Please please please!" She said before kneeling on the concrete path below her. "I'LL GIVE YOU MY BLOOD!" Fiona begged as Weiss took a step back in slight panic.
'Geez! Even Ruby wasn't like this!' Weiss thought before Ghoadry stood up and walked over to her before poking her shoulder, diverting Fiona's attention to her.
"Let's not get crazy with the questions and begging, okay? We might be aliens, but it's not like the whole planet knows about us yet. I'll gladly answer your questions, but please make it one at a time?" Ghoadry told the purple-haired girl.
"Oh. Right. Apologies. I'm just REALLY excited to finally get a chance to see ACTUAL aliens here on Remnant again!"
Ghoadry's eyes had question marks appear in them. "...Again?" She asked.
"Again?!" Team WBY and JNPR repeated loudly.
"What do you mean again? If an alien came to this planet, we would've-" Kamysa was cut off by a stern, British-sounding voice echoing through the courtyard they were in.
"FIONA!" Fiona stood up straight as everyone looked at a girl the voice came from.
Fiona turned around to see a woman with black irises and a white bob cut that had a thick pair of horns poking out of it. The woman was wearing pale brown shorts and sneakers as well as white socks. She was also wearing a white hoodie. On said hoodie was a pair of hands grasping onto a dark red D20 die with a yellow, cat-like eye. Also, on the hoodie read "Castles and Creatures" in yellow font.
"Oh, uh… Melia. Pleasure to see you here. You're just in time to-" Fiona was cut off when the girl, named Melia, grabbed her by the collar.
"You might be right about aliens existing, but that is no excuse to behave the way you are right now!" The girl Melia lectured her before continuing. "You're a team leader! Act that way!" Melia ordered in her face.
The way she talked made Weiss immediately think back to how she treated Ruby on their first day of Beacon, and she immediately regretted it, while Jaune suddenly felt lucky he had such a supportive team compared to… whatever was happening right now.
"Okay, okay! Sorry. Can I at least ask them one question?" Fiona asked as she tapped her index fingers together.
"...Fine. ONE question!" Melia emphasized by holding up one finger in front of Fiona's face. Turning back to the aliens, Fiona took out her scroll and started scrolling through her photo gallery. "Oh of course she's gonna ask THAT question!"
"Do you recognize this?" Fiona asked as she showed the group in front of her a poorly drawn alien from her scroll. It appeared to have a bulbous head, green skin, large eyes, and some kind of space suit.
"Uh…" Jaune started. "What am I looking at right now?"
Melia steps forward. "Apologies. She keeps claiming to have been abducted by aliens when she was only five."
"And as soon as I was aboard their ship, it launched like a rocket into outer space! I NEVER FELT SUCH A THRILL IN MY LIFE! Afterwards, they did some tests on me before bringing me back down to my family's farm in Vacuo." Fiona added.
"Huh? But the abduction of other sentient beings was made illegal by the APC after they figured out that some species were trading the meat of... Perhaps I said too much... Anyway, even for research purposes, forcefully taking a sentient being you wish to research off-world is heavily frowned upon. Plus, I don't recognize the species you have illustrated at all." Ghoadry said as she scanned the illustration.
"...Really?" Fiona asked, sounding disappointed at the fact.
"You see? It was just a dream after all. Now can you PLEASE return to the infirmary? You obviously still have a headache from when I knocked you out." Melia said to Fiona.
Weiss cringed upon Melia saying that. 'Ruby might've been annoying when we first met, but I would've never done THAT to her.' She thought.
"But… But the sparring matches!" Fiona begged.
"Do you really expect to fight properly with your head hurting like that?" Melia lectured as she pointed her finger onto Fiona's forehead. "And you might even get yourself distracted anyway by your opponent alone."
"Actually, we can give her medical care ourselves. From what I see now, it will take approximately two days for that headache to fully go away on its own, but if you let us treat her, she'll be fine just in time for the sparring matches to begin." Ghoadry said.
Fiona smiled at the prospect. "Awesome! You can take care of it back at the infirmary then. Want me to lead the way?" She offered as Melia rolled her eyes, only for Ghoadry to shake her head.
"You needn't worry about that. I know the way plenty well on my own." Ghoadry answered as she, Fiona and Melia walked off in the infirmary's direction.
