Jaune's Pineapple Jam Part 2 Ch 23.

Pregnancy, Pyrrha decided, was very very strange. Not that she didn’t know it before, but it was a wholly different thing to experience it all together.

Sometimes she felt normal. Sometimes she felt weak. Now, however, she only felt hungry.

Very, very hungry.

Which was why her eye twitched heavily when she saw a figure waiting for her in the tunnel, even if said figure was Headmistress Glynda Goodwitch herself.

“That was cutting it a little close there, don’t you think? I expected you to leave the arena immediately, not stay for even a few more seconds.”

Pyrrha Nikos knew the first round was going to be a Battle Royale. Headmistress Goodwitch had warned her herself in private to give her time to leave at the soonest opportunity. The catch? She only had to keep it a secret from the rest of her team to preserve a measure of fairness.

She needn’t have asked. Pyrrha’s own sense of fairness and sportsmanship prevented her from sharing it to the others, even to her own lovers.

That meant, however, that tactics and scenarios Pyrrha thought of after being warned had to be kept to herself.

So when the round actually started, Pyrrha had to compress all of that into one single advice, only having a few seconds before she knew they were about to be attacked.

And she was right, only a few seconds in and Arslan was already beelining it to their location.

Was it worth it? Perhaps not when considering she was carrying a baby.

But Pyrrha’s own obsession to be part of the team and contribute, no matter how small, had her staying a bit.

“Sorry, I wanted to give Jaune and the others one final piece of advice.” Pyrrha admitted, looking away from Headmistress Goodwitch, even as the older woman began to walk beside her.

“Don’t you think it’s a little unfair that you’ve managed to think of strategies in advance while the other teams did not?” Headmistress Goodwitch raised an eyebrow at that, but Pyrrha only nodded with a slight blush on her face.

“Maybe, but I think it’s balanced out by the fact that I won’t actually be there to fight with my team.”

Headmistress Goodwitch stared at her a bit at that before eventually sighing in acceptance.

“Perhaps you are right. Regardless, what’s done is done, I only wish you didn’t tarry in the field for so long.”

“I’m sorry, I’ll be more careful next time.” Pyrrha relented while absently rubbing her tummy.

“You should be. I dread what your mother and in-laws would do to me if something actually happened to you and your baby.” Headmistress Goodwitch shivered, and Pyrrha couldn’t help but wince in sympathy.

She wasn’t going to take any more risks, that was for sure. For her and her baby’s sake, Pyrrha Nikos was going to be very very careful. Which brought up one particular concern in her mind.

“Speaking of being careful, let us talk about missions, shall we? What does the order expect of us now that we are a growing family?”

It felt strange being this forward with her Headmistress. A year ago, Pyrrha never would have thought of such a thing. But with a baby on the line, she was willing to forgo any niceties to make sure her family was safe.

Headmistress Goodwitch seemed to understand it because she only stiffened up a bit before relaxing slightly with a nod.

“We won’t send you on missions while you are pregnant, of course. But the rest of your team might be tapped in to fight against the Grimm from time to time.”

Pyrrha frowned at being excluded, but she could understand the sentiment. The war with the Grimm won’t stop, and far be it from her to stop Jaune and the others from saving people. Still, it wasn’t her main concern.

“That’s it? No special missions dedicated to protecting Remnant?”

Headmistress Goodwitch blinked at her before perking up as she understood what Pyrrha meant.

“Ah, no need to worry about that just yet. We won’t give you missions that will require you to separate with your child if that’s what you’re worried about. You’re not the first mother to join us, you know?”

“I’m not?” Pyrrha tilted her head, even as Headmistress Goodwitch only smiled knowingly at her.

“Ruby’s own mother was part of us once. In fact, her whole team was.”

“They were?” Pyrrha's eyes widened. If a whole team can join the order, then does that mean they can invite Ren and Nora as well? That would be splendid if that was the case. It would be sad to have to part with them just because they weren't part of the order.

“Yes, and among them, only Qrow remains active while Tai has decided to settle down in Patch to take care of her daughters. So you see, it is not the first time the order has needed to deal with growing families.” Headmistress Goodwitch continued, even as a frown began to form on Pyrrha’s face.

