Two chapters at once?!

What is this madness?!

Welp, I wasn't exactly sitting around doing nothing.

Hope you guys enjoy these, though. The next chapter will be out as soon as I finish it.

Sorry for any mistakes, I'm still writing with my phone only, so a few things may get past me. But if anyone knows a useful app for writing, please let me know!

-x-

"And there we have it, folks! Our top eight contestants who will represent their schools during the 1v1 matches!" Professor Port announces proudly. "It seems like the four academies still have a chance of winning this year's tournament! It is bound to be a very interesting year."

"Yes indeed, Peter." Doctor Oobleck follows. "But before we randomly select the first match of the day, we have a very special announcement, from no other than the King of Arkend, Michael Rasputin!" The cameras miss the way John flinched, his hands shaking. He watched as the screens of the arena showed the man's face, a warm smile gracing his features as he politely accepted the cheers of the crowd.

"Thank you, thank you. I have no words to express how honored I feel to say that soon there won't be four academies competing in this tournament." His voice was smooth, every word was enunciated fluidly and with confidence. He knew what he was doing. "Madrigal Academy is being finished as we speak, and Arkend will finally have its own representatives partaking this honorable event. I hope Madrigal Academy will live up to its name and become a safe refuge, where every voice can be heard. Faunus, human, civilian, huntsman. May all those voices become one. May peace reign and prosper for many years to come. May our voices be heard in the darkness, even the ones that were lost." He paused for a moment, letting his words sink in. "I wish all contestants the best of luck, because they already proved their skill. Now, let's keep the celebration going! The festival is far from over, and a champion has yet to take the crown!"

Cheers from the audience followed his speech as John completely froze, the last words were clearly directed towards him. Michael's face flashed out of the screen and gave place to the random generator. Mercury Black was the first face to appear, followed by himself.

Lady Luck clearly wasn't on his side.

"And that will be the first match! Mercury Black, from Haven, versus Jonathan Beauregard, from Beacon. What an interesting match it will be, for sure!" Doctor Oobleck says over the cheers of the crowd. "May the other contestants leave the stage, please?" His eyes caught Pyrrha's, who was quick to notice his discomfort. She mouthed him a quick "good luck", her eyes showing concern. He nodded absent-mindedly, and tried to give her a reassuring smile. Sun have him a thumbs up as he walked by, also in a show of support.

"Guess we'll finally know who would've won that match." He heard Mercury say besides him. The boy had a confident smirk, to which John could only counter with a firm nod.

"I won't go easy on you." He said as his opponent walked towards his side of the arena.

"I wouldn't want or expect otherwise." The silver-haired boy said, combat stance ready. John took a deep breath and did the same. Relax… He told himself. There was no way Michael would try anything, not here, not now. He felt the weight on his shoulders reduce substantially, giving place to adrenaline.

Three…

His team was counting on him. Beacon was counting on him.

Two…

Nothing bad would happen here, not now.

One…

Do it for them. Do it for her.

Begin!

His eyes hardened as he dashed forward, Mercury's boot connected to his shield, and he twisted his leg in an attempt to disarm him. Not that it was going to work. The only person who had managed to disarm him into hand to hand was Yang, and he had developed a fairly good trick against it.

Nothing said "get your hands out of my weapons" like a stone pillar to the face. Mercury avoided the constructs by doing a series of flips, each time shooting some kind of flare out of his boots. The shots turned the pillars into rumble, but that was only more ammunition for John. Mimicking a move he had seen Pyrrha doing once, he slammed his shield hand into the ground, pieces of rock of multiple sizes were hurled into the air. In a theatrical, if not old-fashioned, move he pointed his sword towards Mercury and the big rocks were hurled at him with reasonable speed. The smaller rocks flew like bullets, however, and his opponent was having a bad time trying to avoid them.

Mercury was done with the rocks, it seemed. He started shooting the air in circles, his moves mimicking a break-dancer. The shots circled him as a tornado. Wind dust, maybe? The rocks were not only blocked by the tornado, but also redirected. He raised his shield to smash a particular stone that was coming towards him and was surprised to see his opponent right above him, ready to land an axe kick. John wasn't able to block it in time, but redirected the damage to his shoulder blades rather than his face, by turning around. Mercury was quicker than him, and it showed, as he was already kicking John's abdomen and ribcage in a series of consecutive kicks. He was preparing for a roundhouse when John's fist closed onto his feet, making him lose balance for a moment. Before Mercury could shoot a projectile at him, John threw him away. Instead of falling, Mercury backflipped. But by the time he regained his footing it was John's time to overwhelm him with a series of slashes and thrusts of his sword.