"Wow! You already know your way there? Why is that?" Fiona asked.
"Unfortunately, I cannot say at the present moment." Ghoadry answered.
The three walked off, leaving Teams WBY, JNPR, and Kamysa and Zenari alone with each other.
Kamysa decided to ask a question of her own. "Did anyone else notice that pair of horns on that Melia girl's head?" Kamysa asked.
"And what was that about HER giving that Fiona girl that head injury?" Zenari followed up.
"Oh. Right. You're new to Remnant." Blake said as she untied the bow on her head, revealing her cat ears underneath. "There's a sort of extra species of sentient beings on Remnant called Faunus. No one knows how they came about, but all we know for sure is that every Faunus has at most one animal-like trait on their person." Blake explained as sophisticatedly as possible.
"We also know that Faunus have been oppressed by Humans for a long time now." Nora added, making Weiss look down and away in shame.
Zenari noticed Weiss's look, but Kamysa placed a hand on her shoulder before she could point it out. "I see… I personally find that point of view, quite… confusing to say the least." Kamysa stated, confusing the members of Teams WBY and JNPR.
"What do you mean?" Pyrrha asked.
"Well, Blake here has Cat Ears, right? I'm guessing that in addition to the physical cat ears, she's got other things like enhanced senses, strength, and reflexes." Kamysa stated.
Zenari nodded before speaking her piece as well. "And because of how you're using your words, the animal parts are undoubtedly not limited to traits like cat ears. I'm betting… tails, horns, maybe even wings in the case of some flying animals?" Zenari guessed, leaving the Humans in shock at their accuracy.
Blake tied the bow back onto her head to cover her cat ears, with Nora saying. "Wow. You're good." She said with a thumbs up.
Kamysa and Zenari seemed to smirk together (as Zenari had a mask over her mouth), and bowed their heads in-response to the compliment. "Thank you." Zenari thanked Nora.
"But why do you find the view Humans have on Faunus confusing?" Jaune asked in confusion.
"Well-" Kamysa was about to answer, until a familiar voice rang out through the area.
"Hey guys! Are you doing alright?" Ruby's voice asked them as they all turned to see Ruby and Chorina with her arms behind her back walking towards them with smiles on their faces.
Ruby was lightly sprinting over to them as Omni appeared above the Omnitrix. "Hello everyone. I assume that you've gotten to know some friends of mine." Omni said as she looked over to Kamysa and Zenari.
The two mentioned aliens looked shocked at Omni's appearance alongside Ruby. "Well… Looks like the Omnitrix WAS found by someone we don't know much about… And as luck would have it, she's a child." Zenari said judgingly.
Ruby halted at that and pouted for a bit. Before Chorina placed a hand on Ruby's shoulder. "Now now, Zenari. Don't be rude. Ruby here is a good person, and has a great sense of character. So much so, I say that she's worthy of wielding the Omnitrix for quite a while." Chorina stated, shocking Kamysa and Zenari.
"WHAT!?" They both shouted in astonishment.
"You mean to tell us… that this girl, this child from an isolated planet, is more worthy than ANY of the candidates the APC rounded up all that time ago?" Kamysa asked.
"That is correct. And Ruby herself has agreed to take up the duty of wielding the Omnitrix of her own volition."
"WHAT!?" This time, Team WBY and JNPR let out a collective shout of shock and even amazement (mostly in Nora's case).
"What, but… Ruby, you are aware of how dangerous it could be to do that, ri-" Yang was interrupted by Ruby herself.
"I know… And I don't care right now. If I'm the best person to wield the Omnitrix, then I'll wield it and promote peace across the galaxy the best I can." Ruby declared as Kamysa and Zenari looked at each other, before they smiled as the latter of the two walked up to her and held out her hand.
"If madam Chorina trusts you with the fate of the Omnitrix, then you already have my vote of confidence quite frankly, young…" Zenari paused for a moment before retracting her hand and scratching the back of her head with it. "Apologies, I didn't even get your name properly. What was it again?"
Ruby only smiled as she held out her hand. "Ruby Rose, first year Huntress-in-training. Nice to meet you." She greeted as the two of them shook hands.
Kamysa only smiled. "Zenari's a pretty good judge of character, so if she believes in you, I believe in you too… I'm just glad you got her now and not earlier, or we'd have to delve into a… weird subject to put it one way." She stated.