Something Ruby once told her during the dance tickled at the back of her head, and she had to repress a wince as she remembered what it was.

“But isn’t Ruby’s mother dead?” She asked.

Ruby told her that her mother left on a mission and never came back. Now, Pyrrha couldn’t help but think whether that mission involved the order or not.

She looked towards Headmistress Goodwitch, but she only found her to be shaking her head slowly.

“Sadly, yes, but she didn’t die on one of our missions. The circumstances of her death are still a mystery even to us now, but Summer Rose took up the duties of a Huntress to fight against the Grimm. We assume she died the way many in her station did. Saving lives.” Headmistress Goodwitch answered softly, a sad smile on her face, as Pyrrha nodded solemnly.

“I see.”

It was a sobering thought that despite not going on missions for the order, Huntresses like her still had a chance of dying on the field. Her hand went to her tummy then. She couldn’t imagine leaving her child just like that, and immediately, she remembered what she told Ruby back then during the dance.

They were going to do it together.

“Do you think we can speak about this to our teammates and Team RWBY as well?”

Headmistress Goodwitch shook her head at that, however, before turning towards her.

“We’d have to do more thorough background checks for your teammates, and decide on it as a group, but I believe you may speak about it towards Weiss and Blake. Invite them to meet with us so we can introduce them properly. As for Yang and Ruby, Qrow explicitly asked to handle them himself.”

“Isn’t that a little unfair for Ren and Nora?” Pyrrha asked with a frown, but Headmistress Goodwitch only nodded her head at that.

“It is, but that just comes with the territory of having no family to vouch for them.”

“We’re their family.” Pyrrha answered firmly, but Headmistress Goodwitch only sighed at her.

“You know what I mean, Pyrrha.”

“They are orphans. They have no family to vouch for them because they are orphans.” She shot back immediately. 

Headmistress Goodwitch, however, already had an answer for her.

“I know, I am even confident that that’s all we will find instead of an elaborate scheme to install them as spies within our inner circle by our enemies, but you can never be too careful about these things.”

She was silent for a moment, but only for a moment as she let a frown form on her face.

“Were you this thorough when it came to Jaune?”

“More, actually. His forged transcripts were a mark against him, and General Ironwood kept his suspicions up against him. That was, of course, until the Breach. Jaune’s actions during the event and the information he gave us even before that proved him worthy of our trust.” Headmistress Goodwitch answered before shaking her head with a sigh. “But enough of this talk, let us speak of lighter things, shall we?”

Pyrrha didn’t completely like it, but there was nothing else to be said. She wasn’t the one in charge of the order, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t inform Ren and Nora in secret. Before either of them could say anything else, however, her body picked that moment to voice out its displeasure.

Her tummy grumbled, and Pyrrha immediately blushed, as Headmistress Goodwitch blinked at her.

And just like that, any thought of ancient orders, Jaune, and the tournament was blown out of her mind.

“Sorry.” Pyrrha squeaked out, but Headmistress Goodwitch only let out an amused chuckle while shaking her head.

“No worries. It might gladden you to know that I already sent food to your private box with your family.”

One thought, and only one thought, filled Pyrrha’s mind at that. It wasn’t ancient orders, it wasn’t family, it wasn’t Jaune, and it certainly wasn’t the tournament.

It was food.

And Pyrrha Nikos breathed heavily before licking her lips at the thought of it.

—----

Heavy breathing.

That was all Jaune could hear as his heart thundered in his chest.

Pyrrha taught him a lot of things. One of those particular things happened to be back in Argus when Team JNPR found themselves practicing 1v3 scenarios. It was supposed to teach them about their limits, and how long they could realistically last when outnumbered, but the training, however, showed promising results.

Ren tended to be overwhelmed, Nora took and gave shots like a pro, but Jaune and Pyrrha? It didn’t take long for them to find out they were outliers.

