Chapter 4: Duel of Fire and Ice

Inigo and Team JNPR were on an Air Bus that was making a trip to Vale. Inigo needed school supplies and Team JNPR needed to get weapon supplies. The Ranger sat on a row all by himself while everyone else sat with their partners.

"So have you ever been to Vale?" Jaune asked.

"I've been to the city a few times but it's been awhile since the last visit," Inigo replied. "What about you guys?"

"We only visited the city when it was necessary. We never have time to enjoy what the city had to offer," Pyrrha replied.

"This is probably the first time I'm visiting the city without being dragged around by my parents. They always make me go to these galas held by major companies," Inigo said, trying to keep the conversation going.

"Oh really, what's your family known for?"

"My dad is Drake Ryburn, a very successful and famous archaeologist, and my mom is Hestia Azalea, his ex-bodyguard, and Huntress."

"It must've been awkward since your family doesn't sound like the business types," Jaune said.

"They aren't but my father works closely with a lot of companies to provide funds and equipment. They only invite him because they enjoy his company," Inigo explained.

"Please stay behind the yellow line as the door opens," the pilot said through a speaker.

"Looks like we're here," Jaune said. Team JNPR and Inigo exited the Air Bus.

As they walked alongside the sidewalk, Jaune pulled out a piece of paper from his pockets. He unfolded it and said, "Alright, let's see. We need grenades for Nora's hammer, high-piercing rounds for Pyrrha's rifle, and a whetstone for my sword."

"Don't forget about the Dust," Ren reminded Jaune.

The leader of Team JNPR flipped around the paper and said, "Don't worry, I have them listed too."

"What about you, Inigo? What're you shopping for?" Ren asked out of curiosity

"I just needed basic school supplies. So maybe a few pencils and pencils, flashcards, and notebooks are a few things I need to get."

"Huh, that's weird. I'd imagine you would need a lot of different Dust to power your weapons," Nora said.

"Well, the Morpher doesn't run on Dust, it runs on my Aura. So as long as I have Aura to waste, I'll stay in Ranger mode."

"What about your weapons?"

"Basically the same as my the Ranger costumes, it runs on Aura."

The first store the group went to a bookstore that also sold school supplies. Inigo was quick to buy his supplies. Since he was still in Vale, Inigo decided to stick with Team JNPR and go to a weapon's store. While everyone was looking for their item, Inigo looked at the pistol-selection displayed on a cabinet.

"So did anything catch your eye?" the blonde leader asked.

"Just this automatic pistol. I'm thinking of picking it up since I don't have a lot of methods to fight outside of my Ranger modes," Inigo said. "I think I could carry two sidearms and go akimbo on them."

"Oh yeah," Jaune remembered. "Outside of your costume, you can't defend yourself."

"Hey, don't make it sound like I'm completely incompetent. I know my way around with small firearms."

Inigo bought the pistol with three magazine clips to. The Ranger modes would be his main method of fighting but a sidearm would be a nice insurance if the Morpher ever goes haywire. He kept it in a small case inside his bag with the rest of his school supplies. Team JNPR and Inigo's next stop would be a Dust shop. They stopped by a place called From Dust Till Dawn.

Inigo found himself alone again since everyone was looking for their own items. He heard a ping from his Morpher and he picked it up.

"What exactly is Dust?" Alpha asked.

"Are you seriously that old that Dust wasn't even discovered?" Inigo remarked. "They're basically just crystals that have elemental powers. They're typically used by fighters to give their weapons an elemental effect. They're also used as an energy source for plenty of things in society."

"That's odd. If people wanted to use elemental powers, they would use magic."

Inigo wasn't surprised by the existence of magic since he transformed into a Ranger that was a wizard in his world. Although Inigo had questions about why it would disappear.

"I don't know what things were like back then, but magic today is stuff found in a picture book."

Inigo heard the door open and saw Weiss walking into the store. Inigo glanced away from the heiress and stared down at the Dust products displayed on the shelves.

"Weiss!" Pyrrha proclaimed with a welcoming smile. "What a surprise to see you here. I thought you would be with your team practicing your new team attacks."

"Ruby told me that we didn't have to worry about our Ice Flower maneuver since it was the first one created and mastered successfully. So Ruby allowed me to leave so I can do my own errands."