Ruby, Omni, and Chorina looked at each other in confusion before Chorina spoke up. "I'm guessing we're missing something important." Chorina asked politely.
Weiss hesitated to say anything for a moment, remembering how harsh that Melia girl was… until Ren brought it up. "You remember Fiona Lilac, right?" He asked Ruby.
"Oh yeah. Fiona. I was in class with her at some point. She's also a crazy fan of all things ali-" Ruby froze upon saying what she just said realizing where that point was going. "Don't tell me…" Ruby muttered.
"Indeed. Fiona was the same girl who shouted when Ozpin revealed to Beacon that aliens exist. And she came around recently and asked Ghoadry and these two a bunch of questions, even something about… probing cows, or something." Pyrrha said while pressing her thumbs together.
Chorina, Ruby, and Omni looked at each other awkwardly for a moment before Chorina let out a simple… "Oh… kaaaaaay then… I'm just glad she didn't say anything that overly unnerved you." Chorina said, only for both the Humans and aliens before her to suddenly go silent.
"What's with the silence?" Ruby wondered as she turned to her sister.
"There was… one thing she said that unnerved us a little." Yang admitted.
"Ahem… A little?" Blake repeated sarcastically.
"Fiona said that… today… wasn't the first time she's seen alien life." Pyrrha stated.
"What! WHAT?!" Chorina and Ruby let out at the same time, Ruby being louder than the brightest mind of the Weza Izumokita, shocked at the fact.
"Are you saying… Fiona has had contact with aliens BEFORE we came to this planet?" Chorina asked in disbelief.
"Yeah. She even said that she had tests run on her by these aliens in question-" Jaune said before being-
"That's not possible!" Cut off abruptly by Chorina. She quickly regained her composure before saying. "I'll try to talk to her about that matter personally."
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Weiss asked. "The amount of questions she asked those two and Ghoadry at such a fast pace made Nora look like Ren in comparison. I don't think you'd even wanna know how many questions she'd ask you in particular."
"Plus, her friend did tell her that her encounter was just a dream when Ghoadry didn't recognize the sketch of the alien she drew." Yang said.
"And it looked more like one of those made up aliens you see in those B movies anyway." Jaune added.
Chorina was confused by what Jaune was talking about, while Ruby was imagining what would happen if Fiona or Melia found out about the Omnitrix she had on her. 'No! Please! No more questions! Personal space! I can't take it!' She pictured herself begging in said scenario.
Ruby soon felt a warm sensation from the Omnitrix, and looked down to see Omni giving her a look that said. "Don't you think you're worrying a bit too much on that front?" Omni herself then actually said.
Ruby sighed. "Sorry. I just don't wanna have to deal with a person like that right now." She admitted, getting Chorina's attention.
She then placed a hand on Ruby's shoulder. "You know… I heard from Ghoadry that the Headhunterz destroyed your weapon." Chorina admitted.
Ruby froze for a moment. "Wha- But I-" Chorina interrupted her stuttering.
"Yang told her while you and I were talking with Ozpin, Ms. Goodwitch, and the general yesterday." Chorina admitted, making Ruby look at Yang to see her twiddling her thumbs awkwardly at that fact. "Now, Ruby, look at me and no one else. I already told you about what these sparring matches are being held for, so if you'd like, I can exempt you from the matches." Chorina told her.
"What! But, but what abou-"
"Ruby." The Omnitrix-bearing girl looked at Weiss, who had just spoken, before her partner continued. "You do realize that you have no skill in hand-to-hand combat, right? Without Crescent Rose, you can't fight at your maximum potential."
"And to add onto that, the one thing you still have that qualifies as a weapon is something we can't reveal publicly right now." Blake added.
Ruby grit her teeth as she looked down, knowing that Weiss and Blake were right.
"Rubes, don't worry about a thing." Yang then spoke up. "The rest of your team will handle this with no trouble whatsoever." She said confidently… Before feeling the leering gaze from Chorina and flinching from it. "Okay. maybe SOME trouble. It IS actual aliens we're going up against."
Ruby smiled at Yang's optimism before taking a deep breath and answering. "Okay, but you'd better do your best for me in those matches." She said confidently, holding her hand out for a fist bump from Yang.