Jaune, by virtue of his Semblance and massive amounts of Aura, could outlast them in a battle of attrition. Pyrrha, however, well….it never became a battle of attrition with her. Instead of going on the defensive like Jaune, Ren, and Nora, when in a 1v3 situation, Pyrrha opted to go with offense.

And she won.

Every freaking time.

Pyrrha taught them a lesson then, that sometimes the best defense was an unstoppable offense.

And it was that lesson she reminded them of right as the round started.

So when Jaune saw Ren and Nora about to be outnumbered, he did not hesitate.

He charged forward, climbing up beside them, as two other teams arrived to reinforce the remaining half of Arslan’s team.

Jaune noted the Atlesian uniforms in one of them, but paid them no particular mind as they hung back for a bit.

Seemed like the Atlesians were willing for them to fight it out a bit before jumping in. It didn’t matter much, however, because they were still outnumbered 3 against 6.

It wasn’t as bad as a 3v10, but with the high ground against them, it was quite literally an uphill battle.

Croce Mors swung forward, singing through the air as it parried the head of a spear heading for Ren’s side. Ren snapped towards their direction before immediately bringing up StormFlower to bear. He didn’t have time to shoot, however, because a sword came whistling down towards his face.

Aura flashed, and Ren bit back a curse as he stumbled back while blinking out the stars in his eyes.

Damn.

“Renny!” Nora shouted worriedly, shoving back a staff wielder before leaping towards her partner’s side.

That left Jaune, however, to take up the front, and it is there he employed Pyrrha’s teaching.

He pushed forward, gritting his teeth as he brought his shield up to block a sword thrust from the left, while using Crocea Mors to slash towards the right. His sword caught a spear on the shaft, but already, he could feel the pressure from the others pushing in.

Jaune instinctively ducked as a bullet came whizzing past his head, all he met, however, was a vicious uppercut to the face as one of them closed in.

“You’re mine!”

A gauntlet crashed across his Aura, and Jaune felt his head snap back from the force of the blow. He only grinned, however, as he finally saw the opportunity to trim the numbers down.

See, Jaune wasn’t as skillful as Pyrrha, nor was he particularly graceful. What he was, however, was durable. Durable to the point that he could forgo defense in 1v1s.

So when the other man moved to attack him, he let him.

First, Jaune got a punch to the face, then a spiked gauntlet to the liver, and finally, a kick to the gut. His Aura flashed for every hit he took, but it only glowed brighter and stronger as his Semblance rushed to the fore.

Jaune would give him this, it was a quick barrage. A weaker man would have been down for the count. The problem was, Jaune was no longer a weaker man. He hasn't been for some time now.

Fear flashed across the man’s face as he saw the futility of his attacks, but it was too late for him to do anything.

“No, you’re the one who’s mine!” He grinned as he lunged forward, Crocea Mors whistling through the air even as the man tried to disengage.

Credit where credit was due, the man managed to block Crocea Mors by crossing his arms above his head, but it only forced him down to where Jaune wanted him to be.

Locked down and occupied blocking a sword, the man had no answer, as Jaune quickly punched him on the gut with the edge of his shield. 

The man began to double over despite his Aura protecting him, and by then, it was easy to maneuver sideways to have his pommel smack against the back of his head to send him sprawling down the mountain towards Nora’s tender mercy.

Jaune only had a moment to watch as Nora raised Magnhild high up into the air before dropping it down. 

And just like that, one person got buried to the side of a mountain.

It was a signal.

A cue.

And in a span of seconds, everyone moved as if an unseen signal just got sent out with the elimination of one of the players.

“Nolan, no!”

Jaune dodged a sword heading towards his face. He could see the desperation on the man’s face, and behind him, he could even see the Atlesians rushing to join the fight. To Jaune, however, instead of feeling worry or despair, he felt joy. 

Complete, unadulterated joy as a manic laugh left his mouth.

Why, you ask?

The elimination of one person told him one thing.

They can do this!

He can do this!

—----

“Nolan, no!” Randy Borton, leader of Team RNDM, screamed, his sword thrusting towards Jaune Arc’s face as he saw his partner get buried into the mountain.

