(Amity Colosseum)
The next day, the Vytal Tournament proceeds to its single matches aka the final round. Cinder, Mercury, and Emerald are inside of the locker room as Mercury gears up before letting out a groan.
Mercury: "Ugh, Cinder, do I really have to go first? I kinda want to take a nap for a bit."
This makes Emerald angry as she goes to slap him in the back of his head.
Mercury: "Ow!"
This action gets a small smile from Cinder and once Emerald see this; she becomes utterly elated. Before Cinder leave the locker room, she turns her head to them.
Cinder: "You will proceed into the first match and do as you're instruct. Understand?"
Mercury: "Got it."
(A Few Moments Later)
Inside the announcer's box, the two announcers speak over the broadcasting system.
Oobleck: "Now, for the moment you've all been waiting for!"
Port: "The one-on-one finals!"
Upon saying this, the crowd goes wild, cheering and clapping their hands in excitement. In the center of the arena, Yang smirks confidently as she stands beside a line of fighters. People like Sun, Mercury, Penny, two other random huntsmen in training, and the troubled Pyrrha at the other end of the line.
Port: "Why don't you explain the rules."
Oobleck: "Ah, it's quite simple, Peter. Instead of a bracket system, each round of the finals will be randomly determined immediately before the match takes place!"
Port: "Much like any good hunt, there will be zero time to prepare!"
Oobleck: "Ah, yes, yes! Now, let's see who our first match will be!"
The energetic doctor points out to the screens above the stadium as the roulette starts spinning, this time for competitors instead of biomes. The "random selection" is watched by everyone inside and outside of the colosseum. Once the roulette stops spinning, Port speaks up.
Port: "Yang Xiao Long vs Mercury Black!"
Among the crowd, Y/N is spectating the match with the rest of Team RWBY, JNPR, and SSSN. Ruby goes to shout some encouragement to her sister, follow by Y/N doing the same.
Ruby: "Break a leg, sis!"
Y/N: "Good luck!"
Behind them, Cinder, still smiling, gets up from her seat and begins walking out, eyes on the battlefield, thinking over what the announcers said.
Cinder: "Heh. Random."
She then takes out her scroll, displaying the Queen virus on her screen and start tinkering with it before heading out to somewhere else.
Port: "Would all other combatants please leave the stage!"
The rest of the lineup of fighters does so, and Yang starts walking up to Mercury in the middle of the arena as the floor around them opens once more, with a ring of spotlights rising up to automatically fix their lights on the remaining two.
Yang: "You better not go easy on me."
Mercury: "Heh. You wish."
Both brawlers face the crowds one last time, then slowly start advancing on each other, arms raised defensively until their hands can almost touch, as the final countdown commences.
Port: "Three! Two! One! Fight!"
Immediately, Yang throws a punch, and Mercury spins his foot to meet it, creating a shockwave between the weapons that launches him back. He closes the distance quickly and aims at her feet with Talaria but she leaps over it and fires off a shot of her Ember Celica that he rotates to avoid. They fight fist-to-fist for a moment, Yang getting in a fiery blast on her opponent at the cost of him also landing a blow on her. She falls back on her feet when Mercury shoots himself into the air to get farther away from her, looking up and smiling.
Yang doesn't relent for a second, launching shot after shot only for Mercury to dodge each of them, sliding around the stage on clouds of air until he attempts to come down on her with his leg. She blocks and pushes away the attack, but he goes under her shotgun burst and manages to land a kick on her, though she still lands in a crouch, now grimacing. She launches forward with a double blast and continues landing blow after blazing blow on him, right up to when he then roundhouse kicks her in the back and attempts to hit her with his heel. She gets out just in time and punches he ground trying to get him, but he leaps out and twirls to get a hit on her. One of his kicks seems to pass over her, but then he brings it down hard enough to shatter the steel underneath, which Yang narrowly rolls backward to avoid it.
Y/N: "Ooh, that was a close one."
Ruby: "Keep at it, Yang!"