"You know we won't give anything less." Yang responded as she returned the fist bump. "By the way, what ARE the sparring matches being held for? Care to spill the beans to us too?" She asked Chorina.
The brightest mind of the Weza Izumokita thought about telling them for a moment before giving a soft nod. "Very well. Since the seven of you were already able to keep the Omnitrix's existence a secret from your own kind up until now, I trust you." Chorina said as she looked at them with confidence.
(That following afternoon, 3:00 PM…)
At this time, many students were shuffling into the main arena that still bore a hole in its ceiling from when the explosions yesterday morning occurred. But luckily, no one was bothered by the fact, as they were busy focusing on what the two humans and aliens in the middle of the arena where the sparring matches would be held.
Ozpin took the center of the arena first as he spoke. "Young ladies and gentlemen of Beacon Academy, just yesterday, this arena fell victim to an explosion that easily tore through it, and while reconstruction will be made to rectify that, we must turn our heads on what we can do now." Ozpin said as he bowed his head slightly. "And for that, I give to you, Chorina Xenxos Altegori of the Weza Izumokita." He said as he stepped aside, Chorina walking up to his former position.
Clapping and even some light cheering from some of the rowdier students were heard, including Yang, Nora, Sun and Neptune, and even Rex and Fiona. "Greetings to all students who've come to take part in this momentous occasion. As you all must know, I'm Chorina, an alien from another planet, and ight now, host of these Human/Alien Sparring matches." She spoke into a mic in her hands.
"These matches will help show you all, and us, what both sides are capable of, and for that reason, I would like to preface this singular point." Chorina stated before continuing. "There are no grades to be earned from these matches, but there will be an award of sorts." Chorina stated. "To get this award, all you must do is show me and your alien opponents what the bonds you've forged at this academy can do for you in the heat of battle. School ranks or how long you've been at Beacon mean nothing. The only thing we're looking for… is skill." She said definitively.
Chorina tossed the microphone up into the air before Mesin caught it. "Here's how the sparring matches will work. The teams that will face us will be determined via randomization. There will be a total of fifteen matches, with 3 matches divided between five different aliens, meaning that while not everyone here will face off against us aliens, there will be some… entertainment to make things here not a total loss, so to speak." Mesin said before letting the mic in his hand drop.
Ghoadry sped up and caught it before it could hit the ground using the wheels on her feet. "With that said, it's time we quit stalling and get to the matches themselves." Ghoadry stated before pointing towards the audience. "Can we get some noise to welcome our contestants?!" She stated before the students that surrounded the arena in suspense cheered loudly. "There we go! Now before we get to the team matchups, we're gonna have an opening act in the form of our Mesin, going up against General James Ironwood himself. May both contenders step up to the ring!" Ghoadry announced as Mesin nodded to her.
Ghoadry opened up some slots on her arms, and shot six circular disks out of them. The landed on the floor in front of her, Ozpin, Glynda, and Chorina before a hard-light platform formed above the disks. The two aliens and Human professors stepped atop it as it hovered off the ground and brought them up to the seats where Team RWBY, JNPR, CFVY, and SSSN were seated.
The former two teams smiled and waved at them as Coco spoke to them. "Hey Chorina, you ready for these sparring matches to get underway?" She asked the Weza Izumokita.
"I dunno. Are you?" Chorina asked with an eye winking.
Coco was admittedly caught off-guard at that question, not by the words, but the fact they came from someone as smart as Chorina.
"I wonder if Ironwood will fare against Mesin? He might be the General of Atlas, but we don't know how exactly he fights." Velvet wondered aloud.
"And Mesin has that power where he can increase the length of his arms." Sun stated.
"Elasticity is a commonplace for Mesin's species, just watch. I calculate a 40% chance that Ironwood will come victorious." Ghoadry stated with her hands behind her back.
"So what you're saying is…" Yang cut off Neptune's sentence.
"That Ironwood doesn't stand a chance?" Yang asked, making Ghoadry huff in response.
"Well, I never said that." She said as pointed a finger gun at the blonde girl.
As she said that, James Ironwood himself was walking into the arena as Mesin eyed him the whole time he made his way to the center of the arena.
"Simple yet impressive loadout you've got there, General." Mesin complimented the Human general.