Jaune Arc only laughed maniacally, however, grinning like a loon as he sidestepped Randy’s attack by inches.

“Nolan’s dead, and so are you!”

No.

He wasn’t dead.

Just knocked out or eliminated.

But as Jaune Arc shoved against him with his shield while smiling maniacally, Randy couldn’t help but think that this was it. This was really really it.

His breath left his mouth as his back made contact with the mountain, and Randy couldn’t help but think about how they got here.

It was as if his life began flashing in his eyes.

When they saw Arslan’s team rush towards Beacon’s area, Randy had the bright idea to follow them and back them up. They weren’t friends per se, but they were schoolmates. Both of them were from Haven, and he knew Team ABRN was one of the stronger ones.

His own team, Team RNDM, wasn’t particularly the strongest, but he kinda liked to think they were competent. He, Nolan, Dick, and Mason worked well together, and he knew for a fact that if he could attach themselves to one of the stronger teams, then they could at least have a chance to get past the 1st round.

Meeting an Atlesian team that thought the same as them on the way up the mountain was a stroke of luck. With them being a patchwork force worth 3 teams, he thought they would be enough to gang up on strong competitors.

Randy will admit, however, that he had some doubts when Arslan headed straight for Pyrrha Nikos. He was from Mistral, he watched her fights and knew just how devastating she could be. His doubts melted away, however, the moment Pyrrha Nikos forfeited.

He didn’t know her reasons, but he’ll take it. After all, what better chance did they have to take out the rest of her team now that there were only three of them? 

Sure, Arslan might have been launched away for a bit, and Reese might have been needed to go pick her up and make sure she was okay, but they still had the numbers advantage.

That might have been negated a bit when Team RWBY arrived, but it seemed like they were more concerned on stopping Arslan and Chloris from doing a bombing run than congregating with JNPR.

It was a sound plan to prevent them from being pinned down and taken out as a group, but it only reinforced their side’s numbers advantage.

Randy even managed to think of a plan on the fly to take out the Hero of Vale if they could isolate him.

They isolated him, alright. He and Mason even managed to occupy him long enough for Nolan to get a combo in.

That was as far as the plan went. Nolan was their heavy hitter, able to break through walls when needed. They expected him to at least push Jaune Arc down the mountain. Reality, however, was far different from expectations.

Jaune Arc did not budge, instead, he counterattacked. It was direct, straightforward, and brutal. Relying more on brute strength than any finesse whatsoever as he sent Nolan tumbling down the mountain to his waiting teammate.

At the end of it all, however, Team RNDM was down one member.

Randy blinked back at the sky, and immediately corrected himself as he saw Jaune Arc’s silhouette at the edge of his vision.

They were about to be down by two.

The last thing he saw was Jaune Arc’s boot coming down on his face just as an Atlesian came into view while Jaune Arc’s teammates rushed to intercept Dick and Mason from saving him.

—-----------

“What did I miss?”

Nicholas had to tear his eyes away from his son as he turned towards the voice.

“””””Pyrrha!””””” His daughters beat him to it, in fact, they even beat Pyrrha’s own mother to it as they suddenly rushed towards the redhead with an energy only teenagers could possess.

“How have you been?!”

“Are you okay?!”

“How’s the baby?!”

“Do you need any help?!”

“Want some food?!”

His daughters asked rapidly, but Pyrrha only took it all on with the poise only an experienced celebrity could have.

“I am fine. Yes, I am okay. The baby is fine as well. Maybe help me find a seat near the windows? And yes, please. I want some food. In fact, I really really want some food.” She smiled blindingly, laughing as she suddenly found herself being pulled gently near the window.

“Ahhh, the joys of pregnancy.” Juniper smiled, watching as Athena stood up to walk towards her daughter.

“What took you so long?” Her mother fussed worriedly, but Pyrrha only gave her a wan smile as his daughters pushed a seat next to Athena’s.

“Sorry, I had to give Jaune and the others one final piece of advice.”

If that final piece of advice was what Jaune was doing now, then Nicholas could confidently say that it was working.

