Prelude to Order: Balance

Trailer 4 of 4 for Order of Seasons

Weiss Schnee walked towards the stands. She had been tasked by Glynda Goodwitch to go to the Mistral Regional Tournament held at Sanctum Academy to scout out possible new students who would be interested in attending Beacon. Pyrrha was originally slated to complete this task, but she had to back out due to several more missions being put on her and the rest of team JNPR’s plate. Weiss was a bit annoyed at this because today was the last day that Sun Wukong and Neptune Vasilias would be at Beacon before they returned to their home kingdoms since they were no longer needed in this part of the world since the Vytal Festival ended. Also, since Sun hadn’t really come to Vale legally, he had to leave or else things would have gotten extremely out of hand. But Weiss was mainly upset at the fact that Neptune was leaving and probably wouldn’t be back for a long time. Not only did it mean that she wouldn’t see him for a while, but it also meant that without her there to whack him over the head, he would start flirting with other girls as soon as he got back to Haven Academy. She shuddered at this thought, although it didn’t totally surprise her. Despite them having an on/off relationship, he always had to play the cool guy. Weiss took her head out of the clouds and sat herself down and watched the first few preliminary rounds. Then, the head of Sanctum stepped out and welcomed everybody to the main event.

            “While we are sorry to say that the legendary Pyrrha Nikos is not able to join us today, we are equally honored to have one of the Huntresses in training who was essential in the defeat of Cinder Fall here amongst us today: Weiss Schnee!” A spotlight ended up being pointed straight at Weiss causing her to blush a little bit. Regardless, she stood up, and curtsied thanking the audience. She was happy that now the rest of the world wasn’t just looking at her as the heiress to a large sum of money, but rather as someone who was willing to put everything aside for the sake of the people. She sat back down as the Headmaster began speaking again.

            “Allow me to go over the rules of the tournament. It will be a one-v-one style bracket. However, there is a loser’s bracket, so each fighter will need two losses before they are eliminated from the tournament altogether. Here at Sanctum, we teach students how to work in two man teams before they evolve to the four man teams of the higher Academies. However, today they will learn to fend for themselves as well as face off against their own teammates. To ensure that there will be little to no chance of teammate VS teammate in the finals, the entire first round will be made up of teammates facing each other. The winner moves on through the winners bracket, while the loser will continue on throughout the losers bracket until we have the champion of each side face off in one big final battle. For now though, lets welcome the fighters!” There was an eruption of applause and excitement throughout the stadium, as the 32 fighters made their way onto the platform. They all smiled and greeted the audience, all but a few of them. Three of them were just a bit shy and weren’t very open. However, another one of the few who just stood there had a look of impatience. She had a shield and no visible weapons on her person. She was then elbowed by a taller gentleman who looked more like a wandering samurai that had come straight out of an anime. He leaned over and whispered something in her ear, and she reluctantly started waving towards the crowd. Weiss chuckled a little bit, understanding that it wasn’t out of fear she didn’t wave, but of pride. She probably would have done the same thing in that situation if she wasn’t so prim and proper like her father raised her to be. As the opening ceremonies concluded, they began the random fight selection. Since the entire bracket was predetermined, all that remained was picking who went first. The wheel was spun in front of the entire audience. After the realization that all the matches were fixed during the last Vytal festival, they introduced a system to truly randomize the matches. Each fighter or team would receive a color or item to signify their group, and the spinner would determine the result in a truly random and fair event. As the wheel spun, the first few fighters were selected. The battle was rather quick as the person with the giant Gatling gun tore apart her opponent who had nothing more than literally a pair of knives. The wheel was spun once again, and the red tile came up.