Mercury covered his face with his forearms and took the damage, retaliating with side kicks whenever an opportunity showed. The damage he was doing wasn't enough comparing to the damage he was taking, and he knew he wouldn't last long. He prepared to jump, shooting the space between them and causing smoke to obscure John's eyesight. He kept his shield up and listened. Mercury wasn't the only one who could use wind tricks. Gathering some of his aura he summons Anemoi, and the smoke clears. Mercury was quick to try and fill the gap between them, twisting his body to deliver a butterfly kick. A simple order to Anemoi and the blow never connected. A powerful gust blew Mercury away, and John used the moment to deliver a few shots himself. Mercury retaliated, shooting from his boots while still being in mid air. He also used the shots to maneuver himself in the air, allowing him a soft landing.

Close combat was not an option unless he caught Mercury by surprise. Range could work, but Mercury could retaliate as well. There was no outspeeding him, but he had something Mercury didn't.

A seriously overpowered semblance, quoting Yang.

With Anemoi by his side he dashed forward, his speed now almost on pair with Mercury's thanks to Anemoi's boost. The silver haired boy was surprised, but covered it quick, aiming a low roundhouse kick to destabilize John. It would have worked if Anemoi hadn't intervened, lifting John into the air just enough for the blow to miss.

Exploiting the brief advantage, John delivered a kick of his own onto Mercury's face, causing the boy to fall backwards. His aura cracked as he struggled to get up, but the buzzer announced John's victory, and he let his control over Anemoi slip, the golem dispersing in the wind. The crowd cheered louder and louder as the voice of Professor Port filled the arena once more. There was something else that caught his earing, and his mind started buzzing slightly. It was a familiar feeling, it was almost…

"I'll show you who's the real loser!" Blue eyes widened as he saw Mercury dash towards him, and the buzzing intensified. In a moment he saw Mercury walking calmly towards him, hand extended in a friendly gesture, and then the boy was dashing again, foot ready to strike. The buzzing intensified until it stopped completely, and Mercury stood there. A worried, if slightly confused expressions on his face.

"Are you okay?" He asked, and John nodded weakly.

"A headache. Terrible one." He grabbed Mercury's hand, which was still extended towards him, and shook it. "Great match, by the way. I think I just overworked myself."

"Yeah, sure. Get well." The boy said before jogging away to his changing room. What a weird headache, but at least Mercury handled his loss well. He entered his own changing room, and was greeted by the angry face of Katherine Beauregard.

"You're not safe." She said before he could open his mouth. "We need to talk."

Talk…

"What the hell, Emerald! You were supposed to do your mind stuff!" Mercury shouted angrily, a tint of despair in his voice.

"I did! I swear I did! It was working, but then something fought back!" She sounded scared, no, terrified, but it wasn't because of Mercury.

The door to their dorm opened, revealing no other than Cinder Fall, accompanied by Neopolitan. They both froze in fear, her cold glare being enough to stop them in their tracks. She expected them to bow, beg for her forgiveness, and Emerald seemed about to do that, but before she could, a fire whip cracked into the air, silencing the girl.

"Can someone please explain to me why the boy wasn't framed?" Her eyes flared with anger but her voice was calm, which made her even more terrifying. "Mercury?"

"I did what you asked me to do." He blurted out, to her secret amusement. Throwing Emerald to the Beowolves, huh? She could at least respect that. "I fought him and lost, as you asked. And then at the end I went and tried to give him a handshake. But nothing happened! He… he complained about a headache but that was it!"

"So I did affect him!" Emerald exclaimed, somewhat relieved. Cinder's glare was enough to silence her again.

"Then why he did not attacked Mercury when he was supposed to, dear Emerald?" Emerald took a deep breath, calming down.

"Everything was going as it should, I entered his head and planted the illusion. As I was maintaining it, something started to push me out of his mind. I tried to fight back, but it was just so much stronger. And then when it started to enter my head instead of blocking me from his I had to pull out." Cinder hummed, contemplating her words.

