SAPR

by Scipio Smith

Second Round Picks (New)

Second Round Picks

The teams who had won in their first round match-ups were gathered back in the arena. Sixteen teams stood arrayed in parade-ground fashion, each team in line abreast, each team forming a column, all of them facing the Amity Princess and the headmaster of Beacon where they stood on the central hexagon, elevated up above the students below.

The arrangement of column by school made it easy to see that Beacon had done better than average and Shade had done worse, with Beacon having five qualifying teams and Shade three. Atlas and Haven were both exactly average with four winning teams apiece, which was disappointing for Atlas, which really ought to have done a lot better.

As a school, they would have to collectively up their game going into the second round.

Team RSPT were second in the Atlesian column, behind Team TTSS but ahead of teams FNKI and SABR.

On the right of the line, looking up over Trixie's hat, Rainbow waited. She wondered if Doctor Polendina was watching this. She didn't know if Penny had told him that she wasn't progressing any further on the tournament, but Rainbow doubted it.

When he found out, Doctor Polendina was likely to have views.

For that matter, Doctor Pietro might be a little disappointed too.

It didn't change her decision, but at the same time, it wasn't really something she was looking forward to.

Something to worry about a little later. For now, she wanted to know who she'd be up against in the next round.

"Good evening, students," Professor Ozpin said. He spoke without the aid of a microphone, and while Rainbow could hear him just fine, she wasn't sure how his voice was carrying to the stands.

Perhaps he didn't want the crowds to hear him.

"When this day began, there were thirty-two teams prepared to fight for their own glory and the honour of their schools in this tournament. Now, only sixteen teams remain, and per the rules of this tournament, only two huntsmen or huntresses from each team may progress into the next round.

"In the vocation you have chosen, it is sometimes necessary to make difficult decisions. You may have to leave comrades behind to accomplish your goals, split up and send only part of your force to complete an objective. The choice that you have to make tests not only the ability of half a team to function without the other, but also your ability to choose: do you know the strengths and weaknesses of your team members well enough to select the best choices? Can you put your own desires for glory behind the greater good of the team, if that is what is best?

"This is a tournament, a celebration and a relief, but do not think that nothing that happens within this arena has lessons applicable to the world beyond." He paused. "Miss Aris, if you would be so good."

Skystar Aris took a step forward. She was speaking into a microphone, and it let her voice carry out over the students, and they must have been able to hear her in the stands.

"Hello again, people of Remnant! Whether you're here with us in the Amity Colosseum or watching on TV, welcome back as we announce the second round draws!" Skystar cried. "First, the students of all teams that won their first round matches will submit the names of the two students going forward into round two, which I announce for you all. Then, the computer will assign match-ups for tomorrow's eight matches, and I will announce those as well. So without further ado, team leaders, will you please make your submissions!"

There was a flurry of rustling around as all the team leaders got out their scrolls, Rainbow included. An app had been added to her device, and presumably to Sunset's and Trixie's and every other team leader's scroll as well, when she had been selected for the tournament. It linked to a database, which Skystar could access from her end.

At her end, as she opened up both scroll and app, all Rainbow could see were the names and headshots of herself and her three teammates.

Around her, Rainbow could hear beeps as leaders made their selections and sent them off.

She glanced at Ciel, who stood next to her. "Are you sure about this?"

Ciel, in turn, looked at Penny. "A chance remains to change your mind."

Penny, on the other hand, didn't hesitate. She shook her head. "You two go for it. And good luck."

Rainbow sighed, even as she felt a little more apprehensive than relieved. "Okay," she said. "Here goes."

She selected her own name and Ciel's. With two people selected, a send button appeared in the corner. Rainbow picked that too, at which point, a pop-up appeared to check she was sure, and by this point, Rainbow just wanted it to accept her answer already.

Skystar had her scroll out, balancing it in one hand as she held onto the microphone with the other. Professor Ozpin looked over her shoulder.