"It's nice that you're making progress on your team attacks. The rest of my team are still trying to form one," Pyrrha said. "Wouldn't it be more convenient to go to one of the Schnee branded businesses?"

"Even though I can get Dust for free in those shops, I think it's important to support the overall Dust businesses whenever I can to keep the market healthy. Besides, I like the small, comfy atmosphere of these stores," Weiss explained. While Pyrrha and Weiss talked in the front of the store, Jaune silently moved towards Inigo.

"So, I heard about your little feud with Weiss," Jaune spoke in a low volume. He didn't want Weiss to hear the two of them talk about her.

"Yeah, she hates me through and through," Inigo said blatantly, in the same low-volume as Jaune. JNPR's leader was astonished about how straight-forward Inigo's response was.

"Sure you embarrassed her once in public, but is that really something to be mad about for all this time?"

"It's not just because of the dress. I'm sure that's a factor for her hatred towards me but her main issue with me is that she thinks I didn't deserve my position in this school."

"Seriously? But you did that test all by yourself," Jaune said with a confused look. He wondered why Weiss didn't like Inigo being in the same class as them.

"I did pass the test by myself but my conditions were a lot different compared to everyone else," Inigo said as he pulled out the Master Morpher.

"Oh, right. The device that transforms you into a superhero basically makes fights a lot easier."

Inigo nodded with Jaune's statement and said, "A lot of people spent years training to get to Beacon Academy while I got enrolled out of pure luck."

"Don't feel guilty about getting enrolled just because you got lucky. You're starting your semester on Monday, so you need to get your head out of that sad sack because you'll be responsible for saving a lot of lives in the future."

"You're right. I can't be mopey about it. I have responsibilities that I can't fail to uphold."

"Jaune!" Pyrrha called. Jaune turned around while Inigo looked back at the Dust. Weiss picked up her order of Dust and waited by the door. Pyrrha said, "I'm going to get coffee with Weiss. Can I trust you with the Dust?"

"Yeah, of course," Jaune said. He waved and said, "Have fun. I'll text you when we're heading back."

Inigo also turned around to wave at Pyrrha right before she left the store. Weiss was already out of the store and waited for Pyrrha in the front. The two of them headed to a coffee shop that was two blocks away from the Dust store. After the two bought their coffee, they sat down on a table. The two of them noticed a few glances from pedestrians walking by the coffee store. Their status as the heiress for the world's largest Dust company and mascot for Pumpkin Pete's made them a standout pair in the crowd.

"So is there something you want to talk about? More specifically is it something relating to a certain man in red?" Pyrrha asked.

"Huh, why would you assume that?" Weiss asked back with a defensive tone and distressed expression.

"Well, where to begin? You have a rough history with him, you pulled me away from my team when Inigo was around, and you have a strong dislike towards him," Pyrrha spoke. "I'm assuming your team is too busy with their practice for your talk about it?"

"I don't want to talk to them about Inigo because they think too highly of him. Ruby thinks his stupid costumes are funny and charming, and she wants to see his expansive arsenal. Blake respects his abilities even though none of them were his, and Yang thinks he's a fun sparring partner despite him aggravating her the other day," Weiss explained. "You're my closest friend outside of my team, so I could trust you."

"Well, then, so what's your issue with him?"

"I'm just upset about how Inigo got into our school so easily while I had to fight my way to get an admission. He never once picked up a sword in all his years I've known him and because of that device, he can swing a sword as if he was naturally gifted. I spent years trying my hardest to perfect my swordsmanship and semblance, and my father didn't make things any easier. All it took for Inigo was just a gadget that transforms him into a ridiculous-looking costume."

"So you think he doesn't deserve to go to Beacon because of his ability to transform and it upsets you that he did get accepted into the academy," Pyrrha said, attempting to simplify the issue so she can understand.

"Precisely. I wouldn't mind him getting enrolled in our school if he worked just as hard as everyone but this wasn't the case."

"Well regardless, whether or not what he displayed in his fights are abilities none of his own shouldn't matter. If he has the ability to use these powers and weapons, then he should definitely come to Beacon."

"Just because he has them doesn't mean he's a good fighter. He may have beaten Cardin and a group of Grimm doesn't mean much. Cardin is an average fighter at best despite his large ego, and for all, we know he could be making up those fights with the Grimm. I'll prove it to you that he isn't an adept fighter."

"And how exactly are you going to do that?" Pyrrha asked.

