Board Thread:Role Plays/@comment-5426254-20150930003410/@comment-5426254-20151107223115

The arena was empty by the time everyone left.

Goodwitch looked back at the center stage. This arena was an unorthodox and experimental strategy of teaching combat classes, with the fringe benefit of preparing for the Vytal Festival, having been modelled after Amity Colosseum.

Opponents of the arena had criticized it as a waste of time and resources, claiming that enoromous maintenance costs aside, it would only be useful training students for a biannual tournament. And its supporters had argued that in lieu of the conventional classroom or sparring arena, it would promote environmental awareness in all situations, and force teams and students to strategize, ultimately allowing students to learn on the finer necessities of combat in a Huntsman Academy like Beacon.

But whatever it was, it had fulfilled its purpose, as Goodwitch walked away with a sigh, the lights dimming behind her.

''These children better be ready for the Vytal Festival, let alone what lies ahead... as defenders of the world...'' --- At first, there was only darkness as ceaseless murmurs and whispers filled the void.

And then light.

Alicia Blue was in the infirmary, waking up to see both her rivals and partners surround her.

"You did it. You won," Sable reminded her.

Alicia then remembered her victory.

"Yipee ... ow!"

"I'd rest if I were you," Pieter commented. "You'll need every bit of it."

"Oh-kay," Alicia mumbled with an exasperated sigh.

"Looks like you did good," Carmine muttered, looking at the wrappings on his hand for the second time. "It seems you really took my words to heart."

"Mm-hm. And I won!"

"See how being focused takes you places?"

"What happened to your arm, Carmine?"

The Huntsman-In Training sighed. "Rayne damaged it when she stabbed my arm. The thing's useless now. I'll get Dad and the guys at Lafleur to fix it. Well, Alicia, you better sleep tight. You earned it."

Truth be told, Carmine thought, ''It felt more like a close tie for me. It would have been a tie were it not for her lasting a few more seconds.''

"Hey Carmine!"

He turned to see Asher and the rest of Team H.A.R.T. nearby. "Congrats."

"Glad to see you around."

"You know, I always pegged you for the hot-blooded type," Asher continued, "just like Heart. I was actually surprised that you were quite the gentle giant."

"Well, not exactly."

"Right. Anyways, this is a thanks for taking care of Tana. I never would have guessed that you would try that strategy with her. What do you say, Tana?", he said, shaking hads with Carmine.

"Arigato (Thank you)!" She quickly bowed her head in gratitude before going back to ... whatever it was she did.

"So, that sure was some fight, wasn't it?", Carmine muttered.

"Yeah, though it's a bit slower than last time.

"I'll admit, you're pretty good."

"Please. Sure, we're pretty even on team tactics and all, but if there was one thing we lacked, it was range. It would have been a closer fight had we used a smaller arena. Plus, Rayne simply loves to charge in and be done with it sometimes."

"Well, to be fair, we didn't see your improvised tactics coming. Not to mention that Heart really is quite the powerhouse. And Alicia just barely cut it close by a few seconds."

"I think we can both agree on all of these points. But I want to ask you something."

"Yes?"

"I've never seen Alicia like that. You know what happened?"

"She concentrated. Every time she does that, she can achieve her full potential."

Meanwhile, Sable and Pieter stared at the two talking, and the rest of the injured fighters.

"What are those two talking about?"

"Nothing important," Pieter muttered. "Now, get some rest. Once we're done,

"Hey, I thought I was the-"

"And your 'leadership skills' have got you hurt. Badly. We start training as soon as we finish recovering."

"Alright. But first-"

Sable then decided to grab a few nearby lollipops, and headed towards Tana. Everyone paused and stared, unsure of what would happen next. Asher, in particular was tense.

"I swear, if you'll hurt her, I'll-"

Sable then knelt down and patted her on the head.

"Look, all I wanted to say was that I'm sorry for hurting you that badly out there. Well, technically, not realizing how badly you needed your Semblance and all. If I did, I wouldn't have gone that rough. You get the idea."

He then proceeded to hand Tana the candies as he continued.

"I know it's not much, but will you forgive me?"

Tana then stared at the lollipops before snatching them and nodding yes.

Sable turned to Asher.

"Hey, Asher!"

"Yes?"

"How about you and I duel sometime? I wanna see how it can pan out, ever since you took out Petie over there."

"Maybe someday."

Carmine and Asher then looked at Alicia, who smiled as she slept, wrapped with bandages. They also saw all their teammates chatting and interacting with each other as they recovered.

When Sable returned to his bed next to Pieter, the two resumed their recuperation, unaware that a rift had arisen between them... --- "Well, that was a thing."

Emerald and Mercury walked back into their dorm room, having collected all the necessary footage once more.

"Orders are orders, Mercury," Emerald replied. "Don't forget that."

"I know, I know." He turned his attention to Cinder.

"So, how many more until the Tournament? I mean, it's around the corner."

"Oh, Mercury," Cinder replied in her signature voice. "... we will be ready. And when we are ready, the world will get a taste of what we are all capable of."

"If you say so," Emerald commented. "Say, how's Neo holding along?"

The pint-sized partner to the now-incarcerated Torchwick was currently trying out her new clothes in front of a mirror. Gone was her trademark white jacket and boots, with black top and pants, she now wore an elegant black gothic top with skirt.

"She'll be fine," Cinder reassured her, to the sound of Neo's humming. The girl had mostly kept to herself, as she seldom spoke to others, giving others the idea that she was mute, or at the very least, stoic.

Neopolitan also put on her wig. In lieu of her trademark pink and brown hairstyle, she now had dark black twin-tailed hair held together by white bows. Additionally, with the blink of an eye, she changed her brown and pink eyes to a dark green. It was all part of her disguise to participate in the upcoming Vytal Festival Tournameent, let alone infiltrate the Academy with what little time left before the plan took action.

She wasn't the only one to try on a new outfit. Cinder had also prepared her attire for the tournament, a pair of brown slacks, boots, an orange vest, complete with sarashi bandages wrapped around her breasts and hips.

Of course, there were people who gawked at her costume. People were under the impression that Cinder came from Vacuo just from the outfit alone. There were a few jarring moments for her subordinates, but they were mostly trivial matters compared with the task at hand.

They would plan for the coming week. They would participate undetected in the Vytal Festival. And the world would be caught off guard once they set the plan in motion.

"What we will do," Cinder continued, "is complete the final preparations on schedule. And then..."

"...Let the games begin." --- ''Well, that was another nice sparring piece. I'd like to thank Dust for creating this sequel of an RP. And I hope you all enjoyed this, especially how I tied it with canon. Thanks for reading! -GL''