            “Next match: Rank 24 Brooklyn McPherson VS Rank 1 Jacob Strohl!” The crowd got excited as soon as the announcer mentioned Jacob’s name. Weiss made sure to pay attention to this battle with great interest. The two fighters walked out into the ring, and took their respective positions. Brooklyn then took out her weapon. It was a shield. Not much else to it as far as Weiss could tell. On the other hand, Jacob wielded a katana. It looked a lot like Jaune’s sword in that it seemed like it was impossible for it to transform into anything else. Around his waist, he had a utility belt that looked like it was ready for combat. The two fighters assumed ready positions and waited for the bell. As soon as the bell tolled, Jacob rushed straight towards Brooklyn, causing her to block his attack with her shield. She then sent an electrical current through the shield and attempted to fry Jacob and end it super quickly. However, noticing this, Jacob immediately leapt backwards and threw two kunai into the ground. As soon as they hit the ground, a large amount of steam appeared. As the steam spread, it ended up covering about two-thirds of the arena, forcing Brooklyn to the edge. She then morphed her shield into a wrist-rifle that extended longer then her arm, and then launched several projectiles into the air. This resulted in Lightning Dust creating a ring around the steam and almost creating bars of lightning strikes to keep her opponent in. Then she switched cartridges and blasted a gust of wind to blow away the steam. Standing right there in the middle was Jacob, completely calm and prepared for whatever Brooklyn had in store. Brooklyn smirked, and clenched her fist on the grip of her weapon, and the circle of lightning began to close in on Jacob. But Jacob continued to stand there. Smiling. As the lightning clouds continued to close in, Jacob began running towards Brooklyn. Anticipating, she turned her weapon into a scimitar armband, and got closer to the closing circle. Then something happened that nearly made Weiss fall out of her seat. She could see it, but just barely. There were short brief instances where there would be an opening in the thunder strikes. And as if he was moving faster then the lightning itself, Jacob continued his run towards Brooklyn, and then as if he could see the lightning strikes, dodged his way out of the ring of lightning, and began engaging Brooklyn. With several sword strikes, the two parried, but it was clear Jacob had the upper hand. He started slowly whittling away at her Aura level. After two minutes of this, he had taken her Aura level down to about 23%. He then smirked and took a few steps back, motioning Brooklyn to come at her.

            “Oh you arrogant son of a….” Brooklyn didn’t get to finish her sentence as she began hacking and slashing as much as she could at Jacob. However, nothing seemed to hit him. He didn’t use his weapon for defense nor attack. He just simply dodged and weaved as if he was simply dodging a child. He then spun around before she had time to react, and hit her with the hilt of his sword. She then tumbled to the ground, looking like the fight was finished. Jacob turned to leave, the crowd roaring and chanting his name. But Weiss noticed something. Brooklyn’s Aura levels were still over the 15% threshold of standard tournament rules and regulations. As such, Brooklyn began to slowly get back up. Her anger caused her to give off an Aura burn similar in nature to that of Yang’s. She then rushed straight towards Jacob, who hadn’t even noticed her approach. She then immediately started going ham on him. She was slashing away at him, and he had no time to prepare a defense. His aura levels plummeted quickly. 80%. 60%. 30%. Just as she was about to place the final blow on Jacob, he pulled out another one of his kunai. He then immediately threw it on the ground, and the result was explosive. Literally. Weiss with her expansive knowledge of Dust instantly realized that there was a Fire Dust crystal hidden within the kunai, and it had the properties of a grand fire explosion if the situation called for it. As the dust settled, Jacob was still standing, but according to the board, he still had about 18% Aura left. However, Brooklyn’s had plummeted to about 3%. The bell was rung to signify the end of the match, and the crowd roared. Jacob smiled and waved at the crowd, then walked over to Brooklyn to help her back up. Brooklyn however, didn’t return the sentiment, and slashed at Jacob. Jacob jumped back from this, as Brooklyn got back up and charged at him again. Jacob continually dodged and parried her onslaught of attacks, but even Weiss could see that Brooklyn was stronger than she was just a few seconds ago. Officials quickly jumped up on the stage and surrounded Brooklyn. She was about to slice right through them as well, before she regained her senses. She looked up at the board and saw that she had lost. She then slammed her weapon on the ground in frustration.