Skystar kept a smile on her face throughout. She was still smiling as she cried out, "And that is all selections made, no take backs, no changing your mind, it is done! And so, without further ado … those of you who watched the announcement of competing teams will remember that we did Shade Academy first and Beacon last. We're going to reverse that order today and announce the Beacon students in alphabetical order, we have … from Team Jugular: Jessica Tubal and Lance Gobham!" She paused to allow some cheering from those who had been impressed by JGLR in the first round, then went on. "From Team Ichor: Iris Marilla and Castor Olympus. From Team Wisteria: Weiss Schnee and Flash Sentry!"

There were more cheers for the WWSR duo, but also more booing as well, which Skystar affected to ignore.

"From Team Sapphire," she went on, "Sunset Shimmer and Pyrrha Nikos!"

Even more cheers for them, obviously, and fewer — although not none — boos. Some people started singing the Mistralian song, but Skystar's voice overrode them easily.

"And from Team Iron: Yang Xiao Long and Nora Valkyrie!"

Ruby was amongst those cheering that announcement, raising her hands in the air as she whooped. "Go get 'em, sis!"

Nora reached in front of her and ruffled Ruby's hair.

Skystar's smile became a little broader for a second. "And now, the Atlas teams beginning with Team Funky: Flint Koal and Neon Katt!"

There were some pretty loud cheers for them; one match, and Neon had already made herself a fan favourite.

"Team Rosepetal," Skystar cried, and Rainbow swallowed involuntarily. "Rainbow Dash and Ciel Soleil!"

Rainbow glanced again at Ciel's face. Her expression was frozen, as though she couldn't quite believe what they'd done. Rainbow could hardly believe it, and it had been her idea.

"Team Sabre: Sabine Silverband and Reynard Kerak!" Skystar announced. "And Team Tsunami: Trixie Lulamoon and Starlight Glimmer!"

Trixie swept her hat off her head as she bowed in acknowledgement of the cheers that fell on her like snow.

By now, the faces of all the competing Beacon and Atlas students, plus their names, had appeared on a holographic board behind Skystar.

"And now for Haven Academy," Skystar said. "Beginning with Team Auburn: Arslan Altan and Bolin Hori!"

She paused a moment for the applause, and then had to pause for a bit longer because there was a lot of applause, and singing. Eventually, Skystar began to speak over it to announce, "Team Ball: Lavinia Andronicus and Lucius Andronicus!"

There was less applause for them, but Skystar waited a few seconds for it nonetheless. "Team Volcano: Lily Cornelia and Cicero Ward the Younger! And Team Sun: Sun Wukong and Neptune Vasilias!"

As the faces of Sun and Neptune appeared on the board, Rainbow couldn't help but notice that a lot of team leaders had put themselves through in spite of what Professor Ozpin had said.

Of course, she was one of them, so who was she to talk?

"And of course, last but not least, the teams from Shade Academy!" Skystar declared. “Team Gear: Elektra Fury and Ariadne Guimet.

“From Team Sugar: Uxbridge Scot and Alexander Fourprong.

"And from Team Umber: Umber Gorgoneion and Reap Matthias!"

She stopped and turned to the board, gesturing towards it. "And there they are, our second round contenders! I'm sure you all have your favourites, but let's just take a moment to appreciate all of them. They've done so well already, and the entire point of this whole festival is to come together in celebration, so … well done to everyone for today and good luck for everyone for tomorrow. And so, without further ado: let's have the second round match-ups!"

There was a murmur of anticipation from the crowd and from the gathered students as the names and faces disappeared. Some of them reappeared, then disappeared again, flickering in and out of sight as the computer made its inscrutable decisions.

The faces of Sunset and Pyrrha were the first to appear, opposite the faces of Trixie and Starlight.

"Sunset Shimmer and Pyrrha Nikos of Beacon's Team Sapphire against Trixie Lulamoon and Starlight Glimmer of Atlas' Team Tsunami!" Skystar announced, as cheers from Atlas warred against the cheering from Beacon and from Mistral.

Rainbow winced. That was really bad luck for Trixie and Starlight; there was no way around it. Against most other teams, Trixie could have made it into the final eight — Starlight would have been a better choice, but there was no way she was even going into the two on two except out of affection for Trixie — but against Sunset and Pyrrha?

She wouldn't say that they had absolutely no chance … but their chances weren't great.