"The Beauregard matriarch." She concluded. "I was informed of her abilities, but I wasn't counting on her presence. She's a telepath, certainly the strongest alive. Not that are so many to begin with…" She stopped herself before she started deviating from the subject. "You did well in retreating then, if she had gotten a hold of your mind my plan would be compromised."

"So what now, boss?" Mercury asked. "I'm out of the competition."

"Your presence was necessary, dear Mercury, though not vital. While I would have loved to set the crowd against Beacon, and Ozpin, a change of targets may be all we needed." She opened her scroll, to reveal the fight scheduled for later that day.

"Sun Wukong, from Haven, versus Killian O'Hara, from Atlas." Emerald read. "Isn't that…"

"The son of Cynthia O'Hara, owner of Latros Industries. Known for hiring Faunus for less than appropriate salaries, putting it lightly." Mercury said, an eyebrow raised.

"They made the SDC look good years ago, by how badly they treated Faunus employees." Emerald said, suddenly understanding Cinder's plan. "Wukong is a Faunus. We're putting people against the White Fang." Cinder nodded. "But how? I doubt O'Hara is going to agree to this, and I can't control more than a person at a time."

"There's where our dear Neo comes in." Said girl smirks, light changing and warping around her, making her look like a copy of the atlesian student. "Now we just have to make sure he wont actually show up, and gather his weapon."

Neo's grin became wider.

Wide…

Blake's eyes were wide open after he told her what happened.

"You're not safe." She said. "You have to leave with her until things calm down."

"I'm not going with her and leave you guys behind." He answered, resolute. "Besides, we still have a tournament to win."

"The tournament is not important!" He sighed in silent agreement, her anger subsided as she placed a hand over his chest. "You don't have to act like you're not afraid. Like nothing is wrong. You want to stay? Fine, but take precautions. Ozpin knows?"

"By this time, I think so, yeah. My mother definitely knows, and I wouldn't be surprised if Ironwood was informed." Blake nodded.

"Good. They're probably discussing this as we speak." She relaxed a bit. "But why would someone want you to attack Mercury?"

"It would be an international incident. It would cause an uproar." He pointed. "And a lot of negative emotions, definitely."

"We should investigate him, he may know something." Blake suggested. "I was trained for years in the White Fang Gang and I could…"

"No. If he's into something, you'll be putting yourself in danger." He said with a frown. "I doubt Katherine will let him slip by. She can enter his mind and gather everything she needs without he even noticing. It's safer this way."

"Since when you do safe?" She asked, rolling her eyes.

"Well, if I am prohibited to do careless things, so are you missy." He joked, hoping to lift up the mood in the room. "I should probably tell Weiss and Ruby. If anything happens to them because they've not been prepared…"

"You should." Blake nodded. "We should all carry out weapons with us from now on, and stick together. Maybe tell team LPYN to do the same."

"It's not going to be an easy talk." He sighed.

"No, it's not." She wrapped her arm around his. "But it's better than being too late to warn them."

"You're right. I'll call them." He said, grabbing his scroll. "They should be watching Sun's fight. I don't know if they will pick up."

"They'll be here sooner or later. It'll give you time to think about how you're telling them."

"But-"

"No excuses."

Excuses…

"I'm tired of your excuses, Ozpin!" Katherine exclaimed, her finger pointed towards the white-haired headmaster. He sat on his desk patiently, with Ironwood and Qrow by his side. Glynda stood in between them, ready to diffuse the situation. "We all knew they would come for him, yet you act like this was nothing!"

"I'm simply not willing to risk causing an international incident because of something that could be nothing." He said. "Barging into the student's door and letting you scan every inch of his mind might be considered so."

"I'm not exactly an unknown huntress. People know my abilities, know who I am and know how hard I fought to protect them. I still have connections with media and politicians, I could contain the situation myself, semblance of not. No one would ever know, of course, but if they did, their reaction would be contained." She said, resolute.

"She's right on that regard." Ironwood says with a nod, turning to face Ozpin.

"The boy should be protected and this could qualify as a threat. Katherine has a unique skill set and will be able to this quicker and quieter than any other spy could."

"I'll even make it painless if it makes you feel better." She said mockingly. "Shall they prove themselves as enemies, that is."

"I'm not letting you kill my students."