They exchange kicks after this attack until Mercury hits her backwards, and he rushes forward only to receive a fist to his chin, then his torso, knocking him on his stomach. He gets up right as Yang starts raining down fire again, causing him to somersault back until one explosion causes him to get knocked off of the stage. He saves himself by firing his boots downward and flying back in front of his enemy, unleashing a series of kicks that put Yang on the defensive. She ducks under one attack only to receive another as Mercury jumps into the air to knock her back, and he follows it up with a shot from his boots. Yang avoids it effortlessly, not noticing it still hanging around behind her.
Switching tactics, Mercury starts shooting his foot out in every direction, each kick into the air accompanied by a silvery blast that are barely even aimed at Yang. She dodges each one coming her way and gets in close through the circling barrage of shots, fighting with their fists again until Mercury kicks her into the air and knocks her right back to the ground, followed by the dozens of swirling shots that now converge right on to Yang.
R/W/B & Y/N: "Yang!"
When the blasts stop coming down on his opponent, Mercury gets up from his crouch and grins to himself, dusting off his outfit and seeming as happy as can be until the smoke from behind him erupts into flames. His momentary shock turns into another smile as he turns around to see the red-eyed Yang slam her knuckles together and come at him. Screaming, she lands a punch that sends him back, and she rushes up avoiding each kick and even taking one with no effect to pound at him with an unrelenting bombardment of left-right blows. He has enough time to let out a pained groan before she hits him in the stomach, his aura sparkling up to try and defend him from the last hit to the face by the upset blonde. He lands on his back as the loud sound of the buzzer can be heard over the roars of the cheering audience.
Port: "What a way to kick off the finals!"
Oobleck: "Yang Xiao Long wins the first match!"
As Yang lowers her fists, she closes her eyes and breathe a sigh of relief before opening them back up to her usual lilac color. With joy in her expression, Yang then raises her arm in victory.
Yang: "Hell yeah!"
Back with her team and friends, Ruby raise her arms in excitement.
Ruby: "Yeah! You did it, sis!"
Weiss pumps her fists as Blake clap her hands.
Y/N: "That was awesome!"
Blake: "Way to go, Yang!"
Back inside of the arena, Yang chuckles a bit.
Yang: "Heh. I guess I don't know my own strength."
After that, she walks up to Mercury to help him get back up.
Yang: "Better luck next time."
Only for Mercury get up by himself, staring her down.
Mercury: "There's not going to be a next time, Blondie!"
A sharp sound is heard in the sudden silence as Yang stop dead in her track just to see Mercury leap forward with a kick towards her. In response to this, Yang scowls as she just manages to both bring her gauntlet down on and shoot his leg before he hits her. The second she does so, there is a sound of something breaking. The audience gasps in shock, and Mercury reels back from the pain.
Ruby: "What...?"
Y/N: "The hell?"
In the announcer's box, the shocked Oobleck get up from his chair.
Oobleck: "My word!"
Port: "Hurry! Cut the cameras!"
Grasping his injured body part Mercury rock back and forth.
Mercury: "My leg, MY LEG!"
Yang: "That's what you get, you little- Huh?"
She stops just as she notices the several Atlesian Knights and two Atlesian soldiers surround the confused blonde, raising their guns at her.
Atlesian Soldier: "Yang Xiao Long! Stand down!"
Not having a clue as to what's going on, Yang responds.
Yang: "What!? Why!?"
During this, Emerald ran onto the arena and rush to Mercury's side.
Emerald: "Mercury!"
Mercury: "Argh, my leg! Why'd she do that!? WHY'D SHE ATTACK ME!?"
Yang receives a disgusted scowl from Emerald, only now looking up at the screens above her to see the footage of what just transpired: Yang circling the crouched-down Mercury until the footage cuts to him just standing there and her suddenly shooting him in the leg. The sound of something breaking rings out, and Mercury screams and falls over in pain. It takes a moment of staring at the images until Yang finally understands what she did, and her gaze turns up to the wide-eyed, terrified faces of Blake, Weiss, and Ruby. She looks around at the guns aimed at her and the people cursing her name, still not knowing what just happened or what will come next.