The next match to be revealed also pitted Beacon students against Atlas.

"Weiss Schnee and Flash Sentry of Beacon's Team Wisteria against Sabine Silverband and Reynard Kerak of Atlas' Team Sabre!" Skystar announced.

Behind her, Rainbow heard, or thought she heard, Sabine let out a little cheer of satisfaction. She might have been imagining it, because there was a lot of cheering, and a lot of booing too, but she resolved to talk to her about it after they were done here.

Thankfully, the next match-up to appear on the board didn't involve any Atlas teams, pitting Pyrrha's friend Arslan and her teammate against the two Beacon students from Team JGLR, Jessica and Lance. Flint and Neon got lucky and were paired against one of the Shade teams, the Team GEAR pair, while Sun and Neptune also got lucky being pitted against the two from Team SUGA.

Rainbow found herself glancing towards Team YRBN; after all, there weren't many teams left who hadn't been assigned a match already.

She wasn't looking forward to putting Blake in that position.

Rainbow let out a sigh of relief when Yang and Nora's faces appeared and the faces of Rainbow and Ciel were nowhere to be seen.

"Yang Xiao Long and Nora Valkyrie of Beacon's Team Iron versus Lavinia Andronicus and Lucius Andronicus of Haven's Team Ball!" Skystar declared.

Which meant, with only two teams left, that Rainbow and Ciel were going up against the last remaining Haven team.

"Rainbow Dash and Ciel Soleil of Team Rosepetal of Atlas against Lily Cornelia and Cicero Ward the Younger of Haven's Team Volcano!" Skystar announced to the applause of the crowd.

Rainbow looked to her right, where the Haven students were formed up. She had a bit of a hard time spotting the Team VLCA duo; they looked pretty nondescript apart from the name of the guy they were putting forward.

Not that Rainbow was underestimating them, of course, but … could have been worse. Could have been a lot worse.

"And there you have it!" Skystar said. "Our second round matches all lined up for tomorrow. Which means that is that from us for tonight. If you're here for the festival in person, have a great night; if you're competing, then have a great night but also get some rest; and if you're watching the live coverage, then we hope to see you back here at ten AM, Vale time, for the start of the matches. Until then: goodnight!"

The giant screens all around the arena all turned off; the coverage was over for the day. When Rainbow had been a kid, they'd followed the first day's festival coverage with the premiere of a new show they really wanted everyone to watch; she hadn't checked the TV schedule to see if they were doing that this year.

Anyway, whatever they were doing or weren't doing, the coverage was over, and they were all free now to do as they liked. The central hexagon, with Skystar and Professor Ozpin on it, was starting to come down.

Rainbow turned her head as Blake approached her.

"I thought I was going to have to watch you fight Yang for a second there," Blake said.

Rainbow grinned. "Yeah, it would have been awkward watching me best your team leader—"

"I heard that!" Yang yelled.

Rainbow sniggered. As the student body broke up, heading for the exits, Rainbow spotted Team SABR out of the corner of her eye.

"Excuse me a second," she said to Blake and turned away from her, walking quickly to catch up with Team SABR. "Yo, Sabine, wait up!"

Team SABR were a rarity on Atlas, and amongst all the academies from what Rainbow had seen, in being an entirely faunus team.

Sabine Silverband was a sable faunus, with a matte black tail emerging from between her legs to curl around one of her ankles. She was dressed in a black as matte as her tail, a black dress with a white jacket over the top, but even the jacket had a black fur collar. A pair of silver bracelets dangled from her wrists over a pair of glossy black gloves, and her boots were black, high-heeled, and topped with silver. She wore a necklace of ice dust crystals around her neck. Her hair was as black as her tail and worn long, bound into a braid that fell down behind her until it met her tail, while her eyes were as icy blue as the dust around her neck.

Aaron Moore was a mole faunus with a pair of digging claws emerging from out of his hands. He wore thick brown leather overalls over a blue shirt and a red kerchief tied around his neck. He was bald, with a large, round face and eyes that seemed set into such a permanent squint that it was hard to say what colour they were.