"I'm going to challenge him to a duel."

"You're going to challenge him to a duel?"

"Yes, I am. If he beats me, I may reconsider my thoughts but if I win, then I'll show everyone just because he can mimic a few flashy moves he doesn't deserve to go to the school," Weiss stood up with her coffee in hand and walked off. Pyrrha was caught off guard by the Heiress' sudden action and followed her.

"Wait!" Pyrrha shouted for Weiss' attention. "How will you find him?!"

Pyrrha heard a notification on her scroll and picked it up.

Jaune sent Pyrrha a text that they're done shopping. He told her that they're by the Air Bus docks and were waiting for them. A few minutes later after the message was sent, Pyrrha and Weiss met up with the group. Weiss glared at Inigo and marched towards him. Inigo felt a sweat drop slowly moving down his forehead. He felt he was mentally unprepared for what was to happen next.

"Inigo Ryburn!" Weiss proclaimed, she pointed her finger at Inigo's face, causing him to flinch back. "I believe you're inadequate to be enrolled at our school and to prove it, I challenge you to a duel!"

"Woah…" Jaune muttered in awe. He wasn't expecting Weiss to boldly challenge Inigo in public.

"Do you accept my challenge or not?" Weiss asked.

"Well, I can't really say no because that would upset her more," Inigo thought. "Okay, I'll accept your challenge.

"So, what did you two talk about?" Nora asked as she inched towards Pyrrha, who arrived with the heiress.

"I'll give you a hint. It revolves revolve our new friend," Pyrrha said.

"I'm assuming this the best solution you could come up with for their little feud," Ren said.

"Sadly," Pyrrha said with a regrettable and disappointed expression.

The Amphitheater is only open for additional sparring sessions on Saturday and Sunday. So this is why Inigo wasn't able to use it on Friday. These sessions had professors who would typically have a professor overseeing them, giving out the feedback on the students' performance. Both Team RWBY and JNPR sat next to each other, and Weiss' little duel gathered the attention of other students throughout the academy.

"Up next is Weiss Schnee versus Inigo Ryburn," Glynda said. Inigo and Weiss both walked to their positions in the Amphitheater.

"So, who do you think is going to win?" Jaune asked.

"Weiss, obviously," Ruby replied. "Weiss is my partner and I barely met Inigo."

"Well, seeing how I sparred with him and know how he fights, I say our friend in red has a few trick ups his sleeves," Yang said.

"I agree. Despite looking silly, he can pack quite a punch. Just look with what he did to Cardin the other day," Nora said.

"I was hoping for a nice and quiet Sunday," Inigo said as he walked close to the center of the amphitheater. He had a slightly stressed look on his face.

"You're the one that accepted this match, so quit complaining," Weiss scolded. She stood a few meters away from Inigo. She unsheathed Myrtenaster and pointed it at Inigo.

The Inigo pulled out his Morpher and shouted, "Zeo Ranger 5: Red!"

Zeo mode engaged!

The Ranger transformed into the Red Zeo Ranger. The Ranger's suit was dominantly red except for the shoulder area of the torso. It was white with a golden section in between. The gold had ancient glyphs across it. The belt had two weapons holstered and the buckle was circular with different shapes: a star in the middle, an upside-down triangle at the top, a circle to the left, square on the right, and finally two bars down in the bottom. The helmet had a star-shaped visor and mouth mold.

For some of the spectators, this was the first time they saw Inigo's transformation. For others, it's their second time because he did run in his Star Ranger form a few days ago.

"Woah, did he just transformed?!" a female student exclaimed.

"What a ridiculous looking costume," a male student said.

"I felt like I saw something like that before," another male student said.

"Yeah, he was the one running on campus the other day!" a female student pointed out.

Inigo could hear some of the comments and could only roll his eyes under his helmet. He opened his hand and shouted, "Zeo Battle Sword!"

A sword appeared in Inigo's hand. It had a black handle with a large disc attached to the hilt. A star was imprinted on it and there was a visible barrel at the top. Glynda glacned at both Inigo and Weiss and saw that the two were ready to fight.

"Begin!" the female professor announced. Weiss positioned herself and summoned Glyphs on the ground to propel herself towards Inigo. The Zeo Ranger saw the Glyphs and raised his sword, pointed the hilt at Weiss

"Right, Glyphs," Inigo said, remembering the one trait that the Schnees have in their semblances. When she launched herself towards him, Inigo pulled the trigger and fired a bolt of energy at Weiss. She leaped into the air and used a white Glyph to launch herself at her opponent. She thrusted her sword at Inigo's chest, knocking him down and sending sparks flying out of his suit.