            “NOT AGAIN!” She screamed in frustration for the entire audience to hear. As they escorted her off the stage, there was an announcement.

            “The committee of rules and regulations has come to a decision. The actions of Brooklyn McPherson are being attributed to not realizing the end of the match. She will be allowed to continue in the losers bracket.” There was a bit of a buzz around the stadium. Some of it positive, most of it however, questioning the decision. As the tournament continued, Jacob continued to dominate the competition. He made it all the way to the winners bracket final, and qualified for the grand final. Meanwhile, Brooklyn did extremely well in the lower half of the bracket. She made it all the way to the final four, but lost to the runner up of the winners bracket right before the grand finals. Jacob then made quick work of his opponent, and was crowned champion. Then the main speaker got back up on the podium.

            “Thank you for attending today’s event! All spectators please drive home safely. As for scouts, please make your way to the locker room and have your Scroll ready for identification.” The announcer then left the stage and Weiss made her way over to the lockers. There was a long line at the front, but Weiss scanned her Scroll at the back of the line, and suddenly an employee walked over to her and motioned to her.

            “Since you are the famous Weiss Schnee and you are here in the place of Pyrrha Nikos, Sanctum Academy would like to offer you first interviews with some of the students! Any you wish to speak to first?” Weiss thought for a second, then said,

            “I would like to meet the champion of this tournament and his teammate please.”

            “Of course Ms. Schnee. Right this way.” She then led Weiss past all the scouts and recruiters. As they made their way into the lockers, a lot of people were already lining up to meet with Jacob. As Weiss entered the room, the attendant stood at the door and mentioned,

            “You have ten minutes. Please make the most of them.” And shut the door behind her. She walked in and saw a fully dressed Jacob sitting in the center of the room.

            “Ah. Weiss Schnee. A pleasure.” He then stood up and shook her hand. “My apologies. My teammate is changing right now. She will be out momentarily.”

            “Is that truly necessary Mr. Strohl? I am here mainly to interview you for the chance of enrolling at Beacon Academy.”

            “I’m afraid it’s a bit more complicated then that Ms. Schnee. You see, the two of us agreed that we would both go to the same Academy together.”

            “Why’s that? Are you two dating or something.”

            “YOU OWE ME 20 LIEN JACOB!” Brooklyn yelled from the other room.

            “Ugh, don’t remind me.” Jacob said pinching his forehead.  Weiss looked a bit confused at this. “We placed a bet with each other. She said that whenever I mentioned that the two of us want to attend the same Academy together, the scouts would all assume it was because we were dating. But that is DEFINATLY not the case. We’re rivals, and we want to continue to test each other until we officially graduate. And we determine who is truly the better of the two of us.

            “What’s the record again Jacob” Brooklyn shouted from the changing room.

            “I think today made it 71 wins, 23 losses and 32 draws for me.” Brooklyn walked out fully dressed, counting on her finger.

            “What was the 71st time?”

            “Today?”

            “No, I thought that was 70. I mean, there was today, then a few days ago, what else?”

            “Um, I’m on a bit of a time crunch here so if you could please save this for later?” Weiss piped up.”

            “Ah yes, sorry about that. So if you do have any reason as to why you think we should attend Beacon Academy Ms. Schnee, I’m anxious to hear it.”

            “Well, it’s got some of the best fighters in the history of Remnant, right now the students are gaining experience with the largest Grimm population in history, and Pyrrha Nikos attends there as well. So, there’s a few of the basics.”

            “Great. Well then, thank you for your time Ms. Schnee.”

            “Wait that’s it? I still could sell you both so much more about Beacon.”

            “You don’t have to. We already decided to go there before the tournament even began.”

            “Really?”

            “Yeah.” Brooklyn chimed in. “We’ve had this idea that we could test his and my Semblance against others who have a Semblance that is either similar or counteractive to ours.”

            “How so?”