Bella Roseye was a badger faunus, and like Aaron, she had claws on the ends of her fingers, although they didn't look like they were as long as her teammate’s. Her eyes were as red as her name, and blind besides; she used a sort of assistive VI to see for her by transmitting infrared images directly to her brain. At least, that was how Rainbow thought it worked. She was the tallest of the team by a foot and a half in spite of Sabine's heels, being a giant of a woman standing over seven feet tall, and a lot of that seven feet being muscle too. She wore a black robe and a white headdress that covered all of her head bar the face, but underneath the robe, Rainbow could see hints of copper-coloured armour on her arms.

Reynard Kerak was a fox faunus with a bushy red tail and hair of the same colour to match, which he wore long and untidy, falling down around his face with no order, rhyme, or reason. He had a nasty scar on his cheek from an ursa's claw that had only just missed one of his green eyes. A lot like Starlight, he wore Atlesian infantry armour, but unlike her, he had painted his white, save for the thick stripe of blood red running down the centre of the chest and stomach.

Sabine stopped and turned, and the rest of her team stopped and turned with her.

"Rainbow Dash," she said, in a tone that was mostly neutral but sounded like it was edging just a little bit towards dislike. Rainbow couldn't think what she'd done to give Sabine reason to dislike her … maybe Sabine was upset that Rainbow couldn't remember what she'd done?

"Something we can help you with?" Sabine asked.

"Uh, yeah, maybe," Rainbow murmured, scratching the back of her head because this was … kind of awkward. "So … you're going up against Weiss Schnee, huh?"

Sabine grinned. "Oh, yeah. Sometimes, fortune does smile on us."

"You sound very happy about it," Rainbow observed.

"My only regret is that this didn't happen in the first round," Sabine declared. "When we all could have shared in kicking the asses of that whole racist team of hers."

Her teammates murmured their wordless agreement.

"'Racist team'? Come on, guys," Rainbow implored. "Weiss isn't her father, and she's not a racist."

"Her name is Schnee," Reynard spat.

"You don't get to choose the name you're born with," Rainbow replied.

"You get to choose to swan around in tiaras purchased with the blood of our people," Reynard growled.

"After what has come out, after what you found," Bella said, "how can you defend her?"

"Pretty easily, since she has nothing to do with it," Rainbow said sharply. "How can you all blame her?"

"Because I had an uncle in one of those slave camps!" Sabine spat. "An uncle I haven't seen since I was three years old; they told us he was dead. We mourned for him, my parents mourned for him … now he is back with the letters 'SDC' burned into his face, and she, the Schnee princess herself, pampered by the suffering of so many faunus, swans about, struts here and there, competes for glory in the Vytal Festival? If there was any justice, if she had any shame, she would burn her fine clothes and wander Remnant naked, begging for forgiveness from every faunus she came across—"

"Gods, Sabine!" Rainbow spat.

"I don't have the power to make her do that," Sabine went on, "but I do have the power to end her tournament in painful humiliation, and I intend to make the most of it."

"For something her father did?" Rainbow demanded. "For something that her father's company did? You've got a right to be angry, but not with Weiss. Weiss has helped faunus in need, she was down on Low Town with me and Blake, she … she's a friend to Atlas, and she's a friend to me too, so I'm asking, please, just … keep it to the spirit of the tournament, okay?"

Sabine folded her arms. "Oh, well, if the great Rainbow Dash asks, how can we little people possibly refuse?"

Rainbow scowled, her ears drooping down into her iridescent hair. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means you’re a house faunus, Dash, and you always have been!" Sabine snapped. "General Ironwood's loyal fireside dog—"

"I am no one's dog!" Rainbow growled.

"Then why are you coming over here telling me, telling all of us, that we aren't allowed to be angry?" Sabine demanded. "That we're not allowed to want even a little payback?" She shook her head. "When I found out that you had been the one to uncover all of this, I thought that maybe you'd changed. But I see that you're still the same bootlicker that you always were."

"Says who?" Rainbow demanded. "You? Who made you God of Animals so that you can tell me that I'm not enough of a faunus?"

"A real faunus wouldn't be standing up for a Schnee over her own kind, after all they've done to us," Sabine declared.

