Aura Isn't Everything

Chapter 8: Kyanite

*BOOM*

*BANG*

*SLASH*

*TANG*

I ducked and dodged the many green beams of mechanical-kinetic energy Penny fired at me with her tricks, always keeping out of reach of those beams and testing my limits with the exclusion of my Pilot's Vest. This new machine skeleton proved to be a worthy substitute, able to take whole explosive blasts point-blank and not even dent.

'My Titans are crafty sons of bitches...'

I backflipped away from two more blades as they stabbed into the floor, skidding back into the mountain biome of the battlefield. Port and Oobleck allowed Neo and I to come in as 'new challengers', fighting for our own front rather than for Beacon specifically, though we were allowed to choose. Some Kingdoms have tried to get us to sway to their side, but we wouldn't budge. Beacon was our school to defend already, and that also included its integrity in this tournament. We came out rarely, having only a 5% chance on the randomizing wheel they use to choose the teams to compete in these bouts. Neo and I were picked to fight Penny and her partner: Ciel Soleil, and as the fight went on, Neo proved too much for Ciel, and overpowered her with trickery and flexible fighting styles. After she took her down, she stayed off to the side, letting me have my fun in dealing with Penny. I spun Incarnate in my hand before blasting six of those blades from the air, cocking it again and shooting down another cluster. Loading in two shells as she recuperated, I was now ready to retaliate after seeing what she can do with those things. Five shells were pumped into her mercilessly and swiftly, backing her up to the rocks with the final shot putting her into the grass. I backed up as her Aura flickered, reloading shells whilst spinning the lever with each added shell. Penny got back on her feet and used one of those lasers to propel herself forward, making me jump to the side and slam into a boulder of the same biome. She skidded to a halt as I grabbed a stone slab, stepping forward as I aimed and fired at her, breaking her from her step enough for me to slide forward and spin, swinging at her face and launching her back. As she got up, I swung again, throwing her into the rural buildings of the ruins biome. She dodged my next swing, only to get blasted again across the section. I raced for her as I cocked Incarnate once more, using my metal arm to block the blade she used to swipe vertically, bashing her to the ground with a swing down. I pulled her back up and swung to the left, bringing up my boot and forcing her other arm onto the ground when she tried to get at me with it. I brought the slab down on her leg, making her bend forward as I flip-spun backwards, slamming her through the air with a devastating hit upwards. She crashed through the building we were just to the right off, lending me plenty of other things I could use. Tossing the useless slab aside, I grabbed a piece of the wall as Penny was coming at me strong now, both blades in hand and swarming around her. I put it on my arm as a shield, using it to block her blades while firing back with the other shells that remained in the chamber of my gun. She soon split the shield in half, making me kick one piece to her, then bash her with the other before putting the gun's barrel to her face and pulling the trigger, shattering her Aura instantly as she flew out to the center of the arena.

[*BUZZ*]

["And victory goes to Raymond and Neo of Beacon!"]

I tossed the shield away as I loaded more shells into Dust Incarnate, humming as I spun it on its lever before putting it in its holster on my back.

"Insufficient defense, and lackluster offense. You need serious upgrades."

I turned and walked to the bridge with Neo, walking out of the arena and making my way in towards the hallways of the inner Colosseum in hopes of finding the fastest way to Beacon.

"Raymond! Hey!"

I stopped, looking back as RWBY jogged over to me. Ruby jumped on me, latching onto me with her arms on my shoulders and her legs wrapped around my waist.