“You didn’t miss much.” He grunted, his eyes flickering back towards the window as he watched his son become a flurry of light, sparks, and steel. 

Crocea Mors sang sweetly into the air, blocking an axe and pushing it towards the ground, while Jaune used his shield to bash the Atlesian off of his feet.

Jaune certainly wasn’t fancy, that was for sure. His movements were straightforward, and basic, but they were refined through continuous practice. Still, it made him repetitive, and his enemies took advantage of it by shooting him with shotgun shells to the side of the head while the Atlesian was down in front of him.

Nicholas winced, if it was him down there, he would have dodged just to minimize the damage. Jaune, however, was not him. This was embodied by the fact that Jaune even refused to dodge the next attacks.

“I can’t watch.” Juniper winced, and Nicholas couldn’t blame her as she looked away. Who would want to see three people suddenly jump on their son?

Nicholas was that people, apparently, because he only watched intently as the attacks continued.

An axe to the side, Fire Dust to the face, and he even saw a girl jump on Jaune’s back while slitting a knife to his throat.

He heard the audience react in equal parts awe, and horror, but Nicholas’ eyes were kept firmly on the fact that Jaune’s Aura protected him throughout all of it.

“Beacon would like to remind everyone that medical teams are on standby in case of accidents, so there is absolutely nothing to worry about! Isn’t that right, Peter?” Bartholomew Oobleck coughed through the intercom, and Nicholas had to stop a chuckle from leaving his mouth as Beacon rushed to assure the crowd.

He saw sighs of relief come out not just from the audience as well as his family as Peter Port added to the conversation.

“Right, you are, Bart! The participants also have their Aura as added protection, and it seems like Mr. Arc is in no danger of running out of it soon thanks to his Semblance, Aura Amplification!” 

Aura Amp. Truly, his son’s Semblance was broken.

“Atlesians? I thought they were fighting Arslan?” Pyrrha tilted her head at the fight below, but this time, it was her mother who answered calmly.

“Arslan got launched by Nora. She’s fighting Team RWBY now in the air with her teammate.”

All eyes turned towards the sky just above the mountain to see a blur of petals swirling around Arslan and her teammate on their hoverboard. They all watched to see Ruby materialize to throw her sister at Arslan before disintegrating again.

Yang cocked a punch, a grin on her face even as she neared her enemies. She missed, however, as she suddenly had to use Ember Cilica to change her trajectory as a grenade came flying her way. Luckily for her, Ruby was already there to catch her.

Arslan and her teammate then tried to dive towards the ground and regroup with their team, but they only met glyphs that pushed them back. 

Weiss Schnee smiled confidently as she could be found below them on top of a glyph herself. They tried to drop bombs and shoot at her, but every single attack was intercepted by Blake, who stood beside Weiss.

All in all, Team RWBY looked like they had this in their bag as they slowly but surely trapped Arslan and her teammate. That is, of course, until Lightning Dust shot from the ground in droves.

“Oho?! What's this?! Am I seeing this right, Bart?! Team FNKI have opted to bypass the flag on the peak to engage Team RWBY from the ground!”

“It is certainly unorthodox, Peter, but perhaps they are thinking of taking out strong competitors now before they advance to the next rounds!”

It was a sound strategy, that was for sure. Ganging up on the strong ones now would give them a higher chance of winning in the next round. Nicholas would have complimented Team FNKI for it if it weren’t for the fact that they were using it on his daughter-in-laws.

Someone else, however, was quick to point that out for the crowd.

“Sounds like a good strategy, Bart! Though it’s a surprise to see they’re willing to work with other academies to do it. Beacon would have to band together as well if they want to have-nevermind! Team CFVY has just attacked Team CRDL near the foot of the mountain!”

Eyes snapped towards said location, and there they certainly were. A Bunny Faunus had just managed to corner an armored man while his team got dismantled around him.

“Oh my! What could provoke such an attack?! Is it a grudge?! Wanton desire?! Or something else?! Who knows, but one thing’s for sure, always be kind to your neighboring Huntsmen and Huntresses!”

Welp, so much for getting some reinforcements.