"I don't know if real Atlas students would be sounding like the White Fang, either," Rainbow muttered.

Sabine scoffed. "You got to show the world those SDC brands and then go home and feel righteous afterwards. I have to go home and see it on my uncle's face. You don’t have to be White Fang to see that there’s something rotten in this kingdom. You have to be stupid not to.” She turned away, and walked away with her tail up, shaking back and forth.

The rest of her team followed her. Reynard gave Rainbow a dirty look as he went past.

Rainbow, on the other hand, didn't go anywhere. She just stood there, thinking. Thinking not that Sabine might be right, but … between Twilight asking her if she was becoming too much of a faunus, the faunus telling her that she wasn't enough of one, where did that leave her?

Where did that leave Blake? If this was Rainbow's bed, then she would lie on it, but Blake … Blake deserved better.

Not that she would understand this if Rainbow tried to talk to her about it.

And yet, at the moment, as a result of Sabine's words ringing in her ears, it was all that she could really think about right now.

Not enough of a faunus to be a faunus, not angry enough, not desperate for justice.

Too much of a faunus to be a good Atlesian. Too aware of the problems and the injustices, not able to shut up about them.

Neither fish nor fowl.

Rainbow found that she didn't want to talk to Blake right now, or Twilight, or her friends, or anyone else. She just … she wanted to be alone with her thoughts.

And so she took her thoughts away, without a word to anyone.

---

Rainbow took herself up, all the way up, to the eaves of the Colosseum, up above the docking pads where the skybuses were starting to ferry people down to Beacon below.

She was about level with the private boxes, although getting to where she was from there wasn't easy; the stairs and elevators were designed to take you down, not out to where Rainbow sat amongst the struts and the support beams. It was like an attic, except that it came with a view.

It came with maybe the second best view in all of Remnant, Rainbow thought as she sat, looking out, with Beacon below and the whole of Vale spread out before her. She could see everything, all the way to the Green Line and beyond. Heck, she thought she could even see Mountain Glenn from up here, a dark and shadowy patch, a place not to go amidst a vista of inviting wonders. A place beyond the borders of mankind's territory here.

But apart from that, yes sir, it was quite a view. Especially now, at twilight, when the whole city was lit, and all the airships too.

"I can certainly see why you wanted to come up here," Lady Belladonna said as she ducked beneath a couple of support beams to approach Rainbow, although she didn't approach her all the way to the edge where Rainbow sat. "It's quite something."

Rainbow twisted around, climbing carefully up onto her feet. "Ma'am? What are you—?"

"Blake thinks from your sudden exit that you want to be alone right now," Lady Belladonna said. "She might be right, but I know from my greater experience," — she smiled playfully — "that the times when we want to be alone are often the times when we shouldn't be."

Rainbow hesitated. "I … appreciate this, ma'am, but … you don't need to concern yourself with me. You should … celebrate with Blake—"

"I think I'd only cramp her style with Sun and all her friends," Lady Belladonna replied. "And I wouldn't want to do that all the time, now would I? No, I think that the best thing I can do for Blake is … well, this." She paused a moment. "You're Blake's best friend, and without you, I wouldn't know where she was or that she was even alive." She grinned. "You brought me into your life; I'm afraid you're stuck with my meddling ways until I return to Menagerie."

Rainbow snorted. "Well, if I've only got myself to blame, ma'am." She walked away from the edge, walking closer to Lady Belladonna. "Ma'am, can I ask you something? Adam, did you know about his…" She waved one hand in front of her eye.

Lady Belladonna's eyes narrowed. "What?"

"A scar," Rainbow said. "A brand on his face. An SDC brand."

Lady Belladonna stared at her. "So that's why he never took off his mask."

"I take it that's a no, ma'am," Rainbow said.

"I'm afraid that Adam would never have trusted me or Ghira with something like that," Lady Belladonna said. "Did … did Blake know?"

"Yes," Rainbow replied, her voice getting a little hoarse. "Yes, ma'am, she did. Ma'am … can I ask, did you ever get angry?"

"About?"