Atlesian Soldier: "I said stand down!"
During this, Y/N becomes frustrated at the scene unfolding before him.
Y/N: "What... What do they think they're doing?"
He gets up from his seat abruptly, his eyes glued to the Atlesian Knights and soldiers surrounding her. Ruby, still shocked, tries to talk to him.
Ruby: "Y/N wait..."
Her words are ignored as Y/N jump from his position in his seat, landing directly at the arena, much to the surprise of everyone in the crowd. He then march towards the Atlesian troops, staring daggers at them.
Y/N: "What the hell are you doing?! Get away from her!"
In response, some of the troops turn their weapons on him along with the still-shocked Yang, calling out to him.
Yang: "Y/N, what's going on?!"
Atlesian: "Sir, I need you to step away please."
Feeling nothing but frustration and confusion inside, Y/N held up his left hand, folding it into a fist.
Y/N: "I said, get away from her!!"
As he's about to swing his fist forward, until another hand grab onto his from behind, holding it in place. Y/N turn to glare at his mentor, now standing behind him. Seeing his mentor doesn't ease his mind as the glaring Y/N swiftly turn back to help Yang, trying to break free from Qrow's grip.
Y/N: "Qrow! Let go of me!"
Qrow doesn't budge, yanking Y/N by the arm to make him turn his attention to him as he comments.
Qrow: "So you'll do what exactly? Look around you, kid. You'll only make things worse. For yourself and for Yang."
This makes Y/N pause for a moment before looking back at Yang. She was staring at him, with confusion and fear visible in her lilac eyes. Reluctantly, Y/N turn his face away from her gaze, calming down. He turns his back to her, walking away and refusing to take in the sigh as the Atlesian troops escorted Yang away. Both Emerald and Mercury watch this scene unfold as they share a look with one another, trying to hide the smirk on their faces. Emerald, now "distressed," calls out.
Emerald: "Please, somebody help him!"
Right on cue, two paramedics come over with a stretcher, lowering it to Mercury with one of the paramedics being shorter than the other one.
Emerald: "Can you do something!?"
The paramedics see a rip in the leg of Mercury's pants, and skin and blood are visible through the rip. The taller paramedic exchanges a glance with his shorter coworker.
Paramedic #1: "We need to get this boy to a hospital. Grab a blanket."
The short paramedic silently nods to him. They then get Mercury on the stretcher and rush him off, Emerald following right behind. As she's escorted away, Yang looks on with a horrified expression, her lilac eyes now almost colorless.
Yang: "You don't understand! He attacked me, I swear!"
Atlesian Soldier: "Stop it! You've already caused enough of a scene."
__________________________________________________________________________
(Mountain Glenn)
All the scattered Grimm, including a herd of Goliaths all look towards the Colosseum floating near Beacon, all sensing the negativity generating over there. Immediately upon sensing this, they waste no time and sprint or walk towards it.
__________________________________________________________________________
Meanwhile, Emerald runs alongside the two paramedics as they come across an open door with a woman in the same outfit inside, gesturing them to stop.
Cinder: "Here! We've got an ambulance ready to go!"
Later, the back door closes on the ambulance airship as they loaded Mercury in. After that, the tall paramedic sigh when talking to the disguised Cinder.
Paramedic: "Hope they'll be okay. That girl won't leave his side."
Cinder nod, tipping her white cap a little.
Cinder: "We'll take good care of both of them."
The emergency airship flies away from the Colosseum, and Mercury is lying on a cargo box in the back, still pretending to moan and cry beside Emerald sitting next to him.
Mercury: "Oh doc, tell me, will I ever walk again?"
He receives a punch in the arm from Emerald, looking at her as he rubs the sore spot he actually got hurt from.
Mercury: "Ow! What's your deal?"
Groaning, Emerald puts a hand up to her forehead.
Emerald: "Ugh, headache. One mind I can handle, but two is a stretch."
In the co-pilot's seat, the disguised Cinder call back to them.
Cinder: "Well, you all performed marvelously. You too, Neo."