"If they are only your students then they'll have nothing to worry about. Is this how lowly you think of me?" She scoffed. "Did you at least contact Leo? Are they really students of Haven?"

"Leo has an appointment with the council today, but their transcripts seem legitimate." Glynda said with a sigh. "Ozpin, usually I would condone such actions, but let her gather information on them. I don't think killing would be the right alternative either, but Katherine is more than able to subdue them into telepathic subservience if they prove to be a threat. James would do the rest." The general nodded.

"My ship will be able to contain them until further notice, shall we need." He says, turning to Ozpin. "We have nothing to lose if we make this now." The headmaster of Beacon sighs, turning to the only person in the room who hadn't spoke a word.

"What are your thoughts, Qrow?" He asked the scythe wielder, who only shrugged.

"I would volunteer to spy on them myself, if there was time." He took a flask out of his coat's inner pocket. "But we don't have the time to be subtle, or to postpone this. Transcripts can be faked, and if they also have a telepath their presence would be easily masked. I say aye."

"Very well." Katherine faced Ozpin with a triumphant smile. "It seems like we're in…" The holographic desk lit up, the voice of Professor Port filled the room.

"Ozpin, we have a big problem!" His voice was exasperated, trying to be louder than the screams and protests of the audience. Every huntsman in the room turned to the screen.

"What happened?!"

"Check… footage… Wukong…" His voice was overthrown by the audience's uproar, Ozpin ended the call and searched for the footage. The screen paused.

Just in time to show Sun Wukong shooting a hole through his opponent's stomach.

The room was silent, Katherine cleared her throat, gathering their attention.

"James, take the boy to be interrogated. I don't think he's the one behind what we've seen, but we have to be sure. Qrow, Glynda, gather Mercury Black's team." She paused, eyeing the headmaster with concern. "Ozpin, deal with the backlash. Get Leo to talk, see if the student is okay, keep the face. We can't have that amount of negativity right now." All eyes were on Ozpin, as if waiting for his approval.

"Do as she said. I'll have to deal with the Council." Four people left the room, leaving the headmaster by himself. Once he was alone, he sighed. Another mistake…

He was going to need some stronger coffee.

Strong…

"Yesterday's match ended up with a strong image of Sun Wukong, a young huntsman in training, shooting his opponent, Killian O'Hara in the abdomen after the match was over. Wukong was taken by atlesian soldiers, and we have yet to know his fate. Rumors say that the reason behind the attack was due to a possible association with the White Fang, It wouldn't be too farfetched due to the long history of violence between the organization and the O'Hara family, but this has yet to be confirmed as an act of the terrorist group. We also have confirmation that no other than Katherine Beauregard, war hero and skilled telepath, is aiding the investigation. The huntress was considered to be MIA after the death of the Arc family, but apparently took refuge in Vale with her grandson, Jonathan Beauregard. The young Beauregard is also taking part in the tournament, heading to the finals after his match against Mercury Black. He is also known by his participation during the defense of Vale at the Breach, and by his fight at the docks against the renowned criminal Roman Torchwick. We have yet to see the end of this story. My name is Lisa Lavender, and I…" Cinder Fall turned the television off. Everything was going according to the plan. Thee Beauregard matriarch had been a nuisance, but things were back on track. Now if only…

"Oh, Neo." She said as the girl materialized in the corner of her room. The new hideout had been necessary, since they had to flee Beacon as soon as the match was over. "I take that your mission was successful?" The ice cream themed girl smirked, blood spilled over her clothes. She simply flickered her eyes to the television in mild amusement. Without battling an eyelash, Cinder turned the television on again.

"Breaking news, the hospital where Killian O'Hara was hospitalized was attacked, several bodies of staff and security were found, along with the young huntsman. Police suspects the White Fang is responsible, and several Grimm masks, similar to the ones used by the members of the organization, were found at the place. The chief of police gave us his thoughts on the attack, and express his condolences to the families of the victims. Cyril, can you tell us what is…"

"Good job, Neo. Did you plant the scapegoat?" The girl nodded. Good, that should be enough to take any suspicions on their part. Adam wouldn't miss a common soldier or two, how would he put it? For the greater good… She chuckled to herself, as the screen showed two bodies wearing White Fang uniforms were removed from the burning hospital.

Greater good indeed…