He heard Willow gasp worriedly, and Nicholas snapped his eyes to where she was looking. With no obstruction in the air, they all had a clear view as the glyph Weiss and Blake were standing on exploded into smoke.

“Don’t worry. Weiss is already making another one, see?” He spoke, assuring Willow as they all watched Weiss manifest another glyph below her and Blake before waving her sword to release her own barrage of Fire Dust downwards.

Arslan and her teammate didn’t let the opportunity go, however, and they dived towards Weiss now that her back was towards them. Once again, however, they were blocked from attacking Weiss as Blake shot bullets with Gambol Shroud to keep them away, even as Ruby moved in to intercept. 

A burst of petals later, and finally, both Yang and Ruby managed to grab a hold of Arslan and her teammate. They were a tangle of steel and limbs, jockeying against each other as four people found themselves embroiled in close quarters over a hoverboard that was not designed to carry their weight. 

Elbows were used, hairs were pulled, nothing was safe as everyone punched everyone. All in all, it was the kind of sight that got the arena roaring as Yang finally managed to push Arslan off while Ruby got the other in a chokehold.

Nicholas wasn’t aware that Team RWBY was so proficient when fighting in the sky, but whoever trained them must have had a Semblance suited for flying for them to grow so much. Most impressive, however, was the fact that Weiss Schnee could hold herself and Blake up so they couldn’t be surrounded on the ground while firing off her own barrage of attacks.

“Did you know Weiss could do that? I didn’t think she had that much Aura and control.” He asked as he looked towards Willow at that.

She jolted, and immediately Nicholas felt bad from disturbing her while she was watching her daughter.

“N-No. I didn’t think she could do that either.”

“They must’ve had some intense training during the break. I don’t remember her being able to do that during our spars in Beacon.” Pyrrha cleared her throat, answering Nicholas’ question for Willow.

“Is that so? That is good, at least.” Willow answered absently before turning towards Pyrrha with a tilt of her head. “Did you know that Team CBLT from Atlas came with Team RNDM from Haven to gang up on your team?”

It was an obvious change in topic, but nobody called Willow Schnee out on it, as Pyrrha only hummed thoughtfully.

“Mistralians and Atlesians? Huh, I should have expected this.”

Something about the way she said it tickled Nicholas’ brain, and he wasn’t the only one to notice.

“You knew about the first round? I thought it was supposed to be a surprise.” Willow raised an eyebrow as Nicholas let out a sigh of understanding.

So that’s what it was. Seeing Pyrrha nod only confirmed his feelings.

“Headmistress Goodwitch warned me about it so I could get out early. She escorted me here, but she’s off now to join General Ironwood on speaking with the other Councils.”

“Hmm, they must’ve ruffled some feathers because of us.” Ghira hummed, joining the conversation as he rubbed his beard thoughtfully.

“Most likely, where is Team Menagerie now?” Nicholas nodded in agreement, feeling an urge to rub his own beard as he addressed Ghira.

“Over there by the trees.” Ghira nodded towards the southwest direction, and everyone’s eyes followed his direction to see….rustling?

“They’re…hiding?” Pyrrha asked, tilting her head as she tried to narrow her eyes to get a closer look.

“They’re delaying the teams from Vacuo from flanking your team.” Ghira only grunted, however, softly correcting her before slowly shaking his head. “It wouldn’t be long now, though, for them to wise up to learn that Team Menagerie couldn’t do anything against them if they leave one team to pin them down while the rest charge up as a group.”

And as if he was some prophet predicting the future, the teams from Vacuo did just that. Ghira cringed as his words came true, but Nicholas only watched as three teams left the forest to charge up the rocky mountain. 

He heard a gasp of worry leave his wife’s mouth, and even Nicholas had to admit that a small lance of worry shot through him then.

Jaune had only managed to beat the two members from Team RNDM and one from the Atlesian team, Team CBLT. He still had to face three of them, while Ren and Nora were taking on the combined remains of Team ABRN and Team RNDM in a 2v4. It left them all open to an attack from behind. 

An attack that was soon to come courtesy of Vacuoans.