In the pilot's seat, Neo, wearing a similar uniform as Cinder, blinks her magenta eyes back to their usual brown and pink color. She smiles and nods in silent gratitude before turning away a bit to frown and roll her eyes. Emerald, however, is quite elated to be praise by Cinder only to go back to focus on the headache she's having at the moment.
Cinder: "By the way, Mercury. The fake documents are in place for your 'hospital stay'."
Mercury: "Hah. Good. No more matches for this guy."
He then lay back on the cargo box, exhaling before addressing to Cinder.
Mercury: "So, you think it worked?"
Cinder: "Oh, it will."
(Several Minutes Later)
They arrive at their undisclosed hiding spot, a tiny, isolated warehouse where Mercury is at a table, placing his mechanical leg on it as he repairs it with a screwdriver at hand. Emerald does get annoyed that Mercury is more focus on watching TV than fixing his own mechanical leg. She then goes to turn it off with a nearby remote, much to Mercury's disappointment.
Mercury: "Hey, I was watching that!"
Emerald: "Shut up!"
Mercury: "Heh. Is this how you treat a patient?"
In response, Emerald reaches over and twists the screwdriver in his leg, causing him to wince.
Mercury: "Ah, too tight!"
Cinder: "Enough, you two. Our Mercury put on a wonderful show. He was quite brave."
Mercury turns to Emerald, taking a hold of the screwdriver and resumes fixing his legs.
Mercury: "These things aren't exactly cheap, you know."
Rolling her eyes, Emerald then turns to Cinder.
Emerald: "So, what's next?"
Cinder turns to them, grinning with her arms crossed.
Cinder: "Well, my next article as Ash Autumn on this whole incident has just gone live on the news."
Emerald: "It has?"
Cinder: "Mercury."
Nodding to her, Mercury grabs the remote and with a few clicks, they are now watching the Vale New Network with the combined kingdom's symbols and a caption, reading "Tournament Tragedy." A split-second later, Lisa Lavender appears on the screen.
Lisa: "A terrible tragedy took place this afternoon in the one-on-one rounds of the Vytal Festival Tournament."
He switches to another channel, taking place in the streets of Vale.
News Reporter #4: "Sir! What do you think about this incident?"
Haven Tourist: "Well, I don't know what Beacon's Headmaster is teaching his students, but that was disgraceful. Completely uncalled for!"
He then switches to another channel once more, displaying a video of a large group of Grimm running across the base of Mountain Glenn towards the city. Grimm such as Beowolves, Ursas, Creeps, Boarbatusks, and Goliaths.
News Reporter #5: "Despite Atlas reinforcements, local authorities are still calling on any available Huntsman to aid in suppressing the sudden spike in Grimm activity."
Cinder: "Turn it off."
As instructed, Mercury turn off the TV, placing the remote over the table. Emerald is taken aback over what she just seen.
Emerald: "Wow... uhm... I must ask again... What do we do next?"
Cinder is quick to respond.
Cinder: "You and I will ensure that our next matchup goes just as smoothly."
Mercury: "What about me?"
Cinder: "You get to lay low until the end. We wouldn't want people to see you on your feet and have this all be for naught, now would we?"
This gets a smirk from Mercury.
Mercury: "Can do."
He goes back to screwing his leg back to good condition, smiling as he does, and the blue area under his artificial knee lights up. Cinder then turns to Neo, still disguised as a paramedic, leaning against a wall in a corner of their hiding spot.
Cinder: "Go back to Roman and wait for further instructions."
Neo respond with using her semblance to change her outfit to that of a Atlesian soldier, nodding to Cinder before walking out of the door. Cinder then ponders over the few channels she saw from the TV, more specifically Lisa Lavender. Walking away from the hiding spot with Emerald following after her, Cinder glances over at Emerald.
Cinder: "Hey Emerald. Is Lisa Lavender a well-known news reporter in Vale, right?"
Quite surprise by this random question, Emerald goes to answer her.
Emerald: "Well... from what I heard... she is. Why?"
A smirk begins to form on Cinder's face as she ponders over if Y/N know about Lisa Lavender for their next "meeting" together.