Inigo quickly got up to block another incoming attack from behind. Weiss unleashed an endless stream of attacks, putting pressure on Inigo and forcing him back. Her quickie attacks made it hard for Inigo to attack. Weiss found an opening and thrusted her sword at Inigo's stomach. Inigo was knocked back from the attack, still standing from the attack. Weiss summoned several Glyphs and fired shards of ice at Inigo. The Ranger struck down the icy projectiles and was distracted. Weiss took the advantage by summoning Glyphs that circle around Inigo and dashed right behind him.

"What the-!" Inigo exclaimed before being Weiss delivered three quick blows behind him. Instead of using the Glyphs, the heiress decided to close their distance by running towards him. When she got close, Inigo quickly turned around and fired more bolts of energy at Weiss. He couldn't use Critical Sight at all because Weiss' was too fast for him to see and putting too much pressure on him. The heiress managed to avoid the attacks by quickly stepping to the side. She thrusted her blade at the Zeo Ranger. He locked blades with Weiss and kicked her in the stomach to create a short distance between him and the young Huntress.

"Zeo cannon!" the Zeo Ranger shouted.

A large red and black cannon materialized over Weiss and dropped on top of her. Her Aura was barely dented but the oversized weapon definitely pinned her to the ground. Ruby jumped out of her seat and leaned towards the fight. Blake couldn't help but gasp and put her hand over her mouth while Yang just dropped her jaw.

"I hope you're aware you can't use a team cannon without an actual team of Rangers," Alpha said. Weiss began to move the large weapon off her but she was doing it at a snail's pace because of its heaviness.

"I know, but it's the only thing I could do to get an opening," Inigo said as he materialized the Master Morpher. "Unleash the beast!"

Beast Morpher mode engaged!

Inigo morphed into the Red Beaster Morpher Ranger. Unlike his previous costumes, Beast Morpher Red's suit was made out of a leather-like material. It had a silver outline on the bottom torso and arms. The costume also had a black belt with a silver belt buckle that had a pair of glasses with the letters G and B beneath it. The Ranger also wore the symbol on a black strap around his left shoulder. The helmet had a silver mouthpiece and the visor matched the same color as the rest of the helmet. At the top was a cheetah-inspired print.

"His costume looks a lot more modern compared to the others suits I've seen," Yang commented .

"I wonder what's the process of designing these costumes," Pyrrha said.

The Zeo Cannon disappeared over Weiss and she stood up, wiping off any dirt that may have got on her dress. Inigo could've easily won by simply using the Zeo Cannon to keep her pinned down on the floor. Maybe stepping or standing to add weight but it would be a cheap victory and Inigo probably would've just frustrated Weiss even more. She looked at Inigo's new costume and scoffed at its appearance.

"Just how many costumes do you have?" Weiss asked.

"Too many to count," Inigo remarked. "Beast-X Saber!"

A blue and black sword appeared in Inigo's hand.

"With a new suit comes a new power," Inigo said before being engulfed in green energy and dashing towards Weiss at high speed. The heiress was quick to block the oncoming attack from the front, but the Beast Morpher Ranger was quick to attack her from a different angle.

Weiss stepped back and summoned a few Glyphs to lunge herself at Inigo. Inigo rolled out of the attack. He turned towards and used the momentum to attack Weiss. The heiress summoned a Glyph beneath her feet and jumped over Inigo's attack. She used a black Glyph to position herself and attack Inigo from above. She threw herself towards Inigo with her Glyph. The Ranger barely dodged the attack and Weiss moved past him.

Weiss turned around and used her Glyphs to dash. She thrusted her sword at Inigo but the Ranger predicted the attack from behind. Unfortunately, Weiss' failed surprise attack struck Inigo's right arm as he turned around. Now that he was disarmed, she pressed forth and unleashed a long combo of attacks. However, Inigo was able to dodge the attacks with ease. Weiss figured out that the green energy surrounding Inigo was giving him a huge boost of speed.

"I need him still," Weiss said as she stepped back.