            “Well, my Semblance is that I gain power through my “refuse to quit” mentality, similar to that of Yang Xiao Long, while Jacob’s Semblance here is a sort of time manipulation crossed with increased reflexes.”

            “Time manipulation? Is that even possible?”

            “It’s not.” Jacob pointed out. “It’s like Brooklyn said, it’s more of a increased reflex situation. My Semblance is that I can increase my brains response time and make it feel like what I’m seeing is happening in a much slower motion while I am still able to move at full speed. So let’s say I was fighting Miss Ruby Rose, who’s main attribute is speed. While my ability is powerful, it is limited, and could be countered by something moving much faster then even my heightened senses could keep up with.”

            “So……”

            “I can see things happen at pretty much half speed or slower while still maintaining my own speed to stay two steps ahead of the situation.”

            “Although he mainly uses it to show off.” Brooklyn added.

            “Oh come on. It was so we looked much more glamorous and epic for the pictures in the paper tomorrow! How cool will the shot of me ducking beneath your scimitar look as the front page of the Sanctum Dispatch?!”

            “Not as cool as me totally KICKING YOUR BUTT!”

            “Hey, I thought we agreed that it would be my win and you could just beat everybody up through the losers bracket, beat me in the final, then we could go at it for real.”

            “HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW THAT GUY HAD A DEFENCE SEMBLANCE?!”

            “Um, by watching my match from earlier?”

            “I WAS GETTING A TACO, SUE ME!” The two of them continued to banter on for another few minutes, while Weiss was just standing there not sure how to take it in.

            “So, I hate to interrupt this…whatever this is, but I just need to know one last thing before I leave here today.” The two of them stopped talking and turned towards Weiss. “Why choose Beacon? I know why I did it, but that is completely different from your perspective. So why choose this Academy out of all the others? I know you mentioned Yang and Ruby, but is there any other reason?”

            “Well to be perfectly honest with you,” Jacob said, “It’s because it’s where we need to be right now. What with Cinder Fall having caused a huge horde of Grimm to pretty much forget about every other kingdom in Remnant and focus solely on one single kingdom. It needs all the help it can get. And even if we go to some other academy, the Vytal Festival re-issue is going to be later this year in Vale again anyways, so why not be where the battles will be taking place?”

            “And also, the students there are legendary. Yang Xiao Long, Ruby Rose, Pyrrha Nikos, Jaune Arc, and you Ms. Schnee, just to name a few.” Brooklyn added.

            “Well, I’m flattered, but I’m still a student, just like you two. I still have a lot to learn. But, I guess you did answer my question, so I’ll leave you two to the rest of the scouts. Even though I guess it’s pretty much pointless since you two have already made a decision.”

            “Of course. Thanks again for your time Ms. Schnee.”

            “Oh, call me Weiss. After all, we’ll be classmates this coming fall!”

            “I guess that’s true.” Jacob said with a smile as Weiss left the room.

            “Are you sure about this Jacob?” Brooklyn asked.  “I mean, we do have other options for academies.”

            “That’s true, but if we want to become stronger, we need to go to where the darkness is gathering. Only there can we make a true difference.” Brooklyn groaned and put her hand on his shoulder.

            “You have to go all philosophical on me, don’t you?”

            “Only way you remember anything I say.”

            “Fair point.” They both laughed as the representatives from Atlas came in next.

 

 

 

The stage is set

The pieces have assembled

But something is waiting

Waiting for the time to be right

There are those who gain power while in the spotlight

But this enemy is waiting

Hiding in the shadows and growing stronger

The White Fang are nothing more then a piece

In the game that the Order is playing.

 

 

 

 

RWBY

Order of Seasons

Author's Note

The final trailer before the first "season" begins! Please review and enjoy!

Reviews

[Shep]

Wow-what a chapter, love the competition of the battle. Still loving the characters. Love the movement of the story. the chapter was packed full of life and I loved everything about it. Moving on to the next page. Please be kind and return the love,