"Faunus rights?" Rainbow said. "You and Blake's dad always supported peaceful protest, but … did you ever want to just join Sienna Khan in smashing stuff up?"

"Rainbow Dash," Lady Belladonna said, concern creeping into her voice. "What's this all about?"

Rainbow sighed. "The team that Weiss Schnee has been drawn against for the two on two round is a faunus team, and they're angry. I tried to … I asked them not to take it out on Weiss, because it's not her fault, but ... it seems I'm not a real faunus. I'm—"

"A house faunus?" Lady Belladonna suggested.

Rainbow's eyes widened. "How did you—?"

"Sienna said the same thing to me, once, near the end, when she was on the verge of taking over the movement," Lady Belladonna said. "I was a house faunus, I was a mongrel, the humans could wave a ham in front of me, and I'd chase it all over Anima."

Rainbow's eyebrows rose.

"Don't ask," Lady Belladonna said. "Sienna was very angry that day. Ghira had managed, after much patient effort and wooing of the Mistralian Councillor Gracchus, to get a motion tabled on land reform that would have granted agricultural tenants greater rights: protection from eviction, that sort of thing. The rest of the Council voted it down. It was … a bitter blow. Months of effort wasted. Sienna wanted to go out into the fields and start burning the great estates, to terrify the bailiffs and the rent collectors until they hid beneath their beds and dared not stir abroad. I pointed out that they would loose huntsmen on us, and Sienna … well, she lost it with me.

"And the truth is, the answer to your question is … yes, I was angry too. The whole business was intensely frustrating." She smiled. "Fortunately, Sienna was kind enough to offer me a healthy outlet for my frustration. I hit her in the face with a dinner tray."

Rainbow laughed. "Seriously, ma'am?"

"She may have been my boss at one time, but I wasn't going to let her talk to me like that," Lady Belladonna said. She reached out and brushed her fingers over Rainbow's ears; it tickled a little bit. "You are a faunus, a child of the Shallow Sea, and no one — but no one — has the right to deny you that, to tell you that you're not behaving right, that you don't feel the right or sufficient passions, that you don't want the right things. Not for any reason. You are a faunus, it is your birthright to be one of us, and that is not something that any gatekeeper can take away from you."

"You make it sound like an honour," Rainbow said.

Lady Belladonna shrugged. "Just because others see it as a mark of shame doesn't mean that we must."

Rainbow chuckled. "I'll have to introduce you to Neon Katt sometime; you'd get along like a house on fire." She paused and looked away from Lady Belladonna for a second or two. "What they said … well, it wouldn't have bothered me so much before I met Blake, but now … Blake has, or rather, since meeting Blake, I … I've become more … aware? Of … you know." She paused, her ears drooping. "It makes my friends uncomfortable."

Lady Belladonna's ears drooped, whether in sympathy or because she was genuinely upset, Rainbow couldn't have said. "They told you this?"

"Not exactly, but … Twilight told me that she was worried I'd become less Atlesian."

"And what did you say?"

"That I was a faunus and an Atlesian, and that meant I would always be a little different compared to … a human."

Lady Belladonna nodded. "A reasonable answer, and a true one." She smiled. "Before you worry too much about your friends, remember that this change in you, the change that you've told me only happened this year when you met Blake, is new to them. You aren't the same person they met, and it may take a little getting used to. But by the same token, that doesn't mean that they'll reject the change or that they can't understand it if you explain it to them. Give them a chance before you assume you're fated for solitude."

Rainbow was quiet for a second. “You … you’re very wise, ma’am.”

Lady Belladonna chuckled. “Not everyone has always thought so, even my own daughter didn’t think so, but … I appreciate the attempt.”

“I mean it,” Rainbow said. “I was up here getting all hot and bothered and worried, and you … cut through it.”

“I’m older than you,” Lady Belladonna reminded her. “And age, and experience, bring a kind of wisdom that is all their own. Did you ever wonder, before you met Blake, about your friends? About whether or not they—?”

“No,” Rainbow said at once. “In fact … I got kind of annoyed with Blake for suggesting it, when we first met.”