She stabbed the ground, unleashing a line of ice protrusions. Inigo attempted to jump out of its way but the attack was almost instant because of the small distance between the two. Since Inigo was encased in ice, he couldn't do much. Weiss quickly summoned a white Glyph that appeared beneath Inigo's feet that propelled him in the air. A black Glyph was at the top and Inigo stuck onto it like a fly on a web. Weiss jumped in the air and stuck onto another black Glyph. She aimed it towards Inigo and Myrtenaster's chamber spun into a white color. She launched herself at Inigo and deliver a heavy blow on Inigo, instantly putting his aura levels in the red.

Inigo landed face flat on the ground and slowly looked up at the monitor. He saw that he lost the match.

"The winner is Weiss Schnee. You showed a lot of creativity with your Semblance towards the end of the match, Ms. Schnee," Glynda said. "As for Mr. Ryburn, continue to use your different forms and get familiar with each and every one of them."

Inigo nodded with Glynda's lecture. He glanced at Weiss, who still had a glare at him.

"Just as I predicted, you lost because you rely on the ability of others," Weiss said. She pointed at him and said, "You may be able to transform and mimic the abilities of others but at the end of the day, you aren't them. How can someone attend this school if they never learned to begin with?"

When Weiss was finished scolding Inigo, she walked to the spectator rows and met with the rest of her team. Inigo left the Ampitheater, accepting the fact he was defeated. What bugged him about this situation was that the tension between him and Weiss wasn't resolved at all. She still doesn't approve of his presence in the school and it's going to annoy him throughout the semester.

In a disclosed warehouse in the industrial district of Vale, several Atlesian Knights were moving shipments of Dust into a larger shipping container. A man in a white coat and black bowler hat smoked a cigar as he watched the mechanized soldiers do the labor work of his operations.

"This still isn't enough Dust for the second phase," the man in the white coat said. "If only Xiong didn't drop me from his deal, I would be swimming in Dust but no, that's not going to happen. Lose four men to a crazy teenager wielding a scythe and they'll stop talking to you."

"Don't worry, it's only they're temporary solution," Vulcan said as he approached Roman. "I've got word from Cinder, she has the White Fang backing our cause now."

"That's great, I always wanted to run an animal circus," Roman remarked.

"You might want to change that attitude, Roman. They're this kingdom's most dangerous armed group. Cinder says that they'll be a great asset to our future plans."

"So when do we expect them to arrive?"

"They'll be here in two weeks."

"Well, that's great," Roman said. "Hey, where is Cinder? I thought she was coming here right after she recruited the White Fang?"

"She and her team are going to Mistral for another mission. They believe they found the Green Master Morpher and are on the move."

"Oh, speaking of the Master Morpher, my little spy in the crowd saw something," Roman said as he led Vulcan to his desk. He pulled out a photo of Inigo in the city. In front of him was Weiss pointing her finger in front of his face. "It looks like the kid that sent you running away is here in Vale."

"It looks like he's in the good company of Weiss Schnee, meaning he could be a student of Beacon," Vulcan said.

"So what're you going to do about our little threat in spandex?"

"I need to make a few adjustments for the latest Combatrons before I send them out in the field. I also need to find an opening to attack Inigo when he's vulnerable."

Author's Note:

And the drama between Weiss and Inigo continues. The tension between the two will go on for a little while longer before it reaches it's resolution. I don't want to make this drag on longer than it's needed to be. I don't intend on finishing it next chapter unlike Ruby and Weiss' arc in Vol 1, which was resolved within one day. Realistically, I give it some more time before this is resolved. As for Weiss winning, realistically I can see her doing so just because of how powerful her Glyph Semblance is and just how much experience she has compared to our Ranger.

Even though Inigo has the powers of previous Red Rangers, he does have a lot to learn about how to effectively use them. Speaking of the suits, I do enjoy writing the large variety of powers used throughout Ranger/Sentai history. It definetely makes things more fun for me because I'm not writing the same thing over and over again. I at least want to use each these suits, whether it's for a gag or one-time appearance. Although, there will be times where he would repeat costumes.

Leave a like and follow if you enjoyed this chapter. Also please leave a constructive review about my story. Until next time.

Update: I sorta posted a different version of the chapter by accident that had a conversation between Inigo and Weiss that somewhat ended their feud. But in an effort to improve pacing, I cut it. So if you saw it earlier and you're now confused, sorry.

Up next: Small Steps Forward