RWBY||Defender of Remnant

Chapter 46: Lessons Learned

With a yell, Mercury guided the barrage of shells toward the two of them, knocking them back in an explosion of mist.

As the two of them looked around, still blinded by the mist, Mercury landed behind them. Grabbing them by the wrists, Mercury kicked Coco in the thigh, struck Yatsuhashi's torso, delivered a roundhouse to Coco's chest, hit Yatsuhashi once more in the ribs to knock him away before delivering a powerful hook kick to Coco's jaw followed by a quick strike to the head that sent her crashing to the ground.

As Coco staggered to her feet, a chained blade shot out of the woods. Wrapping around Coco's waist, the chain tightened, yanking her back into the forest.

"Coco!" Yatsuhashi shouted, only for Mercury to spin through the air, delivering a blow that sent Yatsuhashi staggering backward.

Still spinning, Mercury aimed another kick, only for Yatsuhashi to grab him by the neck and throw him, sending him crashing into the water. Mercury rolled and raised his feet, intercepting a powerful blow from Yatsuhashi that sent a massive shockwave through the arena.

"Merc's got some pretty good moves," Yang commented.

"Not as good as Sincline's," Ruby piped up, earning a headshake from Sincline. While he did agree that his swordsmanship was likely better than Mercury's, his CQC skills paled in comparison to the grey-haired teen's. Maybe he could teach me some, Sincline thought. If he combined his warping with skills from Mercury and those that he learned from Yang... he shook his head again and turned his attention back to the fight.

Kicking Yatsuhashi back, Mercury spun to his feet with a sweep kick at Yatsuhashi, who jumped over the attack. Mercury parried several swings with his boots before bringing his foot down in a brutal axe kick, the force of the blow launching a head-sized chunk of stone into the air. Mercury kicked the boulder toward Yatsuhashi, who reeled back to dodge. He swung, and Mercury ducked the powerful attack before launching a pair of Dust rounds at Yatsuhashi, knocking him back and temporarily blinding him. Rushing forward, Mercury suddenly flipped backward, knocking Yatsuhashi onto a geyser just as it exploded, disorienting the large teen.

Getting to his feet and blinking rapidly, Yatsuhashi looked up just in time for Mercury to deliver a powerful blow that sent him reeling.

Forest

Gritting her teeth as she was yanked through the forest, Coco slammed into a tree with a loud crack as the chain disappeared into the foliage. She got up, and her eyes widened as she saw her shattered glasses on the ground. "I take it back," she muttered. "I don't like her."

Hearing a gunshot, she swerved, barely managing to avoid the bullet. Backflipping as Emerald rained bullets down on her from the trees above, Coco drew her minigun and returned fire, forcing Emerald to dodge out of the way.

Swinging from tree branch to tree branch with her curved blades, Emerald ducked into the shadows, vanishing.

"Damn!" Coco cursed. Upon hearing footsteps behind her, Coco turned and saw 'Yatsuhashi' walking toward her. "Watch out, she's in the trees," she warned.

Just then, the buzzer sounded, and Port's voice called, "Ooh, and with that final blow, Yatsuhashi is eliminated."

"What?!" Coco exclaimed and looked behind her, only to see that 'Yatsuhashi' had vanished. Hand shaking on the trigger of her weapon, Coco looked around, eyes narrowed. "Damn..."

Glancing around, she never saw Emerald rising up behind her, blade poised, until it was too late. With a loud crack, Coco was sent flying out of the jungle and onto the hard ground next to an unconscious Yatsuhashi, her Aura shattering as the crowd erupted into cheers.