—-----

Jaune Arc was a beast. 

This was something Caboose, leader of Team CBLT, learned personally as he watched Bors be stomped on as after failing to save the Mistralian.

Caboose had tried to save Bors himself. He swung his axe towards Jaune Arc’s side, but all it did was bounce off of his thick, white Aura.

Leandros shot Fire Dust straight into his face, but it was a minor inconvenience at best as Jaune Arc only waved the fire and smoke away.

Teal even jumped on his back and tried to slit his throat with her knife, but his Aura was already there for the knife to scrape against.

At best, all they managed to do was singe some eyebrow hair while Teal tried to be as inconvenient as possible while trying to choke him out 

At the end of it all, however, Jaune Arc still stomped on Bors’ face to knock him out, and threw Teal forward over his shoulder.

Teal herself only managed to escape the same fate as Bors by having Leandros catch her.

“Get back! Fan out and make some distance!” Caboose shouted, turning his axe into a shotgun as he smoothly loaded in Gravity Dust.

Bang!

Slugs flew through the air and Caboose himself scrambled backwards up the mountain as for the first time since their encounter, they managed to do something meaningful.

They managed to stop Jaune Arc.

And then he stepped forward.

Fuck!

Caboose bit back a curse, as he loaded another shell filled with Gravity Dust.

Bang!

Rocks, and pebbles, exploded around them, but Jaune Arc only raised his shield up to block the blow.

Thud!

It was a thud with force enough to make even him pause, but once again, Jaune Arc only stepped forward.

Truly, the man was a beast. Unrelenting in pursuit of his prey, who, at this moment, happened to be Caboose.

Shit.

Thankfully for him, Leandros and Teal have finally managed to make some distance by flanking him from each side.

“Don’t get too close! He already took out, Bors! Ranged weapons only!” He ordered, this time loading Fire Dust shells into his shotgun before aiming once again.

Bang!

Fire exploded out of his weapon, even as Leandros and Teal brought their own guns to bear. A rifle spat out rounds big enough to pierce an Ursa’s armor just as a submachine gun rang out with Lightning Dust.

Jaune Arc became a beacon of light, tanking hits that even veteran Huntsmen would have balked at taking. Lightning streaked against his armor, fiery explosions burned against his shield, and armor piercing rounds slammed against his Aura.

Caboose didn’t think that such a level of violence was allowed in a tournament, but it seemed like everyone was making an exception for Jaune Arc.

And why wouldn’t they? He had shown time and time again that he could take the punishment. Eventually, smoke filled the area even as Caboose kept laying it on him.

He didn’t say anything cliché like ‘did they get him or something’, but his own actions paused as his view was blocked by the smoke.

It was a mistake.

In the span of one breath, the smoke was suddenly blown away as a purple light streaked towards him.

Caboose felt his breath leave his mouth as he was launched backward off of his feet. 

Time slowed as he flew through the air while struggling to realize what just happened.

A cursory glance showed him that Jaune Arc had swapped his sword for a gun that was reminiscent of General Ironwood’s Due Process. 

A high caliber revolver capable of launching Dust rounds that could hold an oomph.

And hold an oomph it did with the Gravity Dust loaded into it.

Gravity Dust. That’s what it was.

He was just hit by Gravity Dust.

Gods damn it all! Despite his Aura taking most of the damage, it felt like being hit by a Boarbatusk straight to the gut!

His back hit the mountain just as his team realized what happened.

“He’s got a gun! Take him now!” Leandros shouted, leaping into action now that Jaune Arc had a ranged weapon of his own.

Leandros charged forward, switching his rifle back to its spear form now that Jaune Arc wasn’t holding a sword.

Clang!

Sparks flew as the tip of Leandros’ spear met Jaune Arc’s shield instead.

Jaune grinned, poking his gun above his shield, and only Teal’s interference saved Leandros from eating a bullet to the face at point-blank range.

She charged forward with her own knives, trying to stab into Jaune’s liver while she tried to kick the back of his knee.

It was futile. Jaune Arc’s Aura was just too thick, and his stance was too strong to do any real damage. All Teal could do was make him buckle a bit and miss his shot.