The man himself bore two guns holstered on both sides, and a duo of pouches that contained extra bullets on his upper arms. "Thank you. I could say the same for you, but not many Humans carry weapons of the kind you might have on you." General said before he unholstered both his guns, Due Process.
"Well, it IS for obvious reasons in a way." Mesin said before he pulled four handles off his sides, and spun them in his hands before they extended to form metallic blades with sharp edges. "I'll try not to hurt you TOO badly, but I promise you, I'll fight with all I've got." He promised as he pointed two of his swords at the general and wielded the other two in a backhand.
"Same here, Mesin." James said with a light smirk on his face.
Glynda began a countdown sequence depicted above the fighters that started to count down from five. "The match will begin in five…" Glynda counted down as both fighters stared intently at each other.
"Four." James twirled his guns in his hands one more time.
"Three." Mesin tightened his grip on the swords he wielded, being as ready as possible.
"Two." Ruby watched with a nervous look as she tightly gripped the edge of her skirt.
"One." Chorina's eyes narrowed as she watched the battle…
"Begin!" Glynda declared.
Right away, James pointed one of his guns, this one bearing a jet black color behind him, and fired a gravity Dust bullet to launch himself forward with shocking speed. Mesin launched himself into the air by elongating his leg-like arms as James flew right under him.
James skidded on the ground before firing a pair of shots at Mesin from below, this time with his white and gray gun. Mesin spun his body around, and blocked the shots easily before he landed on the ground and ran up to the General of Atlas.
"HYAH!" Mesin lunged at James before swinging his swords at him, the tall but still smaller man making the most out of the size difference as he dodged and weaved his way around Mesin's sword swipes.
James eventually pointed his jet black gun towards the ground, and shot another gravity Dust bullet downward behind him, sending himself rocketing towards Mesin's head, a punch reared back the whole time.
Mesin got hit in the neck before being flung back a little, only to quickly backflip three times before throwing his swords at Ironwood. The general shot at one of the swords, knocking it off course, before literally backhanding the other away with his right arm.
Mesin was undaunted as he fearlessly charged in with his other two swords now moved up to his upper most hands, and lunged his upper-right hand's sword at James, who managed to holster Due Process, and catch it with his hands clapping together on the blade, his feet digging into the floor the whole time to secure his position.
"Ehehe… Well, I'll be. You're actually pretty tough, General Ironwood." Mesin complimented.
"You're… Pretty tough yourself, but what could I've expected from a being of another planet?" James muttered as his grip was beginning to loosen before he applied more force to it.
Mesin smirked. "Well, thanks for the compliment." He tossed his other sword into the air before elongating his arms to grab the others that were on the floor of the arena. "Now back to the fight!" Mesin declared as he caught the blade he had tossed into the air.
James agreed as he slammed the blade he had caught with his hands into the ground before using another gravity Dust round to launch himself into the air, and began firing shot after shot from Due Process's gray gun to impede Mesin.
Mesin charged at Ironwood, reaching out for his sword that the general of Atlas had stabbed into the ground. He grabbed it and used it as a way to speed up his advance.
He spun around the blade and used the momentum he built up to jump into the air after Ironwood. Ironwood fired two more rounds from Due Process, only for Mesin to easily parry the shots. The fight transitioned to the air for a bit, Ironwood kept firing gravity Dust rounds to maneuver around Mesin, and the alien himself parrying the general's shots that were pointed at him.
"WOAH! This fight is intense!" Yang complimented.
"I'll say. The general's doing great against Mesin." Weiss added, amazed by the fight.
The students watching the fight were mostly on the edge of their seats, seeing the alien fight against the general of Atlas himself.
Mesin, deciding enough was enough, spun his body in the air by using his arm holding onto the blade embedded in the ground as support, and held his three blades around in a circle. Two blades being held by his upper right and lower left arms, and the third being held by his leg-like right hand.
This managed to knock James off-balance and out of the air before hitting him dead in his chest. This manages to make his Aura visibly fluctuate, and knock him out of the air.
Mesin quickly lowered himself down to the ground, and James hit the ground in a slide before using another gravity Dust round to steady his position.
Mesin charged at him again, before Ironwood noticed that both guns of Due Process were out of ammo. "End of the line, General!" Mesin declared as he charged at him.