Lady Belladonna smiled. “Then don’t start doubting them now,” she urged. “I may be the High Chieftainess of Menagerie, but that doesn’t mean that I want every faunus in Remnant to cut themselves off from all human contact, distrustful, suspicious. That way lies—”

“Sienna Khan?” Rainbow guessed.

“Or worse,” Lady Belladonna said. “You don’t have to choose. Blake doesn’t have to choose. No one has to choose. We can come together in understanding, Ghira always believed that, and I believed him. And for what it’s worth, I think you’re right about Weiss Schnee as well. Children lash out blindly in their frustration, taking their feelings out on anything and everything in reach; I think that if you’re old enough to bear arms into battle, then you should also be a little more mature than that. That girl doesn’t deserve to be tainted by her family’s actions any more than Blake and her ambitions deserve to be tainted by our failures.” She smiled. “And so, unless you really, really enjoy the view from up here, I would suggest that you go down and join your friends and remind yourself of where you belong. And put your foolish fellow Atlas students out of your mind. They don’t sound worth your time.”

Rainbow snorted. “No, ma’am, I guess they’re not.” She bowed her head. “Thank you, ma’am, again.”

“Well, I must confess to an ulterior motive,” Lady Belladonna replied. “I’m glad that Blake has a friend she can rely on, and I’m glad that it’s you.”

A smile pricked at the corners of Rainbow’s mouth. “Thanks for that too, ma’am. Now, if you’ll let me escort you down before I take your advice, I—” Her scroll went off. “Hold that thought for a moment, ma’am,” she said, as she got out her scroll and checked the caller ID.

It was Doctor Polendina calling.

Rainbow stared down at the scroll, her chest rising and falling.

I suppose I should be glad he waited this long.

“You look as though you’re preparing for battle,” Lady Belladonna observed.

“Hopefully not, ma’am, but you never know,” Rainbow said. She answered the call. “Good evening, Doctor.”

Rainbow was a little surprised — although she maybe shouldn't have been — when it wasn't only Doctor Polendina's face that appeared on her scroll, but the three faces of the remaining members of her team.

None of them looked particularly happy about that, although Ciel hid her discomfort best, as she so often did; Penny looked as though she was visibly trembling, in spite of what Rainbow thought was Ruby's hand upon her shoulder, the rest of Ruby Rose just out of view in the small screen window.

And, of course, in the bottom right-hand corner, the face of Doctor Polendina himself; he looked older than he had been when they were in Atlas — he was older, but he seemed to have aged a fair amount in a pretty short amount of time. It was around his eyes, and in them; there wasn't exactly more grey in his face, there wasn't more white in his hair, but in his eyes … his eyes looked older.

His voice was sharp, like a bayonet being slid between Rainbow's ribs. "Rainbow Dash and Ciel Soleil?"

"You were watching the second round picks, Doctor," Rainbow murmured.

"Of course I was watching!" Doctor Polendina yelled. "I watched everything—"

"You didn't call," Rainbow pointed out, making Twilight wince.

Doctor Polendina was silent for a moment. "And why should I do that? Penny has made it clear that my opinion means nothing to her."

"I found my semblance," Penny murmured.

Doctor Polendina ignored her. "But I never thought that the two of you would so brazenly … this is not what I agreed with Ironwood, and this is not what we discussed! How dare you? How dare you? I want to know whose idea this was, and I want to know right now!"

"It was mine," Rainbow said, because it was half-true and because regardless of how true it was or was not, it was her responsibility as team leader to take the hit for things like this.

Doctor Polendina stared up at her from out of the screen of the scroll. "Yours?" he repeated. "This was your idea?"

"Yes, sir," Rainbow said softly.

"It was your idea to deny Penny her rightful place—"

"With all due respect, sir, I have denied Penny nothing," Rainbow interrupted. "Nothing, since Penny ran away to Vale, and I persuaded General Ironwood to let her stay here with her friends — this isn't about asking for gratitude by the way, Penny, don't worry about that," she added quickly, before continuing on. "Everything that Penny really wants, we have given her."