Ahhh, damn it all to hell.

As if it wasn’t clear before, then it was much clearer now that Team CBLT did not have the firepower required to break through Jaune Arc’s Aura. Still, if there was one thing that they did right, then it was that they were able to isolate Jaune Arc for some time. 

Caboose looked further down the mountain and watched as Jaune Arc’s teammates engaged in a 2v4 against the remnants of Teams ABRN and RNDM. Jaune Arc’s teammates were fighting back impressively, but it was clear that the two of them could not land the finishing blows needed with the way the 4 were moving. They alternated between attack and defense, satisfied with peppering Jaune Arc’s teammates from a distance from time to time. Overall, they were employing similar tactics to what Caboose and his team used against Jaune Arc.

Hopefully, it wouldn’t be long now before Jaune Arc’s teammates are defeated.

Alone and isolated, it was Caboose’s hope that other teams would dogpile Jaune Arc and beat him so he couldn’t join the next round.

Now, it was time for them to survive. Something that was getting harder and harder to do as it was clear that the only reason Leandros and Teal were still standing was because Jaune Arc was stuck using his gun in close quarters combat. 

He wasn’t as proficient at it as he was with his sword, but he wasn’t helpless as well.

A backhand with his gun had Teal spinning away, dazed and confused at being hit in the face. By the time she had gathered herself, however, Jaune Arc had already focused on Leandros and shot his feet from under him.

“Shit!” Leandros stumbled, but already Jaune Arc’s shield was heading for his face.

Credit where credit was due, however, in the face of such an unstoppable offense, Leandros abandoned any sort of defense himself and dedicated himself to being as much of an inconvenience as possible. He swung his spear to the same knee Teal had attacked with all his might in his precarious position just as he got rocked by Jaune Arc’s shield. 

Leandros’ head snapped backward, and he tumbled onto his ass, but it was done. 

For the first time in their fight, Jaune Arc stumbled, bending his knee as Leandros’ spear broke on his Aura. It wasn’t much, but it would have to do as Teal stabbed a knife into the back of that very same knee before jumping on his back.

The knife bounced off Jaune’s Aura, but the force of it still made him kneel as Teal proceeded to stab repeatedly onto his neck with her other knife.

“Run, Caboose! Run!” Teal shouted, gritting her teeth as she tried to pull Jaune Arc this way and that.

Well, she certainly didn't need to tell him twice. 

Caboose nodded as he struggled to stand up, knowing that one of them surviving was the only chance for them to move to the next round.

And with him being the only one able to move away from Jaune Arc, he was their only chance. That was, of course, until Jaune Arc threw Teal over his shoulder onto the ground in front him, and aimed his gun at Caboose.

And now they had no chance.

For a moment, time stopped as Caboose realized what was going to happen. Jaune Arc was going to shoot him before eliminating Teal and Leandros.

And then if Caboose still had some Aura by then, Jaune Arc was going to walk towards him and finish him off.

This was it. This was as far as Team CBLT would-

Bang!

Caboose blinked as Gravity Dust whizzed past his head.

He missed.

He actually missed.

But it was easy to see why.

A bullet had zipped through the air and hit Jaune Arc on the back of his head. Aura flashed, but the damage was done. His head snapped to the side, dazed and confused, as his gun was now pointed towards the ground.

Turning towards the source of the bullet, past the fighting between Jaune’s teammates and Mistralians, Caboose watched as a dozen people emerged from the trees below and climbing up towards them.

“Nice shot, May!”

“He’s still up! He’s more durable than we thought!”

“Alright, everyone! You heard her, it’s clobbering time!”

Caboose laughed hysterically.

Vacuoans. He was actually going to be saved by Vacuoans.

What the fuck?

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Apologies for the delay! I had to rewrite alot of this because the previous version got deleted! Let me know what you think! Next up, last part of Round 1!

P.S. This is my first time writing something as chaotic as a battle royale, it's certainly a challenge but I hope its an area I improve in considering my plans for the next arcs. If you have any tips, let me know.