The general, thinking quickly, pulled some rounds out of one of the pouches on his arm before loading them into Due Process's gray gun, and when Mesin got close enough, he leapt forward and fired one shot into the alien's chest area… Freezing the point of impact at the same time.
This made Mesin flinch at the sight before he touched the area the shot was fired at, and smiled as a result. "Cryogenic shots, huh? Creative." Mesin complimented before turning around and dashing right at James.
The general himself dashed to his left before firing more Ice Dust rounds at Mesin, only for the alien to seamlessly parry the shots, ice forming on the blades the whole time.
The general repositioned his Gray gun in his hand to use as a clubbing weapon, and shot himself forward with a gravity Dust round, reared back his right arm as an attempt to land a strike on Mesin, only for the alien to smirk at the sight.
Using the ice that had been attached to his blades, courtesy of James' ice Dust rounds, he planted two unfrozen blades in the floor of the arena before catching the oncoming fist with two hands. "You're pretty good." Mesin said before using his right leg-like arm to punch the general in the stomach twice, knocking him off-balance before pulling his frozen blades back. "But I'm better." He stated.
The frozen blades, consisting of icy spikes, rammed into James' midsection before shattering off the blades and knocking him to the ground. A buzzer went off as a sign that James had lost via his Aura becoming depleted.
"And that's the match, with Mesin as the victor." Glynda said. The crowd was in a mix. Most cheered, some were in shock, and some native to Atlas booed.
"T-The general lost?! How?!" An Atlesian student with dark skin and wearing a fedora and glasses said in shock.
"That space man must've cheated! I knew those aliens were no good!" A woman who was also from Atlas commented.
The booing that occurred died down as Mesin walked over to the General of Atlas and lowered a hand to him. "Need a lift onto your feet there, General?" Mesin asked.
The general, whether it be because of how he was defeated, or because he respected the alien before him, took Mesin's hand and stood back up. "Thank you. That was a good fight. I'll give you that much." James said as he smiled.
"Hehe. I'm just glad you have some dignity to admit that. A lesser man would say that I cheated." Mesin stated, which made the Atlesian woman in the stands flinch and pout.
"Well, I wouldn't say that. More like… simply used your abilities to the fullest. Like any good Huntsman, you made great use of your power to defeat me. Take pride in that." James told Mesin, who smiled at the statement.
He scratched the back of his neck as the both of them were being watched by the students in the bleachers. "Huh… It's funny. I expected an old friend of mine to say the same to me, but… they didn't. I never expected I'd hear what I had hoped out of him on this planet." Mesin admitted.
James wondered what he meant by that, but knew this wasn't the place to ask about it. "Well, either way…" The general held out his left hand this time to Mesin. "That was a great battle, and I mean that." He said with nothing but respect.
Mesin took the man's hand and shook it with equal respect to him. Clapping was heard from the stands as they both turned to see Ruby clapping for the match they both had.
Soon enough, Weiss, Blake, and Yang joined in on the clapping before their friends, Teams JNPR, CFVY, and SSSN all joined in as well. And soon enough, their clapping had spread to many other students in the crowd, if not all of them.
James and Mesin looked out at the students celebrating the match before James waved at them while Mesin took a bow.
"Now that the match between James Ironwood and Mesin Olaxi has concluded, we shall begin the randomized selection for our next match." Glynda announced.
Mesin and James left the arena as the randomization began. A randomizing system appeared on the screen overviewing the arena, and as it slowed down, the next match was decided.
"The next match will be between… the four members of Team JNPR and Ghoadry." Chorina declared as she continued. "Combatants, ready yourselves for the battle." She ordered.
"W-WHAT?! But I didn't even sign up!" As Jaune was in shock, he suddenly heard whistling from Pyrrha . Jaune turned to her and she covered her mouth shut. "…Pyrrha?"
"I can explain." Ren said as he stood up. "Pyrrha signed you up at the last minute."
Jaune's skin suddenly turned pale. "…SHE WHAT?!"
"Apologies, Jaune. I just wanted to see how far you've come with our training." Pyrrha argued.
"WE'RE LITERALLY ABOUT TO FIGHT A ROBOT FROM OUTER SPACE! WE NEVER TRAINED FOR THAT!" Jaune pointed out.
With that, Pyrrha had only one thing to say. "Oops?"