"Not anymore," Doctor Polendina declared. "This tournament—"

"Is what you wanted," Penny said, her voice quiet, but it was a quiet that was like … like the still small voice in Ciel's holy book — Rainbow had took a look at it a couple of times; she had trouble with the language, but there were parts she could sort of remember — the one that could be heard over the hurricane and the earthquake and the snowstorm tempest. Penny's voice could be heard in spite of how quiet she was. "Not what … I wanted."

Doctor Polendina blinked. "Not … not what you wanted. But … I thought … the fame, the glory—"

"Don't matter to me as much as … as being happy," Penny replied. "It might have been fun, it might even have been wonderful, but…" She trailed off, falling silent for a few seconds. She glanced away, off screen, at Ruby, probably, or maybe at her whole team. "It doesn't mean everything to me, and I won't get … it didn't seem that important in the end."

"But it matters to these two who are going to be holding stop signs in Mantle for the rest of their careers?" Doctor Polendina asked.

Penny frowned. "Rainbow and Ciel aren't going to be holding stop signs in Mantle for the rest of their careers."

"We'll see about that," Doctor Polendina muttered. "Penny, this … this was—"

"It's done, Doctor," Twilight pointed out quietly. "The submissions have been made, and they're final."

"My legacy," Doctor Polendina whispered. "My accomplishment. You … people were supposed to see what I had … even if they didn't know that I'd done it."

"You…" Again, Penny glanced off-screen. "You made me," Penny said. "Whatever I do next, everything I do, even if it's where the TV cameras can't see it, that's your legacy, isn't that enough?"

Doctor Polendina was silent for a moment. "Would it have hurt you so much to do me this one thing?"

Seriously? Seriously? Come on, Doc, I know that you're ill and dying, but … come on!

Penny's eyes widened. Her lip trembled. Her mouth opened — before a hand, a small pale hand, reached in from off-screen.

Penny's corner of the screen turned black.

"Penny?" Doctor Polendina cried. "Penny, what … where has she gone?"

"Somewhere more pleasant, one might hope, which might be almost anywhere," Ciel murmured. "Doctor, you have the right to your anger, you even have both right and power alike to ruin the both of us — at the very least, you may attempt it. But to speak to Penny in that way … was unbecoming, at the least. Though Penny is your child, she is no more bound to service to your interests than any other child." She paused. "Penny found her semblance today, as she attempted to point out to you, if you had had the ears to listen. She discovered the expression of herself, another part of who she is. That … is a wondrous thing, far moreso than any tournament triumph. If you had wished to speak to her about it, then I am sure that Penny would have welcome the discussion."

"I…" Doctor Polendina closed his eyes. "I only wanted her to excel, and to be seen to excel."

"Penny does excel," Ciel replied. "She excels at being herself, and in being herself, she is well-beloved and well-regarded, welcomed into the embrace of good company, not to mention that she is not without skill as a huntress for all that you will not see it again in this one tournament. That is enough, Doctor. She is enough.

"Let it be enough, for God's sake, while you still have time."

Comments

[Kiue Jin]

Alas, anger isn't reasonable. Pained anger even less so.

[Mastermind4892]

That was beautifully well said, Kali Belladonna. This is why you're my favorite of Team RWBY's parents.

I'm a bit surprised Rainbow Dash forgot to mention to the faunus team that Weiss played a critical role in their investigation. The only reason they found that slave camp was because Weiss snuck into her father's records and pinpointed the location for them. All those slaves got to come home because a Schnee did the right thing.

And Sienna Kahn? Her ideals are dead. They died the moment she elected to assassinate Blake Belladonna. The moment that she set the standard that they can kill a Menagerie Chieftan's family if they please. That even Menagerie must live under the threat of the White Fang's sword.

[Stet709]

Yeah, I agree with Rainbow, Starlight and Trixie got unlucky there. Starlight can't even shut Sunset down with her semblance and after Arcadia Lake, I think Starlight and Trixie know it.

[Zer0prototype]

Love the redwall reference with Bella rose-eyes and her distinction. Is there a reference sheet for where you get your side characters from including explanations of why they are the way they are. I feel like I'm missing the rest of the team sable reference. I'm sure I am missing others but I really want to know!

[SnakeEye]

Heavy chapter and very good once again. Thank you.